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Anginal CorregpontJenc*. __ —
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ANALYSIS" OF THE HAND-LOOM WEAVERS' REPORT . Lbtteb VII . The eompetitiTe system , as practised amongst the manufacturers and merchants of this country , has produced tire most destructive effects upon every grade and class of society ; ¦ were ita operations confined to & partiOTl&r class , there might be some hope in mitigating at least , it not removing , the evils it produces . Eie agriculturalists are not exempt from lt » extended operations , for by its direct influence in bringing down tie price of labour , it gradually saps the agricultural interest , both by -withdrawing the labourers from tie toil , » i forcing doirn the price of agricultural produce ,
so as to enable the manufacturers to bring a surplus quantity of labourers into the market , and force competition « T ? fmgrt the operatives , thereby reducing wages Thus ire haTe an outcry against the Com Lam by the manufacturers and merchants "who . haying , by competition amongst themselves , aided by chemical and mechanical inventions and discoveries , brought dovn the wages of the weavers so low , that nothing will satisfy them bat bringing dovn tbe price of agricultural produce to the ruinous level they have created . Seeing bankruptcies , 1 mb o ( trade , and ruin staring them in the face , they are determined to bring down landlord , farmer , and laborer , to the same miserable condition in which the merchant , manufacturer , and operative
now are . The following extracts from the reports will shew the opinions of practical men upon the subject of competition : — John Harper , weaver , of Knsresborongh , states—Competition among the masters—they embark : in business , and those who wish to get customers , undersell others . Bad masters make the good ones reduce their wages . Mr . John Scott , a weaver of Salford , states : —The repeated reductions made by masters who are foremost to reduce , necessarily compels the rest to follow their example , however unwilling they may be to do so . George Jackson , Esq ., of Preston . —I admit the competition among masters to be a great evil , and that its tendency is , occasionally , that the low price paying masters do bring down the wages of those who are paying , and who are disposed to pay , a high rate .
Mr . James Parker , of Preston . —Tbe wages of wea-Ters are constantly reduced for want of an uniformity of wages . There are houses in Preston paying 6 d . less ? h * Ti na for exactly the same sort of goods . If we reduce to their prices , they would directly reduce still lower . James Spencer , weaver , of Manchester . —The small capitalists are the fiat to reduce wages , because the lower they pay , the more goods they can produce with the same amount of capital The most respectable manufacturers are often desirous of keeping up wages , but cannot compete with these grinding ones . Mr . Robert Bradshaw , of Haggate . —One part of the manufacturers constantly pay lower prices than others , and are enabled to undersell the higher paying masters . Many small masters , without capital , are forced to sell , and must take any price offered . They then come home , and pull down wages to fit in the price .
John Alexander Steward , weaver , of Ashton-underline . —The low paying masters will generally bring down the others to their rates . Mr . James Graham , of Carlisle . —The ompetition »™ n"g masters may reduce wages . We have reduced because others have done so before . Mi . Jonathan Brett , member of the " Weavers' Committee , Carlisle . —The masters , from 1817 , have been fighting against each other , and all trying what advantage they could get for themselves at the expense of the weavers . Win . N orris , of Eccles . —The competition among masters , and the desire to get rich , on their part , as ipeedfly as possible , has had a great effect in reducing wages .
There is a system of lying , cheating , and plundering earned on by many of toe manufacturers of Preston , Blackburn , Burnley , Come , and otier remoter places , which is alike disgraceful and rilUnous . A Blackburn manufacturer will send a cart load of warps to Clitheroe , or Colne , and offer them at , say 5 s . per cent for what he is paying 6 s . far s " t Blackburn . When finished , he will turn round upon his Blackburn wearer , and tell him he can get them wove at 5 s . elsewaere , and , unless he will take another warp at that price , he must get them dene at Colne . The wearer is obliged to take it or starve . The unprincipled muck-worm takes another cart load to Colne , and thus turns round vpon them , telling the weavers he can get them done at home for 5 s . a cut , and if he cannot get them done at
1 pju » price in Colne , he must take his warpa home again , and he will offer them at is . 6 i , and upon thai infernal maxim , invented by the Whig political economist school of passive obedience men , " That half a loaf is better than no bread . " The wearer takes the piece to weave , ekeing out an existence as well as he can- The manufacturer returns to Blackburn , and plays the same game as before , and thus—and thus , these muck-worms rob tbe poor wearer , and bring down other better paying employers . I heard a manufacturer once say , in an hotel at Clitheroe , some three years ago , " First get no peawr looms aw con get urn done as cheap by thliondleom . " " JTay , nay , John , not quite , " said his companion . " Bui aw con bring thiiond-loom weighvera deawn tot , connot aw »"
Ko man can explain competition more easily than the above , and I might cite many similar extracts were they necessary . JLet us now examine more minutely the facilities afforded to masters ta reduce wages . -First—The disproportionate number of weavers to the labour required be performed by them . Second—The Cm of a knowledge of the weaving trade being easil Acquired , and of the trade itself being open to all classes of unemployed persons . It is a notorious fact that manufacturers hare been guilty of supporting the Poor Law Commissioners in Jbeir still more guilty career of oppression and
seduction , solely for the purpose of encouraging migration from the agricultural districts to tie K&nnfacturing dens of the north- A Mr . Afihworth , of Bolton , and , I believe , a Corn Law philosopher , has immortalised himself by orresponding with the Poor Law Commissioners upon this subject . In one of his letters be had the mendacity to state that tbe people had plenty of work , and were well paid for it , and that he had no doubt that many of the surplus population would find employment if sent from the agricultural districts to these parts , meaning Bolton . You will find his letter at length in the second annual report of the Poor Law Commissioners .
It has ever been the policy of the manufacturer ! to swamp those wh » had been brought up to the manufacturing operation by supporting the migration system , long before the Devil's law was passed ; and now they find the Union system , b&stile-testing , and gruelling-pampering of the labourers an excellent plan for forcing the labourers from the eoil to tbe manufacturing districts . Mnggeridge , the migration agent , keeps a register-office in Manchester , where labour-grinding manufacturers hire the " surplus population" of the agricultural counties .
