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Northern Star (1837-1852), 5th August 1843, Edition 3 of 5, Page 4, Untitled Article

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    • THE NORTHERN; STAR. SATURDAY, AUGUST 6, 1843.
    • 3EmpmaJ !parlCam*nt.
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      Untitled Article

      HOUSE OP IA > Bl > 5—TirssBXT , August 1-4 Che Ilojal Assent ras given dj commiBsios to jjke Woollen MsanfaetBrers BiB , the Loan Societies Act OmOimaDceBffl , the Bridges tlreland ) Bill aao several private bills . '¦" „ ., - * -

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      BOTJ 5 E OF COMMONS—MosuiT Jolt 31 . . ^ Ir . Bmre -withdrew ha motion fox ordering the AiHJBJnET-SKcraii . to prosecute Messrs . Wakd and "Wjekiksos , the agents of Lord Duxgajtkon at the election for Durham . Several Bills were read a second time . On the " motion of 3 flr . Christopher , an order "was issued for committing to Newgate & man named Samuel Potts , foTaffixsng-forgea names to a petition presented to the House . The Order = of the Day for the second reading of Jhe Seotah Church Bill was 4 hen read , and Sir J . -GBAHJUtweni into aJong statement of the objects of lie A& i ' ynstims that the . gensralprinciple of not opposing the second readings of Bills that have passed the other House might he observed * on the present occasion . _ ' ~ 3 Lf-M 1 X 7 .-r-r »* m nfiiutBAfi i"ha criwvinr ? reHu 1 in < 7 rtfl » 4 XW i ¦

      f . l «^ -.. fl | . » . »^ |^ VVk fW&V ** CWW ¦ *¦ i T ' f ^» —» w denied that ibis Bill had been ironshi in at tie saggestkra of the General Assembly of Scotland ; it was dear that it originated -at the suggestion of her MwisrPs Government . He oonld state many things to show how sincere the secession from the Chnrch of Scotland had been . It had created the greatest decree of admiration throughout the conn try , aaa ieielieved if ibis Bill passed into a law , great numbers -more -would flee from the Established Church , and flock to the Free Church , He moved thas the Bill be read a second time that day six months . Mr . B . Cochsjlse supported the BUI . SIt . Udxheefobd "was sorry a Bill bo important should have been brought forward so late ia the session ; he condemned it as disregarding the Act of Union , as an invasion of the xigbts of patrons , which were now to be given to » Church—to a priesthood ^ ¦ who were the " worst depositories of such a power .

      iordJ . BcsSEii pointed oat the confusion that prevailed , throughout the BID , between the deelara-Jory and enaclave clauses , statins that classes of thefonnerdescripfionweremost unwisely introduced , sad mads a dangerousprecedent . Mr . Foot Mattle said the ministers -who had left the Chnrch had seceded ** more in sorrow than in anger . ' Had they , as haJ been alledged , been desirous of securing more power in the Church to ihexaBerves , they -wonld have had nothing to do bat to hate accepted iord Aberdkeh ' s Bill of 1840 . Sat the present Bfll and that Act were not the same .

      He objected to "the present BUI that it ' threw too much power into the hands of the Chnrch . - SiriL-PjKEL closed the debate , in a speech of no great length . He said It appeared to " him that many of the ohserrationshB had heard dnring the discussion had no direct bearing on the measure discussed . The great and main < uestioh -was , whether the House wonld agree to this measure , or abandon any attempt to legislate on the subject . On the division that took place on the dose of SiE . Pbkl& address , the numbers "were—Fot the Second Beading , S 8 ; Against it 80 5 Majority , 18 .

      The House then proceeded to some of the . other business on the paper . The Earl of lixcour postponed fill next session the Metropolitan Buildings SSL Thb Theatres ^ Regulation Bill and the Slave Trade Suppression Bill -were read & second time . The third reading of the Irish Arms Bill'was postponed ti ) l Thursday ; and the House adjourned at two o ' clock .

      Tuesday , Avbvsx L The H ? use had a morning siting , the chief business « f which consisted in discussing the London Coal-whipperB * Bill . At the afternoon sitting , Colonel BcsHakooxE moved the isms of a new -writ for the borough of Sudbury . ; Ht . Biackstose moved , as an amendment , that leave be ^ given to bring in » bill io raake an * ffeetual inquiry into the bribery and corrnpt practices * Heged to exist in the borough of Sndbury . Considerable discnssion ensued , but ultimately the House dividedjiihenflje amendment was carried by 1381025 . .

      Mr . ~ Wxbd brought on his motion;— " That an humbls ad dress " be presented io her -Majesty , representing to her Majesty , that , in the opinion of this Bouse , iteiiotbyineaEUTes for the repression cf local violence that ibe discontents of Ireland can be allayed , but by removing those grievances which have formed tor many years the subject of recorded complaint and remonstrance between the two countries . That amongst vbe most prominent Of ihEXB l * th&law by -whksh the whole eecleraststie&l property of Ireland is assigned to the . clergy of a small section of ihs population ; and that this House , deeply , impressed with _ the belief that such a Jaw is iiot eonformible to reason , or to the prac-. lies tjf -any C&ristixn , -pledges itself , sfsezTprovldliig

      for existing proprietary rights , and for the claims of heriMaJes ^ ff Protestent subjects , cordially cooperate with ler Majesty in effecting such a settlement © f Church property vs . Ireland , as -wHl remove all Just ground of complaint , and give satisfaction to the Irish people . " He supported this motion by an able and elaborate speech , tracing modi of the existing condition of Ireland to the esta blished Church . Ireland had-been only partially conquered-when the Reformed Chnrch was introduced ; grasping clergymen wero . sent over from ^ England , who , as Spenser complained , looked amply 40 their own temporal interest ; and that great instrnment of lie Hefonnalaon , prayers in the native tonsne , "was neglected in Ireland , for to this

