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THE NORTHERN STAR. SATURDAY, JULY 24, 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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JULIAN HARNEY TO THE DEMOCRATS OF THE WEST BIDING . Mi Fribkds . —Having been granted , by your delegates , leave of absence for a abort period from my duties as ^ eefcurer for your district , I wish to inform yon how I hava spent my time . I left De-robory on July 7 th , for Leeds , from there went by nulvay to York . I paid a Tisit to Mr . O'Connor on my arrival , and the same evening addressed an excellent meeting in the Chartist Association Boom , ^ 0100 tu dense ly crowded , great numbers being unable to get admission . Thursday , 8 th . * E » in -risited Mr . O'Connor . Upon the occasion of each Tisit a person sat by tbe whole time , listening to the conversation . Tbe Govern oi of the Castle , Mr . Noble , appears to be an excellent man . Oar glorioas friend , O'Connor , I found in much better be&Itb than be previously bad been , and in excellent spirit * , foil ot hope that the victory of Chartism orer class legislation is tiestiaed to be at no dist&at day . The same day -went by railway to Darlington , then took coach to Newcestle , reaching that town at ten o ' clock at night . Friday , Sth . —Went by railway to Carlisle . S&Rrrday , 10 th . —Addressed a meeting of my old friends at Dalston . Monday , 12 . —Addressed a good meeting of the Cirlisle Chartists . I wish to direct the attention of my friends to an address from tbe Carlisle Chartists in the last number of tbe Star , the lives of the two unfortunate men are in jeopardy , and may be sacrificed unless
they have that legal defence which justice demands , but which is denied to those unable to pile gold upon the alt * r . Men of the West Riding ! remember ye , that whenever aa appeal has been made to the country for pecuniary assistance in behalf of tbe Welsh victims or the persecuted patriots ; remember ye < that tbe men © f Carlisle have been the first to respond to that appeal ; let , then , the country make some return . Be it not forgotten that life is at stake , and oh ! let it not be said that the lives of onr brethren were sacrificed to the vengeance of oppression ' s mercenaries through the want of a few pounds . to Winlaton
Tuesday , 13 th . —Went by railway , where , that evening , I addressed a large gathering of my old friends , by whom I was heartily received . Wednesday , 14 th . —Returned toNeweasUe . A meeting had been called to take place in the Association room , capable of holding some hundreds . By eight o ' clock , it was crowded to suffocation , and some hundreds being nnaWe to obtain admission , an adjournment to the open-air took place , where a large and tnthusiaetic gathering was held . A letter from Mr . O'Connor was read by the Chairman , and elicited shouts of appjause . A resolution , proposed by Mr . 0 Connor , was seconded by Mr . Mason , in a spirit-stirring speech . 1 followed , speaking for nearly two hours . It -was nearly eleven o ' clock at the conclusion of the proceedings . -
Thursday , loth . —Addressed a glorious gathering of the men of Sooth Shields , in the Market-place of that town . I regret to have te say , that I found no Association here , but , at tbe close of the meeting , a number of the old leaden accompanied me to my lodgings , and there made arrangements for the cslliDg of a public meeting , en an early day , to form an Association . Let this be done , and let the leaders work with spirit , and no fear bat that " the days of old" will be speedily restored , when South Shields ranked in the van ef the ranks of Chartism .
Friday , 16 th . —Addressed a splendid , oTerflo-wing and mtst enthusiastic audience in the Arcade Room , Sunderland . Messrs . Williams and Bums were on the platform ; the former did me the honour of introducing me to his compatriots , the men of Sunderland—the latter proposed the thanks of the assembly to your humble servant This was by far the most enthusiastic meeting I have addressed , and tells "well for the almost superhuman exertions in the democratic cause of those talented patriots , Williams and Binns ; to them we owe the present glorious state of Chartism in Sunderland . Long , long may they in health and strength continue to enj oy the esteem and affection cf their townsmen—esteem they have so nobly won—affection they so nobly deserve .
