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THE RADICAL'S LITANY
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iwal ant* GrtntrsA JhtURtxentt
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THE NORTHERN STAR SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1841.
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
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fff **"""***' ¦ " •''* " "T . TO TFK CHABTISTS . Ob , countrymen , oa to the fight , The struggle for freedom most dear , Hurt down do tke tyrants tbebHght , Of the hearts tbefr oppression 4 oth sear . Forget not toe basest and bare , Who im tyrant Whig * do&teoBf are cast , jjjd indignantly spurn the base slave , Who frith Blander taeir fair fuae would blast 34 not lured by ttte tnaeheraaf smile Of bas « traitors , irbo seek but your fill ; They'll employ every base , Whig-Hke guilt , To divert yeufrom liberty ' s eaU . Sons of Albion stand firm to xpur posts—Respond to fail liberty ' s £ ghjfcsi despite of the tyrant * red botta , You Charter yoa'U have , or you'll die . C . Wkstbat
The Radical's Litany
THE RADICAL'S LITANY
From nobles that at court do sit , To rule our bud as they see fit , Whom many a beggar coold outwit , Good Lord deliver trooa iiora aeuver
na . From independent gentry , who Consume on ? train as locust * da , And rob the labourer of bis due , Good Lord deHTe ? as . From honours being conferred , all Upon the rich , both great and small , Though -with stuQj thick as China ' s wall , Good Lord deliver us . From Chnrtb established by tbe law , And tidies enforced to glut the maw Of every idle strutting daw , Good L « rd dellTer u * From bishops and all procurations , Synodal * and confirmation * , And every such like botheration ,
Good Lord deliver us Prom foul hypocrisy and cant , And fg ) fr « 'h minds of Tirtae scant , And juggling Methodutie rant , Good Lord deliTer us . From that cursed tiling the New Poor Act Which Tories sanction , Whig * exact , Of HpiTfrh deeds the most compact . Good Lord deliTer us From buffie * , beadles , wiQi their crew Of hellish miscreants , Whig and Blue , Whose greatest joy ' s the poor w screw , Good Lord deliTer us . From lawyers , policemen , and spies , That deal in fraud , deceit , and lies , Whose derilry theworid outvies ,
Good Lord deliTer us . From suffrages of brick and mortar , Like-wise elective bribe and barter , With all that * hostile to the Charter , Good Lord deliTer us . ALEXAITDEB HriSH . He y , Feb . 14 th , ISiL
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EMGMAIn gotfcic fcOVfiB and palaces I dwell , In the deep recesses of the holloWd cell , In gloomy cares where man ne ' er dar'd His form to trust , my plaintive roiee is heard , 'Mongst hollow rocks , I take jay airy flight , Hj form seelna ' ed still from mortal ' s sight , Bred by the offspring of the human mind , ' I to tbe world an instant passage fiad , Yet short tbe space of time my life can boast , Bom in one moment , in another lost , I , once a nymph , * p * rted i > n the plains , The pride and glory of tbe neighbouring swains , Till eross'd in Iotb I left my native glade , My farm eonsnm'd , and dwindled to a shade . W . C
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CARLISLE . —Scddks Dsath of x Paupeb wder . rest Suspicious GiiccnsTA 5 CES . —An inquest was held before Mr . "William Carrick , coroner , on "Wednesday , the 10 th instant , in Water-lane , on Tie * of tie oody of John CapUn , aged twenty-one jesrs , lying dead at the Bog . ^ The result of the enqmrjwsSjto exonerate Jlr . Nicholson , surgeon to the Union , and Mr . Rootledge , keeper of the poorhouse , from say blame in the distressing transaction , ibongh vre hare lit ^ e confidence in the evidence produced , which consisted of that of relieving-ofiicers , and others , interested in patching op the afair , backed out by a number of paupers themselves , who were Eactr the painful necessity of stating what tfcey were instracied" to do . The following is the
earrec . statement of Jame 3 Caplin , brother to the deceased : —John Caplin , my la ; e brother lay sick with me far ei ^ ht weeks , when , owing to nay distressed circcmsiances , I applied to the pariah for reh ' ef for him . I rec « ived half a crown per week for the space of three weeks ; but , on the relievingoficerealiing to see him , be found him standing by the £ re ; is consequence of this , the allowance was stopped , and my brother w& 3 ordered away to the workhouse , where he remained six days ; bnt during this fcire he was set to break stones in an open yard , his own clothes were stripped off him , and he was eloioed in the workhouse dress . From the seTerity of the weather , he was very much starred , and applied for some of his own clothes to put under the
« hei ; but ibis request was refused , and he was compelled 10 continue to break stones , though in a very poor and unhealthy state , and the "weather bong Tery severe . He then , came back tft me , and I seal for Mr . Reeves , surgeon , who examined him , vhen I asked him for a line to the relieving officer , bni be said it . would not be attended to ; he then said if that man ( pointing to my brother ) dies , I wiHiold Dr . 2 sicb . ol . -on responsible for bis death . I wonder nia * son of a man Nicholson can be , to order that man to work . " My brother died in a few day 3 afierwirds . Tbe doctor then came to me , and ¦ asked me what I intended to do , as the disorder my brother had previous to his going to ihe workhouse , was do ; what he died of , and teas there ought to be
a coroners inuuesi . In consequence of this , I ordered an iauuest 10 be held . James Caplin , —Tbi 3 satemsn was contradicted in evidence ; more espe-« ally that portion which is attributed to Mr . Eeeres , surg-on ; and also the statement as to the late John Caplin hanng been sent to break stones ; bow to reconcile this conflicting testimony we know fics . ^ Were we called od to give an opinion , it would be to place as much reliance on the statement of poor Caplam , a 3 those of the relieTing officers and miserable paupers , who dared not say a word , how-«^ tt true h might be , derogatory to tn _ e character of those they are under . One tiling is clear , that Capiia was in a very unfit state to be put to work
21 me open air , and which , if correct , would doabvie&s be the means of gre * : ly accelerating his data . We would caution those en : rust « d with the « TE 3 of the infirm and poor , to be cartful how they ** them , lest they may be chargeable in the eyes of the pubiic , with practising a harshness towards « eai , which the law itself will not jastify , mnch less humanity tolerate . There i 3 one circumstance , * iich we had almost forgot to mention , and that is , * report that Mr . Nicholson , or some of the party , ¦ treated the paupers , who gaTe eridence , with spirits ; J circumKaice , if trut , 01 a Tery suspicious ch&rac-• Q " j for it is certainly not a common practice with keepers of workhouses , so to act towards a parcel « paupers .
