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Northern Star (1837-1852), 17th April 1841, Edition 3 of 5, Page unpag, Untitled Article

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    • IHE NORTHERN STAit SATURDAY. APRIL 17, 1841.
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      Untitled Article

      HARRA" 3 TvT 3 OF SXXTCHZZ > & , TEE

      isauscsasss AS RELATED BY HIMSELF . . I mo the son of George and Hannah Mitchel ' , of Shacbie-strc ^ t , Barosley , in tbe We ; -t llidiu ? of the conaty of York . I was bora at Barns-ley on the 12 th of November , " id 2 i , and ara , constqaemiy , Jtow but jast turned 17 years of sga . I am one o ; ifieen children , though no * all by " 'he enae mothtr , 8 By lather wa 3 married twice . I hare three ¦ brofcbers and eigbi sisters now- living . Two of my fawners are married , aad living at , or near Bartsley , and both are steady and respectable characters —would to God thai I h * d followed iheir worthy cample , &ad n > y teadcr and virtuous parents ' * dvies J

      My brothers axe both masons . TWO of my Sisters are married , the rust are residue With their parents ; and , although I hare been unfortunate , I mean to s » y that there' is not a better couducied family , of a poor man ' s family , in Yorkshire . My parents removed to York when I w * s fenr years o d , as my father found it difficult , in his war of basaess , ihat of a bricklayer , io get woik in Birnaley . He earn * to the ciiy to work under his brother , a master bricklayer , who still resides in York , and be&re a most upright aad honest ckaracier . We lived at }\ o . 1 , H ^ pe-strter , for a . boTit three years and a half . Dunn * the whole of thai peri&d I attended & Quaker * * School ia the neighbourhood of our residence . 1 acquired a knowledge Of read lag and spelling , but not of writing , at tha " .

      place o : ' instruction . At the end of that time my p * renu returned to Birnsky , and I was then put out to a day school , kep ; by a ilr . Knight , but I remained there only three or four w&eks , being turned away from the school by the master for bad conduct ; and ibis , as far as 1 can recollect , is the first aci which has led io my unfortunate notoriety . One day , before I was t « relve years of age , I was trolling about the neighbourhood of Barnsley , when I chanced to meet with a man who asked me where I was going . I told him I did not kr . ow , bat that I waated something to eat . The man said that if I would go ¦ with him to a public-house ho would give me plenty both to eat and to . c . rmk— I followed the man , whan he tol-d me that" I should lave no : hing to do but to eat and dnnk as much as I liked if I wonlc only stav . with him .

      I saw ihit the man was 3 gipsy , aad at the pub-Ec-house I got so drunk that the gipsy had to lake me away in bis ancs . I fell fait asleep , aud , upon waking , I found « yself in bed , under a cs » p , in a lane . . Next Horning I saw threeliule children with them , about three o ? four years » ld . The ^" " psiea told Ee that I was to do what-erer they ordered im w do . The party consisted of four men , f » ur wjates , three children , and myself , so that we were twelve in all . I was first employed in stealing grass oat of the "fields to feed their horses ; tha ; was what I commecc&d with . They divided , daring the d&y , into three parties , and went about the country ; they always resursed at night , and they never came bacK

      without a quantity of provisions wivh tht . ni , such - » s large pieces of bee ? and muncn . When I had been engaged for about three weeks in stealing grass for the horses , they . took me with them to sell pots -and glass among the farm-houses and at vi la ^; B . When I was sent by mjself upon these occasions , my instraraons ¦ were to steal as many geese , duok « , and fowls , 2 nd things of ali spri 3 , as I could possibly lay hold cf , whili i vra . s going about Edliug pots . My plan was to throw a heavy stick at them , a ^ d .-o disable . hem , and afiervrard 3 place them in tl . e panniers on the a ? s which was laden with pot £ . 1 placed th ^ m under the pots . I rras expected ta bring boms three or fonr fowls , ai l * ast , every night , and if I fell short of tha * . cumber , I was ' much grumbled at and found fault with ; but I g- ; neially contrived to keep them in good

      humour on that score , as I was always parr-cnlarly attentive aad suceesafai . My living , in facr , altogether depended upon my succiss in thieving , bscanse if 1 brought nothing home tt > the eaup a ; nigtu , I rh- 'Uid beg , steal , or starve , as they made it an invariable rule rever ts give me a morsel upon nights thai 1 returned es > p : y-iianced ; ssd there : s ihe ^ restes ; difficulty ia avuidirg detection , as , wh-.-n a chap kr ; OTT 3 ihat he is to get nothing to ecit ii ' be brings Eoihing , if he is imprudent , he will be apt , iowar-is eveniig , to run risks and chances , rather thai go : o bed hungry . But I had , even wh .-n 1 was hun ^ Ty , afier s \» ng day ' s tramp , tdways the fc ^ r of bringing disgrace on my parents aqd iaiaily , i ? I was foani on : ; and many md niaay is the time that that very feelirg fcas made me prefer a hungry belly to the chance of i » jurisg my uear

      parents . The pot sailing was but a mere cover for thieving without beinj so ^ pecte-i , bnt I did OCCasioHa'iy Bell and always obtained good prices . Besides fowls , I was expected to bring home anythiEg that cams in my way , such as iittle p ;; , ' 3 , * a lamb , or a sheep , if dark , and that I had nothing else and we were in a lone place and slmk of pro-• visioss . Noihing came amiss to then ) , however it was procured , and I believe that the vslue of anything was very much increased by the danger that we ran in stealing it .

      At nigh :-, when it was quite dark , but never before , itie whole foice of ti _ % that i « xiie men ax ; d injselr , us&d to start oat upon a regular system of plunder . When we were near a market town and met a per = OD , whether walking or on hGrseback , we invariably atsppe-d hiia ard robbed him of everything lie fcad . We took carenerer to be less than three together , asd wo alway 3 had pistols , knives , hand-Ft " , Tc -s , and bayonets at the end cf the pistols —is short , we could not bs better armed , and were always ready , while the w ^ ght of our arm * , in co = 3 j > f surpri ^? , did not , in the least , impede our retreat . We always made fT a lonely place , and wodd scamper across the fields , arid along lanes and roads , in view of a ptrson on a goad horse , till we dogtec him to some lonely place , and then we met him ai ; d robbed him . I hive Lever known one to escape .