Saturday , 17 th . —Left Sunderland for Stockton-Vete , where , fo * t evening I addressed a large open-airmeeting , in the High-street . The Stoctton Chartists are an excellent body of patriots , they have a good reading room , a co-operative store , -and are found ever ready to play their part when any appeal by the Chartist leaders is made to the country ; yet strange to say , Stockton is but very seldom visited by Chartist lecturers : this is much regretted by the local leaders . I would earnestly request any of my brother " demagogues" who may be going from York to Snnderland and Newcastle , or from either of the latter places to the former , to pay Stoctton a visit ; they -wiU find excellent jeeoKmxiaiiofi tot aa open-air meeting ; and " HI there- meet with a people generous and hospitable , lad sternly patriotic in liberty ' s cause . Monday , 19 th . —Returned to Tort
Tuesday , 20 th . —Again had the pleasure of an interview with Mr . O'Connor . How is it , let me ask , that my fair friends , the good wives and bonnie lasses of Oldham , forgot to Bend me ( as promised ) their address ' to Mr . O'Connor ? Let them make amends for their neglect , by at once going to work in preparing for the patriot ' s reception on his liberation . Oldham , the only place in Britain that returns to Parliament two real Radical Member * , must—will ( to O'Connor aod the cause ) do its duty . The same evening addressed a second excellent meeting of the Chartists of York . Men of tke West-Riding ! I am happy that I can ongrarulate you on the triumphant progress of Chartism in this city , hitherto the fortress of aristocratical despotism and priestly ignorance ; but now ( thanks to the persecution of O'Connor ) destined , I verily belieTe , to be , at no remote period , one of tae Strongholds of democracy .
I shall this day return to Dewsbury , and on Monday next Kh * H recommence my lectures in the Riding . Brother democrats , I reserve till we meet , face to face , comment upon the late downfall of Whiggery in your Riding , as also any advice I may have to tender as to the future course your own interests command yon to pcryne . In the meantime , I cannot bat congratnliU you that
The lag that ' s tainted ten long years The once free English breezethe filthy yellow rag , is at length hauled down ; and although in its stead , for a moment , the Tory blue flies aloft , yet union and energy , my friends , and no fe&r but that the glorious banner of green will yet—aye , and speedily , too—float triumphant on tbe breeze , proclaiming the liberation of ourselves , and the enfranchisement of our father-land . Yours , fraternally and faithfully , George Julian Harset . York , Wednesday , July 21 st , 1 S 41 .
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BIRMINGHAM RESTORATION COMMITTEE . Thi 3 industrious Committee has this last two or three weeks been busily engaged with their balance sheet and Mrs . Frost ' s case . At a previous meeting , Mr . Ross , of the Central Committee of Glasgow , was unanimoasly chosen an honorary member of the Restoration Committee of Birmingham , &c On Tuesday eTeniag last , Messrs . Wiliinson and Startin were appointed auditors of tbe entire balance sheet of tae Committee , which will be printed and sent to every district of the country that has contri bated thereto . The Committee recommend the ease of Mrs . Frost to the country , and hope , at an early day , to secure the presentation of the memorials to the Qaeen . Correspondence was received from Mrs . Frost thanking the Committee for their vote of £ 3 10 s . Sd . in the most polite terms . Also a communication from the Executive of Manchester as to the state of the funds of tbe Committee ,
Mr . T . P . GreeB tendered hu resignation as corresponding secretary , in consequence of want of time to attend to the duties of the office . As be held that trust only until a competent person would take the place , and on Mr . Wilkinson being unanimously elected on the Committee , Mr . Green would either propose or secend that gentleman to the office , believing him qualified in every respect . Elected unanimously , as Corresponding and Financial Secretary to tbe Committee . The Committee unanimously elected Messrs Wilkin-Bon , Kictois , and Thorp , as members of the Committee . All communications for the Committee to be addressed to Mr . J . Gnest , { Treasure ^ bookseller , Steelhouse-lane ,
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TO THE CHARTISTS OF YORKSHIRE AND
LANCASHIRE . Friends and Bbethk&n , —The day so anxiously looked forward to by the enslaved millions—the dsy when the dungeon fetters of tyranny shall be struck off , aad the prison bonds burst asunder—the day of O'Connor s liberation is rapidly drawing nigh . I doubt not , men of Yorkshire and Lancashire , but that each locality of your important counties will be anxious to outvie each other in doing the patriot honour . Bat , you-will see tbe pro priety of so ordering matters , that the arrrangements of oae locality shall not /• lu . 'h ) vrith those of another ; this can only be prevented by a right understanding between all parties . To enact this , I would respectfully suggest tbe holding of a meeting of dftlfgat "' , from ail parts of Yorkshire and Lancashire , at Hebden- Bridge , at as early a dav as possfble .
