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grtgtnaT eovYt&or&ence. -—^^. " '
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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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" *^ gQSE WHO LOVE FREEDOM AND * ° HATE SLAVERY . -jasSDiv-Allovme to repeat a sentence from Lt& oP oP *** " ^ Radical commission at * J ** J £ no ir nearly six years nnee . I then ¦ a < &teeii * to n ^ ? ° * & ° * ^ » " ^ " ^ "ff ^ jto torn the basis of your future eonstlta-^®* jLaction day will arrive , -when both parties SJufW you according to yonr value ; to increase ** and to jirepare y « *<* *• wetion , shall be S 3 ? R - i rae words iix years ago , and now be-& IBS HOUB COHBTH . fa dsj of auction ia at hand , and who will bid J fiill value for public support is now the question . * Lffl jBf in & * first 10 * ' ano ^ er season , if the 5 wrfdofisrs single doit less tban&e tefuU jyde single uu « «» uw use kww
^ L » a " ^ oners a M& . j j ^ er p laced one single crotchet before the ^ - I hire not allowed the publie mind to be dis-£ \ jw Ridden changes and convulnve throes . I '' " ^ jer ed , through years of stormy abuse and ^ ll ^ isi to the one , the single question , Unirersal ^ ZT ^ I h&ve told you that the figure which I was ^ Zj ^ 'with others , in completing , could not be pru-*^ Lgjlsibited until the seTeral parts were ready fox vj- psi together . They are now «• tried up , " and Sfcrbeinf " pat together . "
^^ nnen , Irishmen , Scotchmen , and Welshmen , & get d tie world are now upon you . The French ^ fil now silent upon popular feeling in England , ^ jfia remonstrances against resisting the popular j Ba » is noveL The press ol Fiance , as the press J Briiiin , is the mere organ of a faction ; and the - ^ journ als fear the infection of English opinion , b M « ie of France , any more than the people of grisd , hrre no organ . The Ministry of France —y khb the British Ministry to suppress all popular j ^ jg ; but , thank God , the win of the people is now p fcog for all factions .
HtBends , the cetsis has arrived , and may God mi tJjii we prove ourselves equal to the emergency ! tm in tare and determined , we conquer . If we e nTii&T and waTsring , we fall . 3 & 0 & the state— " LIBERTY ! " The gift of God ; bsaifest possession which man can enjoy . Libert }/ k fi » people is death to the tyranny of kaaa . If , then , we resolve to be free who can toakus in our coarse ? That we may be valued , let ( pos £ & an that is most valuable in man . Let us be te £ , consistent and brav * .
fin I r eflect upon the great stake sow to be played £ , I timdder lest one false step should lessen our ^ aee of winning . It is a noble thing—a holy sight , jm the " poor oppressed" fighting against the " ^ rich gpacB' . " The balance of power is now in our hands _ i » S a acknowledged . With us , then ., the considera-S » ^ oBWbe , howto use it for oca ows benefit , IbBj regardless of both factions , and , above all , of the yitidnl interest of camp followers , who will / -tnim to&r title to public confidence , and ask us to make gsptkot to our general rule of action in their particukase . Iszy no exception . If our rule be good , let it fcaskaHy followed ; if bad , let it be altered .
Midi , then , our position . The Whigs , the 'itofist * faction that ever hell in its wrath Bent na earth , are on their knees licking our feet , while atflaateinn which they hare caused rings through nsj aerice of this sea-bound dungeon . They have jeaae iactrnpt , and would accept any amount ol jrans « £ > -be-paid , after convenience , well knowing Sustej had no intention ever to meet their engage-Mta . 1 ft w ask you one question . Can you trust them fesiae years of sad and melancholy trial , when you jds ! fcsi their greatest assaults upon liberty were axis the days of their greatest strength ?
Bb spon what question do they Tainly hope to arouse jee : lympathy ? Why , upon a set of problematical atta , -which , should they terminate to the full extent & San anticipation , would but injure every working bb . iMle they would serre every man of fixed issss—every placeman , pensioner , state pauper , and Bikd csEdaL Theirs is the battle of the cenfecfeser , the grocer , the Cuba and Brazilian slaTe-owner , gi fandholder , the architect , the ship-bnQder , the aaaet-aaker , the Umber-merchant , and the corn-factor , Basthbonr . No wonder that Joe Hume , a large
gffiMder , should think " brown bread good enough k fia Spitalfields weaver , " while he would cheerfully . jodasshia own hot loaf for less money , pBODrcED n » M LaBors . What does he care where it comes ; fan , jKjrided hs has it ? Du not the " anti-monopo- ; ia , ' u they whimsreallylcall themselTes , know full ; fcfl&atii all the articles of life are made ehsaper , ' p iges , jiacemen , pensioners , and persons with fixed pransE , Till be so much the richer ; and d o they j pnipS either to reduce their salaries to the " sliding
He , ei do they propose to lessen the general burdens f Sjs eomtry ? No , in faith ! but , curious enough , the " Sly nmted measures hare sprung out © f State sesEty . it -was not because the people wanted relief alter Majesty- ' s popular champions proposed their » " tang , " but because , without it , they could not J » jga ! and this ia called patriotism , &ad the act 5 SEAT COiLMERCIAl KEFOBM ! " And they *?« " free trade" with uataxed countries , that is , ^ aaie you run a race with fetters on your legs , Ge your competitors are unshackled . '
sat mark their real lore of the principle . While the « Sng pra 3 echoes " free trade , " there is a Bill pass-* through Parliament to rob 150 of the poor op-* & , fey depriTing them of a common , to enrich tety-STe rich oppressors . Yes , " Whaddon Chase ' *^ stolen from 160 poor men , by twenty-fire rich = ¦ The lei poor men have beggared themselves to fed their right , but have failed ; and this , Joe = w would call "freed trade . "
•^ as pm a question to you . Would you have ^ sd , for i moment , to a Einele speech made in : S 3 ase of Gommoijs upon the subject , at , a parish e * BS . without bestoTriiig copious hisses upon the Hapspeaktrs ? >" o , not to a single one . Theqnes-1 3 « n are 5 rej - ^^ 0 fight for princ iple , and * iare sufered so much ic our struggle for prin . *> to be csight in the new Whig ministerial
- ^ = 7 , they v ? otli > set the captive free . I ** * bt me rot in prison rather t ^« " my liberty , * ai" by "VThi g clemency , shouid procure a ' * tte ruffians who have trampled upon all * 7- I haTe not lived in solitary confinement thirteen months , without learning how to ^« the valne of liberty ; neither have I . *| a 7 tune io so bad a purpose as to make my * 7 aare preciaas than my character . If I can only ° 7 freedom by an abandonment of my prin-*> tien may the loathsome dungeon be my dwelling-** Klenfe remains !
