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THE INTORTHER]ST STAE SATURDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1842.
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oioae Amoies EXTRAORDINAKT INCREASE IN POTATOES.—Mr. R.
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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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TO " THE CHARTISTS OF GRHAT BRITA 1 >\ ilT Deas Fkie > ds , —I am sorry thit . any diFonJ-jn S h ould rxi * t ia the Chartist ranks ., and bavin ; a sincere dcrire that it may soon be destroy c ::, I beg to lay I ; fore you the folio-Tin ? En- ^ c-fco-ns , hoplnz , that if acted u pon , they will restore us to tfcit cii : j of action so esstcflly aecif ^ Ty to accomplish £ > r an ensla ved I : opie their frc" 3 ora . I refrain from stating any o-wn opinions respiting the CS . US 2 cf the Gifunion , lest somr . might Bay that I \ ranrtd to tirrjadiee tha miads of the people againit or in favour " of either the Executive or those mem ' , rs of out Assoe ' 'Aion who feel dis&atisaed -with Vhtir r inane *
In order that the disunion . may be heal « , I sngzest for your adoption , that a Committee of five or seven p = r * mB ts eleewd to examine the plan of Organization , and take into eonsidfcritjoji the conduct cf tbe Er -mtive , ar > d if a majority of ttie Committee agree that they nave acted according to tiie Fian of OrEsn ^ ntion , let them still bold ofics , and if sot , lettiie CDinniiitee call upon the Exerative immediately to resign effira . Let the Committ- ; feave a r . porrrr present to report tbeir proceedings , eo thst t --fcir constituents may see how- they have acted and Toted .
Trasring that the Esec « : ve will , see the propriety of adopting some measure themselves to -brins this unplcrnt ? fia r to & close , I remain , years , Amidst til -wes-tiiers a- ; d political storms ths same , >* ot . 2 S : h , 1 S 42 . TV . Bezslet .
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TO THE CHARTISTS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM . F = llo- ^ - } iboareTS in the cans?—Among the many snbjfrcts irbieb merit j *; nr attention , ani that of the work-3-cT ? 5 ses eeneral ' y , there is one to which we bristly '' ongh EEpircly isvite jonr rzimr-diats consideration It is now senrially tcown that for 2 tc montbs we have br a po— erful tad consistent dr . i ! y advocate in the " £ rsc ' 3 j Sla > " Ee- * - £ par > £ r , tie proprietor of which bs 9 made , and is sfil making , fcnmen : i Facrifirss for the good of the muse -, but it is smresicmable in us to bop 3 or expect these prenniary sacri £ cc 3 to be nmch longer continued la order , therefore , to sustain the ats ^ e j ^ triotic individual , we urgently cnU upon the -general council of the different lo » -iUtif ! , ~ and throngh them upon aQ "who wish tbeir wrongs exposed and their few remaining rietts -protected , tosreir e their best energies nd devise means to increase the circulntion of such a % -ilnable anxiliarv to the CSisrtist cause . If « ncb ideality
throughout the kingdom took npon an average nve pa-I jts daily , we are given io understand tb ^ t tbe proprie tor would then be able io compete successfully with any tlaiJyjonniEj . If onry tferee copies weia t ^ ten by each li --. lity , tbe circulation thus incre' - £ d would irco the proprietor from any and every erabarre = * inen * Under ttess circaiEStances "we trust that do lo ^~ Jity , however paor it may 1 :, will fsil in eomiflg immediately to the re ice . Who wonld wkh that the Lvtnin . j Star should shine no more t Who would pot regret the lo * 3 of so bi Jliani a luminary of the politic ! herzo . n ? Te t it is r- ^ less to conceal tbe fear that its light will be ex : ingnished anlfss you ecme forwaLfd , and that too withont delay , to g ive zn impetus to i ' '» circulation , and thereby advance your own interest and that of one of your firmest » nd most fievotsd lriends . Yours , on b 3 half of thfr Metropolitan Drle ^ ute mcfrfiDT , Tbom ± 5 M . Wheeies , Secretary .
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THE EXECUTIVE . TO THE EDITOR OF THE SORTHZHX ETAE . BEva . Sir—The recent disclosures mast have con-•» Inr } d the conntry of the nsclessLess of . a permanent Executive in the existing affairs of Charsism . A genexal Secretary is all tbat seems wantsd . The salaries of the rest might be saved and lie money applied to more tc : » fal purposes . Tbe business of tbe Secretary should I ; ' ¦ t conduct the correspondence of the'AESociation , md for tbis purpose he should aave a fixed residence in rome raitrr' place , to draw np addresses and to give a quarterly , half yearly , or annual report of the progress of the cause . A yearly conference- might be held in lindon , attended by delegatss from alt the localities . If these hints meet tie approval of our brother Caartists , I trust they will act np « n them , and I remaiD , Tours , in the good csuse , A Member of the " National Charier Association . London , >' ov . 28 , 1 S 42 .
