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THE JN T OE,THEBN STAR SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 1841.
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STo %&ettoev& anir <zrorr<?£pot«rent
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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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LONDON . DISPATCH , BRIDE LANE-MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE THE CHARGE BROUGHT BY MB-
BENBOW AGAINST DR . M'DOUALL . Mr . Brown was called to the f ^? " ,, \™* Mranged that Mesiw . Benbovr and MTXwaMi should be Slowed a quarter of an hour alternately , , to state and reply to the charge ; and that , if possible , the proceedings should be confined to one how . Mr Bskbow then handed in , w wnang , to the Qukirmao , the following charge ;— ^^ - 1 present that Feter Murray JTItatall , late of Chester Castle , being a recognised leader of tne Chartists—that the said Peter Murray ATDoaall , late M C uEed his influence to excite discontent in the minds of the persecuted Chartists ; and did urge thorn , bv Dersnasion and representations of terror
to a breach of faith with their brethren ; and , in -violation of the sacred cause of justice and freedom , traitorously advised snch CbaKists to plead guilty to certain false alleged charges , to the disgrace and Hreat scandal of all good men . and the evil example of others against the s&ered cause of justice and freedom . " The Chairman inquired whetherlhis was the whole of the charge or charges he had to bring against Dr . M'DouilI , to which Mr . Bexbott gave an evasive answer , but ultimately said that the charge he had handed in contained all that he had to advance against Dr . M'Douall—that he had none other .
Mr . Ctfpat inquired whether he was prepared , by documents or evidence , to rapport the charge . Mr . Be- \ bow—I call upon Dr . M'Xtouall to say whether he is guilty or not . I hare not the whole of » y documents with me , but when I bad them and the witnesses , Dr . M'Douall was nan tst-inventus . I need no witness ; I call upon the Doctor to answer ny charge of advising Jehn Broadbent , of Ashton , John Wright , ArniitAge , Peeling , Easier , of Stockport , Barnett , S : ubbs , SaTage , Wearers of Macclesfield , Roberts , of Liverpool , Deegan , of Stalybridge , and Rawson , of Bury , to plead guilty of the crimes of which a vile Government accused them ; there are others whom he likewise advised . The Chaishas here asked for the whole of the names to be stated . Mr . Be-tbow—I cannot at this moment think of others , but these stre sufficient for my purpose .
Dr . M'Docau . said it was a strange course for him to be called upon to plead guilty to this charge , when x » o evidence had been adduced . Of these men , whom he was charged with advising to plead guilty , one was dead , and three were in America . The only part of the charge which was correct was regarding the man Savage ; and how singular that Mr . Benbow had forgotten Robinson and Lowe , who ¦ w ere associated with him in the same indictment . I acknowledge advising these three men to plead guilty . I gave them a public document to give to the men of Maedefineld upon their release , stating my Teason 3 for so doing . To these reasons tho men of Macclesfiald never objected ; if they have bo ; done so , how is it that llr . Benbow has taken so much
trouble in the matter ! I advised these men to plead guilty , because they bad already suffered six or seven months' imprisonment for want of bail , in the small sum of £ 25 . I was preparing their brief for the Assizes when a message came from the prosecutors , ibat they would be released if they would ple » d guilty , accompanied with a threat that if they did aot they would be more harshly treated , which , in tae case of Weaver , vtho would not plead piilty , was carried into effect . His bail ¦ w as doubled , and he was sent to hard labour in the neighbouring workhouse . I stand on the casa of these thrse men ; I never advised others . To these men I gave a public document , which any one can procure by writing to
Macclesfield . I saw that they > vere starving on skilly , that they could not get bail—that being unknown no sympathy was shown for them ; that only 26 a . was collected for them while in prison . I saw they could do no good to the cause , and much icjury to them-Belves by remaining in prison . I did not plead guilty myself . If 1 advised—if 1 excited men to » cts vfhich led to their imprisonment , I had ought to be the sufferer . I deny the right of any working . man to suffer through me—if I can consistenly prevent it . I ; was no disgrace to them in accepting this compromise . They did not succomb ; the offer came from the prosecutor—they were not shackled
¦ with any bail or recognizances—they are men who are now ' active in the cause ; men wfeom I respect . It -was eight months after my imprisonment , when they came out ; the excitement was then gone by . If I wa 3 plaeed in the same circumstances , I would act in precisely a similar manner ; with respect to the other Barnes , Mr . Deegan acknowledges that Mr . O'Connor advised him and others to plead guilty . "Why does not Mr . B = nbow also accuse him 1 Is it because I am the weaker party . Easier was going to be married , aud from the first determined to plead guilty . Rawton also did bo , and came back from America to answer a charge of felony that had been preferred against him .
Mr . Bksbow—He had forgotten to mention Robinson and Lowe ; bnt these were not all he had advised ; oar prison was like a levee with person coming to visit , and ask the doctors advice , and who , by hi 3 persuasion , pleaded guilty . Essler pleaded guilty , but before the doctor persuaded him to plead guilty , they were at daggers drawn ; but when he came to that determination , they were the best of friend * . The doctor lent him bis slippers , and thought he could not do too much for him . I only mention thi 3 to show the feeling which existed . I refer you to the noble answer made by Weavers to the Judge on his trial . w My Lord , the seven men who stood in the dock with me have been charged with fec-ing wicked and atrocious characters , { hey have
pleaded gailtyj they may bs so , but I am not guilty , " and the judge complimented him for his conduct . The Doctor and I were os the best of terms until he advised these men to plead guilty . He has asked why I did not charge Feargus O'Connor , who was alto guilty of the same conduct . IS was my deter-! HUia . ! ion COt to be drawn into allndisg to Mr . O'Connor ; but does it exonerate the Doctor , because anoiher has acted the earns I Is the crime improved because another follows it I ¦ The following is an extract from a letter written by Feajgus O'Connor , a : the cine the physical force men were figuring in London . Mr . Benbow then read from his written doenmenrs aa extract from the Northern Star cf April lOrh , 1841 . He meant to abstain from this £ 2 cjecr . unless driven into it . Can a man be honesi ¦ wt o c- 'cnives at dishonesty in others , who gives advice -winch he ¦ will net act en himself ? such conduct was infamoas . Mr . Benbow then dilated on
the infamy of perjury , giving an extract from St . Carysc ^ tom , stating thai the man who commutes perjury was guilty of a greater crime than he who committed murder . Lang before his trial , Dr . M'Douail fcsd stated that he ( Mi . BenbDW ) would bs harshly ireared , would meet with severe punishment . How cosld he be aware of thkj uatess he was a tool in the hands of the vilest faction that erer disgraced a country ! I redacted , J honoured Dr . M'Douail for his conduct , previous to his giving tbs ; advice , but ever since then I opposed him , ¦ which bego ; a sourness between me and bis friends . Robii := on and Lowe were good honest men ; men of superior auainmtnts to the generality of working men , asd I believe they , and all the other prisoners , would have go ; eff with clean hands without pleading guiisy . How could Dr . M'Douail know * that they would be discharged , unless he had some compromise with their prosecutors !
