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THE NOETHERN STAR. SATURDAY, APRIL 1, 1843.
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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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ACCBXKGTOIT . A + * fbuc HSEXIB& was held last night , Monday , &Iarcu 27 tli , in the large wearing shed belonging to ife ?? T 5 , Djxod and Co . to adopt a petition to the ILease of Commons against the bill now before Parliament for the better regulation of the factories , and for securing an education to the infant labonrera employed in the mills . Mr . Haxbottle , baptist minister , -was sailed to the chair . He opened the business of the meeting by stating that they had met that night to petition against the Government scheme of education in consectv > n with the factory biH now before Parliament . Be -n-o-Qd not take np the nms of thB meeting , but vrooic introduce to their notice Mr . Griffes , baptist minister . >? -. Giiffea said that the bill now before
Fariia-Esea : -v&s one of a most atrocious cnaracter ; waa eaJCbUted in time ( if allowed to pass ) to steep the peop !* - in ignorance , and establish again the despotio power of a Jesuitical priesthood otbt the minds of the people , and destroy those feelinga of Iots and haneyolenoe which existed between the dissenting mnrifter and his congregation , and also between the Smitisv school scholar and his teacher . He believed that this bill had been brought into Parliament by the Government for do other reason than to endea-Yoar to cause a division amongst the Corn iaw repeaters , for they were now afraid of them , and their professed friends bad actually turned round n . i Lisely calumniated -a body of men who were endeavouring to benefit the condition of the poor ;
but aM would not do ; they could not cause any difference amongst them ; they would not qnarre ] amorist themselTes ; no one had eTer heara them aecti ^ e each other , or ew would , although Lord Br ^ - ^ baiD had spitfonh hiBTenom . He remembered Hub-t some time ago it was in contemplation- to make & wooden pavement round St . Paul's ^ Cathedral , when the Bishop of London opposed it . Sydney SmHn wld the Bishop that they might «> on do it with Iirtle expence if the clergy woald lay their ha-4- together . He ( Mr . G ) thought their heads weald be as well there as any where ; bnt he was sure taat those who got np this bill were not wood-tj-headed . He had read of a
"pohticaTeconomi 5 : i . i _) r . Godwin ) who had recommended the destruction of children , and that wa 3 worse than Sot'&hsm , that wanted . to separate man from wife , children from parents , scholars from teachers ; but he knew the people of this part were not of ihiB description . . Now , some philosopher had said that it Tra 5 npcessarjat « enain times to shave ' the head , asd r . connnenaed that Godwin should ; and-he ( Mr , Go had heard that Lord Brougham was mad ; but he 1 bought to shave his , would do him liitle good , for ht thought he had a hole in his head that allowed ali 21- ^ senses to escape . After a good rigging of ins established clergy , he sat down by moving that a ?* ynon against the education clauses of the bill be adopted .
Tie Chairman introduced Hev . Mr . . Lings , who tasi Tnis bill should have all the opposition he could Eh e fL It " was a measnre that the Government was brcn ^ ii-g forward to destroy that most intelligent cists' of dissenters . It was calcnlaied to- break np itu- Sunday schools , in connection with their relij : it > tfj ~ places of worship , and place-the children of : £ « poor , under the guidance and tuition of the fir parsons of the church ; they would be cempelled to hear the liturgy and catechism of the Charcli , and thus would the parsons of the Church e&nj a control over the minds of the young ; besides
thi-s tnreepenee wonld have to be taken from their wages whether they attended the school or not . He haa no objection to ehfluren being educated ; bnt he oljtctd to class education ; besides payiDg ihreejhr . ee from their earning , the schools were to be buiit and supported from the poors' rate , which now lay so n ^ avy upon the middle classes . This measure was founded in robbery ; it wonld have to be supppried by robbery , and it wa 3 robbery all throiyjh ; t- would , therefore , oppose the education clan ?* al-- -ether . If a system was to be established , let it t-e >» n liberal principles .
Her . A . Taylor said that he viewed this measure wiia ihe greatest indignation . The parsons of the Chnrenhadno feeling for the poor ; he knew that not t-en miles from Blackburn , a clergyman of the Church had refused to bury a corpse because tb ? y were too poor to pay the fees . He would ask Tfer ? there any of the ministers npon that " platform wcl" 1 do so 1 He wonld say no . Rather than aHo ^ v any of Ms children , ( and he had seven ) , to be nndfrfcbis act , and governed by church parsons , or hear them say " -amen" to those bloated wen , he wild rather see the slave-driver fetch them from hi- bonse and work them like beasts . > ir . Dixon next addressed the meeting . He said thsi this hill -wonld aronse the people , for they fiewed it with alarm . It had been said that they were not wooden heads that drew up this bilL He thought so ; ne opposed the laying on a tax for the Entoyrt-or education of a class . If a tax must be
laid , let it ba for a general system of-education and Bpos ihe most liberal principles . He would not occupy their time as it was cold . The Chaibxas read over the petition again , and was about to put it to the meeting , when } &t . Beesley rose , and said , Mr . Chairman , 1 nnderstood that no allusion was to be made to any party , but that had not been adhered to . tie shonld oppose the petition before the meeting , and intended to move an amendment . He was astonished to hear so much said abont the expence of educating the poor factory child , but he believed that was not the intention of tie party getting it up . He was one who wonld speak his mind . Here be was interrupted by one or two individuals , when he said
if people conldnot come and keep their temper , or Estea to both sides of the question , they had better stop at nome , for he ( Mr . B . ) had as much right to spe ^ k as any one , and he would tell them he was not so be put down . Speak he would , for he bad wanted a long time to tell the dissenting ministers what he thought of them , and he had never had an opportunity before , but he would do it now . [ Aye , thai is what yon come for !} Yes , he wonld rather tall them to their face whit he thought about them , than , serpent-like , do it 'behind their backs—( hear , hear . ) He believed the dissenting ministers neglected their duty as much as the church parsons , and he suspected them upon this occasion . They had * lway 3 been fosnd upon thB side of wealth . If the
Buddie -c 1 yg »« 01 mamufacrarers get up an agitation , Or mentioned any crotchet calculated to benefit them kni injnrions to the poor , the dissenting ministers echoed the ery—they gave them their support , approved of . their plans , and assisted them in their agitation , bnt if the working classes wanted their assstaice , they looked upon . them "with contempt ; they spurned them with insolence and upbraided them with ignorance ; they i » d never yet , to his knowledge , lent their assist ance to obtain for the producing millions their lights . They had not taken the orphan by the hand , or provided an asylum for the destitute ; but they raised their voices for a measure calculated to benefit the money-mongera ; and now they were crying