Totrs Hall . —We h . &ppen&d to call in here ihe « iex day , to see what the magistrates were engaged * ith , when a complaint was made against a re-• pectalle innkeeper , in consequence of the imperfect ** t « of his s ; aDle , fer the accommodation of the noraes of iwo horse soldiers , who had been billeted * P 0 B him . A Captain Somebody said the stalls * ere too narrow , and that pigs -were kept near tbe ** ole . The innkeeper urged , that the imperfect **« e of the stable had been caused by a wicked « M £ e belonging to ths same troep . Here a long « ssuitory com-ersation took place between the
maptraves and tbe Captain , as to the right of repair" > g the injory which had been done by the wicked * ° we—the magistrates contending , tDat the innkeeper should naTe his stable repaired ; but the uiptain told them there was no law for any such *™« - Finally , the innkeeper agreed to make the ^ fsary repairs ; but eren this would not do , as w * norses had been sent to fresh billets ; so that the ^ K eeper mu 3 ; pay the sum of twenty-eight shil-3 ' month , aad his own stable standing un-^ capied . During the last twelre month * there IT . Du * been less thaa fxoia thirty to forty eom-^» iat 8 of this kind , whiah h » Te always been listened * and redressed by the magistrates , to the serious
^ . ^ "" soiiTenieace of -the publicans . GoTcrafclnl E ? * appoint inspectors tosee ia what ™ . er the poor hand-loom weaTers and their «« fies are doaneaed uxi fed , with a view to see d ^ fcJ . i * " vM housed , well fed , and well toT « r we P ^ ge oureeWeB they are far better ^ j more useful subjects of her Majesty , than a toSw ? ^ aoidierB ^ hoae horses are a * fat » nd a ^^^ mselre 6 . -C ! orresponde 7 U . -FfWWGHAM .-BEiTES Late tha * Netke . « nH ^? , ^ 8 e » iai ^ ms to be Terified in the wnauct of the charitable gentry of this town , who ^ meeting ia the Town Hall , this week , for the Krt J ? f ProTidiDg food and fuel for the unempwytd pooi at thisjndement season . This is well ; ttonAT - haTe been tetter had they done so two noniu s sinse . £ 600 hira afw * Lrfr hear , » i » r 1 trhirh
, It is gJSf ^ u ** diB P ^ Church clergymen cribevJy ^ eral persons were willing to budtier o ^^ 0 Inel - ' Proved they had the uckets at « 01 m disposal bat it w&g not ill » we 4 .
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ZiEED 8 ^ - £ xT » si-nr Robbeby . —OnTTjwdaylaii , % female najaed Susannah Scoit , was plaoed before Messrs . Stausfeld awi Hebden , nttin ^ migistrates at the Court-House , charged with baTing stolen £ 50 is sijyer , from the house of Mr . John Ayrey , tbe Old George Inn , Briggite .. Mr . Ayrey stated , that on Saturday last , about noon , Mr . Matthew Smith , manufacturer , of Morley , gave him a brown paper parcel , containing the eum named , to take care of , while ha was ready to go home ; he vis in the habit of doing bo weekly , and Mrs . Ayrey made a practice of locking the change vp in a private drawer in the nursery—a room to which the family only liad access . On Saturday bowerer , Mrs . A . at the time tbe mosey was brought , was siriog the breast
to an infant in thekitchen , and Mr . Ayrey laid it in an open drawer at the side of her , telling her to be sure to lock it up before che did anything else ; there were al that time only the servants and Mrs . Worth , of Kothwall , in the kitchen , besides Mrs , Ayrey . The latter * on &ome account was suddenly called into the bar , where she stayed only a short time , when she recollected the money , and proceeded to the kitchen for it , when to her surprise she found it was gone . Enquiry was instantly instituted , and a rigid examination made ; but without , at that time , producing any effect . On Monday morning , handbills were issued , offering a reward of fire pounds tor any information likely to lead to a diecoTery of the property , and the conrictioa of tie thief .
During the afternoon of Monday , a servant girl from a beerhouse in SwinegatOj kept by Mrs . Booth , want to the George Inn , to inquire for Scott , Baying that Mrs . Booth wished to see her particularly . Mr . Ayrey , haying his suspicions excited , went over to ilra . Booth ' s , and there learnt that his servant had , on Saturday , taken a brown paper parcel , containing money , to Mrs . Booth ' s , and which -she said was the amount of a legacy left to her by her aunt , which she had just received ; this parcel the girl fetched away on Saturday night , and Mr . Ayrey then discovered that ahe had taken it to Sirs . Trolly ' s , in Ebeuezer-street , to which place , accompanied by Scott , he went , havine previously
sent for an officer , who followed them into Ebenezerstreet , -where the * irl was taken into custody . Mrs . Trolly then produced a rosewood work-box » which she said had been left with her by Scott , and which contained silver to the amount of £ 47 , and Mrs . Trolly said the girl had given her £ 2 8 s . in Ioobo change to lay ont for her . Thus was all the property , Tfith the exception of a few shillings , recovered ; and the parcels ( containing £ 5 each , in which tbe money 'was wrapped ) being spoken to by Mr . Smith , as those which he left with Mr . Ayrey on Saturday , and the other parts of the evidence beiag detailed to the magistrates , the prisoner was committed to take her trial for the offence at the next borough sessions .