Dr . vrDox-MLL . —I will not detain you by referring to ¦ ub . a : mass be plain to you—the motives which prompted my adTice to these men . I was one of the earliest victims in tae cause ; I defended myself on that occasion , and you saw but little in my conduct that rni ^ ht t ± mpt you to accuse me of either treachery or cowardice . I got the information that these men would be discharged if they pleaded guilty , from Mr . Clarkson , of Bradford , who wsls employed oa the behalf of most of the Chartist prisoners he acquired the reformation from Mr . Jervis , Member of Parliament for Chester . If Lowe and Robinson ¦ were good men , and of such superior abilities , is it not strange tha-t they should be bo readily satisfied with my traitorous advice ? Previous to giving them
this advice , 1 had written to Feargus O'Connor , that they mig ; ht be allowed to have a portion of the money raised for a Defence Fund ; it appears that Mr . Benbow was jealous of my levee as he calls it . Many persons just before and during the assizes , were admitted to the prison , and many of them called upon me in regard to Mr . Benbow ' s punishment . I do not recollect saying tkas he would be severely punished , but I know that from his being known to the Government in ancient times , it wa ^ ay impression that he would be so . Dr . Maginu told me I should have two or three years imprisonment . 1 aaet him the other day and tola him he was wrong in kis judgment ; he informed me I had only to thank myself that I got off so well . I might with equal reasoa call him a government tool . I have ever done my duty both in prison and out of prison . I advised these men to plead guilty . I would do so
again under similar circumstances . Mr . Benbow said he meant to abstain from speaking of O'Connor . Why , then , had he prepared a case against him in his written document ? I was first to be attacked , as the weaker party , and Feargus O'Connor was to be shot at through me ; bat if I am a butt to be shot at , I know , while 1 do my duty , I shall have the support of the public , of that public who have placed zae in the high position I have the honour to hold , and if Mr . Benbow thinks that I am the weaker party , he will be mistaken—he will find that while I continue to perform mj duty I shall meet a na . tion ' 3 support . Why did not Mr . Benbow bring this charge immediately oo his release from prison ! why delay it I It w& 3 then mored , M Thit both parties having Veen heard , the Committee do decide . "
Mr . Bkkbow . —I hate not yet been able to go into the whole of my evidence in support of the charge . Mr . Benbow was then allowed three-quarters of an hour , or longer if neeeBsery , that he might have a lull opportunity of proving his owe .
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Mr .. Benbow occupied the time in a reiteration of bis former statements , and stated that he had seen the same charge brought against the Doctor bj Mi * Ashell and Davis , in the Stoekport and other ps . pers ; that he had attended on the Manchester C ouncil , on his release from prison , and urged them to investigaU the subject , ana had stayed eight weeks in Manchester at great inconvenience to himself , thinking they woulddo so ; they wished him to state it at a public meeting , but this he declined , thinking the Council could best investigate . From the commencement I reasoned with him against this advice , and told him that instead of advising Ben to plead luilty and K 6 t released , we should k » ve endeavoured to fill to excess the jails with victims , that government might Bee the folly and wickedness of their conduct , and be compelled to change it . Ever since the Doctor had persisted in refusing his advice he
had not exchanged a word with him . He could not even sit in the same room with him , not even with friends . I told him emphatically I had done with him . I also charge him with writing letters to people in London and the country , prejudicing them against me . ( . Mr . Benbow being asked for names , said a Mr . Hogg , of London , had received one . ) I have not seen the letter , but it stated that it would be well to get up » demonstration for O'Connor or for O'Brien , but Bsnbow was nil . I am willing to meet the Doctor at any public meeting . I wish to have the names of this Committee . I wish yea to do justice to me and injustice to no one , but aot aa men in the sight of God and your country . Dr . M'Doeall , ia an eloquent address replied to Mr . Benbow , and said he felt convinced they would return an honest verdict , one whioh would exonerate him from even the suspicion of being a traitor .
Mr . GooDP . Eiiovr then moved the following resolution , " That the charge of being a traitor broftgbt by Mr . Benbow against Dr . M'Douail , is , from the evidence before us , frivilous and unfounded . " Mr . Kmght seconded the resolution . Mr . Watts agreed with the resolution that the charge was unfounded and frivolous , vet Mr . Benbow was an old veteran in the cause , active before many of us were born ; he should therefore , to endeavour to allay resentments , move aa an amendment , 11 That no charge impugning the obaraoter of Dr . M'Douail has been proved by the evidenoe that Mr . Benbow has adduced ; but that Mr . Benbow has acted nnder the influence of mistaken motives . "
A little discussion ensued on the propriety of amalgamating the two , but the original resolution was finally carried , and the whole of the nine Committee men—namely , Messrs . Martin , Goodfellow , Knight , Drake , Wilkinson , Rogers , Cuffay , Watts , and Brown , having appended their names to it , handed it to Dr . M'Douail . The investigation was carried on in a calm , deliberate manner , which did great credit to the men who conducted it ; and we trust the affair is for ever set At rest .
The Jn T Oe,Thebn Star Saturday, November 27, 1841.
THE JN OE , THEBN STAR SATURDAY , NOVEMBER 27 , 1841 .