Another plan of increasing the number of hand-Icon ! weavexs is by putting out work to agricultural labourers to work at their leisure , and so converting the rural and peaceful hamlets into manufacturing villages , and as weaving is so easily learned , every hob-, ble-de-hoy is put to it , migration takes place , and the towns are filled with a superfluity of hands ; numbers of weavers have been created in tlie hamlets and villages round the city of Norwich and Coventry ; besides , if the workmen in towns were to rebel against this system of encouraging labourer ! to turn weavers , the emplojers would enly encourage the rural districts the more . John Harper , of Knaresborough , states—( p . * S 5 , part 11 *—
" I was working at Barnsley two years ago , when the bade was brisk . One morning thirty harvest men came into the town , each proposed to become a weaver , they got friends and got work . They had never worked as weavers before . One took an eighty drill , he earned , it horns ; he saved twenty hanks . The piee « was spoilt ; they did their work badly . " Mr . John Duce , of Spitalnelds , London . Of the manner in which the trade is overwhelmed , he gives the following evidence : — Q . Have many men taken to the weaving trade lately ? Hot many lately ; there would not have been employment given to them ; but whenever the trade is brisk , men come to it from other employments , and begin at the simplest work , and such as liave ability gradually get to the other branches of weaving , and thus the number of weavers is kept too great .
Do women , who are cot daughters or wives of weavers , learn the trade ?—Sometimes they get other women to teach them , and during the period when they are learning , they may make half as much as will keep Item . What are the chief sources of the numbers who come into the trade !—Tha weavers bring np their faiaflie * to be weavers , fr « m a deair t to get something from their labour as soon as possible and also froa inability to get them put out jtto other trades , and fafpay a premium . Floor-cloth weaving at Famham , Surrey . — " Aa to Itte oarro w looms , the fabri * is bo easily ¦ m ^ Aa that men may be taken from any other employment , and in a few days may be made tolerable workmen . Tag wages wt each men must necessarily be low , in fact , below the wages of an agricultural labourer . —J . Mitchell ' s Report Mr . Charles Stantoo , of Gloucestershire , woollen Smmfaefcorer .
Does wearing requfrt much skill ?—Yes , a certain portion , but it is easily acquired . Has not that facility of acquiring the trade increased the number of hands in the labour market ?—Tee , it >« - « undoubtedly . It is evident , from the above statements , that the silk , linen , and woollen weaving is easily acquired , and otton is notoriously so ; and from these facilities weaving has everywhere been swamped by a superabundance of hands ; and add to these evils the effects of the power-looms , in depriving thousands of weavers of their means of existence . To suppose all these weavers would find employment if the Corn Laws were repeated , is a hope as frail as the rotten staff that sup-
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ports the burden of the repealers' wild speculations : or even if they were , do we not find , from the evidence above , that weavers are as easily created as calicoes are manufactured ; and in brisk times the trade would be overrun , so that a " slack" coming , the whole would be precipitated lower than ever . Besides , machinery is easier manufactured than hand-loom weavers , and ' less trouble to the capitalist than a lot of discontented , grumbling , hand-loom weavers , " and much more passive . In these matters Parliament can do nothing , even , though they were willing . Some witnesses are of | opinion that a law of apprenticeship would remove the evil ; others would prohibit any Tnan from having i more than four looms ; some wish the stamp duty on i apprentices" indenturw to be reduced to five shillings , I to encourage apprentices , whilst a few talk ef edu-; cation , and a very few of the Spitalfields weavers wish j the Corn Laws repealed , for they have had tbe benefit i of " free trade" to their heart ' s sickness . All laws
I regarding apprenticeships and hiring are becoming j obsolete , as they are considered incompatible with the j principles of free trade . All the arts , mysteries , -and I crafts of trade have become reduced to a principle of j " buy cheap and sell cheap . " Political economists ) argue that all laws limiting supply and demand , whether labourers or productions , areas so many fetters to trade and commerce , and were it not that the ; Chancellor of the Exchequer realises some £ 10 , 000 per j annum by apprentices" indentures , the whole would have been swept away long ago . by our " March ot
! intellect" men . Were it not for the united efforts I of letter-press printers to limit the numbeT of appren-| ticea , and rtairt the innovation of rait , ( knobsticks ) I their very myBtemus art would have been overwhelmed ! by a superabundance of hands , and their wages reduced ! accordingly . The same by the millwrights , engravers , j hatters , . the building and other trade * , who have < resisted innovations by being united together . 1 remember reading an anecdote in the Manchester Times , when it was a Radical paper , illustrating the power of i combination : —
« ' Novel STRIKE . —At a print works near Bury , a strike ef the teer-boys took place , in consequence of the master introducing twelve parish apprentices to tbe printing business , the preparatory step being that of teering , or laying tbe colour upon the blocks . The lads , the eldest not sixteen years of age , held a meeting in the croft , when one of them , standing on a tub , made the following speech : — ' Aw tall o' wat . lads , if weh » Houn thease lads frae V waritheause to teh eawr places , it'll ge 'o f printurs V chonce o" pooink eawr wage deawn , till they maue am as low as fhand-loom weighvars . " "
Be this true or false , at any rate it is not false in principle . Many trades have been Bwamped for want of similar protection and combination amongst those who have serv * d a legitimate apprenticeship . The combination laws are the bulwarks of the free traders , and how often do we find your free trade Corn Law repealers sitting aa magistrates in judgment upon men who wish to preserve their legai profession from falling into the sama ruinous condition that the hand-loom weavers are in ; jea , and inflicting all the penalties of those infamous statutes upon aim wbuse Bupposed crime is that of protecting the craft he so dearly purchased , by a premium and seven years slavery , from the inexperienced innovator . The fact ia , that the free trade professors would reduce every labouring m-in in
England . to their money-grubbing purposes , in order that commerce may nourish and their capital accumulate . I am willing to admit , to a certain extent , the principles of free trade ; but , before I admit the propriety of it in England , I must first clear the country of all ita incumbrances aad dtad weight ; reduce the amount oi taxation to somtthing like the continental standard ; give to every family a portion of land to fall baei upon , same as they have in foreign ataWs ; and , above all , a Commons fairly chasen by The people , then repeal your Corn Laws , your timber laws , and every othei restriction npon trade . " A clear stage and no favour * but right and justice , and the people of England against the world for courage , wisdom , industry , and humanity . B , J . Richardso . n .
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TO THE KDITOB OF THS NORTHERN STAR . Sib , —ThAs is a time when some test of principle is necessary , in order to ahow to th « world that we are in earnest for the attainment of the good cause with which we have embarked . It is a fact much to be lamented , at this day , that thousands upon thousands of or fellow-men are labouring under an awful weight of slavery , " and a slavery of the worst kind , too , viz-, a slavery to our own passions and ricea . created by our own free will , and retained by our own foolishnesathat is , the use of drinking intoxicating liquors , and the smoking of that noxious and trifling weed , tobacco , only fit for monkeys , and not for men . It is now ab # ut two years and a half since a number of us , upon
political principles , forsook tbe baunt * of Bacchus , determined , if our example was necessary , it should not be wanting , and are still standing true to our principles . But aa we advanced a few steps farther along the paths of this enquiring ag « , we began to see that we had something about us still which was a barrier in tbe way of our improvement . Ten of us , who had been in the habit , for a great number of years , then became to see it - our duty to part with oar snuff boxes and tobacco pipes ; so we made a trial , and the consequence is , that twelve weeks have now passed over , while we are in possession of as many sixpences , besides relieved of that gnawing appetite , disturbing our repose witli fantastic nostrums .
