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THE SOETHEEN STAE SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 1842.
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Co 9^eanet0 anft CotrtriwspotttJtcttts
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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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SCHEMES OF RELIEF-UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE—RICH AND POOR . "We are on tie ere of £ reat changes . The present system is iTorn out , and must give way , Every reaswung man admits this . Agfc any one whose station or experience gives him ths means of knowing what is going on in society , and he will tell you that the present order of things cannot continue . At the same t ime , while all agree that great changes mast z&ke place , there is no limit to conjectures as to what those changes are to be , and still less are people Mjeed on what they ought to be . Every Statesman " has his own pocket code , and every political quack nas his tiwn favourite nostrum . One man is for "Equitable Adjustment . " another for " An . ar . tinn m
ihe Currency ? a third for abolishing Tithes and Corn Xawf , a fourth for such a reduction in the government expenditure and public establishments of the country as would greatly diminish taxation , without impairing " public credit , " a fifth for the rubstitutoon of a graduated property tax , in lieu of the present anomalous and expensive system , of indirect taxation , . a sixth for grriiig xo manofaetares Jhc same artificial protection that agricnltnre derive 3 from the Corn BUI , T 32 , s tariSot protecting duties , a seventh is for the reverse of this , his motto being " a free trade , based on a free trade in corn "; an eighth is for mortgaging the poor ' s rate , and shipping off the " surplus population" to Canada or to Yan Diemen's Land : a ninth for raising a capital by
loans or the issue of Exchequer Bills , and thereby locating the poor on the waste hinds ; a tenth is ibr breaking up all monopolies , and throwing epen the trade to India , by which means we are gravely assured * that the National Debt may be paid off ia eight years , out of the surplns profits of trade ; an eleventh laughs all these to scorn , as 50 many ricketty abortions , and maintains that all schemes for ameliorating our condition must end in snoke , so long as the principle of competition governs society , —and that the only remedy ibr all evil 13 , the universal substitution , throughout
society , of the co-operative for the competitive system . A twelfth , a thirteenth , a fourteenth—and so on to the end of the chapter—are for other and Yarious remedies , differing from one another in shade and degree , according to the different views and interests of the parties , hnt almost all reducible to some modification- of composition of those already enumerated . In this Tories of opinioa , the readers of the Guardian will naturally ask what clae we would recommend to guide them oat of this labyrinth of mazes , and restore them to the region of sunshine sad safety \—Oar answer is ,
CMVERSAL SUFFRAGE ! That is the only remedy we can understand—the enly one we deem worthy &s attention of the working classes . With the solitary exception of cooperation , all the above schemes would ( unless accompanied by Universal Suffrage ) only aggrandize one class of non-producera at the expence of another , while , in the long run , they would leave the producing maxi just where they found him : and as $ 0 co-operation , we deem its application utterly impracticable under the existing laws , or under any form of government other than a government of the people . A complete revolution of manners must precede any successful attempt at general happiness : —and this revolution must , as necessarily , be preceded by an equality of right 3 , based on Universal Suffrage . The rich have no sympathy or
fellowfeeling with the poor . They never hid any , and never can have any . The history of the world proves this to be the case—and common sense ehows it must be so , without the evidence of history . A rich man is a man who enjoys hi-mtplf , while the poor man is toiling for him . From infancy he has been brought up 10 idleness and to certain artificial wants , which cannot be gratified without great toil and privation en the part of somebody . Now , as he will neither bear toil and privation himself , nor * o without his expensive luxuries , it is plain he must have somebody to toil for him . Bat how is he to accomplish this , since every one thinks it quite enough to work for his own wants ! It is plain he can effect it but in one way , and that is , by usurping the whole power of law-making , to the exclusion of ihe poor man .
By virtue of this usurpation he first establishes dominion otst ike land ; and having once obtained thi 3 , he fiuds very iiitle difficulty in extending it to the capital and productive industry of the country . Once in possession of a power over these , it needs no penetration to see that he will never let go his grip on the labours of the poor man , so long as the laws are strong enough to enforce his claim . He will give the laiter just so much of the produce of his own earnings as will keep him alive , and able to go on producing ; or , which is the Bame thing , he will continue in existence only such laws and institutions as will have thi 3 tendency . He will have laws of entail to transmit the land to his own heirs , and laws of" usury to enable the capitalist to keep adding to his capital out of the labour of those he proscribes . In short , the Iaw 3 and institutions of the rich man will have no other object in Tiew than to keep himself rich , and the poor man
poor ; or , in other words , to keep tha poor man in such a state of dependence for his daily bread , that to exist at all he most oe content to produce ten or twenty shillings' worth of luxuries f or the rich man , before he is permitted to enjoy a shilling ' s worth of necessaries for himself . This being the case , then , ( and who will gainsay it ?) how absurd to think of forming co-operative communities under the existing laws ! The object of such communities being to establish for the workman dominion over the fruits of his labour , and consequently to cut away the ground from under the feet of the upper aad middle classes , is any body fool enough to imagine that these classes would not employ their present exclusive power of law-making to extinguish the sew heresy the moment it assumed a- practical form 1 Common senEe tells us they would not permit it to exist an hour longer than the enactment of a new law , or the formal execution of the old ones , might render necessary .