© ui against thy best BiH that had ever been brought tefore Parliament , because it would not be for the benefit of the masters ( hear , hear ) ; and they pretended they wanted the people educating . If bo , why oppose the only measure likely to secure them that . education they so mneh deplored the want of 3 In bis ( Beesley ' s ) opinion , it "was not the educational clause that was the cause of their opposition ; but it ¦ was the shield of protection it threw over the infant slave . They talked about the expense that would be incurred for the education of a class ; it « ame with a very bad grace from such men- Who needed instruction more than the children of the poor , who were at the mercy of the tyrant cotton Manufacturers ! Was there not more justice in
granting money to edneate the children of th poor , who were too poor to send them to pr ival schools , than to grant large sums to the colleges < Cambridge , Oxford , and Msynooth , to educate ft sons of the wealthy , who were able to pay for the own ! Yet they called no meetings to petitic against thiB . Were it not better to grant it for sue z , purpose , than ibr the support of the naval an military schools I Yei they said nohing again ; this . Were it not better that this Bill should pas that would compel both parents and masters to pri Tide for the instruction of the children , than j leave them to the mercy of the manufacturerj wl had evaded the Act that was now in force , 1 assembling the children in fire holes , and teachii
them from scraps of old newspapers , not more thi three inches square , and so black that thechildm eonld not see the letters upon them 1 They hi talked about the power placed in the hands of tl bishops and clergy of the Church . If that w what they objected to , why not wed the-petition ; that the Hoase of Commons might know what pa of the bill they did object to , and not have it its present form than oppose the Bill altogether . I did not approve of the power placed in the hands the parson of the church . He telieved that the di senting ministers ( from what be had seen of them ) they had the same power would be equally as t raanieal as the others , though they had nil against them this night sost pitifully . Theyh held xsp the parsons of the Church as being t greatest tyrants ; bnt he , Mr . B ., thoujeht the ? we sot the only tyrants . He believed no greater tyrai erer lired than the factory masters : and , strange
ssy , the ministers of dissent were . always found goi fend and gloTe with them , even upon theprest occasion— ( hear , hear ) . Had they not driven 1 able-bodied labourers from the market , and eo pelled them to send their wives and helpless offispri ! their iulls to eoih lot them , from their hew blood , immense and princely fortunes . Had 1 children been taken from their beds in early mo and carried upon the backs of their parents throt the pitiless storm on the winters morniDg to fb iena of vioe , nntil their constitutions had tx destroyed , and thousands sent to a premature gra Bid they not work In these mDla from their crac &s It were , amongst the most abandoned char&cu th « c tender ears insulted with the most obscene 1 « n * ge .--Mid -sras it not necessary that they sho Save an education . given to them to counteract effect produced by being in sHoh company ! J would they object to a bill tb * t w « nld secure SJ
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because too much power was placed in the hands of a certain panjl IVy talked abont their being members of the Established Church that were to be the teachers and inspector *' . This he did not agree with , but he believed that if the ministers who were npon that platform had the same power , the Baptist minister would look amongst his own congregation for the teachers ; if a Methodist , the same ; and a New Church minister , the same . In order to show the Government that we were not actuated by faotions motives , and believing also that the best way to make men honest was to keep it out of their power
to become rogues , and also agreeing that taxation move an amendment , to the following effect : — and representation onght to be co-equal , he wonld " That we highly approve of the Bill now before the House of Commons with respect to the protection it gives to the infant factory children , and for the shortening the hoars of labour , and also for providing for the means of their education , bnt believe the power of appointing the trustees ought not to be placed in the hands of any party , but ought to be exercised by the ratepayers , and that no deduction should be made from the miserable earnings of the poor for such education . "
After many more observations , Mr . B . sat down amidst the approbation of the meeting . This brought Messrs . Dixon , Lings , and others upon their feet again , Mr . Beealey again replying , when they agreed to both motion and amendment together , and to strike out the objections in the petition Mr . B . had made , and that Mr . Beesley and the Rev . J . Harbottle should meet in the morning , and draw the petition up as Mr . Beesley had stated . Thus ended tie meeting upon the Factory Aot . The following is the petition : — To 1 he Hsnourdbl * the Commons' of Great Britain and Ireland , in Parliament asst 7 nb ! ed . The Petition of the undersigned IfAabitaKts of Aocriitgtm ,
Hoibly Sheweth—That your Petitioners being dn ] y sensible of the important benefits of education , and having made and encouraged efforts for the extension of that in-raloable blessing , cannot view without considerable alarm , some of the provisions of a Bill intituled &s . > That the parts of the aforesaid Bill against which wa object , are those which give undue influence and irresponsible power to the Clergy ef ths established Church in the appointment of trustees , masters , and inspectors -orkiefa exrfnde all bnt snch as are of that Church from
the office of schoolmaster , or inspector of such schools —which taifs a portion from the hard-sarned wages of the poor , and in addition requires the expenditure of public money , apparently to advance the interests of one class of religious professors . To these and similar regulations we do most decidedly object as being likely to impose new grievances on Protestant Dissenters , Method is ta , Roman Catholics , and others—to throw into the hands of the clergy a power of taxation , constitutionally belonging to none but the chosen representatives of tbe people , and to produce a spirit of domination on the one hand and of resistance on the other , thereby increasing those religious animosities already unhappily too prevalent . That your Petitioners , approving of the details of the Bill for shortening the hours of labour and giving due protection to the factory child , humbly pray that you will erase from the Bill the above mentioned clause or
