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THE NORTHERtN STAR SATURDAY. AUGUST 6, 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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HOUSE OP LOEDS—Tmsoxs , Avecst 1-! Ehd Bojal Assent wssgiren by eomnussioH to the Wo 611 enl « laiuifactBrers' Bill , the Loan Societies Act ConJanuanceBfll , the Bridges £ Ireland > Bill and severalprivaie hills . _ , „ . „ , ^ TneComrmsaons for TaKng AffidaTite m Scotlandcana * Ireland Bill was read a second tune , and « rdered to bs committed on Thursday iw- ' Tie Dake of WjaxnfGTOM presented papers relating to Scinde by command of her Majesty . Tneir Lordships ihenadjonrnsd to Thursday .
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HOUSE OF COMMONS—Mo 5 D JO-Jra . T 31 , Mr . HrarB witndrCTrhis motion for ordering the ArrossEY-G&fEBih to prosecute Messrs . Wabd and Wxlsjssou , the agents of lord DusGAKSOH at thfi election for Ihrrham . Seteral Bills irere read a second time . On themolion of Mr . Chbiktgebeb , an order was Issned for committing to Newgate a nan named K » mnpi Potts , for affixing forged names to a petition presented to ihe Honse . The Order of the Day for tee second reading of ihe Scotch Qrareh Bill w& 3 then read , and Sir J . Graham went into a long statement of the objects of file Act , wishing that the general principle of not opposing ihe second readings of Bills ihat have passed the other House anight bo observed on the jwesentoccaaon . . _ . . ' .. „
Mri "Wallace opposed the second reading . He denied that this Bill had been brought in at the suggestion of the General Assembly of Scotland ; it was dear-thai it originated at the suggestion of her Majesty ' s Government- He « mld state many things to show how sneere the secession from the < 3 rarcfa of Scotland had been . It had created the greatest degree of admiration throaghont Ihe coos try and he believed if fibis Bill passed into a law , great numbers more wonld flee from ihe Established CbBTch , and flock to tbeJIree Church . He moved that the BIB be read a second time that day six months . Mr , B . Cochrasb supported the Bill . \ Mr . JEhrrHEEFOBD was sorry a Bill so important should hare been bronght forward so late in the session ; he condemned it as disregarding the Act of Union , as an invasion of the rights of patrons , which were now to be , grren ± o a Church—to a priesthood , ¦ WhOTfere the Worst ^ depositories of snch a power .
lord J . Hcsseix pointed oat the confusion that prevailed throughout ihe B 01 , between the deelara--jory and enaetive clauses , stating that clauses of iheformerdescripfionweremost unwisely introduced , and made a dangerous precedent . Mr-O « x 2 £ xvix said the ministers who had left the Church iiad seceded " more in sorrow than in anger / 5 Had tfeey , as haa been alledged , been desirous of securing more power in the Cbnreh to themselves , they wonld have bad nothing to do but of 1840
to bare accepted lord Abeedses ' s BUI Bui the present Bill and that Act were not the same . He-objected to the present Bill that it threw too much power into the hands of ihe Church . StB-Pkes . dosed the debate , in a speech of no ^ reat length . He said it appeared to him thai many of the observaiionsnehad heard daring the discussion iad no direct bearing on the measure discussed . The great and tthmti question was , whether the House wonld agree to this measure , or abandon any attempt to legislate on the snbject .
On . ihe < lmslon ihat took place on the close of KrB . Peel ' s address , the nnmbeis were—For the Second Heading , 98 ; Against it BO ; Majority , 38 . The Honse then proceeded to some of the other lmsiness on ihe paper . The Earl of Lincoln postponed till next session ihe Metropolitan ~ Buildings BflL The Theatres Regulation Bill and the Slave Trade Snppresaon Bill were read a second time . The fturd reading of ihe Irish Arms Bill'vras postponed till Thursday ; and ihe House adjourned at two o'clock .
Tuesdat , Ararat 1 . The Honse tad a morning sitting , the chief business of -which consisted in discussing the London Coal-wEppers'Bill . Ai ihB afternoon sitting , Colonel Beskihooxe moved ihe issue of a new writ for the" borough of Sndbury . Mr . Blacestoke moved , as an amendment , ihat leave Be given to hong in a bill to make an efiectnal Inguiry into the bribery and corrspt practices alleged to exist in the borough of Sudbury . Considerable discussion ensued , bat ultimately the BoBse divided , when the amendment was carried by 138 to 25 .