The case , however , would be quite different under a Parliament radically reformed . Such a Parliament would represent the interests of the workman , as well as of those who devour him ; and as the producers are at least as numerous as ike nonproducers , every institution tending , like co-operative communities , to protect the former from the avarice and ambition of the latter , would be sure to have its due share of legal protection . Besides , what i 3 of more consequence , a new public opinion would instantly spring . out of Universal Suffrage . The workman raised to the same political level with his master , would not be longer the cringing
and timid slave he is now—and the rich man , findiag his artificial superiority gone , would be compelled to renounce the callous arrogance of aristocracy , and eon » t the friendly smile and the good will of hia new equals by courtesy and frank manners . In fact , it would be then his interest to cultivate friendship with those he now despises , for , havi ng no exclusive property in the Iaw 3 , the best security for his possessions , a 3 well as for his happiness wonld be fonnd in an affable demeanour towards hi 3 poorer fellowcitizens , and a cheerful readiness to co-operate with them in all undertakings for the promotion of public utility , or general happiness .
But as the system works now , he can have n friendly feeling towards the poor man , nor , < course , the poor man towards him . He knows 1 lives by plundering the poor man of the produce ( his toil , through the agency of the laws , which &i bet instruments of robbery in his hands ; and thj ihe poor man mu 3 t naturally hate him for this . ii justice . There can , therefore , be no community < feeling or good fellowship between them ; and tl man who would preaeh it , while at the same time 1 advocates the system , is a rank hypocrite , ot a wo in sheep ' s clothing . As well might Ulysses entertai kindly feelings towards Polyphemus , who wanted t eat him , as the English pauper to the lordly tyrani who outlaw and devour him . The poor have a rigl
to hate the rich , so long as the rich exclude them from the rights of citizenship ; and whatever Lord Brougham ' s magazine may pretend to the contrary they hare also a right to revenge themselves wheHever they can get the opportunity . It is not , however , because a man is rich that the poor ought tc hate him ( for many of the rich are excellent anc Mud-hearted men ) , but because he is an enemy ofth poor man ' s rights . Every rich man is not om enemy , and therefore every rich man ought not t < be hated ; but wherever we can distinguish betweei our friends and voluntary oppressors , we are jasti £ ed before God and man in making the latter fee our vengeance in every possible way we can read
them ; and though rivers of blood were to now the struggle , the 1 mlt conld only lie at the doors those whose agg ; essire injustice provoked it . R member , fellow-counsrymen , that to Btrip a man his rights , is to strip him of his bread—of his cloth of his ease of his comforts—of his irdependen —of his self-esteem—of the power of acquiring knoi ledge—in short , of all those qualities of mind , heai and person , which captivate "beauty and constitu the charm of existence , liberty is not a mere soui —ii is the rnt ^ -r , ^ and the only means , of happine The man , therefore , who deprives his fellow-cr « Jures of liberty , is worse than a traitor or ami derer , and as such should he be dealt with in t day of retribution .
It may be asked , what danger is there that i middle and influential classes would sanction a mi tary despotism in Englaad ! Men who ask sa questions as these know little of the state of socie themselves sincere , they fancy that sincerity in 1 Wealthier classes is tberule , and deceit the exceptii Alas ! what a delusion ! These classes subs wholly by lies . The bread they eat 13 the bread falsehood—the wine they drink , and the carrisj they roll in , are all the o 5 spring of deceit . Their 1 is a continued lie , and their language , as taui them from infancy f is that of conventional hypocri To live without work , and acquire fortunes ont of 1 labour of ofhersj is , in their minds , the gra secret aad business of life . Bronght up to artific * iMr , Buckingham ..
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wants from their cradle—wants that cannot be gratified without entailing an enormous mass of Blavery and misery on those below them , they look upon every one who would make a change in favour of the oppressed as their natural enemy . Accustomed to the cannibalism of artificial society , and finding , from history , that society has been always the same in principle , they cannot conceive any other state possible . They believe , accordingly , ( those of them who think at all on the subject , ) that men were made like wild animals , to prey upon one another , the strong on the weak—the cunning on the simple—the learned on the ignorant , &o . ; but finding , from experience , that the men preyed upon cannot be reconciled to the system by mere brute
force , they have invented ten thousand methods of bolstering it np , under the forms of law and custom , which U would take a man his whole life to find out . The priest , the soldier , the hangman , the banker , the lawyer , the exciseman—in short , all who live by the crimes and ignorance of society , are , nnder divers pretences , hired to prop it up , their salaries being the emoluments derivable from their swindling pursuits ( invented for the purpose ) , and their employers being the ruling powers of the arisiocracy , or the great state-devourers . Even the shopkeepers and master manufacturers , amounting ( with their dependants ) to more than six millions of the population , are more or less interested in the system , their business being to buy labour cheap from the poor , and sell it dear to the aristocracy ; they aie immediately dependent on the tetter for support .
Besides , taken as a body , they are the basest of society . Occupying an intermediate position between the workman and the aristocrat , employing the one and being employed by the other , they insensibly oontract the vices of both tyrant and slave : tyrants to those below them , sycophants to those above them ; and , usurers from necessity and habit , they prey on the weakness of the workman , while they extort all they can from the vanity of the aristocrat . Indeed , the middle classes are the destroyers of liberty and happiness in all countries . It is their interest ( under ihe present form of society ) that the poor should be weak , and the rich extravagant and vain ; and this being the case , the man who expects from them any real opposition to despotism from inclination , must be a fool or a madman . —Bboaterbe , in the Poor Man's Guardian .
