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THE NORTHERN STAR, SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 1842.
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THE LEEDS MAYOR AND THE LEEDS CHAHTISTS.
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STo 2&*a&evg autr ®ovve0#?vftetit&.
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
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KORTH LANCASHIRE DELEGATE . MELTING . TO THK CHARTISTS OF ?/ ORXH LANCASHIRE . Gentlemen , —Accordir . g to a rule made at the | rst delegate meeting , held at the Temperance Hotel , Blackburn , it ' js particalirly stated that delegate meetings shall ' .-&ke place every bix -weeks , for the purpose of tranf Acting tfee business of the district ; a-delegate sheeting trill therefore t-e held at Acerington , on Sunday , IStfe-Jan ., 1842 . Business to commence pre < isc 3 y at ose o'clock .
how , my frier ^ s , let «* ery place Bead a delegate to this meeting , so that every place mty be properly represented ; r ^ adfcave their opinions laid before the meeting . I t" ad thai ibsre has beea seme dissatisfaction exist \ Bgin the towns connected with the district that proper notice was not -given of the last delcgato r jesting through the -columns of the Northern Star ; and , therefore , tbey had no means of either kcowing irlien the meeting would take place , or tf sending a delegate . I beg leave to assure sur ; h places "ihtst I sent due-notice to the Sto ; tut , on account of leaving home in a hurry , to attend & diseassion on the Corn Law 3 , at Barnolds"wick ^ pn the Monday evening , I forgot to put the letwx in &e Post Office before I left . I wrote the letter oa Monday at noon , sad just at that time a person came -up from Barooldswick for me , to go that afi-ernoon io the meeting . There was no time
to be lest , for it vras then after one o ' clock , aad the distance we hid to go was upwards of seventeen Biiles , and aTtregh road ; t ^ ie meeting was to comjsence as seven o'clock . I , therefore , in the hurry of the naosjent , forgot to post the letter on the Monday ¦ bat oa the Tuesday I -wroto another , and sent it , along with a report of the meeting , takes by Mr Moobey ; bat neither the report of the meeting , ner the notice of the delegate meeting , appeared . ThU caused e great deal of dissatisfaction . The people of Bamoldswick were hurt that such a tristnph-over the Flsgne , ia an open-discussion , and the cowardice of tbe Plague advocates , in running off the platform , * nd out-of the Chapel , and leaving the meeting in the hands of the Chartists , who had defeated thea jaot by blows , but by argument , should have been left snexposed .
The different town 3 expressed their resentment % i Ee , for not sendin g notice to the Star , so that they might have been able to send delegates to the meeting . I am as Borry as them that they , did not appear in the Starj but I have since received a verj kind letter from Mr . Hill , the Editor , expressing his regret that the letter had been mislaid , and , consequently , non-inserted . I expect that we shall this time have a full meeting of delegates , for there is a good d ^ al of business to transact ; and there will be the business of the Convention to settle .
I am sorry that a misunderstanding should exist !« tweeb this district and the Executive with regard to the election of members of the Convention , it being the opinion of North Lancashire that it should send " its owa member ; bat the Exwutive have decided that it cannot—it must be in eonaection with South Lancashire . I am sorry that I should have been elected by the different towns , in North Lancashire * o represent then : in the Convention , bnt when I consented to become a candidate for the Convention , I kww not bnt that North Lancashire would send it 3 own delegate ; but it having been decided differently by the Executive , I beg leave to have my name withdrawn from the nomination list , for this reason—I cannot conscientiously allow myself to be elected for South Lancashire . I know nothing of the-aa ; I am not personally acquainted with them r I do not know their feelings , wishes
desires , and determination with respect to the Charter becoming the law of the land , only from newspaper reports ; I have never been amongst them at any time : I have never attended any of their private or public meetings , with the exception cf three or four ; and therefore , being totally igno-« ant of their circumstances , I should not be justified were I to allow myself to become the representative of those whose condition I am unacquainted with . I have not that ambition to want to become a member of the Convention for the sake of its name ; we have had too many of that description already . I would rather ba at home in my own district , increasing the number of our Association ? , and spreading our principles into every village and hamlet , so that by any means I might be "doing good , and assisting in the bringing about the political redemption of our common country .
I am , . - Your humble servant , In the cause of Chartism , William Beeslbt , District Secretary
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amongst you ; they established laws and systems which were intended to grind and coeroe you : it was they who forced a *• State Churdi' * upon you , and compelled you to pay for prayers which were offered contrary to your notions of "worship ; it was they who introduced those hypocritical monsters who oame amongst you armed with a Bible in one hand and a sword in the ether—who spoiled and devastated the hones of your fathers—uprooted the foundations of peace and literature , and who , with the words of charity on their lips , bat the daggers of political assassination concealed beneath their hypo critical disguise , awaited the opportunity o » plunging them into their unwary victims ; and it is the same aristocracy which still l « rds it over job , and are
evea now crying out for " coercion for Ireland . It is not , my Mends , foe working sen of England who are opposed to yoa ; they have no prejudices against y&n , and if ever they had any , it was the effect of misrepresentation , and not otherwise . It is not because a man is an Englishman , that he is your enemy—ho suffers as much as you do , and « ven more . Nor is it because he has the moral courage to assert Ms political independence that he is te be looked npen with an © ye of suspicion—he sees that all classes of the aristocracy are leagued against the poor man ' s interest , and , with a laudable zeal , he advocates the liberties of his class against the tyranny and misrule of his oppressors , and holds out the hand of fellowship to yoa , as it is your cause i as well as his . Can you then as Irishmen refuse the
proffered friendship ? Will the blighting influence of prejudice or party keep you aloof from a contest in which your interests are so deeply concerned ? Remember the enemies you have to encounter are the same , who once trampled oa the graves of your fathers ; they are the same who persecuted you for your religious opinions ; who hunted your unhappy clergy into mountains and caves , to perish with want and misery , and who offered a premium for the head of a Catholic priest equal to that offered for the head of a wolf . The same parties who plundered you of your birth-right , and insulted you by calling you " aliens in blood and country , " are still forging chains to fetter and bind you to their will . Is it not time , then , that you ask yourselves—shall we be free ? Is it not time to ask yourselves—ate we pursuing the
right road to liberty ? or are you in possession of that spirit which animated your fathers when " liberty" was the watch-word ? Yes , it is time you asked those questions ; your political position , and the duty you owe to your country , demand that you not oaly ask , but act . Weigh well the principles of the " Charter , " and if you find that they are such as I have stated , come boldly forward , and show the men of England that you can accept and receive them as brothers ; join your moral strength to theirs , and convince your tyrants that the working men of Ireland and England are determined to obtain that * liberty which is their birthright , and that " justice ' to which you are entitled . Let unity be your motto , moral agitation your only weapon , and you may rest assured victory will crown year efforts .