Ms . "Wjced irongbi- on his moiion . - — " That an inmbla address / be presented io -her Majesty , re-1 presenting to her Majesty that , in , tho opinion of ] ibis House , it is ^ not by measures for the repression of local Tjolenee thai tlie discontents of Ireland can be allayed , but by removing ihose grievances which"have &rmedfor many years toe subject of i recorded complaint and remonstrance between the \ two countries . That amongst the most prominent ' of ihese'is the law by which ihe whole eeclesiasti- cal property « f Ireland is assigned io the clergy of a Tsrfian section of the population ; and ihat this Honse , deeply impressed with the belief that such a law is Bot conformable to reason , or to ihe pr&c-. lice of any Christian , pledges itself , after providing
for crisfiog proprietary rights , and for the claims trf ier Mages ^ r * s Trotestant subjects , cordially cooperate with her Majesty in effecting such a settlement of Church property in Ireland , as will remove all jast ground of complaint , and giTe Batisfaciion to ihe Irish people . 51 He sopported this notion by an able and elaborate speech , tracing much of the existing condition of Ireland tathe established Church . Ireland had been only partially cocgaered when the Reformed Church was intro duced ; -grasping clergymen were sent over from J&ugiaxi& i vrho , as Spenser complained , looked simp ly to their own temporal interest ; and that great instrument of ihe Reformation , prayers in the native tongue , was neglected in Ireland , Sot to this
lionr th& English Litnrgy had never beep translated into Irish . Reviewing the history of the countryihe spoliations , confiscations , penal enactments of earlier times , and the straggles , efforts , insurrections , acd concessions of more modern days—he showed that onr whole policy in Ireland was as absurd and ruinous as it was crueL The tithe system , which seemed as W contrived by the devil himself to frustrate the efons of ihe Church ,- and tfr bring the reformed religion into contempt , was maintained with perfcinaeions stnpidity , and enforced with all the rigour of law , among a people who did not belong to the establishment ; and even when at last ihe necessity of relieving ihe people from this burden compelled Parliament to legislate , it -wa 3 preceded by a fierce party struggle . "Wiwk reference to this topic , he entered into ' a re view of his own labours in this field ; the breaking up of Sir Robert Peel ' s administration in 1835 by
ihe ** appropriation clause ; ihe ultimate ab&ndonjnentof that principleby ihe "Whig Govfsrnmentand party , which he regarded as a great calamity , inasmuch as it broke faith with the people of Ireland , and threw doubt on ihe lononr and faith of public men . The main evib which afflicted Ireland -were to be traced to the statute-book ^ probetbese evils , and the Church would be found at the bottom . Who was ihe author of the great " moral miracle , " the ternpersncemoTemeot ? Not tne Church ; hot one of those humble men , on whose head the wisdom of onr ancestors would have ^ set a price a century ago . Taking the census of the population and the last leportof ihe Ecclesiastical Commission , he stated the episcopal-population of Ireland at 732 , 000 whose religions instruction cost fifteen shillings per head , while that- of the Presbyterians wab only Is per head , though he had never heard that Ihe one was the less moral or religions than the other j while nothing was reserved for the instruction of the Roman Catholics
© r Dissenters . Jlftergriing Bome-amnsiBg rcminiscences of the secisl&r and political spirit in which Bedeaastieal preferment ?; from humble chaplaincies io bishoprics , were regarded and jobbed in by-past times , he proceeded to the present condition of the Cbnreh in Ireland , admitting ihat much improvement had taken place , but pointing ont those unions of preferments which still contume the opprobrium of its ecclesiastical govenunentj and rounded off ihis portion of Jos speech by giving extracts-from fee sorre 3 pondenca with which he had been faronred by one * r wo Irish clergymen , evincing that ihfi old feeling still existed . The Catholics were now eight TflUiions ; they conldno longer be treated asa separate commmnry , or regarded as the "hewers of wood ma $ J& na * " *? " ffater" wllil * Bean Swi f * *** enbed ftem to be . Let them break np ' the Irish establishment nd
; get of its cumbrbna machinery : give to the whole Irish community an equal and fair fihar * m the distribugon of the tithe f&id ; ve ^ it m lie Lsaids of conmuKdoners for this pnrpose . respectuig vested rights , allot&jg an * qnal gum , in proportiqn to the population , to the , three religions : and , bj a bold and fearless poHcy conciliate a people who st 31 smart nnder a deep sense of humiliation jtnd long-continued wrong . Trance and Spam had toed the exterminating policy , and n& 4 lost the choicest of their JMpnktfon . By obstinatelv refashyf concesaon , we lost the United States . It wasonlyby jielding to the people of Scotland on the score of their national religion , that thennion with that country was obtained and completed and from all thess examples he called on the Bouse to Imprudent in time , and 5 uhstitnteawiBe , ageneroos . and a-confiding Dofioy , Jot fte narrow and ipji 1 /»«
spmt inwhicn we £ sve hitherto acted towards Ireland . - Mr . Cabew seconded the motion in a neat and effective address . Lord Eiior characterised Mr . "Ward ' s motion Sf ^ FST ^ ^ - ¥ l ^ ' ' *** at once ' oow anoVoennite , which brought them at once to an issneon the question of iho malnteoance or snbYer * sum of ihe Established Church of Ireland . " Withont a pledge for its security , the Union wonld not have beenieeomplifihed , nor tmaaicipatioa achieved ; and asIse saw 3 io difitxence between s . Protestant Soverdgnland a Pxoiestast Chnrch , so he could not adsit thai ihe removal of the one without ihe other wonld plate ihe Roman CatholieB on the desired
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footing of equality with their other fellow subjects . Tho inviolability " of the Irish Protestant Church waB a leading idea in that resolution relating to emancipation traced by the dying hand of Grattan ; and ihe advocates of that measure , ihe most opposite in character , Plunket , Cannine , and Castlereagh , all enforced the same opinion . Toe Protestant people of England and Scotland were not yet prepared for ihe spoliation of ihe Irish Establishment ; nor was h yet come to the alternative of that spoliation or « ivil _ war *_ Mr . O'Connell now held opinions on the subject different from what he and other leaders expressed when emancipation was granted ; and without a distinct compact , not all the influence of tho Diike of Wellington and Sir Robert Peel would have sufficed to carry ihat measure . On the conclusion of Lord Eliot ' s speech , the debate was adjourned . '
The Northertn Star Saturday. August 6, 1843.
THE NORTHERtN STAR SATURDAY . AUGUST 6 , 1843 .
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THE CONFERENCE . The necessity for the assembling of this body is now universally felt , and all butoniversally acknowledged . On the point of desirability , therefore , nothing more need be said . The * very general expression of opinion , almost throughout the whole country . settles the point that we must have it . Nor is there much disagreement as to time and place . Birmingham is , by a great majority of localities , fixed npon as the most likely place ; and we think an examination of the votes come ; io and recorded , will shew that & great majority are for deferring its assembly to the first week in September .