^ * m Reeled , and horror-strack , to hear the very a o ? » compromise a : the meeting held last week i , rown asd Anchor , and my prindp * l reason j **^ Mw . i ^ , tj enter my protest , upon my own ^ *^ ast sueh a course . And then , I am told that « ies win set me free . Good Heaven ! my limbs , j £ ^ og , -would refuse their office when told s » fcd their liberty to my country ' s greatest op-^ Wisi . ' be allowed to walk abroad and say , ^ *» kn freedom to the Tamworth Baronet : !—the ^ * fcos £ name stands second only to that of Castlea the bloody book of Ireland ' s sad catalogue of (^ oppression ! Who has gone farther to set j ^ agiinjj Protestant , and Orangeman against
I ^ T ° > " ^ Sir Robert Peel ? Xo one . And am ^ ^ abr oad is a living monument of gratitude to t ^ «* possession of that liberty of which he has ' P *» a O'Connor ! ^ J ^ Promiae has sealed my doom for the ret { * ^ 7 dreary imprisonment . ' For by the ghost ^ anmrdered Iri ^ mgn , and by mj counters ' Vr W Ulat U * ° ° rder fOT my Ubentioncome j ^ ^ from Tory government , I will not leave my * k tt ? ^ y cannot eject me , as my committal San * Sh * a U teld ^ ^^ t ^ y ™^ 1 1 enter into fe ^ lot my good conduct for two years . There-Sat ^ 0 ^ by ^^ ^ PHHaise , even by the "C ^ * 11 do me the jutice to admit that , notwith-^ V ^?^^ ^ &b ufie of Mt O-Connell and the % ^ ^ P * ' Jet has not angry feeling , for % f aUo'Wed m e to resent personal injury by my country . Who eTfir teard me ^
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Ireland , even in the ^ midst of the intolerance of her paid patriots ? Upon the whole , my friends , believe me , that neither Whig or Tory will allow me to roam at large one tingle hour before the llth of Norember next ; and then I will pay them twenty-fire shillings in the pound ! JJ !! Now , my friends , let me explain what our course should be . Six years ago , I said I would prepare you for sale . Two years Sgo , I published a plan for yonr local organization , and , three months ago I republished that plan . I was well aware that only in the excitement of a contested election would either band of robbers bid for the virtuous people ; that hour has now come , yet
are you not prepared with your committees , sub-committees , treasurers , and secretaries of electioneering clubs which I recommended : but u I never fight with my own party , but always try to make up for their laziness by my own extra diligence , I tell you mow to get your machinery ready . 1 ^ nvery locality have its election club . For Charter mesbecs there is no hope this election ; not the alightest ; but this election is the foundation of all hope . Upon too , the people , will depend the result , whether you furnish to the House of Commons a sufficient number of tools to be used bj any A 8 ministration for your ruin , or whether you furnish such a House as must be dissolved in less thun six months from its formation .
Now , mark me welL If you return as many as 300 Whigs , you will prepare improved machinery for fraud , persecution and tyranny . As our only struggle must be for the Charter , a sufficient number of let-well-enough alone , or any-thing-rather-than-a-Radicil-House members will be found to join the Whip to carry on with a Tory House without again tempting the sUnn of popular wrath , of which they will get a taste upon the fmsmng contest If you return but a few Whigs they cannot form any coalition , with the Tories and must constitute out ' s and the Queen ' s minority .
The greatest blessing which could happen to us ¦ would be the return ef 658 Tories ; bnt that is impossible . If we had a House full of Tories their position would very much resemble that of the Kerry man , who came all the way from Kerry to Bee London from the top of the monument ; but when he got there he was so duzled that he got frightened and requested a friend to cover his eyes with ina handkerchief , for God's sake , and lead him back again to Kerry . Now , if you had 658 rampant Tory devils they would be frightened at the sound of their own voice , and would imploringly cry " 0 . ' for an opposition . "
It is said that no wife could survive a year if not once contradicted ; I tell you that no minister can survive the want of an" opposition . The Tories being better tactiti&ns than the Whigs , actually led them to the altar , and then offered them up a sacrifice to an opposed lust . It was by not opposing the Whigs , in their aggression against popular rights , that the Tories brought Whiggery into disrepute . Let us therefore benefit by example ; and as the Whigs died of surfeit , let us kill the Tories by repletion . Let us gorge the House with them , and , inasmuch as the struggle , at last , must be between the nominees of a faction and the whole people , it must come to that ; and if we are not prepared , why then , let us at once give up .
I say , that with a compact minority , too large for a faction , and * top small for a party , at work inside , and the whole people at work outside , untying can withstand us . As a matter of course , the " bloodies" will now " pat you on the backs" and aek for your support ; but for what ? Wonld yon , nine years ago , have entertained anyone of the great " commercial reforms , " as they are called , or would -you have considered them as any part of the great measure ? Assuredly not ; and , after nine years' drilling aid training ; after nine years' disappointment ; after nine years' sessions of unexampled tyranny , persecution , lewd sway and distress , are you now to entertain them as a who " le . ' Have nine years of tea ching taught us no better than this ?
My friends , nothing can be more laughable than the complaints and sore things of the Whigs , in their very , very incompetent journals . They really imagine that we are still in leading strings , and that we should be thankful for correction . They still call themselves our natural allies , and the Tories our natural enemies ; and , forgetting that we dissolved partnership in September , 1835 , and set up business on our own account , the ignorant creatures have the folly to find fault with our tactics . ' Well now , can anjthiag be more absurd ? and , when well weighed , can any praise be stronger than this intended censure ?
