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THE JNOETHER]Si STAR. SATURDAY, MAY 1, 1841.
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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FREEDOM OF DISCUSSION : CORN LAW LEAGUE LIBERALITY . TO THE SD 1 T 0 B OP THE NORTHERN STAR . 8 IB .. —To give the country some idea of tbe nature of the anti-Corn L » w party , I will relate to you the proawwdingg of a meeting held in Addicgbam , on Monday evening last , for that purpose . I attended as a speaker at a Chartist public meeting In 8 ilsJen on the sam « day , ana * at the conc ' . usion of bonnes * I was invited to go to Addineham , to assist in arguing the meriU ef Chartiam in opposition to the Com L » w numbng , at a meeting of the middle class nes , in the Odd Fellows' Hall , of that tovro . Thinking it only right that the inhabitants should hear both ¦ idee of - . he question , I accordingly went there , accompanied by a few friends from Keigiiley and SL'sden .
On entering the room , which is capable of holding five or six hundred , I perceived a few middle men in one corner » Vfci « g the thing over in evident alarm , baling heard that there was a prospect of opposition . Very soon after my arrival the room was well fiiled , when a carious looking fellow , said to be the constable , Walked into the chair without-col salting the meeting . Be then got up and read the cry calling the nesting , Kid announced bis readiness to hear any person who vu disposed te address the meeting on the subject . This invitation was no sooner made than a person , ¦ eting in the double capacity of a Metb . od . iBt parson and obbler , got up and said , 1 propose that the petition ¦ we have got np be adopted ; and before he had queersj the words out of his msuth , another grimlocking fellow in a comer bawled out , I second the notion .
With this brief introduction—without a word having been « aid either pro or con—they were on the point of potting it , when I stepped forward and said , " Mr . Chairman , I wish to mite a few observations before yon try the motion . " "You have no business here , " cried out the parson , " we shall allow no one to speak here but those who wil ] sign thepetitioa" I said " The Chairman will perhaps allow me to speak . " " No , yon are a Chartist , " bawled out the pirson , " and ysu Aa . ll not speak here . " The bulk of -the meeting , conlisting of working men , said they were determined that I should be heard ; "for , " said they , " if truth is ywr object yon should hear every . one speak . " " We will hear no person speak , ' -said the Corn Law men . who is a Chartist" Here the confusion was beyond description . " Come and sign the petition , " sheuted
tbe pars » n as he stood upon the table , " and throw the Chartists out of the room . " Tais was answered by the people calling out , " Sign it " thyself , thou cobbling pirson ; thou "wants to get thy living without working . Thou applied to be » policeman , and th « governor of Skipton Bistile , and they would not have tbee . " Another person , whom I took to be either a pazaon or a doctor , peeped 08 at a corner and said , " the Chartists will all go to hell , they are a lo : of thieves , " and away he ran down the steps as if Beelzebub was after him , to take him home . Another fellow , of the same party , got his mouth to my ear , a > ad bawled out till he almost split -his mouth , " you am come hew to pick oui pockets . You are come to urin us , you thief , you ; " while another of them got
bold of ms by the collar , and said , " you will get put in prison if yen do not get off out of this room . You have spoiled the concern , you d—d rascal . You are a paid Chartist , to make mischief . " I continued to ¦ peak amidst all this uproar , till I was nearly exhsitBted , and had gained the general approbation of the meeting with the exception of the few in -the aroer . At this stage of the business , the parson again mounted the table , and said , " the motion was earned unanimously . " Not willing to allow this falsehood to pass , I got up also , and said , " Sir , you are mistaken ; " his answer was , " you are a liar . " " Well , then , " said I , " to prove the matter , all you wfeo are in favour of Universal Sufirage , and against the Corn Law League , hold up your hands , " when the Whole meeting held up their bands with the exception
csT the old half dozan . The parson then got off the table , and seixing it by one end , threw both table , friVifljinri and myself , on to the floor , shouting in a rage , M there , take that , you sinner , for your impudence , 1 WooM do more if I durst , and 1 wish all Chartists were at the devil . " As soon as I recovered from the tooring effects of the saint ' s strength of body , I got wp again , and told him I was much obliged to bfm for so many proofs of his Christian charity , tat they sheuld not deter me from speaking the tenth , and exposing their hypocrisy , and that I was willing to discuss the question with any man they csuld tnd , either then or at any other time . "We wi 1 not hear yon , you scamp , " said the parson . : On asking the meeting who the fellow was , " O , " said \ they , "be is a cobbler , but he does not like to work , j
¦ ad will rather preach or do any kind of dirty work Bke this than stick to his last and bristles . " Through ! the exceedingly crowded state of the room , and the j ¦ proarions conduct of the half dozen , I was by this time nearly suffocated , and by way of finish , I said—All > those who want the Charter , follow me ; and let all who waat to hunt after a repeal © f the Corn Laws , lUy wuh these blackguards . 1 then left the room , and gut into the street , and in less than five minutes 1 had the whole meeting at my heels , with the exception of ei ^ ht solitary individuals , "who were left to-mourn on the failure of their scheme . Just at this time , the Addingham band of musicians made their appearance , and assisted , by their excellent abilities , in celebrating our glorious Tictory over the knot left behind in the building . As I wished to explain to them the principles of the
Charter , which I had been in a measure unable to do before , 1 addressed them to the effect' that the object of the Corn Law Leaguers was not to benefit the worktag people , and that the middle-class" men were their greatest enemies . That if they wanted to benefit themselves , as working people , they should assist in jetting the Charter , and never depend upon what others would do for them , but pbes themselves in a padteon t : > work out their redemption ; for what this GoTemment gives to day , they can take away to-morrow . At ths conclusion of my aadress , three cheers wtre given for O'Connor and the Charter , and three groana for Daniel O'ConnelL After frequent solicitations I promised to pay them another visit The band then played another march , end tHe people went U > their bomes crying Hurrah for the Charter . Thomas B . Kj- 'owles . Kaghley , April 27 , 1841 .