We take it , then , as settled , that a Conference there must be . We take it , too , that it is nearly settled where it is to be holden , and the time it is to meet ; for whatever contrariety of opinion may have ^ existed as to these two latter points , every one will give in to what is the expressed wish of the majority . It is time , then , now ihat all preparations were duly made . The delegates are to be appointed . The fands for their expenses are to be raised . The subjects for their deliberations have to be considered , and general instructions given . And a scale of Jtepresentadon has to be determined on .
On the latter point , we may say thai it will not be needful for the Conference to be a very large body ; not bo large as the one that assembled in Birmingham in December last ; nor SO costly . We deem the proposal of our South Lancashire friends , for a large district representation worthy of great consisideration . By caution and prudence in the selection of delegates , this course may be made to answer the intended purpose i best . A small nnmbar of wail-informed business-men , active , intelligent , and prudent , will be far better for all good ends , than a large number of persons selected
without regard to these essential qualifications . A small committee always performs more work , and better , than a large one , even when personal qualifications are equal . In this case it is business alone that is to be attended to . We want men of aptitude , io tike up the floating mass of proposals and suggestions for Organization , and oat of the whole form s * ys ? eaiatized plan : one that shall be perfectly legal ; secure io us tbs rJiQTBcnoff or the U . W i be , withal , workable , and easy to be understood ; having the duties of all , body and head , members and office-bearers , plainly defined . This is what is wanted to be done in the first instance .
This ib the main work . Now for this purpose a smallish' * number of wise men , well and judiciously selected , will be far preferable to a large body heterogeneously mixed together . The question of expense is also deeply involved : and it fortunately happens that the least expensive mode will answer best for all other purposes . This is not a trial of strength between two oppoBing parties , where it is needful that each should put forth its full measure of power , to sway public opinion on its side . It is a meeting for business , to give national sanction to the best , most comprehensiTe , legal , and workable plan of Organization that can be devised . Do not these reasons and considerations , then , support the proposal of our Lancashire friendB for large district representation !
At the same time great care will be requisite in the appointment of delegates . These should be chosen for their business-talents . and prudent devotedness to ihe great cause thai will be entrusted to their care . They will not need to be " orators . " Speech-making will not be tho work the delegates will sent be to perform , Ability to speech-make alone , therefore , is no qualification for the office . Sound , practical , discriminating oommen sense is what will be mainly required . To these matters , then , we now invite the immediate attention of the Chartist body . Look out your men . Determine on the scale of representation Prepare your funds . Agree npon , and give your instructions .
There is another point , io which sufficient attention has net yet been devoted . It is in our opinion all-important ; and we have waited to see whether it would be taken up by the Chartists generally , without being pressed npon their notice . It has arrested a glance here and there ; and a word or two have occasionally passed respecting it . But not enough has been either said or done in relation to it . We mean the question of Scotch Unios with the Esgijsb 1 Is it net desirable to effect such an Act of Union between the two bodies of English and Seoteh Chartists , that shall work so well that
neither party shall wish for " Repsax" I Why should they be disunited f Is there any benefit to be derived from it I Is th « 6 any benefit in disunion ? If it be needful for the English Chartists , and for the Scotch Chartists , to have separate general Organizations , because of the advantages accreting from general actjon and systematized movement , sorely it wonld be cot leBS advantageous to have a real General Union for all , which should promote feelings of amity , induce oneness of purpose , and direct energetically the whole force of public opinion npon anyone given point ! This 77
is an " Extension of Commercein good works that even to think would be beneficial ! < Could not it be effected ! Is it not worth the trial 1 Should we not endeavour to accomplish it ! We think every sincere Chartist will , with alacrity , say " yes" ! Then let us to the ; vroik . Let us \ o the endeavonr . SCOTCHMEN , whw sat tou ! Give the proposal due consideration Weigh well the advantages to be derived to yourselves , to your English brethren , and to the common cause , by such a junction . Reflect well on it ; and let hs hare your decisioD . ENGLISHMEN , what sat tod ! Is the active and prudent co-operation of yonrnntiring nnswerving " brither Scot " worth the seeking 1 Is it not worth courting
Will it be nothing to unite with a body of people who have stuck true and steadfast , through good report and through evfl report , and conducted their afiairs withoat one mishap ? See the field of exertion widen before you , and see ihs number of weB-driUed working labourers ready to do their part in gathering in the rich ' and ripening harvest ! See too the extended range of selection for first-office-bearers thai opens out . Many parties fear the experiment of another Executive . They fear that enTj and jealonsyjnay be again at work , and produce more division and disunion than we even now have , or have had . Would not this in a great measure be prevented , by bringing in new parties to act I—patties who havejno partisans —who have not at their backs those who will be
dissatisfied if they do not get in ; and others at their heels vrho will be dissatisfied if they do . To the ^ Chartists of both countries we commend these considerations . Weigh them well . They are deserving of your every attention . Accomplish the work , and yon will find that it will be of the utmost service to the movement , giving it an impetus that will amply satisfy for the pains taken . Let onr Scotch brethren look to this ! matter well . If they decide in its favour , no doubt their English brethren will be happy to meet them at the Conference , to consummate the desirable object . If the place of meeting is inconvenient , the Scotch people
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have but to say bo ; and we are sure that every effort will be made to accommodate them , compatible with convenience to all . ' Having considered the question of the Conference and its labours in a somewhat circumscribed eense , we shall now take a more general view of tiie whole question , and indicate several other matters which will of necessity urge themselves on the attention of the assembled body ; and which it will be well to canvass over some little beforehand . '
The question of Organization and the leading features : connected with the subject have been long before the coantry and the further step 9 which it mayiba necessary to take , after a plan of Organization is agreed upon , will require some time for completion . The Organization is but the means ji the direction of pubUo opinion , the end . Of course the election of an Executive body , and the preliminary steps prior to such election ; rules for the appointment of lecturers , with directions for the government of their body ; some improvement in the slovenly method of holding public meetings hitherto-practised ; as well as meanB to insure perfect harmony in the ranks , will no doubt arrest the attention of the delegates .