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PEEL AND HIS OPPONENTS . THE INCOME TAX AND GENERAL TAXATION . - The Ministerial projects progress towards completion . The New Corn Bill has been read a third time in the Commons , acd passed . It has been rt debated" in the House of Lords , and the second reading of it carried on Monday night last , by a majority of 102 ; the numbers being For the second reading 119 Against it 17
The resolution on which the Income Tax Bill is 13 founded , passed in the House of Commons ( some say by mistake ) without division ; and the bringing up of the * Report" that they had so passed , led to a long debate , which , as was announced in our last number , ended in the reception of the Report by a majority of ICG , and the rejection o * Stile Lord John ' s " amendment , "—the old exploded contemned fpitten- upon Whig Budget of
1 S 41 . On Monday the Bill itself was introduced by ihe Premise , and on the question of the first reading , little Lokd John moved " that it be read that day six months . " This unusual course of opposing a Ministerial Bill in its first stage , led to a lengthy and wordy discussion , which ended in a division , when it appeared that there were—For the first reading 285 For little John ' s amendment 188
Majority for Peel 97 The Tariff has also been reconsidered by the Government , and placed on the table of the House in an amended form . The alterations are not many , nor of much moment . Thus stand the " measures of relief" in the House of Commons at the time of our present writing . No doubt . exists in the mind of any parties but that all the measures will pas 3 into law . They maybe slightly modified in their progress through Parliament ; but it seems to be clearly understood , en every hand , that they will pass mainly in the form and shape a 3 introduced by Peel .
The threatened out-of-doors opposition to the Income Tax has been a signal failure . ' Failure was never more complete ! Every effort has been U 3 sd to get up the steam ; but all to no purpose Wheie meetings have been holden , care has been taken to have them of the most select character . The getters-up of them have , in no one instance , dared to appeal to the people . And it is in very few places indeed , that even these select meetings have been called j and where they have been holden , the proceedings have been so dull and tame , and , withal , so horribly selfish , as to have produced no other feelings , even in their own immediate locality but those of ineffable contempt and deep disgust !
How could it be otherwise ? Are not those who have bo met and denounced Peel ' s plan of direct taxation been long known as the strenuous supporters of that system which has made the Income Tax of £ 4 , 000 , 000 , and the direct taxation 0 ^ 53 , 000 , 000 a-year , necessary ? Have they not been long known as the violent persecutors of those who wished to do away with that '' necessity , " and to reduce our public burdens to something like a bearable load 1 Have they not raised and yelled out the cry of " public robber , " cheat , "
" spoliator , " "thief" against every one who has proposed to reduce our expenditure , on equitable principles , to the means of the nation to pay ? Have they not been constantly vociferating , thai " national faith must be kept" ! the army muBt not be disbanded , or even reduced" ! "the pensions and sinecures , and grants , and allowances must not be interfered with" ! " the salaries and dead
weight must not be reduced" ?! Have they not stood forth on every occasion , and in every manner that insolence and bullying could suggest , to resist even to the death the many and continued efforts of the people to obtain justice in these particulars 1 And i 3 it wonderful that the people who have thus struggled j the people who have been thus treated ; the people who have marked and experienced the insolent and audacious conduct of the " middle-class-men "
when the burdens of the state" were alone upon the shoulders of the wealth-producers ; is itwonderfal that persons so circumstanced Bhonld contemn and despise the selfish outcries of these same " middle-class men" against the imposition of Peel ' s Income Tax , when they know that the necessity for the measure has been created by the course of conduet so unceasingly pursued by the now Bensitively selfish opposers of taxation ?!
Is it not shamelessly unjust and outrageously indeceat , that the " middle classes" should dare to utter one word of complaint against taxation , in whatever shape , or in amount however great 1 Is it possible to conceive of any thing so repugnant to the principle of fair-play , as the conduct of the " middle-class men" in opposing the imposition of a tax which will affect themselves , when they have maintained the iniquitous system which has rendered that tax Hecessary and just !
The opposition however , selfish and Bbameful as it is , has failed I The Income Tax will pass ! And then—O then ! for a squeak ! The cry of the poor starved operative for relief from his tremendous share of taxation ; the outry of the producers of wealth against the £ 58 , 000 , 000 , will be moderation itself when compared with the vehement denunciations of the " middle classes" against the £ 4 , 000 , 000 !
There i 3 one thing which the people would do well to mark , in connection with this Income Tax , and ihe amount sought to be raised by it . Were our Government what it ought to be ; were our " engagements" what they ought to be ; were all parties disposed to look our difficulties fully and fairly in the face , and to apply the only efficient remedy ; were the Debt equitably got rid of , and the necessity for maintaining a standing army to collect taxes to pay the interest , superceded ; were the pension list , and the sinecures , and the grants , and
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the allowances unsparingly pruned , as they ought to be ; were the salaries of the officers of state reduced to a just and eguitable amount ; were those who have the power of taxation in their hands disposed to do justice to the people , the £ 4 , 000 , 000 sought to be raised by the Income Tux would be more than svffieientfor all the wants of Government ! Thb Ambbi can Government does NOT cost the States thbeb millions stebling a tear 1 Why should ours cost more \ What necessity ia there for our paying £ 60 , 000 , 000 a-year for the Government of England , when the Government of the
United States does not cost > £ 3 , 000 3000 % Are we better governed 1 Are we mote powerful ^ either at home or abroad ? Are we better fed—more secure in our possessions—more comfortable in our several positions ! The very questions are a mockery !! We are not more powerful ; for these same States when comparatively weak , wrested their Independence from us . We are not more powerful ; £ ot these same States , and this-less-than-three-millions-ayear Government , have , since they forced us to acknowledge their Independence , proclaimed war against , and beaten us . ' ! This same people , Who
only pay £ 3 , 000 , 0 S 0 a-year in taxation , had a NAv y in 1812 which blew our thundering and "big" one out of the water ; and they had soldiers which drove ours out of their country into the sea ! O , no ! we are not more powerful than they are 1 Our £ 60 , 000 , 000 a-year taxation does not enable us to fight better than they can : for they have beaten us twice ! Our Government is not more respeotedat home than their ' s is ; nor are our people better satisfied with their condition under our dear Government . Why then should we pay more 1 and especially why should we pay so enormously more ?