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THE EXECUTIVE BALANCE SHEET . TO THE EDITOR OF THE SORTHEB . ^ STAR . Sir , —Tocr Editorial comment ; in last Saturday ' s S ' zr , abound with unsupported allegations against the Exec n ti v e , and contain sueh evident misconceptions , iv -saraiies , an J pervc-rsions , that I sbonJd deem toy C 2 lf criminal "were I not to attempi a reply . Hay I ask ,-why wn my explanatory letter thrcsrn into an ot scure comer of yonr paper , while the Hull Councillors' correspondence with Mr . Campbell wn pomponsly paraded on tbe front pa ^ e , knowing , as 1 do , that you received mine by tbe same post that con-Teyed tbeir communi ' tion ? Wta there no design * tl this ? *
Possibly , too , Mr . Editor , -you may flr . d it inconvenient Vo couch your strictures on our conduct in no Ies 3 " courtiS ]/ of expression arid kuid ' y in tone" than snch yery polite terms as " robbery , " * ' emb-: 2 z . ement , " " fraud , " io . it Whatever onr senativene ^ s may it 1 - din ; of being " thin-akinncd , " such a tone and phrrneology cenainly " speak volumes '' for the school in ¦ which the . writer received his education . ' But to your remarks on my own csse . Ton are " sorry" my explanation is unsatisfactory ; and j f-st you quarrel with my receipt of wages ¦ wbfle in the West of Eo ^ iua . Tou ore i EFTJiised I sbould find " Bat . fi , Bristol , Cbel- ! tenham , and Wiltskire" cl ? - « ed- smeng the new j districts . Tou seem willing to forget the reason of j my eoing thither . It is true they sre not new dis- j j j ' i
t ric es—I never stated they were . . The plan of organ- izition does not limit our receiving wages to breaking ] np new districts , but extends the right to cs while em- j ployed as the Association may think best—the Assoc . ation having lodged in us the power of executing its ' wilL An application being made for my services in ; that district , and the Execntive compying witfe that request , and finding the West of E . '^ nd in a disor- ; ganizsd state , and division rampant" hi many localit- - -s , j tfeey justly deemed tbat compliance in str ict conformity j " witb . the powers given them by the plan of organization , j And , so far from my thinking it a shame in my i brother Chartists of tbe " West to accept mv labours on I
those tfrrpg , I deem them highly laudable for evincing ; so stem & determination to nphold the agitation in the ; teeth of defection , opposition , division . , acd persecution , j Bnt 1 ask for what purpose does tfo Association txist , if it ; 5 s not to strengthen the weak , revive the drooping , : inspire tbe longcid , inflame _ the torpid , ard encourage the few brave and noble spirits strucsjlini ; amis vicissi- tade to perseverancs and c * Eque = t ? - Tbis was onr I course , and one which , however seme may cavil , will i Tecommend itself to the intelligent and the wise . And j I cannot leave this surject without returning my heartfdt gratitude to the ' men of tbe west" for tbe courage , ! energy , prudence , and firmness 'with which they tv-ir > scrtKjrted and chaered me on . - :
Yonr n xt o ^ jaction urged against receiving sum in travelling by Longbboro' to Bristol to attend my sSictedpartner is so absurdly preposterous , tbat I could Bcarcely credit my eyes in reading it . " You cannot for f . e life cf you d'scovei bow I have any right mere than other man to charge upon the country tbe expence of such a journey . " Had this journey been solely fi .-r that purpose , and nrt on my way back to Bristol , your objection woili have bad some force , as it is , and as I was on my way back ihilier , and tbe txpence was incurred en that account , your objection is utterly void of point—the extra sum over my former ionr ^ ey from Bristol to Manchester was the point o : which txplanation was solicited . I gave . , and you have not even Ettempud to show its nonconformity with the plan of organization . Your sext paragraph is a floundering one—it is palpably and grossly contrary to fact . " 5 Iy first jonrney from Bristol to Manchester wr ~ not to the Manchester
Conference as you " believe , " eut to the first Eittmg of the newly-electcJ Executive in July , tbe Conference being held in August , ily second journey teas to that Conference , at whicb I appeared ts a mtmbir of the-Executive , cutd as a represtntative ol Bristol , Gloucester , arid Cheltenham , being elected at those places , its beine known tbat I was going there in my capacity as a member of the Executive . 1 did" not state there that I represented SOO . uuO ChartisSB , but that I represented towns containing nearly that' popuktion . With regard to the plea of my being a fugitive , and that being no plea at all , " probably you win' aJlo » the cvautiy to judge whether bariised , hanti-d , and pcrsu&d , as 1 ¦ was , I had 3 right to claim expeneas while I was engaged in eviding tbe lynx-eyed emissaries of despotism , and in a feeble state of aeal £ b-f
Again , let me ask , in what part of the plan of organiation de we find it stated the Executive should be " a Jtttd body in a jixtd piece , " I presume tbis is but one of your own assumptions for tbe purpose of fastening ( A stigma noon Mr . Campbell for his removal to London , If it was so , why not hare shown it , prior to tbe last election , so as to have secured the return of five ilanckester men , or prepared the ptople for our removal to that town by disclosing your present extraordinary discoTery ? I know" that the qDesnon was mooted at tbe plan of organisation inciting , but it was left omt . of tbe plan to fee setaed by the discretion of tbe future Executive who might hold office . IhsTe now taken probably my last notice of your remarks , however gross and faise son may make them , I leave tiie issn 9 to the Chartist body throughout the country . I abide by what I have done , and by what the Executive , as a body , have done in these matters . Honourable sod just as I believe my coaojntors to ba , ! ¦ with the Charter in my hand ,- and ^ by their s ide I will stand or fall . Leeds , Not . 30 , 1 S 42 . J . B . H . Bairstow .