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OBJECTIONS TO THE NATIONAL PETITION MET AND REPLIED TO BY THE EXECUTIVE . We displace , with much pleasure and satisfaction , an article which we had written oa the objections of some of our Scottish brethren to some points of the National Petition for the following temperate , wallreasoned , and conclusive document , issued by the Executive and received by us on the day of going to press : — " TO 0 X 3 BÐRKK , THB WOBXIKG MKM OF SCOTLAND .
B Brothkb Chabtists , —We , the Exeentive Committee of the National Charter Association , have read the Report of a public meeting held in Glasgow , on Monday , the 8 th of November , in which a resolution to the following effect was carried by a majority ; viz . ' That the inhabitants of Glasgow oppose the introduction of such questions & 3 Repeal of the Union , and Repeal of the English Poor-Law Amendment Act , into the Scottish Petition for Universal Suffrage , and the other Five Points of the People ' s Charter . ' u We do not presume to interfere with the powers of the Central Committee of Scotland , and far less with the just prerogative of the people of Glasgow . We simply address those who voted oa that occasion , and the people of Scotland generally , to explain away any cauie of difference , and reason upon the justice of the position we have adopted .
" It is our sincere and ardent hope that the lamentable effects of division may be averted between two nations strugging in the same cause during the most momentous crisis of Chartism . Brethren , we are the servants of & powerfil association ; our first duty is to act according to the will of the majority of its members , aad we feel jastly proud that our exertions hitherto have secured the respect , confidence , and support of our constituents . "We doubt not but your adopted Council have acted from the same motives , and that their exertions have been rewarded in a similar manner , and it is because we believe so , that we look with considerable apprehension upon the slightest difference which may arise betweea the leading Councils of two great people , hitherto united ; and still we fervently hope to be one in mind , in
measures , and m Chartism . " We should have been rejoiced , had the leaders of the movement in Scotland favoured us with their advice , and accepted of onrs in return . We conceive that every shadow of difference would have vanished , and ( his address been entirely useless . We address you now in the name of the English people , who have , without a dissentient voice , adopted , and are now signing , the National Petition , prepared by the Executive council , which has likewise been adopted by several important meetiags in Scotland . Let our reasons be maturely weighed , and may our Scottish brethren give their decision , not for the sake ef England and Ireland , but fer the sake of that cause of justice , which recognizes no distinction between men , and permits no prejudice to exist between nations of oppressed and insulted
bondsmen . " Brethren , those who have differed with us are men of acknowledged talent , men whose rectitude of conduct has excited the admiration of their English friends ; and we imagine that zeal in the cause has originated their watchfulness , lest any agitation should arise , Ehort of that which has gloriously existed for the People's Charter alone . We respect such justifiable jealousy of purpose ; but we etand second to none in steadily pursuing the one grand objsct of cur agitation , asd in battling with factious opponents and cunning designers of half measures , calculated to delude and divide the people .
Onr Excellent friends , Ross , Thompson , and Cullen , we suppose to have mistaken the objects aad aims of the National Petition , and to have acted under the supposition , that other questions were to bo agitated besides the People ' s Charter ; we do not complain of an opposition , which a brief explanation , we feel confident , will rectify and remove . " The National Petition is divided into three parts . Firstly , we describe and prove the Government of the country to be in the hands of an irresponsible class , in other words , we begin with the cause of misery , znisgoyeramenfc , and slavery . Secondly , we proceed to point out the effpere , and enumerate , amongst many other grievances , the New Poor Law and the Irish Union . We have even mentioned monopolies of every kind , so as to anticipate objections . Thirdly , we petition for , and demand the only B . EMBDT , irhich is the People ' s Charter .
" It is , therefore , quite clear that the relation of grievances is a mere preamble , or pleading , before the petition ; and we distinctly declare that those signing the petition are not pledged to an agitation for the removal of any one evil , but Bolely to the adoption of the People ' s Charter , as the grand remedy for all . The last clause of the petition explains this fully . We there say as follows : — ' Your petitioners , therefore , exercising their just constitutional right , demand that your Honourable House , to
: remedy the many gross and manifest evils of which ; your petitioners complain , do immediately , without alteration , deduction , or addition , pass into law the document entitled the People ' s Charter , &o . &c ' , " The great question , in oar opinioa , is as follows : —la the relation of grievances in the petition just \ ' Every Chartist will answer—Yes . Then no Chari tisfc can refuse to acknowledge it by his signature ; ; especially when that act does not bind him to agitate . for or give precedence ' to those separate questions , \ whilst the great one of Universal Suffrage u un-: settled .
I " The petitioner pleads hifl ease , first , to make it i stronger , and concludes with his demand for political I power , to remedy now and protect for the future . | We will suppose that Scotland objects to the griev-I ancea of England and Ireland being mentioned in I the preamble of our petition . If it be to , then that , measure which is oppressive to labour in England , i mnst be a question of interest and sympathy in Soot-- land , and vice versa . Whereret labours wrong ? and j burdens are augmented , labour ' s rights most be vio-; lated , aad we have yet to learn that the selfish j spirit of oppression has ever bound the Englishthe
, Scottish , and the Irish heart to their own narrow interests , when the cries of Buffering brethren came beseeching aid from afar . Perish finch unworthy distinctions between the sister kingdoms ! and let lifeour at least reserve to itself amidst its degradation and its ruin that holy and sacred sympathy which hu ever been exchanged between the oppressed of all nations , that ennobling feeling whioh the rich may envy but never imitate , that exalted spirit of justice which seeking an immortality of its own , rises superior to the selfish pursuits of classes ana the savage feuds of nations .