1 have the honour to be , Fellow-Countrymen , Your most obedient humble Servant , W . H . Clifton
The Northern Star, Saturday, January 8, 1842.
THE NORTHERN STAR , SATURDAY , JANUARY 8 , 1842 .
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THE WORKING PEOPLE AND THE PRIME MINISTER . This day we publish a portion of one of the most important documents ever presented to the British publicj— a document which will be read with avidity and absorbing interest by every working man in the kingdom . Labour has been to head quarters , to tell its wrongs , and to ask for a remedy ! Its statements have been attentively listened to , its representatives
courteously received , and a friendly discussion had upon the measures of relief it had te propose 3 Working men have been in conference with the Prime Minister , telling him the truth , and demanding from him , in respectful but firm language , measures which will tend to place them in their proper position : and their statements have been heard , and a more than ordinary interest manifested by those unto whom the tale of woe was told ! This is a new era in the history of English Legislation and Government .
The Deputation that waited upon Sir Robert Peel were not coolly and politely " bowed out ;" they were not received in a mere formal manner , and got rid of a 3 soon as assumed politeness would admit ; but they were met with cordiality of manner , ( and we hope we may add of feeling ); and the startling truths they told , as to the operation of our present commercial system upon the happiness and well-being of the operative community , both infant
and adnlt , made such an impression upon the mind of the Prime Minister , that he , himself , gave the Deputation introductions to others of his colleagues , that they , too , might hear from the lips of the working men in person , the statements which had so forcibly arrested his own attention . No greater proof than thi 3 could be offered of the interest excited in the head of the Government by this mission of working men .
And not less has been the interest excited amongst all classes of society by the publication of the Rjport of this important interview . It has appeared in the columns of a great portion of the newspaper pres 5 . Nearly all hare noticed it , either in one shape or other . The Times has had thhee " Leaders" devoted to its consideration , in the course of waich it has brought forward into more particular notice , the more important points of the very important conversation . The Standard and Morning Post , too , we hear have also commented on the document , and so has the Morning Advertiser . Their articles
we have not seen ; bui understand they are like those of the Times , exceedingly favourable to the pnrposes and object of the Deputation . The Cltronide has not ye * appeared openly against the document ; that is , it hs . 3 not jet either attacked ( in its " leading" columns , ) the members of the deputation personally , or even defended those principles of political economy which the deputation have impugned and assailed , and which principles are the Chronicle's stock-in-trade . Sir John Easthope has net yet openly " come ou ^ of his shell f bat he lias written a letter to the
member 3 of the deputation , and inserted it in his Chronicle , where it appears without date or address , other than the assumed signature , "A Working Man . " Sir John attempts to make it appear that the mterriew with the Premier was " a farce , " and respresents that the whole thing was got up for" dramatic effect" ! This will sot do , Sir John . ' Thiswillnot answer your purpose ! You must meet and upset the positions taken by the Deputation , ere you take awiy from the " effect" produced by the interview
and statements . Meet them , man ! " You caa easily prove the Deputation to be ignoramuses . " Do so ; but do it openly , Sir John ! Do not assume to he that which yoa never was— " a working man . " You have no conception of the character , Sir John : you cannot play it . The " dramatic effect" is wanting . You betray your ignorance , Sir John . Give it up , or do your business openly , and . in your own character ; that of a defender and apologist of the most horrible and cruel system of human slavery that ever existed .
The " effect , " however , of that Report upon those who plead so earnestly for another " extension" of our commerce , for the purpose of filling the money bags of the " great" masters yet more fully , is prodigiously disheartenicg . Whether it he " dramatic " or not , we leave Sir John Easthope to determine ; but , that it has not put them in very good humour , is evidenced by the followingestrange production , addressed : — -
TO THE EDITOB OF THE STJN . Sir , —After the amusing description which has been given of the interview of the Ten Hours' Deputation with the Minister , it remains only to anticipate the time when the manufacturing capitalists shall present themselves to . the Grand Vizier of the hour , with a corresponding request to have the evils of the agricultural management looked into , and repressed by the strong fingers of the law .
When this time comes , how pathetic will the remonstrants be , on the evils physical and moral , which always arise from agriculture where the manufacturing interest has not a controller on the spot . To say nothing of the toils of harvestwomen , and the total absence of care for the fingers of female and infant weeders when the thermometer is below 40 , the moral view alone will be terrible and sad . Our popular poetry is full of little but the moral dangers inse-
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parable from the encouragement of an agricultural population . The bush , the . brako , the " rigs o * barley , " and the " rushes green , " have each their several temptations , leading all one way , and calling for pensive reflection on the legislator and the parish officer . _ Shall there be no balm for this , while an active superintendence on the part of a moral and religious manufacturing public might do so much to prevent the apprehended evils ? Why cot appoint an inspector of hay-fieldsT Dp the landlords properly box off all dangerous places ? Are these matters to be left to adjust themselves ; or ought the law to interfere to ensure the doing rig . it 1 The requirementsof humanity imperatively demand it .
