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THE NORTHERN STAE SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1842.
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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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10 THE PEOPLE . 1 . —My Deap . Frifnds , —I regret to s 'j ^ y j on any s ^ hject -trhich bas not s direct eo ^ ection with Chartism , and , still inert , to siloes * rasters -which concern myself , and which may cs ^ e iet difference of opinion in -otir body ; bet trhva I am s £ = * "fcd in 80 mar . y wave , both by tie Government and tBe Editors of Chartist EeiFspspe ; s , I *_ hirk 1 should be destitute of the n > irit of z . nisn , " if I cid not appeal to ihose ¦ whom I haT = isitiia ^ y served , tL « working men cf £ ns : lsr ; 6 \ SMtbrnd , " iud Wales . 2 ~ —Fisrt . —Is tr ? £ id to the Government S—I am pysr ^ red , acting on the advice of my friends , and hsTi&g a due regard for the safety ' of my colleagu £ and ny tea , to-appear ir ccurt , and thtre defend on principle , and I hope , like a man asd a Chartist , the part I have titen , not only in tfee move ' inest generally , J > nt daring the strike in particular . ¦ i —Ssconaly , I have answ = red Sir . ( TBrien , and his ia-^ naatioDs , in 2 . letter -which I expect he -will puUish Jahis t « T > er .
5—TiirdJj . Iuott sit doTrctomeet the open and ccrvert ¦ charges of :-ir . Hill , the editor of the Xortherx Star . I have read , I believe , eTery Star issued since icy erilcj ; and I Lave not overlooked tie ominous meaning of the editorial remarks in the Star . I knew , from private information , from letters directed to the Incentive , and from general obserratiori , that I would sooner or Ister fcsve to piss through an < rfea 2 of denunciation , therefore , I "W 13 in a measure prepared for an attack ; but , I must conJrss , I did not believe that IV-ft bitterest er-eusy , or the fiisest friecd , -K-oaid ia-re ehOEtn the present moment for an attack up ^ n my efcaractcT . or to destroy my political existence ; far less could I believe that a Christian minister , a feUowlabonrer in the cause , and ence a real or professed
mend , - would have mouthed me on the one side , -whiliit 1 had the Government on the other , and srouiid about and upon me , difficulties -which ' require my vhole energies to meet and subdue- However , experience has taught me to ftcl furpriie at no event , fcxrwever improbable and n : jest , or unbecoming to the character of mm ; it h-. v ttnght me to txt&ct opposition evtn from my fellows -with whom I have served , and certaiiJy it is true that when you can snweed in attichicg acrthiiig to a man ' s character , the accused mil be very ignorant of humanity , if he expects consolation or aid frc-m his companions . Fcrtoaately , I neither need it nor seek it , because I have an . hones * and upright jury in the working-men , and a perfect reliance in the justice of my cause .
6—I need to aougive language to aid me ; I -will make use of no base insicBitiOBS against the character of any man . I "will svek to destroy no fellow-• worker with cowardly blows , because I neither envy the position , nor hate the character of any man ¦ With whom I have toiled . Xo , my fritnds , I need not the aids of injustice and calumny , because I can find far better weapons in the facta I shall state , arid in the upri » htEc £ 3 and consistency of my political conduct , from the first memert I declared myself a Chartist , down to tie present time . I will not shield myself uncer a counter-accusation , nor trouble myself with searching the records of the lives of my opponents ; the £ rst I leave to the ri ^ liy guilty ; the second to the conscience of every man , and the discriminating J udgment of tie people ! who are the only true juar-. s of men . I take up tbe weapon of reason and eater th = arena as firmly to defend mv character from the attacks of my own party as 1 shill do in a court of jestice to strnsele -with the Government .
7—In the cnUst I might aTail myself of the plea of absence and chum exemption from a * tack ; but since the sense of justice tf my opponents has not suggested to them a little patience and further cursing of their bate ,
lad defiance to them , and if I suid it with my last breath , I would waste it in defying them under every circumstance . Why am I thus fearkEs of assault and calumny ? Because I know that-my services have not gone unnoticed ; though working silently , the working men haTe seen -what 1 have done , and it will require able advocates and weighty charges to make the working class wheel abou . like a weathercock , at the puff of every writer in a newspaper . S—I might liketrise aTail myself-of another argument against entering the lists with Mr . Hill . It is that the contest is unfair , in as far as my present letter has to pass through his hands , and will have an answer appended to it before it meets-the public eye ; thus affording him attack and reply , or two blows for my one . That -evident and serious disadvantage I will not complain of . It is Mr . Hill's fortune to have the high side of the field , and mine to have ike opposite- If b . B insets my letter , it is all I W 2 ni _
9—Let me begin then with a declaration of principle , as far as regards the Star and -Mr . HilL Should any one suppose that in this letter I am answering Mr . SHI , or making my appearance as if in a court at the summons of tie Editor of the Star , ' be must disabuse hU mind of thai belief as speedily as possible . I never tave , nor ever will , admit for a moment that I am ressponsible to Mr Hill , or to the Star , for my opinions or actions ; neither wiil I be tried by the Editor , nor yet - will I pay any attention to his sentence npon me , or any of my coiieagass . I ¦ will noi give any account of » y conduct as a member of the Extcutive to ine Editor cf the S : ar , or in any public paper , and I deny in toto the right of Mr . Hili to assume to himself the censorship cf Vie National Charter Association , or of the Chartist body . Here are my
reasons—10—FiisHy . If I acknowledge my responsibility to the Editor of the Star , or any other paper whatever , I ¦ would deliver into the keeping of another mw that ¦ which is always best in my own custody , viz ., the freedom cf speech , thought , and action . I wculd submit myself to the judgment , and be bound by the decision of a man , whom I never elected , proposed , or dreamed of appointing to the offica of judge" over my actions ; farther , I would be submitting myself to one who is the servant of another ; who is a ^ ain the sole proprietor of the Star , the Star itself being a private , and not a public speculation , over which I have no control , no check , and no kind of influence whatever . If I voted for Mr . Hin , as Editor of the Siar , or if I had a vote in displacing him , I then ironld be boned bj h ;» sets , to a greater or less degree : but even then the