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THE EXECUTIVE AND THEIR DEFENCE . Ei _ sewhes £ vre give tbe doenment named in our last , and whicb would feave been then given had we received it ia time . "W « commend it not merel y to the reading but to the careful consideration of the people . . Nothing cocid be further from our principles , or from our purpose , than to deprive any man cr men accused of anything of the full opportunity of making defence . We have accused the Esecaiive « f various mal-practices ; of misappropriating the hard-earned funds committed to their care of disregarding , in their officipl practice , their own
avovFed principles ^ determinedly and wilfully violating the role 3 of that organization which it is their one duty to enforce and carry ont ; and of attempting to set themselves above law , and , in the name ef democracy , become pure despots . We proved all these grave and serious matters ont of their own mou : h 3 . We offered no hearsay evidence ; no hired testimony ; we snbmitted no interested witnesses to the credence of the public : we rested the whole case against them on the comparison of their own published accounts with the plain printed
words of those rules which they are appointed for the sole purpose of enforcing . It is the duty of the peop le now to read this defence of the Executive ; to read along with it the " grave charges" to which it makes reference ; to compare both with the rules of the organization , and to say whether or not the " charges" be answered . | As an individual portion of the people , we have i a right to an opinion ; we shall give that opinion , 1 and the reasons upon which we hold it ; and the ! people will attach to them as much or as little ¦ value as they like .
We have seldom known a document more difficult to comment on than this defence of the Executive by Messrs . Leach and Campbell ; for the simple reason , that there is nothing at all in it . The greater portion of the " long yarn" is made np of personal abnse of Mr . Hili about the " dennnciation" of Mr . Phil ? and the insertion of the " Executive Sop" resolution . Now supposing every thing which Messrs . Leach and Campbell may be disposed to say npon these subjects to be true as gospel ; snppose that Mr . Phil ? had really been ill-treated by Mr . Hill ; suppose that Mr .
Hill had never received the " Executive Sop " resolution from Merthyr Tydvil at all ; snppose he had manufactured that resolution for the purpose ; what then ? How does it affect the question ? If we should make Messrs . Leach and Cakmell a present of all that their utmost noisiness can ask in reference to the Philp and " Sop" matters , does that meet any one of the present " charges " against them 2 Does it prove that they have not for a loDg time back been pajing to one of their body ten shillings weekly ont of public money without the authority of any public vote : that they have
i not continued to do thi 3 hi spite of both private i and public remonstrances , and of their own pledges | to the contrary 1 Does all that can be said about S Prnir and the " Sop" afford any reason why I this transaction should be " hailed by the whole j conntry with delight , " as Mr . Campbell says he j expected it would have been ! Does all that can ] be said about Philp and the " Sop" exonerate | the Executive from the " charge" of disregarding ,
! ¦ ¦ ! | in the matters appertaining to thoir own office , all the principles of Chartism ! Doe 3 all that can be said about Philp and the " Sop" prove that tbe Executive have not wilfully set aside in their own transactions the organisation which they are appointsd to enforce ] These are the matters and things to which the Executive should have addressed themselves in their defence ; and if all the abuse they can possibly heap npon Mr . Hill about Phil ? and the " Sop" cannot answer any one of these questions , the fair inference is that it is resorted to for tha mere purpose of diverting the attention of the reader from the matters really at
. All that part of the defence which is occupied in praising Mr . Leach ' s eloquence and Dr . M'Douall's patriotism is alike beside the mirk . The question at issue is not whether Leach be an able debater on the Corn Law question ; the question is not whether M'Douai . 1 . have been an aciive and energetic Chartbt , or whether hd may or may not , at some time , have given his last shilling between two poor wearers . The question is . whether the Execntire did or did not , "witholt a > t due authoritt , dip their
hands into the bag containing the hard-earned pence of poor weavers , and take out thence ten shillings weekly for many mouths . And this question i 3 not at all affected by anything which may be said about Dr . M'Douall ' s patriotism , or about his generosity , or about the improbability of either his or Leach ' s acceptance of a " sop . " Though whole pages should be occupied with declamation about these and like matters , it renders the fact of appropriating the funds of the Association without a vote of the Association , not a j : t the less unprincipled and unwarrantable .
In like manner all their personal abuse of Mr , Hilt ., all tbeir laudations of each other and themselves , and all their talk about Philp aud the " sop , " affords no explanation of the mauy matters so much and seriously requiring it . It does not all show why the enormous sums charged for " travelling" and " agitating" expencss shjuld bs charged to the country at all , or what rule of the organization justifies them . We thought our observations on these items could not be misunderstood ; but where people ¦ wish to misrepresent , it is easy to affect a misunderstanding . Wo are spoken of as though we had positively stated these item . 3 to be fraudulently
! ; i ¦ , charged . We have done no such thing : we merely asked for information respecting them . All we say , or have said , is that , on the face of the balance sheet , they ought to have appeared sa plainly as to show for themselves that they were not fraudulently charged . This was not the case . There was no information given to the country as to the business by which they were incurred , so as to enable the people : to see that they were charged according to rule . I We said that this information ought to have been ; given ; that the absence of it left them floating in a i mist of uncertainty and vagueness , waich , untii it
j ] ; i ; was removed , might warrant } the suspicion th ; i there was something unfair about them . If tr 1 Executive knew them to be all right , and if the : ' accounts had not been so kept as to prove the : : Secretary to be utterly unfit for his place , it was i ] their power to have so explained every one of thei ' a 3 to remove all tbe liability to doubt which ougl ' never to have existed . Instead of thus explaii I ing , they " spin a long yarn '' about Mr . Hill mifchief-loviiig propensities , their own eloquen < ' and patriotism , and various oiher matters loial ! ¦ irrelevant .
Another portion of ihe Defence is a laborious reph to an objection that has never beeD started , about the Secretary ' s salary . We never for an iiiiians denied that the Secretary is a permanent cficer , and should haTe constant wages . We think him . well
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entitled to jois wages , and are qujte sure that there is enough , of work for him at » 11 times if he were able and disposed to do it . Bat we do f . hink that nis own published accounts , and the state of the society generally , of which he is the chief officer , siford sufficient evidence that he is utterly v nfit for that office , because utterly incompetent to < y , scharge its duties . This 13 our opinion ] we are eo ; ry to be compelled to « tertain it ; we have given our reasons for it ; and the people will , of course , give it as much ' or as little weight as they like . The only part of this long rambli / jg document whicb bear 3 at all npon the question , and offers for : themselves any defence is tie following : — j " And now let us tell you a a few facts U to the , treatment we bare received as an Executive .