What is our ob ^ ject ? To destroy Whiggery , and establish Chartism . Well , then , are Wiiigs likely to be much in love with any course which tends towards the accomplishment of that desirable end ? Bo they ask us for advice , as to how their proceedings are to be conducted ? No , in faith . What would any one of you think , suppose you sat down to a game cf cards , and that your adversary , after vain endeavours to win the game by fair play , said , " O , but jou must shew me your hand , and play
your cards as I direct you ? " What , I ask , would yon think o " f such a proposal ? and yet it would not be ene whit more ridiculous than the appeal of our Whig opponents , to play our game as they direct us . My fr iends , so long as " we did play this fast-and-loose game , so long were we a laughing-siock ; but the moment ire played one hand in Birmingham , in 183 a , according to our oven judgment , thai moment did our adversaries say " 0 , these fellevos play the game too icell , and toe must bludgeon them ; pack the cards , and run of vrith the stake !! /"
Well , ap to that period , we were the ridicule of all parties , and despised by all ; bnt since then -we have played our own game , and now we have arrived to " the dignity of being haled . " We we no longer despised ; we are now hated , because we are dreaded ; and no political party can be great till it is hated . Thank God , then , we are all hated , and I the most . ' O , how I enjuj- Whig and lory hatred . ' It is balm I cordial :. ' consolation : :. '
But what has made you great ? The things that have made ytra hated , of course . What are they The pertinacious manner in tvhich you have upset every clap-trap meeting ; the noble consistency you have evinced in standing by your friends and y » ur Charter , through unparalleled persecution , insult , and distress ; your " useless displats" and manly expression of " A . yGRJ feeljxg" hare done ihejob ;
and hence "was jl a principal object of Mr . Joseph Hume to lull you into quiet and calm ; into " non-resistence and passive obedience" before the hour arrived for treating Whiga on the hustings as they treated us in the House . Is it not self-evident that conduct which ¦ would entitle you to Whig praise , would subject you to popular suspicion and censure , and having wellesrned a large stock of Whig hatred , we are justly entitled to a large share of popular approval .
For four months this dissolution has been m cogitation , and during that time the " leading Chartists " have been " saturated" with letters to subdue Chartist " angry fedinf at public meetings , and to set their faces against " useless disp'ays . " Our duty then is , for the present , to fill the Heuss- with Tory poison ; yea , to load ic to the very muzzle , bo that it may explode and blow them all up , and then will come our turn !
Now , my friends , as I have never waited upon public opinion , but have always " come out" uponprinciple^—at once , and , in the ontset , I say , " down with the Whigs ;" and , in every instance where you have the power , return Tories in preference to Whigs . Do so for this reason—Because you ¦ will thereby beat one of your enemies . By returning Whigs you cannot , in the slightest degree , weaken Toryism ; inasmuch as Whigs in office are mere Tories . What have we to expect from the Whigs in the way of reform ? Have they not already ruined themselves in their endeavour to ruin you ? In depriving you of your wages have they not left an empty Exchequer , and themselves without their salaries , to insure which they must now play a' game at thimblerig ?
In God ' s name , what have you to do with Sugar Dudes , Corn L » ws or Timber ? Will it be any consolation to you la know that you have cheapened bread , sugar , and timber , for traffickers and consumers with fixed incomeB , while , to accomplish it , you have lessened the price of your own labour , and thereby deprived yeurselves of the means of purchasing any portion of the cheap svxetst Tis humbug ! and they know it ; and they can only hope to . cram it down your throats by bribing your leaders ; and just give me leave to ask , why these immense collections by the " Plague" just now ? Agitation costs them nothing . Beware , Bsware , Beware of Mr . Gold .
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Let us just see the principle upon which all the wealthier classes are now marshalled on the Government side , in support of the great " Commercial Reformers . " The foolish ™< n lords *™» giT > e + h » t- they can buy cheaper and sell dearer , and still preserve peace , regulate demand and supply , and stop gambling ; therefore they are bottle holders to the Whigs . The bankers know that their discounts will be increased by an increased demand for paper to gamble with—yonr labour and liberty being the stake . The Insurance Offices know that their business will be increased at your expence . The grocers and bakers , —poor silly fools ! —think that they will be enabled to buy very much cheaper , and perhaps sell more !
Thejudges , parsons , barristers , solicitors , placemen , pensioners , fund-holders ; tn short , all those with fixed incomes ; the whole swarm of lice on the beetle , imagine that they will be enabled to do twice as much with their fixed salaries , and yet that order and peace will continue ! The poor fools of shopkeepers and tradesmen , imagine that they will be enabled to sell just as much and to live cheaper . Silly , silly men ! They can only
live cheaper by making labour cheaper , inasmuch as that ingredient forms nineteen-twentieths of every thing they consume ; while their whole means of coasumption is furnished by labour , and labour alone ; and when labour is reduced , they must be reduced . In fact they are all mad . The Whigs have literally persuaded them that poor John baa yet something in him , which the " Great Commercial Reforms " is to extract ; but they will all find themselves mistaken , and that ere long . '
I have shown you how the Whigs have fought their battle , constantly changing their position and tactics without reference to us . I have shown yon how the Tories have fought their battle with reference only to their own party purposes . And Daniel O'Connell , being another corporation , though a corporation sole , let us see bow he proposes to fight bis battle I Ireland's battle ) , without reference to any earthly object but keeping himself in place and his hands in poor Paddy ' s pockets . I shall not lose much of my space in finishing this eautontimorouminos ( " self tormenter .