clauses , which give such undue power to tbe Bishops , Cleigy , and Churchwardcna of the established Church , and substitute a clause empowering tbe ratepayers to elect the Trustees , choose the Bcboolmastera , and adopt such rules for the sorexnsient of the schools as may to them seem most proper , and also to fix tbe rate of salary to be paid te each schoolmaster within their respective localities ; and farther , that no deduction be made from the hard-earned pence of the poor to pa ; for an education -which ought to be gratuitously afforded . And voaz Petitioners , &c
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MONOMANIA . SiscB Oxfokd " popped" at the Queen , the times have been most prolific in the breed of monomaniacs . With the proverbial fecundity of ill weeds and vqrmin , they have sprung up so rankly that they Beem to be becoming rather "the rule" than * the exception , " and the London papers ' look not like themselves" unless we have some of their exploits dnly chronicled . This insidious disease , like
most others , haa various forms and phases . It manifests itself in many different ways . Latterly , the decided preference seems to have been given to the homicidal form of developsment , in its direct aspect . This aspect of the disease has at least one advantage ; that it is easily dealt with . The patient exhibits symptoms of physical determination to homicide ; knives , piBtols , pop-guns , &c . appear upon the surface ; a woman is fixed at , and a man is shot : by these symptoms he disease is at once detected , and the " unhappy
sufferer" is taken care of , and prevented from going longer at large to do more mischief . But there are many forms of monomania besides this ; one of which is an inordinate and irrational desire of fame . There are some men whose ambition seems to be of a kind distinctly and exclusively their own ; at once insatiable and unscrupulous ; caring nothing for the sort of fame they may acquire , eo that they may but live in memory—so they may but do something to be talked of . Thus we have heard of a sailor who , from mere love of notoriety , ate a large
quantity of mustard , with which his messmate fed him from a table spoon . A like strange anxiety to become posthumously the " table talk " of gossips is believed to have been the incentive to one or two of the recent fatal leaps from the Monument ;] and , in a previous matter , the evident pleasurable emotions with which the * lionising" of the thing inspired poor Jonathan Mabuh , induced many to suppose that his was an instance of this form of the distressing malady . Disease , like death
is most impartial in its visitations . It is an ( Sect which Eurely visits every subject who may have put its cause in operation . Hence wealth , and ** rank , " and " station , " form no barrier to its ingress . It seats itself with as little ceremony on the judicial tench as on the cooler ' s stall . We lately had a lamentable instance of its freaks in this line in the vagaries of "the modern Jeffries , " who made up his mind to atone for a long life-time of mere muckworm wriggling by a last" dash of the uncommon , '' which should get him
u Damned to everlasting fame . " He succeeded , as snch unfortunates do always , in producing , in some minds execration , in others pity and contempt , but in all a conviction that it was requisite for public safety to " take care of him "; and hence his Special Commission was his last commission ; and the dotard will snooze out the remainder of his dayB in the" retirement" which may shield him from public indignation , while his memory passes away among the eddying bnbbles which the torrent of events discloses but to hide . Sic transit
gloria mundx ! " Alas ! poor Judge' '! We were in hopes to find this a solitary instance of this form of Judicial Monomania ; an aspect far more repulsive than the directly homicidal one of the Mac . vapgh izn 3 and the Oxfords ; because combining all their ferocity with much more of cunning ; and extending its sphere of animosity from individuals to whole classes as the representatives of principle . True , however , to their morbid instinct , like a flock of sheep pressed to a pass , no sooner does one take the leap than the rest follow in succession ,
and each vies with the last one in the spring . The Ermined Dissenter has treated himself to a "Baptism by immersion" in the pool of profligacy that leaves the " sprinkling" of "Brother Abdc « ek" far in the shade . . A » rKGEB did content himself with pouring off the acid from his stomach into the big enp of the Grand Jury , and emptying the filthy residue upon ** convicted" prisoners ; while Mb conduct during ihe trials bore at least some show of decency ; bat Gu&hst out-Herods Herod . His conduct on the trial of Jokes , reported in onr present paper , is the most perfect specimen of rampant
rabid malignity that we have ever seen . We have certainly seen nothing in our own time to equal it , and we know nothing in history to surpass it in atrocity . It iB unique . We know of * o category in which to place it . It is-Vm generis We refer oht readers to the report , as we have taken it from the Morning Chronicle- It admits Of HO comment : it speaks for itself . We were astounded when we read it ; and could scarcely credit it . We thought the reporter must have had some purpose to malign , or must have strangely misconceived nis Lordship ; we looked , therefore , for the report of the trial in other papers , and found
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that , on the contrary , the fellow feeling" of " Dissent" and " Liberalism" had greatly softened matters in favoar of the * ' Baptist Judge" —the first jndioial fruits of Whig ascendaney-4 he grafting of "the Reform crab" upon the ancient bitter stock . Wishing always to present every man in the best light of estimation that his character will bear , we adopted the Chronicle ' s report in preference to that of other papers , in which the " glossing brash ' had been used more sparingly . To shew , however , that we do not over-state the case , we give here the Times' version of ihe same proceedings so far as they relate to the brutal interruptions by the Judge of the defendant , while addressing the Jury and on ss-examining the witnesses ,
In cross-examination : — " Thomas Agar—Was a sergeant of police . Had been so for a year and a half , and in the force for three years . Was in the Pasture on the evening of the 28 th of August , at about seven o ' clock . There were about 2 , 000 people assembled , chiefly of the lower class . He corroborated the testimony of the former witness as to the language uttered by the defendant . "Cross-examined by the defendant—Did you think yon were morally justified ! " The Judge—Stop , Btop ; what have we to do with that t " The defendant—My Lord , I
think"The Judge—You may think-what you please ; bnt we'll have no snch nonsense as that about' morally justified' here . ' * ' Cross-examination resumed—They were rather orderly . He meant by that , that there was no actual breach of the peace . There was no disturbance ; but the people were elevated . Meant by ' elevated ' that they were wrought upon by your expressions . There was injury done to the policemen before you came , and not since . "The Judge—Why they took yon up you see ; that's the way they quieted you . If you turn a dog down the street , and cry out ' mad dog , ' there ' s no need to tell ihe people to knock him on the head . There ' s no occasion for it , it is not necessary ; they will do it without .