I bm Beb&e Bridge because , about half way befcweea Leeds and Manchester , is stands on the direct line o ! railroad ^ miring the two counties . I would suggest that such meeting take place in the worse si two orthree weeks time <« ome Sunday}—as to work early is to work well . Moreover , sach dek ^ ate meeting would determine whether our noble friend Bronterre should hold a series of demonstrations previous to the liberation of Mr . O'Cennor ; or , resting from bis prison cares in the bosom of bis family for a few weeks , should accompany that gentleman in the march ov triumph deserved by , and I feel assured deseed for both . QSmag these suggestions for you to improve upon , I have tbe honour to be , BMpwtfolly aad faithfully yours , OtOKCS JVLUfi HAiKBT .
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THE PRESS AND THE CRISIS . As jet tbe chaotic rubbish of the prass affords the only materials from which we can form any notion of the new political temple about to be erected ; and so misshapen , rude , and unmanageable are they , that it would require aa architect of no ordinary capacity to guess at the description of political architecture for which they are designed . Whether it is to be of the pare and chaste Tory style , with smooib front , stately and colossal pillars , and royal dome , or whether it is to be of the new order of Whig-Tory architecture , with Gothic front , corridor , and wings , yet remains to be proved .
One tnLng , and only one , appears plain ; and that is , judging from the stand which the Ministerial organs appear resolved to take upon prerogative , the Whigs , as a party , have not , as yet , had sufficient proof of the utter hopelessness of any attempt to regain power upon their oldea principles . This madness we may perhaps ascribe to the yet unbalanced state of parties , and a desire to soften or retard Tory crating for the mess . Of this policy we thought our friends had had enough , without publishing a second edition of their felly .
Lest however there may be any , the slightest , intention of a coalition of the heads of factions " in order to giTe stability to our drooping trade , so essentially necessary juBt now , " let us point eut the obstacles to such an alliance . In the first place . then , we have before shown that patronage , to suit the expectations of the many sections of Conservatism of which the Tory party is composed , is far too scanty to admit of the
remission of a single abuse which would diminish the " idle paupers' Poor Law fund . " Without the introduction of Bussell , Paxmerston , and Macaula y to the Tory firm , vo say nothing of Hobhousk , Babljtg , Labocchere , and the small fry , there could be do partnership ; and we guess that the terms , ( fiscal , net political , ) required by those three patriotic Senators , would be Euch as to reduce the mess very much below par . But suppose such a union did take place , what , in such case , is to become
of the young Tories who would be thereby deprived of their share of the mess 1 and what would become ofThe constitutional | Whigs when deprived of their patriotic , philosophic , constitutional leaders ! and what ^ svould become of Dan and his tame associates ? of WIklet , Dcncombe , Leader , Warbcrton , Bowring , Roebuck , and Crawford ? And again , what would become of Charles Buller , George Hexbt Wise , and that email section ! in short what would become of one and all of the hardpressers and close-watchers for Whig windfalls 2 What , we ask , would become of the cut-off Whigs and Tories in case of a coalition ? The answer is plain and easy : —they would put Chartism to the blush by glaring exposure of its insufficiency to attain the just and righteous ends of justice ; and they would start Republicanism on their own account .
Already hare the leading organs of the respective parties , the Chronicle and the Times , taken their ground ; and where does the reader suppose ! Aye in troth , where , in the nineteenth century , and in the tenth year of Reform and the thirteenth of emancipationl Why , upon old Mother Bang ! Yes , in faith , the bloody old Times , not satkiitd with the many murders and calamities of which its
pestilential columns has been the immediate cause , has the folly and audacity to threaten full-blown popular power with the revival of the religious rancour of resuscitated Toryism and bigotted Protestantismand this charge , the Chronicle , ( which we are in justice bound to say has for the first time the best of the argument with its gigantic rival , )—merely meets by a set-off of what in such and such cases , it would be justifiable for the oppressed to do .