Flee am > Loss of Life , —On Saturday morning last , about six o'clock , a fire which might have been attended with the most serious regales , broke out is the drying-room , at the flax-spinning mill , occupied by Mr . Wm . Hill , at the corner of Lady-lane and Mill Garth-street , in the rear of the extensive premises of Messrs . Jackson , tobacco-manufacturers , to whom the property belongs . It appears that an old and respected servant , named John Sharp , had the care of the drying-room , the floor of which is composed of iron grating to admit the heat , and it is entered from the boiler-house by means of a trap door , fastened down by a padlock , and the sapposion is that Sharp , on going to unlock it , had his lamp in his hand , the flame from which came in
contact , by some means , with the yarn by which the grated floor was covered , and by which too entire room Tfia soon in a blaze . Sharp gave an instant alarm , and proceeded with the engine-man into the room ; to endeavour to extinguish the flames ; in this , however , they were unsuccessful , and the engineer , seeing the danger they were in , got through the trap door and called apon Sharp to follow him . This the poor fellow was unable to do , in consequence of the tire " gaining upon him , and having already communicated to his clothes ; bnt a bucket of water being thrown through the grating , so far cleared the f 5 re * s to enable him to see his way out , and be fell
down tbe trap door , dreadfully burnt , tie was removed to the Infirmary , where he died the same night . Some enjfines were soon after npon the spot , and the fire was got entirely under before seven o ' clock , having done damage to the amount of £ 100 , tne whole of which is covered by insurance . On Monday morning , an inquest was held upon th « remains of Sharp , before Mr , Blackburn , the coronor , when , after hearing the circum 3 iance 3 detailed , the Jury returned a verdict of " Accidental death . " Sharp was sixty years of age , a widower , and has left ? even = children , most of whom are grownup ; he was highly respected .
GXtASGrOw . —The prosecution of theshopocrats of Glasgow , and its suburban districts , is still going on with unabated vigour before the Justice of Peace Court . Since my last communication , thoae persons appointed to eaaormc * ho Ko « rQS , SCJLlos , % nd w « i <; hts have visited Tollcross , Parkhead , Camlaachie , Drygate , Toll Green , and Blue Vale , and have had a goodly number of the honest tea-farthing , rigidlyrightecras , and ten-pound-wise shopkeepers of these villages . fined for cheating and robbing the ignorant svinish multitude out of their hard-won earnings , with light weights . In these districts the crime is , if possible , of a still deeper dje , as the population is composed principally of hand-loom weavers , whose average wages do not amount to more than four or five shiDinga per week . I have made a calculation of the fines of about 150 , taken at random , and I find the amount to be £ 197 9 s .: besides , a number
of these have been amerced in expences . Who now will have the audacity to doubt that Johnny Finality , the champion general of the Church by law established , the throne , and the aristocracy , has not shewn his gTeat wisdom in thus selecting the shopkeepers as hia electoral standard of intelligence and honesty , in his humbug Reform BQl 1 There is only one law for the rich and ihe poor , it is ssid . What arrant nonsense , when we see the contrary every day ! A poor girl , working in a steam-loom factory , was sent to Bridewell for sixty days , and her name made public , for purloining about a yard of calico cloih ont of the factory ; while these middle-class men , who have plnndered the public of thousands of pounds , get off with a paltry fine , which they can easily afford to pay out of the plunder , and sacrifice noae of their luxuries ail the while . —Correspondent .
WAKEFHUjD . —At the Wakefield Debating Society , -on the ltth instant , at the Temperance Hotel , Westgate , an excellent paper wa 3 read by Mr . D . Swallow , on Co-operation ; after which a debate took place , which was conducted in the best of spirit for and against . At the conclusion , it was annuonced that there -was a Co-operative Society just formed in Wakefield , which held its meetings every week , at the house of Mr . Wm . Swallow , Kirkgate , for the purpose of transacting the business of the society , and enrolling new members , h was also announced that there will be a tea meeting on Shrove Tuesday : after which several of the members will address the meeting .
LONDON . —SrxDxr Meetings of the Worki > "g Classes . —A large meeting of the above class was held Ia 3 t Sunday evening , at the Working Man ' s Chapel , Dock Head , Bermondsey ; vfhen , after a comfortable tea , two hard-working men addressed the meeting on the difference between troe Christianity and the Christianity of the present day ; and also an inquiry into what was truth , and showed , m a rerj forcible manner , thst tbe people , instead' of paying the priest some two or three hundred pounds a year for thinking and praying' for them , must , in order to arrive at truth , do the work themselves , by employing the facalties God has given them . The meeting was highly delighted ; and we hope , that , although the priests and the religious bigots are up in arms at this attempt to enlighten tbe people , it ia only the commencement of a _ great movement in this wicked , priestridden Babel . —Correspondent .
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Ladies Repelling Bc&glabs . —The Aliases Cgx , of Newton , two maiden ladies , who live on their property , and farm in a small way , displayed great courage in repelling some burglars . They were awoke by the villains presenting themselves at their room door , one of whom levelled a pistol at the sister who was in bed next the door ; the object of hisattact fainted away . The other sister , alarmed at the noise ; rushed out of bed , and struck the man ¦ who had the pi 3 tol , which she knocked out of his hand . A strnggle ensued , and the lady actually
succeeded in thrusting the fellow out of the room She , however , ultimately became exhausted , and was forced back into the room , being so dreadfully beaten with the pistol on the arms , shoulder , and face , as to be incapable of farther resistance . The noise of ths struggle awoke the servants , one of whom escaped down stairs , and succeeded in reaching a cottage immediately adjacent . Miss Cox was on the point of giving up her purse , containing a considerable amount in g » Id , as the condition on which their lives should De spared , when voices were heard outside . The burglars then made off .