"The defendant—I ' m quite aware of that . my Lord ; 1 , and those like me , have painfully learned that by experience . " In defence : — " He had said that the Government was tyrannical , because he thought——" The Judge—Then you have done very wrong . You have no right to hold out that the Government is tyrannical . You need not give yourself a bad character . We know nothing of you but what you said and did on the occasion that we are inquiring into . Confine yourself to the present charge against youil
The defendant resumed—What was there inflammatory in his language as compared with that which was to be found in a speech lately delivered by the Worshipful the Mayor of Leicester , which he would read to them ? " The Judge—You cannot be allowed to do that ; it has nothing to do with the present charge ; and besides , we don't know anything more of it than what you tell us . 11 The defendant resumed—What would have been said of him if be had uttered such inflammatory language as that 1 [ He then proceeded to read some very strong passages , and afterwards told the Jury that such had baeu the language of the Mayor of Leicester , recently addressed to a popular assembly .
He then directed their attention to a speech recently delivered , also to a popular assembly at Leicester , by one of the Learned Counsel for the prosecution , to the language of which he seemed to desire to convoy the impression that hia own would , by comparison , be found to be not unlike ' Hyperion to a Satyr . ' He began to read , ' Will you , the people of England '—( . Here , to the apparent disappointment of many , and thr utter chagrin and discomfiture of the dbfendant himself , he was summarily stopped by the Court ] The Learned Judge now presiding had Bat at the trials of M'Douall and Vincent , and he ( the defendant ) might with impunity express his opinions respecting that Learned Judge ' s course of proceeding . [ The Judge—That depends upon the manner in which you do it . ]"
" As to the words ' the day of boiling will come , when woe to the unboiled , ' they were used only as a figurative mode of expressing hia hope and conviction that the good time wonld come when the state of things would be SO altered as to supersede the necessity of a police force . ** The Judge—I shall order those persons away , if they keep pumping . [ The defendant had been hitherto receiving the assistance of two persons ( Chartist 3 , no doubt ) sitting by hiB side . ]
" The defendant complained , with some warmth , of the interruption that he said he had received from the Court , and said that he felt that if he had been allowed to conduct his defence in the manner in which he had marked it out for himself , and as he thought most advisable and proper for him , he should have been able to satisfy the jury that he ' had done only what was conscientious and right , and had not been guilty of the crime charged against him . He then said , ' My Lord , may I beg that I may not be further interrupted , but permitted to conduct my defence , according to the best of my ability , in the mode in whioh I have designed it ?"
" The Judge— That will depend upon whether you confine yourself within proper limits , and to the subject of the charge which you have to answer . " The defendant proceeded— ' He felt it useless to address them any farther . '" Let any man read these statements ; let him compare them with the Chi onicle ' s report , as given elsewhere ; let him believe that those antagonistic papers are not in league for the destruction of Judge Guenet ; let him read the whole report ; let him mark the character of the evidence against Jones ' and the offence that he was charged with ; let him remember that Jokes is a poor oobler lad—that he stood there , unassisted , to contend with Counsel learned in the law and backed up by the nation ' s purse ; let him remember that by the principles of the British Constitution—that constitution which our
Judges are sworn to uphold—the Judge is to be at all times the undefended prisoner ' s Counsel ; that the law leans always to the -side of mercy and gives every doubt to the defendant ; let him take all these circumstances into the account , and then let him believe , if he can , that Judge Gurnet is not a miserable Monomaniac , seeking , in infamy and in the execrations of society that ' being talked of" which the estimable qualities to be looked for from his years and station do not furnish .
This ib by no means the first evidence of Baron Gurnby ' s utter incompetency either of mind or character for the high station to which ho was elevated as the first proof of imbecility , or something worse , which characterised the whole career of Whig ascendancy . In 1834 , before he had been two years a Judge , his name rang through the country as a disgrace , morally or mentally or in both respects , to the judicial bench . At the Newcastle Summer Assizes of that year , among other samples of judicial equity and meroy , he exhibited the following : —A lad who had . obtained a hat , value 8 s . 6 d ., by false pretences , was adjudged by him to be " transported
for life" 1 Two loose women , one of whom had filched , and the other received and run away with , two sovereigns and some silver , belonging to a protigate fatmer , where both transported for life ! and a young man , in the possession of whose mother ^ a mad woman dependant on him for support , were found some pieees of salt pork which were said to have been Btolen , was sentenced also to be transported for life !! ! and the mother , apparently not herself ( as the report says ) even at the trial , was ordered to be transported for seven years !! While
at that very same assizes , an atrocious case of bigamy was tried before his Lordship , where a Captain of a merchant vessel had deceived and ruined an innocent girl , under pretence of marriage , having also defrauded her parents of their child ; this hardened scoundrel , who well deserved the severest penalty the law allowB , was adjudged by the humane Baron , to no more than six month ' s imprisonment 11 ! These things excited muoh observation at the time ; but he was then young ontheBenoh and it was hoped that experience would teach him something of wisdom and discrimination .
