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^rt gtnal Corrsgpontjenc?
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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^Rt Gtnal Corrsgpontjenc?
^ rt gtnal Corrsgpontjenc ?
THOSE WHO LOVE FREEDOM AND D HATE SLAVERY . ¦ yjjjKDS , —Allow me to repeat a sentence trom ^ Bd » "P 0 * ° Penin * ¦ f * * commissioa at f * J £ jT BOw nearly « £ r years since . I tben ^ dn « et i » to make yon all of one win , and oat 7 ? ifflto form the basis of your future ooMtita-! *^ , jaeti 9 ii day will arrive , when both parties ^ ttflte y <> acco " ^ y * "Whre . to increase ^ iLe and to prepare 70 a for the aaetion , shall be ^ St * *^ vse Taj words f . x yean ago , and now be-^ TBS HOCB COMETH . the far of suctio 11 ** at naa ( i » * nd ^ h ° ' ill bid * « , ^ 6 for public rapport ii now the question . * vjj in the first lot for another season , if the * doit less than whole single uo « uas we
. « , «» offers a single "fte j ^ taddH oner s a . man - tmMf m » neTer P *** - 1 one 8 ill * ew » tchet before the L . I laTe not allowed the public mind to be dis-\ jjy sadden changes and convulsive throes . I jgbatf , through years of stormy abuse and ^ jjjb to th e one , the single question , Universal LjTl fc&TB told you that the figure which I was ^^ yith others , in completing , could not be pru-^^ jjibi ted nnta the several parts were ready for -uttog ether . They are now "tried up , " and && being " pat together . " Scotchmen
^ gshmen , Irishmen , , and Welshmen , h -0 of Ins wwld are now upon you . The French ^ jfflnow silent upon popular feeling in England , — ' tSa remonstrances against resisting the popular - fld « ii novel . The press of Prance , as the press ¦ && *>> is the mere organ of a faction ; and the ¦ ^ journals fear the infection of English opinion , bpeg ge of Fiance , any more than the people of L- ^ d , htve no organ . The Ministry of France ggvca the Bn ^ " ^ Ministry to suppress all popular fUfi tot , thank God , the will of the people is now g ^ cag loi all factions .
jTfcjeads , the cbisis has amved , and may God ^ $ st we proTO o urselves equal to the emergency . ' mst brsTe and determined , we cenquer . If -we jtffirdly and waviring , we faJL afcid the stake— " LIBERTY ' . " The gift of God ; l ioUfft possession which man can enjoy . Liberty I g * people is death to the tyranny of ^ bi . If , then , we resolve to be free who can pege bs in oui coarse ? That we may be valuei , let , Hflesi all that is most valuable in man . Let us be ^ jj , ofmp . ctgnt and brav * . thm I reflect upon the great stake now to be played
] dmdder lest one false step should lessen our fg d winning . It is a noble thing—a holy sight , gibe " poor oppressed" fighting against the "^ ich near . '" The balance of power is no w in our hands lot is acknowledged . With us , then , the consideraubocldbe . howto use it for ocs . owx benefit , sDy regardless of both factions , and , above all , of the nital interest of camp folloicers , who will claim i 5 b title to public confidence , and ask us to make spams to our general rule of action in their
particu-[ Ose . I siy no exceptiox . If our rule be good , let it initially followed ; if bad , let it be altered . Setold , then , our pesition . The Whigs , the loo&st" faction that ever hell in its wrath sent jBBsia , are on their knees licking our feet , while iteiidon which they hare caused rings through hj ceTice of this sea-bound dungeon . They hare ¦ e bankrupt , and would accept any amount of ane-io-be-paid , after conTenience , well knowing f&ej had no intention ever to meet their
engage-1 £ B £ ask you one question . Can you trust them is tine years of sad and melancholy trial , when you fas Ssai their greatest assaults upon liberty were lie is the days of their greatest strength ? JC upon what question do they vainly hope to arouse ait lynipathy ? Why , upon a set of problematical tia , * hich , should they terminate to the full extent tar anticipation , would but injure eTery working b , itile they -would serve every man of fixed soe—every placeman , pensioner , state pauper , and tied offidaL Theirs is the battle of the c * nfeck , the grocer , the Cuba and Brazilian slave-owner ,
tedholder , the architect , the ship-biulder , tlie bei-naker , the timber-merchant , and the corn-factor , sat kbonr . Ko "wonder that Joe Hume , a large dhdder , should think " brown bread good enough ¦ be Spitalfields weaver , " while he would cheerfully dasehis own hot loaf for less mousy , phodcced ioee L 4 B 0 C 2 . What does he care where it comes » , provided he has it ? Da not the " anti-monopo-1 , " as they whimsicallycan themselves , know full ithat if all the articles of life are made cheaper , « , placemen , pensioners , and persons with fixed ones , will be so much the richer ; and d o they
aipi either to reduce their salaries to the " sliding fc , "« do they propose to lessen the general burdens 2 acountry ? Ko , in faith ! but , curious enough , the aij Taunted measures have sprung out ef State sssty . It was not because the people wanted relief Kha Majesty ' s popular champions proposed their » " tariff / ' but because , without it , they could not fla gs ! and this is called patriotism , and the act SEAT COMMERCIAL REFORM . '" And they pose « free trade" with uutaxed countries , that is , sale yon run a race with fetters on your legs , 3 e yocr competitors are uushackled . '
sucark their real love of the principle . While the sSag press echoes " free trade , " there is a Bill passj thnniji Parliament to rob 160 of the poor op-* S , fey depriving them of a common , to enrich aty-Srerich oppressors . Tes , " Whaddon Chase ' * 5 Bg stolen from 160 poor men , by twenty-five rich * Tbt is » poor men have beggared themselves to Sad iheir right , but have failed : and this , Joe
2 * * ocld call "freed trade , " lit ae put a question to you . Would you have ** 3 , fcr a mDment , to a Eingle speech made in » Hocse of Commons upon the subject , at a parish ^ ? . ' srithout bestOTring copious hisses upon the ?* sp speakers ? Xo , not to a single one . The ques-1 stea ij , are we , who figM for principle , and 5 iiTe Enffered so much in our struggle for prin . K to be ca . nght in the new Whig ministerial
^ 8 } By , they voxtld set the captive free , I ¦** , kt me rot in prison rather than my liberty , J by Whig clemency , shonld procure a s fa r the ruffians who have trampled upon all ^ J- I have not lived in solitary confinement ^ rtsen months , withont learning how to * tfe the value of liberty ; neither have I ** et time to so bad a piirpose as to make my *? more precious than my character . If I can only ** oy freedom by an abandonmtnt of my prin-* . then may the loathsome dungeon be my dwelling-^ whlls life remains . '
