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THE JNTOETHEEIST STAE SATURDAY, APRIL 3, 1841.
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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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THE ANTI-CORK LAW LEAGUE . MEETING AT THE CROWN AND ANCHOR TAVERN . TEOM OTTB LOSDOX COESESPOM 5 KST . Wednesday Evening , March 31 */ . This hang the day appointed for the " great" onetided svplay at the Crown and Anchor , we made application ior * ticket of Emission to the meeting , the ~ * ooms" of the League , 448 , S : r « d , but were informed that all the tickets the Society could spare Wbeen disposed of : on * t » ting r i »« we-vrereconnected with the press , the facfcowam in waiting 51 that they bad " sent ticketo to the press . " -Thai is" said TTi . -te such of tbe press as you > wi 3 h to be present . " Oa this , & © eoference was held between the two worthies in attendance , and one of ihem-we are not quite sure if * werethe ^ ntleman who is so great an adept ** ^ Decking hats off . wiwn Arties differ from him in opiBwn-svated , that if we
would present ourselves at ttoe Crown and Anctwr , he would recollect us , and admit us among the reporters In a few minotes from this xpplicamn , the representative ef « London contemporary ( the TJV , ? JWy Disptteh ) , made a similar application ; and we usderstand , was still worse snubbed . " Are you favourable to the objects of the meeting !'' was the preliminary inquiry ; the gentleman did n « t feel bound to answer that ; and as several other questions of & similar character were asked , the " jaoks-in-office" were told that they made too much ** bother'' to render it worth while attending the meeting at all , and the applicant left in disgust . Net &o , however , with us : — we resolved to accept the proffer of the ** jack inoffice , ' No . 1 ; so , at one o ' clock precisely , we presented our proper person at the door of the Crown and Anchor Tavern .
Mr . Ksock-off Hats lecturer secretary Stdj r * T Sxith , read the ( report ) of the committee ; aud a thumper it is . Mi . Villiebs , MJ ? . moved the first resolution , in a speech full of lameatationfor the naughty , naughty Chartists , who wouldn't let the Leaguers throw dust in their eyes wiftout rubbing them . He was followed by the Rev . Dr . Pte Smith , who was sadly ashamed of his brethren of the cloth , for being so Dackward in coming forward now , when snug quarters have been provided for them , by the exolusian of tbe Chartists .
At the moment when the Rev . Dr . Smith had eoneluded , aad before the question was -pat , a stranger in tbe meeting begged to ask if the object sought to be attuned might not be achieved by growing more corn in our own country 1 He maintained that there were other and vast questions commingled with this : —he particularly alluded to the currency ; and if he were called upon to choose between the oppression of the two , he would prefer that of the landholder to the wealthy aristocrat . A member of the Committee rose to order , and the Chairman decided that it weuld be inconvenient to allow the gentleman to proceed . Mr . Stewart moved , and Mr . Ricardo seconded , the next resolution .
These speakers were followed by a Mr . Foster Smith , a merchant , and Mr . Ewaki , who , taking occasion to denounce the Chartists , was stopped by « gentleman in the meeting , who claimed the right of reply , if the speakers were permitted to go oa in this " strain . Dr . Wade came next . He seldom attended public meetings now , and he would almost say , he would attend no more , until he saw unanimity among the middle and working classes . It was not necessary to hare at every meeting a cuckoo cry of " The
Charter ! the Charter ! " aad he deprecated the hostility of the two classes . He preferred what was practicable and could be had , to what was impracticable , and could not be had , or at best was far distant . The Reverend Doctor , then —( amid loud « rie 3 of " question , ")—referred to the Ckartist movement in favour of Teetotalism , and urged that men who could take such a step , might be safely looked upon as those who would not long remain in error , and that they would soon see that the coarse they were pnrsuing was not the most likely to conduce to their avowed objects .
Mr . Watkub , from the body of the meeting , said that the light of the League had not yet reached his mind . He agreed with Mr . Viliier * that nothing tended so much to the advancement of truth as a full , free , and open discussion ; he referred to the recent debates in the Commons on the Poor Laws , in proof that the present House wonld never . ' repeal the Corn Laws ; and maintained , that before this question coald be fairly entertained , they must ascertain what is the amount of the export trade , the productive power , and the amount of consumption in this country . Looking at the operation of Jointstock Banks , and other moneyed interests , he coniended that a repeal of the Corn Laws would be productive of great evil to all classes of the community . Mr . Palise avowed himself a middle-man , and urged on the pnblic to exert themselves in the terms of the resolution .
Mr . Tho : rsi . i : t , M .. P . for "Wolverhampton , moved a resolution pledging the Association to continue its exertions . Mr . Miltcr GiBS 05 seconded iL Mr . Peakse and Mr . Wilsos supported the re 3 olntien , which , after some able remarks by a stranger in the body of the meeting , was pat by the Chairman to the Tote . Mr . WARBrKTOX ( the chairman ) could net let this opportunity pass without again " harping" on the tyranny of the Chartists ; he regretted-the position
they had taken np , and expressed his opinion , that if . such a course be persevered in , the gagging bilk of Lord Castlereagh would be carried into effect to a woree extent than they ever were before . In conclusion , Mr . Warburton said , "Don ' t let us bring thi 3 question before the House so unsupported by the people as to render our cause ieeffectual . Remember , the Corn Law 3 are like a game at nine pins (!!!) if you knock down one , the rest will fall . ' ' [ Query—Would not the Charter act as a jfoorer ?] The resolution was then put , and carried unanimously .