The landlords may find out some time , that it is just as easy for one set of men to plague and vilify another , as was the converse . _ Of course it will be understood , that if the question has been treated here with levity , it was in the full persuasion that what is called the Ten Hours' question , after making the needful reservations for well-meaning blunder , is a fraud directed to the preservation of the evils it pretends to remedy , and by the active operation and encouragement of those who made and maintain the evils for the sake of their own personal and dishonest gain . Yours very sincerely , T . Perbonet Thompson . Blaxskheath , Jan . 3 , 1842 .
The " effect" must have been very galling upon the party with whom Colonel Thompson fraternizes to have drawn from Aim , —a generally goodtempered and quaintly humourous man , —such a piece of petty malignant spite and gratuitous insult as the above ! Yes , petty malignant spite and gratuitous insult ! The letter contains these , and nothing else ! The fling at the landed interest , which nothing but spiteful malignity could have prompted , is petty and paltry enough , God knows bat the insult heaped upon the manufacturing operatives by the Colonel is not so easily got rid of .
The operatives engaged in factory labour have felt the woeful blasting effects of the factory system upon their household comforts and domestic happiness . They have had to submit to the power of iron and steel , which has dragged their infant children from their poor resting place , and demanded their close and constant attendance for eighteen hours together , with only thirty minutes intermission for rest , meals , education , and recreation J They have seen their little ones murdered before their vary faces : and , because they have complained of this ; because they have demanded protection
for the infant ; because they have asked for a curb to be placed upon the power which works such murderous effeots ; Colonel Thompson , of all men in the world , insults them by representing that they have no more to complain of than the agricultural labourer , the " harvest women , " and "female and infant weeders" ! He represents their effortsi as a " wellmeaning blunder , " and " a fraud directed to the preservation of the evils they pretend to remedy ? ' !!! The operatives know that their tender offspring have to attend upon the machinery of the factorymaster for twelve or fourteen hours , in an atmosphere artificially heated to seventy , eighty , ninety , and even ninety-four degrees , when the
thermometer in the open air stands at twenty-five ; they know that this Is destructive to the health of the strongest-formed men brought within its influence ; they know that their children have , by its means , become " weakly , emaciated , stunted in their growth , dull , sluggish , and diseased ; " and yet Colonel Thompson represents that they have no more cause of complaint than " female and infant weeders" who follow their occupation in the open air , " when the thermometer is below forty" ! He represents their efforts to obtain a modicum of protection for their children , as the efforts of one set of men determined "to plague and villify another" set of men , the millowners ! The insult is grosslv outrageous !
" The Ten-Hours question is a fraud directed to the preservation of the evils it pretends to remedy . " So says Colonel Thompson ! He only says so , however . He does not condescend to show how the enacting of a law prohibiting the working of any child between the ages of thirteen and twenty-one more than tea hours per day , with two hours . for meals , will " preserve the evil" of working him eighteen hours with only thirty minutes intermission , which was the evil complained of . He does not show how the bringing out of the mills , the daughters and wives of tho working people , and sending their
brothers , and sons , and husbands to supply their places , instead of their walking the streets workless and penniless as they do now ; he does not show how the doing of this would "preserve the evil " complained of . He does not show how the keeping of the wives of the working men at home , to attend to their domestic cares and duties ; to keep the poor man ' s home cleanly , and prepare his food , and mend his clothing , and nurse his children ; he docs not show how the accomplishment of this " would preserve the evil" complained of , which evil is that the man has to do the duties at home , while the wife works . in the factory for his
support . He does not show how the keepiDg of the daughters of the poor at home with their mothers , to learn how to make a pudding and broil a steak ; to learn how to make a shirt , and knit a stocking ; to learn how to bake and boil , aud menu , and darn ; the Colonel does not condescend to show how the accomplishment of all these things would " preserve the evils"complained of ; and all these things , and many more , are involved iu that "Ten-Hours' Question" which the Colosel designates as " a well-meaning blunder" and " a fraud directed to the preservation of the evils it pretends to remedy" !! !
The fact is , the " Free Trade Party , " as they call themselves , are 6 tung to the quick , at the exposure of the hollow sophistries and baseless " principles" upon which they hare built their superstructure of fraud and deceit , in the hope of " gulling the natives" into another " extension" of that system which has given " millions" to a few , and taken comfort and plenty from the many ! They are mad with rage at the fact , that the working people have detached themselves from the car of Ma lthusianis m to which they were chained by the Whigs , and have set vp business on their own account ; sending , of themselves , to the Prime Minister iu person to detail
their wrongs and grievances , and to set forth their requirements , as a distinct party in the state , LABOUR never before could get to head-quarters , only when capital chose to let it . Now it has been there personally and by itself . Is there nothing in this ? Do not the " great" masters see , in this proceeding , tho prostration of all hope of their being able to deceive the Minister , or humbug the people ? Their power to do these things is gone ! Well may they rage and rave ! and well may the cautious and prudently-calculating Colonel Thompson forget himself , and heap insult upon the heads of those who have disappointed a faction ' s hopes !