      Tii&agh I E » ver 5 a ? r a mzn sbol by any of ; hcparty , yet I kivs freqacatly seen men severely hurt by my compaiiic'iis , zni left on the road for dead , ihey u » ci vj stab them with knives s ^ d bayonets aad sar . is ihem with thtir stave ? , but they were Tery cauriou 3 ol firing , tor ? e * r oT giving a ' jxni , aud were very panicnlar in never corasiittic ^ 3 uj deprediticiiS sear the camp , where th ' . women and ciiil-• dren were . The exactness with which th ;> y found the way on dark ni ^ hss to strange encampments , in a lone country , rtraek me as being very carious ; but , I fouud Out that th ? y used , at first , to cold hor . ~; j aad donkeyE grazing en the road ride , for a f ; w days after they took up a new position , aud thus became acquainted with sH the iauts , cross-roads , aad lone nou 3 e 3 ia the neighbourhood . * Bcin ^ so li / ri ; and nimb ] e I was always employed in pitKias ; the pockets of those we robbed , wLle they were or , the grsond , or as best I couid mau ^ e to ee : a ; tb = 2 j .

      Tuese lubberies , upon a larce soale , took place gener ^ liy jkbou : once or twies a tvetk , and ihc amouu ; of soncy s'oLn was considerable . I have known £ ioj tu be go ; upon oneoccasiuu ., nsver more than mat , a ; d the sum tras obtained varied ia amount irom £ 100 to £ 5 U , £ 40 , £ 5 , and down to £ 1 , just according to vrhat the pireon happened io haTc about Elm ; for we always got all , and some of uio clothes , ii they were worth having . I haT < j never , ia . £ . ay iuiiauca , known tlifm fail oi brifi ^ ia ^ hosa = ioae cash , s' . oleu in the manner I have described , from persons coming home from market . I hare many times seea persous so attacked , hurt and TTonsded to tha : decree , that I thought they were ie t . for dead . I cannot say whether or not aay of th : 3 acraaL ' y d ' . td . Sojaefcrncs a re ^ u ' ar

      resistance wotld take plaee and a fight wouia i < Alow , lue ; : EJ c&xrpinjcns always used thtir wcipous without izsrcy , and struck without any heed or eare of H : e to ^ &Eqairees . Tne mister of the gipsies we always called by the name of " Dick Sillers . " There was auo '^ her man among ihem we called " Bnuuma ^ cm Jack . " The WMBea cohabited with the men ; they & ' = o went out hfwkin ^ pats , as I did , au « i reiuraea home some with fojvis and other b& » $ y , like myself . The three little boys , who I often thought were = tolsa , though I never knew it for a positive fact , us&d to beemployed in collecting bticks to kindle the fire with . They used to be very cheerful , for the men and women took care always to £ ire them plenty to eat , tweets , aad fruits , and tvervihing that was nice and

      Tney never remained more than a weekin one place , and when we removed we went abvu ? ten or fifteen miles , or sometimes twenty miles , off , and then invariably began at the same kind of plunder that we had just left . Tee men used ofiea to brin * stolen horses home at n ^ ght , whiea they could so disguise that it was quite impossible for any one to know his own . They used to fire them , clip them , bore a hole through their ears , shortea and pall their tails , box their mane ? , and disfigure them by other ontrivaiicea , so that a nau would bay his own horse without ever Faspecting him to be th ' e same . These hones they would taie out of the fields at dark , aad text morniag . Tery early , at three or four Vcloek , titter would take them to the next fair or market , a&d dispose of them as early as possible . I never faffwanr of tkem to be taken op , or suspected of dealing horn * , or anything elm , although stealing wm their regular trade . We hare often had as Kaay as sev « n gooi horses and 6 » me donkejs at once , sad all stolen .

      Tie inea would sometime * blacken their faces , and ditgnvge them ^^ lfte in oVher aad various ways , so ikU no one could erer know them again . One man tt the party was a regslar blackamoor . They always had plenty of money , and used to spe&d it very freely when in towa . I ha . ve © very wasoa to think that they frequently robbed geatlefceiAiouseg cf pbt « and other valuable articles , as I h ^ T »; eftea , kjwwn them to ckange such like r ttgtpi for ^ tei c&n&j pots , and other things , as •^^ 9 " fqt ferajfa ^ fat where they got them I could ¦ £ Spres * at , asl BBppose Aey were afraid to take "Wtpeiiaaced . persons to rob house for fear of beia £

      Untitled Article

      detectfcd if the a . ajin was given , and all were not able to retreat . Ice women were all evidently loose girls that had been on ' . he town , aud u never once struck me that they could be the mothers of the three children I have before alluded to , because the children appeared to be DiQch better bred up than the women , and had si ^ iii of respectability in their usual talk , modo of aadrc-s , fce ., so that I never had a doubt but they were the children of respectable parents , stolen , or enrieed from tbeir families bj the women when strolling about the lanes and paths in lonely parts of the country ; which laaj be very easily done by aking them from servant girls , the oae stealing the

      child while the servant is having her fortune told in a lone bye-way , by the other , of- which , and by which means , they maka much money , and get a preat deal of information about the neighbourhood . No one will believe how resolutely these gipsy women will stick to a point , and how stealthy and cunning they go about anything they have a mind for . When they are seemingly apart , yet two or three are always in sight of each other , and as they are Ies 3 suspected than other people , from their dress and their forwardness in cocoiug towards you , insiead of turning away when they are seen , it makes them very bold . " They always appear to be doing something , and always have something to sell .

      I have frequently pitied the poor little children , and often wonrit red what their parents must feel for their loss . Indeed , I wanted one of them to go with me , when 1 was about leaving my gang to join ¦ another party of gipsies , but as he would not come , 1 put off goiog al = o . It was a very , common thiDg to see them come to the camp at night with a heifer or a cow ; they would burn letters on them for a disguise , and take them w > the nearest market next morning for sale , same as the horses , also sieep and calves ; but we did most business in horses and beasts , as they travelled best .

      We went in various direction abont the country ; at one time we were within thirty miles of London , and our farthest trip to the north was within about twenty miles to the north of York . We were alss in the neighbourhoods of Manchester aad Liverpool , frequently where -n o did a great deal of business in the way of thieving ; but oar best trade was in the neighbourhood of Birmingham , as we fouud , in that town , a much readier quit for our stolen articles . At Birmingham , a thiei may sell or exchange anything with safety .