A Mr . Coates , ( who certainly did net look as thongh he wanted bread , or beef either ; weighing , at a moderate computation , some twenty-two stone ) , moved the thank 3 of the meeting to the Chairman , for his exenions ob this and other occasions , in opposition to the oui-daciou 3 , ( twice repeated ) Corn Laws ; which being seconded , was carried unanimously , and the Chairman having again briefly toncaed on the conduct of the" naughty Chartists , " by way of admonition , the meeting separated at five o ' clock . . .
We obtained , sub ro > a , a sight of a subscription list , amounting to aoout £ 510 to begin next year ' s campaign ¦ wi th ; amongst the names dovra , we nouced the following : —Messrs .- Warburton and Alcock , £ 50 each ; Mr . Gibson , £ 25 , etc ., &c . Mr . rrancis Place , chairman of the Business Committee , was on the platform , near the chair ; aDd the report congratulated the meeting upon the decline of apathy in tne middle class , and the cessation , to a considerable extent , of the hostility of the working Ciass . This self-gra filiation was not bad , considering they too * tolerable good care to shut out anything like "h ^ ttiity ; in the shape of working men .
Postscript , Belf-pcut Seven . Since dosing my report , I learn that Messrs , Cleave , \\ atson , and others , though posses = ed ol proper tickets , were , refused admission : the formei gentleman being told that , " if he would promise not to disturb or interrupt the meeting , the committee would be happy to admn him . " This oi eourse , was indignantly refused , as unworthy oi those who made the offer , and , if accepted , would be still more unworthy of him who accepted it . Mr . \\ aisoa declined going up stairs on- similar grounds ; and Dr . Roberts Black , one of the very first at tne lormanon of the Association , happening to come up at the moment , was so disgusted at the CondBct of the committee in refmsini w honour their own tickeu , that he left the place in dufi ? At this time there was quite a troop of police with several inspectors , lining the passages and Aaircase several Cnartis ; societies , and partaken of public su bscriptions , waa employed by the League to pom t on ; the Chartists as they presented themselves if * 1 ^ 0 " 7 mQ'Tj d :- : als were * h « a - s P <* ted , and not allowed to pass the bar . Fortunatel y / theie indiv ° duals evinced more patience than « i « Z . aid
pmoence , or the consequences might have beer aco « flict On the whole the affair k a fine SjS men of "free discussion , " and a new mode of promoting public opinion . PmnoN Committed—This Committee held thei weekly meeting last evening , at the Dfepatd Ceffee House , Bnde-lane , Mr . Mnrray in tbe Chair ^ Lr . Park * having resigned the office of Secreterv a Tote of thanks was unanimously passed to him foi his zealous exertions and valuable services ; and Mr Ball * was elected as his successor . Upwards of 8 ( petitions , in behalf of-Frost , Williams , and Jones of 0 Connor , Peddie , Carrier , and others ; as well as » f the Charter , were received , and this- day forwarded to Messrs . Hume , Duncombe , &c . for nre-MBta&m t « the Hmovroile House .
Thb Fixkbdst Chakxists held their weekly ¦ eetiag oa Monday evening last , at Lunt ' a Coffee House , Mx . Balls in the chair . Mr . Culverhonse addressed the meeting at some length , when the following resolution wag agreed to : " That this meetmg fully approves of Mr . O'Connor ' s plan , as « cemmended in th 6 northern Star ; and urge upon the Chartists of the metropolis to take the most efifiisat means to carry it out . " A vote of thanks W tfte Chairman terminated the business of the evening , and the meeting adjourned until Tuesdav naxtj the 6 th of ApriL
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At thb Htoteigixw Assizss , on Friday the 2 oth 2 n * nt » 3 * ° * ¥ & **> **<** nmety-fdur wis found euilt 3 of mansWhter . He was a cow-doctor , and Arl ^ Waa 1 ; 5 J administered to his wife anoversanti ^ SL M ? iedi < ^ - He was therefore Beateaced to be imprisoned for a fortnight .