" Tbe 22 nd rule says , When members of the ExecutiTe shall f ; employed as missionaries , their salaries shall be the same ci when employed in the Council coach-hire ami one-half of any other incidental exponcca shall bs paid to them in addition by the partio who may require their services . ' 2 > ow we can prove that the above clause hn not I- ; cn adher 1 to in the li * Jitirswhere we have acted .-- lecturers . We give the following samples ef ita violation : —We went to
Birmingham , af r many strong invitations , aid with tbe unders * -. nding that our t—veiling expences would bs paid . On ihia point , however , we 'were completely deceived : instead of our expences being paid , the Local Council came to a vote that they would net allow us one halfpenny , but that we should be paid from the general fund , and after beinsj at considerable expense of coach hire and living at Birmingham , we were indebted to the kindness of a friend for the mesns te get home acain .
"We- embled again in London , and met exr'tly with the same treatment r * in Birmingham , with the exception of tbe vote : in fr ^ t , we were obliged to borrow money from Mr . Cleave to bring us home . We couid lay before yon scores of such r ~ " ? s if it were n ; ' ^ ssaTy , but we taint-the above quite sufficient " This , like all the rest , is sufficiently blunderingly stated . There is no twenty-secondrule in the organisation . The eighteeenth rule does say , nearly , but not exactly what is here quoted . It perhaps might not be too much to expect the President and the Secretary to quote correctly from the rules of the association ; but we will take the quotation as it stauds .
The observations following and founded npon thiB quotation seem to us to contain a tacit admission that the sums charged as " travelling " and " agitating " expenses , are , some of tham at least , improperly charged to the country , instead of to the respective localities , on account of which they were incurred : and the effort is to Bhift the blame of this irregularity from the Executive to the localities . This is , at best , bnt a lame effort . It is the duty of the Executive to see that the localities do comply with the rules of the organization ; that is the single one duty for which they were appointed—the single one duty of which , as it seems to us , they have never attempted the
performance . Kad they carefully regulated their own acts by the rnles of the association ; and had they rigorously insisted upon a compliance with thoie rules by all its officers and members , we cannot think that they would have found much difficulty in obtaining that compliance from particular parties , under such circumstances as they state in reference to Birmingham and London . Giving , then , all credit to their statements of the treatment they received from all these places , they do not , on their own showing , justify themselves . There can be no doubt that if they had appealed against ill-treatment to the body by whom they were appointed ,
that body , if it could not even have redressed , would , at all events have prevented the recurrence of such things . If the Executive went to Birmingham as missionaries , at the invitation of the Birmingham people , their travelling charges , their salaries , and one half of their incidental expences ought , by the plaiu rule of the Organization , to have been paid by the Birmingham members , so long as they were . so employed . And if the Birmingham councillors refused to comply with the organization , it was their duty to have then and there appealed to the Birmingham members ; to have shown them the plain bearing of the rale , the necessity of its being complied with , and the
injustice that would be inflicted on their nmch poorer brethren in many other parts , if those expenses , which of right appertained to that locality , should be charged to the general fund . This is what the Executive ought to have done , if their statement be correct . If they had done so there can be no doubt that the whole matter would have been set right . The whole question , however , of the liability of Birmingham binges on the point of whether they went there as missionaries , and at ihirequest of the Birmingham people . If they did there can be no doubt that Birmingham ought to have paid , and ought yet to pay , those expences . If they did not ; if they merely
went to Birmingham becanse it suited their own pleasure and convenience to remove their sittings there , they ought then to pay their travelling and other extra charges out of their own pockets . The country has decided by the resolution of a National Delegate Meeting that the Executive shall sit in Manchester ; no power but that of another National Delegate Meeting , or a general vote of all the members of the Association , can alter that decision . It is quite clear , therefore , that if the Executive chose to move from Manchester to Birmingham , not as Missionaries , but as an Executive to hold a session , they had no right to charge
the country with the expence . If , however , they went there at the request of Birmingham , if they bad been solicited to go and agitate in and around Birmingham , becausa there was a prospect of doing good to the cause , and if , in consequence of such solicitation , they went there to hold ' a portion of their session , sitting as a committee during the day , and labouring as agitatora in the evening , which we rather think to have ' bt 8 n the case , it then appears plain that their salaries might be charged to the general fund , but ' that their travelling and all extra expences ought to have been defrayed by Birmingham . And any
refusal on the part of Birmingham to do this , was a gros 3 violation , not only of the terms of the organisation , but of the principles of equity and justice . The same remarks will , of course , app ly to London , and every other place in which the Executive ha . ve been treated as they say they have in these two . We are informed by Mr . Bairstow that the localities in and around Manchester never defray any expences incurred by members of the Executive in lecturing , and that , consequently , all these expenses are of necessity charged to the country under the head agitating expenses . All we can say is , that , if this
be so , it is shameful ; it is a gross fraud upon every other part of the association . Our observations last week , in reference to Mr . Bairstow's lecturing in the West of England , are equally applicable here ; we think it a shame that North Lancashire , Leicestershire , Nottinghamshire and other poor districts which pay their own local lecturers , should also pay lecturers for such places as Manchester , Birmingham , London , Bristol , &c . It is clearly unreasonable to suppose that the Executive can defray out of their salaries travelling' or other expenses incurred in lecturing .