Now we can hold up our heads before our fellow , men , and Ull tham we have so far reformed ourselves ; and would that every Chartist would adopt oar eonr » e , no man would disbelieve our sincerity for reform . Then may we be enabled to reform others—then , and not till then , can w « truly boast of being reformers . A New Light Chartist . Balgonie Bleachfield , Dec 1 , 1840 .
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SENDING PAPERS TO IRELAND . TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN STAR . Sir , —In answer to a paragraph in your last , I think it would not be prudent to publish the names of parties to whom papers might be sent in Ireland , for more reasons than one . I would suggest the adoption of the feiJowing plan : — Let a Committee of six or more be appointed in Manchester or Liverpool , < I would prefer the latter place , aa they c « uld be posted later in the week with more convenience ) to -whom all newspapers intended for Ireland should be forwarded .
I will supply this Committee with a list of persona in several counties in Ireland , and also some other useful hints . Let also every Irishman in England , who is frienily to the cause , supply the Committee with the name of so » e friend in Ireland , to whom he shall write , to cause the circulation of the papers sent , requesting an answer , which h « shall forward to the Committee . This simple plan will do our work more effectually than the publication of any list , and prevent what must , of necessity , occur , by giving the names of individuals in Ireland publicly , viz ., the Uo great influx of papers in one quarter , and perhaps to persons who may not possess either the means , inclination , or zeal in their distribution , of Your obedient , humble servant , L . T . Cla . vct .
P . S . Would Messrs . Ross , Todd , and Finigan , of the Working Men ' s Association , Liverpool , consent to be named , and add to their number ? We must make the rascally press of Ireland ashamed of themselves , if we cannot make them do their duty . November 30 th , 1 S 40 .
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TO THE PEOPLE OF BANBURY . Oakham Gaol , Rutlandshire , 21 st Nov . 1840 . YELiOW-COTJ ^ TRTME * , In addressing a few words to you I need make no apology . I am net altogether uaknown to you . I am a plain man , and one of yourselves ; and , being tencked by the wrengs inflicted upon my conntry by the craft and villauy of our irresponsible rulers , I hold out my right hand from my dungeon , and plaoe my heart therein , to greet you as brothers , and to cheer you forward in the holy work » f attempting to Bhake off the chains -which bind you . Countrymen , —I write in a prison . I am unable to step beyond the gloomy wall which frowns upon my cheerless celL Day after day , my body drags on the same monotonous career ; but my mind scornfully defies the power of the tyrant , and pleasingly
speculates upon principles which will yet shake our crazy and iniquitous system of government to pieces . My mind approves my past career , and my conscience bears witness to the fervour of my devotion to my oppressed fellow-creatures . Every kour of my imprisonment fortifies my mind fer further action ; and , whenever it pleases the Almighty to restore me to liberty , no exertions shall be wanting on my part to open the eyes of the ignorant and deluded , to improve the ricious and the drunken , to rouse the apathetic , and confirm and give confidence to the enthusiast , and to join cordially with the wise and the food , who are resolved upon making a grand , persevering , and peaceful struggle for a real representative government , the paramount object of which thall be to diffuse amongst all classes of the people the greatest attainable amount of human happiness .
Conntrymen , —I am a Chartist ; and one would think from the treatment the Chartists have received , that we are wild beasts , or men « . iming at the destruction of wisdom , -virtue , religion , and freedom . Why bare we been so cruelly persecuted ? Because we are striving to make the people wise , virtuous , religious , and free , and because our rulers and their dependants , in the event of our success , would be deprived of tk-eir present unhallowed power of oppression , and would have henceforth to depend upon their own resources for their daily bread , and upon their own virtue and wisdom for power and fame . We claim to govern ourselves , through the medium of representatives chosen by ourselves , and we contend that the mea who oppose this claim must either be fools or rognes ; fools , if they suppose we have not a more direct interest in
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a : our own welfare , than others can possibly have for us ; aud rogues , if they pretend we were made to be the serfs and slaves of the upstart few who govern us . We claim the People ' s Charter , because it provides for the representation of the adult male population in Parliament ; and we kn » w that this claim is not only just , but necessary , tor oar political safety . The present constituency is too narrow to represent the interests of the community ; it is comprised , in the main , of men ovei whom the aristocracy , church , and crown , exercise a powerful controuL The majority of the representatives , chosen , necessarily partake of the same character ; and in nearly all their " debates " and' 'divisions" the real interest of the people is wantonly sacrificed . We see in the House of Commons various ^
sections , each pursuing its own selfish interests ; we Bee in that House keep-in-the-Whigs-men , the meaning of which party is , that it would rather plunder the people than see the Tories plundering them ; we see Corn-Lawmen , Fund-Lord-men , Queen ' s-men , Churchmen , but very few People ' s-men , and the few that the people have there are looked upon as white crowa in the rookery . Unfortunately , we are not only not rspreaented , but those who Bit in Parliament are continually plundering us , destroying our trade , and making wicked and mischievona laws .