The announcement of the League at Bristol that their battle would henceforth consist in bribing electors to support M Free Trade" principles , will naturall y present to the Conference the necessity of adopting , some mode by which , the non-elective in ~ Jluence may be brought to bear efficiently against the elective power upon the next dissolution of Parliament . Wemufit be cautious , lest the denial of "Free-Trade "' principles by the Loagne , and tho convenient adoption of the Chartist pledge upon the hustings , should lead us into a hasty confidence in our greatest oppressors . It is evident that upon the next dissolution the tactics of the League will be to unite with the Complete Suffragists ; and , in the event of the working classes directing their undivided
attention to the return oftwenty out-and-out Chartist candidates , tho coalition will be tried to . be effected with " Free Traders , " ready to swallow not only the six points , but name and all ! But ihe Ch&rtiBts must bear in mind , that they do not want to make their principles in the House of Commons a mere secondary QUESTION ! now and then receiving the Jukewarm support of " Free Traders . " Their game is to return an active talking , business-like , common-PLACE-MEAStTBE-OB ? TBUCTING STAFF , Who Will Sit night after night , and day after day , using the House of Commons in the first instance , as a channel through which Chartist principles can be inculcated throughout the world ; and , secondly , as a rallying point round which the working classes will master with increased zeal and activity .
All these are questions which mast necessarily arrest the attention of tho delegates ; while it may take some time after the plan of Organization is agreed upon to bring the necessary machinery into working order . The question of " leadership" has been very ; whimsically treated by politicians of all schools , they agreeing for the most part in denouncing " leadership "; while every party tends to the recognition of the principle . Are . not delegates , although instructed as to their course , "leaders" pro tempore * and with the consent of the people I Are not the members of an Executive Committee acknowledged M leaders" ? and what is the object of our re-Organization * but that of recommending and practising caution in the election of "leaders" ! What would
be the position of a Chartist representative in the House of Commons , but that of " leader" \ How have ihe minorities of factions been so long enabled to hold dominion over the great majority of the people , except by n leadership" ! Thorefore , while we shall be ever ready to denounce the despotism of " leadership , " we shall be eq . ally prepared to defend the principle , as ihe best , indeed as the only , means of marshalling political parties .
Let us trust , then , that the aereral localities will forthwith put their shoulders to the wheel and prepare for the day of redemption ! We anticipate much from the bringing together of the leadess of the people . We live in times when all personal considerations must be merged in the general good . In order to make the' proceedings of the Conference instrumental in establishing the strength of the popular will , we would strongly urge upon the men of Birmingham the propriety of making arrangements to give OUR GREAT LEADER , Thomas Duncombe , Esquire , M . F ., a public entry into
Birmingham on some day during its sittings , and to invite him as a guest to a tea party the same evening . This will have the double effect of doing honosr to the champion who has fought our cause alone , while it will prove that we are thankful for good intentions . If M England has her Attwood , " the Chartists have their Duncombe . Both are presenters of Chartist National felitions ; With just this difference between them : one raised up the ferment , and was frightened at the monster he had created . He slunk from his post , telling us that all that he meant by the People ' s Charter
and Universal Suffrage was " Little Shillings and " One Pound Notee . " The other undertook his task in far more difficult times , and performed it manfully , and has stuck to us ever since I Never let it be forgotten"that it was Attwood that proposed the National Holiday ; that it was Muntz and Douglas that commenced the "Physical Force" Movement , when they went to Scotland to establish Rifle Clubs , and sell rifles at 12 i 6 d . each ! And never let it be forgotten that when the first approach of c anger was manifest , the whole squad RAN AWAY , Attwood saying he only wanted the" National Holiday" for the Little Shilling" . ' !!