      In this way I spent about two years , in picking pockets , stealing and thieving everything 1 could lay mj hands upon , kiliing fowls , and , in short , committing plunder in auy way that opportunity off . red . AIL that I received for this was my actual support among them , aud that according to my activity and service . As to . clothing , I was fitted out ju 3 t like all ihe resi , and upon the same terms , with the cloth that -we used to steal from the cloth hawkers in country towns . So it was with our blanket ? and everything else in the way of clothing or covering .

      In suLimvir time tse men would sleep at a publichouf' ? , or at the most respectable inn in a town , for they were well dressed , and would pass for respectable footmen , servants , chaise-boys out of place , orfarioas other businesses , which made the people not suspect them . These houses they invariably rubbed of everything they conld lay their bands upon , and , if met by the inmates , next day , they never would know them . In the winter we ail camped together , and the men and myself went out prowling all night long . ( To be continued in our Ttexl . )

      Ihe Northern Stait Saturday. April 17, 1841.

      IHE NORTHERN STAit SATURDAY . APRIL 17 , 1841 .

      Untitled Article

      THE YUUSG LIAR OF THE NORTH . It is now tweuty years or more since tha immortal Ccbbltt s » appropriately christened our fallacious neighbour The Great Liar of the North ;" and , as ill weeds ^ rov ? apace , we had every right to expect some produce from the parent stock , We know that the Leeds" " Nlddv , " and the Manchester " Flanders mare , " cculd not remain bo ioag within reach of each other without produc ' iD- ; a jtr . net of some sort or other . We are now happv to tell the naturalist that onr hopes have been realized in the full development of its ancestral propensities * byalittls dirty brat yclep'd The Anti-Corn Law CWcular . Iudeed , if our friend doesn ' t look bharp , the child will bsat its papa .

      It is not only a saamf , but & Bin to BpaTe the red and spoil the c ' aiid ; " and , in truth , we take no small bUme to ourselves for not having sooner chastised the little reprobate . In its musty tale of last week , " the Young Liar of the North" chattm somethiag about Chartist leaders being hired by the bread-taxers , which , no doubt , the bread-eater had heard his parents , or ^ 'iardi&ns , or nursemaids talking about . See , then , how foolish to talk before children . The liUle ra-cal patches up a lamo story from the evidence of another Patche , who was examined be ' oro a

      Committee of the House of CcmiEons , upon the Walsal ! election , with reference to the slovenly manner in which the two late honourable candidates bribed , aud committed sundry other aristocratic pranks ; aud it appears that one Nightingale , from Manchester , in company w ; th one PtTEa Wk . kins , Usother of Coibett ' s chr : itcnbg , ) was hired by the Tories to spout or them ; ai * d then the brat says that NiGHTHiOALE is a Chartist leader , and he concludes his nonsense thus t— " Nightingale is one of the heroes of its ( the Northern SlarJ pages , and his exploits at Walsail were the theme of it 3 loade&t plaudi : s . "

      You lying little monkey—you dirty little brat ) Can you find the curse of Nightingale four times mentioned in the Nothern Star in nearly as many years 1 Can yon find it once aoutioned as a Chartist , cr even hiuted at by us in connection with the Walsail election ? Answer that , Youug Neddt-Jack-Taylob ! You know , you young imp , that Nigbtixgale is not a Chartist leader—cever was a Chartist leader , and never will be a Chartist leader .

      You mistook the pa ^ es ihe Star for your papa ' s lying journal , wherein was published Mr . O'Co . v sell ' s "piaudits" of ilr . Nightingale . You must go ' . hare , you cripple , to look for Mr . 2 * igbtiisg ale " s character . You kuow that no Cnartibt leader has ever been hired by Whig or Tory , without b ? ir . g instantly drummed out of the Chartist cimp . Witness the " Russians . " You know that the

      Chartist leader ? , who have defeated your whole araiv , have been , oce and all , working men , aud you naturally feel the smart of your humiliation . You little cur ! your masters have tried to hire Ch . irtist leaders , and they couldn ' t get one ! thoy picked up one Moslet from ike ranks , aud what has bicome of him ? That has been their only purchase , and they had a lob in him I We wish them joy of him and you !

      You say that you know the exact sum of money that Nightixgai-e got for his expences to Walsail . What do we care for that ? Can you tell us how much ilr . Aclasd get to bear his expences from Hull and Brittol ? and what he will charge for a visit to either of those town ? , or to Leeds , or the West or East Riding of Yorkshire ? He is one of your leaders ; and he will tell you not to throw stones from his wing of he house , at all events . You call Dr . Wade a Chartist—perhaps you call yourself a Chartist of the right sort . Your praise of Lovett , Vikcbnt , aud Collins is rather unfortunate , inasmuch as the Convention , of which they were members , resolved that you should be opposed .

      Bat , young cub , answer us just this one question . You are hare-haaters , whose practice it is to try back when theyloose the game ; we are fox-hunters , whose custom it is to cait a-head . Now , in tryiqg back , why miss * single gap through which the game has passed ! Why jump from 1841 to 1815 , and not try 1819 ? Can you answer that 1 If the Corn Laws be unholy , and we admit it , what WM Pzxl ' s Bill , which was to the moneymongers an equivalent for the Corn Law Bill of the land-m ^ gera I Why p * ss that over ! There is £ 30 in every £ 90 at once , which requires no abstruse

      calculation , no balancing of foreign and domestic interest , bat a plain question of pounds , shillings , and pence , which every man can understand , and no raw can mystify . Why not try that gap 1 Ah ! because it is too plain for humbug . Ought you to kill one of the Siamese youths and allow the other to live 1 No , no ; kill the one , whose putrid carcase will soon kill the other . Kill Peel ' s Bill , and the other will s&on die cf stench ; but kill the Cora Laws , and Peel ' s becomes a hundred-fold evil . It leaves it in the power of every pensioner , taxeater , Boldier , fiin&curist , aud state super , aad

      Untitled Article

      monoy-monger , to purchase jjst three times as much of the po » r mail ' s labour for his settled income , as he could before . ! Begin at the pounds , shillings , and pence , and then see what the Chartist Leaders will do for you . Now do this , or for ever hold your gab . There are two ends to the stick , the right and the wrong er . d we have got hold ot the right end , and we are so whacking a * d thumping you , you jrt > or wretches , that you don't know whether you staud on your head or your heels , or which way to turn ; and while you are essaying to malce the Corn Laws a religiouB question , yon most religiously commence With a M Lie . " " Young Liar of the North , " we have taken bo much from one leaf of your book , aad now we shall proceed to take a scrap from another leaf .

