Current:

Northern Star (1837-1852), 23rd October 1841, Edition 3 of 5, Page 4, <£o &eatK?0 flr.tr Com&ponlTinti

Page 4
Page 4
4 of 8

On this page

  • Departments (2)
    • THE NORTHERN STAR. SATURDAY. OCTOBER 23. 1841.
    • <£o &eatK?0 flr.tr Com&ponlTinti
  • Text (10)
  • Transcript

    • 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.

      Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.

      Untitled Article

      PUBLIC -ENTRY OF FEAUGVS O'CONNOR INTO CtJONOCK . Monday , the 18 & October , will be aday ever memorable in the annals of oar Tillage history , it is neatly fire years since O'Connor first visited as , and when we beard of his intention to be amongst us cnee more , every Chartis ; vied with hi 3 brother to make his recepnon snch as we deemed him worthy « £ Oor Association has a splendid band , and a resolution vraseotne to to torn them ont in first rate style . Accordingly new dresses of rifle green were proenred , and made gratuitously by the patriotic tailors who are members of the Association . The cloth is ricb , and the trousers and jackets being also richly braided with scarlet lacing ,-and each man bans provided with ft new military Eaah and blue

      bonnet , gave to the patriotic musicians a very imposing appearance . It was agreed that the whole popalation should proceed ia procession to Aaciiinleck , atboat a mile from Cumnock , and where we met O'Connor upon his first visit . The day was the first __ e one we had baen blessed with for a long time ; and great was the delight of the female Chartists , and all , when everything seemed to give earnest of satisfaction- Three o ' clock was thehourappointed for meeting onr friend ; and , although O'Connor had coma from Glasgow , by Irvme and Kilm&raock , a distance of nearly fifty miles , yev so punctual was ke , that all met at the very spot , withont a haH . Many true and zealous Chartists from Sa . nqub . ar and New Mills , each distant seventeen miies from

      Cumuoek , joined ia the procession ; and four of the moss respectable laiies of New Mills case for the purpose of doing honcKr to Mr . O'Connor . About ten minatea afux three , the cavalcade began to move under their own banners . The old Bnunclog flag , under which the Covenanters of old iought and eon-« l _ ered , and under which (^ Connor had frequently addressed us , ioated in the breeze , * The Associa--tion band was in front of the earri » £ e , followed by the commitwe—then ease the Scotch bagpipers sod drummers , music te which- the descendants-of W ___ oe are partiealariy partial . In tb * rear followed the village band , 6 splendkl ses of musicians , and the whole population ef the district 4 and in this erder the procession a _ rched , with * light step and

      beany cheering , over the bridge to the Square , where a bastings was erected foe the speakers at the back of-the Marketplace , and tastefiiHy earpetted rer . When Mr . O'Connor mounted the platform , the cheering was deafening ; the multitude flocked to the front ; the day was -serene and-calm , with a summer sub , and every wiadow in the Square was instantly thrown no , and crowded with well-dressed ladies , and the middle class aen of the place . Only one master , who , « y gviB ^ drwing < mi banking , is eo&bied to employ ten slaves in a pottery speculation , refused a holiday to his men ; and never did we witness more sneera sorrow than that which was evinced by those whoa tyranny cooped « p , when they would have fives worlds for a day ' s freedom .

      Mr . Crawford , one of the Cumnock Association , was « alled to the chair . A truly patriotic and spirit-surring address was presented to Feargus O'Connor . A resolution was passed , approving of a great National Petition ,-aad a determination to sign it ; and also one of unbounded confidence in Mr . O'Connor , who addressed-the meeting at considerable length , p Mating oat the general remits which must flow from lite Charter to all classes of society , and especially to the middle classes , whose very existence , depends upon the consuiing powers of the working men . The whole of our middle class neighbours were in attendance ; and it was remarkable that as Mr . O'Connor warmed in his subject , they pressed onwards to the hustings . He spoke of his own position as a leader , and asserted that there were better men than himself at the the head of the

      movement , fie entered fully into the grievances of his own country , and showed what the oppression of Ireland cost Scotchmen and Englishmen . He saade some smashing hits at the finality Whigs , sad rally exposed the fallacies of the Corn Law Repealers , who would move all means to arrest the present agitation . He ridiculed the idea of the existence of such a thing as a Whig party , and said that now the battle was between Tories and Chartots only ; and , after a glorious display , concluded an address which gave general satisfaction , by observing that ha had pledged himself to form an honourable union with the middle classes , but not such a one as the subtle and wily require ; but one , in which the people' should give up not a fraction ' of principle , bnt for which the middle classes should surrender their crotchets and opposition : and he begged to have it understood that in that union the mid die

      classes should know that their places were in the rear , and the people with their Charier in the front . They had lad the people into conflagrations , destruction , violence , physical force , and plunder in 1881 ; bnt they never shonld do bo again . He rejoiced that she * blood-thirsty Chartists" had not _ hed a drop of human blood—that the " destructive Cliartists" had not violated the rights of property or destroyed a particle belonging to any human being . And now , said he , I will put this question to the middle classes around me : Has aot the great opposition to the Charter arisen from the strained opposition that the people would become licentious and unmanageable , in short , a kind of freeboeters 1 while I point their attention to the fact that even they and their servants in parliament admit that sever was there a period of equal distress to that which the whole people have calmly and peaceably

      «_ dored for two long years , and until the philosophers can prove to me that more danger is to be apprehended from a well housed , well clad , we ll fed , and ontented people , than from a houseless , saked , starving , dissatisfied community—until that paradox is solved , I , at all events , shall contend for the house , the clothes , the food , andjhe contentment . In fact , said he , those whom we have too . long trusted with pernicious power , which they knew not how to use , now refuse to the people the only power which can save all classes . He made a home charge upon those who would trump up the ghost of physical force , for the mere purpose ot disorganizing our rank 3 , with the intention of marshalling a tail of moral force working men as an appendage to the middle elass Whigs , to force their own political party once more into office upon a elap-trap administration question , or upon the general principle of

      u GREAT COMMERCIAL REFORM . " This portion of Mr . O'Connor ' s epeeeh has gone further to disarm a party in this town who was actually laying the foundation ot such a union , than if he h&d spoken for a month . At the close of Mr . O'Connor ' s address a vote of thanks to our excellent Chairman was carried by acclamation , and after three cheers for O'Connor and the Charter , tho procession again formed and proceeded Vo the _ aad ian , the " Dumfries Arms , " where an excellent dinner was laid ont in the largest room in the hotel , and whieh was crammed . Our opponents say that ws have become aristocratic , as tie present is the first occasion upon which we could # et access to the banat of the aristocrats ( Jhe head inn ) , but now oar friends are beginning to discover that the ready pence of the million * h preferable to the stray pounds of tho cobs , which , like angels ' Turits , are not only few and far between , but are also , like angels , hard to be caught .