U , therefore , these be not paid by the localities , and if-their services be still required as lecturers , we see not what else they can do but charge to the general fund , though clearly unwarranted by the organization . If this be the true statement of the case , it is clearly in the power , and it is as clearly the duly , of the Association to remedy the grievance for themselves . All the members , and all the general councillors , either know the rules or ought to know them .. Let them see that they adhere to them themselves , that the Executive may have no excuse for deviation . If no attention is to be paid ly ang Udy to the organisation , it may as well be given up at once ; there is no use iu merely tantalizing ourselves and the country with it .
Whiie , however , we enforce upon the members and General Councillors especially , their share of attention to the requirements of the organization , we co not forget that the one single du / y oflihe Executive , the sole thing for which they arc appointed , is to attend to this very businas . Ihcir great fault S £ eai 3 to us to be , ^ a ± they have beeu always labouring after usefulness as lecturers and agitators , instead of a : lending to the Cfaple duties of
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their office ; the consequence of which is , that while ^ by them and others , our principles have been widely extended throughout the whole country , our Association is , in fact , no association at all , but a huge mass of crude , shapeless elements , without form or comeliness . There is no regular correspondence , and dpe understanding kept np amongst as , there is no sameness of system and adherence to rule , and consequently no . power , which there certainly ought to be , of bending and directing the whole energies of the whole people towards any given point at any given time . This is to be effected by organization , and only by organization . All the agitation in the
world will never do it . The organization of the National Charter Association , worked by an efficient Executive—aye , even by a Secretary alone , of clever and business-like habits , and who would mind his own work , and keep to it , might in a few weeks , with the co-operation of the people , be made so perfect , as that that Secretary might at any time , in two or three posts , have the opinion , upon any given question , of every member of the Association . Eut he must be a Secretary of a very different caste from the one we now have ; he must be a man who knows the organisation , and is able to instruct others in its management .
We- hope tho people will take the whole matter into consideration . It ishightime . Nothing is so vital to the movement as a due attention to organisation . It is clear that the persons now composing tho Executive lack either the disposition or the peculiar kind of talent for attending to it . Their forte is agitation . As agitators they are energetic and useful . There may be enough of occupatio n found for them in the sphere which is most suited to them . It is more reasonable and more right for each distinctive locality to pay its Own lecturer than for us to have a body of men under the name
of an Executive , who are , in ¦ fact , merely lecturers occupying the best and most cultivated grounds of Chartism , at the expence of the poorest and least cultivated . We suggest , therefore , that in futuretthe Executive consist of a Secretary and four unpaid members resident in London , Birmingham , Nottingham , Leeds , or any other place on which 1 the people may determine . We are decidedly of opinioii that an efficient Secretary ia the only paid ' officer needed in our movement , and that with such a functionary—an fjicient man—having the advice arid assistance in the concoction of documents , * . c . of a Committee chosen from the
G-eneral Councillors in his own locality , the orgaziB&tion may be well worked without any recurrence of the evils which have originated the present very painful , but we hope very useful and profitable discussion . This is the course adopted by our Scottish frionds , who beat us hollow at sober , clearheaded arrangement . Our readers will perceive that it is recommended to them by a communication in this day's paper . That communication is from a triod and valuable friend to the cause . One who has seen much and suffered much in it ; and whose opinion desesves the best attention of the people .
Our readers will see also a communication from Mr . Beeslet recoinmonding the appointment of a Committee to inquire whether the present Executive have violated the organization or not . That , of course , is a proposal for the people to consider . To us it seems a farce ; the more especially as the Executive have already admitted that the organization has been violated , by refusing to defend their ownaotsand meeting the charges against them with mere bluster and blash .
To our mind it is of much more consequence to prevent these things in future than to trouble ourselves about the past . That whioh is past cannot be recalled ¦ but the people may make past errors a beacon for the future . We recommend therefore that the whole matter be taken up by all the localities , at once ; that the members and councillors meet togther and deliberate upon the subject ; that they endeavour to keep in mind the whole question and to keep out of mind everything but the question—the duties of tho Executive and the manner in which they have been performed ; that they lay the balance sheet—not the last merely , but the last three
balance sheets and the organization both before them , and examine thorn together ; that they read in connection therewith , the letters of the Hull Councillors to the Executive—the . articles in the Northern Star of this and the last two weeks , and especially all that the Executive have said for the m sel v es in e x planation and defe nc e ; t ha t th e y weigh all these carefully and dispassionately , using their own clear sense ef right and wrong , and their own appreciation of principle ; not suffering themselves to be led or biassed , either by us or by the Executive , but judging fairly from the evidence which lies before them , and recording their opinions in firm , clear , and temperate language .
The matter is one fraught with as much importance as any that has occupied the public mind for a long time . We ask not , therefore , that the people should tako us , for a guide ; but that they should divest themselves of prejudice , and view the whole subject in the clear light of common sense aud Chartist priuciple . We warn them that the consequences of mistake may not be easily reclined or averted .