The fact is always overlooked , that the country governs itself , and pays for ¦ Ub own government , wholly independent of the Government up at London . Each county has a complete government in itself . It has a lord-lieutenant , a sheriff , justices of the peace , and all inferior officers . It has a militia , when the passe of the sheriff iB found insufficient . It provides for all these by a tax called the countyrate . The counties pay , and pay well too , for the governing of themselves , just as the several States of America do ; and the one county of Lancaster pays more for that purpose than any four or five of the American States . When the tax-eaters tell us , therefore , and when good , easy , foolish people adopt
the tale , that Goverment must be supported , the proper answer is , that the Government is supported in the counties , and in the cities and towns . But what these parties mean by the Government , " are the fund-holders , the dead weight , the pensioners , the sinecure-people , the haunters of the clubhouses , and all the swarms of idlers that devour the substance of the nation . These are what the taxeaters mean , when they raise the cry of "National Faith , " and " Government must be supported . " It is for these that the sum of £ 60 , 000 , 000 sterling a-yoar ic required ; and it is to keep up these that Pbel finds it necessary to resort to the Income Tax , as the best and most equitable means of raising the required amount to pay with .
The main portion of the business of that which is really "the government of thejiation , " being attended to and paid for in the several counties , it follows that there is really very little left for the general government to attend to , or pay for . There is the monarchy and its expences ; the officers of state ; the judges ; the ambassadors ; the navy ; and the contingent expences appertaining to this general government . These are all that have to be pro-Tided for ; all that are needed . To provide for these , and to provide amply , too , the sum sought to be raised by Sir Robert Peel , through his Iuoome Tax , is more than sufficient . ' It wonld be
extravagance to leave at the disposal of the Queen , for her own and her personal attendants , more than £ 150 , 000 a-year ; and it would not require more than £ 300 , 000 a-year for the salaries of officers of state , judges , ambassadors , and other contingent expences , if we only paid for services rendered . The whole of the navy during the last peace , oost little more than a million pounds sterling a-year ; we now pay the enormous sum of £ 7 , 000 , 000 !! i But then we have a " Na > al Academy , " out of which all naval officers come . This " Academy" is supported , it is needless for us to say , out of the taxes ; and into it none can enter , unless they have interest sufficient with the " authorities . " One of the
consequences of this system is , that a return laid before Parliament a few years ago showed that there were persons belonging to aristocratical families , who were become post-captains over the heads of thousands npon thousand 8 ot seniors in the service ! and that some of these post-captains were actually in the command of ships , having under them sailing masters and lieutenants , who were serving at sea before these same captains -w ere born . ' . ' . ' And it is with stuff like this that we are to fight Jonathan Our last disgraceful war with America was commenced by one of these sprigs of nobility , named
Dacbe , a relative of the Lord of that name . Being a captain of a frigate , the Guebriere ( which word , in English , means warrior , " or "famous fighter , " or " herd" ) , and being in the West Indies , Dacre was dispatched to the coast of the United States . Recollecting the story of Van Tromp , he hoisted a broom at his mast-head , thereby notifying his intention to sweep ihe seas of the ships of the enemy . Jonathan went out with a frigate , called " The Constitution , " commanded by a Yankee wiih the rough and patriarchal name of Isaac Hull . The two ships met , and Jonathan
beat Dacre in ten minutes , and took him into port as a prisoner of war , the broom still slicking at ihe mast head . ' I ! The loss sustained by Jonathan in this engagement was , seven killed and seven wounded : while the beating , the smashing ^ the knocking-to-pieces , which old Isaac Hull inflicted upon US , involved the killing of fifteen . ' the wounding of sixty-two !! and the I 03 S of twentyfour others , supposed to have gone overboard with the masts !!! Old Isaac contrived to kill and wound , and throw overboard to be drowned , a
hundred and one men , OUR MEN ; while he himself had only seven killed and seven wounded : ! Good God ! what a smashing ! A Captain who had tome from before the mast , might have been unable to beat the Yankee j but such a Captain Would have gone to the bottom ; or , at least , laid his own body dead upon the deck ! Not so , however , the " aristocratic" Captain ; a sample of those turned out of the coBtly " naval academy . " He was smashed in a few moments , and led into port in the most lady-like manner !
Another ov the consequences of the present system , is , that tee have two Admirals to every ship of the line . ' ! Incredible as this may appear , it is the truth ! The fact is recorded in returns published by order of the Government ; and it is so monstrous , that it seems to call in question , not only the spirit , but also . the sanity that permits an abuse so outrageous ! Need we wonder that £ 7 , 000 , 000 a-year are required to keep up a navy ! ik « this ! If we
have two admirals to every Bhip of the line , how many inferior officers have we to keep , either on half or full pay \ Of the number thus quartered upon us we may judge when the fact is stated , that of the seven millions paid yearly for the support of our navy , not so much as a million-and-a-half goes to the seamen and marines i ! Their wages amount but to the sum of £ 1 , 422 , 300 . Judge from this , what is squandered amongst the needy children of aristocratic corruption !