      honr the English Liturgyiad never been translated Into IrMi . Ksviewing the history of the countrythe spoliations , confiscations , penal enactments of earlier times , and the struggles , efforts , insnrreclions , and coneeEEions of more modern days—he -showed xha& our -whole policy In Ireland -yras as absurd and rninons as it was cruel . The tithe Bvstenvwbich seemed as 5 Ft » ntrived by the devil himself to frustrate the esoris of the Church , and to bring the . reformed religion into contempt , yras maintained -with pertinacious stupidity , and enforced * witb all the rigour of law among & people -who ^ idTaot belong to the establishment ; and even -when at last the necessity of relieving the people from this burden compelled Parliament to

      legislate , it -was preceded by a fierce party strnggle"With reference to this topic , he entered into a review of his own labours in this field ; the breaking up of Sir liobert Peel's aiministra . oon in 1835 by the " appropriation clausef" the ultimate abandon * mentof that principle by the Wh'g Government and party , -which he regarded as a great calamity , inasmuch as it broke faith-with the people of Ireland , and threw doubt on th& ~ h ononrand £ uth of public men . The main evils which afflicted Ireland were to be traced to the satcte-book ; probe these evils , and the Chnrch would be forod at the bottom . Who ~ waa the author of the great " moral miracle , ' the temperance movement ! . 2 ? ot the Chnrch ; but one of those humble men , on "whose head the wisdom of our

      ancestors -would have set a price a century ago . Taking the census of the population and the last report of the EcdesiastiealComniiFsion , he stated the episcopal population-of Irelacd ** 752 , 000 whose religious instruction cost fifteen shillings per head , while that : of the Bresbyterians was , only Is per head , thongh he had never heard that the one -was the less moral or religions than th& other ; while nothing -was reserved for the instruction -of the Boman Catholics or Dissenters . After giving some amusing remlniseenees-of the seeslarand political spirit in which ^ ccleaasticjQ preferments j from hnmble chaplaincies to biEhoprics , were regarded and J obbed- in by-past times , he proceeded to-the present condition of the Church in Ireland , admitting that much

      improvefitebt had taken place , but pointing out those unions *> f ^ preferments -which ^ iB eon&ine the opprofcrinm of its ecdesiastieal government , and rounded off this portion ofhis speech by giving extracts from ¦ &b correspondence withwhioh he had h&en faTonred by g one or two Irish clergymen , evincing that the old ledmg stall existed . The Catholics were now eight miDionHihey could : nolonger be treated asaseparate xsommnnitTj or regarded as the "hewers of "wood and drawers of -water * ' which Dean Swift described them to he . Xefc them break up the Irish establishment ; get rid of Its = eumbrons machinery j j&ve to she whole Irish « oamunity an equal and pa share in the distribugon of the tithe fund ; vest it mite hands ofeommksioners for this purpwse

      ^ , respecting vested righte , aUo ^ ng an < qual scm , in proportion to the population , to the three religions ; and , by a bold and fearless policy conciliate a 1 > bq = Sb -who EliB snaxi-snder-a Seep sense of humiliation and long *» nriimed wrong . ¥ maoo and Spain had tried ^ he exterminafing policy , and had lost the ehoieestof their population . By obstinately remsing . concession , wo lost iheTJnited States ^ it ¦ wasTOxry by yielding to the people of Scotland on the feore of their national religion , that the union fiilh that JBonntry was obtained and completed 1 and from ajt lhcsajEXamples he called on the House to be prudent in Smei and Eobstitute a wise , a generous , and a confiding policy , for tbeaiarrow and jealous spirit in v ? Mch vre have hitherto acted towards

      Ireland . _ Mr . Caeett seconded the motion in a neat and Efifectrve address . I « rd : Eiaoi charaelmscd Mr . Ward ' s motion , Tffien ocpounded by his speech , as being at ones bow and definite ,-whicii brought them at once to an issue on thequestion of the maintenance or Bubverjion if . the' ^ stablished JQmrch -of Ireland . With-; < 8 i ^» tp ^ tge ^« wlteKcnrity , the TJnionwould not bAVB ^ eetfacwt pliBhed , nor emancipalion ichieved ; 'Sndas -KBp ^ RlM ^ -ffiS&Jenee between a Proieatan : SoveTeiguand ^ Eroiestaiit iZhurch , so ha ^ onld not admit that the fenioval cf the one -without the other , would placs thfi'Bomiii Catholics on the desired

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      footing of eqaalitv with their other fellow subjects . The inviolability " of the Irish Protestant Church tns a leading idea in that resolution relating to emancipation traced by the-dying hand of < jrrattan j aad the advocates of that measure , the most opposite in character , Plunket , Cannine , and CaBtlereagh , all enforced the Bame opinion . The Protestant people of England and Scotland were not yet prepared for the spoliation of the Irish Establishment ; nor was it yet come to the alternative of that spoliation or civil-war . Mr . O ' Connell now held opinions on the subject differentfrom whit he and other leaders expressed when emancipation was granted ; and without a distinct compact , not all the influence of the Duke of Wellington and Sir Robert Feel would have sufficed to carry that measure . - On the conclusion of Lord Eliot ' s speech , the debate -was adjourned .

      The Northern; Star. Saturday, August 6, 1843.

      THE NORTHERN ; STAR . SATURDAY , AUGUST 6 , 1843 .