responsibility would be from the elected to Ihe elector , from Air . Hill to me , and not from me to Mr . Hill . As we are now situated Mr . Hill did not appoint me as a member cf the Executive , therefoie I am not responsi ble to him except in as far as he is a member of the Rational Charter Association , and then Mr . Hill , the member of an association , is not the ilr . Hill the E ' -itor of the Star . I" did not appoint Mi . Hill Editor of the Star _ , therefore I claim no responsibility from him , on account' of any thiirg he may say or do . He is solely responsible to the ofrner of the paper , in no way can he be influenced by others , and in no way ought others to be influenced by him , unless they consent to be eo , against which concession
I enter my protest as an individual whom he has attempted to call to account I ficksowlecge that the pres 3 does and ocght to exercise a public influence , but th ~ f can and onrhx only to extend as fer as the reason ana justice of its articles , and at all times-pre should recollect ttat tne freedom of tne press is in fact a species of despoUsEi which give 3 to one man when he chooses to exircise-it the power of doing great good or boundless eTiL I for one have no great faith in the fourth estate , and I shall always take the " we" for what it is ¦ R-or th . and eo more , viz , * the opinion of ONE man ifijiaauxd ill CAUSES irhich let can r . tiiher see mr control Finally , I will not be the slave of the press , and I shall acknowledge no allegiance ts it ; at the same time I -will not interfere wiUi it . "
11—Secondly , 1 refuse to account to Mr . Hill , Editor ,- for iuy acts , or the Exesntive , &nd also to acknowledge his right cf censorship over the Charter Association , becacte no such office was coutt-ir . plated by the fiamer cf the rules and regulatjuns ; ana " if so , J demand a voice in electing him . 12—Again , I have always questioned the propriety of br inging every matter connected with forty thousand associated men before millions , and Bufj £ cting the associated Chartists to the itflaence and votes of men who have no more rich * to interfere with the Association than the Eujpiror of Ml-iccco , as well as the surveillance of the Government . Xo p-w , cr set of men , ought to interfere with the yaticnal Charter Association , unless they belong to it ; and I have ytt to learn that it ib , or was , a part cf my duty to tow to a censor . Others may do so - but I am a Chartist , and - will hava ray vote for or against the man before I admit ilr . Hili to the watch-tower over ne .
13—I Livt stated whit I will not do : I shall now state what I shall do- For every act of mine , as a public man , I shall appear and answer before a fainy called acd open publicteeting iffmy fcllow-cocntrymen , then sud there to tnswer any charge preferred by Mr . Hill , or X £ J question pet by at j- of my f < J 2 w « r ttn . A public meeting is the justice hall for me . If I am to be accuaed by my own puty , ttsen ltt ail my sets be ca ; :-Tassed , my motives searched ir . tc , and a magnifying glass applied to every trivial act scd word , and when it is over , I believe I "* h ^ ll neither be found to be an agent of the Government of the landlords , or cottcn lords . After the scrutiny is concluded I shall borrow the lens , and prubab'y find the old acsgc realised , v ' z , " that those who live in g " . ass houses should not throw stones . " * For trery act of mime , as a member of the
Executive , I shall appesx and answer before the mem 2 > ers of « dj- locality , then and there co have all acts , accounts , and deeds fairly blazoned before the meeting , ¦ where , at least , the . weakne * 3 of our association -will not . be . published to our ene mies , nor our divisions by our friends . I will answer any question personally or in writing , put to me fey any member of the Xational Charter Associa tion . I hare always declared my readiness to resign , even if one locality called upon me to do so , andjat all limes I have trested with respect and attention the requisitions of localities , or the - wishes of my brother cSccrs . My nomination and election were tie acis of
tbe people , and as to the present salary paid to my -wife it is cifculj not due to me , as I cannot perform the ¦ catics of tee office . I shall repjy , whoever it is in my ywwer , the sum already afiT . inc = d during my absence , and I assure the members of the Association , that the nnpTOtected condition of my £ am ! : y sloae has indneed me to XcceiVc it If it - will be any immediate advantage to tbe Association , I hereby rtrfgr ; aii cLiim to tfce ifiee or the sjvlary , and I do H with iLe itiat tti feet belief ttat the i > JE * t will still be tempered fcr u > e * in tpite cf the savage . varsuit of my enemies ; :.: til ti nu 1 shall bear up like s man , without a nrcrEur , a ^ iiinii every Bo » of tyraaa iftreachrry . QI vf fvttRse ,
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it-Ifei-eiTr eauysiidthstlwlllnolafiofdaprecedent fcr into Jurinc exp ' anations connected with the AsaocVdtion in the Slar , because the proper course is f ^ V ttta members cf the Xational Charter Association to 'jieet and deliberate en any set of the Executive , and through their sub-secretaries communicate their decision to the Executive , taking care that the charge and defenc * are heard by them asa jury ; or a committee of enquiry , as one sensible man proposed , can be empannelled and proceed to consider the matter at issne . The moat faXdl step in to ™«*«» thepnWie ard the Grevfernment parties to your quarrel * . The lookers-on rub their hands with glee , and they wili find agents to bunt the Star on the gsuae they rejoice to see started .
15—Mr . Hill has preferred a very lame and miserable charge araicst me concerning the sum cf ten shillings a week having been paid me in addition to the thirty shLlicss , and which seems to be tfee head and front of my ofeending ss a member of the Executive . He even proceeds t-o far as to denounce us ejb thieves—a charge which no man of any sense of honour or pride could for a moment endure . That is an old card in Mr- Hill's bands , and I tHA he played it first at HnlL Any one who knows me , ¦ wiil never charge me with a selfish love of money , and surely every one must know that if I had sought gain , I would not , in the first instance , hive" been a member of the National Charter Associa tion . If I sought money in the National Char ter Association , I would have remained a lecturer , and" if want moEtv Jrnosr , I have only to renounce Chartist
princip ' es . Darin u the time 1 have been on the Executive . I have betn ready to lecture , agitAte , or - work night find day -whenever required . I have opened now localities ; fcnd in London , Manchester , or any piit cf lie ti gdom , I have kept my appointments regardless of expense , and equally so whether I -was remunerated or not One month I travelled so incessantly tliat my coach fare alone cost me fifteen pounds D : d I charge the cone try with that ? Look at all the balance sheets since I was allowed ten shillings additional . Yeu say that was contrary to rule . So it -was ; but was it not also contrary to rule for any locality to txpect a member of the Executive to lecture for it , when they Wers too poor to pay either coach hire , or any part of the incidental expenses ? If the localities had looked as much to rule as the Executive , Mr . Hill would not have been so loud in his abuse .