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Zephaniah Williams . We understand that Zaphani-ih Williams , one of the three Chartists , and who was employed as an overseer at the coal mines , has made his escape from Tasmau ' s Peninsula , taking with him four men , one of whom , named County , formed part of the crew who r » n aw » y with the commandant ' s boat some months siaoe . When the Tamar left , two of the party . County and Rooke , had been taken near East Bay Neck . —Hobart Town Courier , Nev . 17 . Another Noble Blackguard . —At Marlborughstreet Police-court , on Friday , Lord George Loftus was brought into Court to answer for being drunk the overnight , and refusing to pay a eab fare . The policeman , as well as he could , being frequently interrupted by the noble defendant , said he found Lord
George Loftus drunk , aad creating a disturbance with the cabman , whose fare his Lordship refused to pay , and he then removed the drunkard to his wellknown quarterB , the "Vine-street Station-bouse . The reply of Lord George Loftus was , that the policeman was a b—y liar . Mr . Dyer , in evident diBgust , told Lord George Loftus he should be fined for swearing . Lord George Loftus told Mr , Dyer he had no business to believe that b—y thief , the policeman , before a nobleman . Mr . Dyer said every time Lord George Loftus swore , he would impose an additional find ) Lord George Loftus said the Magistrate knew nothing about law . He had studied the lavr , and he was able to instruct the Bench . The cabman gave his evidence . Lord George Loftus swore he
he would give the cabman a b—y good lieking . Gaoler— " Be quiet , the Magistrate will fine you . " Lord George Loftus—* ' B—t you , who are you ?' First Usher— ' * Pray don ' t use such language here . " Lord George Loftus— " Go to h—11 . " After a good deal more of the same sort of behaviour , Mr . Dyer told the Noble Lord that hid fine for drunkenness and pon-paymeut of the cab fare , amounted to eight shillings . There were also eight oaths , at five shillings each , for which he also fined his Lordship . Lord George Leftus— " You dare not fine me . If you do , it ' s at your periL" Mr . Dyer— " if tbe whole ef the fine ii not paid , I Bhall commit you . " Lord G « orge Loftus— " Commit me ! Oh , then * Normanby' will let me out . " His LordRhip was removed from the bar , and having paid £ 2 8 s . ae was
released . Extensive Plunder . —Christopher William Davis , a fine-looking young man , who wore the uniform ot the 14 th light dragoons , was charged at Worshipstreet police office , on Saturday , with having stolen property to a large amount from his late employers , Messrs . Savory and Co ., the fancy stationers , &c , in Cernhill . The father , mother , and brother of the prisoner , were committed last week , charged with having extensively robbed the same prosecutors , and they are now in Newgate awaiting their trial . Mr . Knowhs , the chief clerk to Messrs . Savory , stated that the prisoner had been in their service as errand boy , but he was discharged sometime since , in consequence of being detected in an act of embezzlement . At the examination of the relations of the prisoner
, for robbing the prosecutors , nothing whatever transpired to implicate the prisoner in the transaction ; but a few days after their committal a young person , named Sarah Burford , called at the prosecutors ' , and delivered up a quantity of property , consisting of work-boxes , dressing-cases , and a large assortment of elegant fancy articles , which she had received from the prisoner , and which were identified as being the property of Messr * . Savory . Having received information that the prisoner had enlisted in the I 4 : h dragoons , witness proceeded to Hounslow barracks , with a sergeant of the Y division of police , who took him into custody : he would have
left the country in a few days , his regiment being under orders for India . Sarah Burford , a yonng woman , of delicate and prepossessing app « arance , the daughter of a ¦ warehouseman in the customhouse , stated that she had known the prisoner for about eight years , and he had presented her with the articles produced . She had not the slightest suspicion that they had been dishonestly obtained , until about a week ago , when she happened to read an account in the papers of the examination of his relatives at this court , upon- which she immediately proceeded to the prosecutors ' , and delivered up all the property he had given to her . He was committed for trial .
The Jntoetheeist Stae Saturday, April 3, 1841.
THE JNTOETHEEIST STAE SATURDAY , APRIL 3 , 1841 .
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CHURCH CHARTISM , TEETOTAL CHARTISM , KNOWLEDGE CHARTISM , AND
HOUSEHOLD SUFFRAGE CHARTISM . We this week give the promised letter of O'Consoe upon all these subjects ; and our readers will observe that the far greater portion of the letter is occupied with an attack on what O'Connob calls 14 Church Chartism . " We canaot think that Mr , O'Connor has displayed his usual acumen in the examination of this subject . He appears to us to have misconceived the whole matter . His reasoning goes entirely on the assumption that the advocates and votaries of what he calls " Church Chartism" rely on their religious services and ceremonies as an exclusive means of carrying the Charter—that they
adhere to the " Church , and to the " Church " only , in distinction from , and in opposition to , all other means of diffusing political knowledge , and of establishing the people in possession of their rights . Now , if any persons have been absurd enough to form such a notion of a " Christian Chartist Church , " we should be as ready to denounce it for a mischievous will-o' -th ' -vrigp as either O'Connor or any one else ; bus vre cannot suppose that , even in Birmingham , so stupid an idea can have entered into any body ' B head . Hence , therefore , the premises from which Mr . O"Co . \ nok starts being erroneous , hi 3 reasoning i 3 necessarily all false , because all wide of the subject . It stultifies itself , too ; for he says : —
" The very essence of Chartism proclaims civil equality to lead to the universal right of religious worship as each shall deem fit . " Surely , then , the Chartists , insisting upon that " civil equality , " have a right to their own forms and modes of worship , either individually or collectively ; nor does it by aty means follow that their claiming and exercising of that right is to be understood ag denunciatory of those who may not claim and
exercise it . Mr . O'Connor asks : — " Are all Chartists , -who are not communicants of your church , iufidel Chartists ? and if your region is so pure as to tw aniversally adopted by all , yon must differ in faith from all existing sects ; therefore produce your articles of religious faith , because having founded a Church , - which is even a more extensive term than a sect , you must have some peculiar faith or y » u are humbugs .