• ¦» shocked , and horror-struck , to hear the very ^ sa 0 ! a compromise at the meeting held last week •* Crown and Anchor , and my principal reason * &jaj now , is , to enter my protest , upon my own *> Hsiist such a course . And then , I am told that Taria sin set me free . Good Heaven ! my limbs , ; £ k strong , -would refuse their effice when told j ¦ o » ed their liberty to my country ' s greatest op-J ** - What : be allowed to walk abroad and say , J * his freedom to the Tamworth Baronet I ' . —the ' ^* ii os name stands second only to that of Castle- \ a the bloody book of Ireland's sad catalogue of j
J ^ oppresgion ! Who has gone farther to set ) J *« against Protestant , and Orangeman against ! j ^ hisa , than Sir Robert Peel ? 2 fo one . And am i . *> Ik abroad as a living monument of gratitude to j . *« the possession of that liberty of which he has \ ^ ay country ? > - o , xetzb , > "eveb . ' XETEK . " ^ Perish O'Connor ! I ^» aipTomise has sealed my doom for the re- ' t ^ tf my dreary imprisonment ! For by the ghost j ^ "murdered Irishman , and by my country ' s ! if
^ 1 «» eai that an order for my liberation come ; £ * ° * from a Tory government , I will not leave my ' ^®! « nd they cannot eject me , as my committal i V bdf * ** " cnstody ' aata J enter int ° i j ^" 51 lor my good eonduct for two years . There- j » >¦ Proscribed by this compromise , even by the T ^ Son ef it ; ^ * 2 l all do me the justice to admit that , notwith- : ^^ » ae systesiatic abuse of Mr . O"Conne ! l and the ! 4 ^~^ Iri sh press , yet has not angry feeling , for ' yr " ' *^ owed me to resent personal injury by ' ° 7 country . Who ever heard me abuse f
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Ireland , even in the midst of the intolerance of her paid patriots ? Upon the whole , my friends , believe me , that neither Whig or Tory will allow me to roam at large one single hour before the 11 th of November next ; and then I will pay them twenty-five shillings in the pound !!!! 11 Now , my friendi , let me explain what our course should be . Six years ago , 1 aid I would prepare you for » le . Two years ago , I published a plan for your local organization , and , three months ago I repubiiahed that plan . I in -well aware that only in the excitement of a contested election would either b&nd of robbers bid for the virtuous people ; that hour has now come , yet
are you not prepared with your committees , sub-committees , treasurers , and secretaries of electioneering dubs which I recommended : but as I never fight with my own party , but always try to make up for their laziness by my own extra diligence , I tell you bow to get your machinery ready . Le * every locality have its election dub . For Charter membe 3 there is no hope this election ; not the slightest ; bat ' this election is the foundation of all hope . Upon tou , the people , will depend the result , whether you furnish to the House ot Commons a sufficient number of tools to be used by any Administration for your ruin , or whether you furnish such a House as must be dissolved in less than six months from its formation .
Now , mark me welL If you return as many as 30 0 WhigB , you will prepare improved machinery for fraud , persecution and tyranny . As our only struggle must be for the Charter , a sufficient number of let-well-enough alone , or any-thing-rather-tban-a-Radlcd-House members win be found to join the Whigs to carry on with a Tory House without again tempting the sUrm of popular wrath , of which they will get a taste upon the ensuing contest If you return but a few Whigs they cannot form any coalition with the Tories and must constitute ouA and the Queen ' s minority .
The greatest blessing which could happen to us would be the return of 658 Tories ; but that is impossible . If we had a House full of Tories their position would very much resemble that of the Kerry man , who came all the way from Kerry to see London from the top of the monument ; but when he got there he was so dazzled that he got frightened and requested a friend to cover his eyes with his handkerchief , for God ' s sake , and lead him back again to Kerry . Now , if you had 658 rampant Tory devils they would be frightened at tile sound of their own voice , and would imploringly cry " O 1 for an opposition . "
It is said that no wife could survive a year if not once contradicted ; I " tell you that no minister can survive the want of an opposition . The Tories being better tactdtians than the Whigs , actually led them to the altar , and then offered them up a sacrifice to an opposed lust It was by not opposing the Whigs , in their aggression against popular rights , that the Tories brought Whiggery into disrepute . Let us therefore benefit by example ; aid as the Whigs died of surfeit , let us kill the Tories by repletion . Let us gorge the House with them , and , inasmuch as the struggle , at last , must be between the nominees of a faction and the whole people , it must come to that ; and if we are not prepared , why then , let us at once give up .
I say , that with a compact minority , too large for a faction , and too small for a party , at work inside , and the whole people at work outside , nothing can withstand us . As a matter of course , the " bloodies" will now " pat you on the back , " and ask for your support ; but for what ? Would you , nine years ago , have entertained any one of the great " commercial reforms , " as they are called , or would you have considered them as any part of the great measure ? Assuredly not ; and , after nine years' drilling a ^ d training ; after nine years' disappointment ; after nine years' sessions of unexampled tyranny , persecution , lewd sway and distress , are you now to entertain them as a whole ? Have nine years of tea ching taught us no better than this ?
My friends , nothing can be more laughable than the complaints and sore things of the WhigB , in their very , very incompetent journals . They really imagine that we ar e still in leading strings , and that we should be thankful for correction . They still call themselves our natural allies , and the Tories our natural enemies ; and , forgetting that we dissolved partnership in September , 1 S 35 , and set up business on onr own account , the ignorant creatures have the folly to find fault Trith our tactics ! Well now , can anything be more absurd ? and , when well weighed , can any praise be stronger than this intended censure ?