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MR . SPURR . TO THE EDIT « i OP THE NORTHERN STAR . Sib , —As one of the delegates who met at Manchester in July last , when the original plan for a national organisation was devised , and feeling , as I do , deeply interested in its ultimate success , by which the united power * , energies , and resources , mosal , philosophical , Bad intellectual , as well as pecuniary , of the enslaved miQk > nj , were to be called into active operation against the citadel » f tyranny and corruption , I cannot in terms sufficiently strong express my sorrow that anything should have occurred to prevent the accomplUhmeot of an object so desirable to every lover of liberty Hid justice .
Sir , I am free to admit , I am willing -to acknowledge , Bad xea « y to confess , that that plan was not altogether neh as to arrest the attention , asd secure the hearty o-operaiion of the legally-fearful and physically-timid professors of our creed ; and , therefore , such , under the fear of courts of justice , gioomy prisons , and clanking irons , had an undoubted right to stand aloof ; and , if they thought proper , to propose a plan of their own , ai Lovett and Collins have done , in my opinion , this right is inherent in every individual in every country and in every clime ; but it dots not follow that every man exercising his own individual right , in hia own way , would be acting a wise and prudent part either to himself or bis fellow-man : nay , quite the Bitue would be the case , for , if every Chartist was to come forth with his own individual plan , there would be as many plans as there are Chartists ; and , therefore . the oaion which Messrs . Lovett and Co . profess to desire , would never be found to exist , and consequently tmt object never obtained .
The great fundamental principle contained in the Charter is Universal Suffrage . And as the consistent , though bumble advocate of that principle , I feel bound to reject every plan and mode of action which has nos been subartted to the universal test of the peopled opinion , obtained through the medium of the people ' s delegates elected at public meetings . And while 1 wmkl abstain from denouncing as traitors , thieves , sad conspirators the men who prepared , issued , and rfgned the document , ( believing , as I do , their inability to ^ asttfy their proceedings in accordance with their m professed prineiplee ) I will not fail , under any NBdderation , in an honourable and dignified manner , to express my belief of the error in * . o which they have fallen , and to prevent , to the utmost of my ability , the alwgement of the wound which they have inflicted on ywChartiet body .
Baeees will never attend iny undertaking for the ¦ draoeefflenk of oar came , where unity of action , as weO a * unity of object , is not found to prevail ; and moiij of action can only exist where the majority are allowed to direct Will it be said- that , by going With the majority I do wrotfg , because the majority are tor Feazgus O'Connor , and have established a sort of ¦ SB-worship ? Be it so ; but they are mistaken . I wHl never be one to cry , I am for Paul , Apollos , or Cephas , O'Connor , Lovett , or Collins . No , no , I am for BbWty—universal liberty . Who . ii O'Connor ? who ia lontt t or who is Collins ? Can they get the Charter , attbc the one or the other , or the three combined ! CorfciBlyaot . Then , Sir , I have an independent right to follow tm dictates of my own mind , and remain tn board the guoA aids Charter , which has weathered so long " the
battle and the breexa , " and refuse to risk my noble mtmm on the new constructed raft , in a boisterous am , without being guilty of paying a devoted homage , m yielding a blind obedience , to O'Connor , or any other at the officers appointed by the crew . _ Away with all « QJy non&s&se and flimsy subterfuges ; the ignorant working classes are throwing aside their leading atrfng »; and I bail with feelings of -unutterable plea-¦ n the present aspect of the people ' s determination no longer to be . duped by leaders crying " lo here and lo then ; " and it is my firm belief , that if Feirgus O Con-Bar was to attempt to act in an arbitrary manner in the position in which the ptople have placed him , from that moment be would cease to command their rtspect •¦ d erfceem , and would be thrown overboard , aa others fcam been before him .
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There is no despotism or tyranny in giving an opinion , or holding out a recommendation ; although some have attributed it to O'Connor , In recommending certain persons as fit to sit ou the Petition Convention . I do not , and therefore beg to recommend to the Executive Council the propriety of getting the articles , or general laws and rules fur the government of the National Association printed as soon as possible ; as also to call their attention to the necessity of immediately taking measures for the establishment of a daily evening Star , which two things , especially the paper , would produce , in my opinion , greater results in one year , than Mr . Lovett'a plan in twenty . Longing for that liberty fur which I will ever contend in union with the millions , I am , Sir , Its feeble Advocate , Richard Spubb . No . 91 , St . John ' g-street , Smithfleld Bars , London , April 26 th , 18 * 1 .
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TO THE EDITOR OP THE NOETHKSW STAR . Sir , —Permit me to present my sinoere thanks for the prompt and fearless manner in which you have exposed and denounced the conduct of Messrs . Lavett Collins , and Co ., and in doing which I am persuaded yon will receive tha support of every really honest Chartist in the kingdom . At the conduct of Mr . Lovett . I am by no means surprised , having lon / r expected some such result ; but that he should have sufficient influence to hoodwink a man like John Cleave is matter to me of the greatest astonishment : his name is the last which I should have expected to have seen appended to such a document , as I have always considered him as fine a specimen of a genuine John Bull , and of as sterling a character as any in existence , and moat earnestly do I hope that he will yet retrace bis steps .