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      THE CONFERENCE , ; The necessity for the assembling of this body is now universally felt , and all but universally acknowledged . On the point of desirability , therefore , nothing more need be said . The very general expression of opinion , almost throughout the whole country , settles the point that we must have it . Nor is there 'much disagreement as to time and place . Birmingham is , by a groat majority of localities , fixed upon as the most likely place ; and we think an examination of the votes come to and recorded , will shew that a great majority are : for deferring its assembly to the first week in September .

      We take it , then , as settled , that a Conference there must be . We take it , too , that it is nearly settled where it is to be holden , and the time it is to meet ; for whatever contrariety of opinion may have existed as to these two latter points , every one will give in to what is the expressed wish of the majority . It is time , then , sow that all preparations were duly made . The delegates are to be appointed . The funds for their expenses are to be raised . The subjects for their deliberations hare to be considered , and general instruction ? given . And a scale of Representation has to be determined on .

      On the latter point , we may say that it will not be needful for the Conference to be a very large body $ not so large as the one that assembled in Birmingham in December last ; nor so costly . We deem the proposal of our South Lancashire friends , for a large district representation worthy of great consisideration . By caution and prudence in the selection of delegates , this course may be made to answer the intended purpose- best . A small number of well-informed business-men , active , intelligent , and prudent , will be far better for all good ends , than a large number of persons selected -mthont regard to these essential qualifications . A

      small committee alwayB performs more work , and better , than a large one , even when personal qualifications are equal . In this case it is business alone that is to be attended to . We want men of aptitude , to take up the floating mass of proposals and suggestions for Organization , and oat of the whole form 3 systematized plan : one that shall be perfectly legal ; secure to us the FEorxcnon 0 * xhs law ; he , withal , workable , and easylto be understood ; having the duties of all , body and head , members and office-bearers , plainly defined . This is -what is wanted to be done in the first instance . This is the main work . ;

      Now for this purpose a " smallish" number of wise men , well and judiciously selected , will be far preferable to a large body h&terogeneonsly mixed together . The question of expense is ] also deeply involved : and it fortunately happens that the least expensive mode will answer best for all other purposes . This is not a trial of strength between two opposing parties , where it is needful that each should put forth its full measure of power , to sway pnblio opinion on its side . It is a meeting for business , to give national sanction to the best , most comprehensive , legal , and workable plan of Organization that can be devised . Do not these reasons and considerations , then , support the proposal of our Lancashire friends for large district representation !

      At the same time great care will be requisite in the appoiBizB 6 &t of delegates . These should be chosen for their business-talents and prudent devotednese to the great cause that Will be entrusted to their care . They will not need to be ^ orators . ** Speech-making will not be the work the delegates will sent be to perform . Ability to speech-make alone , therefore , is no qualification for the offioe . Sound , practical , discriminating commen sense is -what will be mainly required . To these matters , then , we now invite the immediate attention of the Chartist body . Look out your men . Determine on the scale of representation . . Prepare jour funds . Agree upon , arid give your instructions . :

      There ib another point , to which euffioient attention has net yet been devoted . It is in our opinion all-important ; and we have waited to see whether it would be taken up by the Chartists generally , without being pressed upon their notice . It has arrested a glance here and there ; and a word or two have occasionally passed respecting it . But not enough has been either said or done in relation to it . We mean the question of Scotch jTJhion with the English ! Is it net desirable to effect such an Act of Union between the two bodies of English and Scotch Chartists , that shall work ' so well that

      neither party shall wish for " Bemcai . " J Why should they be disunited ! Is there any benefit toJtP derived from it ? Is there ; any benefit in disunion ? If it be needful for the English Chartists , and for the Scotch Chartists , to have separate general Organizations , becanse of the advantages aocrucing from gxhe&jx action and systematiied movement , surely it would be tot less advantageous to have a real General Union for all , which should promote feelings of amity j induce oneness of purpose , and direct energetically the whole force of public opinionupon any one given point 1 This

      is an " Extension of Commerce" in good works that even yrs think would be beneficial 1 Could not it be effected ! Is it not worth the trial ? Sbonld -we not endeavour to accomplish it ! We think every sincere Chartist will , with alacrity , eay " yes"J Then let os to thej work . Let us to the endeavour . SCOTCHMEN , what sat too ? Give the proposal due consideration . Weigh well the advantages to be derived to yourselves , to jour F p gHfih brethren , and to the common cause , by such a junction . Reflect well on it ; and let us have your decision . ENGLISHMEN ,

      ¦ whai sat -you I Is the&ctive and prndent co-operation of yonrnntiring unswerving * irither Soot " worth the seeking ! Is it not worth courting ! Will it be nothing to unite with a body of people who have stuck true and steadfast , through good report and through evil report , and conducted their affairs without one mishap ! See the JBeld « f exertion widen before you , and see the number of well-drilled working labourers ready to do their part ingathering in the rich ; and ripening

      harvest 1 See too the extended range of selection for first-office-bearers that opens ont . Many parties fear ihe experiment of another Execu tive . They fear that envy and jealonsymay be again at work , and prodnce more division and disunion than -we even now have , or have had . Would not tnia in a great measure be prevented , by bringing in new parties to act 1—parties who hare no partisans —who have not at their backs those who will be dissatisfied if they do not get in ; and others at their heels who will be dissatisfied if they do .

      To the Ch&rtistB of both : countries | we commend these considerations , Weigh them well . They are deserving of jour every attention . Accomplish the work , and you will find that it will be of the utmost service to the movement , giving it an impetus that trill amply satisfy for the pains taken . ; Let our Scotch brethren look to this matter welL If they decide in its favour , no

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      have but to Bay bo ; and . we are Bure that every effort will be made to accommodate them , compatible with convenience to all . Having considered the question of the Conference and its labours in a somewhat circumscribed sense , we shall now take a more general view of the whole question , and indicate several other matters which will of necessity urge themselves on the attention of the assembled body ; and which it will be well to canvass over Bome little beforehand .