Pi ay ! pray ! pray ! mark , learn , and inwardly digest , the mode by which this charlatan proposes to redeem all his pledges to unhappy Ireland . Firstly , ohserre , Repeal is the watch-word of Ireland , as the Charter is that of Britain . Secondly , bear in mind , that a Parliament elected favourable to Whig principles would have , at least , a six years' lease of office , as friends of the Queen's yonth . Now , how , think you , the begging rascal proposes to snatch Repeal out of the fire of party , or even to make the god-send a stepping-stone to Repeal ? Wby , HE POSTPONES IT FOB THE PRESENT ! lest it *
intrednction should injure " the base , brutal , and bloody Whigs "—the " West Britons , " the coercers , the police enactors , the arms ' -bill enactors , the appropriation concocters and abandoners , the rascally WhigB ' . The World , upon the subject of Dan ' s last letter , has these few pithy lines ;—"With much contained in it we coincide ; while from other parts we totally dissent . Mr . O'Connell we think perfectly right in not recommending that a Repeal candidate should be started , at tbis juncture , where his chance of success would be doubtfnl . "
Aye , " teherehis chance of success would be doubtful " —there ' s the rub ; and that one scorpion sentence will render the return of a Repealer doubtful in every part of Ireland ; and that is the sole , and only , object of the deceitful stufi ! Bnt , snppose he had said , " men of Ireland , now is your time . Onward to Repeal . Every ' Repealer may be relied upon as an oppoMnt to Toryism ; let us have men of double Jorce—first , anti-Tory , and then pro-Repeal , thus do ice effect a double purpose at one and the
same time . Rill the enemy and resuscitate our native land . " Suppose he had said that , what would have been the effect ? Why , just this ; that in many cases , where the order will render the return of a Whig doubtful , the course which I recommend would have rendered the return of a Repealer ^ certain . But what is the fact ? Why that those very Whigs , now to be returned , will be Ireland's bitterest enemies , and the very stanchest anti-repealers , and that's the secret , —that ' s what O'Connell wants , a stumbling BLOCK IN THE WAY OF THE MONSTERS OF HIS OWN
CREATION . But then , a bit of religion , —the old seasoner of all dishes , —ig brought in . By heaven ! it is enough to make any man wild , and to set an Irishman mad to think of the barefaced villany of this old woman . Well , my friends , thus they all act , as they profess to think , best for their interest , and without consulting us . Now , let us , without reference to any of them , do the best we can for our Charter . Let us , wherever we can give , give 20 , 30 , 40 , 50 , yea , a hundred of either devils for one Chartist O , how easily Glasgow could return ray dear friend Moir , by giving them 20 Tories , or 20 Whigs , for Scotland for thia one honest Chartist . That is , suppose Dundee , Dunfennline , and several other places , were to make common cause with Glasgow , and
that the Chartists of those places were to aay " 20 Whigs , or 2 # Tories , " " which you please , my dear ; choose your devil , and your devil ' s colour , and have him in exchange for one Chartist angel . " Leicester , Hull , and Nottingham could do this ! Leeds , Bradford , Halifax , Huddersfield , and York could do likewise Rochdale has its out and outer—honest Shamanglorious Shirman—amiable Sharnian . '' Manchester , itockport , Bolton , and Chorley coold do likewise . Oldham has the two best men to be found—who will dare to oppose them , I should like to know ? Then you have a little knot of Chartists well able to speak upon the hustings . I fear I should be considered " despotic " if I was to particularize , so you must judge for yourselves .
Now , my friends , to the point- " Caesar ' s wife should not only be virtuous , but should be abovo suspicion . " No man shall ever suspect me , and , therefore , although solicited by many constituencies to offer myself , free of expence , where my return may be considered certain , as all and every sacrifice would be made in a whole county to insure it , I have como to the settled resolution not to accept a Beat in the next Parliament , if offered to me—not to allow myself to be put in nomination anywhere , and for this simple reason , that ray recommendation may stand discharged of all selfibimesss .
Our time for returning Qie whole House is at hand , believe me , or a bleody revolution ; one or the other is ioevitabla I must keep my conscience clear , and my friends clear . I will not offer myself for any place . I will support a Chartist everywhere , at all hazards , and will join in returning a Tory in preference to a Whig , where the contest lies between the Devils and the Devils in hell . I do this from my bitter and unconquerable hatred to the Tories , from the hope that they will kill themselves .
Now my friends , as to any compromise for my liberty , I will not owe it to Peel , even if offered ; but believe me , that on to-morrow night on Duncombe ' s motion , he will indignantly repel the assertion made at the Crown and Anchor . No , no ; Sir R . Peel is too cold-blooded a politician to bear with temper such a taunt , as being charged with an act of justice ! I will tu > t come out of my cell at all upon a com ^ promise . —I will break the contract—I have been no party to it
As to my getting out just now , you shall judge from the following true " unvarnished tale , "' whether or not it would be joBtice to me to enlarge me at the present moment , when so much would be expected from me , and when I should not be able to take any part whatever in public affairs . When I came here first , I kept my voice by reading aloud about two hours every day . This I practised till the winter
compelled me to have fires , and then my cell chimney smoked to such an extent , that , by degrees , I was obliged to give up not only reading aloud , but speaking above my lowest tone . I could net speak without pain . When spring returned , it brought no charms for me . I tried , when the smoke vanished , to read aloud again , but found that I always spit blood , when I saade the attempt , before I got through many pages ; so I gave it up .
Now , I ask yon , would it sot be certain death to place me upon a public hustings or in a public meeting ? Never was man treated as I have been ! not one single restrict ! en has been taken off since June 1 st , 1840 , to the present moment , bat seTeral fresh ones
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hate been added I pay for efery * thing I use , even my coals ; and I pay £ lQ 8 s . a year ' s tent for one of the condemned cells 1 . Every letter I receive Is read ; erery letter I send through the post fa read ; vierj visitor ia accompanied , for five mixrotw , by turnkey , and evwy word we mjr ia reported . I am in solitary confinement ! and shaU be in the fourteenth month on Toe * -day week , a punishment unknown to the law !! In one of my recent letters , I stated that it was such a punishment as no man had ever endured for any crime since England was discovered ; but some one altered it to had ever before endured for libel .
Now , again , I tell you that the law knows of no such punishment ; and the Judges dare not , nay could not , sentence to such a punishment for any crime : and having borne thirteen month * or it , unjustly , shall I say , " thank you , " to the scoundrels who made me unjustly suffer , and , if guilty , would now UNJUSTLY liberate me for their own base ends ? No , —damn them 1—never— " No surrender . " " The Charter , " and "down with the 'bloodies . '" Ever yours , FBARG 08 O'CONNOB .
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TO THE EDITOR OP THE KORTHERN STAB . Dear Sir , —I have to enclose the following resolution passed at © ur meeting of this day : —" That in consequence of the letter received this morning from the Executive at Manchester , a letter be sent to the said Executive , and to the editor of the Northern Star , requesting them immediately to transmit to Mr . John Cleave , Shoe-lane , London , our unanimously elected treasurer , all moneys which have been sent to them for the use of the Convtntion or committee . " I am , &c , 65 , Old Bailey , Tuomas Wall . 21 st May , 1841 .