But suppose the maintenance of our Navy should now require the sum of £ 3 , 000 , 000 a year ; » . e . when the disgraceful state of things we have faintly hinted at are set right . Suppose this : and for that sum we could have a really efficient and all : powerful navy ; a navy such as a nation situate and circumstanced as we are , should and must have , if we hope to maintain our standing amongst the nations of the earth . Snppose , then , that a really powerful navy would cost us £ 3 , 000 , 000 , still that would make
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the whole expenditure of the general government to be less than £ 4 , 000 , 000 Eterling a year . We defy any man to point put the necessity of any expenditure beyond this ! The whole of the government expences of the United States ; the general government , with , its army , ; navy , ambassadors , custom-house officers , and all put together ; and adding thereto the government expences of the twenty States of which the Union consists ; all these put together , do not amount to £ 3 , 000 ^ 000 sterling a year . Again we ask , why should we want more ! And if we do not want mow , why should we raise more 1 , ;
"Ah" ! but : whispers some be-wiskered and mowstached dandyv who ia trussed-up in a suit of regimentals , and who , because he wears a sword ; dubs himself a soldier , " you have made no provision for the . army ! England , or at least her government could not exist without herarray ! That army now costs the nation £ 8 , 000 , 000 annually : how could you maintain that army when you only propose to raise £ 4 , 000 , 000 for the whole expences of the general government . You must surely have forgotten the army , and the necessity there exists to provide for it . " O ' . no , Mr . Hairt-face , we
have not forgotten the army ; though we have ma . de , in our estimate of government expenditure , no provision for its payment . And why Bhould we % What is the army wanted for ! We have already been at peace for a quarter of a century ; and every session of parliament brings with it the royal assurance that the continuance of peace with all those powers of the world that we need care for , feeoomeB more and more certain . What , then , in God ' s name , do w " e want the army / or ? True , we are at war with China , and we are sending a considerable portion of oar army to India to take •' REVDNGE" upon a barbarous people who put some of otur people to death ,
for invading their hearths , their homesteads , their country . True , that " glory" and " victories" are being achieved by " our arms" in the Chinaman's land ; and that * ' glory" and " victories ? are to be reaped in Affghanistan : but was for it for the purpose of forcing the Chinese to allow us to poiaon them with opium ; and was it that we might be able to invade the territory of the Affgans , and ( Christian-like !) "REVENGE" their " barbarous" deeds of warfare consequent on that invasion j w < wit for these things , that we have maintained a standing army of 100 , 000 men for more than a quarter of a century ? If not ; then we again ask what is the army wanted for 1 We are aware that the common notion isthat the army is wanted to support the
, government . It is time that we had a clear conception of what the word government means . ; As we have stated above , ourgovernment is to be found in each county , just as the government of the United States is to be found in each stata , with this difference 1 that their state governments are not near so expensive as our county governments are . Let us again look at our county governments , however , which are in their form and manner ( stripping them of their abuses ) just what they were seven hundred years ( ago , and are the very best governments in the world . What is government ? And what is its business ? Its business is simply to keep the peace , to take care of men ' s persons and property : and to
give to the people all the enjoyments which nature tenders to them , as far as the mutual safety of the whole will permit . To effect these obj ects , we have in each county a chief magistrate , called a lordlieutenant , appointed by the Crown ; and he has deputy-lieutenants appointed by himself . We have justices of the peace in abundance , holding their petty sessions in every small district , and bringing their collective wisdom , to a sessions of the whole county once in every quarter of a year . We have , in case of emergency , a sheriff to call out his posse , to protect persons and property . The posse being thought insufficient ,: we have one , two , or three battalions of militia in each county , ready to be called out by officers already appointed .
This is the Government of England . This is English Government ; and in God's name , what do we want with more ? What do we want with an army to oost us , besides our county government , the enormous sum of £ 8 . 000 , 000 a-year ! God has drawn the waters around us ; and by all he has done for us , seems te have said to us , be wise , and be virtuous ; and be tho greatest , the freestj and the happiest people in the world . '' What , then ! are we to cast those blessings from us 1 Are we impiously to reject them , and to encumber ourselves with this standing army ; with this burden which presses us to the earth , and which exists in open violation and defiance of all those principles which were the guide of our free and ha-ppy forefathers ?
Blackstone , the great teacher of our laws , tolls every student , that the laws and constitution of England know nothing of a standing army ; that those laws hold barracks , inland fortresses , and everything tending to make the soldier a character different from the citizen , in abhorrence ; that those laws , in their very principle , forbid any thought of keeping the soldier in a state of separation from the people : that when men have arms put into their
hands , and are embodied for the purposes of war or defence against foreign aggression , they ought to be disbanded and become citizens again the moment the war is over ; that the character of a soldier can never be permanent , consistent with the laws of England ; and that , in whatever country there is a permanent standing army , there never can be , and there never was , anything worthy of the name of public liberty .
Suoh are the teachings of Judge Blackstonb , the great expounder of English law . And it follows , as we said before , that either Blackstone did not know what English law was , or that our £ 8 , 000 , 000 a-year standing army exists in open violation and in defiance of the constitution of the land . Blackstone did understand English law . No one , not even the greatest stickler or apologist for a standing army , will dispute this position . That law distinctly lays down that every tnan between
certain agea , is liable to be Called upon to take arms to defend his country from the invader , or to repell aggression upon our national honour abroad . Many statutes appear upon the pages of the statute-book setting this forth , olearly and unequivocally . Ono of these , being Chap . VI . of the " Statute of Winchester , made at Westminster , " in the thirteenth year of the reign of Edward I ., and in the year 1285 , is eo apposite , so fully to the point , and so completely sets the question at rest as . to-. the-right of the people to have arms , that we quote it at length , as
follows : — And further it is commanded , " That every man have in bia house Harness for to keep the Peace , . after the antient Assise : That is to say— - . . : , - ¦ ¦ ¦ . ¦ ¦ . ' ; , : ;¦ ' : ¦¦ ' - . ; ' ¦ ¦ ¦ . - ¦' ¦ ' . ¦ ' . , " Every man between fifteen years of age and sixty years shall be assessed and sworn to Armor according to the quantity of their Lands and Goods . ¦ « ' That is to wit , from fifteen pounds Lands and Goods foutty marks , an Hauberke , a Breast-plate of Iron , a Sword , a Knife , andan Horse . " And from ten pounds of Lands and twenty marks Goods , an Hauberke , a Breas > t-plate of Iron , a Sword , and a Knife .