IC—Xow let me esk Mr . Hill what incidental expenses mean ? What limit there is to the half ? and whether would there net be room there for heavy charges ? Let me ask the people if it was not more democratic for me to accept of is . Cd . per day for incidental expences , than to charge the country perhaps five or ten shillings 7 Let me aik them if it is not cheaper on the whole to adopt that plan , and then let me inform them that I found such an allowance on the average a very great loss ; and let me also say that had it been a very great gain , every penny would have gone to serve them as it hitherto has done .
17—The - subject is , however , so mean , so despicable , a :: d withal so exceedingly like the petty bnt annoying bite of a bug , that I loathe and detest the abject sj .: rit which could enable any man to cry aloud , thief—robber—on such slender grounds . Tbe subject is suggested by malice , and no doubt will be fanned by those who expect to stand in the shoes of the present Executive . They are welcome to do so , but they may depend upon it tfeey win never prosper by such deceitful work , their own edifice will tumble on their heads , and , lite tbe piercing undermining mole , they wiil be crashed in their fragile den by the heel of an exusoerated people .
IS—Mr . Hill , in his article on the Executive balance sheet , says , " The excuse of Mr . Campbell , and all the talk of the talent , the honesty , (!) and the judgment 1 ?) nf the party , " &c Mark the petty spirit
of exclamation when Campbell , in his warmth of heart , attributed honesty to ma , and then mark a second time the printer ' s mark of question ; question when my friend applies the term judgment to my character . Mark altogether the animus which guideB Hill in his charge , and then tell me if the Attorney-General has ever been more subtile , mean , or bitter towards a Chartist prisoner . Then read further , and mark how he smoothly and adroitly asserts , that " We have no tcis / i to depredate Ihe tcorth , or to underrate the services of Dr . M 1 ) oucl > L" Ab ! he -would -wish you to believe that , as one combatant would wish to convince the onlookers , he has no wish to strangle him he bas thrown down , no wish in the world , only time to grasp him more securely by the threat .
19—Believe me , working men , Mr . Hill bas been iong training bis small arms and great gun on tbe Execntiva He -watches always his time , and he said at Manchester , bo -wculd ; bnt as certainly as there ia honesty on earth , lie will be defeated . He may press upon a persecuted and absent man , he may serve up a bill ef denunciation against me ; at the same time , the Government prepare one to outlaw me ; but the native love of fair-play which sits in the heart of an Englishman , Md glorifies his character amongst nations , will cry shame upon him , and force him to sneak away amidst the hootings of society .
20—Mr . Hill says : — " We happen to know that the Executive have been -written to privately on these subjects again and again . " So they have , no deubt , but they were written to on otter subjects , of which I have now to speak , and to which I beg attention , as they will prove that that watchfulness is not for the mere love of democracy , - which , Mr . Hill would lead us to suppose , only actuates him on the watch-tower he has placed , unbidden , in the . Chartist vineyard . Recollect , I speak of facts which I know ; and in two of which the Executive had documentary and personal evidence , ready at the Manchester meeting , but which
' were rendered unneceesary at that time ; first , because a charge was preferred against ns by Mr . Hill , and , others ; secondly , on accomnt of a vote of thanks , ; instead of condemnation , being proposed by O'Connor , and seconded by Cooper , of Leicester . I may also say , that I informed Grassby , of Hull , publicly , that his complaint against the Executive , as far as I was concerned , should do longer exist Now , mind that fact , because Mr . Hill knew it , and now he raises the old objection , although & consenting party to a vote of thanks , and one who called on the nation for a tribute to the robbers .
21—The Executive received letters from varionB parts , informing us that a conspiracy was being formed against them , and particularly a letter from Leeds , which stated that Mr . Hill an-I others agreed there in a certain house , to pursue a certain course of conduct acainst the Executive , the basis of which was—that the character of ihe Executive ivas to be sufficiently shaken Jtrsi in privjte . and Viev hy a simultaneous public assault Kay , the language was reperted , and the names of the new Executive actually put npon a list . I need not mention that neither Leach , Campbell nor myBclf wsre on that list . The plot was very cleverly got np , but it exploded too soon , and the people happened to be -very
rusty on the matter . "Where are the letters ? I know that "will be the cry . I had three of them - which I gave to Mr . O'Connor to read whilst in Nottingham , and I must record a fact in that gentleman ' s favour ; he not only expressed his indignation , but he wrote privately to parties ( who know the truth of what I write ; , and publicly to the people , declaring that he would oppose and put down all cabals of snch a charac ter . Where are the men 1 oh ! both men and letters can easily be forthcoming , and my respected colleagues can have no difficulty in producing them if they are wanted , an event which certain parties will not demand to be realised .
22—What does all this show ? Nothing more than that the present Executive are very unpalatable to Mr . Hill , and many others who have leagued with him for their destructien . and -who nave nibbled away with great energy for some time at myself and my brother officers . Time will unfold the sfecess of their labours , and , in the mean time , I have pointed out the fact , that tfcere has been a little more than pure democracy concerned with the discharge of the second and largest gun against the Executive . I pass on to another subject , which concerns myself ; and , as Mr . Hill has announced his intention of removing the mantle of his protection from those he loves , 1 hope he will take it entirsly away from those >» hom he bates , and in a bold : md open manner write down their names in full with the ciime and sentence in ruled columns . Mr .
Hill says in the same Sar , of rsov . 19 th , in his appropriately named article " Tbe Last Shift , " when speaking of the Executive address—I will pass over the cries which are mere echoes of Abinjer and the Press , such as mad , mischievous , ana criminal document , snd boldly confess that I am prepared to defend every sentence of that address , together with the propriety and justice of issning it ; and I only refrain from naming the author on tbe ground that it would be giving information to the Government , which others may do , and get paid for if they like . I despise that
mean and grovelling cowardice which -would crawl and cringe at the feet of persecution , and whine omt mistttbly . 1 did not write it , it is criminal , and the author osgbt to be punished for it Ont upon such pitifnl poltroons . So help me God , I am so . utterly disgusted with the general and abject renunciation of that address , that if the people will secure my five years' bail from all harm , tnd prepare me new bail , I will return and defend that address , acknowledge myself the author , and meet Mr . Hill in public meeting , at teeds .