      THE DINNER . No&ing could have been more creditable than the Banner in which the poor men arranged their repast , which consisted of everything that the season afforded . Not only was everything served in the best style , but , what seldom occurs at the aristocratic feasts , the attendance was unexceptionable . After grace was said by the Chairman of the meeting , the noble " workiss" began the fean ; and . with the exception of a good appetite nninjured by dissipation and the nightly revel , they ate with knives and forks , and carved very like ether men , none either cutting their throats ' or poking oat tbSir eyes . One thing which might be said -to distinguish the banquet from those of the aristocraev , was not the totii absence but tJjBvery moderate use of wine ? , spirite , and intoxicating drinks , the greater number being teetotallers ; and those who did indulge , doing _ o wi th the greatest moderation .

      When the cloth was removed , i hanks were retained to the beneficent donor of the feast _ ud all other things , by the ikfidel Chaktists , as the most religious people are designated ; and tnc company , again headed by the band , proceeded t-j the Cnartist Ball , to spend the evening in the enjoyment cf " the feast of reason and the flow of soul . " Sa great was the desire of the middle classes to hear Mr . O'Connor more in detail , that when the doors were opened they for the most part appeared to have provided themselves with tickets . The hall was crowded to suffocation . Mr . Cbawfobd again resumed the chair . The first toast was ** The people , " which was ably responded to by one of onr Association . The next was & Tbe health of Feargns O'Connor , " whose services having been briefly spoken to and eulogised by another of our body ,

      Mr . O'Corsob presented himself , and was greeted who a cheer that made the village ring . He opened shot and hitting battery npon the fortress of corruption , aad finding the middle classes present , he made the most powerful appeal we ever heard to their love of justice , love of country , love of peace , and love of self-interest , on behalf of the misgoverned people . He traced from them , as the Bource , every grievance under which the people laboured . He adver ted to the preseit position of Spain , and the part which France and Russia would take in the Eurosean struggle which the revolution now threatened

      to provoke . He also referred to the proclamation of U » President of the United States , for the purpose of suppressing that hostile feeling which the acquittal of M'Leod might engender towards England , and which promised to end in retaliation upon the Canadian frontiers . He pointed out the danger of stopping tho expression of public opinion which was society ' s safety-valve , and adverted to the consequence of tyranny in France , and other countries , where t _ e people vrere not allowed to asEemble for the purpose of discussion . There (* ai < i he ) ihs peaceful community may go to bed in conscious peace ,

      sod rise in rerohnion ; a club , a school , a college , as tfsoti&ttto . can provoke an cmeute ; but , as

      Untitled Article

      Burke said of JjigliBh sgitatior ^ a as the "Hue and Dry , " ¦ which , alarms the r ^ habitants , and proclaims ibe thisf ' s approach . / After a most shocking and heart-rending account of the operatives of Lancashire , Yorkshire , and Eng ' iand generally , which drew tears from many an eye , he laid a plain and simple statement before the middle classes , not having maeb _ tery themselves , of the effects which it most ' xrevitably have upon all persona with small carMtals of real money , who being driven from the large gambling table , were compelled to vest their' all in banking specul&tioaa , railway speculations , mining speculations , foreign funds , and small ga mbling , and ever which tkey had no © ontroul ; ar , _ the first intimation of profit

      and loss which they received , after having paid up their shares and c otamitted their management to directors , was , th At the speculation had not been successful ; and t jeir capital was divided between attorneys , assign * jes of tfie concern , commissioners of bankrupts , aa « 1 all the tribe of vultures who thrive upon man s conf ^ deoce and his inability to make profitable traffic v / ith a snail capital of real money , wnen obliged ' m contend against the Leviathan of fictitious wea . th . In speaking of the Whigs and their supportr a-s , be Baid how paltry , how despicable , how deceitfu 1 , after ten years of unparalleled profligacy and r seless expenditure ; after tickling every risible featcje of royalty aad the aristocracy ; after having exl lausted the Exchequer ; after having

      voted £ 30 , 000 , —having proposed £ 50 , 01 ) 0 a year to the Qnoen ' s husband ; after having given £ 70 , 000 ta royal horses ; then to ask that the Parliament should not be prorogued until the cause of tho prevailing distress had been ascertained . Why , said he , open , the Whig ledger , even to the secret service aoney , and therein you will find the cause of distress . Yon will find compensation to idlers for loss « of office which was a sinecure ; you will find compensation to the lordly butcher and aristocratic tyrant ; but when machinery displaced man from his natural position , we heard not a word of compensation lor the deposed , the starving , the systemmade , the virtuous , but unwilling idler . Mr . O'Connor spoke for nearly two hours in a rapid

      strain of the most brilliant eloquence , and was rapturously cheered all through , the middle classes Joining in the applause , and paying the most unwearied attentioa . At the close of his speech , three cheers were called for , and three times three were given ; and though considerably . exhausted and overpowered by the heat of the suffocating meeting , he started for Kilmarnock in an open carriage in the dead of night , a distance oi sixteen miles , through a cold bleak country . The band and procession accompanied Mr . O'Connor out of the town over the bridge , and followed him with chsera which echoed from our hills through the stillness of night , and roused the sleepers from their repose , telling them

      that while they took rest their friend was working for their country ' s regeneration . The effect of O'Connor ' s visit will be long remembered ; and the result has been even already an anxious inquiry among the middle classes , whose rancour is not only abated , but has actually softened down into promised co-operation . It would be impossible to attempt a description of the delight of the working classes which Mr . O'Connor ' s visit has caused . Kilmarnock demonstration tekes place to-morrow ; and so great is the enthusiasm at New Mills , that the whole people aro determined so go in procession , a distance of eight miles , to do honour to their friend .