As Mr . Lovett can no longer be considered a member of our body , I wish to know how yon Intend to proceed in respect to his promised portrait ; if the plate is not begun , I trust it never will be , as yon will probably not get many thanks , and less money for it ; if , however , it be in progress , allow me to suggest some little alterations—cannot you direct the engraver to give it two faces—from the mouth of one proceeding the words " No vote , no musket , " and from the other " No education , no vote ; " and aa a finishing touch , to be branded across the forehead with the word "renegade . "
While on this subject , allow me to state a fact in illustration , of the nature and prospect * of union among the projectors of this new move . A day or two after the address was published I had some conversation with , one of the six gents whose names are affixed to it , and on my making some remarks on the political character of one of them , namely , Mr . Rogers , my worthy friend replied , " Oh , I can't Bay much about him , I am too Radical for him . " Here , then , is a valuable admission in the outset , and if such is the budding of the tree , what may we not expect from the fruits ?
In conclusion , allow me to say , that if any thing can work repentance in the mind of any of those men , it is the unqualified manner in which they have been praised by the whole Whig press , and above all by that incubus of political iniquity , Daniel O'Connell , whose commendations , as I have often heard some of those six gentlemen declare , would damn the most righteous cause that was ever brought before the public eye . 1 am , Sir , Toura , 4 c ., Henry Kitchin . London , April 25 , 1841 . 14 , Charlotte Terrace , White Conduit Fields , Pentonville .
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Death or the American President . The British Qaeen , Captain Franklin , reached Liverpool on Wednesday , bringing New York papers to the 12 th , Baltimore , Boston , and Philadelphia to the lltb . The arrival of the British Qaeen puts us in possession or the important announcement of the death of General Harrison , the new President of the American Republic , after the short reiftn of one month in the high office to whioh he had been elected by the citizenB of the United States . The gallant General breathed hiB last on the morning of the 10 th , and the Vice-President ( John Tyler ) was installed in the President *! Chair of his predecessor on the i : h . The prevailing opinion at New York is , that President Tyler wil ] carry out the views of General Harrison's foreign policy , but that the question of a National Bank will not meet his encouragement . — The political and cooimercial news from the United States is unimportant .
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THE "NEW MOVE ; " ITS OSTENSIBLE CONCOCTORS ; THE TROWBRIDGE CRITICS ; AND THE " NORTHERN STAR . " Elsewhere we publish , at the request of the subscribing parties , an epistle from certain ChartiBts , members of the General Council , residing at Trowbridge , first published in the Sun , and addressed
" to the Chartists of Great Britain , and more particularly to Mr . Hill , the Editor of the Northern Star , and Mr . William Lovett . " Wo admit the right of all Chartists in the Empire to criticise the style and manner of our public advocacy of the principles of trnth , while we insist equally on our own right to choose our own style , provided always that it be jast . We ask only that , in criticising ns , our friends shall act ou their own principles—that they shall avoid the fault they attribute to us— "i l * temperate language" and unjust assertion . We deny emphatically their assertion that
" In the Northern Star ef the 17 th instant , there is an editorial article abounding from first to last , and in every variety of low phraseology , with charges and imputations of fraud , falsehood , and trickery against Messrs . Lovett and Collins . " Our observations were directed not against those gentlemen individually , but against the new national project , which they have published , and the mode of its publication . We ask the writers of this letter to read again the article referred to—to read their own letter with it , and to tell us the Bingle
imputatation" contained in our article that is not borne out and sustained by their letter . In the first article we wrote on this subject , we say distinctly the = e words : — " Let us not be misunderstood . We make no charge against ( he tin gentlemen whose names are appended to the document . We know some of them to be men incapable of any thing dishonest or dishonourable ; and tee know nothing to the contrary of any of them ; but we say that the scheme is capable of being thus perverted ; and that , therefore , it is not one which the people ought to take any steps for bringing into operation . "
Is this , then , the " scurrility , " the "every variety of low phraseology , " the "imputations of fraud , falsehood , and trickery , " of which our Trowbridge friends complain ! And yet we defy them to point out anything in our article of the 17 th , inconsistent with this , or any "imputation" against either Lovett or Collins which ia not equally strongly brought in their own letter . We adopt most fully the very language of our Trowbridge friends , and we use it as the justification of the language we have ourselves used
throughout the whole of our strictures on this " New Move . " "We concur with that address [ the address of the ' New More' gentlemeDJ that we [ that is , the people ] must become our own social and political regenerators , or that we shall never eujoy freedom . " And , therefore , we denounce tho system of a . self-elected board of management , into whose hands the people are modestly a ^ ked by the "New Move" gentry to put the application of £ 253 , 48 i , without having a shadow of controul over its expenditure .