We rejoice to see , from Mr . O'Coiwoa ' a letter ^ that he hai determined to take np the ease of Joabb , and demand for him a new trial . We trust fervently that the people will see to the providing of tbe funds forthwith and amply . These matters are really ** no jekes . " They cannot be borne . Jsdges must be taught that in England people know the law and know the extent of their authority ; and that no man is to be thus immolated by maudling , doting , ignorant , malignity ; though he may even be a cobler and . a Chartist .
Can any body send up . a list ] of " the names , weights , and colours" t ) f the Jury i » Jones ' s case Taat Jury ought to be . ashamed ever again to look Englishmen , in &e f > . * ce . The conduct of the Judge ,
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without any other evidence , ought to have eeoured a verdict of acquittal , even if there had been any evidence worth calling such against Jones , which there was not . If this trial do not drive Baron Gurnet into " retirement , " then there is either no virtue in the English people , or no power in public opinion .
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ORGANIZATION . MR . O'CONNOR'S NEW PLAN . We refer with great pleasure to the plan of Mr O'Connor for a New Executive , detailed in his tetter . It is well deserving of public attention and Bonsideration . Let the people read and ponder well upon it . Let them exercise their judgments freely , It ia a matter of vital importance to our movement and Me . O'Connor will not , we are quite sure , regard any section of the people as paying him any compliment if they should adopt it , simply because it his , without examination . He wish 69 only tha ( some mode should be adopted calculated effectually
to serve the object of concentrating our energies and of preventing the people or the cause from being sacrificed by any folly or treachery that might possibly arise among those who , as tbe Executive , would be entrusted in a great measure with the keeping of the people ' s interests . Without at all reviving or wishing to revive any matter of discussion on the conduct of the last Executive , we may advert to the fact that many circumstances have combined to evinoe the necessity of some suoh
regulations as those whioh Mr . O'Connoii here proposes in the Council of thirteen and in the publio Treasurer . We think also that past experience has quite sufficiently demonstrated the necessity of 60 me check upon tbe amount of " responsibility , " which so small a body as an Executive Council of five might be disposed to assume in the putting forth of documents by whioh the whole body might be compromised , and the liberties of our best men endangered .
We have read with some degree of care Mr . O'Connor ' s plan ; and we have no hesitation in avowing our conviction that its arrangements are admirably adapted for the remedy of some very aerioua mischiefs from which we have before suffered ; and for which remedies must be provided before the Organization can be again put into that state ia which the people either can or ought to have confidence in it ; while at the same time we think there are parts of it whioh require to be carefully reconsidered , and , perhaps , to be considerably modified . We think also that there are some
matters for whioh it is absolutely necessary to make provision , and for whioh this plan of Mr . O'Connor's does not provide . We fear also that some of the arrangements contemplated by this plan might , because of the stringent character ofv the law , be attended with some considerab' ,, difficulty , if not doubt . And though it might t > thought that we are stepping off our proper gro und and invading the " legal territory" which COme more naturally under Mr . O'Connor ' s own . inspec tion , we are yet certain that he will ta '^ e kindl ; our solicitude that any new effort which the peop j
may now make may be quite sure to r ^ "all righ and safe . " Upon all these matters , we shall , ii all probability , speak more fully hereafter . Wi now point attention to them as proper subjects 0 deep and anxious consideration , or the people . Wi would gladly hear the people ' ^ own thoughts upoi them , before we enter into dotailg . We have nevei been disposed to set up out own opinion with an ; undue prominence , tho'dgh we have always con ceived ihe people to be entitled to its honest ex pression whenever we imagine that we can thu serve , them .
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The spirit in which Mr . O'Connor has pat forth this " Skeleton of a Plan , " —his anxiety that it should be canvassed and sifted by the peoplehis wish to receive the suggestions and assistance of all , that the j plan may be improved , if possible , may be corrected , if in any point illegal , —and made in every respect practically efficient—cannot be too much admired : It is the very spirit in whioh all propositions [ for publio acceptance ought' to be made , and whioh the importance of the subject especially demands in this matter .