      The question of Organization and the leading features connected with the subject have been long before the country j and the further steps which it may be Jnecessary to take , after a plan of Organization is agreed upon , will require some time for completion . The Organization is but the means ; the direction of public opinion , the end . Of conrse the election of an Executive body , and the preliminary steps prior to such election ; rules for the appointment of lecturers , with directions for the government of their body ; some improvement in the slovenly method of holding public meetings hitherto practised ; as well as means to insure perfect hwrmouy in the ranks , will no doubt arrest the attention of ; the delegates .

      The announcement of the League at Bristol that their battle * would . henceforth consist in bribing electors to support " Fr « e Trade >? principles , will naturally present to the Conference the necessity of adopting some mode by which , the non-elective infiuence may be brought to bear efficiently against the elective power upon the next dissolution of Parliament . We must be cautious , lest the denial of " Free-Trade" principles by the League , and the convenient adoption of the Chartist pledge upon the bustings , should lead us into & hasty confidence in our greatest oppressors . It is evident that upon the next dissolution the tactics of the League will be to unite with the Complete Suffragists ; and , in the event of the working classes directing their undivided

      attention to the return of twenty out-and-out Chartist candidates , the coalition will be tried to . be effected with " Free Traders / ' ready to swallow not only the six points , but name and all ! But the Chartists must bear in mind , that they do not want to make their principles in ihe House of Commons A mebb SECONDast question ! now and then receiving the lukewarm support of Free Traders / ' Their game is to return an active , talking , business-like , common-PLACB-MEASUBE-OB 3 TRUCTING STAFF , who will Sit night after night , and day after day , using the House of Commons in the first instance , as a channel through which Chartist principles can be inculcated throughout the world ; and , secondly , as a rallying point round which the working classes will muster with increased seal and activity .

      All these are questions which must necessarily arrest the attention of the delegates ; while it may take some time after the plan of Organization is agreed upon to bring the necessary machinery into working order . The question of "leadership" has been very whimsically treated by politicians of all schools , they agreeing for the most part in denouncing "leadership "; while every party tends to the recognition of the principle . Are . not delegates , although instructedaa to their course , "leaders" pro temporal and with the consent of the people ! Are not the members of an Executive Committee acknowledged

      "leaders' ! and what is the object of our re-Organization , but that of recommending and practising caution in the election of leaders" I , What would be the position of a Chartist representative in the House of CommouB , but that of " leader" J How have the minorities of factions been so long enabled to hold dominion over the great majority of the people , except by *» leadership" ! Therefore , while we shall be ever ready to denounce the despotism of •* leadership , " we shall be eq . ally pre- pared to defend the principle , as the best , indeed as the only , means of marshalling political parties .

      Let us trust , then , that the several localities will forthwith put their shoulders to the wheel and prepare for theday of redemption ! We anticipate much from the bringing together of the leadess of the people . We live in times when all personal considerations must be merged in the general good . In order to make the proceedings of the Conference instrumentalin establishing the strength of the popular will , we would strongly urge upon the men of Birmingham the propriety of making arrangements to give OTJR GREAT LEADER , Thomas Du » - coxbe , Esqnire , M . P ., a publio entry into

      Birmingham on some day during its sittings , and to invite him as a guest to a tea party the same evening . This will have the double effect of doing honour to the champion who has fought our cause alone , while it will prove that we are thankful for good intentions . It' " England has her Attwood , " the Ch&nistB have their Du . ncombe . Both are presenters cf Chartist National Petitions ; with just this difference between them : one raised up the ferment , and was frightened at the monster he had created . He slunk from his post , telling as that all thai he meant by the People ' s Charter

      and Universal Suffrage was M Little Shillings " and " One Pound Notes . " The other undertook his task in far more difficult times , and performed it manfully , and has stuck l&us ever sinee I Never let it be forgotten that it was Attwood that proprsed the National Holiday ; that it was Munjz and Douglas that commenced the "Physical Force" Movement , when they went to Scotland to establish Rifle Clubs , and sell rifleBat 12 s . 6 d . each ! And never let it be forgotten that when the first approaoh of c anger was manifest , the : whole squad RAN AWAY , Attwood saying he only wanted the National Holiday" for the Little Shilling" 1 . ' !

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      THE IRISH CHURCH . Bt our Parliamentary Reports , it will be seen tha- - this vexatious and irritating question * has been brought before the House of Commons in something like an understandable shape , by Mr . Ward ; and his so doing has thrown the church-saints into great dismay . Ob this question of Irish Churchism we have often had our say ; having , from the very first existence of this journal , continually shewn the necessity of banishing the last viper from Ireland . It was to little purpose that the good Saint Patrick , " Drbve the toads down in the bogs , And bothered all the Tannin , "

      if the land was to be infested by one poisonous monster , who , like the harpy of old , destroyed all that came within its reach . The fanciful Church-logic of Lord Beoogham adopted by Lord Eliot , might have served for the public ear some half century back , or may , even now , do fer the outlines of a Magazine Article ; bnt thoy are tio spiritually-temporal for the ear of the landlords , and too absurd to receive favour from , man . Lord Bbougham , who has recently appeared as the Tory chronometer—whereby the youngsters in the Commons may set their time , endeavoured ; previously to Mr . Ward ' s motion to

      open the eyes of the ignorant upon the subject of the Irish Church , by assuring the Lords that it was no grievance at all ; that its existence imposed no tax upon the Catholic people ; and that its destruction would confer no benefit upoa them . The Noble Lord appears to look upon the revenues of the IriBh Church as a kind of chief-rent , payable by the owners of land , and subject to which , the land has been transferred from time to time ^ Lord Eliot , in the Lower House , takes the same view of the question ; and , in the attempt to confine the subject

      to a mere question of figures , he assures us , that the total revenue of the Irish Church , is only £ 432 , 123 . We believe the figures of the Noble Lord to consist of the aggregate amount compounded for by Church parsons , under the compulsory Tithe Composition Act ; leaving out of view altogether the enormous amount of Church property consisting of glebe lands ,-bishops' lands , and income derived by " lay impropiiaters , " which -would reach , negatively and affirmatively , to more than double the total set down as Chnrch revenue by Lord Euot . By negatively , we mean especially the great injustice