Now , do not let oar Trowbridge friends again misunderstand us . We are not speaking of persons , but of a plan . We do not call Messrs . Lotett and Collins " Thieves , liarg , and traitors ; "' we never did call them so ; though our Trowbridge friends have so adroitly introduced these pretty ephhets into their objurgation , as to make it seem as though we had . We do not say , that if Messrs . Lovett and Colljks were entrusted by the people with all this money , they would not honestly apply it ; but we say , that the " New Move" plan puts no power of controul into the people ' s hands ; that the plan is thui capable of being made into a flimsy cover for
dishonest purposes ; and that therefore the people ought not to countenance it . We beg our Trowbridge friends to read the published documents of the New Move" carefully ; they will find them all in the Star of the 10 th , and they will then see whether we cast upon it any u imputations " unduly . Again we adopt the language of our Trowbridge friends in reference to this " New Move' ' most cordially : — " District halls , circulating libraries , missionaries , tracts , and bo forth , all seem to us well calculated to e 2 courage and ensure an enlightened public opinion ; to fortify and consolidate the strength of our friends ; and to mitigate the ftars of those who oppose us from not understanding our objects . Bat then—and here . "we come to the
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point to which we alluded at the outset , and on which we altogether differ from Mr . Lovwc and the four other gentlemen acting with him in theaddrcssthey propose to establish an Association fro oarry out their plan . la this we see them altogether wrong . We do not call them—our injustice would be greater than their deficiency of judgment if we were to call them ( thieves , liars , and traitors , ' but we think that they hare committed a great error , and the sooner they acknowledge it the better we shall think of their sincerity and consistency . We have an association—the National Charter Association—chosen in the most fair and public manner , and all but universa ly recognised as
the Representatives of the Chartists of Great Britain . Already has this body met and aeted in its representative capacity ; and we may refer to the zeal with which one of their laws has been carried out—that of enforcing on every publio meeting the Charter and its principles—as a proof , and a strong one , of our faith in its wisdom . To these our representatives—the National Charter Association—Messrs . Lovett , &c , ought in our opinion first to have submitted their plan ; it would have been received and discussed with all the respect and consideration it bo well merited ; and , if there adopted , would thus have been girded wich a moral strength that would have gone far to secure its success . "
Again , then , while we thank our Trowbridge friends for the expressions of good opinion contained in their tetUr , we would seriously ask them to shew us the just grounds for the censure with whioh they have seen fit to visit us . Our fault seems , however , in the estimation of our Trowbridge friends , to have extended beyond the range of our own fire . We are censured for not censuring others—for not having taken the whole country to task in reference to the strong resolutions of opinion come to on the subject of this ** New Move" by a great many portions of tbe people . Our
friends talk of holding up a man in triumph on a Tuesday , and knocking him down on a Wednesday ; " but this is really knocking us down both Tuesday and Wednesday . They complain of having lately observed in our paper what they " cannot but consider a spirit of intolerance towards every opinion but that of its editor ; " they remind us very properly , that the day of dictation is gone by ;" and then they find fault with us for not dictating to the whole people the opinions they shall form , and the manner in which they shall be expressed I
For ourselves , we say at once that any such eourso as our Trowbridge friends seem to point to us for adoption would , as we think , be highly "despotic ;" and much rather would we incur even justly the eensuro of our Trowbridge friends for being , now and then , intemperate in our own language , than assume the right of moulding publio opinion to our own will and pleasure , by commenting upon every resolution emanating from meetings of the people , whioh did not exactly square with our own critical notions of policy .
So much , then , for our share of th « Trowbridge objurgation . We now turn to tie reply of Mr . Lovett to this same letter ; and whioh we also publish in our third page . Mr . Lovett says : — " Our plan for obtaining the People ' s Charter by peaceful and moral means—by the erecting of balls , the establishing of schools , the formation of libraries , and by every means seeking to raise the intellectual and moral character of our brethren , while approved of by
the press in general , as well as by the thinking and rt fleeting portion of Chartists , instead of being made a legitimate subject for discussion , was only made the subject of contempt and ridicule by tbe people's organ , the Northern Star , the editor of which , designated national education as a " national jackass , " and without condescending to review or rebut tbe arguments we bad adduced , hinted that our plan was altogether worthless . "
Now to those who have read what we have written on this plan , it is scarce necessary for us to say a word in reply to this . We believe that no disinterested man , who has read those articles , will say that we have not made the plan a legitimate subject for discussion . If the result of the discussion has been to make it also the " subject of contempt and ridicule , " we are sorry Mr . Lovett should have been so unfortunate in the seleotion of his plan ; but cannot help it . The assertion that tbe Editor of tho Northern S / ar called National Education a "National Jackass , " is false .
Mr . Lovett speaks of his and Colliws ' s declarations at . the several meetings which they attended , of their intention to form the Association now pro posed . We can only say , that this ia the first we hare heard of these declarations . Mr . Lovett attended no meetings ; and Mr . Collins never mentioned the plan as proposed in the secret circular ; at least we never heard of hi 9 doing so . Tho next question to which Mr . Lovett refers , is that of illegality ; and to this we pray attention . Mr . Lovett Bays : —
" Mr . Collins called the attention of the ,. Editor of the Star to the subject of illegality of the Charter Association , and the necessity of cautioning tho working classes on the subject . The persons engaged on that paper subsequently wrote to Mr . Place of London to ascertain the state of the law on the subject , which that gentleman readily furnished them with , but several weeks were suffered to elapse before any notice was taken or warning given , when Mr . Place ' article appeared without the least acknowledgment of thu author . "