The Times insists upon the appointment of holy Protestant spies , whose chriEtian duty shall beto attend all Catholic places of worship and report , we presume , ( if summary Tory justice is to be deali ) to the next Protestant chief constable , who shall be a competent judge as to the tendency of the language complained of , and shall , upon the spot hold a court of oyer and terminer ; and after evidence taken , that is ^ after having heard the lies of some hired ruffian , he shall forthwith decide upon tbe amount of pains and penalties to which the priest who uttere politics in his chapel shall be subjected , and that thereupon he , the said constable , shall forthwith proceed ( 0 execute bis own decree upon the said priest .
Now , just a word in the ear of old M Bloody . " Does the old lady not remember the reply of the cab-man to his passenger , when the passenger threatened to take his number \ " Aye , " replied the cab-man , " You woald , and my cab too , if I'd let you . " We have no doubt that the protestant chief constable would take the priest and the chapel too , if the parishioners would let him . This infernal and bloody threat of the old lady , tbe Chronicle , meets thus : — " Well in suchlcase ,
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would it sot be justifiable to analize and report upon tbe tendency of the visitation sermons of Bishop Philpots , and of protestant pulpit demagogues , and to deal out like punishment to them V Why , what nonsense ! To be sore it would be equally just and reasonable ; bat then to whom are the parties aggrieved to appeal ! there ' s the xub 1 The Tories are is aod the Whigs are out . As we are the real constitutionalists , and as we love precedent , as others do , when it makes for as , let us just direct the attention of the Chronicle to a case in point . The grievance now threatened
by the Times , and complained of by the Chronicle , is doubtless a great one , and one which with ail our might we will resist . But are we not justified in asking the leading journal of oar oppressors , why it was silent when e * - officio Poor Law Guardians * with the title of magistrates ; when petty constables and penny-a-line reporters ; when Lord Mayors and minions of the faction in power , were made judges of what was evil and what had an evil tendency , in the harangues of poor working men not having equal education with Bishop
Philpotts , and having much more cause of complaint ! Why , we ask , were poor working men subjected to that inquisitorial scrutiny and legal construction of guilt according to the law's whim , of which , in the case as laid down by the Times , the Chronicle now sees so much injustice ! Why were policemen , and ignorant jurors , and old women , allowed to be good and sufficient judges of what constituted just cause of alarm and apprehension of violence , in the case of poor working man , when the politics taught at their places of meeting did not square with Whig convenience ?
There is nothing like proper light for setting off the merits of a picture , and no doubt the change from the glaring sun , which throws its dazzling and unequal rays upon the right of the Speaker ' s chair , to the steady light which beams upon the left , has exposed to the critic all those inaccuracies which blazing Whiggery so long obscured ? In fact , the great change which change of place and scenery works in the human mind is almost incredible .
In conclusion , we beg to assure our friend , the Chronicle , that it must eelect some more open ground than the narrow limits of the Church whereon to fight the approaching battle . We have more than once stated , and we now repeat it , that with perfect religious freedom , civil disabilities , and great social inequalities may exist ; whereas the existence of religious tyranny is incompatible with the existence of perfect civil liberty . We have now seen that a people deprived of all the privileges of freemen will net straggle with the favoured privileged oppressor for the accomplishment of his self-interested objects . Civil liberty is a means ; religious freedom is a end .
The English people are , for the most part , Protestant ; and they repudiate the present ascendancy of their religious order : while , upon the other hand , the Catholic people of Ireland are beginning to discover that without civil rights all religious disabilities removed are but so many manacles taken from the wealthy leaders and placed upon the poor man ' s limbs . The Chronicle may rest assured that the shrewd , the oppressed , and oft deceived people will never again struggle for any object until they first acquire the means of effecting it , and of afterwards enjoying it . Proof , full , ample , and
convincing proof , has been given that the Whig 3 are not able to carry even their enticing modicum of " Great Reforms , " constituted as the House of Commons is . We are for every change , the justice of which the ChyonicU admits ; yea , for all the GaEAX Commercial Reforms , " free trade and all ; but we are not for allowing the power of exciting the publio mind upon them as a mere means of perpetuating office to remain in the hands of those who have not strength to carry them , even if inclined . Give the people the means , and just and prudent results will follow ; therefore for the Charter , and that alone , will they contend .