      The Northern Star. Saturday. October 23. 1841.

      THE NORTHERN STAR . SATURDAY . OCTOBER 23 . 1841 .

      Untitled Article

      ANOTHER TRAP FOR THE PEOPLE . h the early part of the present week , a fine exemplification of the tricks resorted to by the enemies of Chartism and the people was brought to our office , in the shape of a very large and attractive placard , printed at Manchester , and purporting to be a convening of two meetings in Carpenter ' s Hall , for furthering the objects of u The Daily Bread Society , " an infamous conspiracy lately set on foot by a section of the "Plague" men to entrap the people into an illegal combination , and so lay them open to the raking fire of a " str 03 g Government . " The placard in qneBtion was most gorgeously " displayed , " and the following is a copy of it : —

      " A PUBLIC MEETING of the Men op Manchester will be held in the Carpenter's Hall , Garratt Road , on Thursday evening , Oct . 21 , 1841 , and a Publio Meeting of the WOMEN OF MANCHESTER will he held in the same place , on Friday evening , Oct . 22 nd , 1 & 41 , on the former of wkich occasions an address will be delivered oa the beet mode of obtaining the repeal of the Focd Taxes , as th © road to the PEOPLES CHARTER , or to something better , accompanied by some statements respecting the conduct and proceedings of the Man ehester Anti-Corn Law League , whica it is hoped they will attend and bear .

      " On the second occasion will be delivered an Address on the Political and Social Rfghts of Women , pointing out the means to their attainment through the Repeal of the Bread Tax , by MR . HtLL , Honorary Secretary to the National Daily Bread Society , Author of Daily Bread , the Bread Eater ' s Advocate , &c . &c . " Admission to the body of the hall , One Penny ; Gallery , Twopence ; Platform , Sixpence , to defray expences . " Geo . P . Jennings , 5 , Blue Boar-court , Manchester . "

      The tricks to whicn thess Anti-Corn Law gentry are compelled to descend to get an audience together to hear their fallacies and sophistries , is good evidence of the progress of sound and honest enlightenment on these subjects among the working men . In this placard , the words Public Meeting , " M Peoples Charter , " and " by Mr . Hill , " are printed in the largest type that could possibly be got iato the breadth of the Bheet ; doubtless with the idea of inducing parties to attend , from the supposition that it was a Chartist meeting , to be addressed bj the Editor of this paper . We have not heard the result of this palpable ruse ; but it requires

      not much penetration 0 see that it is eminently calculated to defeat itself ; because parties who might have een thu 3 entrapped were not likely to be long in discovering , or slow in resecting , the cheat practised on hem . The people are not now to be led by men . Pa 3 $ services and established reputation are not now received as substitutes for principle . If ths Editor of the Northern Star should presume to prate the nonsenso of the " Daily Bread Society" to any meeting of the men and women of . Manchester , he would b 3 very deservedly treated ¦ with aa littls ceremony as we dare say was bestowed upon this pseudo " Bread Eater ' s Advocate . "

      The tail of the placard tells us , that the " Mr . Hill" therein referred to , is the author of " Daily Bread" and the " Bread Eaters Advoeate , " &o . &c-Two numbers of this "Bread Eater ' s Advocate" have been sent to us by some friend , whom vre thank ; and their contents induced us to buy the book referred to under the title " Daily Bread . " We find it to be a rascally insidious plot to take advantage of the

      extensive unpopularity of the- corn laws for bringing tho people into collision with the law . That we may not be suspected of misrepresenting the character of this "Daily Bread " pamphlet , and tho society to which it has given rise , we give its character from its own champion , the Leeds Times , as quoted in large type , and with no small air of triumph by the Bread Eater ' s Advocate himself . The Leeds Times then saya : —

      " There need ba no mistaka' about the Daily Bread Society . It , is AA' ORGANISED PLANoer / tc' - ' y legal , and justifiable we think , in amoral ¦ pomt 01 now—FOR BREAKING THE LAW J I " And this , too , from the chief organ of the " philosophical Radicals" ! the " Moral philosophers" !! the "Rational Chartista" 1 ! i the invtighers against the " physical force doctrines of Feargus O'Connor and his wild associates" ! . ' !! We say nothing about the logical consistency of a " legal organistd plan to break the law 1 ' ! We leave that plume to adora the cap of our " learned " neighbour , " along with his bells !

      This " organised plan for breaking the law" has been also highly epoken of by the Morning Chronicle , and other Whig papers . Thus it has ever been that our greatest task ia to combat the incitements to violence of the lying scoundrels , who are ever ready to xiecry their own doctrines , and to hand over their dupes to punishment . In bis introduction to . " Daily Bread , " the Author

      says , that he " is in no way connected with the persoris who have taken the name of phyiical-force ChartistB . " To what " persons" does tho " Daily Bread" man allude ? We never heard of snch persons . Wehaveheard much outcry and mucb denunciation of physical force from " vendible scoundrels , " " rufBin slaves , " " conspirators , " and " members of revolutienary dubs / ' such as they of the Morning Chronicle , the Globe , the Leeds Time * , and ib . 9 Bread Eater ' s

      Untitled Article

      AdvocaUi bnt we bave seldom found more direct incitements to physical violence than those which abound m bo many of the missives of this "Daily Bread Society , " as have come under our notice . The object and purpose of the " Daily Bread Society" as stated by its founder , is to " resist , " to ' evade , " and "break through " the law ; and the following is a brief sketch of the mode in whioh they propose to do it . :

      Societies are to be started in all the large towns , having for their object the abolition of the Corn Laws . These axe to be called " Daily Bread Sooieties . " Everybody who contributes one penny is a member : he receives a printed card , or ticket , which constitutes his membership ; and these pennies are to be employed in sending out ships to bring over foreign corn to onr shores , to be landed nolens volens ; an the people are gravely advised , if the Queen should object to repeal the Cora Laws , to march up to the water side ia companies of ten or twenty thousand , armed with " empty bags , " for the purpose of defying the preventive service and landing their corn without paying the duty 1 .