We rejoice to see the oare with which Mr . O'Connor seems to regard the legality of every point . " We think with him that it is most important to make Chartism a thing of which none need be legally afraid . There can be no doubt that oar cause has derived an impetus , especially in certain quarters , from the proceedings connected with the late trial . That advantage is owing not more to the exhibitions of talent which were made than to the proofs which were afforded of the earnest determinanation on the part of most of those who have , led the movement , while they took every opportunity
of asserting and enforcing their principles , to abide by suoh means as might comport with and conduce to the peace and good order of society . We have made thus an advance in public estimation ; our cause has received an advantage , but it has been purchased at a dear rate , and we cannot afford to repeat the purchase . Besides any further exhibition of the same kind would only tend to lessen the advantage we have gained by this . We must now , therefore , endeavour to proceed safely . We must f . ke care that our organisation be within the law , and we must take ] care to abide by our organisation , when established , and to see that it is enforced on all :
no more tampering with it by our own officers—no more involving of the cause and the party in the " responsibility" which individuals choose to take upon themselves . ! Each man must now learn to know his own place and keep it . It is quite possible so to direct our movements as that the law shall be compelled to work with us and for us ; and this must be done . Every public act , every movement of the body , must be made conformable to rule , while the rule is made oonformable to law . We shall then , as a body , be safe ; our onward progress , at whatever
speed , will be onward ; and not as it has hitherto been , circular , coming back always to the same point whence we i started . We see much in this " skeleton of a plan ; " that will go a loag way towards securing those desirable objects . We wait anxiously for the filling-up of the " skeleton , '' which we trust will be found to effect it fully , and also to lay before the people something in the shape of an immediate and practical application of our own principles , to cheer and aid us in our struggle , to make them ultimately triumphant on the broadest scale . We are moat
happy to see in several of the master-minds of the movement a craving , simultaneously , manifested after something practical—some present embodyment in useful results of our principles and energies . We claim attention on this hrad to the following extract of a private letter , written in February last , from one of the most intelligent , as well as honest , of our leaders , to a person whom it will be seen he was wishful to put in nomination for the Executive : — " My dear Sir . —With the contents of your letter I am highly gratified . It tells me that if you -can be prevailed upon to accept the office of one of the Executive , and if ihe people will only elect you , that the best results will flow from your appointment . ' .
" I have for a considerable time past been of the Opinion that Chartism needs reformation—that nearly all we are how doing is labour lost . We appear to go the round of one circle over and over again . Behold the round we tread : agitation—EXCITEUBNT — OUTBREAK — FBRSECUTION—APATHY Jand then , when the imprisoned get free , we have more agitation , more encitement , until we finish off with persecution and apathy again . We are doing nothing pbactjcal . ; Why should we not ? The Socialists , if they move slowly , are doing something . We are doing worse than nothing . I am not quite so wild as I was four vears ago : and though equally .
as good a democrat , I now see , what I could not see then , that roaring multitudes will not of themselves ever bring the Charter . As yet we ( as a people ) have neither the virtue to get the Char er by moral means , nor have we the courage nor means ! to take the Charter by force . It is circumstances , backed b y the increasing intelligence of the masses , to which Hook for the carrying of the Charter . Could we not , then , ( without leaving anything undone we are now doing calculated to accelerate the obtainment of that measure , ) do something practical in the meantime ; something
which would shew the world we would know how to apply legislative rights when we got them for the removal of the social misery existing ? I believe we could . I believe we must come to something of the sort ; and the sooner the better too . Now , I believe you are just the man calculated to commence that reform of the movement ; and so thinking , it is my earnest desire to see you at the Executive Board . I am weary of Chartism as . at present conducted . Let us prove by acts and deeds that we are fitted to legislate , aad depend upon it , so far from retarding , we shall greatly accelerate the triumph of the Charter .
" More I cannot aay now ; when the gods permit I will , on these matters , by letter or otherwise , say something more . " Anent the same matter , we have also , this week , received a letter from a gentleman whom , though he be not very prominent in the movement , we know , and feel proud to know , as one whose strength of mind and sterling honesty deserve muoh attention . He writes as follows : —; " SIR , —1 hope you will allow me a small space in the columns of the people ' s paper , it is the first time I ever asked you tbe favour , and the reason I do so new is , because I believe that the time has now arrived for us , as Chartists , to make a further advance , in order
to accomplish that which you and I , in common wit '/ , tbe rest of oar Chartist brethren , have so much at heart—that is , equal justice to all , and happiness to all tbe human family . I feel convinced that our lonr an ( j arduous agitation most have proved to every refl acting individual , as well as to the world at large , ths ^ when tbe people are properly united , their pewer is Omnipotent . Who is he that has beheld , and bas not admired , tbe noble conduot of our unwashed and 111 * xarate artisans sallying f rth from their workshops , ar jq mounting the hustings for the purpose of discussing otu glorious principles with the classic and refined a /{ atocrata , and proving unto them , and to the world . &at our principles are based upon justice , and tb before they are immutable ? \
" I am not aware of any meetln ^ having heen properly convened for the ! purpose of discussing our principles , where they ha ^ e not bee ; always triumphantly carried , save and except In that 9 ma \ i market-house of incurables situated upon the ba- of the river Thames , where they make errors by hi ^ adreds , and squander the people ' s money by millions . "As Chartists we do no tptofess to have the Rift of prophecy ; nevertheless , * #$ always knew that certain causes would produce \ r ^ tain effects , and knowing , as we did . that the mal-a ^ ministration of class legislation ,
and the improved a 44 atm improving atate of machinery would ultim ^ teiy bring on national distress knowing this , we ^ feed f our political rights to be conceded unto v ^ inj order to empower us to alter the institutions of c / Kt COvrawy , so as to enable us to prevent so dreadful a calamity ; but instead of our just rights being conced ^ unt 0 us > our petitions have always been treated wit' j contempt by a large majority of the members of th- ^ House which is falsely called the people ' s House ; nQd aiao mjn | 8 t , of those out of that House , nfUO II # " u in WOfVtClW « vVi 4 flV » d » tl ¥ ^ VlCki » £ > r \ 9 atl \ rm \ cA-rr no VViah wno ir 4 ?^ jn Tathei ajhigher sphere of societyas they
e , te ' . t , have treated jus and our principles somewhat nnco atteously . The reason why some of them have dor / e so , I believe , is because they have been quite iguo-Is / it what our principles are ; others have misrepres ented us , because they thought it were tLeir interest to do so ; but , If I am not greatly mistaken , such individuals are finding it out that they reckoned without their host . i " Well , let us persevere onward , and as sure as two and two make four , { if we only unite oar agitation with a firm co-operation , we shall prove auto the slanderers and the wayerers that we ate still progressing in the light course .