" Well , but you answer either that yon have no creed , or that your creed is so universal that all men ought to adopt it . If you haTe no ereed you can haye no church ; and , if you have a creed , and if that creed does not embrace Catholicism , Protestantism , Dissentism , Quakerism , and all the minute ramifications of those Beveral parent stocks ; do you not exclude all Ireland as conscientious Catholics , and all England aa conscientious Protestants , Dissenters , Catholics , or Infidels ? So that if you have no peculiar faith yon have no title to the designation you have tafeen ; and if you have a faith , and if it is net a hodge-podge faith , a faith which conscientious Christians vrill not subscribe to , yoa become an exclusive sect of politico-religious adventurers , ready -with your pious loaf to pop into the Ciiartut oven the moment it becomes heated . "
We have no doubt that a little explanation will set all this right . Mr . O'Connor , shut up in his dungeon , has not the opportunity of becoming so well acquainted with the actual movements of the Chartist -world as we are . He speaks of the religions movement , or what he calls Church Chartism , as though it were confined to the little coterie of a " Christian Chartist Church" at Birmingham ; the fact being that the " Christian Chartist Church" at Birmingham , is one of the very smallest spots upon the Surface of " Christian Chartism . "
That which has been , we think , improperly , called " Christian Chartism , " and which Mr . O'CoNsoa now calls "Church Chartism , " is nothing more or less than the assertion of the entire principle of Christianity ; its creed is to be found in the direct teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ , which , while they interfere but little with speculative matters of opinion , insist always and entirely upon the practice of honesty , justice , and benevolence ods towards another . Such of the Chartists as are convcientiou 3 , and not merely nominal , Christians , find in the
doctrines of Christianity , as taught by the Lo ? d Jesns Christ , a full recognition of all the prlveiples contained in the People ' s Charter ; they find those principles to pervade the whole of the te \ ohing , and to be enforced by the whole of i ^ e practice , of the Lord Jesus Christ—to be the doctrii > ^ of the Bible throughout—while they find much apparent ground for many differences of opinion on mere opinionative matters ; they find that in almost ail churches and chapels , appertaining t © whatever sect , the principles of social benevolence
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and justice , of civil equality and of political " right , though recognised by the Bible , are denounced by the priesthood ; and hence their determination to erect their own temples , and offer their o '^ n worship , to the God of Justice , whom they nerve . They find the priests generally , both of the State and Dissenting Churches , to be the bitterest enemies to civil freedom and social right ; and hence their wise resolve to withdraw their future countenance from the enemies of the faith , the wolves in shepherd ' s clothing , who devour the flocks under pretence of feeding them . They find the doctrines of civil
equality and social right universally disclaimed amongst those who are called Christians , and affirmed to be no portion of Christianity—they beliere them to be the very life and spirit of Christianity ; they are told that Christianity and Politics are separate and distinct things—they believe them to be identical with and inclusive of each other ; under these circumstances , what other course is left to them , as honest and conscientious Christians , but that of boldly asserting tbe whole truth , and maintaining the practical doctrines of Christianity unvitiated f If they do this they are
at once expelled from the several religious communities to which they now belong , and cast forth upon the world ; coolly " delivered ovor to the destruction of the evil one , against the day of wrath . " The Christian Chartists do Dot choose to be longer thus treated . They adhere practically , as well as theoretically , to their own principles—they demand the right to worship God after their own fashion , and in accordance with the doctrines which they believe to be true . Their principles have been with one consent declared heretical by the Church ; but they still adhere to them , and " after the manner which is called heresy—so worship they the God of their
fathers ; " and , though they are quite prepared to meet persecution and malediction from the , pillara of the Babylon out of which they have come , it is a little too hard that they should have it also from Mr . O'Connor , who recognizes all their principles and agrees with all their doctrines . But we are satisfied that Mr . O'Connor never did intend to denounce Christian Chartism when properly understood ; but merely that bastard form of it which he supposes to exist in what is called " The Christian Chartist Church" at Birmingham , and which seta up the establishment of a new religious sect , at a substitute for , instead of as an accompaniment to , a political movement .
Mr . O'Connor ' s whole letter does not contain one single argument to show in what possible way the preaching of the doctrines of Chartism on Sundays—the maintaining of those doctrines ob Scriptural authority— and the proving of them to be part and parcel of Christianity itself , can retard the advancement of the people ' s cause . While , on the contrary , we hold ourselves prepared to prove that , under proper and judicious management , it is the most powerful lever ever yet employed by the people , for the overturning of the mountain of corruption which stands across the highway of righteousness . No better proof of this can be offered than that which Mr . O'Connor himself offers in the successful establishment of Chartist Churches in Scotland . He
says : — " Now , in Scotland ; ( I make what I consider & fair and tenable distinction , ) in Scotland , theestabliskment of Chartist Church preachers establishes for them a great object , and , inasmuch as they have not a 8 tate Church to the extent which it exists in England , they strengthen themselves by weakening the enemy in the vital point—in the s » at-money ; and , further , many of the interested supporters of tbe Voluntary principle &T « our greatest political enemies . "
Now we take leave to say , that Mr . O'Connor ' s " fair and tenable distinction , " is no distinction at all . That Chartist preaching in Scotland , and Chartist preaching in England , is ( at least so far as we can understand it ) precisely similar , and productive of precisely similar effects . The bitterest enemies of right which society now contains , are those who bawl most lustily for that very " voluntary principle" which , pervading all the Dissenting preaching houses , draws on the pence of the oppressed labourers for the eusUntation of the costly buildings and the pampered priesthood , in which , and by whom , their liberties are sacrificed , their characters vilified , and their persons iusulted .
They do not choose longer to contribute their pence for this purpose ; they come OUt , therefore , from the camp of leprosy , and pitch their own tents in the open plain of truth , honesty , and sincerity . By this means they do just the same thing here as in Scotland— " they strengthen themselves by -weakening the enemy in the vital point —in the seat money . " In England , as in Scotland , " the preachers assume no distinct religious bearing ; the funds go to advance the political principles , while no peculiar religious faith is preached or attempted to be enforced" beyond that of a distinct recognition of tke Deity of the Lord , and of the truth of the Sacred Scriptures ; without which no man can claim the name of Christian at all .