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" Brethren , we must avoid the fatal error of two petitions and two Conventions ; our cause is common aad our measures should be the same . There cannot be one Chartism for Scotland , and another for England . We cannot have , England , Ireland , and Wales , pursuing one course , and Scotland another , without placing ourselves wilfully in the power of the enemy , and inviting them to crush us in succession . This is not a time for difference , but a time for action ; and if individual quarrels have brought injury , weakness , and ridicule open oar cause , how much more most national ones distract the attention of oar supporters , and strengthen and encourage our enemies I
" Brethren , we must strive to create and preserve that confidence in each other whioh will seoure mutual co-operation on all questions affecting the rights of industry ; and we cannot deny to Ireland that cordial support which we are so anxious to receive from her . Neither can England and Scotland consistently differ upon the Poor-Law question , after the continued union which has existed daring the past , whether the question was the Charter or the Corn Laws , the Glasgow Cotton Spinners or the Dorchester Labourers , whether it affected the patriots Gerrald or Moore , or the more recent victims , Frost , Williams , and Jones . The latter case we could not avoid enumerating in the list of remarkable injuries Inflicted , and we are confident there is not a Chartist in Scotland who would withhold his name , because that oppressive case was recorded in the list of grievances now being endured .
" Brethren , we have been actuated by the best of motives , and whilst we in the spirit of truth declared our detestation of all oppressive laws , we were not thereby bound to adopt th « crotchets of enthusiasts , or look for a panacea in the repeal of the Poor Law , the Corn Laws , or the abrogation of the Union with Ireland ; at the same time we saw no reason which could condemn the mention of our sufferings in a petition for justice . We feel satisfied that there is wisdom in stating reasons why we should have the Charter , and no argument can be more effectual than an accredited list of atrocious enactments , disgraceful alike to human nature , as they are destructive to human kind . We urge our grievances in public meetings , in lectures , and in the press , why aot in a National Petitioa ! Do we admit at one time what we deny at another 1 or are we afraid to acknowledge that our intention is to abolish or amend all enactments grierous to humanity or oppressive to labour ?
" Brethren , we have embarked in a just cause ; our stake is a large one , and we shall never cease to urge its importance upon the public mind , justlv conoeiving the greater the prize the greater exertion will be required to possess it . " Let it be understood , that we urge no man to agitate for repeal of the Poor Laws ; for the abolition of any one monopoly or injustice ; we are bound to the great question of questions—Universal Suffrage . Our measures' point forward , not backward . Brethren , let us have your support , calculate safely on ours in return ; and in conclusion , let it be firmly impressed upon your minds , that our sole objects in drawing up the Petition , hare been to direct public attention to the cause of our national misery , embarrassments , and political bondage ; to
enumerate grievances which have excited the greatest sympathy , and deserved the most unwearied attention , and to rear , above alLthe glorious and enduring principle of the People ' s Charter . The standard of cur cause is where it was , undiminished in its supreme importance and unshorn of its national interest . Brethren , we shall keep it there : aid us then , as you have done , und let union , peace , and energy characterize our united and inseparable exertions in the great cause of England , Scotland , Ireland , and Wales . " Your brethren in Chartism , 11 P . M . M'Douaix , 11 R . K . Pbilp , M James Leach , " * ' Mobgan Williams , M John Campbell , Sec . "
We trust that the reading of this document will remove every shadow of a shade of difference of opinion , not only from the minds of our Scottish friends , who regret the introduction of those particular grievances , the English Poor Law , and the Irish Union , but also from those of other parties who have written us expressing their regret that more prominency was not given to those subjects in the Petition . The Executive have no easy task ; the anxiety and care attendant on the mighty interests of the masses demand more wisdom , energy , and prudence than are commonly to be met with ; they exhibit an amount of talent and patriotism equal to their work , and with such a head the movement must progress if the people do their own work and beware of falling out by the way .
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liah labourer and the Irish peasant grows more bopsless . If . this year , there are 8 . , 000 of the Irish , with not enough even of roots to eat , in ten years more the number will be Increased . If at this moment bUttation stare * in the face of million * of English articans , where la the hope of better times ? For yean they have been hoping for reform . In allowing the Torie * to gain the ascendancy , they tried the very last experiment . No temporising policy will serve them longer . . . _ . . . . ...
" The day that the people of England riae up and with their own strong bands take the ' rights they can never peacefully atUln , that day shall we think batter of humanity . Endnnnoa of wrong ia no virtue . He who eabmiia to fraud la its accessory . Mas baa no right to be wronged . A amall evil may be endured , aa the only means of attaining a great good , as for the sake of a core we may submit to an operation , but then the evil becomes a portion of the good . " It is unjust to the people ef England , the descendants of our common ancestors , to suppose that ten , year * more can pass without a revolution . Heaven grant that it may be a bloodless one . "
It would indeed , as our transatlantic friend says , be an insult to the people , to their sense of feeling , and their discernment of moral right and duty , to suppose that another tea years could pass without seeing an end of the system of iniquity whioh has brought us into this condition . The revolution must come—it will come : and we have all confidence in the long suffering whioh has so far stayed the arm of vengeance that it will be bloodless . The people are not now to be led in the wake of the " base , bloody , and brutal" panderers to outrage and arson for the support of party . The tocsin has been sounded more thaa once by the viilanous Whig press ; but it
has met with no response . They have hoisted the standard of " bread or blood ! " They have oried " hurrah for the barricades ! " and would now " egg on" the incendiary to a career of madness , pointing out Buckingham Palace and tho British Museum as proper objects for his destructive agency 1 and all for the last desperate hope that out of the wreck some plank or cask may be seized hold of , on which the drowning rats of Whiggery may float again upon the surface of the troubled waters . Their demoniacal devices will be frustrated . The people will not be thus befooled . They will pursue
unhesitatingly and incessantly the one object—the Charter of their rights ; they will meet , expose , and trample upon , all the syren sophistries of faction ; they will concentrate their energies , unite their efforts , and make known their moral might . Tyranny and all its manifold ramifications of oppressive legislation and social injustice Bhall be made quietly , speedily , and permanently to give place to justioe and its consequent equality and prosperity , by a moral and enlightened people who have learned wisdom from the harshest but the most efficient of all teachersbitter experience .