Countrymen , all the middle and working classes would be benefited by the change we desire . Our claim is simple and just , cheap , good , and responsible Government Look at the mass of evil our present syBtem inflict upon us . Take the load of taxes , including Corn Laws , Poor Laws , to say nothing of the Chorea , and yon will find not less than one hundred millions of pounds taken from you every year !! Then there are all the local and other rates !! Let not the workpeople wonder they are poor , nor the tradespeople puzzle themselves about small profits . " Oh , but , " say the ignorant , " it makes good for trade—it is spent aeain . '" A si . yotzrselves the question , suppose it is
spent again , which would he best , spending the money yourselves , or getting others to spend it for you ? I suppose you would either spend it upon necessities and comforts , or save it for your old age . I am sure you would not throw it into the sea , nor profligately -waste it like your rulers . You will bear in mind that much depends upon the way in which money is spent I need not tell you how your rulers spend the money , and how it is worse than wasted ; I need not talk about pensions and sinecures , stables for Queen ' s horses , and dogkennels ; I need not refer to the money now being squandered to preserve the integrity of the Ottoman Empire , and to fores opium down the throats of the inoffensive Chinese at the point of the bayonet
To change this Btate of things fer a better—to lighten the burdens of the people—to knock off the shackles upon labour and trade—to open to the poorest man the means of advancement , and to extend comfort and happiness to all—to establish a wise system of national education , that the blessings of intelligence may be felt by all ; these are a few of the advantages we are aiming at in our demand for the People ' s Charter—advantages which must result from a wise and virtuous Government Men of Banbury , I invoke your aid in this glorious work . Remember you are all wronged , robbed , and enslaved . Thoae who have no votes are aliens in their own land—the mark of the slave , tbe badge of inferiority is upon them . Why are you thus enslaved ? You are men ; you toil j you obey the laws of the land ; you pay enormous taxes ; you
are deemed fit to fight the battles , and pretect the lives and property of the titled and wealthy few . Why are you ehnt out frem the privilegea , honours , and advantages of freemen ? Why are you slaves ! The answer Is plain , because you have hitherto been so ignorant and unmindful of your own interests , as almost to have preferred slavery to freedom , misery to happiness No government can long enslave a people determined to be free . Acts of Parliament , thrones , and aristocrats ; armies , navies , and policemen , are but impotent things in enslaving a people . The mists of ignorance , intemperance , viceproducing , an they do , dependant habits , serfish feelings ; a crawling , slavish , disposition ; a propensity to extol wealth , rather than religion and virtue ; a love of murderous war , and ita rain and empty glory—these are the things which enslave a people . '
Men of Banbury , let us assail the vices and ignorance of the people ; let us infuse a manly love of independence into our own class ; let us root out tbe rank weads of servility whitb our rulers have ever been planting ; let us convince our countrymen that God has made them with capacities and feelings for the enjoyment of tbe most exquisite l . appiness ; for tbe realisation of intellectual pleasure ; for the exercise of the moral virtues , and has spread equally before all who accept the conditions , a rich banquet of eternal
felicity when the storms and turmoils of this life are past Men ot Banbury , the system totters ; help to acce lerate its downfal ! Dp not despair , because we have been persecuted , but rather redouble your exertions to inflict a deadly blow on the power of persecution . If I live to leave my prison , I shall visit you , and render you all the aid I can ; and if I do not live ; if I should die in prison , I shall expire with a clear conviction that you , and tbe rest of my fellow-countrymen will never rest contented until you have freed your country , and made her people bappy . I am , fellow-countrymen , Your devoted friend , HBNRT VlXCENT . P . S . I am in good health , and never was in better spirits .
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TO DANIEL O'CONNELL , ESQ ., M . P . Letter I . " Ireland is my country j the world is my republic . " O'Connor . Sir , —Though it may be & false position in logic , I am inclined to think that one quotation from a living author is worth two from a dead one ; and I am also inclined to think that there is more true patriotism expressed in the above sentence than is dreamed of iu the philosophy of some of our liberty-loving patriots of thirty or forty years' standing . Holding thia doctrine sacred , it is no great wonder that I should •¦ Hate ascendancy ' s impolitic view ,
That roba the many t' aggrandise the few ;" and that I look with great suspicion on the patriotism of tbe man whose philanthropy , or love of human kind , can only extend to kis own sea-girt coaet—who cannot take his stand on the platform of equal rights , and exclaim , without mystification , " Liberty to all , exclusion to none . " Aa you take credit for being a patriot of the first water , and a consutent advocate of universal liberty , 1 will presume you will have no great objection to one of your own school testing your patriotism and consistency in the crucible of a British newspaper ; but before I proceed to do so , allow me to profess my Protestant principles by informing you ( or rather others , for you are already aware ot it ; , that with Toryism or Whiggery I have nothing to do . I loathe the one as I hate the other .
Nursed in your own normal school of agitation , I can have little to induce me to recant the tenets of my early political creed , save the abandonment of error to the consciousness of right Taught from my boyhood to bow submissively te the great liberator of Ireland , I have occasionally lent my exertions to giye what I thought your patriotism Parliamentary authority , and fill the coffers of your rent , not of your tribute ( you surely forgot Holy Writ when you allowed it to be called by such a name ) , levied yearly by llr . Fitzpatrick , for which he receives . £ 300 per annum outof the gatherings
of the poorest peasantry in the world ; but of that fund , which has placed you in a similar psaition ( to use a sautical simile ) to the captain of an emigrant ship , who , baviDg taken the passage-money from his dupes , sent them to sea in the long boat , in quest of a fair wind I But as through jour unspotted patriotism , Irishmen are too apt to appreciate many of your overt acts as virtues of the most celestial keeping , so with your long agitating career , Irishmen are too apt to follow you in your journey through life simply enough , I believe , for the ridiculous gratification ef beholding your long-promised
epitaph" He died a Repealer . Iiequieseai in pace . " I am induced to address these letters to you fora twofold purpose : first , to shew to the Irish people that your patriotism , for which they pay so dearly , should be made of sterner stuff ; secondly , just to notice a very foolish , or rather , very wicked address , emanating from your last still-born offspring , the National Loyal Repeal Association of Ireland , brought forward , 1 believe , by your son John , who holds a very neat situation under Government , though you have so often sworn that none of your family should receive place , pension , or emolument from any Government who would not do justice to Ireland !
I shall now proceed to my first position . St Paul says ignorance is a sin worthy of punishment : it is the duty , then , Sir , I trust you will admit , of every one of us , great and small , to avert the wrath of divine malediction which I fear has been too often invoked by the hypocritical doctrines of those who profess that Ireland has
been" Their waking theme , Her glories still their midnight dream . " Alas . ' for Ireland ; her too faithless sons have entailed upon her a long era of poverty , wretchedness , and degradation . From the days of Burke , the gunner , to hia namesake of our own time , the ranks of her enemies hare been officered by her own puissant sons . Sham patriot after sham patriot has successfully succeeded or outstripped hia predecessor in truculency , while the gullibility of their confiding dupes seem even now as susceptible of their wily machinations as their own luxuriant and fruitful
s » iL This has become so proverbial , that the quantity of patriotism in her modern agitators may be fairly rated by the number of pounds , shillings , and peace they are able to draw yearly from their hereditary bondsmen . And so well is this understood , Sir , by our neighbours , that " rattlebox" and " conjuror" have become synonymous for Ireland and her leader . You are the founder of a new doctrine ^—you may bear it to the grave ; but it will perish with you . Yom have taught tbe youth of Ireland to believe their " fathers fools , so wise they grow ; " but their wiser sons no doubt will think them so . Our fortfothers fought for their freedom . Fools ! they were torah and dagger
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men . No epitaph shall ever be inscribed on their tombs . We must consign them to the mausoleums of the Chartists . Fitzgerald perished by the bands of his assailants , one of whom still holds a lucrative situation under the present Government Emmett smiled in the tace of his executioner . No pedestal marks the spot where he lies . And yon , Sir , by your recent denunciations of physical force , would make one almost believe that you blush at tbe recollection of his name . Oliver Bond and Theobald Wolf Tone were murdered—aye murdered I The latter , while the Lotd Chief Justice of the King ' s Bench , Lord Kilwarden , nullified the drum-head lair that sentenced him to death . Tfaos we hare seen this young man perish in despito ^ of the order of one of tbe first law officers of the Crown ; thus making drum-head law superior to the statute law of the land . I allude to this subject in order to show a coincidence ¦ ,
between the then Government and our own merciful Whiga with regard to the case of Frost , Williams , and Jones . In the latter ease , Sir Frederick Pollock raised aa objection in favour of the prisoners ; and two out of tbe three judges who aat npon the bench decided in favour of the objection , but refused to atop the trial , Lord Chief Justice Tindal stating that he would feel it his duty , in . case the prisoners were found guilty , to apply to tbe Queen tor pardon . . Add to this , nine out of tbe fifteen judges who fiat decided also in favour of the objection raised by Sir Frederick Pollock ; yet these men are banished from their native land in direct defiance of the law by which they were , tried and the judges who tried them ! While you , Sir , a lawyer , too , looked on , passing your cold-blooded jokes , while one of tbe joints of your tail in Dublin prayed the Queen ' s mercy in language stating that they ought to be hanged ! .