Now , supposing this statement to be correct , what would it prove ? What inference could be fairly drawn from it ! We were long aware of the " Secret Move . " Various parties wore very importunate with us on the matter of alleged illegality in the Constitution and Government of the National Charter Association , which they desired us to lay before the public . We knew well , and at onco , thiU the object was just that which has sinco appeared , namely , to engender fear of tho law , aud suspicion of the leaders . The matters objected to by the
" New Move" men had not escaped our notico ; we knew them all ; and we' have here Mr . Lov ± . rr ' s own confession , that so far from adding fuel to the flame , we tried , by every means in our power , to remove all just causa for fear or suspicion , and to disarm the opponents of the established Association of tbe people of every weapon ; insomuch , that knowing we could not be too secure within the law , we even asked Mr . Place to furnish us with such acts , as he feared we should bring our friends into collision with . And what do we then
do ? Why , give Mr . Place ' s opinion all the value which would attach to an editorial article . Such we maintain to be the conclusions legitimately resulting from Mr . Lovett ' s premises , about " Mr . Place" and ' illegality , " supposing the premises to have been correct ; and we abk , does this prove a disposition to quarrel , or to use all means to conciliate ! And did the legal plan recommended by the " oracle" destroy the only pretended obstacle to Loyett and his party joiniDg our Association 2 But the facts are not correctly stated . We are not aware of having ever held any correspondence with
Mr . Place . We never made any such application to that gentleman as Mr . Lovett speaks of ; nor did any other person employed at this office by our authority or with our knowledge . We know nothing of the article which Mr . Lovett speaks of as Mr . Place ' s , and as having been inserted without acknowledgement ; bHt we Buppose it to mean an article on the law of organisation which wo first inserted in the Star , the week before the sitting of the Delegate Meeting , by which the National Charter Association was organised . Some months previous to that period , some person sent us anonymously
a placard of the Political Union ef 1832 , or the law of political societies , and though it contained no new information to us , for we had in our possession the Acts of Parliament to which it referred , yet , as it gave a valuable digest of their provisions in brief space , we felt obliged to the party , and reserved it for use , if needful—that placard we used as a ready written articleat the tune above etated . We hare since learned tbat it was sent by Mr . Place , though we didnotknow it then . We suppose that to be the article to which Mr . Lovett alludes , aud in respect of which he seems very desirous to iu&inuate some charge of
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plagiarism against us < ¦ He is quite welcome to all the benefit of that move . Mr . Lovett would hint that the illegality of the Association was his reason for not joining in it , and yet declines to Bay that he thinks it illegal now . If union was , in troth , the object of the "Now Move " gentry , and if supposed illegality was the only prevehtaiive to that union , " so devoutly to be wished , " why did Messrs . O'Neil and Collins refuse , when asked , to attend a meeting of delegates called for
the express purpose of making tha ground eure about us . They were within four hours'journeythey were invited , but they declined , and , having declined , the shout of illegality is still kept up ; Mr . Collins professing that he waitB for Mr . Roebuck ' s opinion previous to making tip his mind . Now , has he received that opinion ? if yes , why not publish it 1 and if no , is it not clear that Mr . Robbuck has nothing pleasant to say upon the subject , and that , nevertheless , his want of scruple fails to remove Mr . Collins' equeamisbness ?
Again , Mr . Lovett would fasten upon us an assertion which belongs to his own friends . It was not the Editor of the Star who annouueed , ia the first instance , thefaot of Messrs . Hume and Roebuck being in collusion with the present association , but Messrs . Hume and Roebuck . It watt those gentlemen who prematurely divulged it at L « eds . Then with regard to the secrecy . Mr . Lovett , very artfully , would make tbe step analogous to the manner in whioh tbe Irish address was got up . How silly ; how very foolish—was the object of the Irish address to form an association ! Were the
signers to constitute themselves into a self-elected provisional committee for the sole management of English political movements f As well might Mr . Lovett say that the total" abstinence pledge , whioh we most cheerfully signed , was analogous , beoanse we were requested not to publish it , till it had received a certain number of signatures of men who had assumed the right of controlling THEMSELVES , and not others , in the use of intoxicating drinks . But Mr . Lovett says that they would admit Peel , Russell , and Wellington , if they chose to join us . Now , we would not , at any price , and for this reason , that their object would be to disunite us , to divide and conquer us .
In conclusion , then , we ask the Trowbridge Councillors whether they are now satisfied by the reply of Mr . Lovett , that legality or illegality was a mere trick , as Mr . Lovett pays , distinctly , that the legality of its present altered form is a question upon which he does not feel himself called upon to offer an opinion . We ask them to take that as the ultimatum , as the determination , of Lovkti and Co . to proceed in that course which ' the Trowbridge Councillors so heartily deprecate , and to avert which they would do so much and make such concession , —and then let them say whether their bland and soothing phraseology has gone further in convincing obstinate men against their will , than our fiercer denunciation and unaoftened publication of a people ' s just and reasonable sentiments .
Let our course be travelled over , from the commencement of the plan to the present , and we defy the Trowbridge Council to come to any other conclusion than that we have discharged our duty honestly , and with as much mildness as the circumstances would admit . If they imagine that calling high offences by pet names is likely to correct error , they will find their mistake . We defy them , in any one Bingle instance , to point out a case in whioh the Editor of the Star
has beea scurrillous , dogmatical , or vituperative ; but when attacks are made upon the people ' s cause , we care not from what battery the shot comeswhether from Whig , Tory , or sham-Radical—we shall fire metal , th « heaviest in our store ; and , inasmuch as we see no reason , upon reflection , to retract , alter , or qualify what we have said , upon the one hand , nor yet censure what the country has more boldly said upon the other ; we cannot now doubt but we shall have the cooperation of our Trowbridge friends .
In conclusion , we cannot refrain from thinking that the publication of matter reflecting upon us , in the Sun newspaper , will at once show that the open censure upon us was intended as disguised praise for those with whom it professed to find fault . However we have great pleasure in referring our readers to the subjoined letter , addressed by Mr . John Moore , one of the Councillors , to Mr . F . O'Connor . " Trowbridge , 34 , Mortimer-street , " April 2 oih , 1841 .