" And from five pounds Lands , aDoublet , a Breast plate ol lion , a Sword , and a Knife . . " And from fourty shillings Land and more unto one hundred shillings of Land , a Sword , a Bow and Arrows , and a Knife . "And h « that hatbJess than fourty shillings year !; , shall be sworn to keep Gisarms , Knives , and other leaa weapons . . •• /¦ ' ¦ :: . ; - ¦ ¦•¦ . '¦" ¦/ : ¦ " \ - ''' ¦ '• ' ¦ ; "'' : ¦ ¦ ¦; - ¦ , •• ; " And he that hathless than twenty marla in Goods , shall have Swords , Knives , and other less weapons . "Arid all other that may shall have Bows and Ar . rows put of the Forest , and in the Forest Bows and Boults . ¦ . . : . . - " ., . . .. ¦ - , .. . ' . ¦ , . ; '¦ ¦ ¦ . - . >• ¦ ¦ ,: ¦ ¦¦ ¦ - . ... " And that view of Armor be made every year two times .: " . - . :. . - • . ¦ ' ¦ •• ¦ ¦ . ; . ' ' . •¦ ¦ : ' : ' " ' ' : . ; . \ ¦'¦ ' - ^
" And In every Hundred and Franchise two Constables sbaU be chosen to make the view of Armor . And the Constables aforesaid snail present before Justices assigned such i > efanlts as they do aee in the Country about ^ ^ Armor , and of-the Suits of TownSj and cf High-virays , and also shall present all such as do lodge Strangers in Hplftadish Towns for whom tney w ^ i notanswer ] ¦' : : : [ ' -y- . " . ' .- "¦ '¦ : ;¦ ¦¦" . ¦ . : / .. . ; -.
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" And the Justices assigned shall present at svery Parliament unto the King such defaults as they shall find , aad the King shair ^ remeay Uierin . ^ Here , then , we see that it is commanded that eteby VLAiftshallhave in his house akms raitedtohiB condition and standing ia life . Other statutes direotly provide that at stateo * periods . there shall be regular wi »/ sfers of all persons liable to bear armsj t ? hen and where they shall be examined aad taught as te the use of them ;; It is also ^ providedi that "the kings cf the realm shall levy a number of their people and subjects for the service of their majesties and of the
realm ia their wars , such as are most able and likeliest to Berve in the same ; " and the 18 th of Edward the Third , cap . 7 ., passed in the y . eaT . < ' 13 £ 4 , ' : \ -expreMly :. V ^ arms , hoblers and archers , chosen to go in the king ' s service < w < 0 / England , shall beat the king ' s wages from the day that they depart out of the counties where they were chosen , tilitheir return . " This , thin , sets the question at rest , as to the practice in former times , with respect to the bearing of arms . It was not then a " profession" I It was a duty imposed upon every one . The soldier was a citizen , and the citizen was a soldier . He was required to learn the use of anas , and to hold himself
in readiness to defend his common country ; holding himself in readiness , indeed , to defend his own possessions . When he was called upon to go out of the country to maintain his country's rights or the national possessions , he was then " at the King ' s wages ; " but these wages ceased the moment he returned , when the- war was over . And thus it ia with the American States at this moment ! They have adopted this most excellent ancl liberty-preserving "English Institution j" and while they preserve it , they may bid defiance either to attempted despotisms at home , or tyrannical invasions from abroad !
But what is bur practice ? Have we preserved this institution ? No ! ! Our rulers have acted as if they were determined to leave nothing undone to make the government of England precisely the contraryof that which Bi . ackstone and the ancient laws of the land say it ought to be ! Not only have they made a permanent standing army in time of peace ; not only are they in time of peace continually augmenting that army ; sot only do they , by means of barracks , fortresses , depots , and other establishments carefully keep the soldiers separated from the people : not onlv have they made it death
by the law in any man to attempt to seduce a soldier from his duty ; not only do they keep ; np the enormous half-pay ; not only have they numerous bands of military orficers on fdli . pay , though engaged in no service whatever !; hot only these things have they done , and these things they do ; but they have establishments for the purpose of taking children from their homes at a very tender age , keeping them shut up in an enormous building , standing in the midst of the wildest heath in the
kingdom , at a great distance from all the habitation of men—there to be cut off from the rest of the people ; to have their minds formed in a purely military mould ; to imbibe no feelings in common with the people ; taken so young aa to require nurses to attend them : an establishment , in short , the very outline of which conveys to the mind of every man who contemplates it a complete conviction with regard to the motives from which this establishment , thia " Military Academy , " was made !
O , no I we need make no provision for a standing army . A standing army is not of the "Institutions of the country ; " A standing army is unconstitutional ! It id acknowledged to be so every year of parliament ; for the act by which it is kepi in existence is only passed from year to year , solely on account of its unconstitutionality ! I ! No ! no ! we shall need no standing army , when we have done justice to the people I That army is only now required to collect at the point of the bayonet the
£ 60 , 000 , 000 a-year needed to support and carry on the present iniquitous system . When the debt ia got rid of ; when the pensions , and sinecures , and retired allowances , and grants , arid dead weight are removed from the baok of the broken-down people ; when the salaries of the officers of state , the judges , and the ambassadors , are reduced to a reasonable amount ; when the civil list is placed on a proper footing ; when these things are grappled with , and equitably adjusted , then we ^ shall have no need for a standing army !