Now , Sir , I am not , nor have I ever been , an advocate for physical force ; but 1 must confess that I believe the man who risks his all in the cause of the people nmst needa be a more sincere patriot , in attempting ti > better their condition , than the man who would tell me he wonts three millions of shillings before he can , hold out the slightest hopes of redressing their grieveuces—than the man who , after thirty years ' of agitation , could fold his arms and exclaim , " If I were to die to-morrow , I would leave Ireland in a better condition than when I found her . " I would give you credit , Sir , for this assertion if I could believe Ireland to be like the dying dolphin whose every struggle is said to add more beauty to its death ; but I will show you by and bye , Sir , the beautiful , plentiful condition in
in which you would leave Ireland were you to die to-morrow . Through life you have been haunted by a spectre in your imagination ; like the Ghost in Hamlet it has crossed your path wherever you went , and your dread that this spectre , which no body could see but yourself would rob you of your popularity , has occasionally thrown you into the most ridiculous hysterics . You could not bear to see a briefless barrister take the presidential chair at a meeting of the Trades' Political Union , but you dreaded that he might become a leader , and would give him this wholesome advice , " Go home , young man , and mind your brief ; but finding this piece of advice ineffectual , you gave him some rolls to butter in the Rolls Court of Dublin . I need scarcely name Marcus Costello . I could cite twenty more men that
you have disposed of ia thia sort of way , and if you want names I'll give them . You were always adverse to the existence of any political body in Ireland , except you could pull the strings , and let none but your friends iu to see the show 1 You did all that you could to suppress the Trades' Union by coercion . You told them they were only fit for the ranks . After you had got into Parliament upon their shoulders ; and when you found you could not coerce them , you brought them , at least , some of its leading membeiB ; you then got these men to bring forward resolutions to admit honorary members , who passed what motions pleased you best , and kicked out what members you choosed to point at I will give you a fact "Facts are stubborn things . " When Isaac Lawless was ousted for
Weath , you said , if there was not another member of the Meath Club to arraign him , you would do so . You did so , but the verdict wm not according to your ambition . What did you do then to have revenge . Mark ! You said you would not remain President of the Trades' Political Union if Lawless was returned a member . Accordingly , your dear Ray and your dear Reynolds , and your other dear friends—( you had not your dear Atkins then ; he was at the sign of the ram ) —on a Friday evening , without notice , passed a resolution , by which Mr . Lawless was expelled ; but the surprise of the memberu was indignantly expressed on the following Sunday evening , when the writer of thta letter , with sixty-seven other members , met at the Dublin Coffee House , and entered a protest against this atrocious act , which was published on the following week in the Register aad Fretman . I was then a zealous member of this body ; but I bare never entered it * doora since . Now , Sir , the grudge you owed Mr .
Lawless was , he having shown you up ia your true colours in 1825 , when you wanted to pension the Catholic clergy , and Bell the forty-shilling freeholders , for which you wept , and said you would rather perish on the scaffold than do so again , yet you did so in two years after , and although you bad said you -would oppose any Government by force who would dare to deprive them of the privileges which they enjoyed from tbe constitution . In my next letter I shall gladden the hearts of thousands of tbe starving poor of Ireland , by endeavouring to make them believe that if you were to die to-morrow , " Ireland would be in a better condition than when you found her ; " and furthermere , that the Radicals of England ought to strew your path with flowers from Liverpool to Leeds . I have the honour to be , Sir , not Your very obedient Servant , L . T . CLANCT . Norwich , Vox . 2 » th , 1840 .
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TO THE QUEEN'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY . " Earthly power doth then show likest God's When mercy seasons justice . " " May it please your Majesty , "—Such is the style in which your " loyal , loving , and devoted subjects" address you ; such are the terms they are taught to believe applicable to you ; nor must they Bay anything to you but with a hope that it may please you . Assuming that you are indeed " most religious and gracious , " I shall beat please you by speaking the truth and by pleading the cause of the poor .
You were the daughter of a Duke who , fer being the son of a King , bad an immense income appointed him , which was still insufficient to keep him out of debt But with true filial piety , you honourably wiped off the stigma from his memory , by discharging hia debts from your twn purse , which , as you " toil not , neither do you spin , " was filled for you by those that do both and leave themselves empty . Your uncles and royal predecessors , George and William , having successively died without legitimate issue , you heired tha crown and succeeded to it at an age when
boardingschool misses usually finish their education . A very laudable custom prevails at cattle-shows in the country . A premium ia given to the peasant who has brought up tbe largest family without burthening the parish . I believe you were an only child , and your mother was what is called a state-pauper—a character without degradation , though more disgraceful than that of a parish-pauper . When the state relieved your mother by putting you at its head , it , at the same time , increased her allowance , on the ground that she had made us tbe costly present of a Queen 1
While yet Princess Victaria , you made a tour through various parts of your prospective dominions , and your presence was everywhere hailed and folioweil by multitudes , who , if you ha 4 really been as " lovely and divine" as their fancies bnd painted you , could not have worshipped you more . Their enthusiastic devotion , and tbe self-sacrifice which it implied , frequently affected you to tears . Your mother kuows this as well as I , for she was a witness of it Never princess ascended the throne with warmer wishes for her welfare—with more private sympathy , and kindlier public trust , and never were the fond expectations of a people more miserably disappointed . Joy had paid in advance for all the blessings which hope anticipated from your reign ,- but the people soon found that they had been the dupes of their own vain imaginations . They felt that it would be unjust to blame you , and they could scarcely bear to blame
themselves . In the bitterness of their self-accusation and self-condemnation , they almost welcomed their added miseries as a proper punishment for their Belf-deception . They now saw , and acknowledged their own folly , in supposing that you would have the power , even if you possessed the inclination , to better their condition . They had deceived you as well as themselves ; fur they had hidden their miseries in your presence , and shown you nothing but that seeming happiness which they trusted you would be able to make real . Truth sternly aroused them from thia flattering dream , and , if their cruel disappointments shall have taught them to rely upon themselves , and not upon an idol , whether of wood or stone , or of flesh and blood—if bitter experience shall induce them no more to put their trust in princes , but to exert themselves , they will not have been deceived in vain . They may work out for themselves far more substantial bltasings than thsy hoped te receive from you .