What is our object ? To destroy Whiggery , and establish Chartism-. Well , then , are WLigs likely to be much-in love "with any course which lends towards the accomplishment of that desirable end ? Do they ask us for advice , as to how their proceedings are to be conducted ? Xo , in faith . What would any one of you think , suppose you sat down to a game of cards , and that your adversary , after vain endeavours to win the game by fair play , said , " O , but you must shew me your hand , and play
your cards as I direct you ? " What , I ask , would you fhinb of saeh a proposal ? and yet it would not be ene whit more ridiculous than the appeal of our Whig opponents , to play our game as they direct us . My friends , so long as we did play this fast-and-Ioose game , so long were -we-a laughing-s . ock , but the moment tec played one haud in Birmingham , in 1 SS 9 , according to our own judgment , thai moment did our adversaries say , " 0 , these fellercs play the game too well , and ire must bludgeon them ; pack the cards , and run off irith the stake . ' . ' .
Well , » p to that period , we were the ridicule of all parties , and despised by all ; but since then we have played gut own game , and now we have arrived to " UiC dignity of being haled . " We are no longer despised ; we are now hated , because we are dreaded ; and no political party ^ an be great till it is battd . Thank God , then , we are all hated , and I the moat ! O , how I enjoy Whig and Tory hatred . ' It is balm ! cordial !! consolation ! !!
But what has made you great ? The things that have made you hated , of course . What are they ? Ice pertinacious manner in which you have upset every clap-trap meeting ; the noble consistency you have evinced in standing by your friends and yeui Charter , through unparalleled persecution , insult , and distress ; your "useless displays" and manly expression of " A > cay feeling "' have done the job ;
and hence was it a principal object of -Mr . Joseph Hume to ) uU yon into quid and calm ; into " non-resistence and passive obedieEce" before the hour arrived for treating Whig 3 on the hustings as they treated us in the House . Is it not self-evident that conduct which would entitle you to Whig praise , would subject you to popular suspicion and censure , and having wellearned a large stock of Whig hatred , we are justly entitled to a large share of popular approval .
For four months this dissolution has been in cogitation , and during 'that time the " leading Chartists " have Leen " saturated" with letters to subdue Chartist " angry fedinf at public meetings , and to set their faces against ' '¦ use ] ess displays . " Our dnty then is , for the present , to fill the House with Tory poison ; yea , to load it . to She very muzzle , so that it may explode and blow them all np , and then will come our turn !
>" ow , my friends , as I have never waited upon public opinion , bui have always " come out" upon principle—at once , and , in the outset , I say , " down with the Whigs ;' and , in every instance where you have the power , return Tories in preference to Whigs . Do so for this reason—Becatise ^ you will thereby beat one of youi enemies . By returning Whigs you cannot , in the slightest degree ,. weaken Toryism ; inasmuch as Whigs in office are mere Tories . What have we to expect from the Whigs in the way of reform ? Have they not already ruined themselves in their endeavour to ruin you 1 In depriving you of your wages have they not left an empty Exchequer , and themselves without their salaries , to insure which they must now play a " game at thimblerig ?
In God's name , what have you to do with Sugar Duties , Com Laws or Timber ? Will it be any consolation to you Vo know that you have cheapened bread , sugar , and timber , for traffickers and consumers with fixed incomes , while , to accomplish it , you have lessened the price of your own labour , and thereby deprived yeurseives of the means of purchasing any portion of the cheap sweets ? Tis humbug ! and they know it ; and they can only hope to cram it down your throats by bribing your leadjers ; and just give me leave to ask , why these immense collections by the " Plague" just now ? Agitation costs them nothing . Beware , Beware , Beware of Mr . Gold .
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Let us just see the principle upon which all the wealthier classes are now marshalled on the Government side , in support of the great "Commercial Reformers . " The foolish mill lords imagine that they can buy cheaper and sell dearer , and still preserve peace , regulate demand aad supply , and stop gambling ; therefore they are bottle holders to the Whigs . The bankers know that their discounts will be increased by an increased demand for paper to gamble with—your labour and liberty being the stake . The Insurance Offices know that their business will be Increased at yonr expenoe . The grocers and bakers , —poor silly fools ! —think that they will be enabled to buy Tery mach cheaper , and perhaps sell more !
The judges , parsons , barristers , solicitors , placemen , pensioners , fund-holders ; in short , all those with fixed incomes ; the whole swarm of lice on the beetle , imagine that they will be enabled to do twice as much with their fixed salaries , and yet that order and peace will continue ! The poor fools of shopkeepers and tradesmen , imagine that they will be enabled to sell just as much and to live cheaper . Silly , silly men ! They can only
live cheaper by making labour cheaper , inasmuch as that ingredient forms nineteen-twentieths of every thing they consume ; while their whole means of cos * sumption is furnished by labour , and labour alone ; and when labour is reduced , they must be reduced . In fact they are all mad . The Whigs have literally persuaded them that poor John has yet something in him , which the " Great Commercial Reforms " is to extract ; but they will all find themselves mistaken , and that ere long !
I have Bhown you how the Whigs have fought their battle , constantly changing their position and tactics without reference to us . I have shown you how the Tories have fought their battle with reference only to their own party purposes . And Daniel O'Connell , being another corporation , though a corporation sole , let us see how he proposes to fight his battle { Ireland's battle ) , without reference to any earthly object but keeping himself in place and his hands in poor Paddy ' s pockets . I shall not lose much of my space in finishing this eautontimorouminos ( " self toraenter .
P / ay ! pray . ' pray ! mark , learn , and inwardly digest , the mode by which this charlatan proposes to redeem all his pledges to unhappy Ireland . Firstly , observe , Repeal is the watch-word of Ireland , as the Charter is that of Britain . Secondly , bear in mind , that a Parliament elected favourable to Whig principles would have , at least , a six years' lease of office , as friends of tile Queen's youth .
Now , how , think you , the begging rascal proposes to snatch Repeal out of the fire of party , or even to make the god-send a stepping-stone to Repeal ? Why , HE POSTPONES IT FOR THE PRESENT ! lest its introduction should injure " the base , brutal , and bloody Whigs "—the " West Britons , " the coercers , the police enactors , the arms ' -bill enacbors , the appropriation concocters and abandoners , the rascally Whics !