"Now , Sir , for our onward movement Dees not our great champion , and virtuous patriot , O'Connor , cry out THB LAND , " and you echo to the cry , and I fellow in tbe train , and say " THE LAND ; " but tbe question which new arises Is , is the land to come unto us , or we are to go unto the land . I say tee must go to the land . Well , then , if we are to go te the land , some plan most be adopted to come at the means . " Well , Sir , we all know tbat many pence makes » pound , and one million pence a week will realise a sum of four thousand one ] hundred and sixty-six pounds , thirteen shillings and fourpence weekly .
" Now then , brother ; Chartists , if this sum could be placed in the hands of an Executive , every week , for the purpose of being judiciously laid oat , woald it , I ask , weaken our present position ? I unhesitatingly say it woald make us doubly strong ; but anxious as I am to see either this or some more improved plan carried
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into operation , I know it cannot be accomplished in one week ; it will have to be the work of time ; but if it be taken up in the same spirit that tbe Trades' Union was , the time will be short , and I say be that lias it in his power to subscribe and does not do so , I cannot believe him to be sincere when I bear him wishing that society was regenerated . Talking is very good in its place ; but , in my opinion , the time haa aow arrived
when it behoves ob to act at well as talk . Now , if it be adviseable tbat an experiment should be tried , some plan muBt be hit upon in order to set it agoing . I wonld beg to suggest the propriety ef calling a small conference ; such conference to be composed of a fe « of the best minds that can be selected from the Chartist ranks say one from Yorkshire , ene from Lancashire , and one from each of the other counties ; the said delegates to meet in some centra ) place .
•• We , your friends at Keighley , were amongst the foremost to form a political union previous to the passing of what was falsely called the Reform BUI , and WQ are now ready to assist in placing Chartism upon a more solid basis than it hitherto has been . Let oa hasten to place ourselves in this formidable position , and then if we knock at the door of St . Stephen ' s , whether Peel or Russell be the gate-keeper , they will politely let us in . " I remain , " Yours in the cause of Democracy , " Joseph Firth . " Keighley , March 21 , 1843 . "
These sentiments are worthy of earnest consideration , coming , as they do , from one of labour ' s nobles These are evidences of the turn the public mind is taking . We rejoice to see them : they are proofs that our labour vbas not been in vain—that the seed which we have sown is showing itself already in the blade , and will yet ripen in the full ear . We have yet much to say upon this subject of remodellingour movement . We shall return toit again and again , and lay our own thoughts before the people . Meantime we commend it to the careful consideration of Mr . O ' Connor in the filling np of Ms "
skeleton , we have had no communication with him on the matter , but should be glad to have . We feel earnestly desirous that our new Organisation should be perfect ; that it should embrace every advantage s and guard against every disadvantage ; hence , we advise the people to take time , to deliberate , to weigh well every point , to give , through the Star , the benefit of their opinion , to those who may be occupied in preparing measures for their consideration and acceptance . Let , it however , be noted , that whilst
inviting from all the expression of their opinion , we do not offer general license , and promise general indulgence } to every man who can spin out a letter of a column or two in length . What we want are not writers and essays , bat hints and observations ; short , pithy and to the point—telling what the letters mean , without waste of words . Unless this cantion be observed , our space may be unduly occupied , and we may be obliged to offend many by suppression or curtailment .
We think no steps should be taken for appointing an Executive until the re-organisation of the people has been agreed to and determined on .
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4 : v , - " ' ' ¦ THE NORTHERN STAB .
The Noethern Star. Saturday, April 1, 1843.
THE NOETHERN STAR . SATURDAY , APRIL 1 , 1843 .
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Tr | E CHARTISTS AND THE MAGISTRACY Thk length at which we have this w « ek given the trial of Coopeb and the other Chartists , at Stafford and elsewhere , have precluded the possibility of our giving the debate on Mr . Duncombe ' s motion , most important as it is . We regret this exceedingly , but have no alternative . To have given anything like a decent abstract of it wonld have occupied more than double the space that W 8 had left , and to murder it we had no inclination ; feeling sure that however strong and just may be the objeotion to " old news , " the people would be reasonable enough to know that the paper can but be filled , and , on so important a matter , would prefer Waiting till next week for tha entire , to having a murdered serap of it .