      Is there a mooncalf in existence so foolish as not to see that the author of this atrocious plan means one of two things ! He either means to organise an armed resistance to the law , or he means to lead the people into , collision with the authorities , for the purpose of having them slaughtered ! We care not upon which horn of this dilemma he may choose to hang himself ; from both he cannot escape We guess his ten or twenty thousand " empty bag "

      bearers would find something harder and heavier to carry than corn , after but a very short altercation with the military . And hear the cool manner in which this fearful consideration is disposed of by the Bread Eater's Advocate . In No . 1 . is an article containing an enumeration of " objections which might be urged against the National Daily Bread Society , with answers : ' one of these objections is the very natural and obvious one : —

      M That if the people took the corn out of the ship , or out of the bonding warehouse , by force ; there might be loss of lite . " This objection the writer , "who is no way connected with the persons who have taken the name of phyrioal force Chartists , " and who considers it " a mistaken course to stimulate the peoplo to acts of violence , " replies to in the following terms : — u That the Corn Law could not be imposed without bloodshed , nor continued without bloodshed ,

      was not admitted as a rsason why it should not exist ; for be it recollected there was Corn Lxw blood shed in Westminster in 1815 . and Corn Law blood shed at Peterloo in 1819 ; so thai even if it were certain that it could not bo repealed without bloodshed , it by no means follows that it Bhould be snffered to exist . England has some noble 1 Romans' who would willingly lay down their lives in such a holy cause .

      " Oh she has Sons that never , never Will stoop to be the Landlord ' s Slaves , While Heaven has light Or Earth has graves . " " When Barbaroux sent a message to Marseilles that they were to send him' six hundred men who knew how to die , ' the call wa 3 quickly responded to ; aor would such a call to Manchester be long unresponded to , though it is hoped it may not be necessary ! J "

      After this sample of the " moral force" teaching of this Bread Eater ' s Advocate , it is quite unnecessary that we should caution our readers to have nothing to do with any gnch " perfectly legal" enterprises as that of the Daily Bread Society . We have always counselled the people to regard as enemies those who would bring thorn into collision with the law . We do eo still . And we tell them that the founders and abettors of this " Daily Bread Society" are either the most incorrigible fools , or amply deserving of the mild epithets , " vendible scoundrel s , " " ruffian slaves , " conspirators , " and " members of revo ' utionary clubs" which they belch out by wholesale against the peoplo who have more

      sense than to be gulled by them . We strongly suspect , indeed , that their vocabulary is the result of a somewhat close acquaintance with their own characters . But , in either case , whether knaves or fools , they are unfit to be trusted . And that they are one of the two , can be doubted by no man who has read the Bread Eater ' s Advocate and its grave recommendation , that an indefinite number of starving men shall put their pence into the fob of some ** Daily Bread Collector , " without any guarantee for seeing or hearing any thing wore of their money ; and that if perchance it 6 hould be rightly appropriated , they should march in groups of 10 , 000 or 20 , 000 , with " empty bags" upon their backs , to ask the military to shoot them 1

      We should not have noticed this contemptible abortion of the Plague , but or the trick to which it seems they are resorting , of attempting to pass off their illegal " conspiracies to break the law , " as modes to be adopted by the people for obtaining the People ' s Charter . Of course we need not say that these " Daily Bread" men , have no more intention to do any thing for the attainment of the Charter , than

      they have to bring down the moon in one of their " empty bags . " Lest , however , there should be any doubt upon this matter , the Bread Eater ' s Advocate has very kindly put it beyond doubt . In No . 2 , is an article be-praieing Col . Thompson , not for his support of universal suffrage , for which he really deserves praise , but because " Col . Thompson had the judgment to see the advantagesof a repeal of the Corn Laws befo re most other men . " From that article we

      give the following extract , which settles the question of what the Daily Bread men mean to do with the Chartists , if they can hook them into an anition : — " If the operatives and the Chartists of Lancashire and Yorkshire , the men of Birmingham , and the men of Scotland , want to kill two birds , the Com Law and the restricted Suffrage , they are acting wisely to choose for their leader the best man for shooting-woodcocks . He will be a good man to decide , too , whether we ought to try to kill two birds at one shot , or if we are to have two shots , which WE SHOULD BttINQ DOWN FIRST . " The question needs not the talent or tb . 3 shrewdness of Colonel Tmompson to decide it . Let the

      Chartists do one thing at once , and that witn all their might , or they will assuredly find themselves unable to do anything worth doing . Let them keep on the high roa , d of Chartism , and beware of byepaths . And , above all things , let them eBchew the "empty bags" of the "Daily Bread Society" ! Let them adhere to their own legal and peaceful agitation for their own Charter . Let them—we again rcptat it—spurn from them , as a poisonous viper , the wretch who counsels them to break the law . Never were so many cobwebs spread for the poor flies as now ! The

      oppressive hand of faction has heaped upon the people misery and destitution almost beyond bearing ; the grasping hand of Capital has folded in its vile embrace almost the whole media of production ; the labourer , supplanted at his hearth and become a surplus drug , must be got rid of ; and the soil must be rendered valueless that the " merchants , who are princes , " may tell their countless hoards and revel in their luxuries without the presence of the bated competitor in the person of the landlprd , , or the still more hated drawback in the person of the breathing , starving , but not needed slave . To accomplish these objects many have be « n the efforts of the monster ; crafty and subtle his devices , but all cruel and relentless in t heir nature ; and of all these

      the crowning one is this same "Daily Bread Society , " which literally geeks , fa ^ crafty language of its founder , « to kill two birds with one stone !• »¦ There can be no doubt that the intention of the " empty bag" processions is to accomplish two things at once : to obtain a large thinning of the " surplus pop ulation , " by the musket , the halter , and the transport ship ; and at the same time to create a popular demonstration which shall intimidate the Government and compel them to elevate the commercial upon the ruins of the landed interest . 'Tis a deep devilish plot , and well laid I The rascals well kuow the character of those wnh whom tfcey have to deal . They know that a strong Tory Government nay not be trifled with ; that it will ttsnd no nonseese ; that it will bear but little badgering before it " shows fight " :