la keeping with the Colonel s pitiful spleen are the malignant lies of the Weekly Dispatch , That " friend of the poor , " whose knowledge is so extensive that he stands in need of no information , gravely informs the public that " the Deputation included the President of the Executive Secret Council of the Chartist National Association , and another noted Chartist orator . " No matter that the Editor knew there never was any such body in existence , as the " Executive Seeret Council of the Chartist Association ; " no matter that the Editor knew that Mr . John Leech , of Hudderefield , was not Mr . James Leach , of Manchester , the latter of whom is
the President of the "Executive Committee of the National Charter Association , " ( with no secrecy ) ; no matter that the Editor of the Dispatch knew these things ; he knew also that the " effect" of the Report of the Deputation would not be to serve the interests of the cia ? s whose prejudices he panders to ; he knew that the statements and arguments used by the Deputation were irrefutable ; he knew that nothing but enormous lying , which would stir up the class and party prejudices of the upper and trading classes against the Deputation personally , could avail him ; he knew the worth of the bugbear , Chartum , amongst these
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classes ; he knew that lies were wanted to conjure up his man of straw ; so he told lies , and created a President of a body that never had existence , for the purpose of representing him as composing one of the Deputation ! 6 ! ^ Free Trade" ! to what despicable shifts art thou reduced ! Thei veracious Dispatch ^ who is so very knowing as to know everything , informs the ^ world —• " That theT Ten Hours' Committee was set upon its legs by one of Sir Robert Peel ' s own c ? blle » guesj who went to Leeds with lots of gold ; after the General Election was over , to get up a counter agitation to the Manchester Corn Law moveinent ; and to cause the manufacturing system to be vilified and misrepresented by bribed hackney spbuters . " •; . ;; - ; : ¦ ¦ , '¦' -- ¦ :,- ' :- / ;'' .. - ¦' ¦ :
"The Ten Hours , ' Committee ; ' » the "knowingone " does not know that there is a Short Time Committee in every town in the manufacturing district , both in Yorkshire and Lancashire 1 " The Committee was set on its legs by one of Sir Robert Peek ' s own colleagues , who went to Leedsi with lots of gold . " Which of Sir Robert ' s colleagues was it Mr . Wisdom ? Lord Ashlet is the man pointed at * who did visit Leeds j after the election , to inform * the Committee that he should still persevere in his efforts to obtain fromi Parliament a measure of justice for the infantile labourer in the factories , notwithstanding the altered position of parties , which
altered poBiticn the patrons of the Weejcfy Dkpatch had predicted would alter him ; and yet Mr . Wisdom does hot even know that Lord Ashley is not a ooUeagHe of Sir Robert Peel !¦—nay , he does not know , what all the world knows besides , that Lord Ashley refused office under Sir Robert Peel , because that Minister had not made up his mind on the question of the " Ten Hours ' Bill" 1 Verijy , Mri Wisdom , your " knowings" are very extensive ! But the " Ten Hours' Committee was then set upon its Iegs . ' The Leeds Ten Hours' Committee has been in existence ten years ! Really , Mr . Wiseman , the " world is ignorant !"
As for the "lots of gold , " all we have to say iSj we hope the " Ten Hours' Committee" got them . ; They ., wilf ' need ^ tM ' ia \ i ^; Thevopponent ' 'is rich and powerful—his length of purse is Buch , that it can manage to get the Weekly Dispatch on its side . Monopoly is a bad thing , says ^ the Dispatch . ? Don't let it want to have all the "lots of gold to itself . ' The Short Time Committees have as much right to be " bribed" as he has .: Leaving the press for the present , let us once more revert to the interview with Sir Robert Peel . The
Deputation spoke with a truthful boldness which makes the whole Report of their conversation interesting in the highest degree . No doubt every one of our readers will peruse the entire document , as far as we give it this week ; but we cannot forbear from quoting the solemn appeal made by these working men to the Prime Minister of England : — " Youi Sir Robert / ' said they , " are now placed in the most important and commanding position of any individual in Europe , perhaps in the world ; At the head of a strong Government , with a powerful majority in the Commons , and an influential portion of
the population thinking with you ; unfettered as you declare yourself to be , save by your own convictions of what is right and useful ; the resources of an empire on which the sun is said sever to set—an empire unparalleled in its natural and ai tificial appliances—at your command , and a population whose enterprise , industry , and genius is proverbial , looking up to you ; a grave , an awful responsibility rests uponyou , Sir Robert j The means for producing national well being are superabundant ; the population is but limited . Broad and comprehensive views , vigorous and decided action , axe all called for by the exigencies of the times , and we earnestly hope that such will mark your course . "
This is not the language of sycophancy or of prostitution . It is the honest but eloquent appeal of labour to power ! May it be responded to as it deserves ! . ! ' ¦ ¦ ¦ ' . , '¦'¦ : Iu the second portion of the Report , which details the Interview the Deputation had with Sir James Graham , the reader will perceive that the " question of the land" is fairly set before the Government , as a remedial measure for the manifold evils we endure and are still further threatened with . Theendof the present system , whether we " extend" it or restrict it , without giving a new
^ direction the energies of our population , is there truthfully depicted ; and an awful and sorry end it is ! Government , however , have now the truth before them . If they dare to act on it , and fairly grapple with the difficulties , the nation is saved I If the Prime Minister has not moral courage to do this ; if he adopt a faltering temporising policy ; he submits his own judgment to the cautious and tardy movements aud desires of others ; if he be not fully prepared to take the bull by the horns , and fling him , his Cabinet will speedily go to smash ! and he himself sink below the level of tho would-be-states
man . Time will speedily decide ! The battle will shortly commence . On prudent energyaud firm determination the Minister ' s existence depends : but , whatever may be his fate , the cause of tho people is suro They stand aloof from the " rioh oppressor , " ai > d persevcringly and successfully prosecute their suit , as the " poor oppressed , " in the court of public opinion . Neither bribes , nor threats , nor
vilification , nor calumny , nor intimidation can turn them from their course . 1 Their motto ia , " O ^ yard , and we conquer ; backward , and we fall" The cause of the people is safe I whatever becomes of the Minister Cabinets may smash ; Parliaments may be broken up ; Governmental difficulties may increase and abound : they do so because they are not prepared to do justice ! The Minister who dares to do this will be the Minister of the people , and will stand : all others must fall !