23 . Mr . Hill S 3 ys , whoever the author is , he must be cast from ihe people . Mr . Hill knows perfectly well -wbo is the author . He was at the Conference ; he heard what Gregory said ; be knew then , now , always the man he was stabbing under the convenient name of Mr . Whoever . He also insinuates , knowing whose character he is destroying , that the author may be an agent of the Corn Law Repealers , or of the Government , bat not of the landlords . He even takes advantage ef the bonds of the law , and knowing that it was neither-wise nor just of the author to give the government the required
information , he stabs away , satisfied that his man is fast , and legs and arm , bonnd together as well &a seaa rolling between them ; end all the time he cries out , in ihe alseux of evidence , nothing could be more base than to charge the address upon ar . y one . Merciful God ! Give me Tory malignity and Whig cruelty , but spare me from the tender mercies of my friends . Never mind , let W ™ go on ; lei Jiim shako his max privately first , ojxJ then destroy Mm publicly afterwards . Let him get up a public opinion against the address , and then out cornea the name of the author .
24 . Let him go on -, the people xviil a-wrike , aye , and socn too ; they will watch the trials ; they will find oat the cloven foot ; and I stall live to see that man yet no : enly c&spiEed but repentant ; r . je , bitteriy jepecting hjf nrjost assaults upon a mas whose greatest crime hu
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« i * Sfi devotion to ( Fid enthusiasm in the csuw ol Chaxtbsi . He has done hia -worst against me , and hand in hani he has kept pace with my persecutors . 25—He denounced the address in the Star succeeding the Conference , and the Government followed up with their arrests . He declared it to be the cause of the mischief , and the Government commenced their pursuit , He denounced me as a dangerous man , and my letters as mad and mischievous ; the € tovernment took him at his word , and set a price on toy bead . He declares tbe aothor is an enemy to the cause : the Government , that he is an enemy to hia country . He declares the author ' s sentence to be banishment from tha country . He destroys the author ' s character amongst the Chartists ;
the Government his chance among the jury class . And to finish the measure of persecution , Mr . Hill introduces a bill of denunciation at the very moment the Government file one of outlawry . Working-men , Englishmen , Scotchmen , and [ Welshmen , where have la chance aflordedme ; pursued , persecuted and prejudged , is it not true I made an appeal to my countrymen , and demanded their protection ? I do demand it as an act of justice , not one of " mercy ; as a right , not as a favour . To whom do I appeal ? to the Trades and Chaitists o £ Manchester . Fellow-men speak out , speak the troth if it should kill me , and as your acts were my acts , say at once whether you approve or condemn . Tour decision will influence me much , and I await it with tranquillity and courage .
25—In the meantime let me remind the readers of forgotten facts . The Conference-met in Manchester after the strike . When the address was issued , there were none to strike in Manchester . The address appeared only in thsse places where the strike was general , and only for one day ; above all , the Trades ' address appeared first and the other second . How then could that address cause the strike ? 27—There are but two ways to blame the address : first , because it did continue the strike ; and second , because it did not . Mr . Hill is one who blames it for the first cause , and I am anxious to know how many Manchester men , and especially of the trades , agree
with Mr . Hill in condemning that address because it continued the strike . The next charge would be , that the address did not do what it promised , which , certainly , to my mind , ought to be the charge brought forward by the honest Chartists . Now why did it not do what it promised ? Simply because Mr . Hill and others would not take any part in the strike , and consequently the machinery spoken of broke down . Mr . Hill came to Manchester , determined to oppose the strike ; and in reporting from places which he said were resolved to take no part in the strike ; news arrived to contradict him , and to state that those places represented as being so obstinate had been the first to move .
28—I repeat it that the Blackburn and Preston murder called for the address and even revolution , but caution or cowardice , mastered folly and mischief . God knews I woald have been fool enough to risk my life to avenge the murdered men , and if that is Mr . Hill's charge , I plead guilty . In his own language I Bay that the people will in time distinguish their friends , and I can , in the mean time , live down his persecution . 29—I have stated that some person took away a copy of the address from the printer , and read it in Carpenters' Hall previous to any decision on the part of the Conference , or any alteration in the document itself . As it now stands , I am ready to defend it If the chief charge against the author is that of attempting to continue tbe strike , will tbe trades , who proclaimed that resolution , first defend their position or desert it ? True , they issued another , and so might the author , had the law not been quicker than the printer .
SO—As the address stands , every one denies having anything to do with it , because it happens to be obnoxious to Government , and ever ; one would have fathered it had its fate been different 31—Some speak of my Sight Let those gentlemen beware of using the word with my name . I neither fled nor bid myself , but remained in and near Manchester until all danger and disturbance had ceased . I was the last man to fly , not the first I was quite at my ease , except for my bail , one of whom is a -working man . ¦ 32—Now , my friends , I believe I can give you the true reasons for these assaults on me and the author of
the address . First , tbe timid think sucb a course will recommend them to a lenient sentence ; ' and , secondly , think they will prevent my return to England , —and I do not know whether Mr . Hill or the Government are taking the best steps to effect it The first course might be secured by a Bimple no ; and the second cannot be secured by any snch method as that pursued by Mr . Hill , who seems to think that the best check is to destroy my character , which he most religiously believes he can de . He shoots with a wooden arrow ; the people are not at his beck ; and it will be difficult for a man'who did his best to make the movement fail , to convince the people that that failure is a crime . Let him remember the high gallows made for Hainan , and let him know I fear him not , if I bad a good old meeting , a free stage , and no favour , which I will have sooner than he dreams of . .
33 . —Now , my friends , in conclusion , let me state that all the Hills in England will never make me change my principles , —no , if all the people were to condemn me , I repeat now that which I stated in the court at Chester ; I will stand undismayed , between the frowns of a people on the one hand , and the tenors of persecution on the other . I have done nought which will make me fear the face of man , and armed with the panoply of truth and principle , I take up my position on the justice of my cause , where I am superior to the dart of treachery on the one aide , or the arms of a Government on the other .