      Untitled Article

      that any demonstration of physical resistance * will at once bring the well-trained and organized physical force of tho ruling power into play , and the people will be shot , sabred , hung , and transported , with brief shrift and little ceremony ;¦ while they know also the character of Sir Robert Peel ; they know his conduct on previous occasions ; they know his connection with , and dependance on , the Money-Monster—the funded and cotton-spinning interests ; they are quite aware that if they c » n successfully organise each a rebellious display of physical violence , aa thiB they hint at , Sir Robert ' s Government will first quell the outrage" and then

      repeal the Corn Laws . True ; it is all but certain that a repeal of the Corn Laws under each eircumstanoea would be attended with further measures for the more perfect knee-banding of the people ; most likely by a restriction of the franchise—and certainly by some measures of oppression which would make the condition of the people oven yet more unbearable than it now is . This is what the money-monsters , the masters of the "Daily Bread" men want They want to see the social slavery of the people perfected ; and this vile concoction of a scheme—a "legal " scheme—to break the law is hit upon , as a hopeful means of accomplishing it .

      Chartists , beware ! there can be no such thing aa a "legal" society whoso object is "to break the law . " "The Daily Bread Sooiety" is an altogether illegal conspiracy . As an illegal society , its public acts involve all its members in their consequences ; the possession of one of their penny tiokets makes a man a member , and exposes him to all the consequences of belonging to as decidedly illegal a sooiety as ever existed in this country ; every member is liable for all the illegal acts committed in the name of the society by the self-appointed committee of this conspiracy against the law . No man , therefore , who has common sense will be a member of " The Daily Bread Society ; " whatever difference of opinion may exist upon the merits of the "plague" question , " TUEBK MEED BE MO ' MISTAKE' ABOUT THE DAILY BREAD Society . "

      Untitled Article

      u SAVE US FROM OUR FRIENDS . " It is our maxim always to nip an evil in the bnd . Elsewhere we have given a oaution to the people against a new trap laid for them by a section of the anti-Corn Law men . We have now to oantion them against over-zeal , or that form of treachery which is often kard to be distinguished from it , in our own camp . Wo have suffered severely from this cause in former times . Lot us "stand away" from the beacon which has been erected . Let not all we have done , and all we are doing , ba rendered useless by the treachery or folly of a few individuals .

      We have been induced thus to write from a perusal of the speech of Mr . Black , at Sheffield , reported in our last number . The hurry of business paused it to escape our particular attention last week ; but , on deliberate perusal , we find it fraught with most misohievous sentences ; such as , while we doubt not that they emanate from a very honest and good feeling in the speaker , are capable of being wrested by our enemies to the damage of our

      cause . After speaking of tho state of Wales , and the necessity of Iecturer 3 , he goes on to say : — " That men , like Harney and himself , must not be employed , for they were not fitted to preach patience to an oppressed peoplo bubnino fob vengeance and FREEDOM . " Again , speaking of the Welsh mountaineers , he

      saysi" Aye , they have sworn to die rather than bear with injustice muoh longer ; and their ardent hope was , that the day would Bpeedily come when they would hear that their English brethren were men to a man to demand their rights ; and when that hour c » me , Englishmen might be assured that Welshmen would not be found in the back ground . " Further on he says : — " Should the Tories attempt to do the same as the Whigs , and seize our Champion , O'Connor , I trust the people will proclaim their resolution ; and act upon it , too , to have max for man . "

      Now , we ask , seriously , are we to have the follies , absurdities , and denouncements of 1839 over again I Are we to lay ourselves open to prosecution merely to pander to the self-conceit of persons who , like Mr . Black , suffer their z .-al to outstrip their prudence f And if we permit the honest and well meaning thus to " run riot" in imprudence , and cheer them in it , where are we to stop ! or how are we to distinguish a simple honest man , which we think Black to be , from a mouthing , designing knave—who has a point of treachery to serve t

      The history of popular agitations in England shew this remarkable faot : that whenever they attain a powerful position , the Government always tries , by means of spy instigators , to entrap the people into ' premature outbreaks , for which the honest and enthusiastic are always sure to suffer , and the spies to bo rewarded . The * ' Cato-9 treet conspiracy" for which TmsiiEwooD , Ings , Davisow , Bbukt , and Tidd , were hung and beheaded , and for the getting up of which Edwards and Castles , the spies , wero rewarded , is an instance in point ; the risings and outbreaks in Yorkshire , Derbyshire , and

      Lancashire , in 1817 , for which so many hundreds were imprisoned , Brandreth , LvDLOw , and Turner were hung , and many were transported , but for which Oliver , the spy , was sent out of the kingdom by the Government , with a snug coinmissionership , is another instance in point ; the career of Richmond , the spy , in Scotland , is another instance ; and wo tell our readers that the late disurbances at Newport , and Sheffield , and Bradford , and Dswsbury , for which Frost , Williams , and Jones , so nearly lost their heads , and for . which they are now banished their country and forced to herd with tho veriest

      outcasts of society , and for which so many good men and true have been imprisoned , is another instance . The truthful and hoaest were there punished ; but the instigators—the gotters-up , where are they 1 Have they been sentenced to be hanged and beheaded } Have they been transported ?—Have they been imprisoned eighteen months in York or Lancaster Castles 1 No , no ! not they , indeed ! Have they not rather been suffered to slip off the political stage into retirement as effectual as if the broad waters of the Atlantic rolled between some of them and us ! Yes ,

      we heard not of those who planned the whole affair—who proposed " secret societies 1 " who entrapped Frost ; and who would have sent hundreds more to the gallows bnt for our discovery of the hellish plot and instant note of alarm ; we heard not of these parties being apprehended and prosecuted for " high treason , " though we happen to know that evidence was in the possession of the " authorities , " which would inevitably have convicted them , had the govarnment dared to prosecute * What , then , with these instances beforehim , isMr . Black about \ He must surely bo demented !