DSTBESS AMOXO THE RlBAWD WEAVERS OF CeTENxtcr —Taere are , it is supposed , in Coventry alone , between 40 , 0 * 0 and £ 0 , 000 inhabitants at this time , of whom upwards of 20 , 000 are journeymen riband weavers . Since the protecting duty has been taken off the imported manufactures , French ribands have inundated the market , which by some means or other not only compete with , bnt entirely take the lead from , the English factors in the home market . When in full work , it is computed that the poor weavers do not earn more than 7 s . or 8 s . per week at the very extreme , and many of them have wives and law families . Go which way you will , distress stares you hard in the face , and the poor wretehes all around are literally ttsrvinff to death ! A man a day or two since died of starvation in Coaberaaereclose , leaving a wife who was enceinte * aad a large family too . Last week the out-relief for the poor of the parish of Coventry alone was bestowed upon about l . CtO poor families .
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Harwell Lwatic AsTxim . —Mr . Ewart has entered a notice on the Commons' books , that On Ti'trndaj , the 25 th instant , he will move the appointment of a Select Committee "to inquire into the general management and medical treatment pnrsned in } he Pauper Lunatic Asylum at Hanwell . Middlesex ; ami to report thereon .- "—A most useful inquiry , and Pne that , if well pursued , cannot fail to elicit much valuable information . An TJadwiablx Fact . —A fellow was brought np to Marlborottgh-strBet Police-office on Saturday charged with stealing handkerchiefs from a shop in Burlington Arcade . Od being charged with the theft , the prisoner had run out of the shop , bnt was captured . He denied that he had taken the missing
handkerchief . Mr . Dyer asked why h » ran out ot the shop . The prisoner , replied that he was very suddenly " taken queer , " and he bad been obliged to ran for it to save bis reputation . This part of the prisoner's story , was corroborated by a " fact " little tbonght of , which everybody who had a nose in Court was fully competent to bear witness to . The prisoner was remanded till Wednesday . Catholic Assistance to a Pbotbstajjt Clergyman . —A letter from the oonnfcy of Sligo gives an account of a fire at the residence of Dean Hoare , which , but for the untiring exertions of tbe Roman Catholic Darisnioaers . during an entire night , would
have totally destroyed the house , out offieeB , and the corn and hay in the haggard . Nothing could weeed the zeal of the peasantry on this ocoasion . If it be said that the Dean of Achonry owes his popularity to his Liberal political principles , then we say that inasmuch as U cannot be denied by his most virulent opponents than Dean Hoare is as good a Protestant , religiously speaking , and as active and diligent in the performance of his duties , as any of his clerical brethren , this affords an evidence that if the Protestant clergy be not universally beloved by their Catholic parishioners , it is owing not to their religious zeal , bu { to their violent political animosity towards the Roman Catholics .
The Northern Star Saturday, February 20, 1841.
THE NORTHERN STAR SATURDAY , FEBRUARY 20 , 1841 .
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THE CHARTER SUFFRAGE versus THE PARLIAMENTARY H-O-U-S-E . " Will you be kind enough to point oat the difference between my definition of Household Suffrage and the Suffrage of the Charter ?"— Joh . n Colliks . " We wilL "—Ed . N . 8 . Ab the advocacy of our principles is an undertaking from which we have never yet shrank ; and as we have fearlessly thrown down the gauntlet in defence of the principle of Universal Suffrage , as laid down in the People ' s Charter , against every other description of franchise , we now proceed to point out the striking difference between Universal Suffrage and any definition which can be given of Household Suffrage . However imperceptible the distinction may appear to some , the difference is as great as between a chesnut horse and a horse chesnut . There is no mention of , or hint at , Household Suffrage , with any qualification of residence , from the beginning to the end of the Charter . The word " Household" is only once mentioned ; and , in that one instance , it clearly , specifically , and unambiguously points out the distinction intended to be made between an elector and a householder . Nay , ' \ it assigns to them separate functions as regards the question of franchise ; but we will hunt up to it from the very preamble . \ The document is entitled : — ' " The People's Charter , being the outliue of an Act to provide for the just representation of the people of Great Britain and Ireland , in the Commons House of Parliament : embracing the principles of Universal Suffrage , " and » o forth . After setting forth the objects of the Charter , it proceeds thus with its enacting provisions : — ' " Be it therefore enacted , that from and after the passing of tkis Act , every male inhabitant of these realms be entitled to vote for the election of Members of Parliament , subject , however , to the following conditions : — " 1 . That he be a native of these realms , or a foreigner who has lived in this country upwards of two yean , and bean naturalised . " 2 . That he be twenty-one years ot age . " 3 . That he be not proved insane wnen tbe lists of voters are revised . " 4 . That he be not convicted of felony within six months from and after the passing of this Act " 5 . That his electoral rights b « not suspended for bribery at elections , or for per&onation , or for forgery of election certificates , according to the penalties of this ' < Act . " i Now , such are the provisions of the Charter , as far as the principle of the Suffrage is involved , and we incline to think that nothing can be more plain or more simple . The first mention which we find of a fl house" is in the 2 nd clause , defining the duties of the registration clerk , and having no earthly reference to the vote . After other matter , it states , that the clerk shall take , or cause to be taken , round to every dwelling-house in his parish , a printed notice of the following form : — " Mr . John Jones , —Yen are hereby required , within j six days of the date hereof , to nil up this list with \ the names of all male inhabitants of your house of \ twenty-one years of age and upwards ; stating their respective ages and the time they have resided with you , or , ia neglect thereof to forfeit tbe sum of £ 5 . Here is a duty imposed upon householders , or ] persons in charge of dwelling-houses , with which the voters have nothing whatever to do . The Eext mention which we find of the word " house , " and the sole mention of the word " householder , " with the exception of its use in connection with the laying of a tax for defraying the expence of elections , is in the first clause for the arrangement for registration , and runs thus : — " Be it enacted that every householder , as well as every person occupying or having charge of a dwellinghouse , who shall receive a notice from the registration clerk , as aforesaid , shall cause the said notice to be tilled up with the names , ages , and time of residence , of every male inhabikmt in his or her house , of twsntyone years of age and upwards "—and so forth . Now , from this clause , which appears to have been wisely , jealously , and unambiguously drawn up , after mature consideration , for the distinct and sole purpose of drawing the line of demarcation between the pr inciple of Universal Suffrage , and any definition which could be given to the franchise in connection with a " house " in any shape , we learn the the object of its framers . Theframers , to contradistinguish man ' s inalienable right from a fictitious and limited substitute , clearly , forcibly , and beantifully point out tbe difference between animate and inanimate franchise , making the inanimate the mere " locus in quo , " and assigning distinct duties to occupant 9 in furtherance of the rights of man . Hence , to provide against evasion , monopoly , or equivocation , we find the several modes of tenure simplified , by setting forth the different sorts of possession of a bouse . We find the terms " householder , " " occupying , or having charge of a dwelling-house , " nsed as regards the person who is to make the return ; while the age , sex , and time of residence of the voter is the thing to be specified . Nay , more , to prove still farther , we find that the owner may be disfranchised or not entitled to the franchise ; while every room may be occupied by a number of qualified electors : hence does the house become the mere post-office , or place of delivery of the several notice papers , without any reference whatever to its being held , occupied , or kept in charge , as rtgards the qualification of the person holding , occupying , or having the charge . We prove our position thus : the Charter does not qualify women ; while it directs that a notice paper shall be left at his or heb house . The next striking difference between any property in , or possession of , a house , as contradistinguished from the Charter-franchise , will be found in the following clause of penalties : — " That any person who shall be convicted , aa aforeaaid , of wilfully neglecting to fill up hi » or her notice paper within the proper time , or of leaving out the name of any inmate In his or her notice paper , shall , for the first offenee , incur the penalty of five poonda , and for the second three months' imprisonment . " Now , here again we find a duty imposed upon those always- on the spot , and connected with the property ; in fact , a kind of trust , for tibe- protection of the voter . All through is this nisft distinction kept full in view .
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We have now , with one single exception , to which we shall presently refer , g et forth not only the iniplied , but the well-defined distinction pointed out id the Cbarter , between property of any d « eription aad tbe ri « bt of the roter . We proceed , then , to argue tbe principle of the Charter more at large ; We have always deolared for the principle , the whole principle , and nothing abort of the principle ; in fact , for the spirit and essence of the Charter ; setting forth Universal Suffrage aa the axis , the pivot , upon which the several other queetiohB tnrned . Our friends will award us the justice to
say that we have most scrupulously avoided entering into any minute detail as to the benefits which the measure would confer , upon the community at large . VTe have , it is true , shown how it would uproot vice , and plant yirtue in its stead ; we have pointed out the anomalies and injustice of several departments , and shown what its effect upon these departments would he ; but we have not attempted to define any set code of laws which the new state of society would require : upon the contrary , we have ever held and argued that such an undertaking would be presumptuous ; in fact , an individual
dictation to universal opinion . We have , over and over again , told our readers that nothing more tended to arm our opponents with arguments and plausible opposition , than the wild chimer / as whioh undigested opinion may parade as the anticipated fruits of the Charter . While the wisest predictions , withreapect to its probable working , are wholly passed over and left unnoticed by ihe press and its opponents , the moBt incoherent anticipations of the most rambling brain are anxiously seized upon as ground of opposition . Our motto has ever been , " arm the people with their rights , and w « are ready to obey the laws which shall result . " -
We take the Charter , in its present state , as the mere declaration of a principle ; and in such form we have no right to expect to find it more perfect than the Acts of our wise and paid rulers in a similar stage . If a Minister—a paid Ministermoves for leave to bring in a Bill , upon a subject affecting the interests ot the empire at large , no more is expected from him upon the first , or even the second reading , than a mere outline of its principlo . The principle being agreed upon , it goes , after two readings , into a Committee of the whole
House , with a view to its legal arrangement ; and even in the hands of those of whose fitness the people are " reasonably deemed " incompetent to judge , we find , in nine cases out of ten , that the whole principle , the one thing agreed upon , has been omitted , and a new principle introduced and legislated upon . Of this we cannot give a more perfect or happy illustration than the omission in the Reform Bill of the grand principle , —the only principle for which the majority contended , and which the country carried , —namely , " that taxation and representation should be co-extensive . "