The World , upon the subject of Dan ' s hut letter , has these few pithy lines : — "With much contained in it we coincide ; while from other parts we totallt DrssENT . Mr . O'Connell we think perfectly right in not recommending that a Repeal candidate should be started , at this juncture , where his chance of success would be doubtful . " Aye , " where his chance of success would be doubtful " —there ' s the rub ; and that one scorpion sentence will render the return of a Repealer doubtful in every part of Ireland ; and that is the sole , and only , object of the deceitful stufil
But , suppose he had said , " men of Ireland , note is your time . Onward to Repeal . Every Repealer may be relied upon as an opponent to Totyism ; let us have men of double Jorce—jirst , anti-Tory , and then pro-Repeal , thus do ice effect a double purpose at one and the same time . Kill the enemy and resuscitate our native land . " Suppose he had said that , what would have been the effect ? Why , just this , that in many cases , where the order will render the return of a Whig doubtful , the course which I recommend would have rendered the return of a Repealer Jcertain . ^ But what is the fact ? Why that those very , wlilgs , now to be returned , will be Ireland ' s bitterest enemies , and the very stanchesfc anti-repealers , and that's the secret , —that's what O'Connell wants , A stumbling BLOCK IN THE WAV OF THE MONSTERS OF HIS OWN
CREATION . But then , a bit of religion , —the old seasonal of all dishes , —is brought in . By heaven ! it is enough to make any man wild ' , and to s « t an Irishman mad to think of the barefaced villany of this old woman . Well , my friends , thus they all act , as they profess to think , best for their interest , and withont consulting us-Now , let us , without reference to any of them , do the best we can for our Charter . Let us , wherever we can give , give 20 , 30 , 40 , 50 , yea , a hundred of either devils for one Chartist O , how easily Glasgow could return my dear friend Moir , by giving them 20 Tories , or 20 Whigs , for Scotland for thin one honest Chartist That is , suppose Dundee , Dunfermline , and several other places , were to make common cause with Glasgow , and
that the Chartists of those places were to say " 20 Whigs , or 2 » Tories , " " which you p ' . ease , my dear ; choose your devil , and your devil ' s colour , and have him in exchange for one Chartist angel . " Leicester , Hall , and Nottingham could do this ! Leeds , Bradford , Halifax , Huddersfield , and York could do likewise Rochdale has its out and outer—honest Sharmanglorious Sharman—amiable Sharman . Manchester , Stockport , Bolton , and Chorley could do likewise . Oldham has the two best men to be found—who will dare to oppose them , I should like to know ? Then you have a little knot of Chartists well able to speak upon the hustings . I fear I should be considered " despotic " if I was to particularize , so you must judge for yourselves .
Now , my friends , to the point " Csesar ' s wife should not only be virtuous , but should be above suspicion . " No man sball ever suspect me , and , therefore , although so : icit * d by many constituencies to offer myself , free of cxpence , where my return may be considered certain , as all and every sacrifice would be made in a whole county to insure it , I have come to the settled resolution net to accept a seat in the next P < trliament , if offered to me—not to allow myself to be put in nomination anywhere , and for this simple reason , that my recommendation may stand discharged of all self-Lshnessa .
Our time for returning iht whole House is at hand , believe me , 01 a bleody revolution ; one or the other is inevitable . I must keep my conscience clear , and my friends clear . I will . not offer myself for ant place . I will support a Chartist everywhere , at all hnzsrds , and will join in returning a TorjPin preference to a Whig , where the contest lies between the Devils and the Devils in hell . I do this from my bitter and unconquerable hatred to the Tories , from the hope that they will kill themselves .
Now my friends , as to any compromise for my liberty , I will not owe it to Peel , even if offered ; but believe me , that on to-morrow night on Duncombe ' s motion , he will indignantly repel the assertion made at the Crown and Anchor . No , no ; Sir R . Peel is too cold-blooded a politician to bear with temper such a taunt , as being charged with att act of Justice ! I will not come out of my cell at all upon a compromise . —I will break the contract—I have been no party to it
As to my getting out just now , you shall judge from the following true " unvarnished tale , "' whether or not it would be justice to me to enlarge me at the present moment , when so much would be expected from me , and when I should not be able to take any part whatever in public affairs . When I came here first , I kept my voice by reading aloud about two hours every day . This I practised till the winter
compelled me to have fires , and then my cell chimney smoked to such an extent , that , by degrees , I was obliged to give up not only reading aloud , but speaking above my lowest tone . I could not speak without pain . When spring returned , it brought no charms for me . I tried , when the smoke vanished , to read aloud again , but found that I always spit blood , when I made the attempt , before I got through many pages ; so I gave it up .
Now , I ask you , would it not be certain death to place me upon a public hustings or in a public meeting ? Never was man treated as I have been ! not one single res . rietien has been taken off since June 1 st , 1 S 40 , to the present moment , but several fresh ones
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have been added . I pay for every thing I use , even my coals ; anif I pay £ 10 8 £ a year ' s rent for one of the condemned cells I Every letter I receive is read ; every letter I send through the post is read ; every visitor is accompanied , for fire minutes , by a turnkey , and eTery word we say is reported . I am in solitary confinement ! and shall be in the fourteenth month on Tuesday week , a punishment unknown to the law ! 1 In one of my recent letters , I stated that it was such a punishment as no man had ever endured for any crime since England was discovered ; but some one altered it to had ever before endured for HbeL
Now , again , I tell you that the law knows of no such punishment ; and the Judges dare not , nay could not , sentence to such a punishment for any crime : and having borne thirteen months of ft , unjustry , shall I say , " tkank you , " to the scoundrels who made me unjustly suffer , and , if guilty , would now UNJUSTLY liberate me for their own base ends ? No , —damn them!—never— " No surrender . " " The Charter , " and "down with the bloodies . * " -. Ever yours , Feargus O'Connor .