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done to society at arge by the precarious mode of leasing Church property . We do not mean that [ bishops demand a higher rent than lay lords , or the { contrary ; but we do assert , that the peculiar conjditiohs annexed io those contracts , and the uncertainty of tenure under them , leads to a lax , islovenly , and negligent system of husbandry , by which the largest portion of benefit , wbioh , under better circumstances , would be conferred upon society , is wholly lost . Did either of the noble Lords take into account the property belonging to Trinity College , the hot-bed ' of Protestant prejudice , and the cradle of Orange principles ? If we were now settling the account in good mercantile style between party and patty , pex&dventure we might be
seduced by commercial principles to make a sum of rule of three of it , and assume the calculations of the noble lords to be perfectly correct : but when wo come to view the question as a whole , and to consider that this kind of " pepper corn" rent paid to the Church , is not only an injustice as a Protestant imposition upon a Catholic . people , bat that the amount , be it large or be it small , loses its real arithmetical value ; and instead of being looked upon as a kind of chief-rent , amounting to something short of half a million annually , it is viewed as the foundation of every grievance of which not only the Irish Catholics justly complain , but as an intolerable abuse against which tho whole nation has set its face . It is the
nestegg upon which ovary other grievance has been laid . It was the Upa 3-tree planted in Ireland , upon the con Quest of the Irish Catholics by their Saxon oppressors , intended as a badge of conquest , and as the standard round which tho Orange faction could rally , summoned by the cry of " the Church is in danger . ' * It may now suit the policy of the Charch-parfcy , grown wreak by abuse , to speak in tones of moderation ; but the outcry now raised against tho Protsstant Church in Ireland is not confined to mere Catholic dissent . It has been forced into the Protestant camp by the Tithe
Composition Bill of Mr . Goulburn whereby the Protestant grass-land , made tithe-free by a resolution of the protestant Irish Parliament , was brought in to gavel and made to bear its proportion of the Church burden . From 1825 , the period at which this Bill took effect , the Royal , Loyal , Protestant Landlords of Ireland have been like the Duko ' s daughter and the Moor ' s wife ; hampered with a divided duty : the one to the Church as loyal Protestants , the other to the pocket aa struggling landlords . Prior to Mr . Goulbubn ' s , bill , the Protestant landlords , tho Protestant parsons , the Catholic landlords , and the Catholic owners of
Church property invariably made common cause in resisting tithe agitation ; that is , as long as the Catholic pauper with an acre of potatoes supported the Protestant parson , while the Protestant landlord with his luxuriant grass domain contributed not one farthing towards the salvation of his own soul , the people were transported , butchered , and destroyed by the associated defenders of the rights of < the Church . As soon however as this first innovation was made , there was a quickness in the landlord ' s feeling , whioh threw his love of Church in the shade ; and to this act more than to any other
is to be attributed the rapid progress « ade by the Catholic Association demanding what was called Catholic Emancipation . Goulburn was the means of carrying Emancipation some years before it would otherwise have been accomplished , inasmuch as the Protestant landlords recognised an injustice to themselves in his Bill , whereby they were taxed for the support of their own Church ; and from its enactment to 1829 we find the ranks of the Catholic Association considerably swelled by Protestant volunteers . Lord Elxot , therefore , has made an erroneous calculation , when he considers
Emancipation , carried in 1829 , to have been a fulfilment of a contract made in 1800 ; and he is equally in etror , when he would lead ua to a belief that , by implication , the Emancipation Bill was a re-acknowledgment of the Act of Unien . Wo , then , look upon the revenue of the Irish Church , not only as being unnecessarily large in amount , but destructively so , as a rallying point for all the evil passions for that dominant faction who look upon it as the trophy of their party , won in a war against the Catholic people . Surely , if any portion of the wild Indians looked upon the possession of the Gates of Somnautb
as of national importance , and if a great English statesman acquiesced ia the national prejudice , something is due to the feelings of the Irish Catholics , who in the pillarB of Church and State recognise the triumph of the enemy , as well as a barrier arresting their promotion , and paralyzing their energies . What has caused the necessity tor a standing army in Ireland in times of peace , or of a mere Church war in that country ? What has led to an extensive police establishment ? What has been the amount of costs in i the Ecclesiastical Court , in the Prerogative Court , in the Chancery Court , and in the
Exchequer Court , expended in defending the Catholic defendants against their clerical antagonists ? Have the salaries of Commissioners , the expence of citations to Bishop ' s ; Courts , the costs of bills filed in Chancery , the legal expences of Exchequer suits , the amount of records between the Shepherds and their flocks arising out of actions tried on circuit , or at Wisi Pritts the enormous fees paid at Quarter Sessions by those who have been processed for tithe and against whom decrees , with all their subsequent expences in execution , have fallen : we aaki liave these " sundries , " comprising a total three times as large as that set down by Lord Eliot as the little sin of the Church , been taken into consideration ? Has the blood shed at Rathoormac and
elsewhere beea set down in the account 1 Has the ousting of Catholic tenants by Protestant landlords , lest as electors qualified by their land they should vote for an Anti Church Candidate , been set down in the general account 1 And , if not , are we not justified in charging it under the comprehensive head " sundries" I The noble pillars of the Church , Lords Brougham and Eliot , were too mercantile in their mode of dealing with the Church property ; and having failed to render a satisfactory account , we , to whom it has been referred as auditors , would make the following corrections , accepting the low total of the one , and the slight inconvenience of the other as our data , and we state the account
thus :: — J The Protestant Church of Ireland in account with the Catholic People of Ireland . Credit ... £ 432 , 123 Dr . The destruction of industry , the propagation of feuds , the shedding of blood , the expense of collecting tribute ; £ 8 , 000 , 000 Interest upon one half of the National Debt , law expenses , Stipendiary Magistrates . &c , &c ,
&c , &c , &c , &o . ., 17 , 000 , 000 Frightened out of the country by Protestant Parsons and their Orange Staff ... ... ... ... 5 , 000 , 000 Loss from bad cultivation , and uncertainty of tenure 20 , 000 , 000 I £ 5 Qfi 00 , Q 00 From which deduct 432 , 123 And we find the balance due by the Church to the Catholic people amounts annually to ... ... £ 49 , 567 , 877 In this calculation we are very much under the mark , not having set down any thing under the usual comprehensive bead "sundries" ; and shall now conclude with a bit of spiritual tit for tat . We shall be glad to know then if the noble lords consider the complaint too loud for the amount of injury sustained \ and if the whole question is to be merged into one of pounds , shillings , and pence , why are the Irish j Orange members , and the English Plumtres allowed to make such a ferocious noise , about a grant ; of a few thousands a year to the College of Maynooth ?! We could say much more upon this unholy subject , butasthe putrid monster is in the deaththroes , we regain from disturbing that quiet which it has ever denied to its victims . When the monster perish s , the onlywonder will be that . it-was allowed
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to live so long ; and when it is interred , the proper epitaph upon ! its dry tomb and unhallowed memory will be : — j . " Here lies the Irish devil ! j The last reptile That infested the land . " - ' ... ,,.-, ,, j M-M----J- J * I-J-¦ - » - ¦ ¦» -i * -
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"SIGNS OF THE TIMES . " THE SHEFFIELD ARTIZA . NS . Below wa present the reader with a most important address which has within the last few days been publish * d by "the Delegate Committee of the Associated Trades of Sheffield , " important not only for the sound truthtf it enunciates , but also on account of the parties from whom it emanates , the leaders of the Sheffield Trades . These men have hitherto had line reputation of being the mere tools of the " Freeboolery , " and as such have often been daubed withjthe praises of the pot-organs of
Sheffield Whiggery , the Independent and Weekly Chronicle . But aj" change has come o ' er the spirit of their dream . " | They a PP ear to ^ discovered the blessings Clj of former " Extensions of Commerce , " and are no way desirous of having a renewal of the dose ; consequently no approving paragraphs from the pens of the Leaders and the Ward ' s will now , as heretofore , reward their toils . And no wonder ; for , from beginning to end , the address ia a complete refutation so far as Sheffield is concerned of all the fanciful theories on
which the " Freebooters" found their system of chicanery and humbug . Machinery and the " Devil'fldust" Bystem of exporting TRASHY ARTICLES , ate alleged by tho authors of this address to be one of the main causes of the present distress so prevalent in Sheffield . What will tho >* Extension" men say to that ? What a picture , too , of the Sheffield profitmongers the addressers present ub with ! See "the cast-metal articles sent to China ; " the " razors that will not shave ; the strops that take off the edge ; the scissors th it refuse to cut ; the knives that presently bren V ! These M casfc-metal" gentry aro the " respectable , " chapel-going , " " intelligent , " and therefore the " electoral" class of the community .