We , take then , the Charter , in its present state , as declaratory of a principle , and sufficiently explicit for a first reading . Are we asked if the details , as they at present stand , are perfect , or anything like it ? We at once and unhesitatingly admit , that they are not ; that we could point out , and s © could the men who framed it , numerous , serious , and palpable errors , which , under revision , would be corrected . No human legislation can be perfect ; but we look to time , and the good working of the great principle which it advocates , as the means of making institutions under its provisions as wise , as wholesome , as just , and as applicable to existing sooietyi as any measure can be expected to produce . Nay ,
we even admit , in the outset , that the Charter , in its details , has committed the very blunder of whioh we complain in the Reform Bill ; namely , that it not only does not make representation and taxation oo-extensive , but it actually leaves the constituent body wholly untaxed , —untaxed for a > boon of which they are the especial gainers , —and throws the whole weight of the only tax ft mentions , either upon a very email minority of the electors , or upon those who are deprived of the franchise altogether . Here , then , to prove our assertion , we refer to the other instance in whioh " householders " is mentioned in the Charter , as if the very mention of the thing , in any Bhapo , was designed to damn it . The 17 th clause , under the head " arrangom ents for elections , ' runs thus : —
" That all the expenca of registration , nomination , and election , as aforesaid , together with the salaries of the returning officer , deputy returning officer , registration clerk , assistants , constables , and such other persons as may be necessary ; as well as the expence of all balloting , ballot-boxes , hustings and otber necessaries for the purpose ef this Act , be paid oat ot an equable district rate , which a district board , eomposed of one parochial officer , chosen by each of the parishes in the district , or for any two or more parishes if united for the purposes of this Act , are hereby empowered and commanded to levy on all householders within the district . "
Now , suppose a rural piriah to contain twenty thousand acres of land , with two hundred houses * and the land principally in parks and grazing grounds , there we have the householders liable to distress for the whole expences of the election . But let us suppose a case where the householder maybe disfranchised , and yet have to pay . This would occur in all cases where houses were held by , in occupation of , or in charge of , women . This sufficiently illustrates the injustice . A nice disputant may handle it thus : " Why , you give a
landlord a vote out of his ow » house ; while you exempt him from payment of any portion of the tax and lay the tax upon one who has no vote . " This instance would occur in cases whioh very often happen , namely , where elderly men decline business and let the establishment to a thrifty woman , with whom the landlord becomes a lodger , and , consequently , a voter ; here the landlord would be a voter and yet exempt from tax incurred by the election , while the tenant would be disfranchised and liable to the tax .
Well , bat observe the blunders of our superiors . The collective wisdom actually passed a Bill for the establishment of a police force iu Dublin , whioh received the Royal assent ; and in its local arrangement for operation , what obstacle does the reader suppose presented itself to its good working ! Why only the small omission of not making any provision for the payment of the force , which is not a usual , error with our rulers ; but , in consequence of this omission , unhappy Dublin was , for a year , deprived of the blessings of the " boon . "
Now , the Charter Committee have , at all events , thought of the needful , however inconsiderately they have resolved upon levying it . Bat does any sane man ( and the Charter only provides for the enfranchisement of such ) suppose that suoh ah error would be even left for a committee of the whole House to correct ? No , it would strike nine out of every ten working men upon its being re-read . Now , let us see how the Reform Bill played the taxation "thimble rig . " It acknowledged as its principle , that "taxation and representation should be co-extensive" —in fact , Siamese twins . Well ,
how do they play the juggle out ! Why , thus : — They say ** so they are co-extensive ; property is represented , and property only is taxed . " True , true , very true ; but who pays the tax ! the owner of the property , or the man whose labour brings it from darkness to light — from unproductive lumber to manufactured use 1 The labourer not only pays the direct tax indirectly , but he also pays the enormous profit of two , three , four , and five hundred per cent .
which the direct tax-payer indirectly screws from the labourer and consumer . Who pays the increase often per cent , laid upon the taxes by Mr . Baking ? The labourer pays that amounttr Government , and four times as muoh to the master s or shopkeepers , as their tax and profit upon tb eii liability . We must make this very plain ; we wil therefore analyse it in its double bearing . Firstly , —If an increase tax of ifiaO'O pei annum is put directly upon a master who 'employ 500 men , he will not stop to inquire , wb at is th
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l exact amount which , ia suoh case , deducted from ^ he wa ges of each man , would balance the loss , bnt fat makes a sweeping reduction to cover losses ; and , ip . order to expose to the labouring classes the abominations of the system , the 300 men would conaider . themselves honourably dealt with if the marteifMk'd , "I mart take apenny a day , or sixpence a * weelfV 01 T each man's wages to meet this new imposition / ' Well , what wonld be the result ? That he , by saeb reduction , would fob £ 650 a year , to pay a Je 2 Wpoi \ nd tax ; and , as . it is muoh more likely ¦ tha * . he wonld reduce a Bhilling a week than sixpence , he would make a profit « f £ 1 , 200 , in a redaction on labour , upon the £ 200 tax ; and if he employed a thousand labourers he would make a profit of £ 2 , 500 .
We state . this thus minutely for two reasons firstly—To prove that masters are gainers by taxes so long as they represent themselves , and can screw them ont of labour ; and secondly—To show the working men the items of which their grievances are made up . In , like manner , if a shopkeeper has to pay ten per cent increase upon his taxes , he makes his profit , no matter what he deals in , by a rise in his prices . If tne Government were to lay a duty of fourpence per pound upon soap , tomorrow , the man who uses it would pay sevenpenoa ; and this is the thing to abolish whiob some of our friends are foolish enough' to' believe those very partieB would join the Chartists . ' Fudge !