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TO THE EDITOR OP THE NORTHERN STAB , Dear Sir , —I have to enclose the following resolution passed at eur meeting of this day : — " That in consequence of the letter received this morning from the Executive at Manchester , a letter be sent to the said Executive , and to the editor of the Northern Star , requesting them immediately to transmit to Mr . John Cleave , Shoe-lane , London , our unanimously elected treasurer , all moneys which have been sent to them for the use of the Convention or committee . " ,, I am , . fee " , 55 , Old Bailey , Thohas Wall . 21 st May , 1841 .
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HOW TO STOP THE BANK . TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN STAR . Sir , —In my letter to you of the 5 th instant , I ask , " whether y <» u think , if it were notorious that the Chartists really had the power to stop the bank if the ; pleased , such notoriety would be likely to be of any service to them in their efforts to obtain their Charter ?" In your Star of the 15 th instant , in your notices to correspondents , you say , referring to my inquiry , "We certainly think that such notoriety would be likely to be of service : will he shew us the how 1 " I will endeavour to do so , and thus I proceed . Let every Chartist who can save at least one penny per week begin to imitate my example , and let him never discontinue such imitation until either the bank be restrained from paying its notes in gold , or the People ' s Charter have become the law of the land . But before I proceed to state what I do myself , and what I want everybody else to do , I think it right first to state what I do not do .
In the first place , then , I do no < lend my little savings to the Government , by depositing them in any SavingB * or other Bank ; for , by so doing , although I might receive a paltry dab of interest for my money in the course of a year , I should only be enabling the Government to appropriate the principal , or , in other words , to expend my own money in buying swords , and pistols , and bludgeons with , to cut , and shoot , and knock me about with . I , therefore , and for another reason , do not lend my money to the Government . ' Tuat other reas » n is , that if I were to lend my money to the Government , or to my employers , or to any private individual , it would remain in circulation ; whereas it is part of my scheme to withdraw it from circulation , and to have its pUcs supplied by constant drains upon tUe coffers of the Bank of England . I , therefore , not only do not lend my money to the Government , but I do not lend it at all ; I keep it myself : I board it . and in gold and silver , and not in bank notes of any denomination .
I will tell you how I mannge . Every Saturday even ing I drop into my " savings' box" ( of which I have constituted myself sole and exclusive govemer , director , treasurer , and secretavy ) as much out of my weekly earnings as I cau p « . * sibly spare ; sometimes , it is more , and sometimes less than others ; but as it is not lent out at interest , not spent , but hoarded , you must ll think ) perceive that tbat money , however small in amount , is yet so much money withdrawn from circulation ; it being distinctly understood all the while that I hoard nothing but metallic coin , gold , silver , aud copper , but NO paper money : for if I were to hoard paper money , the place of the identical notts which I had so withdrawn from circulation weuld not be supplied by gold and silver from the coffurs of the Bank of England , but by other notes , which the local bankers ( here at
Leeds , where I am living ) would instantly and at no expense fabricate and put in circulation , whereas the place of the gold and silver which is hoarded must eventually come out of the cofftrs of the Bank of England , as I will presently demonstrate . I have now told you "What I do not do and what 1 do do , and I have stated my reasons for not doing tho one and for doing the other , and having done so , I beg further to observe , that to what little money I have already hoarded up , it is my intention to add weekly until the People's Charter becomes the law of the land . The money so already hoarded up and to be added to , as I have before stated , I do , and always shall , consider to be a sacred fund aud dedicated to the Chartist cause ; and it is my firm and unalterable determination not to touch it or any portion of it until the People ' s Charter be the law of the land .
Such is my plan or scheme , and I do firmly believe that if the Chartists would individually begin now , each according to his respective means , to imitate my example , and would persevere in Buch imitation , the Bank of England would suspend cosh payments before the last day of the year , ( and I think so for reasons which I will explain in my next , if you should agree with me in the opinions expressed , iu this , ) and whenever that event does take place , from no matter what cause , it will be attended by at least an immediate , and most extensive and sweeping Reform , of tho Commons House of Parliament . I have already shown that
the hoarding of paper money does no good , for it does not annoy the local bankers or the Goverriers and Directors of the Bank of England . But the hoarding of gold and silver to any considerable amount would not only aDnoy but would absolutely terrify as well the local bankers as the Governor and Company of the Bank of England , for it would cause a drain to be made upon the coffers of the Bank of England for a sufficient amount of gold and silver to supply the place of the gold and silver so hoarded , and consequently withdrawn from circulation , as I will now endeavour to show .
Let us suppose that tho average amount of gold and silver constantly in circulation here in Leeds is £ 10 , 000 or thereabouts . We will next suppose that in this town there are one hundred persona , eack of wham , upon reading this letter , is determined , according to his respective means , to adopt the principle here laid down for his imitation . We will further suppose , that at the end of three months , each of those persons has hoarded up £ 0 in gold and silver which would otherwise have remained in circulation . In that case these one hundred persons would not only have withdrawn from the circulation £ 500 in gold and silver , but would be in possession of it themselves , which they would not otherwise have been . In that case also , the £ ht 9 so hoarded up would be missed aud felt , if its place were
not supplied . There would evidently be a want of a sufficiency of small change for the daily purposes of life or business , its place therefore would be supplied ; but cow ? We shall soon see A tradesman , a butcher for instance , finding that hia customers did not pay him so much gold and Bilver as usual , but more £ 5 notes , leaving him to pay himself and give them the change , would every now and then send a package of £ 5 notes to the different bankers here , who had issued them , and get them exchanged for gold aud silver , f * r the accommodation of hia customers . The baker and all other trades people would do the same , until by that process tbe place of the £ 500 so hoarded up would be supplied . But those bankers would then have in their tills £ 500 less in gold and silver to honour their
notes with than they had before the hoarding commenced ; and they would then scrape together £ 500 in Bank of England notes , and send them up to their agents in London to get converted into gold and silver , and that gold and silver remitted back to them instead of the notes . This the agents would very easily do , by simply going to the Bank in Threadneedlestreet , in London , and there exchanging the notes for gold . There then is a drain upon the coffers of the Bank of England for £ 500 in specie !! But it must not be forgotten , that the hundred sturdy fellows in Leeds don't relax in their efforts or their principle , and in another three months th € y have got another £ 500 , whose place would be supplied in precisely the same manner . Here let me not be misunderstood ; I have merely
supposed a case for the proper illustration of my assertion , that if the Chartisto were to hoard weekly as much money as they could , the place of the money so hoarded must eventually be supplied by drains upon the coffers of the Bank of England . But I do not mean to assert that there would be exactly 100 or any other given number of persons who upon reading this lotter either would or could hoard weekly , any sum of money which in exactly three months , would amount to exactly £ i , or any other given sum , but I do believe that there would be some such persons here to be found , who upon reading this letter , would hoard up weekly as much money as they possibly could , and therefore I further believe that there would be some such persons to be
found in every town , city , parish , village , and hamlet in this country , whose united hoardings I do believe would in three or four m onths amount to such a sum of money a » would make an evident diminution in the quantity of the gold and silver in the coffers of the Bank of EDgland ; if so , it is evident that the Chartists alone , and unaided and poor as they are , can , if they please , cause such a constant and continuous drain upon the coffers of the Bank of England for its gold and silver as if persevered in , must eventually end in the stoppage of the bank . I fear that I have already trespassed upon your time too long , but I cannot conclude this letter without expressing my conscientious conviction that the mere knowledge by the middle and aristocratical classes of the power which I have con-
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tended that the Chartists possess , and more especially of their determination to exercise it , would be more likely than any thing else to procure for them the speedy concession of all their political rights and privileges . I remain , Sir , Your obedient servant , A Middle Class Chastist . 22 nd May , 1841 .