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THE APPROACHING -CONFERENCE . COURSE OF THE ELECTIONS . ALARJI OF THE STPKGE PARTY . SOLUTION OF THE MYSTERY WHY >' CHARTISTS" WISH TO " GET RID OF FEARGUS . " The 27 th of December will soon be here ! On that day the Conference of Delegates , appointed by the people in open public meetings , in their respective localities , conformably to a request issued by Mr . Joseph Stubge , of Birmingham , on behalf of the General Couucil of the Complete Suffrage
Association , will meet to prepare a Bill to be proposed to Parliament , to secure the real representation of the whole people . Several of the localities have elected their delegates ; others are preparing to do so ; and circumstances so combine , as to make this meeting one of the most important ever convened , or holden , in connection with that Movement , which has had , and has , for its first object the assertion of the priuciple of universal right . The struggles connected with that Movement have been long and arduous ! The conflicts have been many and severe 2 The persecuting hand of power
has been laid on with heavy effect upon the advocates of , and firm adherents to , the cause of Usi-TERSAL Suffjuce . From the first hour oi' the proposal of that measure by Henry Hitnt , as the only likely means to secure a Radical Reform of the Commons House of Parliament , up to the present moment , there has been a continued effort on the part of Government to put the agitation down ; and a . continued resistance on the part of the working people against the persecuting acts of the Government . In this resistance the working people have been " alone in their glory . " They have not had the
co-operation , or even the couutenance , of any of the classes above them in point of station . Nay , those classes , one and all , have been arrayed against them . Each one , and all , have accused them / of the most villainous * ' designs upon the property of the country . " Each one , and all , have harked on the Government to ° silence the grumbling rascals , " whose " only aim ' was to uproot the foundations of society , and produce anarchy and confusion , so that they might have ihe chance of possessing themselves of the wealth of their neighbours through a general scramble . " Each one , and all , have joined in Yoluuteer Associations to aid the Government in putting
down the ragged rascals , " who wished te "destroy our glorious Consliution , by inciting the people to revolt , and by spreading disaffection and sedition amongst the labouring poor . " Yeomanry corps h ave been embodied and used , with terrific effect , to accomplish this purpose . The dungeon , the halter , and the block , have also been used . Imprisonments , and hangings , and beheadings , hare been resorted to , to put down the demand for such a Radical Reform as would restore to each male adult in the kingdom that share in the representation of the country which Blackstone says the Constitution awards him !
And yet all these means have failed ! The demand for Universal Suffrage , and the conviction that it alone can give us a Parliament that will or can , honestly apply itself to ascertain the causes of our numerous social and political evils , with a view to the application of a simple , yet efficient , remed y , ia stronger and more generally entertained than ever ! The Conference to be holden in Birmingham
on the 27 th instant , 13 ostensibly called to give effect to that increased demand and growing conviction . It is ostensibly called to prepare a Bill to be proposed to Parliament , to enact that Unitersal Suffrage in the choice of members to the Commons ' House shall become law . Thia 1 b the ostensible object of the promoters of that convocation of Delegates . And the people in answering the call made upon them to elect Delegates , are taking the necessary steps to realize that ostensible object .
They are electing in all parts , men who have been long known to them by their stedfast and firm adherence to the principle of Universal Suffrage ; men who have borne the heat and the burden of the day in the advancement of that principle ; men who have preved their devotion to it , by braving , imprisonments , and enduring persecution in its infinity of shapes . The people are taking the only meaas that exist to secure the end the originators of this conference say they have in view , by sending to it men whose whole life and character is a gum antes that there
will be no flinching from principle ; no deviation from tho one right straight-forward course ; no temporizing ; no coquetting ; no compromises ; no bargaining ; no sellings . The people are taking this , the only course that men honestly fixed upon the attainment of their object could possibly take : and yet , the evincement of their determination to secure tho ostensible ends of tho promoters of that Conference , ha 3 caused ALARM and dissatisfaction amongst those same promoters !! They openly confess their surprise and disappointment at this answer to their appeal !
Now , why is this I What cause is there for ALARM ! What reason for either dissatisfaction , or surprise t Why should the concoccors of that conference be disappointed ? They profess to be admirers and advocates of the principle of Universal Suffrage . To promote the legislative adoption of that principle , they call upon the people to elect a number ot delegates to embody that principle into a document ,
called a Bill , to be laid before Parliament . The people respond to that call , by electing men to sit in the Conference Chamber whose past conduct proves them to be worthy of the people ' s confidence , inasmuch as it is a guarantee that they will honestly apply themselves to the business for which they are called together ; and yet surprise , aud dissatisfaction , and ALARM is manifested by those who have issued the invitation to the people to confer together ! Again , we ask , why is this !
It is the result of the Birmingham election that has principally caused this ALARM ! The Birmingh a m peop le , having been called together in public meeting , choose Mr . O'Connor , Mr . George White , and two other well-known Chartists , along with two members of the Christian ' . Chartist Churchy to represent them in the coming Conference . It is this result with which the callers of that Conference are dissatisfied .