As to the creed of Christian Chartists being sufficiently comprehensive to admit Catholics , Protestants , and Dissenters , all to meet together—we maintain that that is just what it ought to be and just what it is . These are all matters of opinion ; and upon all these matters of opinion , persons may hold different and tven contrary opintoas , and yet all agree in the assertion of the great practical truths which constitute the wry life and essence of Christianity , and out of which the principles of the Charter grow . We dissent in toto froii the sentiment contained in the following portion of Mr . O'Connob ' s letter : —
" Christian Chartism , tbuugh appporently all embracing in its meaning , carries with it exclusion of all other sects from whom we uxp .-ct political aid . The Cathuliss would become our bitu-reit enemies it' you were permitted to establish your htrtsy ; they have suffered from all new aspirants , ^ nd ih \ . y would dread you ; so with the conscientious portion of the Dissenters ; while tbosts of the Sutu Church , who would gadly go with us for civil liberty , si .-o ruli ^ ious tyranny , which is the worst of all tyranny , iu the fore-ground oi your Chris" ian Clmtiam . "
" Christiau C"artism is as all embracing mils meaning as any general term oii . Jit to be . It , bhuts out none , of whatever reliyiouj cr . ed or opinion , but those who are not Chartists ; aud from whom else can we " expect political aid " ? We think the call of Mr . O'Comnor for a creed of the Christian Chartists is but . fair , and we now aaswer that cab by the production of
A CREED , which we recommend to the adoption of all Chartists congregated and associated toother as religious bodies . Mr . O'Connor will * e--1 hat it is sufficiently comprehensive to admit coiisc / ei . t -us Christians , of whatever speculative opinion , iii'o the Church , and that it is jet sufficiently resuirioi to shut out every one , however pious he maj bo 111 matters of faith , who is not prepared to # 0 th .- whole hog of social civil , and political , as well a * prrsviial , ri ^ ht and virtue .
Here it u : — 441 believe in one God ; tbe L » rd God and Saviour Jet-us Christ . *• I believe that good actions out'ht to be done ; because they are accord * n 1 . w-. » . h the will of God ; and because they are of God and from God . " I believe that evil actions onyhr . not to be done ; because they accord not wuh the will of God . " I believe that the Sacred Scriptures contain the revealed will of God , ami that they set forth ¦ what , actions are good and what actions are
evil . "I believe that the Sacred Scriptures forbid not only all personal vices aud cnuies , Dui all social oppression and political inequality , winch are their natural results . "Ibelieve that order aud goVcTiuiJeiii amongst men . to be accoTuaniwitu the wiu ui Goi ) , as revealed in tho S . cred Scriptures , mv . r . i oe equitable and righteous ; based on thai jjreat piecept of the Lord , ' whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you , do ye even so umothem . '
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" I believe that no state of society is governed m accordance -with this prepept , or with the revealed will of God , as contained in the Sacred Scriptures , in which any member being of sound mind is excluded from a direct influence in the enactment of tbe laws . " I believe that no state of society is governed in accordance with this precept , or with the re * vealed will of God , as contained in the Sacred Scriptures , in . which every oae ' B right of participation in tbe legislative power is not protected , to the utmost possible extent , against the
force or fraud of his fellows . u believe that no state of society is governed iu accordance with this precept , or with the revealed will of God , as contained in the Sacred Scriptures , in which all possible care is not taken to give an equal voice and influence in the legislative power to all its members . " I believe that no state of society is governed in accordance with the precept , or the revealed will of God , as contained in the Sacred Scriptures , in which the legislature U net amenable , at stated and short periods , to the people ,
from whom its power is derived . " I believe that 00 state of society is governed in accordance with this precept , or with the revealed will of God , as contained in the Sacred Scriptures , in which the possession of worldly wealth , or property , is holden to be a necessary qualification for a legislator . " I believe that no state of society is governed in accordance with this precept , or with the revealed will of God , as contained in the Sacrtd Scriptures , in which adequate remuneration is
not provided for all services rendered by individuals to the state or to each other . M I believe that it is the duty of every Christian man to use all his powers of exertion for the carrying into active operation of all those principles of equity and righteousness which accord with the will of God , as revealed in the Sacred Scriptures ; and that the first and greatest means of doing so , is to avoid all crime and vice in his own personal acts and habits , and to live honestly , soberly , and righteously , according to the precepts of God ' s law . " Such is the " creed which we believe the Christian ChartistB universally tp hold in principle , put into such a form as we think would render it unexceptionable to all ; we recommend all congregations , forming themselves upon . Chartist principles , to adopt it and we think it affords aa answer to all Mr . O'Connor ' s objections about the Bhutting out of conscientious Christians of any speculative creed whatever .
We have as great an objection to the name " Christian Chartist Churoh , " aa Mr . O'Connor . We believe these to be the genuine principles of Christianity , and we wish to see founded on them a Universal Church , which , in its creed and formulary , shall continue to exist , the very body and substantial form of the pure Christian faith , long after the Charter shall have been so long and so perfectly established , that the name Chartist as a distinctive denomination has been laid aside as useless .
Mr . O'Connor was never more mistaken in his life than in supposing that the Christian Chartists of England abate One jot of their political usefulness or determination because of their religious character or that they have any desire to fritter away our strength by divisions , or allow others to do so . We believe that , on the contrary , he will always find them , as a body and as a whole , to be the most determined and the most consistent advocates of the
Charter , and of the National Charter Association , to which they serve as most powerful right hands ; and of which the proof ia , that nearly all the moBt able and talented of the Chartist lecturers and missionaries have found it necessary to become preachers . Most heartily do we pray that Christian Chartism may run through the whole length and breadth of the land , and that speedily ; for we see in it the best and surest prelude that we have ever yet seen to the permanent establishment of right .