34 . —Like the Roman who could traverse the known globe , repeating in pride and in safety , I am a Roman , so in passing through the showe * of shots aimed at my heart , I cry aloud , uuhurt and exulting , I am a Chartist . If I am defended bv the people I shall glory in their confidence , which has borne me hitherto , above every trial and trouble , and which has been a shield and a sword in my hands , as well as an honour en my breast , which as it has been dearly bought , shall be dearly taken away . 35 . —If I am forsaken by the people , I shall still possess my principle , and I shall find consolation ia looking back on the fate of the noblo . Athenian , who was banished from hia country by the votes of his fellow citizens , for no other reason than that assigned by one of the - voters , '' I hated him for his justice , therefore I voted for his banishment" - 36 . —I have done ; my case is now before you , and in its justice I anchor my confidence .
37 . —I am , as I ever will be , sincerely devoted to my cause and my country , though An Exile .
The Northern Stae Saturday, December 10, 1842.
THE NORTHERN STAE SATURDAY , DECEMBER 10 , 1842 .
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Neybr did paddle storm more awfully than the one which we have stirred : and right thankful may we have cause to be , if the dirt throwing do not choke us before we have " cleaned out the quarry ! '' ¦ If over our readers have seen a batch of light-fingered lightermen on baard their craft , doing battle with the constables , to preclude an acquaintance with the " beaks , " they have seen no bad correspondence of the present conduct of the Executive . As an individual portion of the people to whom they are responsible , we have required that they should perform the duties they are paid for ,
and that they should themselves conform to the rules which it is their duty to enforce ; we have hinted a suspicion that they have in many things not done so , and we have desired to bring them tp explain or answer for their conduct to the people , the only legitimate authority . Instead of answering our just requirements , and those of the Metropolitan delegates , the Leicestershire delegates , the Hull Councillors , the Birmingham Chartists , and very many others of their constituents , they get aboard
their mud barges , and throw dirt with both hands , in the hope of making farther effort to bring them to a reckoning so disagreeable a business that their accusers may be sickened and suffocated with the nastiness , and so they may escape . They mistake greatly : we are not thus to be beaten off . The filth and stench of their native Billiigsgate and ready falsehood may be a little annoying , but it lies only on the surface , and can be easily washed off with the clean water of truth .
We think the preserving of the fair escutcheon of our cause from rust and filth , a matter of too high consequence to mind the soiling of our fingers a little by its cleansing ; and hence , we manage to preserve a marvellous equanimity under all the scurrillous abuse , artful misrepresentations , and unblushing falsehoods , that are had recourse to as a means of diverting the people ' s attention from the information we have given them . It will not succeed , and simply because we shall not permit it . It may be sufficiently disgusting , and not a lit lie
painful , to reply to the sort of stuff which these men vent in their maddened writhing ? , but we ' shall perform the duty , though not the most pleasant one . The people have a right to have the whole matter laid before them , and so far as our time and space affords opportunity , they shall have it . They shall have the means of feruv ' ng their own judgment how far their own principles hare been recognized in the very citadel of their ovrn mofemeut . We last . week not only perm :: ed Leach and Campbell to bespaiter us pretty hbtral . y wiih ihe filth of their joint letter , but we gave free Tent alto to tha
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belchinga of Lemmi ' s sour , stomach , at the Curpenters ' a Hall , and the South Lancashire Detegato Meeting . We passed these ! without note or comment , expeoting them to be taken up by other parties . It will be seen , from the communications from Hull , Birmingham , Sheffield , and Loughborough , '¦ : that they have been so taken up . We have now to deal with the long ' > . denunciation " of M'DouAix , which appeared in the Evening Star of last Wednesday and Thursday , and which ought to have appeared in the Northern Star , of last Saturday ; but some reason , best known to himself induced the" denunciator" not to send it here . No man ever had or ever shall have any right to complain of injustice or a want of fair play at our hands ,
and hence , though we are by no means bounden to it , we give the Doctor ' s whole document in juxtaposition with osr own observations , and as it is a matter of most unweildly length , we have broken it into paragraphs . and numbered them for convenience of reference . We shall do that which , though it is our own invariable , custom , no disputant had ever yet , the fairness to do by , us , abide strictly by the matters and things to be replied to , and keep in view the question . Had the Doctor and his mates done this , instead of raising such a pother in the mud , we might have had much less trouble , our readers much less annoyance , and themselves a much bettor chance of " getting out of the mess " than they now have .