      In the Jurenile Moaster ' s . Nursery TboughtBnpon the duty of the " Plague , " ( come , that ' s a good aaae for the League , ) we find tho following ( f » r them destructive , bat to our party ) mo 3 t wholesome advice . In talking of singleness of purpose , the brat says—" They must avoid the error of the goodhearted , bustling Martha , who was * careful and troubled about many thiugs . ' They must B « ek to discover that especial task which they are fi-ted to discharge , a » suredthat , by directing themsslves tb that * one thing which is needful , ' they are rightly serving that end for which they were sent into tha world . " Thanks , gTeat thanks , precodoiis yonth i for thy juvenile approval of the identical principle upon which the Chartists have acted through *« t .

      Now , then , it follows , as a matter of course , that the " one thing which is needful" is ' tha thing which should absorb our every attention . This limits our labours to the simple consideration as to which of the two questions shall be givea up by the Chartists ; as the agitation for one would damage the other , and reduce us to the sad plight off the " good-hearted , bustling Martha . " Upon this subject we fanty tkere will not , at least among Chartist ? , b « two opinions . So far so good .

      Now , jnsfc a word by way of reply , to the whole " Establishment" in general , and the Anglo-Saxon and " Young Liar of the North ' in" particular , upon the subject of Chartist interfermce at anti-Corn Law meetings . In the commencement of the campaign , the Chartists atteuded those meetings , by whomsoever called ; they discussed the several questions and resolutions proposed , with temperance and good taste ; they merely voted for the affirmative or the negative , aye or no ; but -when the Chartists discovered that ten pair of kid-skin gloves , and ten gold rings , upon shop boy ' s fingers ai > d thumbs , under the nos « of a ehort-sighted ,

      swiveleyed Mayor , counted for hundreds of blistered hands , too dark to be seen in the distance , the owners of those English hands began to call out " fair play , " " fair play . " In many cases , and particalaily in one instance , in Glaf-gow , where those sy .-ioitiatic patriots counted their house , the people found t ! : at the Provosts and Mayors were owls by caudle-light , though sharp as hawks by day . Even this the Chartists bore for a long time , nntil it was discovered that tho treachery of ex officio Chairman caused alarm aud discontent in the minds of some of the conscientious Repealers . To lull so dangerous a -suspicion it then became necessary to bully the Chartists , which was successfully tried

      at Liverpool , upon a large scale , and as tuccestfully retorted io London , Manchester , Loeds , and other places , upon as large a scale . The ChartistB were not slow at discovering that this want of vision in Es-officio chairmen , backed by the whole force of the " Establishment , " was calculated to give the " Phguo" a triumph at every meeting . Thus was Chartism to have bten swamped in a Repeal of the Corn Laws . For a short period these very circumstances did actually intimidate our friends , and add to the iniolenca and intolerance of our rampant enemies ; until at length , ( dependants , spurred on by the rude example of their employer , ) Mr . Sydney Smith actually had recourse to knocking off hats , and other ongcntlemanly violence .

      The Ex-officios refused tlio people the use of their own buildings , to take a negative or affirmative vote upon their own resolution ?; and in many cases , where an Anti-Corn Law meeting was divided , it waa discovered that ten , twenty , thirty , and even a 3 many as fifty to one have been against motions , said to be carried by the Ex-ojgicws . We require no proof beyond the unanimous testimony of working men to substantiate our charges ; but , should any bethought necessary , we saw with our own eyes , and heard with our own ears , at the recent Leeds Demons ! ration , thpcrosscsi ,

      most palpable , and ui ! gentlema . nlikd cheat ever attempted to be practised . ' Wo subsequently saw puSlished , as there-solutions of a meeting of more than 10 , 0 » 0 persona , a string of stuff that was whispered , amid a storm of hisses , in tho cars of a man who was voted not to be in ihc chair . Thus , if proof beyond the honest testimony of honest work-ing men be itq ' . iirtd , we hav * had oral and ocular demonstration of the fact ; add to vhia the declaration o ' Mr . Walter , as Chairman , that a protest merely read was carried .

      What alternative had we under s \ ieh circumstances , but to move an impartial Chairman , ani declare our principles , not by a negative vote upon a dap-trap resolution , but upon the affirmative oithew ! principles ? How were we to meet '" angry feeling , " and " passionate invective , " bat in kind \ Ayo , and should the advice of An ^ lo Saxoa" be nosed upon , we will meet blow with blow , lu ^ i-al forco with moral force , and physical force "with physical force , when unconstitutionally uned , This eyft ^ tu was also resorted to by hired and unprincipled lecturers . Just let the " Young liar of the North' ' Look 071 ihispiclure , And then on this .

      Mr . Sydney Smith , that It was swinounce ; ' that fearless champion of the Mr . Sydney hiuith v » : is to poorroaa ' s riglita , Isss been deliver an address upon incessant in his advocacy the suVjset of tin : Coru ef the ciustJ nearest every Laws , I : isl ; . igl . t ; it Berpoot man's heart , there- momlsey ,: iu > l the vu . kiiii ; p . al of the odious , uncliris- classes c& : isi < le ; J ! ig thomtian , ungodly , inhuman teives as the r ; i tie : * most Cum Laws . This talented inttrcct-dintb- - . i . vciii 5 s ^ n , orator lectured every night mustered , in gre : iS nuiiibvre . during tha past week , to Ab ; 'Ut ei . ? . t o ' clock the crowded and highly de- lecturer aviiv ^ i . watsn Mr . lighted audiences of the B ; 4 rlt ) TCf > r : i Io k tho chair , ¦ w orking classes , in differ- nnd announced Mr . Smith

      entpartso'tue Jit'tropolis , to the mtet . ug . Previous and , in every instance , the to the commencement of lecturer was heard with business , Mr . Wall , a tba greatest attention Chartist , a ^ ked the Ciiairthroughout his able expo- man if discussiou would sure of the inferaa . 1 Ir . ws be jisiowt-d , to which ho which rob the poor for the repii . d , " No ; certainly benefit of tha rich ; and , not ; ihe bills announced a at tho close of each meet- lecture by Mr . Sydney ing , the assembled thou- Snath who hus ens / uyed the snnds retired highly de- room . " lighted -witn the proceed- Mr . Wall : " Will ilr . ings , afcer giving three Saiith answer questions tunes three cheers for their which may bepr \> j . ) OK ed by indefatigable champion . the meeting ?••