The amount , then , sought to be raised by Pbel , by his new Income Tax , would be more than sufficient for all the purposes of general government , were the expenditure of that government only that which it ought to be J Let the working people note this fact well 2 Let them hoard it in their memories ! Let them remember that an expenditure of that amount " . would give us a truly efficient and really powerful government ; efficient for all the purposes of protection at home ; and powerful against all aggressors abroad . Let them treasure up these facts , and let them remember also how easily the required amount coiild be raised . ' !! A tax of three per cent , upon the Income of the
country would be all that would be required JI Away would go all the old , expensive , and cumbrous machinery of indirect taxation ! Away would go the indirect taxation itself 1 The £ 53 , 000 , 000 now raised by its means , would be left amongst the producers of wealth ; to be erjjoyed by them , instead of being , as now , filched from them by an unseen hand ! We Bhould then be in a condition to bid defiance to the foreigner and his foreign trade ; for we then should have amongst us , at home , more than he gives us for the whole of our foreign trade put together ; and we should have , besides , the whole of the vast heapa of wealth we now let the foreigner have for an old song to distribute and divide amongst curselveslJ !
Working people ! do you now see where the pinch is ? Do you now see what it is that the Charter is mainly required to effept ?
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of ounces just specified . If the parcels ! are under sixteen ounce 9 i they , will , pass through the post-office free : if they weigh more they will bo Charged to Mr . Duncombb : and we have no right to tax the pocket of that gentleman , because he kindly coi ^ nts to be the bearer of the people's petition into what should be the People ' s HousO . The last petition cost Mr . DdncombE many pounds , ^ from inattention to this particular .
Mr . DuNCOMBEia again preparing to do Ms duty to the people . He has already given notice that ha will present the NAtiONALPETrTipN , on the 2 nd of May ; and that he vsrili , oh the following day , move that the House of Commons take it into consideration ; and that the PJetitioneks be HEARD AT THE BaB IN SUPPOBT OF THEIR DEMANDS by CouNSEtj or by their Agents . Now , then ! working people of the United King , dqms ! with you the work rests ! It fg your owDt and for yourselves . You have a . week to work in ' Work as though you had never worked before Every hand to the pump ! and every fist to the Petition !! . ' The time is short : improve every moment of it ! Lose not one !
SIGN ! SIGN !! SIGN ! i ! SIGN I III and then for tha presentation on the 2 nd of May !! and the answer of the Commons to the nation's demands !! The following is the programme of the procession with , the National petition to the , house of commons on may the ¦ 2 nd , 18 A 2 . ¦ , • . _ ¦ ¦ ¦ ; ' " ¦'¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ • ¦ ' - ; .. ' . ; , ' - ¦ '¦ ¦ Marshals on horseback . Instrumental band . Council of the National Charier Association of the
Metropolis ; Female members of the National Charter Association of the Metropolis . Two marshals on horseback . Instrumental band . Delegates representing Wales . Delegates representing Ireland Scotch pipers . Drum and fife . Delegates representing Scotland , > V Bras 3 band .
Delegates representing England , From various parts of the Country-Marshals on horseback . Sword of justice . ¦" :
THE NATIONAL PETITION Borne by representatives of Trades . Marshals on horseback . National Convention ; CarTiages . ¦¦ •¦" . Band . Tho Metropolitan Trade ' s Association . Marshals on horseback . Favours to be tricolour for gentlemen , and white rosettes with scarlet riband for ladies . Councilmen to carry wands .
NOTICE . The members of the National Charter Association will assemble in a central position as early as eighfc o'clock , and inarch to Lincoln ' s-inn-fields preceded by bands . A grand dinner will take place at tha White Conduit House , on the conclusion of tha proceedings .
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THE WORKING PEOPLE ; -THE TRUCKMONGERS % —AND THE FRAUDULENT MANUFACTURERS . A KEFEENCE to our short report of the proceed ings of the HouBe of Commons on Tuesday last , will put the reader in possession of the fact that Mr . Bdsfield Ferrand then moved for the appointment of a Select Committee to inquire into tha truth of his allegations , as to the extensive practice of the truck-Bystem in all parts of the country
where the labourer ia at the mercy of the employer ; and also into " the numerous / ratfafe that are committed by cur manufacturers in the production of their goods , to the manifest and direot injury of the national character arid name . We are sorry that we are not able this week to give the speech of the Honourable Member in inatkirig his motion . It is important that the working people should know the nature of his pleadings on their behalf : and wa shall endeavour , next week , to put those of that class who read the Star in possession of them .