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HOW TO STOP THE BANK . TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN STAR . Sie , —In my letter to you of the 5 th instant , I ask , " whether yea think , if it were notorious that the Chartists really had the power to stop the bank if they pleased , such notoriety would be likely to be of any service to them in their efforts to obtain their Charter ?" In your Star of the 15 th instant , in your notices to correspondents , you say , referring to iny inquiry , " We certainly think that such notoriety would be likely to be of service : will he Bhew us the how V I will endeavour to do so , and thus I proceed . Let every Chartist who can save at least one penny per week begin to imitate my example , and let him never discontinue such imitation until either the bank be restrained from paying its notes in gold , or the People ' s Charter have become the law of the land . But before I proceed to state what I do myself , and what I want everybody else to do , I think it right first to state what I do not do .
la the first place , then , I do not lend my little savings to the Government , by depositing them in any Savings ' or other Bank ; for , by so doing , although I might receive a paltry dab of interest for my money in the course of a year , I should only be enabling the Government to appropriate the principal , or , in other words , to expend my own money in buying swords , and pistols , and bludgeons with , to cut , and shoot , and knock me about with . I , therefore , and for another reason , donot lend my money to the Government . That other reason is , that if I were to lend my money to the Government , or to my employers , or to any private individual , it would remain in circulation ; whereas it is part of my scheme to withdraw it from circulation , and to have its place supplied by constant drains upon the coffers of the Bank of England . I , therefore , not only do not lend my money to the Government , but I donot lend it at all ; I keep it myself : 1 hoard it , and in gold and silver , and not in bank notes of any denomination .
I will tell you how I manage . Every Saturday evening I drop into my " savings'box" ( of which I have constituted myself sole and exclusive governer , director , treasurer , and secretary ) as much out of my weekly earnings as I can possibly spare ; Boraetimes , it is more , and sometimes less than others ; but as it is not lent out at interest , nor spent , but hoarded , you must ( I think ) perceive that that money , however small in amount , is yet so much money withdrawn from circulation ; it being distinctly understood ail the while that I hoard nothing but metallic coin , gold , silver , and copper , but no paper money : for if 1 were to hoard paper money , the place of the identical notes which I had so withdrawn from circulation weuld not be supplied by gold and silver from the coffers of the Bank of England , but by other notes , which the local bankers ( here at
Leeds , where I am living ) would instantly and at no expense fabricate and put in circulation , whereas the place of the gold and silver which is hoarded must eventually come out of the coffers of the Bank of England , as I will presently demonstrate . I have now told you what I do not do and what I do do , and I have stated my reasons for not doing the one and' for doing the other , and having done so , I beg further to observe , that to what little muney I have already hoarded up , it is my intention to add weekly until the People's Charter becomes the law of the land . The money so already hoarded up and to be added to , as I have before Btated , I do , and always shall , consider to be a sacred fnnd and dedicated to the Chartist cause ; and it is my firm and unalterable determination not to touch it or any portion of it until the People ' s Charter be the law of the land .
Such is my plan or scheme , and I do firmly believe that if the Chartists would individually ) begin now , each according to his respective means , to imitate my example , and would persevere in such imitation , the Bank of England would suspend cash payments before the last day of the year , ( and I think ao for reasons which I will explain in my next , if you should agree with me in the opinions expressed in this , ) and whenever that event does take place , from no matter what cause , it will be attended by at least an immediate , and most extensive and sweeping Reform , of the Commons House of Parliament . I have already shown that
the hoarding of paper money does no good , for it does not annoy the local bankers or the Governors and Directors of the Batik of England . But the hoarding of gold and silver to any considerable amount would not only annoy but would absolutely terrify as well the local bankers as the Governor and Company of the Bank of England , for it would cause a drain to be made upon the coffers of the Bank of England for a sufficient amount of gold and silver to supply the place of the gold and silver so hoarded , and consequently withdrawn from circulation , as I will now endeavour to show .
Let us suppose that the average amount of gold and silver constantly in circulation here in Leeds is £ 10 , 400 or thereabouts . We will next suppose that in this town there are one hundred persens , eack of whom , upon reading this letter , is determined , according to his respective means , to adopt the principle here laid Uownfor his imitation . We will further suppose , that at the end of three months , each of those persons has hoarded up £ 5 in gold and silver which would otherwise have remained m circulation . In that case these one hundred persons would ? not only have withdrawn from the circulation £ 500 in gold arul silver , but would be in possession of it themselves , which they would not otherwise have been . In that case also , the £ » 0 # so hoarded up would bo missed and felt , if its place were
not supplied . There would evidently be a want of a sufficiency of small change for the daily purposes of life or business , its place therefore would be supplied ; but how ? We shall soon see . A tradesman , a butcher for instance , finding that bis customers did not pay him so much gold and silver as usual , but more £ 5 notes , leaving him to pay himself and give them the change , would every now and then send a package of £ * o notes to the different bankers here , who had issued them , and get them exchanged for gold and silver , f « ithe accommodation of his customers . The baker and all other trades people would do the same , until by that process the place of the £ 500 so hoarded up would be supplied . But those bankers would then have in their tills £ 500 less in gold and silver to honour their
notes with than they had before the hoarding commenced ; and they would th » n scrape together £ 500 in Bank of England notes , and send them up to theit agents in London to get converted into gold and silver , and that gold and silver remitted back to them instead of the notes . Tbis the agents would very easily do , by simply going to the Bank in Threadneedle-street , in London , and there exchanging the notes for gold . There then is a drain upon the coffers of the Bank of England for £ 500 in specie !! But it must not be forgotten , that the hundred sturdy fellows in Leeds don't relax in their efforts or their principle , and in another three months they have got another £ 500 , whose place would bo supplied in precisely the same manner . Herfl let me not be misunderstood ; I have merely
supposed a case for the proper illustration of my assertion , that if the Cbartista were to hoard weekly as much money as they could , the place of the money so hoarded must eventually be supplied by drains upon the coffers of the Bank of England . But I do not mean to assert that there would be exactly 100 or any other given number of persons who upoa reading this letter either would or could hoard weekly , any sum of money which in exactly tAree months , would amount to exactly £ i , or any other given sura , but I do believe that there would be some such persons here to be found , who npon reading this letter , wouid hoard up weekly as much money as they possibly could , and therefore I further believe that there would be some such persons to be found in town
every , city , parish , village , and hamlet in this country , whose united hoardings I do believe would in three or four months amount to such a sum of money as would make an evident diminution in the quantity of the gold and silver in the coffers of the Bank of England ; if so , it is evident that the Chartists alone , and unaided and poor as they are , can , if they please , cause such a constant and continuous drain upon the coffers of the Bank ot England for its gold and silver as if persevered in , must eventually end in the stoppage of the bank . I fear that I have already trespassed upon your time too long , but I cannotconclude this letter without expressing my conscientious conviction that the mere knowledge by the middle and aiifitocratical classes of the power which I haTe con-
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tended that the Chartists possess , and more especially of their determination to exercise it , would be more likely than any thing else to procure for them the speedy concession of all their political rights and privileges . I remain , Sir , Your obedient servant , A Middle Glass Chartist . 22 nd May , 1841 .