      Chairman : " No ; decidedly not . " Mr . Wall : " Arcthere to be any resolutions ?" Chairman : " O , no ; Mr . Smith is of opinion that resolutions lead to argument , and it ie quito necessary that the working men should appear to be unanimous . " Upon the latttr annourjeemect , several Chartists about the chair expressed their disapprobation , vhen 3 Ir . Smith knuckcci one man ' s hat off anil cunmienctd » violent attack , upon the Chartists generally . Now , you ecape-graco S "how are you offfor soap S " and Chartist leaders !

      In conclusion , don't forgot your assertion ; we pin yon to it ; produce your proof of the Star ' s loudest plaudits" of Nightingale , or wearyournamo cheerfully as "Young Liar of tho North . " In your own words , and directed to with your own hand upon the wall , thus £ ar » " We dofy you . " The " Young Liar" thus concludes : — QW " Our friends of the press will , w& tope , give all the publicity in their power to tho doings of these men , ia order to put their deluded followers on their guard . " So Bay we , " Young Liar t" Publicity is all we want to crush you to atoms . As a matter of conree , the Artful Dodger ( Chronicle ) aud the Golden Sun have taken the

      article , body and sleeves , from the " Young Liar . " Will they publish our answer f Not they , indeedthe slaves .

      Untitled Article

      THE CONVENTION AND THE EXECUTIVE . From the letter of the Executive , which we published last week , we fear they have mistaken our previous caution for their protection , and that they mistake responsibility for dot ; . We object to any responsibility which may subject them to jealousy being imposed npon them ; but we would still more object to auy fastidiousness in the discharge of an imperative duty . There ia no responsibility in drawing names from a hat ; but there is a duty

      which somebody must discharge , and for the discharge of which ihe Executive is , we think , eat qualified . We trust , therefore , that they will call » public meeting for the most convenient and earliest day , to reduce by ballot to the required number , the number of persons chosen to sit on the Convention , in order that w « « iay give iimd * notice in our next . While we would Becure them fr «« responsi bility , wo would expept a fearless discharge of duty . This is the moot simple that conld he imposed .

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      WAIT A WEJB . We are near , very near , the beginning of the end . It is an old and not a bad saying , that " when pftyerty comes iu at tht door , love flies out at the triuddw . " fiat , alas { the Whigs make their friends even love by compulsion , for having forced * little " sneaking regard" through the door , they now mako theirlovers build up their windows for fear of an escape .

      Truly , Whig courtship is an odd thing . A rural ruffian forces' * Jumps of love" upon us , and Frank BABittGnicb . es it up like the frail bisters of old ; so there we are , like a horse with a cart tied to his tail , —no escape ; if he kick * he only hurts his hooks , and if he runs away he drags his load after him . Well , nevermind . Wo bava heard much of the grand effect of pressure from without , and now let us haro a trial of the eS ' ect of pressure from within .

      " It is an ill wind that blows nobody go « d , " cays the proverb , and , in good faith , our kind rulers very much resemble Borne Irish liberal landlords , who , we have heard , enable their cottier tenants to pay hi # h rents for low hovels , by placiag them as "brokers " or . " keepers , " as they are termed , over the more wealthy . " 'The ' Whigs ,-for ten years , have tried tho system of feeding one section of the community upon

      another section . The landlords got a slice of the parsons and the peasants ; the parson ? got a slice of the solid , or ' consolid , " or " consolidated fund , " whioh literally means " the calf ia the cow ' s belly . " Tho mill-owners tfot a slice , and a fat one , of their slaves ; the people got a slice of the sabre , and now the pensioners want ten per cent , of a slice of all ; and , in order to effect this , the joiners and masons will get a slice in shutting out Whig davhtrht .

      We hear of nothing now but meeting the ten per cent ., and what auy follow , bo that presently , in good earnest , John Bull ' s house will not only be his castle , but hia tomb . This is the pressure from within . % Now , all this works marvellously well for us ; every poor beggar who has been niched off may be numbered among the killed , or cut off , of tho enemy ;; while those who have been buile out are sure to joiu our ranks . Our corps is getting Tery strong ; and why not , with such a recruiting service , with General Baking as our recruiting officer , the Treasury our depot , and the honourable corps of pensioners our stall' ? Good lack 1 what a country of rogues aud paupers 1 !!

      When Mr . O'Connor was defending himself at York , he said that if tho reduction on newspaper scamps was not actual repeal of tho law of libel , it was , at all vents , a vircsal extension of license to 1 . 11 political writers , as they were supposed to write ia plain language for a common sense community ; aud ho said , that the Stamp Reduction Act was the beginning of Reform . We beliere it sincerely ; but the misfortune of the time 9 is , that the Whigd always put tho horse ' s head where the horse ' s tail ought to be . They bring their produce into the world wroug end foremost . Now , if the people had e « t a cheap

      press in 1828 , the Reform of 1832 w « uld have been a substantial , instead of an ideal reform , and inbti-ad of repairing the old road , in common with others , as > vo should havo been engaged in doing , from 1828 to 1832 , wo aro now compelled to light , single-Lauded , again * : ; the whole communitj , for a new right of pasia ^ o . Instead of dragging a light Wd ou a plain , and with help , wo are obliged to dntg an over-weight , in single harness , up an almost perpendicular hill , and in which we should utterly fail but for the kind assistance of Baring aud Coiupauy .