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WAGES OF LABOUR AND " EXTENSIONS " OF COMMERCE . The great demand upon our space this week by the Report of the Short Time Committee ' s Deputation , and tho . proceedings at several meetings , and of the Scottish Delegates , will prevent U 3 from giving , in the present paper , the observations we promised oa the last mooted infernal " scheme" of the " great "' Cotton Masters of Lancashire , to get rid of the poor unfortunates they have inveigled and trepanned from the agricultural districts ,
now that they have no further use for them . Those observations will keep , however ; and though we are prevented Just now from giving them , the world shall know the nature and sincerity of that " sympathy" with the operatives which the " great " masters nowpretend so feelingly to entertain . Their scheming , both to get the agricultural labourers here into the manufacturing districts , and to get them back again now that they are worked to death , shall be laid bare ! 0 ! yes ! we will know the value of their " sympathy" !
Meanwhile , we caiUHot but congratulate the country upon " the fix" in which the " great" masters are placed . The gauntlet has been fairly thrown down to them ; they have been challenged to show that former " extensions" of commerce have had the effect of adding to the wagea of labour and the profits of the master ; they have been fairly told that if they will but do this , the working people will join them in demanding another " extension ; " and they have also been told that if they fail to do this , the working people will still continue to stand aloof from "the extension of foreign , trade agitation , " and go on in their own way , on
their own account , and for their own object the " great" masters have been invited to a fair encounter ; and they shrink from the ceytest I Not one of their organs or advocates have dared to answer or notice the questions we have recently put to them . Neither the Chronicle , ¦/¦ nor the Sun , nor the Globs , nor the Manchester Guardian , nor the Leeds Mercury , have dared to accept the challenge we have ^ iven them . Nor ha 3 Mr . Cobden or Mr . Plint dared to attempt to shew that our * 'extended " commerce and improved machinery have added to the comforts of the cottage and the till of the shopkeeper . Nor have they even ventured to attempt to shew that they have not isJcehfrom both . They dare not
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thus attempt ! They will shirk the questions" we have raised , and affectto treat them with contempt This , however , will not do ! Those questions must be inet , and satisfactorily answered ; or the working people wUl never join the " great ? masters for " Corn Law Repeal , ' as a means of further ** extending" commerce : and the " great" masters are powerless for this purpose until the working people do join them 1 ;>¦;;; , . " ¦ ' ¦ ., - : " .: }; ' : ' . ' : ¦ ¦ _ ' . ' . ¦ ¦>¦ ¦ . ' ;;¦ v -
We have before dared the great" masters to open their ledgers , and tell us the exact amoiints they have paid as wages for the same description Of work , every year from' 1810 to 1842 . We again dare them to do this , and we tell them they will have to do it I The nation mast fathom this thing . We must know all about it . No measures can be safely taken until we have this information . We must know accurately what ; the past effjots of our " commerce" have been , with all its extensions , " before we can judge what is likely to accrue from future and further " extensions . " The informatipn must be had !
Tho' the " great" masters dare not , voluntarily * give this information , the working people dare ! The reason for this conduct on the part of both master and workman , is obvious ! It is the interest of the one that the truth should be concealed ; it is the interest of the other that it be blazoned forth Accordingly the operatives are at work in all parts of the kingdom , preparing the tables of wages we have asked for . To those who have written , apprising as that they are so engaged , we beg to tender our best thanks , accompanied again by the request that they will take care to be very exact . ; Be sure of every thing you set down ; and then we will def y the devil , with all the " great" masters to boot , to upsat our positions .
Perhaps we cannot do better than close this short article with two specimens of the "honour" and honesty " of the " great" inastera in the woollen and worsted districts . ; These personages make " great" pretensions to these two qualities : let us teat them . ' ' : . ; ¦ . ¦ ¦ , '¦ V : : ¦' ¦ ¦¦' "• '' , ; - ' . : ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ The woollen merchants , then , we boldly aver , are so "honourable" and bo "honest , " that they do not pay a single penny for the ' finishing" of their cloths ! They cheat out of the clothier the finisher and the puchaser more than pays for the entire cost of dressing ! Here ia the operation .
It is well known , now , that none bat " great " masters have any chance in the market . Those of small capital are done up ! There are none left now but a few of the " great" onesj who are known to be " great : " that is , they are known to possess " immense capital . " These go , then , say into the Leeds or Huddersfield Cloth Halls , amongst the clothiers who have their " baulks" there for sale : that is , cloths in an unfinished state , —just as they have left the weaver , and scourer , and fuller . The clothiers who attend these Halls are men of small means ; men who reside in the country villages so thickly studded throughout the West Riding of
Yorkshire , and who are just able to make one or two pieces , and bring them to market for sale But they must sell . The small capital they have , and the other pressings of the system , render it necessary that their money should be turned over . The man with the purse knows this . He shakes th « purse in the poor clothier ' s face , when he bids him a price for his cloth . The clothier is at his mercy . Hemuslsell ; he is forced to do bo in many instances , at less than prime oost : and , in almost all instances , at a sacrifice of the greater portion of the profits his class used toget . The consequence is ' , that the race of clothiers is rapidly declining—the little master sinking into the rank of journeyman
weaver . Next follows another " process . " The clothier , when the price is agreed on , takes his pieces to the " measurer-in '' for the " great" master . This is generally an important , fussy , sta , nd-out-of-way person , age . He kuows what he has todo . He has to cheat in the measurement ! He will do this , to the extent of two yards in each piece , spite of all the clothier
can dp . In vain the clothier measures it fairly before his face . The measurer " can make it into nomore " The clothier is forced to submit to the robbery , or take his piece back again . But he must have money He cannot eat his cloth He is compelled to accede to the measurement of the " measurer-in , " though he well , knows that if he had to go , the'hext hour , to purchasei the piece back again , the " measuring out" would be quite different !