      Does he not know that his " mighty myriads " ( if they resorted to physical forcje ) could all be routed by a regiment of soldiers ?—Has he not seen enough of 1838-9 , to witness how the palsy of weakness comes over ub the moment we outstep the law I Any how , i f he does not , u ) e must show him that such follies Buall not be tolerated . We are astounded at the men of Sheffield cheering such sentiments . Where has oar cause Buffered more from tho ' talk" of physical force than at Sheffield ! We implore the people , for the sake of Ireland , —just beginning to see our prinoiplos—; for the

      sake of the thousands who will be plunged into misery , if men like Black be listened to , resolutely to set their faces against all allusJona to force and bloodshed . Good God ! are we again to reach the very threshold of freedom , and again to have our hopes blasted by the treachery or madness of onr own party ! What good will the Star of last week do in Ireland ? Will not theO'Conicellites point tr umphantly to Black's speech at Sheffield as a proof that , we are torch and dagger men ! How can Higgins and Bbophy disprove them when they have Rod it ion in black and white ? These tirades must

      BE JJISCOUNTENANCtD ; OR EVERY GOOD AND V 1 BHJOUS MAN WILL FORSAKE US , AND ALL OUR EFFOBTS WILL BE VAIJI . Nothing on earth can stop us , ip we only keep wituin the law 1 The middle classes of the towr . s

      Untitled Article

      will very soon be Chartists to a man . The Specta ' . or &nd Nonconformist are coming out : everyth ng around us is fall of hopo and promise . Shall all this be blasted bn some foolish outbreak i Heaven forbid IV What would Peel give for another Newport \ Let ns beware , then . Let ua be as cautious of ourselves « is of the enemy . Let prudence govern , and determination actuate , and nothing can resist onr efforts .

      Untitled Article

      THE LEEDS HOUSEHOLD SUFFRAGE MEETING . Wb have had many glorious triumphs to record in the onward struggle for the Charter , but . we never remember to have witnessed a more decided defeat of the most deep-laid piece of sophistry ever attempted by the Fox and Goose Club , thaa that obtained over them , in their own meeting , held on Monday evening , in the large room , Commercial Buildings , Leeds .

      The meeting was professedly got up for tho purpose of agreeing upon such grand principles for agitation . as should have the tendency of uniting all grades of Reformers ; but , unfortunately for them , although the first resolution , which attributed all the misery in this country to the want of the Suffrage , and was allowed to pass ; the second , which wai to the effect that the Corn Laws was the greatest evil resulting from the defect in the Suffrage , and ought , therefore , to demand our immediate consideration with a view to their repeal , appeared at once to have let the cat out of the bag ;

      for long ere the mover and seconder had finished their harangues , the ire of the meeting was kindled ; and as if to arrive at the climax of dissatisfaction by design , a Mr . Curtis , aa American , and professing republican opinions , added fnel to the fire of discontent already kindled , by inflicting the usual rigmarole so muoh in vogue among the Corn Law repeal hireling agitators , and speedily brought down upon the whole tribe of tricksters a well-timed ' and judicious Chartist amendment , to the effect " that this meeting pledges itself to agitate for nothing short of the People ' s Charter . "

      Muoh good speaking was the result of this amendment , and whioh , on the part of the Chartists , deserves the highest praise ; but wo cannot deny ourselves the pleasure of congratulating Mr . Frederick Lees on the noble stand which he made , and the able manner in whioh he exposed and refuted the sophisms of the repeal party . This is the more pleasing to us , because we have long had to lament—shall we say the apathy ¦!—nay , not only the apathy , but the determined opposition of the teetotal body generally , in Leeds , to the principles of the People ' s Charter . Latterly , however . a great change has been working among that class Of men and we trust that this noble example of the great

      and clear-headed champion of Temperance , will be the means of bringing into our ranks many of these sober self-denying and practical revenue destroyers and Government . Reformers . We have long known that truth with righteousness must unite ; or , in other words , that teetotallers must become Chartists as well as that Chartists will become abstainers from intoxicating drinks ; and we thus picture , to ourselves a phalanx of musole , might , mind , morality , and voice , by the exertion of which , the old rotten systems of tyranny and despotism shall tremble and fall . Let them kick and writhe and flurry as they may , our will and power will then be irresistable , and our triumph speedy and glorieus . : ¦

      . The majority in favour of the amendment wa 3 at least three to ono . Every shift to avert this denoument was made by Mr . Plint , the Corn Law Repealer ; but to no use . The meeting was divided , and the majority was so great that the Chairman immediately declared the amendment carried . It is worthy of remark , that no preparation whatever , was made by the Chartists to obtain this great victory ; the whole aff&ir appears to have been entirely spontaneous , and done at a time too , when every effort had been made by the Foxes to assemble their friends from among the working men ; proving at once their real insignificance as a party , and the influence and spread of Chartism .

      Surely James Garth Marshall , E ? q . Mr Hamer Stansfeld , and their admirers , will see by this time the otter inutility of wasting their energies in attempting to satisfy the people with mere segments of Reform and class crotchets . The people are far a head of all such men and measures , and may no longer be tampered with .

      Untitled Article

      [ Omitted last week . ] David Ssiitit . — We fear nothing can be done in the matter : the payment of the annual rent of four shillings , and afterwards the increased rent of forty shillings , was an acknowledgement on the part of your father and brother tltat the property was not their own . Punter ' s case was altogether a different one . D . N . —His communications shall always be attended to provided tee receive them , in time . J . P ., Camberwell . —The assertion that Mr . W . 'is shut out from the columns of the Northern Star is utterly untrue . His communications are subjected to precisely the same scrutiny and discretion as those of every other correspondent . One or two articles from him have been omitted when

      our space was full , and one which we thought exceedingly injudicious was refused insertion . But this by no means warrants any one to say he is excluded from the columns of the Northern Star . The columns of the Northern Star have always been , and while under their present management shall always be , fully and freely open to the advocacy of Chartism , by any and every me , so far as may comport with our circumstances and honest judgment . Did John Conroy , of Monlmellick , Ireland , receive a letter a ? id six postage stamps from Rochdale 1 Mansfield . —If the . friends have read the notices to correspondents in our last , they will see why their , nominations to the General Council are Omitted .