      A ^ air ., oui of evil comes good . " In 1839 , when the Penny Postage was in high favour , Mr . O'Con . nok , in addressing the people of Newcastle , eaid , '' You contemplate great tilings from the Penny Pc-tH ^ e ; iet me tell you what jour share Will be . Jjrt the ri ^ ht to make up almost one million auiuiallv ot a deficit saved to merchants , traders , i < ankcrs , and so forth . " Now , while tho melancholy tiiie boforo us shows that Mr . O'Connor was uot tar wrong , let us endeavour to eke our share of { ioud , certainly never intended , out of this evil . Uudcr the old system , tnen , we devot-ad about ten

      cokiiii-is weekly to -vvaat is called local news , that is , to iu . ro matters which happen within tho cheap ciicio of newspaper acquaiiuance . Men at a dis-: jLice would not pay two sliiliiugs , aud two and six-K- ' ce , tor a double letter coriitfining matter of the iHiuoat importance , and \ va would not roiease ic ¦ i . -spiiid in utter ignorance ox its contents . It will bt » borne in ciind , that many notices proclaimed those injected addresses , the more post mark iurnishing our correspondent with our only knowledge of him , and uur reiusal as our only apology . WuCli the poscaj'e was reduced to fourpeuce , our circle of

      ivcquaintanco became considerably enlarged ; and upon ii'o " penny trumpet" being sounded , our office ha 3 boon liteiaily a little post-oE ' -o , as we stated before , uoii-etimos v ^ cciviug nioro thau a hundred letters by a biritflo post , which hundred letters would not havo b ^ en written und . r the o ld system , and which , if wriuen , and paid for by us , would break us , horse , foot , and dragoons , in twelve months . Sixty pounids a weak would fall far ehort of paying our present receipt , ? , according to the old rate , and now behold our paper . Id is England , Scotland , Wales , and a peep sit a bit of Ireland , at one view . Bradford ,

      L'euf , Iluddersfield , Halifax , and our nearest mvijhbtfursj are now but a portion o £ the great Radical world , while formerly they constituted nearly our entire circle * Many will now venture a penny , even upon chance , and honce wo not unfrequeutly receive two or three reports of the same meeting , written the one in ignorance of the other . Hence , then , the impossibility of ever again " gu ling the natives ; " honce , the proof that the knowledge was there , if not dammed up with a H'Aden quicksand ; and , above all , hence our

      conviction tuat an organic ohaiigo now , with such picnier . 3 , sentinels , and telegraphs , must be a change of measures , and not a more substitution of ono set of puppets for another . Tho penny postage is a national tell-tale ; a cheap disposer of secrets ; an alarmist ; as Juniussays , " a hue and cry , which pnts the neighbours on their guard , by announcing the thief ' s approach . " The penny postage has given Chartism » shore behind , which has nearly Bent it up " Constitution HILL r " and now , wo defy any designing knave to cut the tight trace and let it down again .

      Go it , Frank ; go it , you cripple ! Ten per cent , more upon windows , customs , and excise , by all meanB ; nay , why not twenty 1 it is only a figure . Tax our livers as you have taxed our lights—nothing like it ; for every equeeza you get from the pressure from without , gira your friends a squeeze rom the pressure from within . Mister Baking , tho indirect magic of Exchequer harkquinism is gone . Whoever thy wand now strikes , he is nailed for the reckoning . Poor John has no more—you cannot get at him , directly or indirectly , dead or alive—there is no blood in a turnip .

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      Iudeed , your only mode of taxing the poor , now , for the benefit of the rich , would bo by a tax on brains . ¦ "¦'¦• " . ' ¦ ¦'* . . ¦ . ¦ , : . "¦ . ¦•'' ¦ Frank , bo assured , that nature cut you ont for a ploughman , but the Devil ran ? away with the pattern , and Dame Fortune passing by in a frolickBome mood , made a gentleman of you iu fun . Go * go , to the Upper House ; go .

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      REBELLION * SHIP-BURNING , SMUGGLING , AND RIOT , JUSTIFIED & RECOMMENDED BY THJB " CHRONICLE . " i , We give the following treasonable article from the Chronicle of Tuesday last , and we demand the Attorney General ' s interference : — "A pamphlet la in circulation , entitled ' 3 >» Hjr Bread . " ¦ which recommends to the industrious poor a new species of practical protest against the bread tax , as * likely means of exonerating themselves from its severe and unjust pressure . The scheme proposed ia for a penny subscription from so large a number of the working classes , aided by the contributions of those who also suffer from nnd are opposed to the food monopoly

      as may suffice'to freight one « r more Teasels with continental corn or American flour , and bring-it into soiiie English port On its arrival , a distribution amongst the owners to be formally claimed , and if refused , as it of course would * be . to prooeed to the public destruction of the cargo . Without pawicg any opinion on this plan , we tri&h to fix attention on the fact that * ueh a . plan is propounded and entertained , "'for ought tbat appears the process would be perfectly legal . There is no law against the investment of the smallest sums by hungry artizans in the purchase of foOd from foreigners . The -vessel so freighted might legally anchor in our ports . The petition of a thousand

      famishing families for leave to land and cat the food which they had purchased from their small and hard earnings might be a most unexceptionable document . The refusal by the Custom house authorities , or by their masters on reference to them , would also be legal , and we presume inevitable . The right of the proprietary would be unquestionable to throw their cargo overboard , though the billows of Goole harbour , or the waters of the Thames should be Whitened with the spoil ; or though the execrations of multitudes ,

      witnessing the waste while they were pinched with want , should be both loud and deep ; and if the hungry and augry thousands broke oat ; into violence , it would then become legal to read the Riot Act , call out the military , and suppress the disturbance at whatever cost of human bloodshed . Whatever the wisdom , justice , or expediency , of any one step of the process , each is yet free from the charge of unlawfulness . The proposition ia legal , and it is entertained ; that is the gist of the matter , and tke fact ipay perhaps be worth o thought . "

      A pamphlet baa also b » ea sent to our office translated from the French , by M . Thiebs , in which the writer speaks of the anchoring , in several British ports , of a numbar of small steamers freighted with muskets , pisces of ordnance , swords , and accoutrements of all sorts , on their way to America , and let the English peoplo kuow that if they take them , they should , as loyal subjects , at once give them up to the nearest authorities . " Ah ! ah ! we were perfectly aware that the moral force Whigs , who set fire to Bristol , Nottingham , and Newcastle , and threatened the King with decapitation , and paraded pictures of the Queen in breeches , would never wait for the legal , peaceable , constitutional redress of their grievances , but that our forbearance would drive them into open rebellion .