Will the Independent , that along with the rest of the " Liberal" curs yelped so loudly at the heels of Mr . Febrand when he made his famous " devil's-dust " exposures in the . House of Commons ; will this base Whig hack dare to defend the characters of its " pious" and " religious" patrons against the damning charges preferred against them by the addressers ? It dare j not attempt the hopeless task ! It knows well that the accusers are parties that cannot be misinformed , for they are the parties who are compelled by the present accursed system to toil at the making of these " cast-metal" deceptions , wnich are fast rendering the name of Sheffield a bye-word aud a mockery from the Thames to the Ganges—from the Rhine to the Mississippi .
It will be Been that , instead of " Free . Trade , " which was wont to bo the cry of the Sheffield trades , " The Land" is the remedy for existing evils argued for by the addressers . This is most heart-cheering I It tells that the thinkers among the working classes —those who must always influence the mass of their order , are thinking to some purpose . ' —that these thinkers are beginning to look for the restoration of their own heritage in the land of their fathers as the means of restoring themselves aud their . order to a state of well-deserved comfort and prosperity . They are rigb | t as to the end—The Land . THE LAND , THE LAND is theonlyeffectual remedy for the wrongs of the suffering poor .
But what are their proposed means for attaining that end ? The . union of all the trades . Good , as far as it goeB . j A general union of the trades for purposes of experiment and partial relief will be productive of j good ; and God speed them is our cry . But wouid they really achieve the independence and happiness of their class by again resuming their stand on the soil , something more than a general TradesjUnion will be necessary . They must stivggle for the right of self-legislation . I they ; Mast ESTABLISH THE PRINCIPLES OF TUB PbOPLe ' S ChART £ R ! TflKV MUST WIN THE POLITICAL , TO ARRfVE AT THEt SOCIAL RIGHTS OF MAN .
For this they are not yet prepared . There is no fear but that they soon will be . ' They have hit upon the right cure |/ ot the evUs of the present system ' , AND THEY MUST OBTAIN IT BY SOME MEANS . If Trades Unionslwill not answer that purpose , the Charter will ! What a glorious " sign of the times" it is to see the associated / Trades turning their attention to these important questions . Alone and of itself this single fact ii sufficient to sustain hope that we shall come right at i last , notwithstanding the gloomy
prospect that everywhere presents itself when we look at things as they are , and bring to mind the almost universal confusion and dismay that everywhere abound . ] It is oaly to the working class that the politician and the social regenerator need look for meaas wherewith to work out his beneficient purpose . The mind , and the " phy sical" to give actual embody men t to that mind , dwells a lone amongst those whose souls have not been deadened by the withering curse of Mammon ;
and whose aspirations for liberty are not sent through tho : till , but are pure emanations from nature ' s self . Of that mind the address we here present is an evidence ; and it is the knowledge that hind must eventually overcome and overthrow brute force , that gives rise to tho hopeful conviction that the present system oi inequality and injustice will be superseded by one which shall recognize in every man a brother to his fellow-man , and deal with all as the children of one common father .