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NORMANBY AND THE PRISONERS' LIBERATION CONVENTION . TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN STAR . Sir , —As our Interview with the Marquis of Noxmanby , in regard to the presentation of the memorials for Bronterre O'Brien , has not been correctly stated in the papers , we beg to lay a plain statement of the same before the readers of the Star . At the time appointed by Messrs . Bailer sod Haves , that is twelve o'clock , we proceeded to the Home-office , but found that the Marquis of Normanby would not be there before one o'clock , and an appointment was made to meet them ( Messrs . Bailer and Hawea ) at four , or something later . We went and found they were there before us , and were closeted with the Home-Secretary . We waited a considerable time in the ante-room , and were joined by the two gentlemen . They informed
us there would be no difficulty in getting the memorials to her Majesty , as they would , if we wonld chose , undertake their presentation ; but this , not suiting our wishes , was of course declined . They next told us that the Marquis would see us , but that we were not to enter upon a discussion as to the contents of the memorials ; because that mlghtjlead to some language which would not be pleasant to either party . With this understanding we were admitted to his Lordship ' s presence , and his Lordship told us that he could not see deputations in regard to criminals , as that would be inconsistent with his duties as a Minister of the Crown ; but that he would receive the memorials which
we then had , and give them his serious consideration , and that whatever opinions or arguments which we might have to adduce , he would thank us to put in writing ; and , upon these gwrnnds , he would give our wishes every consideration . In regard to Mr . O'Brien , he had caused enquiry to be made , and be found that his case was net so bad as it was represented to be . This was in substance , nay , indeed , everything which passed between ns and his Lordship . We are , yours , l . pitk . ethly , Morg . Williams , M . CULLEN .
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TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHEBN STAR . Dear Sir , —By inserting the following address in this week ' s publication , you will greatly oblige those friends to O'Connor whose names are attached thereto , and likewise your humble servant , Thomas Clarke . Temperance Yard , Hillgate , Stoekport , May 19 th , 1841 .
TO FEARGUS O'CONNOR , ESQ . Honoured and Patriotic Sir , —We , your fellowcountrymen in exile , and members of the National Charter Association of Great Britain , seeing you surrounded on all sides by numerous and perfidious enemies , take this opportunity ef assuring you that we place the most unbounded confidence in you , having seen nothing to lead us to a contrary conclusion , after closely watching your every act , both in the legislature , and in your struggles amongst the people , in endeavouring to obtain the universal rights of man ; notwithstanding the call which has recently been made by Daniel O'Connell to his countrymen in England , to form no connection with the English Chartists , and also his indirect way of persuading the people to " get rid oi you , if possible , " who , we are aware , have been a sore thorn in his side , and a stumbling-block to those whom he so strenuously supports .
We , Sir , have been strict observers of your conduct since you first graced the Senate House of Great Britain with your presence and splendid talents , down to the present moment . It is , therefore , with feelings of pride , that we Irishmen , in the face of God and our country , unbiassed and uncourted , voluntarily swear or follow you to the death , if required , so long as you persevere in the righteous cause in which you have embarked , in the straightforward , manly , and upright manner you hitherto have done . We tender our most grateful thanks for the past , believing that your exertions and integrity are unparalleled in the history
of our eountry , for the furtherance of just principles , and the general welfare of mankind . We consider that we would be guilty of base ingratitude , were we to forget the many sacrifices which not only you , but also your noble ancestors , have made for our country's good . No , Sir , we do not forget that your illustrious , patriotic , and virtuous father , Roger O'Connor , was sent to an untimely grave , for his devotion to bis country's cause . Nor are we ignorant of the fact , that your revered uncle , the bravo , venerated , Arthur O'Connor , was as cruelly banished from his borne , his family , bis friends , and bis country , for bis honesty and fond attachment to our lovely Green Isle of the West .
We would , indeed , be unworthy the name of Irishmen , if we were to allow this favourable opportunity to pass unembracsd . without informing the " Rat Catchers" that though you are bound hand and foot , body and mind , from your fellow-men , for committing no crime but that which your charitable feelings and good sense , and the misery of the people , and your sympathy for them , propelled you to do ; and , by-thebye , only a crime in the eyes of tyrants ; and while a contrary line of conduct , though not half so praiseworthy in the eyes of the blistered hands and unshorn chins , would have caused you to have been lauded to
the skies by the same men who have resorted to the arm of the law to paralyse your designs , instead of removingthoso grievances of which you have complained , and for which you have so indefatigably laboured ; that there are yet Irishmen whose hearts pant , and who wait with longing desire to see , and whose very blood boils to avenge the wrongs of " their Chief . " And we are constrained to declare that , though you were deserted by all the world , we , though poor , simple , unlettered men , we , at least , are determined to stand or fall \ f ith you , and the great and glorious principles which you advocate consistently , honourably , and determinedly .