I bare said you bad it not in your power , even if you possessed the inclination { which I do not doubt ) to fulfil the expectations formed of yen . I believe you would be willing , nay wishful , to be a blessing to the country , and , aa far as words go , y « u have been bo ; but it requires deeds , aad you cannot , or are not permitted , to do » em . The situation la which you are placed , not only precludes your knowledge of roar duty , bat would prevent yow practice of it—you are a puppet in the hands , of others . Tom j » u » t serve those who style themaalvea your servants—yoa mast minister to tbe will of your ministers—you must do ft , too ,
and n » t know what you do—they rule for themselves with you * , and yoa are equally their ' slave ; with the " sovereign people . " But there ia this essential difference , betw / eeu _ your condition and that of the people , that you have everything in private and public that you need or do not need—the people are deprived of all ; nor are yoa allowed to absorb so much from those beneath you for your own sake alone , but that you ins ; have wherewithal to shower on those around yoa . Like the priestess of the wiled prophet , yoa are gorgeously decked out to serve the purposes of those who delude the nation in your name . They know well that edicts , which would not be regarded , or tolerated as theirs ,
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are loyally reverenced and submitted to , when proclaimed aa yours . Your Ministers virtually abolishyour office by making it a sinecure . England is now , not under a monarchy , but under an oligarchy . We area nation of star-gazers . Oar attention ^ drawn from ourselves , and , fixed upon , shows that , in the meanwhile , we may be robbed of all that is substantial . Your reign has hitherto been a reign of delusion and mockery . The people are " sick with many griefs , " and , though one splendid procession after another of all that is gayjand grand . may be paraded before their eyes and ring in their ears , it does but beguile their attention for a moment—they sink down into deeper wretchedness . Comfort is refused them and they will not be mocked . What treat can it afford honest industry , whose labour feeds and clothes all this — ¦ -
magnificence , but who , for that very reason , must itself remain in hanger and nakedness—what delight or satisfaction can it have in seeing idleness and dissipation insolently waste what it wants ? Can there be anything pleasant iu the consciousness that all this splendour derives its chief value from the contrast which your misery presents to it aa a foil to set it off—that the more wrongfully derived and the more extreme the contrast the . more it is enjoyed ? Is it not enough to make the labourer forswear work ? He turns from the sight to brood over his destitution—to ask for justice and to think of vengeance . Government is aware of thia , and , as it is determined to " play oat the play , " and never to quit its prey , it breaks the strength and spirits of tbe working classes , and corrupts the middle-classes , with examples of hearttessueas and frivolity .
Dealing thu 3 with the working classes and the middle classes—being the open enemy of tbe former , the secret enemy of the latter—how do the Ministers act towards that factious portion of the aristocracy which seeks to turn them out that it may step in . Here again your Majesty is of essential use as a convenience . One party takes turns with the other in deceiving and oppressing the people , and both would unite to prevent the people from guarding the nucleus of their nefarious traffic . The Whigs had possessed the privilege of misgovernment and all its gainful patronage some time before and since your accession . At lost the Tories out-generaled them , and eagerly received the batons of office . But the cunning Whigs bad provided a resource in you by which to regain
their places . The Tory leader found you in the utmost distress and perplexity . You could not part with your old friends—he c » uld not withstand your tears , and was obliged to yield to your prejudices . So hare I seen a baby put into the arms of a stranger cry until restored to its nurse . Hod you been a man this could not have happened . You would have constrainedly received the new Ministers , whom circumstances hod forced npon you , and gotten rid of them the first opportunity . But you are a woman , whose weakness i ^ your strength . The Ministers who had amused you , and , by degrading you , made themselves necessary to you . trumpeted forth your amiable partiality to themselves , as affection and adherence to their principles , and might well
say" The Queen " s name is a tower of strength , Which they upon the adverse faction wont " The same prejudices , increased by time and events , operate as a bar to Tory pretensions , and , though the Tories might succeed in removing your dislike , and even in turning it against the Whigs , they will not be allowed the opportunity . The creatures about you are courtiers who will constantly provide you with amusements , and reserve to themselves all the business of the State . They kill virtue with slander , for what business has it at Court ? and instigate yea to turn your own mother out when they fuel rebuked in her presence .
You must marry , and a foreign prince—a foreign fiddlestick !—is brought over to be your bridegroom . It ia a maxim la social life , that a lady descends , or ascends , to the rank of the gentleman she marriesand he is cousidered a very mean man who is indebted to his wife for the expences of his wedding . It is like buying a husband ; but , in your case , although you are paid the largest salary of any one in the state , the people were called on to pay the Prince's passagemoney , and to secure him aa annuity of £ 50 , 000 , which , however , after much altercation , was lowered to £ 30 , 000 . To compensate him for this disappointment , this German young man is appointed a Field Marshal , although " mere prattle , without practice , Is all hia soldiership . "
The Prince " sings , plays , and dances well , "—can set off a gaudy uniform to advantage , and takes such praiseworthy cure of his person , that , though a warrior aad a huntsman , be declines taking the field when the ground is slippery . Probably he considers how much he would lose , if be should lose his life—how much that is more valuable . The haste with which Parliament granted money to build royal stables , and to endow the portionless Prince , whose title was all his wealth , like the King of the Sicilies , not so rich as an English yeoman—and the delays wbioh defer the grant for public education , are matters worthy of the people ' s deep consideration . Your Mnjesty is fond of horses , dogs , and monkeys ,
and ef Prince Albert . I do not eay that these animals should be neglected , but I protest againat them being attended to ia preference to your human subjects . A little stranger , however , has lately arrived , who will be a more successful rival of the whelps and puppies in the affections of our nursing mother , than the people were . I trust that , although , your rank and the luxuries and flatteries which surround you may have stifled nature ia yoa , the cries of your little one will awaken it again , and bring back humanity to your bosom . " The mother and babe are doing vroll ; ¦• yes , but how many mothers must bring forth in the streets —how many babea seek nourishment at dead breasts . You have all good things—they have all evil things .