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THE WHIGS AND THE POOR LAW . All the old fashions are about being revived , and among others , we find the Whigs abandoning the gallopade , waltz , and , quadrille , for the old country dance . Doubtless the figure suits them : down the middle and back , change sides , set and turn your partner , is all the go . Well , well , to be sure , what a world we live in !!! It is now some time since we told our old story ab « ut the fine lady who was compelled to seek shelter from the pelting storm in the cold and cheerless widow ' s hovel , where system-made wretchedness and nakedness trembled in the corner . We have told how the lady felt for the perishing
inmates while she made one of the shiveriDg group ; and how she condoled with the widow , and how she ordered John , her footman , to be sure to bring a goodly supply of coals to cheer the inmates and make the cottage hearth send forth its heat ; and how , when she got home , and thrust her feet into a pair of morroco slippers well furred inside , and placed them upon the fender , with the last number of the Ladies' Magazine in her hand , she rang the bell and asked John if he had Bent the coals to the poor widow ; and when John answered " No , my Lady , not yet , but I am just going , " how the fine lady said , " 0 , you need not mind it now , John ; 1 don ' t think it is near so cold as it was , when we WERR IN THE POOR WIDOW " S HOUSE 1 "
As we never relate an anecdote without some point , w « have told the above for the purpose of contrasting the feelings of the fine lady while a participator in suffering , and her subsequent relapse into ossification of the heart when relieved herself , with the feelings of the scribes of the Whig press in general , and of George Hesrt Wabd in particular , when similarly situated . When the Hon . Member for Shtffield , upon passing by all the Government offices on his fray from bis cock-loft in the Strand to the Senate-House of the nation , was regaled by the savoury smell which issued from the
stew-pan of the Ministerial kitchen , we never heard one word in coademnation of what the cooks term " gravy stock . " We never heard that the sauce which smelt so savoury was wholly and entirely constituted of the poor man ' s marrow , or little fingers , twisted limbs , broken constitutions , and , in short , of a hodge-podge of human suffering . No ; not a word of complaint while " the fat Buck of Sheffield" licked his lips iu anticipation of the feast . 0 , then " the Poor Law was all right and proper ; " it was " the industrious labourer ' s protection against the idler , who pressed too hardly upon his
means of subsistence . " But now , alas ! when " mine host" is about to be changed , the close weather and the close grasp of power in Tory hands , makes well flavoured dishes and savoury sauce to stink in the nostrils of the humanity-monger ; and while sworn testimony and daily instances of brutality and cruelty failed to open the bowels of Mr . Wars to the sufferings of his fellow man , so long as they promised to constitute his ( Mr . Wajuj ' s ) comforts ; the moment that he ceases to be an invited guest , the authority of a correspondent is proof convincing that the law is bad , and should be narrowly watched .
No doubt our readers were struck at seeing an article copied from the Weekly Chronicle in last week ' s Star , reflecting upon the hardship of taking their stays from the female inmates of the Chesterfield Union . " We quite agree in every word of the said article ; but has it never been the lot of Mr . Ward , while on the threshold of office , for seven long years , to have arrived at the knowledge of any greater grievances nnder the New Poor Law ? Has he never heard of the skin being taken from the back of many a little girl and many a little boy ? Has he never heard of the father , in a moment of frenzy , when driven to want by Mr . Ward and his class , depriving his children whom he tenderly loved of existence itself , lest thfj should become inmates of the said workhousei ?