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NORMANBY AND THE PRISONERS' LIBERATION CONVENTION . TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN STAR . Sir , —As our interview with the Marquis of Normanby , in regard to the presentation of the memorials for Bronterre O'Brien , has not been correctly stated in the papers , we be * to lay a , plain statement of the same before the readers of the Stor . At the time appointed by Messrs . Boiler and Hawes , that is twelve o ' clock , we proceeded to tbe Home-office , but found that the Marquis of Nonnanby would not be there before one o ' clock , and an appointment was made to meet them ( Messrs . Buller and Hawes ) at four , or something later . We went and found they were there before us , and were closeted with the Home-Secretary . We waited a considerable time in the anteroom , and were joined by the two gentlemen . They informed us there would be no difficulty in getting the memorials to her Majesty , a * they would , if we would chose , undertake their presentation ; but this , not suiting our
wishes , was of course declined . They next told us that the Marquis would see us , but tbat we were not to enter upon a discussion as to the contents of the memorials ; because that mightglead to some language which would not be pleasant to either party . With this understanding we were admitted to his Lordship ' s presence , and his Lordship told us tbat he could not see deputations in regard to criminals , as that would be inconsistent with his duties as a Minister of the Crown ; but that be would receive the memorials which we then had , and give them his serious consideration , and tbat whatever opinions or arguments which we might have to adduce , he would thank us to put in writing ; and , upon these grounds , he would give our wishes every consideration . In regard to Mr . O'Brien , he had caused enquiry to be made , and lie found that his case was n « t ao bad as it was represented to be . This was in substance , nay , indeed , everything which passed between us and his Lordship .
We are , yours , L . PlTKETHLY , M « rg . Williams , M . CULLEN .
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XO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN STAR . Dear Sir , —By inserting the following address in this week ' s publication , you will greatly oblige those friends to O'Connor whose names are attached thereto , and likewise your humble servant , Thohas Clarke . Temperance Yard , Hillgate , Stoekport , May 19 th , 1841 .
TO FEARGUS O'CONNOR , ESQ . Honoured and Patriotic Sir , —We , your fellowcountrymen in exile , and members of ih « National Charter Association of Great Britain , seeing you surrounded on all sides by numerous and perfidious enemies , take this opportunity ef assuring you that we place the most unbounded confidence in you , having seen nothing to lead us to a contrary conclusion , after closely watching your every act , both in the legislature , and in your struggles amongst the people , in endeavouring to obtain the universal rights of man ; notwithstanding the call which lias recently bean made by Daniel O'Connell to his countrymen in England , to form no connection with the English Chartists , and also his indirect way of persuading the people to " get rid of you , if possible , " who , we are aware , have been a sore thorn in bis side , and a stumbling-block to those whom he so strenuously supports .
We , Sir , have been strict observers of your conduct since you first graced the Senate House of Great Britain with your presence and splendid talents , down to the present moment . It is , therefore , with feelings of pride , that we Irishmen , in the face of God and our country , unbiassed and uncourted , voluntarily swear or follow you to the death , if required , so long as you persevere in the righteous cause in which you have embarked , in the straightforward , manly , and upright manner you hitherto have done . We tender our most grateful thanks for the post , believing that your exertions aud integrity are unparalleled in the history
of our eountry , for the furtherance of just principles , and the general welfare of mankind . We considerthat we would be guilty of base ingratitude , were we to forget the many sacrifices which not only you , bnt also your noble ancestors , have made for our country's good . No , Sir , we do not forget that your illustrious , patriotic , and virtuous father , Koger O'Connor , was sent to an untimely grave , for his devotion to his country ' s cause . Nor are we ignorant of the fact , tbat your revered uncle , the brave , venerated , Arthur O'Connor , was as cruelly banished from his home , his family , bis friends , and his country , for his honesty and fond attachment to our lovely Green Isle cf the West .
We would , indeed , be unworthy the name of Irishmen , if we were to allow this favourable opportunity to pass unembracad . without informing the Rat Catchers" that though you are bound hand and foot , body and mind , from your fellow-nien , for committing np crime but that which your charitable feelings and good sense , and tbe misery of tbe people , and your sympathy for them , propelled you to do ; and , by-thebye , only a crime in the eyes of tyrants ; and while a contrary line of conduct , though not half so praiseworthy in the eyes of the blistered hands and unshorn chins , would have caused you to have been lauded to
the skies by the same men Who have resorted to the arm of the law to paralyse your designs , instead of removing those grievances of which youhave complained , and for which you have so indefatigably laboured ; that there are yet Irishmen whose hearts pant , and who wait with longing deBire to see , and whose very blood boils to avenge the wrongs of " their Chief . " And we ar e constrained to declare that , though you were deserted by all the world , we , though poor , simple , unlettered men , we , at least , are determined to stand or fall with you , and the great and glorious principles which you advocate consistently , honourably , and determinedly .