Conscious delinquency is always inconsistent , and Dr . M'Douallforms no exception to the rule ; the head and tail and body of his letter fit so badly together , and form so strange a contrast and diversity , that they make the whoJe to look like a sad abortion . With the first four paragraphs v ? e have little concern . The fifth contains-nothing : upon which we : think it necessary to observe beyond [ the passing remark , that a " Christian Miuister , and a fellow labourer in the cause" would have ill discharged his duty , perceiving dangers and abuses , not to point them out . '¦ _ . ' ,-:. The sixth paragraph is ona that we wish the Doctor had verified in the remaining portion of his letter : it would have saved us much trouble . We give it entire : —
" I need no abusive language to aid me . ; I will make uBeofnobnse insinuation against the character of any man . I will seek to destroy no fellow-worker with cowardly blows ; because I neither envy the position , nor hate the character of any man with whom I have toiled . No , my friends , I need not the aids of injustice and calumny , because I can find far better weapon * in the facts I shall state , and in the uprightness and consistency of my political conduct from the first moment I declared myself a Chartist , down to the present time
I will hot shield myself under a counter-accusation , no trouble myself with searching the records of - -the . live of my opponents ; the first I leave to the really guilty f the second to the conscience of every man , and the discriminating judgment of the people , who are the only true judges of men . I take up the weapon of reason . ' and enter the arenai as firmly to defend ray character from the attacks of my owix -party as I shall do in a court of justice to struggle with the Government" . ¦ - ¦ ¦ -. ¦¦
We regret much , for the Doctor ' s own sake , that the major portion of his letter proves that this specious seeming is assumed merely for puvpdsos of tact ; . as he deals very largely in all the matters of abusive language and counter accusation which he here promises to eschew . In the seventh paragraph , under pretence of disclaiming it , he makes very dexterous use of the string so much fiddled on by his co-mates to divert attention from themselves and the matters with which they s * and charged . He sets iip thes plea of absence . He . is " an absent man "; » nd , therefore , ought not to be attacked 1 Not a word should be
said about his delinquencies ; because he is not there to defend himself ! His coadjutora have all sung thissong in chorus ; and the Dootor jpops in a very convenient chord by declaring that he won't Bing it . Now , supposing that M'Douall really was absent ; this is not a matter on which the . plea of absence could , with the slightest plausibility , be offered for him . He was not absent when , for months together , he was every week appropriating public money under false pretences , and trampling under foot the Rules of the Organization wnich he had been appointed to enforce . He was not absent when , in July last , his
attention , and that of his coadjutors , was called to the matter by the kindly and friendly letters of the Hull pounoillors ^ and by the very propor and Spirited resolutions of the Leicestershire delegates—when he wrote to the Hull secretary that if the Bull councillors were not satisfied about the ten shillings aweelt it should be given up , and was answered that , " of course they were not satisfied" to see the money of the public illegally appropriated . He was not absent when at Manchester , he publicly stated that the complaints of the Hull councillors had been considered , and that there should be ho more oause for them . He must have known , during all this
time , that the balance-sheet would appear again in due course , and would certainly exhibit the evidence of his falsehood and ill faith- The cry of ¦ "• ' absence " opposed to these clear matters of fact , is contemptible . He was not absent while all this was going on ; ias is not absent i * ovr ! Of his particular . location we know nothing . Whether he may be in England or out of it is a matter of no consequence ; he js sufficiently present for all matters of defence . The' press is open to him . He has aceess to it , and as ready a Communication with it as any other man . In the Northern Star of Saturday before last , we made some comments on the conduct of the Executive . In the Evening Star of Wednesday appear two columns from M'Douall in reply ; on Thursday two columns more : and in
the Statesman of Saturday almost two columns mOre . Here is a man who , in a paper war , returns three blows for one . ; and crys out that he can't defend himself , because he ' s not there ! ! The very letter upon which we are now commenting ) states ) thai ; he has seen every Siai' issued since his " exile . " Nothing can be more clear than that the cry of » ' absenoe" under such circumstances . is a mere" artful dodge" to avoid accounting for misconduct by exciting the commisseration of the people and appealing to their prejudices against those by whom his misconduct is pointed out . The "dodge" shall not serve him : He is no more absent than we are ; and the endeavour to escape censure upon such a plea is in no way creditable , though it may evince a little tact . ¦ ¦ - .-. ¦ ¦ :: ¦ : ¦ . " ¦ ¦ " . ' . - ¦ ¦ '¦'¦ ¦ ¦ .. .- \ ¦
In the eighth paragraph he talks of " entering the lists with Mr . Hill . " We beg to assure him he here labours under a small mistake ; when Mr . Hill " enters the lists" it will not be with him . , His ninth , tenth , eleventh , and twelfth paragraphs are occupied with denying his responsibility to Mr . Hili ., or the right of Mr . HiiL " to try him , " or " pass sentence upon him "; and he assigns as reasons , therefore , that" he did not vote for Mr . Hill as Editorofihe Star , " and that "he has no Tote in displacing him " , and that" no such office as public censor , with power to try , and paas sentence upon men , exists in the Chartist Organization " , and that
" the freedom of the press is , m itself , a species of despotism . " Had he been inclined to realize the specioas seeming of his sixth paragraph , which we have quoted , he would have saved himself the trouble of writing all this nonsense . He knows perfectly well that Mr . Hill never assumed any such right of censorship ¦; that Mr . Hill never attempted to make the Executive responsible to him as Editor of the Star , or to" try" and" pass sentence " upon them . As Editor of the , Star ,:: Mr . Hjijl alwava has exercised , and always will exercise , that
censorship which legitimately belongs to a free press-r-the right of canvassing , the acts of public men , and of pronouncing an opinion upon those acts . To this he bas always added the practice , which is perhaps less common among journausts- than it should be , of giving his reasons for his opinions , and of trying to make those reasons ; and opinions dear to the apprehension of the people ; and this we fancy is jr . se the " species of despotism" which the Doctor fears . He does admit , however ^ that Mr . Hill " as a member of ihe Association ' has a right to an opinion
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and we presume that no one , unless it be himself will dispute that he has a right to express that opinion . Now what has Mr . Hill done in this very case ! Has he presumed to decide , and "to pass sentence" on the Executive 1 In the ^ 7 ' article "Executive Balance Sheet" commented on in this letter are the words—" we trust tee have said enough to show ihe people that it is time they took up the matter in earnest ; " and in the next paper , to which allusion is made in the same letter , the Doctor had before him , in plain print , the following words ¦ : — .
" To our mind it is of mnch more consequence to prevent these thing 3 in future than to trouble ourselves about the past . That which is past cannot be recalled ; but the people may make past errors a beacon For the future- We recommend therefore , that the whole matter be taken up by all the localities , at once ; that the members and councillors meet together arid deliberate upon the subject ; that they endeavour to keep iamind the whole question , and to keep out of mind everything but the question—the duties of the Executive and the manner in which they have been performed ; that they lay the balance sheet—not the last merely , but the last three
balance sheets and tfce erganizition both before them , and examine them together ; that they read in connection therewith , the letters of the Hull Councillors to * he Executive—the articles in the Northern Star of this and the last two weeks , and especially all that the Executive have said for themselves in explanation and defence ; that they weigh all these carefully and dispassionately , using their own clear sense of right and wrong , and their own appreciation of principle ; not suffering themselves to be led or biassed , either by us or by the Executive , but judging fairly from the evidence which lies'before them , and recording iheir opinions in firm , clear , and temperate language .