Wo never remember to have seen faotion so fairly at its wit ' s end as it seems now to be . All that rampant malice and ruling hatred could effeot , has been tried and found wanting of the requited force to beat down the rising intelligence of the people . Cunning now takes its place ; and while the Sun , the Globe , the Chronicle , and all the crew of dastards seek artfully to urge the starving people to Tiolenoe under the banner of a big loaf ; their
agents and co-partners try an opposite diversion , by labouring to resuscitate the cry of physical and moral force ; and so divide our forces . The one experiment ia just aa futile as the other ; the Chartista of 1841 have left both Bohools far behind them . We fancy , from a report given elsewhere of Mr . Bkewsteb ' s " last struggle" in his own town , that he has found the truth of this observation to bis no small chagrin .
New accesssions to our moral powers are every day made , and despite the undeniable aggregate of suffering whioh now exists , we look forward with much confidence to the advent of liberty , in the establishment of just principles of legislation , as a sure remedy , whose operation on the body politio shall be permanently , if not suddenly , reviving , and shall bring back the wonted healthy and powerful developement of obaraoter in Old England—tho land of the brave and the free . "
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THE LAND I THE LAND ! 1 THE LAND ! 1 ! As mankind become more enlightened to know their real interests , they will esteem the value of agriculture ; they will find it ia their natural—their destined occupation . —Menial Recreations , Article B . We have often been astonished at the indifference with which all matters relating to agriculture , and the land , are received amongst the population of our manufacturing &wns . This indifference , no doubt , ia in great part owing to the studious efforts of the anti-Cora Law League , whose constant effort and aim it ia to draw the attention of the people from that moat vital subject the capability of the soil , of giving employment to the surplus population created by machinery .
Any one would suppose from the utter want of knowledge and contempt of data displayed by the manufacturers , and their lecturing agents , in their crusade against agriculture , that they had never seen a green field or an acre of wheat in their lives . How often , and how peraeveringly it is asserted that" England can never , under any circumstances , grow enough corn for her own consumption . "—that she must always remain an importing country , and "that corn can be produced cheaper and better on the continent than here . " These and many other like statements have been published by every Whig paper—repeated by every spouting anti-Corn Law lecturer , and enlarged upon at every
hole-and-corner demonstration , until some people have actually begun to look upon them as ascertained foots ! Mr . O'Connor ' s letters have done much towards exposing the falseness and hollownesa of these fallacies , bat a great deal yet remains to be done ; a Vaat amount of prejudice has yet to be removed . One of the chief points urged by the advocates of a repeal of the Corn Laws , ia "the impossibility of the limited soil of this country producing enough food for an increasing pepulation . " They refer us to the yearly importations of foreign grain ( averaging from one million to fifteen hundred thousand quarters ) and ask " if these axe not strong proofs of the impracticability of England's growing enough corn for her own
consumption ? " New , with all due deference to these gentlemen , we must beg leave to inform them that they prove no such thing . Our not having hitherto produced enough wheat for our own consumption , does not prove that we cannot do so ; but that there ia something deficient in our system of cultivation . It ia well known that for yean past the principal part of the land has been gradually getting into the hands of the large proprietors ; these think it their interest to let the land in as large portions as possible ; these large farms are often taken by persona without the requisite capital , and consequently are very seldom half cultivated . To show the present condition of agriculture in England , and what it might be under a proper system , we will here give an extract from a well-known pamphlet , * reviewed in Tait'a October number .:
—" Of the seventy-six millions of statute acres in the United kingdom , there are about twenty-six millions remaining in waste and sheep walks . Of the other fifty millions there are about thirty-two millions in natural grass , and only eighteen millions la tillage ; that is to say , little more than one acre in tillage to two acres in grass ; or , in other words , that in vtery three acres only one ia cultivated . We know , in a general way , that In the populous parts of Germany , the proportion of grass-land to the arable ia about one acre in seven or eight acres . We know also , in a general way , that in the populous parts of Italy , the proportion of grass-land to the arable la about one acre in
every twelve or fourteen acre * . In France , statistics have bees more studied , and we know from the oflkial cadastre , or modern Doomsday Book , that the proportion of land cultivated by the plough , spade , or hoe , ia even acres in eight , leaving only one acre in natural gnu . The Duke of Buckingham estimate * the pro . ducts of land , in tillage , at five-fold what the same land would yield in grass . His Grace , unwilling to overstate hi * argument , has , In fact , understated it ; for five-fold , aix-fold , or more / mlght bo stated on land * of superior quality . Much meadow land , if broken up ,
would yield , with less expense of culture than a poor soil , thirty bushels of wheat per acre ; on other product * , of proportionate value , whether in either com , in polae , in roots , or in artificial grasses , mufa a * clover , linseed , and , otfterp , This « uppo » ea about four thousand pounds of bread from the ploughed acre , against somewhere about , ox leas , than two hundred pounds of meat , or its equivalent , in cheese , batter , fee . from the same acre In gran . Bat we will adhere , for the present , to the admitted estimate of % four-fold proportion , the amount will then stand as follows : In England , thirty acres of grata land iprodaoe thirty-
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two parts , and eighteen acres in tillage , estimated to yield fout-fold , produce aetenty-two parta ; in all , one hundred and four part * from fifty acrea . In France , one acre of gnat land produce * < m « part , and awm acres in tillage , e * tlmate d to yield four-fold , twentyeight parts ; in all , twenty-nine parts from eight acre *; that is to say , one hundred and eighty-one part * from fifty acre * . " To prove that thi * writer ba * jiot overatated the relative proportion of grass to arable land in thU eountry , we give a few farm statistics , which have been received from practical agriculturists In different part ef the country : —
FIRST . In a farm of 200 acre * , Rogeley , Staffordshire , the relative proportion of wheat , fee . stood thai—Wheat 24 acre * Barley and oats 30 Turnips , cabbages , and potatoes 16 Fallow 11 In grass 120
260 This ia the general average in this and the neigh bouring counties . SECOND . A farm of 160 acres , Ballanvin- Westby , Lancashire . Wheat 13 acre * . Oata and beans ... 36 Turnips and potatoes . 1 * £ Fallow 15 Pasture 63 £ Clover seeds ... ... IS
160 THIRD . A farm ef 91 acres , Lytham , Lancashire . Wheat 10 acres . Oata and Barley 20 Turnips and Pea * 8 Fallow 0 Grass 34 Clover seeds 19 91 The tenants of these farms gained prises at the last Lytham agricultural meeting , so they may be taken as very fair specimens of the farms in Lancashire .