Yes , noble O'Connor , you have justly earned , and truly deserve the respect and veneration of all honest men who really know you , and have witnessed your every act We-admire the readiness with which yon are wont to concede to suggestions in the public cause , although , perhaps , in opposition to your own ; that you are willing to acknowledge when corrected , and to give credit where credit is due , even if it may be to those who have not bad the chauGe of receiving that education which is calculated to make them proficient in the most enterprising concerns of life . This , we conceive , is a sure indication that you are actuated by disinterested motives , and a desire for the well-being of every man , woman , and child in the British dominions . The above is not the only token , by many ;
there are hundreds of generous actions—some private , which the world never hears or sees—besides public ones , -winch entitle you to the love and esteem of every true lovor of his country . We cannot praise you too much for your exertions in dragging before the public , and exposing the atrocious doings of that notorious parson , Rider , alias the " Rathcormac Butcher , " which exposure has been so nobly followed up by the Catholic representatives of " improved Ireland . " We have witnessed your endeavours for , and on behalf of the Djrchestei' Labourers , the Glasgow Cotton Spinners , the Wel 3 h Martyrs , the Imprisoned Chartists , the defence of the Whiteboys , —in short , the unjustly persecuted of every class , clime , or colenr , have found in you the philanthropist , the vindicator , the sympathiser , and a benefactor .
Honoured Sir , —If you remain true to your professions , which we have not the slightest reason to doubt , having been many times so well tried in body and mind , and never known to flinch , nor ever yet found wanting , your name shall be handed down to posterity , and our children will be taught to lisp it with the same admiration and respect , as those of the martyrs and patriots who have gone before , but who are firmly engraven upon the tablets of our memories , and though even dead , yet ever living . The immortal
Eniniett , Fitzgerald , O'Coigley , Murphy , Bagnall , Harney , Doyle , Roger and Arthur O'Connor , and the several other patriots , who fought and died for the rights , liberties , and independence of Ireland . Not the independence evidently sought for by the Exchange patriots , who feed on the misery of our unhappy , ( and , we are sorry to say , in fearfully numerous instances , ) deluded fellow-countryman—men who , in your absence , and ia an un-Irishmanlike and cowardly manner , take every © pportunity to vilify and misrepresent you , the only man who stood by Ireland when it was
" Treason to love her , aud death to defend . " Aceept , therefore , kind Sir , the sincere ( better felt than expressed ) and heartfelt thanks of your affectionate aud devoted fellow-countrymen , Peter Welsh , Catholic , W . H . Owens , Protestant , Stephen Clark , jun ., Catholic , Edward Cuddy , Catholic , Dennis Lenand , Catholic , William Cunningham , Catholic , Hugh Ewins , Catholic , Peter Fitzsimmons , Protestant , Thomas Webb , Catholic ,
Dennis Morgan , Catholic , Thomas CuIIen , Catholic , James Farren , Catholic , Nicholas Murpby , Catholic , John M'Hindley , Protestant , Patrick M'Guinness , Catholic , Patrick Bes wick , Catholic , James Holeran , Catholic , Peter Dunavan , Catholic , James M'Cawley , Protestant , Thomas Colbert , Protestant , Jaines Starkie , Owen Fygens , Thomas Clark , Catholic
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THE CORN-LAW QUESTION . ( Concluded from our last , j "Do you not perceive , do . you not feel in what a despicable view you are considered T Were it in their power , they would hinder you- from soaring even tbe light of the sun . That you breathe , that you enjoy the faculty of speech , that you wear the human shape , are subjects of mortification to them . "—la * T . We want Agrarian Laws , not Corn Laws ; but how are we get them—how can we obtain any good—how can we remove any evil until the Peeples Charter give * us the power ? Our Gracchi are imprisoned and would have been murdered if the nobility did not fear the people . ''¦ "
.. O , say the owners of the waste lands , they are not worth cultivating—they would not repay the expenoe . Wonld they not ? Many broken farmers , who are wiser than to emigrate at your bidding , retire with the remains of their fortune to some freehold moor , where they buy and enclose a few acres . I know one near Pickering , who gave eighteen shillings per a
is this—you pare the moor and have turf fuel which supplies you with ashes for manure ; you get stonea out of the ground , with Which you wail round your enclosed space , and set potatoes , or sow oats ; in process of time , cowslips will , spring where nothing but black heather was feen before , and yon will make a garden in the midst of the desert , where the iose will blossom and the thrush will sirig . Nature will supply you with almost all things needful , and you will not be troubled with the tax-gatherer . There is the best herb-gale or moor-tea . In winter time , we make besoms . '
Now , if Government would colonize our English moors—if it would employ felons to drain bogs in Ire ? land , instead of sending them off at an expence of £ 60 per head to Van Diemen ' s Land—if the unemployed poor were set to work to kid the whins that now grow for fox covers , and to clear away underwood , each man might earn his own keep , besides increasing the national resources by improving ' the capabilities of the soil . Who has not witnessed with pleasure the pride which a working man takes in cultivating a portion ot ground which he can call his own ? Though he may have been labouring all day in a stone-quarry , he goes at night cheerfully , as he vt'ent at mom , and trims hU own allotted land . Pity that industry should be lost or go unrewarded . « ' A time there was , ere England ' s wees began ,
When every rood of ground maintain'd its man . ' But our lords want the land for other purposes ; and so they make Corn Laws , Game Laws , and Poor Laws . They wish the poor to cease from eff the land ; and , as they increase instead , we must have additional soldiers , additional police , aud , of course , additional taxes . Id justice ia not maintained at a little cost . We have discontent at home , and the contempt of foreign nations . The people never complain without a cause ; they are too slow to complain ; oppression must madden before it will rouse ; they suffer insult without being provoked by it . The Roman populace could be excited by wrongs , and had spirit to revenge them ; but there is no hope for this nation , except in the infatuation of its rulers , when drunk with impunity .