      How very , very , very , disinterested of our contemporary , the Artful Dodger , to risk life aud limb , treason and rebellion , arson and murder , with their consequences , for a peoplo who requost them not to take tho slightest trouble on their behalf . Is this act a proof that , without the people , violence alone mn t bo the argument of tyrants ! Wo moat seriously and strenuously recommend the article in the Chronicle of Tuesday last to the

      consideration of our Glasgow friends on Tuesday next , and wo trust tha !; some bold follow will , in a peaceful and dignified resolution , propose a vote of censure upon that corrupt Jouraal for thus attempting to jtopardise the peace ef the country , in order to ensure the success « f a favourite project . We trust that oar Glasgow correspondent will favour us with an early report of Tuesday ' s proceedings , a » d that such a resolution will be among them . Who , we ask , could oppose it !

      We thought it would come to this at last . But , no , no , Master Dodger ; we are not going to havo a ftw more hangings of poor men , to carry any : humbug measures for the rich one 9 . Will Easthopk bo ono , if v ? 5 get him a party ! Will he lead them on to the righteous work , of destroying -the cargo Will he do his Own bidding f If so , let him send us prospectuses for the Whig plundering recruitingservice , that wo may distribute them among the traitor middle classes .

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      " ¦ ¦ ORGANIZATION- : —ELECTION OF THP EXECUTIVE . ¦ Thb general' Couneil of the National Chart ., Association of Great Britain being now elected » is incumbent on them to take instant measures fa bringing into existence the Executive ^ fommhteeu that th © Association may be fully and fairf / - * operation . These must , by the new plan . of organ ? sation , be chosen from the General Council , w * have had several letters of enquiry as to whetb « persona were eligible for the Executive Committee not bom « members of the General Council Th « fourteenth paragraph of the PJan of Orguusau !! answers all these .

      "EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE . " 14 . That the General Council of the AbsocUm ™ sball choose fire Members of their own body to sit an Executive Committee , in manner as herein follow Every Snb-Secretary shall be at liberty to nominated candidate , on the Firtt Day of February in taen ru and five persons from among those eo nominated sfen be elected by ail the Members on the First daVrf March following . " " ¦» « Fxom this it will be seen that every Sub-Seerstap is at liberty to nominate one person and no more * Member of the General Council , as a fit and prop ** person to serve on the Executive Committee , jjj . exact form of nomination is given iu the Norther Star of the 27 th of February , aad to save any per . son the trouble of referring , lest some Sub-Secre . taries may not fill their papers , we here pVeit again : —

      "To the General Secretary of ihe National Ctefo Association of Great Britain . February l , 18—Sir , —I hereby nominate A . B . ( blacksmith } of ( 14 , High-street , Bath , ) a Member of the Genem Council of the National Charter AsaUiation of Gr $ ji Britain , as a fit and proper porsen to be elected i Member of the Executive Committee , on the Jat <]» of March next . * ™

      Signed , CD ., ( Carpenter , No . 6 , Tib-street , Manchester . ) Member of the General Council , and Sub-Secretan of the National Charter AsBOCiAtisn d Great Britain . " " A list of all the candidates so nominated , shall ba transmitted , per post , by the General Secretary , to every Sub-Secretary , on or before the 10 th Day of

      February ; the elections shall be taten on the Firrt < 3 « of March following ; and the number of votes shall be immediately forwarded to the General Secretary , who shall lay the same before tho out-going EreeutiWcom mittee for examination , an * by their order publish , within one -wet * of receiving them , the whole of such returns ; together with the declaration of the outgoing Executive Committee , of the persona duly elected . "

      These directions are so plain that we imagine thoy can need no explanation . It is the duty of eveiy sab-Secretary , upon receiving from the General Secretary the list of all the names put in nomination for the Executive , to take care that every member of the society , residing in his locality , shall hava an opportunity of voting for such five persons out of that number , as he may think , to be the most eligible to count up the numbers that vote for each candidate , and make a return thereof to the General

      Secretary . wbo will pat all these returns together aud publish them . Each place will then have an opportunity of checking the accuracy of tho return , because every sub Secretary will , of course , keep a copy of his own return , ' and every member , knowing for whom he voted , will be able with very little trouble to ascertain whether the sub-Secretary has made a correct return . The voting for members of tht Executive , will , of course , be conducted in precisely the same way as that for members of the General Council . .

      We have several letters enquiring whether th « Provisional Executive be eligible for election Certainly : they are pro tempore , to all intents and purposes , the Executive Committee . The Executive Committee is , on- the very face of the plan , part and parcel of the General Council : every member of the present Executive is eligible , therefore , to be nominated to take his chanco of election on the annual Executive Committee . We trust that this business will be immediately proceeded with , and that we shall be able next week to publish the whole list of nominations for the Executive . >

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      THE FACTORY QUESTION . The mas 3 of iacontroverlible evidence collected during Die agitation in which the lamented Sadler and the now cell-kound Oastler were particularly distinguished , is not erased from tho memories of our numerous readers . The horrid system was then unveiled to the eye of the world in all its hideous deformity , and the facts then adduced were so palpable as even to silence the priests of Moloch themselves . Yet , notwithstanding the almost

      superhuman exertions of tha g « utlctneu above referred to and their coadjutors , maugro the enormous ezpence unavoidably incurred in the struggle to emancipate the immature slaves of Christian Britain , and in spite of the prayers and demands of the people to have this stain obliterated from our national character , our merciful legislators , at the bidding of the avarioiou 3 proprietors of tho " rattlo-boxoa , " cheated the people with a law productive of no real'benefit to the easlaved operative , nor yet benoficial to tlie humaue portion of the manufacturers .