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      done to society at arge by the precarious mode of 1 leasing Church property . We do not mean that bishops demand a higher ; rent than lay lords , or the contrary ; but we do assert , that the peculiar conditions annexed to those ; contracts , and the uncertainty of tenure under them , leads to a lax , Blovenly , and negligent system of husbandry , by which the largest portion of benefit , which , under better circumstances , would beconferred upon society , is wholly lost . Did either of the noble Lords take into I account the property belonging to Trinity College , the hot-bed of Protestant prejudice , and

      the cradle of Orange principles 1 If we were now settling the account in 'good mcrcaatilo siyle between party and party , peraJventure we mign ~ t be seduced by commercial principles to make a sum of rule [ of three of it , and assume the calculations of the noble lords to be perfectly correct ; but when we come to view the question as a whole , and to consider that this kind of " pepper corn" rent paid ; to the Church , is not only an injustice as a Protestant imposition upon a Catholic people , but that the amount , be it large or be it email , loses its real arithmetical value : and instead of

      being looked upon as a kind of chief-rent , amounting to something short of half a million annually , it is viewed as the foundation of every grievance of which not only the Irish Catholics justly complain , but as an intolerable abuse against which the whole nation has Bet its face . It is the nestegg iupon which every Other grievance has been laid ;; It was the Upas-tree planted iu Ireland , upon the conquest of the Irish Catholics by their Saxon oppressors , intended as a badge of conquest , and as the standard round which the Orange faction could rally , summoned by the cry of " the

      Chur « h is in danger / ' It may now suit the policy of the , Church-party , grown weak by abuse , to speak in tones of moderation ; but the outcry now raised against the Protestant Church in Ireland is not confined to mere Catholic dissent . It has been forced into the Protestant camp by the Tithe Composition Bill of Mr . GoulbuRN whereby the Protestant grass-laud , made tithe-free by a resolution of the protestant Irish Parliament . was brought in to gavel and made to bear its proportion of the Church burden . From 1825 , the period at which this Bill took effect , the Royal , Loyal . Protestant Landlords of Ireland

      have been like the Duke s daughter and the Moor ' s wife ; hampered with a divided duty : the one to the Church as loyal Protestants , the other to the pocket as straggling landlords . Prior to Mr . Goulbdhn ' s , bill , the Protestant landlords , the Protestant parsons , the Catholic landlords , and the Catholic owners of Church property invariably made common cause in resisting tithe agitation ; that is , as long as the Catholio pauper with an acre of potatoes supported the Protestant parson , while the Protestant landlord with-his luxuriant grass domain contributed not one farthing towards the salvation of his own soul ,

      the j people were transported , butchered , and destroyed by the associated defenders of the rights of the Church . As soon however as this first innovation was made , there was a quickness in the landlord ' s feeling , which threw his love of Church in the shade ; and to this act more than to any other is to { be attributed the rapid progress made by the Catholio Association demanding what was called Catholio Emancipation . Goulburn was the means of carrying Emancipation some years before it would Otherwise have been accomplished , inasmuch as the Protestant landlords recognised an iniustioe to

      themselves in his Bill , whereby they were taxed for the support of their own Church ; and from its enactment to 1829 we find the ranks of the Catholic Association considerably swelled by Protestant volunteers . Lord Eliot , therefore , has made an erroneous calculation , when he considers Emancipation , carried in 1829 , to have been a fulfilment of a contract made in 1800 ; and he is equally in error , when he would lead us to a belief that , by implication , ithe Emancipation Bill was a re-acknowledgment of the Aot of Union . Wo , then , look upon the revenue of the Irish Church * not only as being unnecessarily large in amount , but destructively so , as a rallying point for all the evil passions for that

      dominant faotion who look upon it as the trophy of their i party , won in a war against the Catholio people ,, Surely , if any portion of the wild Indians looked upon the possession of the Gates of Somnaiuh as of national importance , and if a great English statesman acquiesced in the national prejudice , something is duo to the feelings of the Irish Catholics , who in the pillars of Church and State recognise the triumph of the enemy , as well as a barrier arresting their promotion , and paralyzing their energies . What has caused the necessity for a standing army in Ireland in times of peace , or of a mere Church war in that country \ What has led to an exteusive police establishment t What has been the amount of costs

      in the Ecclesiastical Court , in the Prerogative Court ,, in the Chancery Court , and iu the Exchequer Court , expended in defending the Catholio defendants against their clerical antagonists I Have the salaries of Commissioners , the expeuce of citations to Bishop ' s Courts , the costs of bills filed iin Chancery , the legal expences of Exchequer suits , ' the amount of records between the Shepherds and their flocks arising out of actions tried ou cirouit , or at Nisi Prius , the enormous fees paid at Quarter Sessions by those who haye been processed for tithe and against whom decrees , with all their subsequent expences in execution , have fallen : we ask , have these " sundries , " comprising a total three times as large as that set down by Lord Eliot as

      the little sin of the Church , been taken into consideration I Has the blood shed at Rathcormao and elsewhere been set down in the account ? Has the ousting of Catholic tenants by Protestant landlords , lest is electors qualified by their land they should vote for an Anti-Charon Candidate , been set down in the general account ? , And , if not , are we not justified in charging it under the comprehensive head ! " sundries" ? The noble pillars of the Church , Lords Bbougham and Eliot , were too mercantile in their mode of dealing With the Church property ; and having failed to tender a satisfactory account , we , to whom it has been referred as auditors , would make tho following corrections , accepting the low total of the one , and the slight inconvenience of the other as our data , and we state the account

      thus : — The Protestant Church of Ireland in account with the Catholic People of Ireland . Credit £ 432 , 123 Dr . The destruction of industry , the propagation of feuds , the shedding of blood , the expense of collecting tribute ... £ 8 , 000 , 000