      Bristol . —We do not think it would be well to publish the letter we have received from ** two members of the committee . " Let every possible means be tried to restore harmony and peace . Mb . Micuael Hyland , foreman mason , Cashel , county ofTipperary , Ireland , will please to state , through the medium of the Northern Star , whether he has yet received the parcel of ^ Northern Stars , tracts , $ c , f > om W . Russell , Nottingham , through Deacon and Wade ' s office , and for which he paid carriage through to Cashel , 5 s . Id , near two months ago ? // not , claim will be made for value . . ' ¦ Thomas Easton . —The letters he alludes to were never published separately . Mb . George Ellis , of Sheffield , requests the Secretary of the Chartist Association , or agent for the Star , at Stratford-upon- Avon , to favour him

      with their addresses through the medium of the Northern Star . Edward Burley , the North and East Hiding District Secretary , wishes to have the address of some one of the Chartists of Burlington and Driffield , being desirous to correspond' with them on business of importance . Address No . 19 , Billon-street , Layer thorp , York . If Mr . Nicole Bradford , Wills , will f orward his address to Iiedruth , his request shall be answered by letter immediately . We have received a notice of lectures to be delivered ' by Mr . Knowles , of Keighley , in Halifux , but without any specification of the day . The report of the District Delegate Meeting was not received . . ¦ H . Beal— His letter has been handed to Mr .

      Shetngton . C . W . T . —It depends upon the terms and the nature of the agreement . A bbaham WHiTBHEAD .- « - # i * Utter , to Mn O'Connor next week . ¦• : ¦ - ¦•¦ ¦ ¦ - ¦ - '¦ ' - *¦ ¦¦ + ¦¦¦ ¦ ¦ ¦¦ : ¦ ' - . ¦¦ ¦¦¦ ¦¦ . ' An Ibish Chabtist . —Wehave no room . A True Brother in the Good Fight for the r . Chakteb . —The statement in Mr * O'Higgins ' s letter is correct ; We have not the date just at hand , nor can we afford time to turn ovsr Parlia--. ¦ : ¦ menUtrp fUes "for them . ' ¦¦ .. =.....: ,. - Thb Mabch of Tarns . —We have no room . The Polish Exile ' s Lakekt . —We have no room . PfiTER M . BBOPHT , of 12 , Beretford-Mtreet , Dublin ,

      hns received a parcel of tracts , Circulars , and Stars , in weight about 60 / fo ., tehich cost Mm 6 s . 9 d ., and which he supposes to be the one sent by Mr . James Walker , of Leeds . P . M . Brophy takes this opportunity ot informing the readers of the Star , that he has it from ¦ official authority , that any newspaper- published in Great Britain or Ireland can be sent through the post-office , free , from any town in Great iiritain or Ireland to any other town in the same countries ; but that such newspapers cannot be sent to foreign countries without charge after they are seven days old .

      Untitled Article

      A StJGGESTiOK . —A correspondent turtles thus : — ^ " In order to unite the people : we must first unite the press , which I think may be done by destroying the competitive principle amongst thy editors and proprietors of the Chartist press in the following waj : —To esUbliBh a daily paper ^ o be called the ' Seven Stan , ' and to be printed at seven different parts of the empire , each to be the private property ot the different proprietors , and each employ thei * own editors ; but to employ their reporters jointly to attend , both Houses of Pdriiamentfand to pay them jointly , exactly * according to their different circulation . Tbia plait , would . secure to the peoplt the whole Chartist editorial talent of the nation ; the reporters In ' Tjonffon to supply them with tb « Parliamentary int&ligenoe , according to their data of ciredktlon . ¦ : " - > " ¦ - ¦ . ¦•; -: > ' '

      PuKCTUAUTr . —We ( hints the Mowing letter worthy of attention i ^— ' ' _ ; " ? . " - ,,. London , Q < 44 ** Z , 1841 . " SIR , —The Northern Star at the-laat wfcak stated thai Mr . Clancy would continue his lectures at the room , No : 65 , Old Bailey , on each Thnreday evening , si eight o ' clock . Not without : » 0 ma inconvenience I attended last evening ; bnt at iiaif-psst eight o ' clock there was no Indication of business : not * creature about the ' premises . Supposing that th « exact time of commeccfrig the lecture had beei necessarily postponed , ' I called again at half-past nine o ' clock , but still no symptom of a meeting ;

      and again at ten o ' clock , with a similar result : anij I then returned borne , mortified and disappointed Ought we not to have in London some daily orgag of communication with one another ? Really the want of orderand of organisation is too palpablj indicated by the eirqumsUnce to which I hati taken the liberty to direct your attention . A n » tlce of this may be serviceable te our Chartitt brethren of the metropolis . I have heard nothing recently on the subject of a daily Chartist newi . paper . I trust that the project has been only temporarily relinquished . With the sincere wishes for the success of the people ' s paper ,

      "I am , Sir , yours respectfully , "a cha . rtist ov the school indicated by the

      Motto" « Suaviter in modo , Fortiter in re . '" "A Word to Tyrants . " — We . have no room . Scraps for Radicals received , and shall appear . A Loveb op Truth , Justice , a » d Equality . — Wt have no room for his "Letter to the aristocracy « f aUNations . " ¦ . J . B . Smith will see that his letter ii answered £ | the petition itself , which is now published . James Stewart . —The advertisement , if inserted , will be 3 s , 6 d . , Mr . O'Brien requests us to announce for him thatht will not deliver any more lectures or addreua whenever the charge of admission to the body cf the hall , or assembly-room , exceeds one penny ;

      but he has no objection to managing commit / at making an additional charge forreserved seatt . Whenever this rule has hitherto been departed from it was without Mr . O'B ' sprevious knowledge , and against his well-known and oft-dt . dared wishes . He paHicularly requests Ut over zealous friends to attend to this . John Thomson asks—•** 'Are Members , of the Howe of Commons paid while silting on commiltet * . and , if so , what is the rate of their remuner > tion V They are not paid * 'We suppose that vt must have . answered this qUesdon more than twenty times .