Our readers know the history of the Sturge move * ment . They know that that movement was not determiued on till every other effort to cajole the people from the advocacy of Universal Suffrage had : failed ! They know that scheme after scheme was planned and developed for accomplishing this pur- , pose . They know that they were denounced , as "impracticable , " because they did not join in with the Anti-Corn-Law party , in endearouriDg to procure a " practicable" measure , the repeal of the Corn-Laws . They know that the dodge of " Extension of the Suffrage" was also tried : and they cannot have
forgotten the Fox and Goose Club scheme at Leeds , which was to amuse the people with Household Suffrag e , while the foxes " got rid , " as Dan said " of FearguF . " They know that the Sti / kge movement for Complete Suffrage visa never heard of 'till it was plainly apparent that . the Anti-Cora-Law party could not possibly obtain the public ear ; could not get the public to listen even to their nostrum for relieving the country from the dire distress and suffering it endured . The people know that it was not ' till matters has assumed this shape
it w&b not ' till tho advocates of " cheap food" and " low wages" were literally driven from off the public stage ; it was not 'rill the working people had evinced an unconquerable determination not to relax in their efforts to obtain Universal Suffrage , as a means of securing tho end of good and honest government : the people know that it was not ' till lira agitation for tbe Chautkr , had superceded ail other agitations , and frustrated the designs of the Free-trado-Pt > or-Ls , r .-enforcing party to make their question the gun-lion , tf the day ; tl . e people know
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that it was not till political agitation bore tats aspect , that . the Sturgs movement was even heard of ! They know also , that the main movers in that movement , were ,, and are , Corn-Law Repealers , and supporters of ' the horrible Few Poor Law in all its atrocity 1 The Sturge movement , however , at tho junctnre just described , was made . It professed to have for its objeot the enfranchisement of the people . Its promoters advocated what they were pleased to call Complete Suffrage ; defining their " completeness ^ to be .. just that which every body understood by the term Universal . They formed themselves into a new . political Association , . and asked tho people to joiivthem in it . They adopted the Yonconformist newspaper as their organ of communication with tho public ; and it is with the lament of that organ as t » the result of the Birmigham election , that we now
purpose to deal . We-have already detailed the resnlt of the election just named . We have already ^ stated that tho people of Birmingham chose Mr . O'Connor and Mr . White , and two other backbone Chartists to sit as their representatives in the coming Conference , along with two of Mr . Sturge ' s friends . It may be well to remark too .: that the public meeting which made this choice , was called by Mr . Stuuqe's own party ; and that that gentleman presided on the
. . Respecting the election thus made the Nonconformist of November 23 rd , has the following remarks ;—" The result of the election of delegates for B '> mingbam ' to the ensuing conference , recorded in opt columns last week , too k us , we honestly confess , somewhat by . surprise . We cannot but admit that , eve ;/ deduction having fee « n made en the score of the comparative smallness of the meeting , occiioried by the arbitrary' conduct of the Town Hall authorities , and of local irritation , excited by a fancied slight , put ' upon an active Chartist agitator by Mr . Sturge and the Council—the rejection of four out of six names
nominated by the Council of the Union , and the substitution in their room of avowed foes to the Complete Suffrage Movement , wears an ugly Tappearance . We cannot conceal from ouxsulvesj nor shall we attempt to conceal . from our readers , that the same game may It ) played in many other places . We know the advantages possessed by an unscrupulous and organised minority &ver undisciplined numbers , however superior ia point of real force . We aro Quite alive to the danger , wljictjii probably , none have foreseen mote clearly than Mir . Eoiirgus O'Connor and his staff of agitators , o . f scaring , by means of successful -insolence , back into inaction , if not into opposition , all those of the middle class who have but recently given in a timid adherence to the sreiat principle advocated by the Union . We
foresee that , he r e a n d t here , men who would have done battle . / or the unenfranchised , will not do battle taith them ; and that many a heart which would have been content to strive on behalf of just principles , will decline to take any part in a conflict , the issue of which turns only upon persons . Should , therefore , the main object of tie Birmingham Conference be defeated , although we cannot say we expect snch a result , we shall not , after what hits already occurred , be overwhelmed with astonishment . Such a calamity need not ' , ough t no t be , will not be , if the avowed friend of Complete Suffrage are active , prudent , and firm . ; but , looking to all the bearings of the case , it would bo . childish to blink the conclusion that such a calamity nay be . "
The ' surprise of tho Sturge party , afc the result 0 ; the Birmingham election is here openly avowed . Now , for the life of us we cannot see , what there is to be surprised" &t , if-the' bailers of the coming Conference expected or required it ' s sittings to be attended by mea whose firm adherence to the principle of Universal Suffrage conferred upon them peculiar fitness for the task of embodying > that principle in a Bill , and surrounding it with proper details to ensure its due and honest working . The men who were so chosen ; at least the four who we assume have caused the " surprise" here trumpeted
forth , are known as long-tried and earnest advocates of the main principle the Stpr » e party profess to have at heart ; and yet they are "surprised " that ; the people of Birmingham , who know what their services have been ; who know the devotion they have evinced ; who have been witnesses of the efforts they have made : they are " surprised" that the people of Birmingham , who know all this , should prefer such men to men whoso profession even of the principle of Universal Suffrage is but of yesterday ' s date ! Really this expression of " surprise" under such circumstances , is very "*« rprising" !!
-The writer adduces several reasens to account , in part , for the " ugly " result he deplores . Ono of them is " local irritation , excited by a fancied slight put ^ upon an active Chartist agitator by Mr . Stdrgb and the Complete Suffrage Counoil . " This refers , wa opine , to the famous " NO " . of Mr . Sidege and hia compeers to the application for assistance towards the'defence of the persecuted and imprisoned George Whits . We know not to what extent " local irritation" may have been excited by that " slight "; , but we do know , that if the remembrance of thai " NO . " influenced the people of Birmingham in theii answer of " NO " to four of Mr . Sturgb's nomineee ,. and in the return of White himself , under
Stubge ' s nose , the action reflects upon them the highest honour and credit ! It is honourable alike to the head and the heart . White is a man "who . has served them faithfully and earnestly According to the Nonconformist himself , he is" an active Chartist ' leader . " His services have been , deemed worthy of governmental attention . Twice has he been laid by the heels ; and his zeal and devotion have only become the more plainly apparent .: When he was under bonds ; when he was immured in one of the cells of Warwick Gaol ; when he enduring the fuil weight of Tory persecution when he was awaiting his trial , " where ha would be enabled , the pecuniary means being forthcoming , to cxposo in all its hideous deformity , the system of espiouage and spy ism resorted to by the
authorities to en trap poor simple-minded men ; when his poor but faithful friends were trying to raise tfhose necessary pecuniary means , application was made to Mr . Joseph Stuuge . To whom could application have been more proper 1 Mr . Sturgk . bears the character of a philanthropist . PhilaS ? - . thkophy would aid any man , under such circumstances . But the applicants had a right to calculate on political sympathy . Mr . White was a Chartist ; in other words an " active" advocate of the principlcs of Umyersal Suffrage . '' Mr . &T . URGE professed to be the Bame . To him , therefore , and to his friends , was the application moat properly made . A plain , simple , unqualified ¦ " NO , " was the . answer ! If this " slight" did cause " local irritation , " and dictated the" NO" of the Birmingham people , it does them infiiiite honour !