Those two yards , thus cheated , robbed , from the poor clothier , will iu most instances , pay for the after dressing ! But the cheating does not end here . In the course of the dressing the cloths have to be " tentered , " after they are " wetted" and " raised . " These " tenters" are formed of long horizontal bars fixed upon upright posts , and made of wood or iron . The bars are filled with hooks , on which the cloth is hung by the "lists . " The uppermost bar is generally a fixture to the top of the upright posts ; and the lower bar , in short lengths , with joints something like those of a turnup bedstead , is formed so as to slide a certain distance in ' - slots" made in the upright post . This is done to accommodate the " tenter" to the different
widths of the cloths , and to stretch them to their proper width when affixed to the hooka . When " master croppers" wero more rife than even factories now are , these "tenters" might be seen occupying the fields around their houses in almost every direction : for then the "drying" was nearly all done in tho open air . Noiv , however , these have nearly disappeared ^ along with tho " mastercropper " himself ; and the " drying" is mainly done in the " stoves , " or " dry-houses , " attached to each factory . This prevents the process we are now desscribing from being seen , as it would be , were the
" tenters in the open air , as formerly . When the " piece , " then , goes to ba " teutered , '' it is first affixed by the " yead-hend" ( head-end ) to the topmost , or endmost post , but not to the bars , other than loosely , on some slight pieces of wood that turn down from the posts to keep the cloth from the ground . When thus hanging loosely in front of the tenter , the mon all get to the " hiaderend '? of the " piece , " arid pull it to the length required . Now , this is a hard task ; and a rope and pair of blocks ( sometimes with three sheaves ) are provided , to enable the men to stretch the cloth to the " extent " required . Formerly the manufacturer or merchant was prohibited by Act of ParliameBt from stretching his piece of cloth more than a yard beyond the
length stamped upon it m the "baulk" by the supervisor ; for the stretching it beyond this point injures the texture of the fabric . Now , however , that law has become hitched off ; and the pieces are 6 tretched two , three , four , and five yards longer than they measured when in the "baulk" ! The length thus obtained will more than again pay for the whole process of " finishing , " including the hew schemes of "boiling" and " steaming , " resorted to , to make coarse wool into fine . All this is to the manifest injury of the consumer . Tho texturie is injured by the " tentering ; " and what is left shprt by that process is finished by the '" boili ing" and " steaming ; " for after the cloth has undergone these several processes , it is more rotten than it used to be after many years' wear !
And the men who thus systematically bob and cheat , are "honest" and " honourable '' Quite " respectable ! " And they want to repeal the Cora Laws solely to ensure the operatives' " cheap foodi high wa ^ es , and plenty to do . " | No doubt they do ! Had they not better give upcheating the Clothier , and thus allow Aim to have a modicum of wages , before they make such" great" pretensions about the interests of the operatives ? " ^ * Now , then , for the Stuff Trade . "Honest" and " honourable" aad" respectable" men are erigaged iu this department too . The following is a sample of their practices .
The standard length of a Stuff Piece is twentyeight yards . It is so posted up in many places in Bradford Stuff Piece Hall . No manufacturer has
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any right to make ft piece one yard longer / If he does , he infringes upon an , established rule of the trade . The Stuff manufacturerB , almost universally , Bet this principle at nought ! They are too " honest" to be bound by rule I They make their pieces from 36 to 39 yards long ! And they do not pay one single penny more to the weaver for weaving the ^ 9 yardathan they paid ' .-for ^ the 28 !!! They do not pay one single penny more to the printer , or dyer , or finisher : ! And when they send them into " our foreign markets , " they send them .
and pay duty for them , as though they were of the ; standard JeBgth , 28 ; yards I !!! JPheir *? ifioaour" and * honestj" firBt teacheB them to rob the weaver and dyer at home ; and then to defraud the foreigner abroad , to keep ^ and ' extend" whoso custom we are to tain the Britishi farmer and agri-Cultural labourer ! " Honest" men ! give over robbing and cheating before you ask the working people to ** extend" your " commercial system" ! " Honourable and respectable" men ! a Repeal of the Corn Laws to enable you still further to cheat md rob would be of infiute service ; would it not 'Don't you wish you may get it" ! !
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Again have the public been most grossly insulted by the new Whig official , who stems determined to eclipse even the old woman who sat in the civic chaii last year . A requfsitioa , signed by six members of the Town Council—the body who elected Mm to be the wearer of the " gold chain" —and signed , too , by not less than fifty borough voters , and by more than , a hundred manicipal yoters , was presented to him last week , asking him to call a public meeting to consider the propriety of memorialising her Majesty for a free pardon for Frosty Williams , and Jones . The parties who presented the requisition , so signed , to his worship , were also instructed
to ask him , if he felt the least hesitation about calling the meeting , to grant the reqaisitors the use of the Court-Honso , and they would convene the meeting themselves . But no I Both these requests were refused ! His _ worship " could not recognise any other party in the town than Whigs and Tories . " 'Tis true . That was his reason ! Fit man to be a Mayor ! Well : the parties whom he had thus grossly insulted learned that a public meeting was to be holdea in the Music Hall on Tuesday evening last , at which it was announaed the Mayor was to take the chair . Many people were curious to see what sort of a thing it ( the Mayor ) was ; and so determined to go ! But no time was fixed for the meeting . The Bills calling
it duly set forth , that it was under the auspices of the "Society for the Extinction of the Slaye Trade f and they also pompously announced thai '• 'Prince Albert" was "Patron and President : " but they announced no time for the meeting to commence ! No matter ; the time was learned ; and , though the doors were opened so early as five o'clock , and though all means had betn used to get together a meeting of the Mawworm , Cantwell , and Praise-God-bare-bones sort , yet when the business was proceeded with at half-past five , it was found that more than three-fourths of the meeting were of that party which the Mayor had refused to recognise ! . / ' :: ' . - ---- -:- ¦'"• . ¦ - ¦>¦ _"¦ ¦ ¦ . " ' , ' ! :. , ' - .