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- YOU HAVE THE " TICKET , FOR SOUP . " HERE'S THE " TICKET" FOR BREAD . Let General Hahbison talk of the Republics of old as he pleases ; let the Yankee Doodles revile our Monarchical institutions as they please ; and let Master Froggy call us " a nation of shopkeeping Caesars" as he pleases ; yet do we defy one and all to furnish any instance of philanthropy , patriotism , benevolence , and national greatness , comparable with what we can boast of in free and happy England .
Here we have national cooks for the poor , and living in a palace ; here we have institutions for their sole benefit ; and here we have a fostering , humane middle-class , not like your griping money-makers of the same order in other nations , but men actually spending time and money with no other earthly view than that of serving their poorer brethren ; men so thoughtful that they lose all consideration of self , and so fearful lest the poor should want , that they will oram large loaves down their throats whether they will or no !
The Somerset House cooks give the poor the " ticket for soup , " and our manufacturers , not to be outdoHo , propose to give them a " ticket" for bread . The Morning Chronicle ^ finding that the people have found out" what's what , " and that they cannot longer be gulled by the very men who have starved them almost to death , proposes , that henceforth , admission to " public meetings" shall be attainable only by " ticket . " This , from the leading Whig journal , in the nineteenth century , and tenth year of Reform , by which all our institutions were to have been " submitted to popular , vigilant controul , " is a step in advance backwards , that even we were not prepared for .
Let us now examine the question of right . Is it not as much within the rules of propriety to move an amendment to any resolution at a public meeting , as it is to move an amendment to any public question in the House of Commons ? Is it not as much the right of the whole people to move amendments upon Whig resolutions , as it is the right of a Whig faction to move amendments upon Tory resolutions ? and when havo they abstained when victory was calculated upon 1 What are speeches at public meetings made for , but to gain converts to certain opinions ?
Again , let it be borne in mind , that much abstrusa law has lately been brought to bear upon the question of legality of public meetings , when called for popular purposes , and that Lord John Russell ordered the London police to Birmingham , to obey the order of the Magistrates in dispersing constitutional meetings of the people , to which he had himself invited them , even at the hazard of blood-shed and civil-war . Hence , then , the people made wary by subtle constructions of law , best evince their love of peace and obedience to " the powers that be , " by taking all and every opportunity of attending public meetings called legally , because called by the
lawmakers . Here , then , we at once establish the right to attend those public meetings , aud , in fact , those who censure the course pursued by the Chartists , of moving amendments , do not deny their ryjht to attend , but merely their freedom of action , thereby establishing the » o » t slavish of all principles , namely , that public meetings are not for discussion , but merely for a declaration of assent to the proposed object . K thia doctrine is to be upheld , it may , with truth , be said , that all " public meetings" are but so many representations of tho same farce , and Committees may just as well publish the resolutions of their respective bodies , aa go to the trouble and expense of bringing large
assemblies together . Let us now have one word upon the question of policy . While the Chartists met in tens of thousands , and hundreds of thousands , they were a " mere mob" the " outcast * of toeieiy , " an ** infuriai rabble , " and they were treated with scorn ai'd cob-
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tempt ; they formed no portion of society . We havo heard more than one sticking rascal declare that they stank . Very well ; we upon our own part , and the people upon their part , said , " We must show the enemy , for they have declared themselves such , that we are somebody ; and the only way in whioh we can accomplish this , is , by showing our opponents that they are nobody without us . By this means we will force tho world , through tke enemies' organs , to acknowledge » uch a bod ; as the whole people . " This object they have well and
nobly accomplished ; and , in order to meet its effect , the liberal Chronicle proposes that freemen , going to attend free discussion , for the purpose of arriving at jost conclusions , are all to be labelled , ticketed , " like lots » f swine for sale . " 0 , but , " say s the Chronicle , * they don't go to discuss , they go to interrupt . " Wereply—look back at Liverpool , where the Chartists were actually buffetted and insulted ; look at Mr . Sydney Smith ' s insolence'at Bermondiey ; look at the intolerance of the League , and their hired ruffians , wherever they have been able to try the bully with success and impunity .
But how very marvellous it is , aad what an ignorant set of beasts the people must be , not at once to comprehend tbe object , and be grateful to their benefactors . The sole object is to " benefit the working classes . " Now , how very mysterious that thousands should be spent , confusion created , public meetings still persevered in , and agitation kept up in aid of an ungrateful " mob , " who thus frustrate the every benign intent of the disinterested masters .
The people reason thus : — Those masters say they have no hope of a repeal of the Corn Laws from a House of Commons constituted as ours is at present ; let us therefore unite , and get such a representative system as will cure the evil . " Well , they meet , and propose Household Suffrage ; the people listen atteatively , and Bay— " Go ye and get Household Suffrage ; you can do it ; but we will stand on the firm ground of the universal rights of man . " "No , " say the patriotic masters , " perhaps you would oppose us . " Now , here we find that the very anticipation of opposition is sufficient to affright the gentlemen from what they could of themselves effect ; while the reality of substantial drubbing after drubbing won't deter them from the pursuit of what , for their own selfish interests , they require .