Yea , noble O'Connor , you have justly earned , and truly deserve the respect and veneration of all honest men who really know you , and have witnessed your every act . We admire the readiness with which yon are wont to concede to suggestions in the . public cause , although , perhaps , in opposition to your own ; that you are willing to acknowledge when corrected , and to give credit where credit is due , even if it may be to those who have not had the chanGe of receiving that education which is calculated to make them proficient in the most enterprising concerns of life . This , we conceive , is a sure indication that you are actuated by disinterested motives , anil a desire for the well-being of every man , woman , and child in the British dominions . The above is not the only token , by many ;
there are hundreds of generous actions— -some private , which the world never hears or sees—besides public ones , which , entitle you to the love and esteem of every true lover of his country . We cannot praise you too much for your exertions in dragging before the public , and exposing the atrocious doings of that notorious parson , Rider , alias the " Rathcormac Butcher , " which exposure has been so nobly followed up by the Catholic representatives of "improved Ireland . " We have witnessed your endeavours for , and on behalf of the Dorchester Labourers , the Glasgow Cotton Spinners , the Welsh Martyrs , the Imprisoned Chartists , the defence of the Whiteboys , —in short , the unjustly persecuted of every class , clime , or coleur , have found in you the philanthropist , the vindicator , the sympathiser , and a benefactor .
Honoured Sir , —If you remain true to your professions , which we have not the slightest reason to doubt , having been many times so well tried in body and mind , and never known to flinch , nor ever yet found wanting , your name shall be handed down to posterity , and our children will be taught to lisp it with the same admiration and respect , as those of the martyrs and patriots who have gone before , but who are firmly engraven upon the tablets of our memories , and though even dead , yet ever living . The immortal
Enimett , Fitzgerald , O'Coigley , Murphy , Bagnall , Harney , Doyle , Roger and Arthur O'Connor , and the several other patriots , who fought and died for the rights , liberties , and independence of Ireland . Not the independence evidently sought for by the Exchange patriots , who feed on the misery of . our unhappy , ( and , we are sorry to say , in fearfully numerous instances , ) deluded fellow-countrymen—men who , in your absence , and in an un-Irishmanlike and cowardly manner , take every opportunity to vilify and misrepresent you , the only man who stood by Ireland when it was
" Treason to love her , and death to defend . " Aceept , therefore , kind Sir , the sincere { better felt than expressed ) and heartfelt thanks of your affectionate and devoted fellow-countrymen , Peter Welsh , Catholic , W . H . Ovrens , Protestant , Stephen Clark , jun ., Catholic , Edward Cuddy , Catholic , Dennis Lenand , Catholic , William Cunningham , Catholic , Hugh Ewins , Catholic , Peter Filzsimmons , Protestant , Tuomas Webb , Catholic , Dennis Morgan , Catholic , Thomas Cullen , Catholic , James Farren , Catholic , Nicholas Murphy , Catholic , John M'Hindley , Protestant , Patrick M'Guinness , Catholic , Patrick Beswick , Catholic , James Holeran , Catholic , Peter Dunavan , Catholic , James M'Cawley , Protestant , Thomas Colbert , Protestant , James Starkie , OwenFygens , Thomas Clark , Catholic
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THE CORN-LAW QUESTION . ( Concluded Jxm our last . ) "Do you not perceive , " do you not feel in what a despicable viaw you are considered ? Were it in their power , they wonld hinder yon . from Bharing even the light of the sun . That you breathe , that you enjoy the faculty of speech , that yon wear the human snap ;) , are subjects of mortification to them . "—Lrvr . We want Agrarian Laws , not"Corn Laws ; but how are we get them—how can we obtain any good—how can we remove any evil until the People ' s Charter give * ns the power ? Our Gracchi are imprisoned and would have been murdered if the nobility did not fear the People . ' : ¦ ¦ -i V ; ' / '
. . .. O , say the owners of the waste lands , they are not worth cultivating—they-would not repay theexpenoe . Would they not ? Many broken farmers , who are wiser than to emigrate at your bidding , retire with the remains of their fortune to some freehold moor , where they buy and enclose a few acres . I know one near Picketing , who gave eighteen aMUings per acre for about twelve acres , and by his own labour alone , ao improved the soil , that in the course of ten years , ha increased its value te £ 30 per acre , besides maintaining himself the while upon its produce . The method
is this—you pare the moor and have turf fuel which supplies you with ashes for manure ; you get atones out of the ground , with which you wall-room * your enclosed space , and set potatoes , or sow oats ; in pro * cess of time , cowslips will spring where nothing but black heather was seen before , and you will make a garden in the mid * t of the desert , where the rosu will blossom and the thrush will sing . Nature will supply you with almost all things needful , and yon will not be troubled with the tax-gatherer . There is the best herb-gale or moor-tea . In winter time , we make besems . ¦ ¦ ' -. ' ¦ ,-
Now , if Government wonld colonize our English moors—if it would employ felons to drain bogs in Ireland , inntead of sending them off at an expence of £ 00 perhead to Van Diemen's Land—if the unemployed poor were Bet to work to kid the whins that now grow for fox covers , and to clear away underwood , each man might earn his own keep , besides increasing the national resources by improving the ' capabilities of the soil . Who has not witnessed with pleasure the pride which a working man takes in cultivating a pertion of ground which he can call his own f Though he may have been labouring ail day in a stone-quarry , be goes at night cheerfully , as he went at morn , and trims his own allotted land . Pity that industry should be lost or go unrewarded . "JL time there was , ere England ' s woes began ,
When every rood of ground maintain'd its man . ' But our lords want the land for other purposes ; and so they make Corn Laws , Game Laws , and Poor Laws . They wish the poor to cease from off the land ; and , as they increase instead , we must have additional soldiers , additional police , and , of course , additional taxes . Injustice is not maintained at a little cost . We have discontent at home , and the contempt of foreign nations . The people never complain-without a cause ; they are too slow to complain ; oppression must madden before it will rouse ; they suffer insult without being pnyrofced by it . The Roman populace could be excited by wrongs , and had spirit to revenge them ; but there is no hope for tbis nation , except in the Infatuation of its rulers , when drunk with impunity .