„ FOURTH . A small farm of 23 acr « a , Syleham , Suffolk . Wheat 6 acres . Fallow 3 Barley 5 Clover 3 Beans and Peas 5 Grass 1 Total 23
From these statistics ( and many others of the same kind , which it would take up too nmch space to insert ) it appear * that , in many cases , one half of the land farmed is left entirely out of cultivation , and that as the farm inereases in size so does the quantity of wheat grown diminish . If the farm of 200 acres , in Staffordshire was divided into farms of 20 acres each , the land would produce 56 acres of wheat instead of 24 , or more than double ; the farm of 160 acres in Lancashire would have 42 acres instead of 13 , or three times as much . This statement supposes that the present system ot cropping and fallowing was continued ; under an improved system the land might be made to produce sixfold and sevenfold what it does at present .
To prove that the system adopted in England is bad , and that a much better one might be carried out , we close this article with two or three extracts from Chambers ' s Tour in Belgium . The extracts are rather long , but their importance will , make amends for the apace occupied . After portraying the manner , customs , &c . of the inhabitants of Belgium , Mr . Chamber * goes on thus to describe the state of agriculture in that country . " It has been ascertained by minute statistical inquiry that the agricultural population of Belgium are at this moment among the moat contented , virtuous , and generally-comfortable peasantry in the world . The farms are for the moat part of a small size , just sufficient to pay a moderate rent , and support
a family in a humble but decent manner . The greater part of the inhabitants are renters and cultivators of land to the extent of five or six acres each family ; and this with a cottage and garden , is quite enough to render them comfortable . They are all Roman Catholics , and are exceedingly devout . Their piety , h owerer , does not render them gloomy and morose ; they have fifteen holidays throughout the year exclusive of Sunday *; and these they partly devote to dancing , and out door amusements . The food of this cheerful , industrious , and religious people is of a very simple kind . It consists of coffee with bread early in the morning ; bread , butter , cheese , at nine o'clock ; potatoes with lard at noon ; in the evening , a salad with bread ; and sometimes a little beer . "
Conversing with M . le Compte Arrevebend , on the state of crime in Belgium , Mr . Chambers was informed by that gentleman , " That he had resided for eleven years In a Tillage called QuesbecR , in the province of Brabant , containing three hundred and sixty-four inhabitants , and that during the whole of that period neither a crime nor a culpable indiscretion bad been committed . " Mr . Chambers here goes on to quote from the report of George NichoIIa , Esq ., the parliamentary commissioner sent out by the Whigs to inquire into the condition of the labouring population of Belgium : — " Mr . NichoIIa , in his third report to the House of Commons , says : —
"The extensive manufactures which at no very remote period flourished in Belgium , appear to have congregated a numerous population of artizans in and around the great towns . Aa the scene of manufacturing industry changed , this population was deprived of its means , of its handicraft employment , and was compelled to resort to the cultivation of the soil for subsistenca This seems to have been the chief , though nat the sole , origin of the system of the small farms , which stiil prevail , and which are cultivated by the holder and his family , generally without other assistance . The farms ia Belgium very rarely exceed one hundred acres .
" The number containing fifty acres is not great ; those of thirty and twenty acres are more numerous ; bat the number of holdings from fire to ten and twenty acres is very considerable , especially these of smaller extent ; and to these I chiefly confined my inquiries . The fainis Of from five to ten acres , which abound in many parta of Belgium , closely resemble the small holdings in Ireland ; but the small Irish cultivator exists in a state of miserable privation of the common comforts and conveniences of a civilised life , while the Belgian farmer enjoys a large portion of those comforts . The houses of the small cultivators in Belgium , are generally substantially built , and in good repair ;
they have commonly a sleeping-room in the attic , and closets for beds connected with the lower apartment , which ia convenient in niaa ; a small cellarage for the dairy , and Btore for the grain , as well as an oven , and an outhouse for the potatoes , with a roomy cattle-stall , piggery , and poultry loft The house generally contains decent furniture , the bedding sufficient in quantity ; and , although the scrupulous neatness of the Dutch , may not be everywhere observable , an air of comfort , and propriety pervades the whole establishment The premises were kept in neat and compact ordor , and the family were decently clad , none of them were ragged or slovenly , even when their dreaa consisted of the coarsest materials . The diet consist * , to a great extent , of rye-bread and milk , the dinner being usually composed of potatoes and onions , with the
addition of some pounded ham er slices of bacon . The quantity of new wheaten bread consumed , did not appear to b « considerable , in the greater part of the flat country of Belgium , the soil is light and sandy and easily worked , but Us productive pouters are certainly inferior to the general soils of Ireland , and the climate does not appear to be superior . To the soil and climate , therefore , the Belgian does not owe hio auperorfty in comfort and position over the Irish cultivator . The difference ia rather to be found in the system ef cultivation pursued by the small farmers of Belgium , and ia the habits of economy and forethought of the people . " The cultivation of the small farms in Belgivm differs from the Irish—1 st , fn the quantity of stall-fed stock which it kept , and by which a supply of manure it rtffularly tteured ;
" ti—I * Uu strict attention paid to the coUedinff of manure , which is most skilfully managed ; " 3 d—B $ ' theadoption of a system of rotation of five , six , or seven successive crops , evenin the smallest firms which is in striking contrast with theplan of cropping and fallowing the land prevalent in Ireland . " In the . farm * of six acres w « found no plough , horse , or cart ; the only agricultural implement beside * the pade , fork , » nd wheelbarrow , which we observed , wa * a light wooden barrow , which might be dragged by the band . The farmer had no asfliatancfl beside * that of h i * wife and children , excepting sometime * in harvest , when we found he occasionally obtained the assistance of a neighbour , ot hired a labourer at a franc a day . The whole of the land is dag with the spade , and trenched very deep but a * the aoll ia light , the labour of digging ia sot
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" The stock in the small farm * which we examined consirted of a couple of cows , a calf ot two , one or tw » pig * , aometimea a goat or two , and * om « poultry . Tb * cow * are altogether * iaU-fed , oa * tr « w , turnips , clov » , rye , vetches , carrot * , potatoe * , and a kind of soup mad * by boiling up potatoes , pea * , bean * , bran , cut hay , 4 « . into one mesa , and which , being given warm , ia said t » be very wholesome , and to promote the secretion of milk . In » ome district * the grain * of the brewerie * an distilleries are used for the cattle . No portion or THE PABM IS ALLOWED TO BE 7 ALI > OW , but ft jf divided into site or seven < moU plots , on each of tcAftft a system of rotation is adopted , and thus , with the aid of manure , the powers of the soil are maintained unexhausted in a state of constant activity .