Now we come to closer quarters with our Bubjeot . The people joined the House of Commons' leaders for , the Reform Bill , upon the principle whioh we have defined . The long denunciation of abuse very naturally inspired the non-elective portion of the community with confidence in their old leaden—the implacable enemies of Tory abuse . The new system was to simplify all that was complex . Well , the leaders and people joined were irresistible : they carried that same principle ; but when agitation ceased , and active legislative power was placed in the hands of those who were practically to work out the principle agreed upon , what was the result ! Just this : that confidence lulled suspicion , and popular ignorance and indifference allowed the leaders to frame a measure
as different from that forwhich the people struggled as light from darkness , and then the leaders turned round and said , "O ! that ' s the thing we always meant ; and the thing we thought you meant . It is property thai is now taxed and not you ; and therefore we have worked out the grand principle . " We mention this forcibly to shew the absolute necessity of any measure which shall be hereafter framed to regulate the suffrage being so thoroughly agreed upon between those who carry it outside and those who mould it into law inside , as to admit of no mistake . Let any man t&ke a review of a measure which was to simplify the law as regards
representation , and he will very soon find that a great portion of the Government ' s strength consists in tangling the skein and mystifying mystification . Look at Fifty Pound Tenants at-Will ; Twenty Pound Non-resident Leaseholders ; Ten Pound Beneficial Interest ; Fifty Pound Freehold ; Freemen with their several qualifications ; Forty Shilling Freeholders ; Parsons , and their respective Tithes ; Trustees of Property ; Ten Pound Householders , with the notices of application , payment of rates and taxes , description of premises , and so forth ; and now fifteen new Jtidc / es for life to make mystery more mysterious ; and , we ask , is that the Reform Bill , the simple Bill for which the people contended !
Let our readers always bear this striking fact in view—that whatever House of Commons may be called upon to pass the Charter into law , will do it against their will , and upon popular oooroioa ; but , nevertheless , they will be the body who will have to do it : and the Charter being the next change which we hope to see effected , let us ask what favour its principles is likely to receive from the National Petition groaners 1 ! For this reason , then , it is our duty to sharpen pub Ho seal for the furtherance of
the measure ; to instruct our readers how to insure the application of proper details for moulding the measure into the very thing they have asked for , and no other , into law ; to create a becoming suspicion and a laudable jealousy , lest a second miscarriage take place through any misunderstanding between the people and those who shall apply details to the principle ; and , above all , to close every back door , or passage , by which an escape may be made from the principle of the measure .
No man , iu his senses , supposes that the passing of the Charter , as we advocate it , would be pleasing work for any one siDgle member of the present House of Commons . If this be admitted , then upon what rests the people ' s strength of hope for the full accomplishment of the Charter I Why , doubtless , upon a conviction in the mind of members that the people fully understand what they ask for , and are fully resolved upon having nothing else .
If we were desired to pick from the operative class , six hundred and fifty-eight , men , of twentyone years age , as ignorant as our six hundred and fifty-eight representatives , we should find the thing impossible . The members of the House of Commons kuow no more about the oause of the present general distress , or of popular organization , than the child unborn . Indeed , how should they ? They read in one book , and the people in another . They fence themselves behind the Church , the army , the navy , the throne , prerogative , law of nations , constitutional power of parliament , and so forth , according
to their notions of the several influences of those branches ; while the people look upon all those as bo many excrescences produced by class legislation . They never dream that the present distress and discontent arise out of the failure of the Reform Bill . They never give themselves time to think that that measure , in its progression , has gone on multiplying the plunderers , while it has diminished the means of the plundered : in faot , that it has , by a transfer of power to new hands , and under new circumstances , increased the number of gamblers , while it has diminished the stakes to be played for .
Formerly , our Parliaments , as trustees of the publio funds and purveyors for public service , had the first pull at the purse ; aad iha masters had the second pull out of the residue , the labourers- having a pull out of the laud , in the first instance ,, if made idlers by speculation . But , by the Rtfora Bill , the power was thrown into the hands of the owners of property made by labour ; and the masters , in their covetousness , are pulling ,, and pulling , and pulling bo hard , and the House of Comoons is so completely at their mercy , that , in a short time , our rulers will find that they must be contest with a second pull , and that very little will be left them after the gamblers are satisfied .
Fourteen days now creates- a greater revolution in the money market than fourteen years formerly . The raw material is now purchased at Liverpool on fourteen days' credit ; and ts speculation increases credit will multiply , but confidence will become diminished , whieh must abo ba paid for by increased discount , commission , aad inconvenience . On all this the masters , as long as the thugs holds , will have a profit , whieblabevr will have to pay ; and , then , labour- will also have to pay for Rural Police , and all the means of coercion for ophol ding this unnatural and artificial state of things .
Having said so much upon the necessity of a pwr fect understanding between those who are to ask aud those -who are to give , aad upon the abases which are to be corrected , weagaiu ask if tha gamblers are going to allow the stakes to be whipkup all at once by Universal Suffrage t If the reverse , of this is conceded to us , we then ask if they , axe likely to join in the enforcement of any description of franchise , call it by what name it may , which will produce such a result .
The demand for Household Suffrage ia made by two classes , each having a totally distinct object in view . The wealthy advocates use it aa a means to
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smother UnfvemI SriTrage , when it shall hard attained * Mrtb a height as to arrest poMk attention , the more dependant classes use it selfisWy , for th # purpose of affranchising themselves , and thereby enabling thenjjo obtain , ** we before stated , tf Jicenae to play chickear hazard , while the great gamblers play for high stakes at the * great Bel *; and tho result would be , ai further augmentation of players and a further di » inutio » of the . stakes played for . The players at chicken hazard wouM take care that fjkeir means should so longer famish ftrade for those above them ; and they would lustily claim the privilege of plundering those below thea ^ ft * tbe- unenfranchised classes . , ' I ' - *"' - '
And now for the diract answer to' CoauinsV short question . . i . He gays— " Will you be kind enough to point ont the difference between my definition of Hensehbld Suffrage , and the Suffrage of the Charter f We will . There- is just this difference 1—lhafr then is no mention '© f Household Suiffage , or House Snffirage of any kind , in , the .. Charter , . . The difference between'Baiisehald Suffrage and Universal Suffrage , qualified'by residence in a hessei is as great as the
difference ; between ' landlord and tenant ; s » great as the difference between fand-holdex . and ftuodpayer ; a * great as tbe difference between a Protestantr parson , and his Catholic fleeced floek ; in fact , as great as great can be , and f « ir this one simple reason , if we had no other—that , by any definition r which art could put on the term "Household"Suffrage , not more than one person could vote out of a house , be it never so large ; while fifty may vote out of one house , according to the terms of residence contained in the Charter .