We cannot blame our present Ministers for thinking ill of mankind , because they know each other , rior for being indifferent * to ' the sufferings of human beings , because they know , that though exempt from punishment themselves , they richly merit it ; but we do blame the middle classes . for baying so little consideration for the interests of truth and humanity as to support such a Government , and we blame the people for their apathy . If others neglect them , there is all the more reason why they should attend to themselves . The Government that turns men out of work , should find them food . The country in which one willing working man wants food , and clothing , and education , is badly governed . There are millions of such proofs , that our present Government is a bad one , and that our
social system is even worse than the Government Our present Ministers seem to think that the greatness of their offices is an excuse for any littlenesses which they may commit in them . Their very method of obtaining ofHce , shews them unworthy of retaining it , much more so their conduct in it They came into power under the banners , Reform ! Retrenchment ! Peace . ' Their reform was to make bad worse—their retrenchment was to take from the poor and add to the stores of the rich ? and their method of maintaining peace was to provoke war allover the world by a most iniquitous breach of the law ef nature and nations . They keep office as basely ns they obtained it meanly . Borne into power or the backs of the people , they formed a treacherous alliance with the very enemies whom they were sent- to coziquer . But they could not thusiave degenerated into tyrants , had not the people been sunk to slaves . They are
supported by a nystem which mokes merit a discommendation to its possessor—which gives that encouragement to vice that shonld be reserved for virtue only—which punishes the victim instead of the criminal , so that conscientious men have " declared that were they to sit in a jnty upon the life of a nmxderer of thvtr oira sona , they could not bring him in guilty , because crime is caused by the systEM , -whose supporters should be made amenable for it . Among the foremost of these supporters are the clergy—yes , when we hear of any atrocious crime , we should thank the Bishops . The worst thieves and knaves justify themselves , and justly so , by the example of our Ministers , both of the law , and of the gospel . There ia * now no crime in the people—their crimes are their misfortunes , as their misfortunes are made their"" crimes— " in a despotic state there is but one criminal—the tyrant "
The people tught to be proud of their present advocates—men who have sacrificed all and suffered all in their cause—men whose arguments are unanswerablewho have proved themselves morally and intellectually superior to the people ' s ' enemies—why do not the people render them physically so likewise ? Why do they suffer their power to be used against them ? Do the people think with their tyrants that each year should increase its tale of misery and sin—of sigbs and groans and tears , of heartbreaks , and failing intellects , and suicides ? " Many an old man ' s sigh and many a widow's Aud many an orphan ' s watev-standing eye ,-Men for their sons , wiv ^ s their husband ' s fate , And orphans for their parents' tuneiesa death - Have rued the hour that ever Whigs were born . " Let us not forget , while we at large enjoy this beautiful May weather , our dearest friends tire pining iii dungeons for our sakes . .
What then must the people do ? In vain you complain , in vain you petition , you threaten in vain . The avarice and luxury of the proud curse the humble- with hardship and privation . ' No greater proof of your poverty of spirit as well as of purae than that you do not rid yourselves of your . present rulers—of the tyrants that increase your burdens and weaken you at the same time—thfttload you and gall yon at once . Our Neroes enjoy their follies amid the very miseries which their crimes occasion—nay they taunt the people with being tho authors of their own miseries—the people whose complaints they punish—whose redress they pervert . There would have I ^ tn a mutiny on board of the ship Britannia , and the crew wouhl have had the helm before now , if they had been men !
England ! thy rose withers on thorns—Scotland ! thy thistle is so closely grassped by the hard hand of tyranny that it cannot sling—Ireland ! thy shamrock is a weed . They would have been the most contemptible of all creatures that have done this , if we had not suffered it to be done . Britain
" Hath made a shameful conquest of itself !" We must redeem the land before we can redeem ourselves . This task , is set- us to accomplish on earth , before we can hope for Heaven . Let us do it or die .
" In great attempts , 'tis-glorious e ' en to fail !" Let us no longer be villains to ourselves—to our own flesh and blood—to our souls and bodies . Let as swear by God himself that while he continues to shower his fatherly gifts from Heaven upon our own land , that his free bounty shall not be absorbed or engrossed and abused by rioters and revellers , who keep both our share and their own—let us swear that there shi-. ll be no more hunger , nor thirst , nor nakednesss , nor wandering about night and day to die on the stones in the streets—swear it and do what we swear . Bo it for the
love that God beara us , who is true to us and calls on us to be true to ourselves : So it that we may live and not die . Be killed or kill -rather than forced from the land that is yours . Live , in it , Englishmen—die in it , be buried in it . Mix the ashes with the ashes of your sires . Let us not constrain you in vain . Do it or die . Liberty first—then all the blessings which liberty confurs . Death to hell-born tyrants , and may their curses go home with them t » roost . Life and the land for us J JOHN Waikins . London , May 24 th , 1841 .
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Worthy of Imitation . —We have received for publication a balance sheet of the proceeds of a valuable barometer , given , to the National Charter Association by a friend to the working millions in the Metropolis , to be disposed of for the benefit of tho Political Victims . It was disposed of by way of raffle , and the total proceeds amounted to £ 13143 . 6 d . —leaving , after expences were deducted , more than £ 12 for tho victims ! ' This is a most praiseworthy instance of patriotic feeling . Twelve hundred tickets for the raffle were printed , and distributed among Chartists of the Metropolis for sale . They produced from the several localities the following amounts : — £ s . d . City of London ... ... ... 2 11 6 City 6 f Westminster . 2 3 6 Borough of Marylebone ... 13 6 Kensington and Chelsea ... 1 15 6 Globe Fields ... 0 6 6 Finsbury and St . Luke ' s ... 1 16 6 St . Pancras ...... V WVVCTAPEK Tower Hamlets ... ... » £ 3 nE 3 E r * SrZ . ¦ Bloomsbury ... ... ^< tWfTW ) jf&& < rf \ Walworth ... ... L ^ W > - # ®^ EA WandBWorth ,.. ... ffid ^ n ^ MK ^ l ^ Borough of Lambeth ... . ¦ M . v- ^|!)» o ^ s «^; 2 fZ 5 Bermondeey ... ... ' ? w \^^;}| - * % > vi £ ' ^ w -tfV . LS ~~ WiStMlMW
Grtgtnat Eovyt&Or&Ence. -—^^. " '
grtgtnaT eovYt&or&ence . - —^^ . " '
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THE NORTHERN STAR . * 7 JJ- ^ ' ' ' ' — - ' ~ ¦ .. ' ¦¦ — . - . — * . — ...... ¦—¦« . ¦ - — . j - _ ' . . - - ' ; : _ ' _ ¦ "_ . _ ¦ _ _ ___^_
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), May 29, 1841, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct551/page/7/
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