One has come , and many more may follow , who , in due time , will want royal incomes , though of bo use , except to set fashions or bad examples , or to give currency to the frivolities which they adopt , or which are named after them . The unthinking people are taught to rejoice , and to look on the leaches that suck their blood as blessed things . No wonder that , while lavish expenditure is allowed to institutions which tend to weaken , dazzle , or corrupt the people , the means of education , which would strengthen , awaken , and purify them , are denied , or suspiciously withheld . Every impediment is thrown in the way of mental or moral improvement—every facility is afforded to ignorance and vice . Sentiments of patriotism and humanity are decried as vulgar—uay , as ridiculous , and are left to the people . Honesty is not pursued in policy , and honour , itself , of which kings were most proud , is now exchanged for expediency .
" All is but toys : renown and grace is dead ; The wine of life is drawn , and the mere lees Is left our state to brag of . " Our degenerate nobles are meaner than the serfs of their ancestors ; selfishness has dwarfed their souls . The people are really their superiors in what constitutes true aristocratic worth , and cannot leng be trampled on £ y them . The people now acknowledge no nobles but the " nobles of nature" —no Sovereign but themselves The just attributes of monarchy alone can impose respect or win regard ; without them , a Queen is but a doll—her crown a bauble—her sceptre a reed ; the globe in her hand a mere ball , a plaything . Yes , a republic is now rising in England with the steady revolution of the earth on its axle , and all that opposes it must set . Then may each Englishman exclaim , with the poet" I am as free as nature first made man , Ere the base laws of servitude began , When wild in woods the noble savage ran . " Madam" Obey'd as Sovereign by the subjects be ; But know that I alone am king of me . " JUNIUS RCSTICUi . Village , Dec 4 th , 1840 .
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'tm WORKING MEN'S ASSOCIATIONS . Why have working men to associate ?—why , after working hard all day , cant they rest and refresh themselves at home ?—why must they assemble together ?—Because they ore impoverished . They trust their peace , their welfare , their happiness to the care of government ; and It is unworthy of the trust—it betrays the trust—it neglects their interests—sacrifices them—they are injured , instead of benefltted by it ; let them work ever bo hard , ever so long , they remain poorthey spend their lives in rain—their wires and children suffer poverty with them—poverty ! that brings with it disease of body , disease of mind—nothing but evil . They ara net content with thfe—they cannot be content —it would be sinful to suffer this contentedly . They meet together to ascertain the cause of this , and to provide a remedy ; they find the cause ia ia government—in the government which they woik and fight
for—in an unjust government , which makes the poor the slaves of the rich , who make victims of them . Why should the people , who support , who maintain government , receive nothing in return but scorn and oppression ? Why akould they ' who are the strength of governmentbe injured by it ? la it not shameful tbatgovern < ment should act so partially—is it not ungrateful that , instead of a friend , they should have an enemy in Government '—instead of a father , a toe ?—that they should be obliged to consult together—to resort to means of self-defence—to fight the Government which they hare worked for ? They have the power to right their wrongs , and they themselves moat do it—do it at once and for ever . They have suffered long enoughfar too long ; but the spirit of a patient people ia at length aroused , and thsy will never submit until justice be done .
Government mast be remodelled ; we moat have the Charter . Those reformers who oppose the Charter are not reformers—those Christians who oppose it are not Christians : reformers and Christians will shew themselves truly such by being' Gbartista . - . Live not slaves , men of England . —be not what your fathers were . Let not the spark of liberty , now lighted in the land , fall into damp ground and be extinguished ; let it kindle into a blaze that may burn up tyranny . How many ace sacrificed by the baseness which they wish to reform —how many fall victims to their own integrityhow many lose their liberty because others are willing slaves !
" When English mothers shall gire birth to men , Then may she be restored , but not till then . " J . W
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- ¦ ¦ ¦ ' BEELZEBUB'S BANQUET . TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN STAR . Sir , —So it appears the foxes and geese are , maugre all their noise , bustle and botheration , still ia the back ground ; the working classes will not swallow their specifics , though recommended by the celebrated Doctor Plural-unit of scribbling notoriety , who , as a professional gentleman , assures the public that Mercury is not a component part of the medicine now rended by Messrs . Marshall , Stansfeld , and Co ., at their establishment , that is to be . The " slave class " ^ - — =. *
have not forgot the fraud practised upon them by these charlatans during the Reform Bill mania . They know now sedulous these empirics were in puffing tha " Bnssell purge , " and they know , to their sorrow , that its effects have been such as to hurry the body politic to the very threshold of death . Whether Mercury forms a portion ef the ingredients or not , it ia fully ascertained that the most deadly poison is used in the preparation of every nostrum prescribed , oi recommended , by the Whig clique , ot which the Club is the excrescence , or refuse .
Well , what are the poor chap-fallen creatures to do Are they to sink into nothingness ? No , no , tba % will not answer the purpose of certain parties yet behind the curtain ; they must retain their worthless entity , if it be by the promulgation of the most glaring sophisms , or the practice of the most palpaUa trickery . Sophistry has been tried , and , to thei * chagrin , has been completely exploded , through the medium of the Star , and , to conclude the farce , Fox Stansfeld and mendacious Neddy are sea-sawing to a disgusted auditory on their broken fiddles . However , as a dernier resort , they have resolved to have a "feed , " at which the Big Boggarman is to cut a cii » - spicuous figure . I certainly think that the foxes have
evinced a little judgment in this part of the matter , as a more "fit and proper person" could not b » found , hud they ransacked every corner of the habitable globe . The Club have no principle , neither has Dan . The Club is a small band of profit-mongers , and every ramification of Sau ' s political conduct has centered in personal aggrandisement . The Club ia ostensibly intended to promote the cause of Reform , but in rea ' . itp to burk the Charter . Dan has Reform ever ou his lips , while his every act is inimical to the public weal . Dan is , in fact , the " roaring lion who goeth about seeking whom he may devour . " I < et him devour the meats and the drinks provided for him by the foxes and geese , but I trust the working men of Leeds will show the monster that he shall not
devour Chartism , however capacious his maw may be . We must not allow Leeds to be polluted with the presence of that lump of corruption without doing our duty , and , as a working man , I hope my own order will be up and doing . We must have a public gathering while the ' roaring lion" is within reach . We ewe him much for his kind attention—all England owes him mnch , and it is meet that we should commence paying him the " rint" in Leeds . On the great day of gormandizing , we ought to give the Old Gentleman a zest for his praties , by compelling him to meet us working men face to face in open day , and eithsi show us that his zig-zag mode of proceeding in his political career has been one straightforward course , or at once submit to the brand of traitor and impost ** .