      The poor factory children were , in tho first instance , sold by the Irish traitor , O'Connell ; and the factory workers generally wcr . e subsequently Bold by the law makers , to the " bio of a Parliament . " Since the sale , " the bumanity-mongurf , ' as our neighbour of tho Mercury would term them , have rested on their oars . Trial has been made of tho Act . tt lias been * ' wei ^ Vied in the balance and found wanting , " and , therefore , the enemies of the mouster are again preparing for tho combat . Wo wish them God speed , and shall render thorn every assistance in our power , as wo fully coincide with their views , namely : —

      " That for tha last fonr years , owing in pirt to the aaiazing increase of tho number of factories sinca 1834 , factory employment has become much more uncertain than it was bufore tkis increase of factories took place , ami that , dxirlng theso four years , nmnbfera that did work iu factories have lost employment altogether ; numbers more have been put on short time , and another portion have been -working exctS 3 ive hours , which has be ^ n injurious to their health , destructive to their morals , and has left them no tima , such us rational beings should have , for either education or recreation . "

      " And also that it would conduce to the interest and add to the satisfaction of factory occupiera , as well as factory workers , if the labour performed in factories was better distributed than it no w is ; and that no persons should be allowed to work in factories excessive hours , not longer than ten in any ona day . " It is well known that the present Act forregu-: luting factory labour , is , in numerous cases , evaded and violated ; and did it possess any salutary properties , they are rendered inoperative by tho cupidity of the employer , and the falsehoods ofthose parents who have a greater zest for the faw pence , called " wages" (!) than they have for the moral , physical , and spiritual welfare of their children . 9 We contend that ten houra actual labour per day is as much as human nature can sustain with

      impunity ; and , therefore , we pledge our assistance iu the efforts now abont to be made . We hear that a potition is now 4 n the course of signature , in this town , praying for the enactment of a law restricting all person * employed in factories to fifty-eight hours per week . There is no doubt of this petition being numerously signed : in fact , we are told that more sheets are required than can at present be supplied , all , or nearly so , being already filledup . Exertions ate being made in various other town ? , to get up similar pstitiona , by Mr . Mark Crabtqee , a known and tried friend of the factory child . To those engaged in the good work we say—Go on and raospisn . -

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      O'CONNOR AND O'CONNELL . We were aware that tha letters of O'Connor to O'Vialley , tho spread of Chartism in Ireland , and the dread of its just principles by all humbug politicians , must , sooner or later , be met by the Archtraitor ; in proof Avhereof , we give the following bit from the Be / fast Vindicator , and also the proceedings at s recent meeting of ihe " Royal Loyals : "" Chartism in Newbt . —The Right lev . Dr . Blake , who is ever solicitous for the welfare of his peop 3 e , addressed them , on Sunday lust , on the evils and dangers of Chartism , and warned them strongly against being . saducod into countenancing it . Tile

      people , wo are convinced , will see tha wisdom of attending to a . iv ice which can have no other object than their good ; and will avoid , as a pestilence , a system which , in England , lias brought the working ciasses to crime aud destitution . It' the poor man would not be deceived and disappointed , let mm look for relief in the reformation of the - landlord and teiiain system—ia tho encouragement-of native manufacture—ia temperance—in repeal—m a wora , Jet him look for it where it is to be fouad , but le ? . him not put his trust in a . system which has filled the jails of E-i ^ laud with prisoners , and tne poor-hcuses with paupers . "

      So much for the Vindicator . Now or Das : — Mr . O'Conkeix . again said—Mi . Ray has stated that the next business in order is to bring fotwiird tbeJep-rt of the committee , on a plan for the ' security of tbe lanelords , und the safety of the tenantry of Ireland , bat before I enter into that I wish to allude te another subject . ( Mr . Lethbridge here entered the meeting and was received with loud cheers . Wnen tie cheering naa subsided , Mr . O'Connell resumed . ) When we were so agreeubiy interrupted by the entrance of Xstbbudge , I was stp . tin « that there was u snVjeet which I wished to bring before the Association previous to submitting to you tbe report of the committee iti reference to thehcuconfess

      lorda aud tenantry of Ireland . I re id , I * nust , with great feelings of pain , a paragraph which-appeare * in the Newry Examiner , and which was copied » w some of the Dublin papers , stating that some persons in Newry had recently held there a Chartiit meeting- - that borrowing the designation of Chart ' sts there naa been a meeting of the trades of that town to estiva Chartism there . If ever there was a period at wiuca it was necessary for the people of Ireland to keep perfectly clear of any connexion with Cliartisni-thw a . va period . They adv * oate force and violence . The ineanJ we advocate are different from theirs . We advocate we me of moral force alone , and the concentration oi . «» opinion of the entire nation . ( Hear , hear . ) It may j » held oat by thorn , a * a pretence , that they are averse w violence ( and many of the ChartiaU , I admit , are nos l bat tne

      involved in the criminality of-. their -eaders ); dectrine of their leaders is to have recourse tojww torch and the dngger , and , l ? y the adoption or sou means , they have not only involved thtir followers w » violation of tke Isv , but they have incurred the eBecw of it « , violation ; they have incurred imprisonment ano other punishments . ( Loud cries of hear , hear , Resi-We cansot overlook for ono ™ om * at -ttU •« emp" ° « jw disunion among the Repealers of Ireland by u » introduction of Chartism amongst them ; andl wou . * remind them that when an attempt waa before made to introduce Chartism into Dungarvan , the men of 1 ** garvan rejected it , and they not only rejected it , ow published the letter or the English Chartist , *> licitJJj their co-operation . In thai letter , the English Cbaru *» calte himself a stern Republican . Now , we are no » ruTmhlicans—we aro ODUOsed to republicanism i / we > v *

      satisfied with a monarchy , and we love and revere w » monarch that is placed over ua , i » hom may Oadblessanu preserve ! ( Lout ! cheera . ) W « get here , sowetwK * , *» our own amuaenwnt , Feargus O'Connor ' s papev * f Northern Star , * nd I shall read an extract from _ it |« you . ( Hear . ) It is headed " Glorious news-I **»™ and fall of the humbug empire , and rise of C jf ""?" , ™ Ireland : "— " In Dublin , Newry , Drogheda , ««^ JJJ ( where , I would wish to know , ia ^ "f ^^ LTis many other parts ; of Ireland , tho tafanrCtartton u being adopted and fondly nourished by the , > &W » I ~ new-born Irish , ( l-be infant Chartism 1 I wish yonj » recollect tbat phrase . ) We give the { oltowu * "J " from a most respectable pwion In Loughcwa to a jw » #

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      THE PETITION CONVENTION . Wo have received intimations from almost all parta of the country , of tho resolutions of the various bodies and public meetings of the people , cordially concurring in tha postponement of the meeting of this body antil the 3 rd of May . Lack of space prevanted the possibility of our inserting the various resolutions , and this general notice of them is sufficient .

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      t rr t ? at n n t U W D M fiT ' ' . A , P .

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), April 17, 1841, page unpag, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct545/page/4/