We cannot blame our present Ministers for thinking ill of mankind , because they know each other , nor for being indifferent to the sufferings of human beings , because they know , that though exempt from punishment themselves , they richly merit it ; but we do blame the middle classes for having so little consideration for the interests of truth and humanity as to suppert auch a Government , and We blame the people for their apathy . If others neglect them , there is all the more reason why they should attend to themselves . The Government that turns men out of work , sh-mld find them food . The country in which one willing working man wants food , and clothing , and education , is badly governed . There . are-millions * of such proofs , that our present Government is a bad one , and that our
social system is even worse than the Government . Our present Ministers seem to think that the greatnesss of their offices is an excuse far any littlenesses which they may commit in them . Their very method of obtaining office , shews them unworthy of retaining it , much more so their conduct in it They came into powev under the banners , Reform . ' Retrenchment . ' Peace . ' Their reform was to make bad worse—their retrenchment was to take from the poor and add- to tbe stores of the rich ; and their method of maintaining peace was to provoke war all over the world by a most iniquitous breach of the law © f nature and nations . They keep office as b . isely as they obtained it meanly . Borne into power on the backs of the people , they formed a treacherous alliance with tho very enemies whom they were sent to conquer . Bat they could not thus have degenerated into tyrants , had not tho people been sunk to slaves . Th ^ y are
supported by a fcvsttm which makes merit a discommendation to its possessor—which gives that encouragement to vice tbat should be reserved for virtue only—which punishes the victim instead , of the criminal , so that conscientious men have declared tlmt were they to sit in a jnry upon the life of a murderer of their own sons , they could not bring him in guilty , because crime ia caused by the System , whose supporters should be made amenable for it . Among the foremost of these supporters are the clergy—yes , when we hear of any atrocious crime , we should thank the Bishops . The worst thieves and knaves justify themselves , and justly so , by the example of our Ministers , both of the law , and of the gospel . There is now no crime in the people—their crimes are their misfortunes , as their misfortunes are niade their crimes— "in a despotic state there is but one criminal—the tyrant . "
The people ought to be proud of their present advocates—men who have sacrificed all and suffered all in their cause—men whose arguments are unanswerablewho have proved themselves morally and intellectually superior to the people's enemies—why do not the people render them physically so likewise ? Why do they suffer their power to be used against them ? Do the people think with their tyrants that each year should increase its tale of misery and sin—of sighs and groans and tears , of heartbreaks , and failing intellects , and suicides ? " Many an old man ' s sigh and many a widow ' s And many an orphan ' s water-standing eye , lien for their sons , wiv <; a v-. n- their husband ' s late . And orphans for their parents' tuneless death — Have rued the hour that ever Whigs were born . " Let us not forget , while we at large er . joy this beautiful May weather , our dearest friends ace pining in < < ungeons for our sakes .
What then must the people do ? In vain you complain , in vain you petition , you threaten in vain . The avarice and luxury of the proud curse the humble with hardship and privation . ¦ No greater proof of your poverty of spirit as well as of purse than tbat you do not rid yourselves of your present rulers—of the tyrants that increase your burdens and weaken you at tbo same time—that load you and gall you at once . Our Nerocs enjoy their follies amid . the very miseries which their crimes occasion—nay they taunt the people with being tbe authors of their ' owu miseries—the people whose complaints tbey punish—whose redress , they pervert . There would -have b ° en a mutiny on board of the ship Britannia , and the eiew would have had the helm before now , if they had been men !
England ! thy rose withers on thorns—Scotland thy thistle is ao closely grasped by tbe bard hand of tyranny that it cannot sCing—Ireland ! thy shamrock ia a weed . They would have been the mo 3 t contemptible of all creatures that have done this , if we had not suffered it to be done . Britain
•• Hath made a shameful conquest of itself !" We must redeem the land before we can redeem ourselves . This task is set us to accomplish on earth , before we can hope for Heaven . Let us do it or die .
" In great attempts , 'tis glorious e ' en to fail !" Let us no longer be villains to oursolves—to our own flesh and blood—to our souls and bodies . Let us swear by God himself tbat while . 11 E continues to shower his fatherly gifts from Heaven upon our own land , tbat his free bounty shall not be absorbed or engrossed and abused by rioters and revellers , who keep both our share and their own—let us swear that there shall be no more hunger , nor thirst , nor nakednesss , nor wandering about night and day to die on the stones in the streets—swear it and do what we swear . Do it for the
lovo that God bears us , who is true to us and calls on us to be true to ourselves . Do it that we may live and not die . Be killed or kill rather than forced from the land that is yours . Live in it , Englishmen—die in it , be buried in it . Mix tbe ashes with the ashes of your sires . Let us not constrain you in vain . Do it or die . Liberty first—then all the blessings which liberty confers . Death to hell-born tyrants , and may their curses go home with them to rpost Life and the land for us ! . John Watkins . London , May 24 th , 1841 ;
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Worthy of Imitation . —We have received for publication a balance sheet of the proceeds of a valuable barometer given to the National Charter Association by a friend to the working millions in the Metropolis , to be disposed of for the benefit of the Political Victims * It waa disposed of by way of raffle , and the total proceeds amounted to £ 13 14 s . Sd . —leaving , after expencea were deducted , more than £ 12 for the victims ! This is a most praiseworthy , instance ofpatriotic feeling . Twelve hundred tickets for the raffle were printed , and distributed among Chartists cf the Metropolis for sale . They produced from tbe several localities the following amounts : —
£ s . d . City of London ... ... ... 2 11 6 City of Westminster 2 3 6 BoroughofMaryJebqne ... 1 3 6 Kensington and Chelsea ... 1 15 6 Globe Fields ... .., ... 0 6 6 Finsbury and St . Luke ' s ... 116 6 St . Pancras ... 0 3 6 Tower Hamlets ... 0 Vt _ 6 Bloomsbnry ... .. . ^ KWSHOTBK Walworth . V .. L- ... ^ . J ± r * frrfr \ , Wandsworth ... AC'r ^ To ^^ Ok-A Borough of Lambeth C * - VS ^>* lfcj % \ f Bermondsey .,. - r ^ fe r «<» V- T ^ 3 * 67 /* 2 * fe *• " # : ¦ > I ¦ J O ' Hf !! ' ^ ^ S ^ l ^ uvxs tiXHHXHOK '
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" - ¦ ' THE NORTHERN STAR . * J
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), May 29, 1841, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct708/page/7/
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