Let as send an invitation to the Liberator I ! ! ! couched in rtspedjtd terms , for , no doubt , he would desire things done respectfully , and we might show him that working men have a little idea of the rules of etiqnett * as well as the foxes and geese whose " eyes are open . " But in cose he should treat us with contempt we might send a file of men down to bis den and draw forth the lion by the mane ( but not to harm his old carcase ) and bring him to the scratch . I hare no hesitation in saying that in Leeds there are fustian jackets and blistered hands who will be found prepared tograppla with the beast Operatives , be active—do your duty . Yours , truly , William RidkA . Leeds , Dec 8 th , 1840 .
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TO THE KDITOB OF THE NORTHERN STAR . SIR , — -In answer to numerous inquiries and invitations from various places in England and Scotland , allow me to state that I shall be liberated on Wednesday , the 23 d « f December , and enter Manchester on the 25 th ( Christmas day ) . I cannot give any answers when I shall visit other places , until I arrive in Manchester . To the people of Scotland , allow me to stata I cannot visit them before the latter end of January , or the beginningof February , 1841 . Then I shall be at their service . —I remain Your obedient Servant , R . J . Richardson .
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TO THE PEOPLE OF THE COUNTY OF DURHAM . WIIAIAMS AND BIKNS . FEiLOvr-CoosTRYMEN , —I address this letter to you , because the subject on which I write is mon interesting to you than to the otiier ports . of the country . You all know Williams and Binns l You h&v * listened with admiration te their glowing appeals to your patriotism . Yon bare seen and felt the many splendid sacrifices they have mode in the cause of your Charter . They hare silenced tbe voice of faction in their neighbourhood , whenever it baa dared to impost upon you ; and commanded your support as well by thair private virtues as their splendid talents . For nearly three ye&ra hare they made head against th «
malignancy of the !* cold-blooded persecutors , and sacrificed their private interests for the public good . At lost , their trial for tpeaking the truth has cost them nearly one hundred and fifty pounds , through successive postponements , and a jury of the middle class have been the means . ot imprisoning them tor six months in a Whig gaol , and breaking up for a tim » as far as possible the business in which they wera embarked ! Oh 1 this is cruel 1 Oh ! this is base 4 Remember these younj ? men are not incarcerated foe theft or murder , but fer speaking with a good intention what they thought was right And Williams and Bitms are inmate * of a gaol for this ! Well , the time draws nigh when they will be restored to that people
from whom they have been torn , and it is our bounden duty to ' . reward them for their sufferings in a good causa . But how can we do this 7 We can gather our thousands from our streets to welcome them wita blessings as they return , but this is not xll we can do . Our cheers will not replenish their heme that has been ruined or their empty purses plundered by their and your enemies . We moat hare something more than empty parade , at enthusiasm to make their honest hearts aa joyful as our own , when they appear before us . And I would suggest that a sum of mosey b « presented to these patriotic gentlemen fr « m the men and women ef the county , to re-establish them in their business , and by so doing increase their usefulness . .
Let tbe Charter Associations appoint a committe * for each plaoe , and let their business be as follows : — 1 st Pnt a subscription-book or paper into tbe hands of some honest ' man in every trade and workshop , t * collect weekly for Williams and Binns ' s Fund . 2 nd . Let the collector in each trade or shop pay his weekly subscriptions into the hands of the Secretary of the Charter Association where be lives . 3 rd . Let the Society of each town , colliery , or village appoint a delegate to attend at the prison gates on th « 25 th of January next , to present the two victims with whatever may be collected . :
Thus , by a little exertion , these two young patriots will be in as good condition when they come out as when they were first pounced upon by the Government And why should they not ? They are honourable men . Where is the man that would refuse hia aixpenc for such a purpose ? Men of the county . ' you hare ever been generous ; sse that you never be unjust Do your duty to these men , for they have done their duty to you ; Is there to be no reward fer integrity but chains ? No home for patriotism bub a dungeon ? Let not a moment be'lost , then . You have just six weeks to prove your worth—your immortality . ' I appeal to yoa all , not only of Durham , but to the Chartists of England , to see that Melbourne shall not " ruin them with expences t "
I have not apprised these gentlemen of my plan or my letter , for I know their natures would not consent , uuder whatever hardships they might endure , to har » their grievances advertised amongst you . Let not their uncomplaining spirits lull as to sleep , but let it rather increase our exertions to rescue thorn from destruction . Villany deserves contempt ; but , for God'saake , let nit virtue be ruined . To work then ; collect ! collect 11 collect !! 1 A Middle-class Caartist .
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Accident at Messrs . Combe amd Dblavibld ' s . — On Saturday afternoon , about four o ' clock , two-men named Thomas and Roberts , who . have tor many fears been in the employ of Messrs . -Combs and ) elafield , the extensive brewere , . of , Castle-street , Long Acre , were engaged ' cleaning a ] Mxge vat , when , on a sadden , the iron railing , on which thej stood gave way , and they fell from a heightoiabout thitty , eeven feet , to the grouad , with neat riolenc * . Tho unfortunate men on being picked up presented * frightful appearance , and they were instantly conveyed to the Westminster iiQspital , wjiere tiwy U » frith scarcely any hopes of recovery .. '
A test Stbangb and alarming oirenmstaaee occurred in a gentleman ' s house in Warwick-street , Laurieaton , on Tuesday' evening last . It appears that a little after dnsk the servant maid , who was employedat her work between a light and the window , happened , most providentially , to make a slight movement , when a ballet"broke . the glass , passed through the apartment , and maue a farge indentioa in the wall immediately opposite to the broken pant . This , of course , occasioned the greatest alarm to the inmates , as not tbe slightest reason oonld be assigned for anyone committing such . an atrdeiona act by firing in this reckless manner . If the shot waB fired with the intention of killing the servant girl } it wag well aimed , and would certainly have struck ler hat she not made the slightest movement mentioned a $ the moment the ballet passed her . The police ar « making active search , but without SeoU—Gkuavm J ' ui .
Anginal Corregpontjenc*. __ —
Anginal CorregpontJenc * . __ —
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THE NORTHERN STAR . 7 . — ••' -
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"Errata . —In Letter IY ., for Upper Lananark read Upper Lausitt -In Letter VI ., for strap looms read shop looms .
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Dec. 12, 1840, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct532/page/7/
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