      Interest upon one half of tho Na- I tional Debt , law expenses Sti- j pendJary Magistrates . &c , &c , &e ., &c , &e ., &o . ... ... ... 17 , 000 , 000 Frightened out of the country by Protestant Parsons and their Orange Staff ... ., 5 , 000 , 000 Loss from bad cultivation , and uncertainty of tenure ... ... 20 , 000 , 000 : £ 50 , 000 , 000 . From which deduct »»< ••• 432 , 123 And we find the balance due by the Church to the Catholic people amounts annually to £ 49 , 567 , 877 In [ this calculation we are very much under the mark , not having set down any thing under the usual comprehensive head '' sundries "; and shall now conclude with a bit of spiritual tit for tat . We shall ! be glad to know then if the noble lords consider ' , the complaint too load for the amount of iDJuiy sustained 1 and if the whole question is to be merged into one of pounds , shillings , and pence why are the Irish ! Orango members , and the English Plumtees allowed to make such a ferocious noise , about a grants a few thousands a year to . the College of Maynooth ?! We could say much more upon this unholy subjeot , but as the putrid monster is id the deaththroes , we refrain from diBturbinR that quiet which it , has ever deaied to its victims . When the monster perishs , tha only wonder will be tlat it was allowed

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      to live so long ; and when it is interred , the proper epitaph upon its dry tomb and unhallowed memory will be : — I " Here ! lies the Irish devil ! ' ? he last reptile That infested the land . "

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      "SIGNS OF THE TIMES . " THE SHEFFIELD ARTIZANS . Below we pre ent the reader with a most important address which has within the last few days been published by " the Delegate Committee of the Associated Trades of Sheffield , " important not only for the sound truths it enunciates , but also on account of the parties from Whom it emanates , the leaders of the Sheffield Trades . These men have hitherto had the reputation of being the mere tools

      of the " Freebootery , " and as such have often been daubed with the praises of the pot-organs of Sheffield Whiggery , the Independent and Weekly Chronicle . But a " change has come o ' er the spirit ef their dream . " They appear to have discovered the blessings ( 1 ) of former " Extensions of Commerce , " and are no way desirous of having a renewal of the dose ; consequently no approving paragraphs from the pens of the Leaders and the Warp ' s will ( now , as heretofore , reward

      their toils . And no wonder ; for , from beginning to end , the address is a complete refutation so far as Sheffield is concerned of ail the fanciful theories on which the " Freebjootera" found their system of chicanery aud humbug . Machinery and the "Devil ' sdust" system of exporting trashy articles , are alleged by the authors of this address to be one of the main causes of the present distress so prevalent iu Sheffield . What will the " Extension" men say to that ! What a pioture , too , of tho Sheffield profitmongers the addressers present us with ! See " the cast-metal articles sent to China ; " the " razors that will not shave ; the strops that take off the edge ; the scissors that refuse to cut : the knives that

      presently break" ! These " cast-metal gentry are the "respectable , " " chapel-going , " "intelligent , " and therefore the " electoral" class of the community . Will the Independent , that along with the rest of the " Liberal" curs yelped so loudly at the heels of Mr . Febrand when he . made his famous " devil's-dust " exposures in the House of Commons ; will this base Whig back dare I to defend the characters of its " pious" and * * religious" patrons against the

      damning charges preferred against them by the addressers ? It dare not attempt the hopeless task ! It knows well that the accusers are parties that cannot be misinformed , for they are the parties who are compelled by the present accursed system to toil at the making of these " cast- metal" deceptions , -which are fast rendering the name of Sheffield a bye-word and a mockery from the Thames to the Ganges—from tho Rhine to the Mississippi .

      It will be seen ] that , instead of ** Free Trade , " which was wont to be the cry of the Sheffield trades , " The Land" is the remedy for existing evils argued

      for by the addressers . This is most heart-cheering I It tells that the thinkers among the working classes —those who mustlalways influence the mass of their order , are thinking to some purpose !—that these thinkers are beginning to look for the restoration of their own heritage in the land of iheir fathers as the means of restoring themselves and their order to a state of well-deserved comfort and prosperity . They are right as to the end— fHS Land . THE LAND , THE LaInD is the only effectual remedy for the wrongs of the suffering poor .