'The matteris one fraught with as much importance as any that has occupied the public mind for along time . We ask not , therefore , that the people should take us for a guido ; but that they should divest themselves of prejudice , and view the whole subject in the clear light of common sense and Chartist principle . " , \ Nowwith these paragraphs staring them-in the face , we ask any man ' s common sense , if the blash about ; Mr . Hill ' s " censorship , " and about his assuming a right to " try " and " pass sentence ¦ •" ¦ upon parties , and to make " slaves" of them be not ,
maugre all the Doctor ' s specious seeming , an impudent "counteraccusation" got up without ashadow of proof to rest , i t on , far the purpose of shielding and covering himself ; the course which the Doctor says he will "leave to the really guihy . " We shall not permit his " counter accusation "to avail him . He is not indicted at the bar of Mr . Bill , but at that of the Chartist public . Mr . Kill assumes no right of judgment or sentence ; he states facts and leaves the country to judge of them . If M'Douall can rebut these facts ; if he can prove that , as an Executive councillor , he has been guided , in his own conduct by
Chartist principles , aad has acted in accordance with the organization ; if he can prove to the public that he has not violated the rules he was appointed to enforce ; if he can show that as an Executive councillor he has not forfeited his trust , and broken faith with the people , let him do so , and no man will more reaaily acquit him of these charges than Mr . Hill . But it is not this swagger about not being responsible to Mr . Hill personally , and about not being a slave to the press , the freedom of which he regards as a species of despotism , that can hoodwink the people to the plain matters of fact in question . He
either has or has not been a party to a systematic and long-continued process of fraud , deliberately concocted , and at first ingeniously cloaked over with false pretenc - 3 i and afterwards openly and impudently perpetrated without any pretence at ail * in open defiance both of the spirit and the laws of the Association . That is the matter with which he stands charged not before Mr . Htll , but before the people ; not by Mr . Hili , alone , but by many other members and officers of the Association as well . The proofs are that he accepted office , knowing himself to be entitled to a certain amount of salary
and no more ; that after some time he agreed with the other members of the Executive to increase that salary fully one-third ; that this was done accordingly and paid to him regularly ; that as there was no : colourable pretext for this , it was put down in the Balance Sheet under the false and diggui ? ed entry of" agitating expences , " in hope that it might thus escape detection ; that in July last the Holi Councillors detected it , and wrote about it , and he promised that it should be done no moro ; that at Manchester he afterwards publicly stated that the
complaints of the Hull Councillors ( this being one of their complaints ) had been considered and remedied ; and that ; when the next Balance Sheet was published it appeared that the disguise « f the " agitating expences" had been droppod , and the whole sum was , without any pretence of authority , put down as " wages . " Now what M'Douall has to do is net to bluster about Mr . Hill ' s " censorship , " but to meet those facts , and either show that the facts are not so or that they accord with the rules and duties of the office he holds .
But he has another reason also why he refuses to answer to Mr ; Hill , He denies that the matter is a matter for the public at all . It i 3 a matter exclusively appertaining to the members of the National Charter Association ; and he " questions the propriety of bringing every matter connected , with forty thousand associated men before millions , arid subjecting the associated Chartists to the influence and votes of men who have no more right to interfere with the Association than the Emperor of Morocco . " And yet in the irery next paragraph , the fourteenth , he refuses to acknowledge any tribunal or answer for his acts to any other party than a . public meeting . He says : —
" For every act of mine , as a public man , I shall appear and answer before a fairly called and open public meeting o ( my fellow-countrynwsn , thea aad there to answer any charge preferred by Mr . Hill , or any question put by any of my fellow men . a PUBLIC MEETING IS THE JUSTICB HALL FOR ME . " How very consistent this is ! The . referring to M'Douall ' s conduct , as a public man , in the Star is reprehensible , because it brings it before millions , whereas none but members of the Charter
Association have anything at all to do with it ; while yet a public meeting where evidently many , perhaps even a majority , might heither'be members , nor in reality know anything of the merits of the question , is the only " justice hall" for him . There is little difficulty in understanding this ; and in perceiving that it bespeaks much less confidence in " the uprightness and consistency of his political conduct" than he is inclined to take credit for .
Again , who doea not see that if it be wrong per se to introduce into a newspaper the matters of the Association , the same argument would exclude the balance-sheet from the Star , and would also prevent any member of the Association from giving public expression to his Opinions through a newspaper . And we rather think this is the point really aimed at by M'Douall , Leach , and Campbell . It is the " species of despotism , " the freedom of the press , that " bothers" them . Take from the
localities this mode of communicating with each otherthe law prevents ; them from corresponding—and there is then the chanee that a little peculation might be got much more snugly over . If one locality were quick enough to perceive it , perhaps all might not ; and the one might be bullied—as was attempted with Hull . But the rascally Star tells all of them all about it , and makes every one as wiae as the rest . We feel no surprise at all that M'Douall should have no great affection for the "fourth estate" ! . ' . ' - .
In the fifteenth paragraph , he come 3 for the first time to a grappling with the matter really at issue ; of which a plain acknowledgement , or explanation , -was all that vras ever asked or wanted ; and which might have beeen afforded , in two lines ' Indeed the one single line that we quoted list week settles the wkole matter : — '
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" You say that was contrary to rule . So it was , ' Here then is » clear acknowledgement of the whole matter charged ; and -all after this is . -. idle extenuation and mere talk for diversion's sake . The excuse that the localities did not pay the expences we have already , met , in answering Leach and ' C&MPBtLL . It isiTHE duty of the Executive to see that the localities do comply with the terms of the Organization . There is in this paragraph much , display of disinterestedness , much talk of his own labours and generosity , and a most virtuoua disclaimer of all " selfish love of money . " We should have liked all this better had we not known the fact that either his " selfish love of money" or something else did certainly induce him for many months to receive ten shillings every week to which
he had no right—first under the false pretence of t agitating oxpencee , " and afterwards , when driven from that position , openly and nakedly in defiance ef all . pretence whatever . Plain facts speak to us much more forcibly than professions , however- ; . loud . The . sixteenth paragraph is an attempt to " get away" by a bold dash : - He raves about ' . 'Incidental expellees * " and the manner in which they wiyA / be run up tb large sums , as if he had either never read the Organization at all , or , at all events , thought nobody else had . He has no right by the Organization id charge to the country one farthing for incidental : experices , save when employed in breaking iip ' newground , and he does not attempt to show that during the time in question he was thus employed for even a siugle week .