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Has be never heard of the English virtuous mother giving birth to her infant in a pool of water , at the workhouse door , and of her labour-moans failing to soften the heart of the devil overseer ! If he has beard of those things , why is it that we have never till now heard » single word of condemnation of the Poor Law from the said humanity-monger !!!! We have always said that the opposition of a few Tories to the measure was a sprat to catch a mackerel—a bait for popularity ; and having been rather successfully tried for a season , we now see strong symptoms of a similar attempt being made by a section ot the displaced Whig popularity-hunters . Yes , we see the parties about to change sides ! and . the Whigs
are about to occupy the position now abandoned , because no longer of importance to the Times and its party . From the Times we shall bear no more wholesale abuse of the Poor Law ; itsoppositioa will dwindle down into an exhortation to the new possessors of power to " make the law , which they found upon the Statute Book , as congenial as possible to the wants and feelings of the poor "—that is , in other words , as congenial as is consistent with the feelings and wants of the landlords . Upon the other hand , we feel convinced that a new light will shine upon a section of the Whig- »; and that they will taunt the Tories with . not accomplishing that change , the promise of which , as they are foolish enough to suppose , has acquired for them much of their acquired strength .
Neither Whigs nor Tories ever intended to make any further or greater alterations in the law than the force of publio opinion and a dread of public vengeance compelled them to adopt : therefore , we would recommend the WhigB to bundle up that claptrap with the rest of their traps , before flitting ; for they may rest assured that no such fly will catch a Chartist fish . The Whigs and the Tories may play the game of diamond cut diamond ; they may dreas abuse for the stage , and opinions for the
masquerade as they please ; but Chartism , like loveliness , most adorned when unadorned , shall still appear in artless simplicity as the great means to the great end , which is , the regeneration of man , —the placing him in that situation for which his God intended him , and making him & welcome guest at Nature's board , covered with the produce of his . own hands . This abuse , as well as Church abuse , the Charter would remove ; nothing else can ; and therefore are we for the Charter .
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THE REACTION . The great error into which both Whigs and Tories are bow likely to fall , is into a supposition that the unexpected majority of Tories bespeaks a corresponding reaction in the publio mind in favour of Tory principles . Such , bowever , is not the case ; the fact denotes a great reaction in favour of Chartism . The Tories have gained a triumph which must prove their ruin ; while the Chartists have gained a great victory over the enemy immediately before them and in power . Our assertion is susceptible of easy proof .
Suppose ; then , that the Whigs had even gone on progressively with administrative changes calculated to make the condition of the people more comfortable , while they allowed them the unopposed constitutional privilege of seeking for those great and organic changes to which they look for complete and ultimate happiness : in such case would the Tories , upon a general election have been able to gain such a triumph over their opponents \ Undoubtedly , not . Upon the other hand , do the people in their most
sanguine moments expect from the Tories any of those administrative changes to which we refer ; or do they anticipate an unopposed license to prosecute their just demand for organic change " ad interim " 1 As undoubtedly not . Therefore popular expectation to receive from the Tories more than has been granted by the Whigs , cannot be set down as an item in the reaction account ; while desertion from the Whigs may be attributed to the non-performance of their several promises when at the right 8 ) de of the hedge , and looking for power .
It is of all things necessary that the rulers of a great country should clearly and critically understand the terms upon which they hold power , and the incidents or chances to which their tenure is attributable . In our endeavour faithfully to discharge our duty to those rulers then , we beg to assure them that there has been no reaction in favour of Tory man or Tory measures ; that their majority is proof of Whig imbecility and popular hatred of treachery , but not of any diminution of Tory hatred .
The party squabbles of electors , the superior tactics of leaders , the greater attention to the registration of voters , and unceasing appeals to all who had rotes to register , backed by a fair share of the needful , brought into action with consummate skill ; these things proved that the Tory machinery for electioneering purposes is more complete , better arranged and worked , than the Whig machinery ; but , beyond that , their present position proves nothing .
Suppose we were to ask , what one principle the majority proves the triumph of , where are we to find the answer ? Is it in the accomplishment of those measures of which the Tories , as a party , have professed themselves determined supporters I and are the people in favour of any one of those measures ? No , not one . Let us try . War , a favourite Tory game . Protestant Ascendancy , and extension of Church patronage and proselytism , a vital portion of the Tory creed . Augmentation of the power of the landlords' interest , the best feather in the Tory cap .