Yes ! England will be saved 1 and saved , too , by her despised , derided , degraded , and spitten-u ' pon working people ! j Look at all the other classes . What are they doing ? What do they know of the evil that is now reaching them ? They see their property melt out J of their grasp . They see that all their efforts to retain it are futile . They see ruin staring them in the face . They one by one drop into the bankrupt list , or the insolvent list . They knew that all about them is
consternation and alarm . They know that Ireland is agitated to her centre , for Repeal ; they know that" Rebecca" is waging successful war in Wales , and that her " Daughters" seem to include almost tho entire population of the Principality . They know of the " alarming state of the mining districts , " where those who daily go into the bowels of the earth with their " lives in their hands" to pro . cure the means of enjoyment and comfort for the rest of society , are required to do so for eighteen-P £ NCE-a-day . ' They know that " Chartism'' is but
in abeyance ; that it is not " put down ; " that it merely smoulders ! liable to be fanned into a terrifio fUme with the fir st wind that blows . They know all this , and see all this ; and yet what know they of the cause ? ! ! What know they of the remedy 1 The confusion that everywhere abounds in the social world is not more perfect , nor more general , than the confusion that reigns in their own minds . Incapable of thinking clearly , it is impossible that'they can apply a remedy . They have the power had they the mind , they could easily effect the
change so much needed , even by themselves , to save their own property from silent but effectual transfer Lacking mind , however , power iB useless—nay > worse than useless !; for the efforts made by these classes , in ignorance , do but enhance the goffering to all parties , and augment the general turmoil . and discontent « until confusion has become worse eonfounded i "
If a deputation from the associated Trades of Sheffield , bad waited upon the Premier , to bandy compliments with him about the " general distress " as the Iron-masters of Staffordshire lately did ; they telling tafia of what be but too Well knew ) and he telling them that he deplored the fact , and COMMISERATED with the sufferers : would a deputaion of working men , had they gone to Sir Robert Peel , havo stultified themselves and proclaimed thoir ajstute ignorance , by asking him , at one aud some time , to take measuTes to make
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prices low , and prices high !!! Would they hatj asked for "free-trade" to make our "FIXED burdens" more burdensome still , through reduce means ; and also asked for One Pound Notes , to raise prices to * " range ADEQUATE to om FIXED engagements" ! Would working men have done this ? And yet those who despise them ; thosg who ape " intelligence "; those who assume airs of
superiority ; those who affect to prate of " ignor HS ance " , and deny the producer of wealth all partoir " lot in political power , becausethey are not intellv \ i gent "; those who have the vote , because Iowcunnini U and a disregard of moral Obligation has given them § f " wealth " : these men not only made such an exhi- 'B bition of their incapacity to understand the eoaM monest principles of political economy , but theyp actually proclaimed their ( wouderfnl want of know-J ledge to the whole world ^ eaying to all , " see whatg asses we are" ! H
God help thee , poor ill-used country , did thy re-i demption depend upon the ' ^ upper and middle § classes" ! Fortunately , it does not . While these j are driven to and fro , beguiled by every Will-o ' -the- $ Wisp that shows itself ; running after every nostrum I that is propounded ; attaching themselves to every 1 species of quackery and empiricism , the working | people are steadily applying themselves to discover | the cause of the evil that afflicts all ; and as steadily 1
looking for the remedy . Assuredly as they do 1 this , and acquire the knowledge , so assuredly will f they acquire the power to apply that knowledge to I practice . England will be saved j but her salva- f tion will be effectuated by those who have fared % the worst , endured the mosfc cma ! treatment , suf- f fered the greatest indignities , been the most des- 1 pfsed by the gaudy painted butterfties that the | corrupt maggotty system has bo numerously en- I gendered . 1
Of the mikd that is actively at work amongst the I workers , the following address is evidence . Its 1 operations are not confined to the Trades of Sheffield . I These are but acting in common with the reBt of their 1 brethren . Th& tide of thought has set ml The ripple | of the waves is distinctly seen ; and ere long the dry I and parched beach of politics will be covered with the 1 Waters OF life ; and . beauty and order displace confusion and turmoil . i
Here is the address of which we have spoken ;—" Fellow Workmen , —In a late address we particularly pointed te two of the hydra of evils , which have a strong influence on your trade—namely , the vast increase of machinery , aud the trashy articles that undermine your credit and character . With respect to the former , we again say , that notwithstanding the injury it has inflicted , it has conferred many benefits on mankind , and might be productive of a many more under a wise and humane system . As to the injury resulting from it , it would be some consolation if that was confined to onr shores ; but the vast exportation'of it to foreign countries ( and we believe at the present time we are exporting more than ever ) must , ere long , tell with fearful
effect upon our commerce , and cannot be passed over Without exciting the most painful feelings , aait must be evident we are doing all in our power to enable foreigners to close their markets against us . Nor are the trashy articles we send them calculated to allay those feelings—as we are quite certain , that the only way to save ns and the town from rain , must bo by the excellence of our productions . To enumerate all the evils arising from bad and low priced articles , would occupy too much space * we shall , therefore , notice those which are made of cast metaJ , and the commonest steel , which is very little better for purposes of utility . The trades that are suffering the most from cast metal articles , are the Fork , the Scissorand the Table-knife
, branches ; and those that are great sufferers , in consequence of common steel articles , are the Razor , the Saw , and Penknife branches . There are a many other trades that feel the baneful effects arising from this double cause . Indeed , as far as the town is concerned , it is of such an alarming magnitude as behoves all classes to take the matter into serious consideration . Tho following facts are strikingly illustrative of the <¦ ¦ ... ndoa of the employed and tho employers in the alorenamed trades . In the Fork Trade , for instance : —such is the overglutted state of the market , in consequence of cast metal trash , that the far greater part of the manufacturers of steel forks are reduced to a Btate of poveiiy and want , in consequence of the low selling prices . The
condition of the poor Grinders is still werse , as it is impossible for them to drag on any other than a most miserable existence , working as they do at a trade so destructive to the human constitution , that th « late Dr . Young once emphatically declared' That , under any circumstances , it was a punishment adequate to the crimes of the blackest dye to make the perpetrators of them work at fork grinding the remainder of their lives . ' As to the other grinding branches—and in particular the razor grinderB- ^ -the poor artizans engaged therein are but very little better in circumstances to the one just named , is consequence of such a system , while the respectable manufacturers see , with the most painful emotions , their trade gradually