Landholder means one person who hae some title to , or possession of , land ; fundholder meaW one person who h ? s property in the foods ; and householder means some . one person who holds a house iu . his or her actual possession . Possession is nob necessary to constitute a landholder ; possession is necessary to constitute a householder , and therefore ,, is it even more limited , in legal " signification * than the term landholder ? So much for tbe legal definition : and now as to the conseqaenceeof agitating under a denned term , intended to be more comprehensive than its legal or received- acceptation would admit of .
If the word " Householder" is most 7 innocently 7 used as a means of catching tbe timid on courting the doubtful , it will be most viciously applied' by those who are to frame the law , after public opinion has decided upon the principle . We have already shown how misplaced confidence and want of jealous watching , destroyed the identity between tha People ' s Bill and their Leaders' Bill , We haVe shown how mystery- was more mystified , when all thought they were agreed upon the prineiple . And if to-morrow ,-there was a measure about tobe legislated upon ,. based upon popular demand
for any definition of Household Suffrage ; op , ' if the very name was" mentioned , the people would have no just cause " of complaint if they received a Bill , based upon the legal , the common ,, the only acceptation of the term , namely , a right to a vote vested in every householder ^ " which means one person who holds a house from another , or occupies one of his own . The term would not even extend the right to occupants , or persons in charge of dwelling-houses : much less would it
extend it to persons residing or lodging for any term ;; and , so far from a set of bears tied to stakes-and legislating with sick hearts , extending the acceptation of the term , "householder , " we should , inabout the nine hundred and fiftieth clause , and , when excitement had wholly passed away , find a nice question ; first , for tbe solution of registering'bar ristera , and open for the judges npon appeal , and then for the people , when they had been fairly humbugged out of their measure , and wearied into apathy .
We are engaged in preparing a clear stndMntelligble case to submit to a dogged and a hostile jury ; the Household Suffrage party are engaged in supplying quirks , quibbles , and points , to mystify thejury , and evade our just claim . . We may be asked if residence is nofea description of tenure which would operate unfavourably towards the claimants I - We answer , no ; tenure is a > title derived from the superior lord , while residence is derived from the mere occupant , and residence
is a thing with which no landlord ^ or combination of landlords , could interfere to any injurious effect , and for this simple reason : where there is a demand there will be a supply ; and if all tbe landlords-inchief of a voting district were to set their faces against allowing Chartist voters to obtain 4 . qualification by residence in promises over which they tad controul , yet would tijere always be found isuniciepfc number of householders ,. independent of landlords * or living in their own houses , to furnish , residence to Whig , Tory , or . Chartist who would pay .
Mr . Collins may say , " Why , that's what I meant . " We know it , Mr . Collins ; and therefore have we treated your question seriously , elaborately , and respectfully * ; but it is not eo much what yvw mean that adds importance to our coincidence of opinion , as the construction which . otrkbs may put upon your meaning . And now , to put yon in the best position which you could desire , we not onlyadmit the sincerity of your , meaning , bnt we < aiso admit , for argument ' s sake , the truth of it—namely that your definition of Household Suffrage and the Chartist Suffrage axe identical . Then , Mr . Collins * call the spade a spade .. The false bait won ' t catch a single mackerel , while it would lose many a sprat .
If you are still to preserve the-principle of the-Charter Suffrage , hope not to soften middle-classanimosity by the speciousness of terms , while others ' perversion of your meaning may place a . rook ia your course . The , people are now honest ; they areinformed ; they are intelligent ; they are ooeandalL laid upon the right ' scent : we require no foil 1 to cross it . The very name would take hundreds from oar ranks in disgust ,- while it would not add a singleconvert to our force . ' . 'Household Suffrage woaht represent monopoly ; Universal Suffrage would r »^ present poverty .
We trust , that our willingness to answer a question not too courteously asked , will convince those for whom we write , that we shrink , not feon * the performance of any duty which the advocacy of their cause imposes upon us ; while we have- an equal confidence that Mr . Collws- will now see that we had seasons , eogeat , fall , and ample * without recourse to > any factious feeling , for making that comment which has extxacted frona him bo erroneous an opinion . We de > not belong to that class who . would prostitute themselves to . ihe support of a mere distinetion without a diffi » enoe for the purpose of maintaining party ascendancy by actious warfare .
In conclusion , we beg to . thank oar friend for being tite cause of tbxs drawing us ialoa new field ; we fee ) assured that it wiU satisfy all parties , that the people ' s causa requires , but a feir stage and argumsBt to prove its justice ; while the happy result wili he to unite us all once more in a bond , of bro theily love and nnionr marshalled under th 0 old banners under which we have Uea to . long a © o » s teaaed to fight and conquer . ) . , We now , after our two weeks of bickering , 'toatfer the olive branch : but ©» r union and our lovftm « 8 t depend upon thorough understanding tha £ Universal Suffrage means bo other Suffrage ; and that every man who seeks , henceforth to pme otherwise , calls the Star his enemy . -
We trust that the length of this artW « needs no apology ; it is but a condensation of tkai knowledge which we have derived from the "igwrant" people , and which we thus give back in a more digested form . . . ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ »/ ¦ . ¦" . ¦ ' . ¦ " ; ¦ ¦ ; . ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦"¦; . " Universal Suffrage'' is oub Prihciple , a Subrendeb" oub Motto , We trust that we have answered Mr . Colun 3 in a manly , a oandid , and a proper spirit .
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__^ THE NORTHERN STAR . o
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Feb. 20, 1841, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct695/page/3/
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