A kind of oatural distaste for popular interference in anything but slavery and serfdom , to which the Tories consider working men as heirs . Advocates for a larger standing army and police force , as the great upholders and safeguard of Tory principles . Now such are some of the darling objects of Toryism ; and to which of these are the people inclined , and in favour of which has the reaction , so loudly boasted of , taken place 1
We imagine that the Times would find some difficulty in treating its readers to a plain common sense answer to our questions ; however if the great magician of the press can still dress fiction in the language of gullibility , and persuade his audience that the man is in the bottle while he is in bed , and if the audience are not only reconciled to the juggle , but pay daily for seeing it repeated in a new and improved form , well and good : but we beg to assure the juggler that some fine day the bottle will tumble and crack , and mortal and ferocious will be the disappointment of the well-gulled audience when the man fails to jump out !
Now then , reaction may be a triumph in politics , just as a verdict given against law and evidence may be a triumph in law ; but as one can be destroyed by a new trial , and by a new jury , so may the other . Having beaten the Whigs , thereby proving our hatred of treachery and deceit , we now bat require a new trial to prove that reaction is a mere political fiction , paraded for the purpose of inducing the beaten party to hold their weakness in contempt and the strength of their enemies in respect .
Unless the Times and the Tories can prove that a greater number of the unrepresented classes are in favour of Tory principles in 1841 than in 1837 , they prove nothing , except indeed , as is not unlikely they still adhere to the philosophy of believing the electoral body to constitute the people , and the unrepresented to be mere filling stuff . Well , then , what has caused the great change denoted by tbe result of the recent contest ? Why just this . The action of a few score English landlords , both Whig and Tory , and the counteraction of a few Irish assessors , both Whig and Tory , who preferred erring with the high bench to which they look for countenance patronage and support , to a conformity with the spirit of law by the myetificatioft and perplexity of which they live and thrive
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The reaction , then , amounts to action and counteraction ; and if the result was but the removal from office , and for ever , of the head-long , tail-foremost , Whig Government , we should say , " well done tbou bad and faithless action and counteraction !" We trust that the fleshed ruffians , ballood on by their "killing huntsman , " will not presume upon re-action , and use it as a temptation to uphold prerogative by force , upon the presumption that tbe people are with them .
We advised the Government not to choke Fbost , Williams , and Jones , for more reasons than a desire to spare the lives of good and innocent men . We feared that from their ashes would rise a huge pile of disaster , which we shuddered to think upon ; and we now tell the Tories that a second Peterloo will not do . We tell them , indeed we have given them ocular demonstration from almost every huBting * , that we aTe united to a man ; and we assure them that we will not bear from them what we bat reluctantly submitted to from the Whigs . In short , and in plain terms , we will resist tyranny to the death , in whatever shape it may present its hideous form .
In doing our duty , however , we will make the grand distinction between men and principles . We will not oppose Toryism at any risk or hazard , for the mere purpose of giving the fallen Whip a triumph . We know full well that they would glory in an experiment of popular outbreak , provided that their recall to office was to be the result . We feel assured , however , that henceforth every struggle of the people will be for themselves , and not for faction . Weareqnite ready to forgive and forget , provided we get the means of preventing a recurrence of those acts which required forgiveness and oblivion * So much for reaction in favour of Toryism !
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THE FACTIONS AND HOUSEHOLD SUFFRAGE . Oca readers will observe that we have this week endeavoured to class men , and parties , and measures , with a view of developing the immediate interests which those parties respectively have in the accomplishment of certain objects , by means of certain
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measures . In onr coorse of procedure we have now arrived at perhaps the most important , because the most extensive of all those questions ; in fact , the principle sought to be established * ot which the Ballot and so forth , are but the detail means of bringing into practice . Oar opinions have not undergone the slightest change with respect to the question of Household Suffrage ; still holding to our unconquerable ob » jebtion of making any amount of one man ' s pro *
perty the standard which is to constitute another man ' s title-to vote ; we need not now go over oar oft-repeated reasons for denouncing the agitation for this measure . But , in truth , the example furnished by the recent elections of dependency and subserviency , constituting what is called reaction , is so powerful and pertinent to onr argument against Household Suffrage , that we cannot in justieo forbear to expose it by applying it to what , nnder the altered circumstances , would be equally liable to similar reaction .