      J . D . Devoiiside . —Yes , Mr . Hobson can supply Aim , He has but to send , either by post-office order » in postage stamps , the price of the box , and too pence for the postage of it , and the pillswill k sent to him by the returning post . This answer will also apply to several who have enquitti respecting Parr ' s Pills , advertised in our »• lumns . Samuel Wilkinson . —His communication shall appear ; but we are at present crowded . Wm . Tillhan . —His communication shall appear . A Coventry Christian Communionist . —His con * munication shall be used . A Radically Honest Reformer . —ffe have w

      room . A Fiuend is desirous of sending a small sum of money to Stockport for the benefit of the distresui operatives , and asks us to furnish the secretary ' s address . Will the friends of Stockport send U us \ The Edinburgh Committee for the O'Brien TetAmonial Fund wish us to notify to the Chartuttin that city and neighbourhood , that subscriptmt for the laudable object they have in view are ttiS taken in ; the books having been allowed to remain open for some lime further , in order thai such as have not already subscnbea \ may haeem opportunity of doing so . Mr . Blackie , secreiavi to the Chartist Association ; the secretary to ik O'Brien Testimonial Committee , at 114 , Highstreet , or any of the members , will receive tub ' scriptions .

      Untitled Article

      The National Petition . —We announce with pleasure that our publisher , Mr . Hobson , has printed the National Petition for 1842 , on a neat sheet , for the purposes indicated in our short leader o / last week . He is ready to supply them to the associations and to individuals atthefoltowiiig charges . —100 copies for 2 s ; 1 , 000 / or IBs . Petition iheets , of good strong paper , ruled in four columns , arid holding two hundred names when filled , may also be had , price Id . each . Secretaries and persons who need them li&ve onl ) to send an order addressed to Mr . H ., enclosing a post-office order , or stamps , to the amount , and they may have sent to their address any number they require .

      OUB NUMEROUS CORRESPONDENTS will oblige Ut , » all cases , if they will for the future write on one side of their paper only . We with $ » to be adopted as a general rule , in no case to It departed from . Joseph Hormbloweb . —His acrostic is not sup dently poetical for publication . A Fsmale Chartist , ABERDKS « . T-Her stanza * art not sufficiently correct for publication . S . Toaats . —His lines will not do . General Council . — We have received several lists of nominations to the General Council , none of which contain the residences of the parties . We have again to repeat that they cannot be w * serted . The Christian name , sirname , and

      address of each member must be given at full length . In the Northern Star of October 9 th , the address »/ Richard Marsden was desired by some person it-London . It is No . 27 , Back-croft-street , bottsa of Marsh-lane Preston . All Communications intended for the West Riding Secrctury must , for the future , be addressed to Wm . Mosley Slolt , hair-dresser , under the Cooperative Stores , Market-place , Dewsbury , Mr-Slott having removed from the Town End . Chartist Addresses from different bodies have bet * received . They are unavoidably omitted . The Address to Hugh Parkeb , Esq ., from tu prisoners confined in Scotland-street'Gaoli SiKJ ' field , shall appear next week . . Abbroath . —Mr . O Connor is requested to visit IM Chartists of this place on his tour .

      Untitled Article

      Mr . Simpson . — We do not know anything furO thanwhat has appearedin the'Star . Some Pekson at Merthyr-Tydvil sent US&W office order last week , and the letter accmfi ^ T it has been mis ; a < d . Wilt the person send agvb and sny what the money was for , and also w amount sent . r A Will the Committee for sending Stars to Irelf send a few regularly to " £ > an Daly , w * p » Leilrim , Cork . " . , ^ Mb . A . M'KENZiE . o / Bnsfof , has sent us 5 s . MJ * Nonhtiru Stars , to be seat to Mr . O'Hig ^ W the Irish Universal Suffrage Association , •» Dublin . ¦ .. T . W . H ., STROUD .-Send word what thefifiH ""^ stamps were for , and we can then say ho * s" when they were applied . R . Watson , for H . M . G . —Received .

      FOB THE WIVES AND FAMILIES OP THE IHCA * CcRaTKD CHAHTISTS . . £ . ! . «• From Mr . Coltman , pianoforte-tuner , Leictster * « „ Mr . Kiches , Brightlingsea 5 _ Newcastle-upon-Tyue — collected by . Mrs . J . Mason and Mis * Wilson 0 19 ' FOR MRS . PEDDIE . From a faw Flax-dress&xs , at Boulogne , France ... ... ... ... « « '

      FOB MB . BICHAEDSON , 8 ALFORD . From John Seal , Leicester ... ... ' . " .-„ a few friends at Rochdale , per John LOTch ... ... ... ... ° : » J « . Ledgard Green , per Mr . Alderam ... » ' « . the Amateurs of 8 utton . in * Asbneld , f per J . Tomlinson ... ... ••• ® " ,, FOB MBS . FBOS * . From a few Flax-dre « serj , at Boulogne t ^ Franca ... ... .. ••• .- f FOB O ' BBIEN'S PRESS . From a few Flax-dressers , at Boulogne fi g TPyajl ' fY * • • • ^ Edingburgh , ( in ' part , &U the boots _ Q | not being made up ) "' n i „ ¦ George Htckett , Leeds FOR THE UNEMPLOYED AT

      SIOCKPORTFrom Messrs . Oiss , Cramb , and a livery } servant , Ramsgate , one shilling each ... » . ..-FOR THE EXECUTIVE . 0 1 " From Finsbury , per J . Watt * .. Camber wall , par J . Paiker , being one } , month ' s moiety ... ... •••¦

      &Lt;£O &Eatk?0 Flr.Tr Com&Ponltinti

      < £ o &eatK ? 0 flr . tr Com&ponlTinti

      Untitled Article

      A THE NORTHERN STAR . _________

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Oct. 23, 1841, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct571/page/4/