The fact is clear to the people , that if the Corn Laws were repealed , the masters would require , aye and would soon acquire , a despotic Houso of masters , with a National Gendarmerie , to confine the whole benefit to capitalists . Does any mm , in his senses , for a moment doubt , that the very first effect of a repeal of the Corn Laws , without a natienaj representation , would be a return to one pound notes
to an unlimited issue of fictitious money to meet reckless speculation , to a depopulation of the rural districts , and a flooding of the already over-stocked manufacturing hell-towns ; to the erection of mills , as if by magic j to a scene of gambling , unparalleled ; to a short gleam of sunshine followed by a long and dreary season of dark depression and servile despondency ! In short , in the words of the old hare hunting
song" Merry for a moment , and dull for an hour . " This is not what the matured mind of England now looks for ; it is quite the reverse , they are content to
be" Dull for a moment , and merry for an hour . " The Chronicle tried the " ticket" system recently at Leicester , and Messrs . Mxbkhah and Seal repaid the proprietor and his tail , in a rebuke which insured them the thanks of millions ; and , even now , the Chronicle , in its attempt to mislead , does not seem to be aware , when , in its own columns , it draws the veil from its own delusion . The Chronicle , while speaking of " ticketing" English freemen , thus lets the cat out of the bag , on Saturday last , in certainly the beet and most spicy article we have seen for a long time , in that cold and seasonless dish . In referring to the public auction for popular support , the Chronicle says : — "The poor-law stalking
horse has failed the Tories . The revision of the Bill h&S unmasked their hollow pretensions . In whatever mitigation could be effected the lead has been taken by their opponents . " This is quite true , it only requires the proper moral to be attached , to turn the trick to valuable account . The Whigs did without any , even the slightest , hope of success , outbid the Tories , but merely outbid them in humbug , not in popular favour ; and Mr . Eastkope ' s proposition is viewed by the country in the very light in whioh , in the few lines we have quoted , his vanity has suggested it , to enhance his value , even by a trick , to a tottering faction .
We again counsel the people , by all and every means , to take advantage of every meeting , and when refused admittance to a ticket show , to meet in thousands outside , and pass resolutions for the Charter , and to exclude from their meetings all obnoxious persons , if the system is persevered in . In fact , if it is made general , we undertake to turn it to beneficial account , and to stop all meetings but Chartist meetings . They have their House ; the least the people can have is their talk . Some eighteen months ago , we had to pay the " Sun" from £ 30 to £ 40 a week for condescending to notice us ; now , we are the stock-in-trade of the whole " Establishment . " " That ' s the ticket" for bread and soup , and something more .
If we only stick together , in defiance of open villany and sham profession , Chartism may defy the Devil and all his imps . In fact , the question now is , When are we to havo the change , as change is certain ? But many , very many " tricks of the trades" will bo yet tried to persuade us that we are not yet ^ u itb ready ; that we require some profitable preparation . In fact , all will try the old scheme of making the humbug " last his time . "
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CONFESSION OF THE BOY , MITCHELL , NOW UNDER SENTENCE OF DEATH IN YORK CASTLE . Thb confession of this unfortunate boy , which we give in our 8 th page , will , no doubt , be read with painful interest . We are not of the " whole hog " abolition of capital punishment party ; and it is because we wish to see a controlling power , reserved for the purpose of making examples in the most flagrant cases , that we can , with the greater propriety , and self-satisfaction , turn to the little of a redeeming quality which appears in the case before us .
Mitchell is but just seventeen years of age ; has never before been charged with any crime whatever ; his father and mother are most respectable and industrious people . They have , though poor , brought up a family of , we believe , eleven or twelve children , in virtue and industry ; there being either eight or ten daughters , many very respectably married , and all highly respected for their good conduct .
Robinson and Cbkbry are each some eight years older than the unfortunate Mitchell ; and , surely , if his statement be true , of which we have not a shadow of doubt , their crime is immeasurably mow heinous than his ; and , hence it is , that we see the great necessity of distinction , if any distinction is to be made . " Ma&te prepense , " constitute * the gravamen oi the crime of murder ; Mitchell oould have had n © malice , because lie had never seen big . victim before , neither had he received more than ten minutes ' notice
from his associates of the intended robbery in whioh he was designed to take part . If even , therefore , distinction in such cases becomes warrantable , or indeed justifiable , it is where a glaring difference is manifest in the parts of the several actors in such a tragedy ; and , in our humble opinion , the duty of the Secretary of State , ie , by all and every means , to sift the case to the bottom , so that if the more damnable wickedness Of those , hitherto screened from the laws' just vengeance , shall at all purge the crime , of the only one
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about to suffer , of any of its atrocity , that snob course may be adopted as will lead to that human * result . Are the actual perpetrators of the foul deed to remain at large , while their Ies 3 guilty accomplice , discharged of the " malice afore , thought , " is to expiate the whole offence upon the gallows ! May not the arrest of the real murderer ! lead to a greater amount of legal aad moral satig . faction , than the death of the least guilty , because he happened to be most technically identifi « t Surely , if there be not sufficient grounds for a commutation of punishment now , there are ampk reasons for delay , in hope that those grounds may be yet strengthened .
It ia evident that Mr . Baron Rolfe saw ih » guilt of the prisoners , Robinson and Cherry , from his observation , that , he did not envy the feeling of his companions . " Baron Rolfe appears , in hi skort judicial career , to have entirely won the cou . fidence of the profession , by his legal acumen , while his sentences , thongh sufficiently severe to reclaim the criminal , are eminently distin guished by a strong desire to act the part of a just Jud ge by doing the laws' duty and no more ; and , weaij confident , that those comparatively mild sentences have the full effect of preventing the criminal from resuming his wicked course , while they are calculated to prevent the perpetration of crime by others , which should be the two great and undeviatin g coa . sidersations with all Judges .