      But what are their proposed means for attaining that end 1 Them ion of all the trades . Good , as far as it goes . A general union of the trades for purposes- of experiment and partial relief will be productive of good ; and God speed them is our cry . But would they really achieve the independence and happiness of their class by again resuming their stand on the soil , something more than a general Trades Union will be necessary . They must stiuggle for the right of self legislation I they must ESTABLISH THE PRINCIPLES OP THE PEOPLE ' S

      CHART £ R ! THEY MUST WIN THE POLITICAL , XO ARRIVE AT THE SOCIAL RIGHTS Of MAN . For this they are not yet prepared . There is no fear but that they soon will be ! They have hit upon the right cure for the evils of the present system ; A ^ D THEY MUST OBTAIN IT BY SOME MEANS . If Trades Unions will not answer that purpose , the Charter will ! What a glorious " sign of the times" it is to see the associated Trades turning their attention to these important questions . Alone and of itself this single fact is sufficient to sustain hope that we shall come right at last , notwithstanding the gloomy

      prospect that everywhere presents itself when we look at things as they are , and bring to mind the almost universal confusion and dismay that everywhere abound , ' it is only to the working class that the politician and the social regenerator need look for means wherewith to work out his beneficient purpose . The . mind , and the " physical"to give actual embodyment to that mind , dwells a lone amongst ( hose whose souls have not been deadened by tho withering curse of Mammon ; aud ' whose aspirations for ' liberty are not sent through the till , but are pure emanations from nature ' s self . Of that mind the address we here

      present is an evidence ; aud it is the knowledge that mND must eventually overcome and overthrow brute foroe , that gives rise to the hopeful conviction that the present system oi inequality and injustice will be superseded by one which shall recognize iu every man a brother to his fellow-man , and deal with all as the children of onejeommon father . Yes ! England . will be saved ! and saved , too , by her despised , derided , degraded , and spitten-upon working people ! Look at all the other classes What are they doing ? What do they know of the evil that is now reaching them ? They see their

      property melt out of their grasp . They see that all their efforts to retain it are futile . They see ruin staring them in the face . They one by one dropjinto the bankrupt list , or the insolvent list . They knew that all about them is consternation and [ alarm . They knew that Ireland is agitated to her centre , for Repeal ; they know that" Rebecca" is waging successful war iu Wales , and that her " Daughters" seem to include almost tho entire population of the Principality . They

      know of the alarming state of the mining districts , " where those who daily go into the bowels of the earth with their " lives in their hands'' to pro . cure the means of en joy ment and comfort for the rest of society , are required to do bo Tor EIGHTEENpsNCE-a-day I They know that " Chartism" is but in abeyance ; that ; it ia not " put down ; " that it merely smoulders , liable to be fanned into a terrific flimo with , the first wind that blows . They know all this , and see all thiB ; and yet what know they

      of the cause 1 ! 5 I What know they of the remedy 1 The confusion that ] every where abounds in the social world is not more perfect , nor more general , than the confusion that ] reigns in their own minds . . Incapable of thinking clearly , it is impossible that they can apply a rome ' dy . They have the powerhad they the mind , they could easily effect the change so much needed , even by themselves , to save their own property : from silent but effectual transfer Lacking mind , however , power is useless—naji worse than useless ; for the efforts made by these classes , in ignorance , do but enhance the suffering to all parties , and augment the general turmoil" and discontent , until confusion has become worse confounded !

      If a deputation ] from the associated Trades of Sheffield , had waied upon the Premier , to bandy compliments with him about the ' general distress " as the Iron-masters of Staffordshire lately did ; they telling him of what he but too well knew ; and he telling jthem that he deplored the face , and COMMISERATED with the sufferers : would a deputaion of working men , had they gone to Sir Robert Peel , havo stultified themselves and proclaimed their astute iguoracce , by asking him , at one and some l : me , to take measures to moke

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      : - ¦ = ¦ - £ - ¦ — - ^ prices low , and prices high t !! Would they have asked for "free-trade" to make on * " FIXED burdens '' more burdensome still , through reduced means ; and also asked for One Pound Notes , to haise prices to a " range ADEQUATE to our FIXED engagements'" t Would working men have done this } And yet those who despise them ; those who ape "intelligence "; those who assume airs of superiority ; those'who affect to prate of

      "ignorance " , and deny the producer of wealth all part or lot in political power , " becanse they are not intelligent" ; those who have the vote , because low cunning and a disregard of moral obligation has given them "wealth '' : these men not only made such an exhibition of their incapacity to understand . the commonest principles of political economy , but thej actually proclaimed their wonderful want of knowledge to the whole world , saying to all , " see what asses we are" 1

      God help thee , poor ill-used country , did thy redemption depend upon the " upper and middle classes " . ' Fortunately , it does not . While these are driven to and fro , beguiled fay every Will-o ' -the-Wisp that shows itself ; running after every nostrum that is propounded ; attaching themselves to every species of quackery and empiricism , the working people are steadily applying themselves to discover the cause of the evil that afflicts all ; and as steadily

      looking for the remedy . Assuredly as they do this , aud acquire the knowledge , so assuredly will they acquire the poweb to apply that knowledge to practice . England will be saved ; but her salvation will be effectuated by those who have fared the worst , endured the most cruel treatment , suffered the greatest indignities , been the most despised by the gaudy painted butterflies that the corrupt maggotty system has so numerously engendered .

      Of the mimd that is actively at work amongst the workers , the following address is evidence . Its operations are not confined to the Trades of Sheffield . These are but acting in common with thereat of their ; brethren . The tide of thought has set in ! The ripple of the waves is distinctly seen ; and ere long the dry and parched beach of politics will be covered with the waters of life ; and . beauty and order displace confusion and turmoil .