, Alderman Tottie moved that the Mayor should take the chair , which was seconded by a broad-cloth gentleman near him ; and the Mayor was proceeding to seat himself without a vote . He stopped short , however , when he heard a deep sonorous voice in the body of the Hall moving , " as an amendment , that Mr . William Brook should preside . " This was duly and promptly seconded and put to the meeting , when it wa 3 carried unanimously , not a single hand being held up against it > The Mayor and his few friendsy ^ a ^ ter Alderman Tottie had sillily enough bawled but "this meeting is dissolved ! " precipitately rushed from the platform
at the very moment Mr . Brook took his seat in the chair ! A number of policemen were in attendance at the meeting ; and Alderman ' Captain" Tottib was so frightened , that he took a number of them , away tp guard him home ! When the Mayor and his friends had departed , Mr . Brook opened the business of the meeting , and introduced Mr . Jones ,: and several other gentlemen to addres 3 it , and move the resolutions . A real good Chartist meeting was thus had . The rooavwa 3 more than ordinarily lighted . The glassichandeliera were filled with wax . candles ; and these , in addition to the gas-liehts , gave the splendid room a very elegant
appearance . A memorial to the Queen for the free pardon of Frost , Williams , and Jones , was unanimously passed ; and several resolutions were also passed , as will be seen from an advertisement inserted in an « other part of sur paper .
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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 areasked , thatt / iey may know for what they are signing . He is ready to supply them to the Associations and to individuals at the following charges : —\ 00 copies for 2 s ; 1 , 000 for 15 s . Petition sheets , of good strong paper , ruled in fonr columns , and " holding two hundred names ' when Jilled , may also be had , price 2 d . each . The Petition and sheets may also be had from Mr . Cleave , London ; Messrs . Palon and Love , Glasgow ; and 'Mri . Hey wood , Manchester . Hut in all cases , the money must be sent inad' vance—the price being so low as to preclude credit . ; ¦ ' . ' : ¦ .-
Brief Roles for the Government of all wHe write for Newspapers . —Write legibly . Make ¦ as few erasures and interlineations as possible In writing names of persons and places be more particular than usual to make every letter distinct and clear—also in using words not English . Write only ou one side of the paper . Employ no abbreviations whatever , but write out every tcofd in full . Address communications not to any particular person , bin to "The Editor . " ¦ Finally , when you sit down to writer don 1 be in a hurry . Consider that hurried writing makes slow printing . /; ; \ The Poets . —Our poetical friends have been as usual
exceedingly bounteous : we have so large a stock of poetry and : apologies for . poetry on hand , and our friends supply us constantly so liberally , that we shall not henceforth particularly notice this department iri our . , ¦¦ " Notices to Correspondents . " We shall select from the mass gent us as much as we have room for , ivith as much impartiality [ as possible .. Accepted pieces Kill , therefore , be known by their appearance in the paper . ; and authors whose communications do not appear will not , therefore , conclude that they are rejected because of demerit , as it would'beimpos ' sible for us to find room for half of even . the readable poetry that comes to us . 2 i . A . —The landlord can distrain for twelve months *
if so much be due i but not for more than xs due . More Chartist Blacking . —If the patriotic effort of Mr . Pinder to raise a fund for the Executive , withouttakinganything ( jfdmanyone , havedone nothing else , it has arbuied ' a . spirit of competition among blacking manufacturers , which may ¦ - beturned to good account if . the people require it . Mr . Wm , Brelsford , of Qurh / ey , now offers a like means for raisinga fundfortheConvention He offers to give threel ^ fpenct : out ¦ oj every shilling of his receipts to tfte Conventionfundt and to pay carriage to any part of Lancdshire on orders of \ tis . value , accompanied by Cash . ;
William W . Tipping , Kinglet . — We cannot insert his communication : the la&vexs would call it a - libel . - ¦ : ¦; . . ¦ ¦ . ¦ . "J ; ; " - ;; . ^ - "Vy .- ^\ ; .. . _; ¦ Henry Bates . —We believe the HWdersfield Poor Law Guardians vieet at their Boafad-room , Btix ton-road , every Friday . J A ^ ThadpECs ^ Cavbeukv , of Ballaghadermit ^ Ir eland , sends us the following note , which wepub&h : — . ¦ : " Ballaghadernine , Jan > 2 , 1 ^ 3 ,. My Dear Sir , —Owing to a matter which I am sqsy : I cannot publish , I am obliged to tell my friendsmy generous friends of Britain , that I must decline their correspondence , as also all communication with them in fatnref .
am , youTS , 7 ¦ '¦ -., ¦ ¦ : "THADDEUS CAFFERKYy " A ^^^ PoorMx ^ BRi&TOL ^ George Julian Hdriz ey has received the twelve postage stamps—will the donor be pleased to say whether they are for Holberry oniy \ or for Holberry and others ? . George Julian Harney has received 3 s ; 6 « - from the Nottingham Chartists assembling at the King ' - . George on Horsebackifor Mrs . Elizabeth Taylor . The money has been handed to Mrs . iT ., vho returns thanks . ; ; ¦; " ¦ ¦ . ; . ¦ ' : . ¦ : ¦¦ . - ¦; - ; . "'¦ ; - John Crowther . -- We have no room . ; Henry ^ : Johnson , is a fool , and something more . P * ' is rightly served . ' ; ; " . i „' letter
M »; Skevington- —Wehave not room for the intended for the Commonwealthsman . The Newton Class , Bishop WEARMouiH . r-p / ' Jcnowledgement by Mr * Campbell of the receipt oj the 10 s . is light enough . . ^ J . }\ . —The nominations of many localities for ins General Council have already appeared ; others will be published as fast as we receive them- M reference to the other point of his enquiry , believeihQ usagesto befin-their ' functions to cease instantef ; but we fear the general organisation is not generally wdl carried out . , •; G . M . BARTLErr—His letter has beenrecewed , ana shad' k-forwardedthefirst ' opportunity .. ,. ^ . ;; ;
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A . -.. " - , TH : E ^ () ; R ^ ftit ^ . 8 ^ . ^ ,. \ - ¦ ;; - : ; - ; : ; ; : ^ -- : \ :-2 l ^^ : C' ^~ : '" ^ M ^
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TO THE PEOPLE OF IREL . i ^ D . FEixcTS' -CotrxTEYiiEjf , —In my recent Ieuer 3 to the Lord Major of Dublin , I pointed out the necassty of a union betwixt yen and the Chartists of Great Britain , and answered objections which were raised against that body , both morally and physicaiiy . I have also shewn that the prejudices of country and sect are passing aivay and stated that Englishmen TTcre worthy of yonr confidence and desirous to become your friends ; and whilst I thus stated my opinions , 1 most anxiously wished you would be led to think r . nd inquire for yourselves , and shake &fi thai confidiug credulity which has ever been your greatest political fault , and with your own senses fciasine calmly , reasonably , and dispassionately yo ^ r present position in the field of political strife .