"Honoured Sir , —Most probably you have seen our address iu tho daily Sun newspaper , of the 22 d inst . The reason of our sending out that address iu the manner we uid , was , we thought that there might be some misunderstanding between parties , and not wishing to see any bad feeling or split in our ranks , we thought that it might be the means of doing somo good , by pointing out to Messrs . Lovett and Co ., where we thought they had done wrong . We also made some remarks respecting the warmness of some words of the Editor of the Star ; but , on seeing your letter in the Star of last Saturday , wearo Jed to believe that it is a Whig scheme . Ou Monday evening we had a public meeting , when the question was well discussed , coolly and deliberately . After some time the following resolutions were unanimously agreed to : —
1 . '" We , the Chartists of Trowbridge , in publio meeting assembled , do deprecate the new-fangled scheme propounded by Messrs . Lovett and Co ., and do consider that the present plan laid down by our representatives that met in Manchester , in July , 1840 , and February , 1841 , is quite sufficient to cause the People ' s Charter to become the law of the land , and are resolved to join no other league , unless first recommended by the Executive Council , chosen by the people . " 2 . "' Aalongas Feargus O'Connor , Esq . remains the unflinching advocate for the rights of the people , wo , in return , will remain the faithful supporters to the cause of justice , for which he is now suffering . '
" Sir , since the above wore passed at our meeting , we have seen Mr . Lovett ' s . answer to our address , which ib more Whiggish than we expected . " Trusting , Sir , that you are in good health , " I remain , "Yours , in the cause of justice , " John Moore , sub-Treasurer . " Another word is needless .
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O'CONNELL'S MEMBER FOR NOTTINGHAM . During the fever of a contested election is not just the time to judge either of the relative fitness of tho candidates , or of the motives which may induce many honest and consistent electors to vote with apparent inconsistency . The meddling morning and evening drabs of tho metropolis , however , judge only in tho midst of excitement , knowing that their only chance of catching anything is to snap it actually out of the fire . The Whigs cannot , indeed they do not , expect anything from sober judgment . The mere
bubbles of excitement themselves , they still live in their native element . Bat now , perhaps , Easthope , Young , and Co . and the remainder of the oonspira tors , will have time for reflection ; if , in truth , they ever do reflect . Perhaps they will bow have discovered that Mr . John Walter is not the Chartist , but the O'Connell Member for Nottingham . Walter is the O'CoNNELLMember for Nottingham ; and , from tbat fact , let his servants at Dowuingstreet learn to estimate the full value of his name as a permanent partner in the firm of Melbourne ,
O'Connell , and Co . It does well enough for a booby , with the heans , to enter into partnership with a sharper having the ways , now and then . The firm may thrive for a soa ^ on , but , in the long run , the chap with the ways will swamp the chap with the means , and then the odium must be equally borne by the innocent and the guilty ; though , in truth , in the present instance , neither of the parties appear to have the slightest advantage , beyond tbat whioh a superior knowledge of his trade gave . to the old juggler . ,
The misfortune however'is , that the Whigs , as a firm , are ruined , and . for ever ; their promksovy note , bond , or I 0 U , not being worth their . -weight in paper ; while he with the ways will set up fresh business upon his own account ; the frauds whio
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he practised upon bis old partners , the Whigs . beirig his principal stock-in-trade . Yes , the -man whose unprincipled support of an easy-going faction , who has been the means of returning Mr . Walter , and of arraying all England againBt the Tunes-serving ministry , will go to the Corn Exchange and make money of his own delinquency . O'Connell returned Walter , because , had the Whigs relied upon good works , instead of upon the corrupt support of the most profligate . dishonest , unprincipled , cold-blooded politician that ever lived , they would not have been so hard pressed of late ; neither would they have been deserted , in the hour of need , by those upon whose baoks they ! rode to office and whose bellies they pinched in return .
Mr . O'Connor has very often , and very truly , told the people that the existence of three political parties in a state is incompatible with the existence of good order and harmony , and that we should anihilate one of them before we could be acknowledged as a distinct party . We have been told that we , the Chartists , are no party ; that we may be quelled with a breath and courted with a feather ; and if the Chartists of Nottingham had so far forgotten their own dignity , as to have strengthened the " base , bloody and brutal' faction , Easthope , when next making merry with the hospitable Premier , would have said—" you see my Lord , A wife , a Chartist , and » walnut tree , The more you beat them the better they'U be .
We can abusa them for six days in the week and frighten them « pon the seventh , by the magic of ' Oh ' . fio , fie , naughty , naughty children , would you unite with your' natural enemies . ' " We have now shown that we would , and will again , against our " unnatural friends . " But the Whig scribes have gone npon the wild assumption , that support of Mr . Walter proves the Chartists to have turned Tories ; as well might they say that support of Larpent would prove them to have turned Whigs ; and , lacking all otherfjust cause
for congratulation on the event , being spared the ignominy and disgrace of being called Whigs of itself suffices . No , but the fact is , either Whigs or Tories must bid for the Chartists 310 , £ 9 , £ 8 , £ 7 , £ 6 , £ 5 , £ 3 , £ 2 , £ l ; Universal Suffrage ; that ' s their price ; and as to any hope from , or affection for Mr . Walter , the Chartists of Nottingham have none whatever . Indeed , they consider him so thorough a political rip , that they look npon their triumph as being complete in proportion to his unworthiness .