      Here is the address of which we have spoken : — " Fellow Workmen , —In a late address we particularly pointed to two of the hydra of evils , whioh have a strong influence on your trade—namely , the vast increase of machinery , and the trashy articles that undermine your credit and character . With respect to the former , we again say , that notwithstanding the injury it has inflicted , it has conferred many benefits on mankind , and might be productive of a many more under a wise and hnmane system . As to the injury resulting from , it , it would be some consolation if that was confined to our shores ; but the vast exportation of it to foreign countries ( and we believe at the present time we are exporting

      more than ever ) mast , ere long , tell with fearful effect upon our commerce , and cannot be passed over without exciting the most painful feelings , as it must be evident we are doing all in our power to enable foreigners to close their markets against us . Nor are the trashy articles we send them calculated to allay those feelings—as we are quite certain , that the only way to save us and the town from ruin , must be by the excellence of our productions . To enumerate all the evils arising from bad and low priced articles , would occupy too much space we shall , therefore , notice those which are made of oast metaJ , and the commonest steel , which ia very little better for purposes of utility . The trades

      that are suffering ( he most from cast metsl articles , are the Pork , the Scissor , and the Table-knife branches ; and those that are great sufferers , ia consequence of common steel articles , are the Razor , the Saw , and Penknife branches . There are a many other trades that feel the baneful effects arising from this double cause . Indeed , as far as the town is concerned , it is of such an alarming magnitude as behoves all classes to take the matter into serious consideration . The following facts are strikingly illustrative of iho r . u .-aion of the employed and the employers in the aforenamed trades . In the Fork Trade , for instance : —such is the overglutted state of the market , in consequence of cast metal

      trash , that the far greater part of the manufacturers of steel forks are reduced to a state of poverty and want , in consequence of the low selling prices . The condition of the poor Grinders is still werse , as it is impossible for them to drag on any other than a most misorabJo existence , working as they do at a trade so destructive to the human constitution , that tb « late Dr . Young once emphatically declared' That , under any circnmstances , it was a punishment adequate to the crimes of the blackest dye to make the perpetrators of them work at fork grinding the remainder of their lives . ' As to the other grinding branches—and in particular the razor grinders—the poor artizans engaged therein are but very little better in circumstances to the one just named , ia consequence of such a system , while tho respectable manufacturers see

      , with the moat painful emotions , their trade gradually dwindling away . The shopkeepers experience similar effects , by being deprived of a portion of their customers ; but the crowning evil is the loss of our credit and character as a manufacturing town . We talk of an Extension of our Foreign Commerce ! but we ought in the firatj place to redeem our character as manufacturers of genuine articles . At this moment large quantities of Cast metal articles are wending their way to the Chinese market . Thus it appears , after butchering a great number of tho inhabitants , because they would not tamely submit to be poisoned with opium , we are increasing the disgust they have conceived against us as a nation , by sending them the most abominable articles that can be manufactured ; and Sheffield , it appears , is to stand the foremost in such a base transaction .

      " Another evil , and which has been partly caused by the -breaking up of the Cutlers' Corporation , is the great number of little masters , who have done a great deal in produoing the present state of things ; —still we cannot attach much blame to them—the fault lies entirely with the system . If nine-tenths of them couJd only have obtained living wages as journeyman , they would never have commenced manufacturing . Necessity , which is above all Jaws , has compelled them to it . Dr . Holland observes in one of his excellent works , "that their credit seldom extends beyond the duration of a week . ' And , we believe , in a great majority of cases , not so much . This renders them an easy prey to the factor

      or capitalist , who are always on the alert to profit out of their necessities ; and the dealers in hardware , act upon the same principle . Indeed , it is a Well-known fact , that a coalition exists . between thorn and many of the factors—4 heir object being to force the little masters to ssll their own labour , and that of others , for almost nothing . Can we , then , be surprised ct . the present state of our workmen , when their labour is thus sacrificed at the shrine of such unfeeling and grovelling selfishness 1 la it possible that property , in wheels , in shops , or houses , can maintain its value , under a system which forces multitudes to barter their labour for the first necessary of life , and not a . sufficiency of it ! We again rcueat , that we do not blame the little

      masters for such a state of things , as they have the same equal right to & livelihood with any member of the community ; and the only way to prevent them from manufacturing , must be by finding them employment whereby they can live respectably as journeymen . This is a matter that particularly interests the workmen and the respectable portion of their employers , if they mean to save themselves from impending ruin . We could point out Other evils , but fihall refrain from so doing , on the present

      occasion . We-therefore close this part of the subject , by giving a quotation from a letter of * gentleman , ^ unquestionable veracity , who has travelled into many parts of the world . His language is as follows : — 'A traveller , alive to the honour of his conntry , aud . jealous of any impeachment of Its principles , cannot bat be sensitive to the reproaches of foreigners complaining of English razors that will not shave , or strops that take off the edge ; of soissors that refuse to cut ; of knives that presently break . ' - . - ¦ ¦*

      "Fellow-Workmen—You will perceive from what has been already stated , that your position in respect to your trade , u far from being enviable . It seems as if you was receding fast back to a primitive state . In tact the degrading system leaves no room for the expansion of the human intellect . To remedy this partly , we again urge upon your serious attention the necessity of diverting » part of your iflbour tQ another pursuit and there is none more worthy of your notice than that of the iand . The most strenuous advocates of this measure contend , 'that the principles upon which ir , and the preceding subjects are based , are widely distinct—the oae being politicalecaaomy , the other moral economy . The Chief consideration , of the political economist is

      pro duction , leaving distribution to regulate itself . The moral economist would unite both , so as toproduce the ' greatest happiness to the greatest number . ' The political ijcononiist calls for great production for export , and estimates the happiness of the country by the amount sent annually away ; not considering whether the masses ara beneiitced by tho" return . The moral economist lookg to production as only Faluabla in proportion as it increases the happiness of the prcductrs . If w admit the moralaxiom that 'kauttr is tho source . > f all wealih , * it ought to follow that tne producers oi tho sumo shou'd be proportionately elevated m society in the ratio of their usefulness , and tha idler-j , 01 ' non-producers , tho reverse . For under a w : sa system of distribution few distributors

      3empmaj !Parlcam*Nt.

      3 EmpmaJ ! parlCam * nt .

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      4 THE NORTHERN STAR . j _

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Aug. 5, 1843, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct662/page/4/