dwindling away . The shopkeepers experience similar effects , by being deprived of a portion of their customers ; but the crowning evil is the loss of our credit and character as a manufacturing town . We talk of an Extension of our Foreign Commerce ! but we ought in the firutf place to redeem our character as manufacturers of genuine articles . At this moment large quantities of cast metal articles are wending their way to the Chinese market . Thus it appears , after butchering a great number of tho inhabitants , because they would not tamely submit to be poisoned with opium , we are increasing the disgust they have conceived against us as a nation , by sending them the most abominable articles tbat can be manufactured ; and Sheffield , it appears , is to statid the foremost in such a base transaction
" Another evil , and which has been partly caused by the breaking up of tho Cutlers' Corporation , IS the great number of little masters , who have done a great deal in producing the present state of things ; —still wo cannot attach much blame to them—the fault lies entirely with the system . If nine-tenths of them could only have obtained living wages as journeyman , they would never have commenced manufacturing . Necessity , which is above all lawa , has compelled them to it . Dr . Holland observes in one of his excellent works , " that their credit seldom extends beyond the duration of a week . ' And , we believe , in a great majority of cases , not so much . This renders them an easy prey to the factor or capitalist , who are always on the alert to profit
out of their necessities ; and the dealers in hardware , act upon the same principle . Indeed , it is a well-known fact , that a coalition exists between them and many of the factors—their object being to force the little masters to ssll their own labour , and that of others , for almost nothing . Can we , then , be surprised at the present state of oar workmen , when their labour , ia thus sacrificed at the shrine of such unfeeling and grovelling seifishnass Is it possible that property , in wheels , in shops , or houses , can maintain its value , under a systpm which forces multitudes to barter their labour for the first necessary of life , and not a sufficiency of it f We again repeat , that we do not blame the little masters for such a state Of things , aa they have the same equal right to a livelihood with any member of the community ; and the only way to prevent them
from manufacturing , must be by finding them employment whertby they can live respectably as journeymen . This is a matter that particularly interests the workmen and the respectable portion of their employers , if they mean to save themselves from impending ruin . We could point out other evils , but shall refrain from so doing , on the present occasion . We therefore close this part of the subject , by giving a quotation from a letter of a gentleman , of unquestionable veracity , who haa travelled into many parts of , the world . His language is * s follows : — ' A traveller , alive to the honour of bis country , and jealous of any impeachment of its pr inciples , cannot bat be sensitive to the reproaches of foreigners complaining of English razors that will not shave , or strops that take off the edge ; of scissors that refsse to cut ; of knives that presently break . '
" Fellow-Workmen—You will perceive from what has been already Stated , that your position in respect to your trade , is far from b « iug enWabJe . It seems as if you was receding fast back to a primitive state . In fact the degrading system leaves no room for the expansion of the human intellect . To remedy this bartly , we again urge upon your serious attention the necessity of diverting a part of your labour to another pursuit ; and there is none more worthy of your notice than that of THE land . Tne most strenuous advocates of this measure contend , ' thai the principles upon which if , and the preceding subjects are based , are widely distinct—the one being political economy , the other moral economy . Tke chief consideration of the political economise is
production , leaving distribution to regulate itself . The moral economist would unite both , so as to produce the ? greatest happiness to the greateHt number . ' The political economist calls for great production for export , and estimates the happiness of the country by th « amount sent annually away ; not considering whether the masses are beneiitted by tho return . The moral economist looks to production as only valuable in proportion as it increases the happiness of the producers . If w admit the moral axiom that 'labour is the source of a . 11 wealth , 'it ought to follow tha ' the producers of uho same shou'd be proportionately eievaieti in society in the ratio of thwir u ^ e ' . 'uiuessi and tho idier < -, or non-producers , the reverse . Frf untier a wisa system of distribution few distributors
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4 _^ THE NORTHERN STAR . j j
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THE IRISH CHURCH . By onr Parliamentary Reports , it will be seen that this vexatious and irritating question has been brought before the House of Commons in something like an understandable shape , by Mr . Ward ; and his so doing has thrown the church-saints into great dismay . On this question of Irish Churohism we have often had out say ; having , from the very first existence of this journal , continually shewn the necessity of banishing the last viper from Ireland . It was to little purpose that the good Saint Patrick .,
" Prove tha toads down in the bogs , And bothered all the varmin , " if the land was to be infested by one poisonous monster , who , like the harpy of old , destroyed all that came within its reach . The fanciful Church-logic of Lord Brougham adopted by Lord Eliot , might have served for the public ear some half century back , or may , even now , do for the outlines of a Magazine Article ; but ; they are tio spiritually-temporal for the ear of the landlords , and too absurd to receive favour from man . Lord Brougham , who hasreceHtly appeared as the Tory chronometer—whereby
the youngsters in the Commons may set their time , endeavoured previously to Mr . Ward ' s motion to open the eyes of the ignorant npon the subject of the Irish Church , by assuring the Lords that it was no grievance at all ; that its existence imposed no tax upon the Catholic people ; and tbat its destruction would confer no benefit upon them . The Noble Lord appears to look npon the revenues of the IriBh Church as a kind of chief-rent , payable by the owners of land , and subject to which , the land has been transferred from time to time . Lord Eliot , in tho Lower House , takes the same view of the
question ; and , in the attempt to confine the subject to a mere question of figures , he assures ub , that the total revenue of the Irish Church , is only £ 432 , 123 . We believe the figures of the Noble Lord to consist of the aggregate amount compounded for by Church parsons , under the compulsory Tithe Composition Act ; leaving out of view altogether the enormons amount of Church property consisting of glebe lands , bishops' lands , and income derived by ** lay impropriators , " which would reach , negatively and affirmatively , to more than double the total set down as Chnrch revenue by Lerd Eliot . By negatively , we mean especially the great icjuatico
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Aug. 5, 1843, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct813/page/4/
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