We have been furnished with a very interesting narrative of the life of this unfortunate lad , " which , however , we withhold , not being desirous to maht a Newgate Calendar of the people ' s paper . Pw the present , we shall merely observe that , from theagt of fourteen to sixteen , he lived a roving life with tha Derbyshire gipsies , whose society he abandoned about a year since , being averse to th « ir mode of lift , and has since lived with one master , from whom he never received the slightest reproach for negligence , or bad conduct . It is a remarkable fact that the unfortunate Babdslkt , who was hong at the last March Assizes , had been for a long time a companion of the gipsy tribe .
It will be seen , that the confession of the COOvict is signed by the three prisoners apppointed as his companions in the condemned cell . Itia bat justice to Fox , to state that he had no knowledge of , or hand , ast , or part , in the transaction from tht beginning to the fatal close . It is also a great blessing that Robinson and Cheert have not escaped the meshes of the law , as they were not tried for the murder , and therefore are still amenable to justice , and cannot plead in bar outre fois acquit . "
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FASHIONABLE INTELLIGENCE , AND UNPARALLELED WHIG GENEROSITY . The Right Honourable F . Baring , her Majesty ' s Chancellor of her Majesty ' s Exchequer , has co » ft forward , in the mest liberal and handsome manner , and kindly borrowed John and Judy Bull ' s monies , deposited in the Savings' Banks ; and , further , to mark the Right Honourable Gentleman ' s especial regard for the said John aadJuDT , he has been graciously pleased to consolidate ( there ' s a fine word , worth half the money ) the same .
We trust the Right Honourable Gentleman will not distress himself , by any over-anxiety to repay the loan ; we are quite sure that John and Judt , always bo pliant , will take short bilk , payable three days after convenience . Now , then , we ask who are the poople ' s greatest enemies ; those who fight them with their own weapons , or those who furnish the weapons ? Had the wise holders of Savings'Bank stock taken the advice of the " foolish" and " plundering" Convention , this extensive fraud could not have been committed .
Will any man tell ns that , in the age of unieformed abuse , any Government would hare ventured upon so audacious and unconstitutional a . step , without a single word of notice . No ; the plundering Whigs would have moved England to ita centre , if such a thing was even hinted at . Go it , Frank ! that ' s the ticket for soup ! your race is almost run , when you are obliged to borrow from the lazy poor to pay the industrious rich .
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THE "LAST KICK" OF THE LEAGUE : THE LEEDS MEETING . Never was " heavy blow and deep discouragement , " felt more severely than the League men feel their defeat at Leeds , the very central camp of Whiggery , and the burrow of the new brood of foxes ! Poor fellows ! we pity them sincerely ! and the more so , as we fear the wholesome lesson will be lost upon them . We doubt whether they have
enough of virtue to repent , even under the lash of punishment . The Mayor of Leeds had a lesson read to him , on Friday , which should be serviceable to him ; it should bring to his recollection that a short time ago a most respectable requisition was presented to him , re » questing him to convene a meeting of the inhabitants On . business of high moment to their interests , and that he refused either to convene the meeting , or to
give to the inhabitants of the town the uso of their own room—the Court House—built , and sustained continually , with their own money . He will recollect that he treated the deputation who then waited upon him most uncoarteously ; and he will feel now that the people are such as may be " reasonably deemed" to have some share of manly spirit mingled with their forbearance , when his second attempt at insult was repelled with the almost unanimous and firmly expressed , though subdued and well gorerned ^ indignation which greeted him on that occasion . Let other functionaries learn herefrom a lesson of
becoming modesty , and know their place and station when mingling with their fellow townsmen at a public meeting , or they will certainly , as w hope at least , receive similar admonitions to that betowed upon the Mayor of Leeds by the fustians on Tuesday last ; -while the Leaguers will , we venture to promise , never more venture upon a public meetings either here or any where else . The poor wretches are laughed out of every society of honest working men , in which they dare to show themselves . So should it ever be with dishonest tricksters !
Our neighbour Mercury seems determined to lose no opportunity of earning new laurels in hisprofession of mendacity . He has in this instance been too impatient of applause to wait for it indue course , but actually lies by anticipation in his neigh * hour ' s columns Before bis own can be got ready . In the-Sun of Wednesday , we find a most veracious report of the proceedings , quoted from tlte Leeds ^ Mercury , in which the unBpokon speeches of Messrs . Foxes Stansfeld and Punt appear at fall length , as they were no doubt intended to have bem delivered—** more probably , as the foxes would
, have been g \ &iifthey could have been deUvered Nobody knows , however , better than our friend the Mercury , that the pertinacious love of disorder and confnsion manifested by the league foxes rendered speeches out of the question , and that n& speeches were heard at all . There ware no Reporter , on the Bteps , and not one syllable could be heard beyond the stepa-the speeches haw , therefore , clearly been handed over-cut an * dry—as even the Mercury himself admits that no
no one could be heard-that no one was hoard and that the whole proceedings passed in aum » show . The resolutions of the Leaguers intended t * have been put , but which never were put al ail , are coolly paraded as those of the meeting , wluletfle resolutions moved by Mr . Hiix , and adopted by « lcaat three- fourths of tbe whole meetwg , are book of as a farce (!) God help the poor fellows . tw players in a farce we never before saw suoh long aaa sorrowful faees . as the Leaguers pulled that dsy a » ever since ! We guess the fare * was P tr » # wj which they will never again beipeak .
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¦ ¦' ¦ ¦ - ¦ .. . ¦ v THE NORTHERN STAR . \
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), April 3, 1841, page unpag, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct849/page/4/
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