• The seventeenth paragraph shows the " honest " Doctor very uneasy and uncomfortable under tha -circumstances of his own seeking . He is " annoyed ' thereat . We do not wonder ; nor need he . Had he " loathed" the " mean , despioable subject" at th * proper lime , he might have missed the ? annoyance . " Had he not made the " bug , ' ? he could not have been bitten by it . The " bug" is the consciousness of " the mean , potty , despicable" fraud which he first took so much pains to conceal , arid now tries so vainly to brazen out . We do not wonder at his being angry with Mr . Hill .
He asserts that we are actuated by malice against him . He knows that to be a lie . He knows and everybody who has read the Star knows that thera -has never yet been one man in the movement whom we have not supported to the utmost extent of our ability , so long as we could possibly do so without betraying the people . Why should we have any malioo against him ! We have never known him save as a Chartist : and even were wo capable of being aotaated by the motives of petty jealousy and personal animosity , what is there in him to call fotth theto qualities in us ! He has never crossed our path in any way , ttor ever cando so . Bnt we shall never Bit and see the people bamboozled without telling them . "¦ ¦ / ¦ ¦ '¦ ¦ ¦ : '¦¦' . ' ' ¦ : . '¦ :.... ; ; .
In the eighteenth paragraph , he almost poetizes because « ve admire his honesty and question his judgment 1 We cannot help it . it seems plain to us that either one or both of these qualities maybe fairly considered as beyond all g «« rton . Tho nineteenth paragraph is another small piece of . froth about the " absence" cry . That we have already disposed of . .: ' , ' . Tiio twentieth paragraph affirms that Mr . Hitt was a consenting party to a certain vote of thanks moved by O'Connor and seconded by Coofer , of Leicester . The writer knows this to be false . Ho knows that so far from " consenting , " Mr . Hill did not even assent to that vote of thanks . There are
witnesses enough of that . Mr . Hill did not vote againsu it : ho knew that there was no use' in doing so . ; he did not vote upon it at all ; but he had pre- ? viously spoken , distinctly disclaiming all connection with anything whiph expressed approbation either of the Strike or of the conduct of the Executive . Mr . Hill is taunted with having " called on the nation for a tribute to the robbers" ! Why did he do bo 1 Because he had a month before seen a letter from M'Doif all promising that the robbery should bo
discontinued ; he had then the word of- M Douall publicly pledged to the same effect ; and he was fool enough to believe M'Douall . He was desirous to give the Executive credit for honesty of purpose ; and , therefore , he not only called on the nation for a tribute , but from his own scanty purse contributed more to their funds than any other man in the kingdom—save one ! He is now quite willing to acknowledge that the folly of the act deserved the sneering taunt by which it is repaid . The twenty-first paragraph affirms that . —
" The Executive received letters from varions parts , informing us that a conspiracy was being formed against them ,, and particularly a letter from Leeds , which stated that Mr . Hill and others agreed there in a certain bouse , to pursue a certain course of Conduct againstthe Executive , the basis of which was—that the character of the Executive was to be syfficiently shaken first in private , and then by : a simultaneouspublic assault " Itgoeson : — ; " Where are the men ? oh ! both men and letters can easily be forthcoming , and my respected colleagues can have no difficulty in producing them if they are wanted , an event which certain parties , will not demand to be realised . " :
If the writer thinks us to be one of these " certain parties , " he mistakes . We do demand the production both of the letters and Vie men . We demand THE PUBLICATION OF- THOSE LETTEBS . And , if they be not produced and published , and if they do not bear out this statement , we brand M'Douall a 3 a liar , and a scoundrel . It ' they be produced and published , and if they do bear out this statement , it will be for the writers to substantiate them . Mean *
time we give the people Mr . Hill ' s assurance on the honour of a man , that he never saw or heard anything of this alleged meeting , save from this letter and from Leach ' s speech , reported in last week ' s Star ; that no man ever named or even hinted any such thing to him , nor anything ' at all resembling it , or which could possibly be distorted into anything like it ; nor can he think that any mam -would dare to do so . . . '
The rest of this long letter consists entirely of mouthing about the unfortunately famous address which has been so often called "the Executive ' s Address . " He is " utterly disgusted with the general and abject renunciation of that address , " arid he is valorously angry ; with us because we will neither praise it nor father it ; and because we repelled the calumny of the foul-mouthed ruffian who charged its authorship upon 0 'Connob . Well ; we caHnot help it . Our opinion of that addresa has never altered from the first time we Baw it . What we thought then , we think stilLT . "We noyer did and never shall defend it . Whoever was its author , we regard him as a most mischievous , indi » vidual , and oue whom the people , if they have
heretofore trusted him , should trust no longer , but cast from them the mpmerithe is discovered . " We don't say who was the author of it ; nor shall we be taunted or " scolded" by M'Douall into any admission of whether we know the author or not ; We leave him to give th-j Government that information if he pleases ; he seems vastly inclined that way We are quite content , on the part of Mr . Hill , to borrow his own words : "I only refrain from naming the author on the ground that it would bg giving information to the Government ; which others may do , and get paid for , if they like . " M'DdUALL knows this very well ; and so do those who bully so bravely upon velvet about " coward thrusts" and and " deadly stabs , " &c . :
We are very ^ sorry , for the sake not only of M'Douall but of many whom we think better men , that he has lugged in this miscbievons document at all . We have regretted nothing more in the unhappy business of the last few months than that knaves and fools would not let that address alone . We have never once named ; it save when compelled . And yet , in the next paragraph the writer , still speaking of it . sayr : — " He denounced the address in tV . e Star succeeding the Conference , and the Government followed up with their arrests . H .- declared it to be the ciuse of the mischief , and fc G ^ verutneut comtneacod iheu pursuit . " ¦'¦¦ - . . ¦ - ' ' ' ' ¦•¦ ¦'¦ -, ¦¦ "¦ .
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I ¦ " - ¦ ¦ THE NORTHERN STAR . . , : : ^'/ ¦];¦] : ' ' ] ¦] - \ y :-- -: :: : - - ! > ;' -- : r ^ - ; ,: / . r-: - - :
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Dec. 10, 1842, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct782/page/4/
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