I will , now , with your permission , clearly prove the fallacy of those objections and prejudices , which csuse yc-a to stand aloof frcra the stra ^ i - 'le in vriich tha people of England , Scotland , and Wales ,- ere now engaged , and which they are so nobly sustaining , not only fo ? their ov ? n ' sake but for yours . I am well aware that it is not in the nature of Irishmen to be either pusillanimous , or ungrateful , and tha : is is for vr&nt of a proper , knowledge , of-the principles of tie Charter , and an acqnaintance vrith the character of the people of England , thit you hesitate to join in the contest . Kaoiv , tb ^ n , my fellow ccuntryraen , that tbe P-. i : pIe ' f Charter con ; ai 3 S nothing that is illegal or cjjuFt . It seeks for toihing save that natural and poijtical libertv , which every sulject cf these kicgtlonis onght to possess , aid " to which he is constitutionally entitled . It ai ^ is to redress 'h- ^ se grievances and remove those burthens ¦ which overwhelm
the iranafactariDg and commercial interests of the -country , asd to give the people a voice ia the rcat :: > £ of ihe laws -srhich govern them . It seeks for Ireland ' s rights as veil as England's rifhts ,- and it is Ireland ' s c ^ use as much ss it is England ' s ; for do ecu be deceived , a repeal of ihe Legislative Union ' . roiild not be worth accepting , unless yea were in possession of Universal Suffrr- ^ e . I have every reason to believe that 1 > j far the greater number of the people of Ireland Icok forrrard to a " Rej ^ al of the Union , " as tie eiid < -f Jheir political sufferings . In this they will sssir .--dly £ nd iheraslves disappointed ; ihey should rather lock to it a = a meaBS to an ead , for , unless tie Charter bccoine the la ^ of the land , they will oaly have teneSited themselves by briDging their tyrants nearer home , to -vvitneso the abuses which existed heretofore amongst them . But suppose a ** Reon ! of the Union" tt « uld confer all the bsnefus
« id blessings which you . so fondiy anticipate . I ask , why 3 Je jou so inactive ? Why do you not bestir yoorselres to obtain it ? You atswer , " So we do , " —** we have a Repeal Association "—we have meetings—we have oar cards—and we have a : our head the Lord Major of Dublin , who promised to obtain it for us / ' —When ! " When the young Princs of Wales becomes Tiea Roy of Ireland ! " But suc-pose lus iitila Highness thouid never condescend to visit you , when , then , are you to pet it ? Kas noc the Liberator'" told yon 1 Oh , no I the cunning fox ; he is too wise io do so ; bnt he lias not forgot to tell yoa that Cnartlsm is synonymous with vli-lcaee and 5 n £ deiitT , and that the people of England are your natural and herecitsjy enemies . Now , I am as
much an Irishman as his Lordship , and as much , of a pitriot as to feel the necessity of your adopting a more speedy a-d certain method to ' coiaia yeur politicaire £ eneritioa , tri 2 . n the " torio ! st ;" -r ; ke course you are ^ now pursuing ; and yet , I unhesitatingly ^ y , - % ueh asssrtiono are false and unfounded . I Ka , ve already , in my letters to his Lordship , refuted the charges of infidelity and violence , and % v . ll ncushow ihsz Englishmen are not your enemies ,. and that the prejudices which have long existed are cot to be traced to the people cf England , but to an interested portion of theni . I know you have many reasons for believing thai the English are opposed to jour interests ; but , were jou to reflect , that iu so opposing jou they wocJd only increase thsir om ooricens
, you would at onc « admit , theyvrooldnot . for the : r own interest sake , coniinue ir . The fact i ? , ' the aristocracy and class interests are that poriion of the English , who not oLly oppese yoa but their <» unferymen . Those are thev who first insinuated themselves into the green fields of Ireland , and who afterwards deluged them with the blood of her children ; those are they who hold all ofiice 3 of trust and power , and monopolise the resources of the eonntry , aud who , like locusts , devour the" fruits of your industry , and compel you to drag out a wretched existence in want and misery ; those are the leeches who sack the life ' s blood from ihe hearts of the ¦ wretched widow and the famishing orphans—who drink felicity from the fountain of a nation's misery , and who build up their fortunes onthe ruins of sociil isDpiaess .
They have always known that you possessed an nnboonded love of liberty , and therefore they used stratagem as well as force to suppress and curb year independent epirii ; they raughs their dependents to believe that Irishmen were little be ' . ter than savages , and thus the people of Eagfeiid were im-J > osed on by thoss vile and contemptible wretcbti tvhe iTifaiked in yonr blood , and made a icercbaadifsof your country ^ liberty . . Yes , my conwrymen , it wis the ar . ei ^ ciaov who first sowed the ^ eeds of slavery and oppression
The Leeds Mayor And The Leeds Chahtists.
THE LEEDS MAYOR AND THE LEEDS CHAHTISTS .
Sto 2&*A&Evg Autr ®Ovve0#?Vftetit&.
STo 2 & * a&evg autr ® ovve 0 # ? vftetit& .
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Jan. 8, 1842, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct736/page/4/
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