As we cannot give the debate now , we shall reserve the bulk of our remarks on it till they can be read in juxta-position with the speeches upon which we comment , as we think that the fairest way . But we cannot permit the fact to escape notice , that the " House" and the Government absolutely refused to meet the motion of Mr . DuftboHBB at all . There can be no doubt that if they could have prevented his making the motion they would have done so ; for they were evidently not a little "bothered" with it . The Attorney-General , as defender of the
Magistrates , showed infinitely more of the lawyer and less of the man than on the trial at Lancaster . It must have been a galling task to his honourable mind , if his bearing at Liverpool and Lancaster have not left on us a perfectly erroneous impression of his individual and personal goodness of character . He was compelled to have recourse to the mean and djrty subterfuges of his craft . To blink wilfully and resolutely the question at issue , and to conjure up a phantom of his own with whioh to fence , instead of meeting Mr . Duncouie' 8 facts and arguments , most of which he entirely passed over ,
and some of whioh he grossly—we hope not wilfully —distorted and misrepresented to eke out his own case . Mr . Duncomoe oomplained , on the petitions of the parties , of the hardships inflicted on a number of individuals by the illegal conduct of the Magistrates before trial . The Attorney-General replied by rehearsing his own very fair and courteous conduct to the same parties at trial;—as though the two oases had anything ia the world to do with eaoh other ! as though his fairness could be taken to excuse their illegal stringency ; as glaring a non seqniiur as could have been urged . '
Another portion of the Learned Gentleman's defence of the " unpaid" was , that the petitioners had several of them , been convicted ; as though a man who may have been convicted could not by possibility have suffered any hardship or ill treatment before conviction ! True , be said the law was open to them ; and tbat if they could persuade Grand Juries to return a Bill , the Magistrates might be indioted for any offence charged against them , or that they might be civilly prosecuted for damages . But could the Attorney-General be ignorant of the fact that the Grand Jury before whom the bill of
indictment must have been preferred , would be made ef the accused parties themselves , and of tbe folly , therefore , of any body dreaming of so acting F Did he not know that poor men cannot proseoute for damages ? Would he , as counsel , undertake a cause for any man who was neither able to pay hia fee , nor to pay an attorney for preparing brief for him \ How contemptible then to offer these men the alternative of tbe law ! with tbe case also of O'Neil upon his lips ; in which the law was appealed to , and , though the guilt of the Magistrates was admitted , redress was denied to the injured party , and the Magistrates were actually
commended by the Court in the same judgment which pronounced the subject of commendation to be an illegal aot !! The sum of the whole matter ia this ; that the refusal of this inquiry stamps tbe condemnation both of the Government and the League , it brands the Government with partiality and cowardice ; and it shews th « League , of whom the Magistrates complained against are part and parcel , to have been " the real Simon Pures " whom though the Government perfectly know all about it , thi-y fear to meddle with , even when a good and fair case is thrust into their hands by those very Magistrates themselves .
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EMIGRATION . —WHERE TO . —AND HOW TO PROCEED . It is well known that we have not been advisers of Emigration . We have not been of those who have advised the people to forsake the land of their birth , to seek in other and ( oft-times ) inferior climes , that comfortable living and free position which they onght to enjoy ax home ; and for the enjoyment and securement of which we possess such ample means . We have rather advised that the people should remain in their father-land , and learn to use common sense in the application of the illimitable means of comfort and well-being at their disposal .
Yet we know there are those who are hearisickened at the present position and prospect of thiDgs in England ; and who deem it prudent to scrape together the remnants of their shattered "fortunes" and all but absorbed savings , and betake themselves to distant lands , there to seek for that protection and freedom denied them by THE SYSTEM at home . To such it is important to know where to go to , for the best ; and how to proceed in their arrangements , so as to secure themselves from the gross impositions and oppressions practised upon them by hordes of hungry vultures who hover round emigrant ships , at both ends of the passage , and fleece the unknowing moat unmercifully .
Some months ago , we announced that a firm and undeviating friend of the working classes , Mr . Prrkethlt , of Huddersfield , had made it his business to inquire into these matters ; and had undertaken a voyage to the United Stages of Nob . th Ameeica , to see with his own eyes , awd judge for himself , as to the truth or falsehood of the many glowing representations that hav'Abeen made to induce Emigration to that quarts of the world . For this purpose he has traversed , over several of the States , particularly those of Massachusetts , New Yobk .
Rhode J 9 lamd , "Pensylvania , Ohio , MicHiBAN i Illinois , Wisconsin , and New Jbbset . He has been to look uut , and ascertain the actual state of things in the / , e places , so as to judge of the desirability , or otherwise , of Emigration ; and to ascertain the bo-it and most economical mode in which Emigration , if determined on , can be accomplished . He baa 'returned to England from this mission ; and we ha » , o made arrangements with him to publish the " Nc / , es of his Tour" in weekly portions in the Staff ,
We should have given his introductory letter this " week ; only that the trials at Stafford and Leicester have preoccupied our space . It shall be given next week ; and the following week we shall commence to publish the " Notes of the Tour . " The introductory letter is to put the reader in possession of the reasons and inducements Mr . Pitkethly ¦ bad to undertake the labour he did undertake ; while the " Notes of the Tour , " will , as may readily be
inferred , give the particular items of information the traveller picked up by the wayside , daring bis long journey of thousands of miles . The " Notes" will be followed up by a number of general observations detailing the impressions made on Mr . P 11-kethlt ' s mind by the facts he has made himself conversant with , and the reasoning and opinions he has heard from persons on the several spots he- haa visited .
We may state now , to those who may be intending to Emigrate , that it is Mr . Pitkethly ' s strong desire that no one should depart their native land , unless under complete arrangements for » ntoring upon thb ljlx » at th © place of their intended destination . He states that from the immense numbers that flocked to the United States during the last and two previous years , there is a great " redundancy of hands " in every department of labour ; so that when labour is obtained ( a thing now next to impossible ) it ia uniformly followed by a reduction of wages . This also tends to reduce wages at home ; for if we are to compete with the " foreign manufacturer , " we muBt as a matter of course , produce cheaper than he does ; and we shall net be able to produce cheaper if the wages of labour are higher .
Under proper arrangements Emigration rajff w conduce to the advantage and benefit of the xim *" grants ; and we believe a scheme by which thia can be accomplished will be developed during tUo course , or at the end , of the publication of the information and advice we shall so shortly be enabled to lay before the publio . But the crowding toge ther of such vast heaps as have been throws into the several States of NoniH Ahebica , without system or plan , or defined object , has worked to the great disadvantage of all concerned ; both th * Emigrant and native workman .
" We also learn from Mr . Pitkkthlt , that Ike people will de well not to listen to all the flowing tales contained in letters from "friends' * who have already gone out ; as they are likely to be greatly deceived if they do . He mentions that before he went out" he saw in the " Weekly Dispatch , " some letters from a person of the name of Cole , dated from Wisconsin territory ; and which , from tbe glowing descriptions therein given , induced gtea
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), April 1, 1843, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct796/page/4/
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