" The order of succession in the crops is various , bo | we observed , in the several farms which we visited , plot * appropriated to potatoes , wheat , barley , clover , flax , rye , carrot * , turnips or parsnips , vetches and rye , for immediate u * e a * green food for cattle . The flax grown i * heckled aad spun by the farmer ' * wife , chiefly during the winter , and we were told that three week ** lakour at the loom enabled them to weave late doth all the thread thus prepared . " The weavers are generally a distinct daw from tbe amall fanners , though the labourers chiefly supported by the loom oommojailf occupied about an acre of land , some times more , their labour upon the land alternating with their work at the loom .
" It was most gratifying to observe the comfort di * played in the whole economy of the households of these small cultivators , and the respectability in which they lived . As far as I could learn , there was no tendency to the aub-division of the amall holdings . I heard of none nnder five acres held by the class ef peasant farmers , and six , seven , or eight acres ia the more com . mon size . The common rest of land i * 20 a . an acre . If a Sick Club or Benefit Society were established among these people , so as to enable them , by mutual asaoraaee , to provide for tbe casualty of sickness , there would BE LITTLE LEFT TO WISH FOB OH AMEND IN THEI 1 SOCIAL CONDITION . "
So end * Mr . Nichols ' * report . It proves moat deck dedly that the system of small farming is not oalj practicable , but advantageous ; and when conducted on proper principles , has a great influence onthemorali and condition of the people .
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? Action of the Cora Laws reviewed on the princi ples of a sound political economy , and of Common Sense . By the author of letters on " The Times , " which , more than twenty years since , so mainly contri buted to awaken public attention to the subject , London : —Saunders and Otley , 1841 .
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The National Petition . —Our publisher , Mr . Hobson , has printed the National Petition for 1842 , on a neat sheet , for the purpose of being extensively distributed amongst those from whom signatures are asked , that they may know for what they are signing . He is ready to supply them to the Associations and to individuals at the following charges : —100 copies for 2 s ; IJUQOfor . lSs . JPc tition sheets , o f good strong paper , ruled in four columns , and holding two hundred names when filled , may also be had , price 2 d . each The Petition and sheets may also be had from Mr . Cleave , London : and Mr . Heywood , Manchester . But in all cases the money must be sent in advance—( he price being so Iota as to preclude credit .
6 S » Messrs . Palon and Love , of Glasgow , apprize us that they have made arrangements with Mr . Hobsonfor the supply of our Scotch friends itith sheets and petitions . Those in Scotland , who require lhem , wiU do well to make early application to these gentlemen .
NOTICE . In consequence of the ^ non- arrival of a portion of the Stamps we should have had from the Manchester Stamp Office , we are compelled to print a portion of this week ' s issue on unstamped paper , of which I give this public notice , and shall make the necessary affidavit before the proper parties appointed by the Hon . the Commissioners of Stamps . Jos . Hobson , Printer and Publisher , Friday Night , Nov . 2 Sth , 1841 .
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O ' BRIEN PRESS FUND , LEEDS . £ . * a . Received of Mr . Hobsoa , treasurer ? of the Demonstration Committee , being part of the procedi of the Soiree given to O'Connor ... 22 7 H Received from the Chartista of Horbury , per Mr . Hide ... 0 » '
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4 , THE NORTflIRN STAB .
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OUR PRESENT STATE AND PROSPECTS , Never within the period of man ' s recollection was the social condition of the people of this country bo deplorable as now . Nor do we see the least prospect of amendment so long as the demented holders of a position , whioh already trembles under them , continue to keep their footing on the people ' s necks . We have become objects of sontempt for our immediate neighbours , and of sompassion for our sons and brothers across the Atlantic . Our heart sickened as we read the following truthful , feeling paragraphs from an American paper : —
EKGLISH L 1 BEBTT . The last papers from England , held Up the Curtain of « scene of horror , such as tha annals of the world , fall u they are with crime and misery , can scarcely parallel . While the table of expenses of the English Sovereign are given at 300 , 000 dollars a-year , it ia stated that in one manufacturing district there are 400 , 600 of that Queen ' s subjects without work , in a state every hour verging nearer starvation , without the remotest prospect of relief . " By day and by night this terrible tale has been ringing in our ears—this picture of horror has been constantly before ua . We have seen the madness of the father , the despair of the mother , and the pale , beseeching faces of mourning babes . The sun shines en them from the azure heavens , the gentle rains fill round them , and they live upon the beautiful earth , denied the privilege of toil , with nothing before them but tbe prospect of a horrible death .
" Here , in one district , within the compass of a few mites , is a population larger by thousands than that of Nt . w York city , ¦ which has been sinking by slow but certain degrees , lower and lower , till human WOe and wretck&dnesa seem to have found its lowest depth , aud there Heshumanity ; feelpless , hopeless—the grave yawning alike for the old and the young—all enduring a common fate , and that the most awful that ever scourged the world . " Can anything be done ? Our commiseration avails not—our alms could not reach them , and if they could it would be bnt a prolongation of misery . What if we remonstrate ? Will the haughty aristocrats who now govern England and aspire to the supremacy of the world listen to remonstrance ? They , on whose ears the groans of millions of the down-trodden fall idly as the whirling of the autumn leaves—they , whom the moans of women and children , famishing for bread , cannot soften—will they thus listen to the faintly whispered reproof that comes across the Atlantic ?