Whoever supposed that a Chartist would have voted for Walter a gainst a working man ? Not one in Nottingham ; so they have sent poison , deadly poison , " night shade , "if they will it , among our virtuous rulere . Walter is not the representative of the people of Nottingham ; he is O'Connell ' s child , his own legitimate offspring , begotten by Dan , upon the body of Whig folly ; while with the Chartists he is " a choice of evils . " ;
Coalitions are things most whimsically spoken of , according to'the whim and caprice of those afiVoted by the act , and out of small causes great results sometimes spring . The result of Walter ' s return for Nottingham will be a Wellington , Peel , Melbourne and Rossell coalition , highly approved of by the Chronicle as a means of getting rid of Dan ; and thus will the Chartists of Nottingham have deserved the principal glory of having' destroyed both factions , by making them weak in their strength and jealous in their union . '
Suppose Walter , Easthope , and O'Connor bad stood for Nottingham at a general election , with two vacancies , how , in such case , would the poll stand ? Walter 4 , * 00 , Eastqope 4 , 000 , O'Connor 400 ; not a Chartist would vote against O'Connor , while Whigs and Tories would unite against him . But to prove the great reaction in the public mind . If the Whigs were asked , some two years ago to what constituency it would be most safe to " commit" a Minister ? the answer would have been , " Oh ! to Nottingham of course . " Where now will they send Sir John C . Hobhouse ! who we are assured was fairly staggered . by the announcement of Walter ' s return .
There is not a better Chartist town in England than Nottingham ; in proof whereof we merely state that we anticipate a greater number of signatures to the National Petition from Nottingham than from any other town in England , Scotland , or Wales , in proportion to the number of inhabitants , with the exception of Glasgow , Barnsley , and Huddcrsfield . The Chartists of England have jast reason to be thankful to their Nottingham brothers , for the noble manner in which they have triumphed over Whiggery .
Will Lord John Russell now believe O'CoNNon ' s petition , that the people would oppose every man who either voted for the Starvation Act , or who did not pledge himself against it 1 Will the little fellow now say that a meeting of poor people , met to petition against the damnation law at * Manchester , were unworthy of consideration because they were not respectable , or persons of note , that is notorious persons , wo suppose , like his Lordship ! Will they now dissolve ! that ' s the rub ! If they do , hurrah for the resistance and no surrender ! Then we will show them whether or no we have power .
Oh ! what a glorious minority of about 180 her Majesty will have in the next Parliament of torch and dagger , physical force , fire-eating Destructives —of every-thing-in-the-way-to-the-Treasury Chartists < We never had the ball fairly up before ; we must now keep it moving . In order to shew the real feeling of the Irish people upon Whig clap-trap , we insert the following , upon the Nottingham election , from the Dublin World , certainly the most Radical , honest , and consistent paper in Ireland : — " There is warm work at Nottingham , where Mr .
Walter or the Times , and a Mr . Latpent , have entered the ring . Which of the two will obtain the seat seems to be just now rather a matter of doubt . The opposition given by Mr . Walter 10 the infamous Poor-Law Bill has rendered him extremely popular amongst the operative class ; and it is a remarkable sign of the times that his cause is espoused by Tories and Chanista . The Sun , somewhat of an erratic public guide , which started by praising Mr . Walter , and wishing him success , notwithstanding that in twenty-four hours afterwards fiercely abused himaud the Cork Southern Reporter—as abominable a literary hack as can be any where found—have both denounced any Reformer who will vote for Mr Walter , in consequence of his connection with the Times . It would be much the more honest and
sensible plan to show what sacrifice of principle a Chartist , makes in voting for a moderate Tory , instead of a Ministerial Whig . We have read the addresses of the two candidates , and it strikes as that that of Walter is by far the most democratic , and therefore we cannot blame the Chartists if they are a little partial to him . Mr . O'Connell pronounced aa eulogium upon Vincent , the Chartist leader , at a lato meeting ; and we observe that he is fighting the battle of Walter at Nottingham . The masses have taken up the view of the Conservative gentleman mentioned in the Times—who refused to subscribe money to swell the Carl ton Club stock purse , upon the score that ' nothing could be gained by turning out Ministers , as their places would be filled by another set of scoundrels equally bad '—and hardly care which side wins . "
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THE SHORT PARLIAMENT . THE CRISIS , It is , in some instances , a great misfortune to be compelled to register weekly opinions upon an unsettled state of society , which , though in part true , and now and then prophetic , are ever and anon liable to be made fly in your face , by the caper of a clown , the wheelabout of a Jim Crow , or the turnabout of one having authority .
With all these fears before us , however , we' can safely appeal to our registered opinions in proof of the , little we have ever expeoted , or led our friends to expect , either from the strength of their parliamentary friends , or from the weakness of . their parliamentary foes . We have endeavoured to turn attention wholly and altogether from the parliament to the people ; and we rejoice to say that we have not failed in oar undertaking .
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We have published meagre reports ^ andt n reports , of the heresies , ignorances , insults , hm follies of" the House ; " and our readers have jad gei of the sack from the sample , and felt mo , , pleased at seeing our space altogether unencumbered by parliamentary juggling , traffic , and thimbl e-ri g . But if we have hitherto been sceptical , we do non » as vouched by our heading , see a change , and a-vast and mighty change ; and at no great distance , a change which most be for the better for the peopj . as worse it possibly cannot be . As to what ttiat change shall be , now mainly depends upon th »
exertions , unanimity , firmness , and resolution of tha " Short Parliament . " We do not mean the chang who have been sitting , and lying , and crowing , » < eating , and drinking sincethe 26 th of January till no * and who have merely provided for" physical force * ( J collect rents for fund-lords , land-lords , mill -lord , king-lords , queen-lords , and the Lord knows who No ; we mean the bakers' dozen "—the thirteen- " the cheap bread parliament , which meets in Londoj on Monday next , the 3 rd of May . To these men *» now look , and we can assure them the country look , with an anxiety even greater than that which »» , felt upon the assembling of the old Convention .