" . ¦ We know the advantages possessed by aa unscrupulous and organised minority over undisciplined numbers , however SUPERIOR in point of real force . " Thus writes the Nonconformist ! What does it mean 1 Does it mean that an '" unscrupulous minority" elected the Birmingham Delegates in the face of an " undisciplined majority i" If it does not mean this , pray what does it mean ? . If it docs mean this , the advantages possessed by such " minority" over such "majority " were great indeed ! But what was Mr . Stur « about , to let the " minority" enjoy such an advantage as to have the election to themselves ! Did he really decide in favour of the " minority ? " li be did , his character for uprightness is not worth much !
. It is amuzmg to notice what nonsense an angry defeated , man will 6 ometime 3 talk to take the edge off his defeat , and soften his fall . Th « sentence just quoted is a sample in point . Th « pets of the Nonconformist were put on one side ; aud other , ' and , in tho opinion of the Birmingham people , better men electud in . their j-tead . Forthwith the Nonconformist talks about " unscrupulous and organized minorities" triumphing over " undisciplined majorities ! " Nay , in his anger and blindness , he avers that such minority will always have an ad ' vantage " over undisciplined numbers , HOWEVER SUPERIOR in poidt of real force . " What artant nonsense J
The " surprise" occasioned by this election leads our friend into some other " surprising" statements and admissions . He avows that the result of thia election , if followed up in a similar manner throughout tho country , may end in ja defeat of- ' . the- 'main object for which the Coherence is called ! ¦ This is a curious admission . The Conference . is avowedly called to prepare a bill , embodying tho principlc 3 of Universal ; Suifra ^ e . The ' -election ' . of delegates pledged to maintain Universal Suffrage to the last tasp , may eau in tho defeat of that
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RECEIPTS OF THE EXECUTIVE FOR r xHE WEEK ENDING NOT . 2 &th , 1842 . London—Clockhouse 0 5 0 „ Richmond 0 o 0 Lewe 3 0 3 0 Star effice _ 2 12 Oi .-i 3 5 0 ^
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TO THE EDITOB OF THE SORTHERS STAR . Sib ., —In oat oreanizitton you will find it is stated tbat tfce General Treasurer shall ta elected by the General GotmcUlora . This has not been done yet , but at the next nomination for Execntive Committee , I Em de ' Trmined , should health permit , and I am free from faction ' s dungeons , that I will placa a person in nomination for that effice . I mention this , » o that it I : not lost sight of in your strictures on the organ-; zition . E . S .
The Intorther]St Stae Saturday, December 3, 1842.
THE INTORTHER ] ST STAE SATURDAY , DECEMBER 3 , 1842 .
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• Certainly r . ot . We kxe-w no more thsn Mr . Bairttotr -where either of them -would be till we saw tie paper in print •}¦ "We only kope that justice y / i-l be done by allowing lite claima to ersrj mr . n uEirr lie circumitaacts . — K 2 . ITS .
Oioae Amoies Extraordinakt Increase In Potatoes.—Mr. R.
oioae Amoies EXTRAORDINAKT INCREASE IN POTATOES . —Mr . R .
Kido , of . Briery , near -. ae , planted three potatoes last spring iu his garden , the enormous increase ot' whicn , when taken oat of the ground , may bo judged irom the iact that the produce weighed eleven stone and a half .
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Since writing the above , we observe in the Evening Star of Wednesday evening , which we have just received , a portion of a letter , in reference to the subject , from M'Douall- It seems to have been written for the Northern Star ; but , for what reason we know not , it has not been sent to us . A . part only of the letier is given in the Soening
Star , with a promise for it ' s continuance this ( Thursday ) evening . Of course we can neither give it nor reply to it , until we have seen the whole ; and before the arrival of the livening Star with the latter portion of it , our paper will have been at press some sixteen hours . We may just observe , in reference to the portion which has appeared , that its tone is of an altogether different character from that of the blundering bluster of Messrs . Leach and Campbell . For the present , we content ourselves with giving , from the portion which has been published , the following acknowledgment of the accuracy and justice of all that we have said about the ten shillings a-week business : — ' , " Yousay that was contrary to rule . So it was . "
This is all that we have said about the matter . For the parallel case , by us given week before last , and out of which so much bluster , about " robbery , " and "fraud , " and " transportation" has . arisen , the Doctor and his colleagues may thank , not us , but their Secretary , Mr . Campbell , who forced us to show him that his expectation of the whole country going into fits of " delight" about it , was a little absurd . We suppose this admission of the Doctor ' s , and the admission of Mr . Leach before the South Lancashire Delegate Meeting , that he could not defend that act of the Executive , together with the assertion of Mr . Bairstow , made in our hearing , that he knew nothing of it , and was astounded when he saw it in the Balance Sheet , will settle all the
bluster about our having been actuated by some private malice or some petty revenge in the " 1 ' denunciation" of it ; and will show pretty satisfactorily that we have only done that which it was our duty to do ; aud which if we had not done , we should have deserved to be denounced . We dismiss thi 3 matter with the observation that we think it a little odd that the " sense of justice" about whioh the Dr . writes very well , did did not prompt him to send this letter at once to us . Meantime we may observe that we see nothing in it to shake , but much to strengthen , every position we have taken ; and many strong arguments foi the recommendation we have above given to the people , in reference to t \ ie future settlement of the Executive .
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A . " ' THfE NORTHERN STAR . ¦
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Dec. 3, 1842, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct627/page/4/
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