" The thousands of priests who , by a huge establishment , ntece the natisn of a tithe of its productions —the thousand * of the rich and titled who bold in their unclenching grasp the wealth—with the law and the sword for their protection , will they let go their hold , » r give np on « ot the privileges which their lawless bandit ancestors seized and they claim and defend , —will they rescue poverty from starvation ? " When the negro slave is sick , he is nursed—when old and infirm , be Is fei and sheltered ; infanoy is cared for , age protected . If there is famine , tbe master kills his cattle , sells bis property to feed his slaves . In England the white slave labours longer and harder for a poorer living than the negro , and when provisons are dear , and his work not wanted , he is left to starve . This England sends her Thomps « ns to dtclaim on tbe sin and curse of negro slavery . In the eyes of the Almighty the southern slaveholder is legs guilty than the English capitalist .
" What of liberty has the English artisan to boast ? He has not even the liberty to labour , the liberty to e&t the biftid of tolL EagUnd la no country « r liberty The riave who aeta his foet upon her shore is free—to starve . Does he ask bread , he is told to earn it When he asks for labour , there is none to be had . If he attempt to kill game in the forest , or catch fish in the stream , he is sent to jail . England is a country of privilege . The nobility , the clergy , all who compose the great machinery of her government , have privileges to to
—privileges oppress , monopolise , to crash , to starve . In all the tyranny of privilege England abound * . In all the freedom of democracy and equal rights it ia wanting . It ia governed , taxed , pillaged by privileged clvaga . Million * toil from infancy to agehundredi of thousands live in want and starvation , that their sovereign may enjoy a thousand costly luxuries A world ' * wealth , ia hoarded around London . We can form no adequate idea of tha grandeur that is concentrated upon the few . God look * down calmly from above and see * the many starving .
"Can this be always * Will generation after genera * tion paas into eternity , after a life « f horrible destitution here , leaving wealth and privilege atui in the enjoyment of the few , and toil and want arbill the lot of Uu > many ; or will the spark of humanity , not q uite stasped out , revive , and brain * and muscles assert the rights they were intended to protect and enjoy I Will all the brawny artixans of England cringe under the awful power of purse and sword for ever 1 There i * no hope of reform . Wealth does not relax its grasp power doe * not give up it * privilege * , aud when , did either care for right ? Every day the case of the Eng-
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John Thomson , Pastob of the Christian Chartim Church at Greenock . —His letter shall appear in our next . BiRJU > GHAH . —Hamptok Ward Char ^ ists . —Wt received no report from them last week , © 'Bbien ' s Press Fund , Huddebsfield . —We an requested to state that the proceeds of ths O'Brien Festival , at Huddersfield , were £ 21 19 $ . 2 d ., from which the expences being deducted , leave in hand a balance of £ 7 17 s . B < L , which was handed over to Mr . O'Brien and hit Press Fund Committee . Brighton O'BHiaN Press Committee . —Those
persons having collecting books for the O'Brien Press Fund , are requested to deliver them to the committee on Wednesday evening next , with such monies as they may have collected , preparatory to the books being audited , and the amount collected transmitted to Feargus O'Connor , Esq ., the general treasurer . Q'B&ies Press Fund . —Mr . S . Morling , of Brighton , acknowledges the receipt of four shillings from Arnold , near Nottingham , and 2 s . Sd . from Catverton , near Arnold , for the O ' Brien tress per Mr . Wm . Emmerson . Thb Ports must really give us a little respite ; we have loads of their obliging communications unlooked at .
James Collier . —We cannot insert the strange story he has sent us of a silk-agent and a female worker . If the circumstances be as he states , we advise him to send the letter to the employer of the filthy wretch , who is clearly unfit jor hi * situation . Christopher Wood . —We have no room . An Artizan . —His very long letter " To the British Youth" would occupy far too much of our space . Wm . Wildgoose . —The Chartists of Mottram must remember that we have only 48 columns for ths whole empire . Fbmai-b Signatures to thb National PETITION . — In reply to many letters upon this subject , we advise female signatures t » be kept on distinct sheets .
Mr . R . Nicholls , Bradford , Wilts . —We cannot find space for his letter to the Cornish men . He speaks highly of their spirit and intelligence , but concurs in the general outcry for a miusionary . Messrs . James B . O'Brien and Henry Vincent are requested to communicate immediately with ¦ Duncan NicoUon , 37 , East Norlti-street % Aberdeen , Chimney Bribery . —A letter from Northwich states that an overbearing Tory , whose chimney was an annoyance to some of his neighbours , promised one of them to build it higher if he would vote
for the Tory party . The vole was given to the Tories on the faith of this promise , but the chimney has not been raised . Our correspondent wishes for our opinion as to whether this U ) a $ a case of bribery . We should say yes ; and advise him < e prosecute . If he succeed the Tory will be punished for bribery , as he ought to be . If he Jail , he will be punished for accepting the bribet as he ought to be . Duffield . —We cannot insert the attack on the policeman sent us . However true it may be in fact , it is a gross libel in law .
Charles Dayies , Stoekport , apologizes to his Eccles friends for disappointing them on the Bth intt . Sickness was the cause of his doing so . W . Pedley unshes to impress upon the Chartist body generally , the necessity of supporting the Executive . He says , and very properly , that to do this it is only necessary that the rules qf the National Charter Asswialion should be carried out in every locality . York Fekalk Chartists . —Mr . Stallwood sends us the following note : "Sir , —The ladies qf York do not think you are quite so gallant as you should be , seeing that you neither inserted their communication , er announced the reception qf it
last week . —Truly yours , Edmund Stallwood . We knwo not to what communication this may refer . Wehave received none ; nor can we learn that any such communication has been received at this office at all . Thady Ca ? fb&ky , Baixaghadebkinb , Co ., Mayo , Ireland , begs to acknowledge the receipt ¦ qf seme Stars , on one qf which were the initiate , * W . B . Darlington . " Cranbubn . —In the notice of Mr . Powell ' s lecture at this place , inter ted in « ur last , the number of the audience was accidentally printed 12000 instead qf 1200 . Erratum . —In Mr . Harness letter , given in our Uut , for " Athby roor-houte , " read ** Ashovcr Poor ~ home : '
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Nov. 27, 1841, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct730/page/4/
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