It is for them to prove whether or not all that w » , then done was done for good or for evil . It will L for them to say whether or no we are to start from that point where they left off , or to pull all that has been done to pieces , with a view to the mon masterly arrangement of tbe parts . In their deliberations they should bear in mindthii the party which they now so creditably represent has sprung from contemptible notice into unWetajl observation . That at the period when the old Coa . vention met , they were looked upon as the me « bubbles of disturbed waters , while those who how represent us will be considered as a part of the vag current of public opinion , before which all mm sooner or later yield .
It is true that no minute guns will announce thj opening of their deliberations ; no throne will arrest the attention of gaping fools ; no fool will sit np < , n j to be gaped at ; no military will line the streets to add to the pageant attendant upon the opening of the annual " raree show ; " no usher , or gold gtiot or Sergeant at arms , or Mace , or Purser , oi Speaker , will obey their command in summoning the easy and pliant servants , who grant os" ways and means , to " our" presence ; but yet , those who pay for all will be there in spirit , while the muscle , anew bones , and flesh of the whole country will look with becoming anxiety for the resohee of their honest , though not numerous Parliament
Although a certain line of conduct may hare bees chalked out for them , yet , apart from the routine business , we shall await their opinion upon what has been done , and their advice as to what shall U done , with great anxiety . With them we feel assured that oar honour our country , and' our cause are safe ; bni more than that we require . We require an unequivocal expression of their opinion as to the best mode of strengthening the hand of the Eiecutive Council of the National Charter Association , We require their advice as to what is to be the
next step , in tho event of the liberation of the prisoners being refused , provided that the national petition is as numerously signed as we have every reason to anticipate ; and here let us obserWthit upon the working classes themselves < niU much depend the tone which their representatives will feel themselves justified in taking . If the ministers shall be able to say , " Is this the \ coi few who look npon our treatment of Chartist prisoners as oppressive , after one death , threi
transportations , and nearly 500 brutally treated victims V then indeed will the whole labour han been lost ; then would it have been much bettei not to have shown the national indifference to oui enemies , and then well may the delegates be warranted in keeping civil tongues within their teeth : but should the petition be numerously signed , then the country will have imposed upon their representatives the imperative duty of giving soa « council and advice , in case of the rejection by " ( he House , " of the people ' s just and reasonable prayer .
We have often known much more good to It done in a fortnight than in a twelvemonth ; and that not a single opportunity of serving the cause may be thrown away , we throw out the following hints for the consideration of the Ext * cutive Council . They should by all means pro * vide a sufficient number of cards of membership for each delegate to dispose of ; and we think that much good may be done by holding several meetings in different parts ol the metropolis , for the purpose of enrolling members and of passing some spirited resolutions , which should be prepared with care by the delegates , in order ia preserve uniformity of action .
If the thirteen delegates arranged matters so is to hold four meetings each night for the twelve nights of their sojourn , at each of which meetings three delegates could attend , they would , in the short time allotted , hold forty-eight meetings ; and suppose one hundred members to be enrolled st each meeting , we should have added four thousand eight hundred to our Association ; perhaps more than an equal number would enrol , daring the day , at the bar of the House ; so that admitting 10 , 000 , the Executive by these means would at once be furnished with funds to the amount of £ 250 ; and supposing <> * calculation to be over-rated by one half , there would be raised a fund of £ 125 to commence business with .
Now , we ask , could time be better or more profitably disposed oil Again , we ask of what avail to appoint an Executive , if that body ia to be left breathless , nerveless , and paralysed for want of the proper means of carrying out the riews of the body of the people I A good push made jast now , in London , would caus * an instantaneous demand from the country for association tickets . An address and recommendation to that effect , would , we hesitate not to say , enable the Executive to furnish every county in England , Scotland , and Wales , with talented , able ,
and trustworthy lecturers , whose duty it would be to arm themselves with all tbe legality in their power , by addressing the several constituencies as candidates upon a dissolution of Parliament . Tbat places them , at once , upon a perfect equality « s regards the right of calling electors and non-electors together , with either Whig or Tory ; and , indeed , even now , we would most strongly recommend ill missionaries , but more especially those who are either under recognizance for good behaviour , or to receive judgment when called upon , to h » ro instant recourse to this mode of canvassing pa *"
opinion . We shall publish all that transpires in our own "House ;" and should any unforeseen accident happen to our representatives , we shall instantly publish an " extraordinary Star , " to announce the fact to tto country . Of one thing we feel convinced , that w « not get an order for a counter march , or for on « single step backwards ; while we trust that it wUi be forcibly impressed upon the country , that »• Chartist party is now the mast powerful ptftj ui the BUte ; and that , come what will , the Cba *?" to be the law of the land . "The Charter , th « wto » Charter , and not an atom less than the Char ter .
That tho delegates will do their duty , we h * t » W dread ; that the country will do theirs , we fta « little cause to fear . Howevsr , let no man snppo " that the withholding of his name will be m » tter 01 indifference , as many suoh believers would lead to a tad result . It will scarcely be believed , but nowtheless . it is fact , that infernal demons , belw ««« to the working classes , are actually at-w «* * ° ^* vent the people from signing the petition . J * j » seconds for eaoh man or '" woman is all tf » . required to make their will a command , J < f * done , and at once , '
The Jnoether]Si Star. Saturday, May 1, 1841.
THE JNOETHER ] Si STAR . SATURDAY , MAY 1 , 1841 .
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4 ' THE NORTHERN STAR .
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Northern Star (1837-1852), May 1, 1841, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct547/page/4/
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