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Frost , Wiixiahs ^ and Jones . —Mr . T . P . Greeniof No . \ , Bath-street , Birmingham , request $ therelatioris , friends , neighbours , and acauaintances in Wales ; or those of any part of England , Scot-. land , or elsewhere , toJuvnishhimwithOas-many particulars as possible of their life , character , ' , political traits , biograpical sketches , the political persecutions \ they ' haveundergone' in their local situations , with anyfacts ' connected with theconspirators who obtained their conviction , Govermental or local agents , % c . i to enable Mr . Green to do full Justice to the exiles . All communications to be prepaid . Any friend that may have
been implicated in the Newport affairs may sup' press their name , but furnish the facts , that all means may beusedto make the public acquainted with the grievous wrongs those men have endured . ; ,. ;¦; ¦ ¦ ¦ ;; ¦ - ¦ ; ' " ¦¦ ¦ ¦¦ : . V . ' . '¦ . ' .: . ; - . ; / . ¦¦ . . ; - G . Bowman . —We have not by us just now the tables which would enable us satisfactorily to answer his question . . v ¦ y : - ; Depieord and Greenwich Chartists . —Mr . Morgan may send his money here , with the statement of the source whence derived , and the purpose to which it must be applied . : T . Preston . —His communication is an
advertise-¦¦ : menu . .,. ;¦ . / ¦ .: . ¦ . ¦ - . > , , ¦ .. -. ,.: . ' - -. : - . ; :. ; Henry Burton . — -Nothing cari be further from our intention than to give'offence either toindividuals or societies . We would gladly afford space for all the well written and tcelt meant addresses of individuals attd societies if it were possible ; but we assure Mr . Burton that if wedidsoiwemust exclude from Me Star everything else , and even then all could riot be published . We are sure Mr . Burton would not wish to see the Star entirely occupied with addresses such as that to which fie refers in his letter ; while the complaint in this very letter of his , that such addresses have appeared in our paper—one but a very few . weeks . . ago—isanevidence of the impossibility of
selecting , without giving bffenee , as each party sending an address of course deems : that address to be more'important } : and . necessary than ' theaddress of any otlier party . It Was this very thing which obliged us long ago to give public notice , that in future we should insert no such addresses except from important ' public bodies , such as the Executive , theC 6 nvention , great Delegate meetingSfOr in special cases where we might have reason to believe that necessity existedI fordeviating' from therule * . This noticehassince been repeated Severaltimes ; and we were therefore bound to suppose the Bir-¦ - mingham readers of the Star to be acquainted :. withit . A- " - : ¦ - . . ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ .. . : ¦ ¦ •;¦ . : ¦ : - . ' :. - . / \ . : \ - : ; Timothy Thatcher . —We are hot aware of having
omitted to publish any list of subscript ions which we may have receivedfrom Mr . Heywood . That gentlemanhds staled that he sent a list some time ago of the receipt of which we have no recollettien , though it is quite possible we may have received it , and in the mass of correspondence : which comes here , more than three-fourths of which goes to the' * devil , " for lighting fires with , every week , it may by chance have beenoverlooked and destroyed : and this may account for the neglect of which the King George on Horte * back Chartists complain . B . T . does not seem to understand the driveller . His great object is to obtain a notice in the Northern Star , which would serve as an advertisement for
_ his" spoiled rag ! ' We feel no disposition to -oblige him . : William Greenwood . —Haworth is a township , situate in the parish of Bradford , in the West Riding of the county of York , ft contains , ac cording to the census for ¦ 1841 ,,- . « population of 6 , 302 . Thereare 1 , 348 houses , 112 of which are uninhabited . It also contains one church , or chapel of [ ease , seven Wesleyan , Methodists , Baplists , and other dissenting chapels or meetinghouses , in connection wUh which are ei ght Sab-. bath schools . In addition to the above there is also one free day school . John O'Robrke . — We c «» neither say " Yia » nor
'No" till we have seen the communication . J- A ; j < jf M . S , —Webavenoroom . Richabd Bates must refer to the advertisement . James Doffy , of Sheffield , will ' receive a letter at ihe post office , Liverpool , on or before the 28 th instant , containing the address oj his son George ' s w \ fe , who will leave Liverpool on the above date ' for America * - ¦¦ ' . ; : : : ' '¦¦ ¦ ' ' ; . ' ¦" ¦ ¦¦ ' . '¦ ¦' . '•• ; - . ; . ¦• - ' A . . W ' uxixQ . Gtifavi ! uj ! i . r ± ty Any Pebson in Brighton wishing to have any Chartist scarfs may be supplied by applying to Mr . Nt Morling * :. \ . \ : \ - - ¦"¦• .. : ¦ : ¦ . ' ¦ , ' . ~ :. ± -- ¦ ¦ ' ; ¦ ¦' - '¦ ' ' Mas . Frost's Estate FyNp , —The balance-sheet nextweek . ' ¦¦ . ¦¦ '¦ ' ' : ¦ - ¦ "'¦ .. ¦ : ¦'¦ : ¦ : ¦ " : - : : '
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4 THE NORTHERN STAR . ; , ¦ : : :: ¦" :, : ¦ . < -,. -:
The Soetheen Stae Saturday, April 23, 1842.
THE SOETHEEN STAE SATURDAY , APRIL 23 , 1842 .
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THE NATIONAL CONVENTION AND THE NATIONAL PETITION . The Convention is fairly at work ! Let the reader carefully peruse the copious reports of their proceedings , -which we this day present him with ; and let him firmly resolve to act up to the spirit there indicated , and turn not , either to the right hand or to tho left , from the straightforward Charter highway . Preparations are being made by the * Convention for the presentation of the
GREAT NATIONAL PETITION on the 2 ad of May . The members of that body are doing their duty to the country , by making all arrangements to give due effect to the Nationai , Will , Is the Country doing its duty to the Convention I Are all the signatures obtained to the Great National that can be obtaiued 1 Have all the exertions possible been made in every locality to fill the sheets ! Is it not possible to ADD to the muster roll of Chartism , during the ensuing week , many and good recruits , who only want asking ! Let this be tried ! !! Let
every shoulder be put to the wheelr-every effort made , during the short period that will intervene between and the presentation of the embodiment of the people ' s yoice to the " assembled Commons , " to swell the number of those who demand freedom for themselves ! freedom for their children !! freedom for their country I !! gsAs fast as the sheets are filled up , let them be neatly pasted together , and rolled up into parcels with a coyer on , ( but which cover must not inclose the ends of the parcel ;/ Acj / must be left open , ) and forwarded , through the post , to the following address : — " . ' ¦ ¦ *¦' ¦ : ¦"" ' "" - : . ¦ ' .
T . S . Duncombe , Esq ., M . P ., Albanyj ( Petitioa to Parliament . ) London , Be sure too , that each parcel weighs « nrfer sixteeh ounces . It is easy to make two or more parcels of the Bheets , if they weigh , more than the number :
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), April 23, 1842, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct751/page/4/
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