We have elsewhere shown that the reaction consists in the dominion and power exercised by landlords over their tenants . This is acknowledged by every Whig print , and complained ot , and justly so by all ; but we beg to ask how the dependency of the holder of a house under the nose of his landlord is to be obviated , and to know wherein the tenant of a ten pound house , or of a two pound house , would be more at liberty even with the ballot f But this is not all . We find that the little spirit contained in the Reform Bill ( after the detail moulding of the
measure for use ) has been completely destroyed by the malicious ingenuity of landlords , overseers , registering barristers , attoraeye . and agents employed with the view of mechanically applying the spirit to their own party purposes . In this operation they worked positively and negatively—positively , by bolstering up their own faggot votes ; and negatively , by neglecting the interest of those parties who could not be Burely purchased or safely relied upon ; and by opposing such applicants upon mer « technicalities .
Now could anything be more defined than the principles laid down in the Reform Bill , and promised to be made law by Reformers I We think not ; and yet do we find , after nine years , that the spirit has fled , and the corrupt body of detail rottenness alone remains behind , What then , is to guarantee , even to the brawlers for Household Suffrage , such a detail code for its easy working as to render the mechanism less complicated than that of which we now complain ! There never was an Act of Parliament through which a practised lawyer could not drive a coach and six ; and there never can b * any mode of making a voter independent of his landlord , so long as the landlord ' s property constitutes the tenant ' s title to vote .
Let us just point out the manner in which landlords could , as a preliminary step , destroy the spirit of what is called Household Suffrage . If they discovered from popular feeling and by the current of opinion that their tenants were about to oppose them , they would either devise some means of learning for which candidate the tenant voted , or , failing in that , they would forbid the tenant from registering
at all ; ( an act which he must do openly , ) or they would take care that a parliamentary possession of their houses never should be held . Suppose the Jaw made three months' residence previous to registration a requisite , and also stated , as it must do , the time in each year for registering ; in such case the landlords would give a mere habitation possession , bu ; would take care to vitiate the eleotoral qualification by a lapse of some sort or other .
Again , Household Suffrage would not facilitate one of the greatest objects sought to be obtained by extended suffrage . It would not render the return of poor but honest men more practicable , but upon the contrary , would remove them further from all chances of representation . Neither would it advance the question of payment of Members , which and the return of poor honest men , with a national provision for their honourable maintenance while engaged in doing the business of the country , are two of our greatest points .
Suppose the landlords eject tenants who oppose them , may not House-lords do the same t 0 ! but the Ballot . Well , the Ballot ; grant the Ballot and an evil . which cannot be endured will very speedily be cored . " How ? By depriving the tenant of all the necessary qualifications of a vote in tha outset , and by keeping the householder in a similar situation . But where is the justice ? No doubt the brawlers
will point our attention to the present scanty constituencies , as compared to the number of houses presented in the returns about to be made byth enumerators . But let us point to one damning fact . Do not the advocates find that in many instances as many as twenty-nine persons are inmates of the same house ? Now , will any clause in a Household Suffrage Bill enfranchise them ? No ! impossible !—nor is it intended that it should .
What is the real object of the parties who may now look for Household Suffrage I Merely to create an agitation for the nearest point to Chartist principles , without any other earthly motive than to ensure a reaction in favour of Whiggery . The brawlers for . Household Suffrage would much prefer doing their own work without it ; and the very agitation for it , if joined in by the people , would accomplish their aim , their end and object . They require
but just enough of that , or anything else , to whip the Whigs back to the mess . But no ! W 6 nOW kno « r our strength and our position . We know thai the Whiga will try to use us as a forcing pomp , while they remain waiters upon events . But they shall not . We will never again work for anything short of the whole Charter . The agitation which can ensure Household Suffrage would ensuiu that !!
Let the Chartists be assured that however Whiggery may ride the high horse for yet a little , that it will very speedily dismount without the help of a step-ladder , and mount the Charter with " a bold stirrup . " They will have their emissaries abroad ; but let the people , we mean the fustian jackets , be on the watch aud meet treason in the outset ; and let them further be assured that the present organisation once broken up will be the finality Of Chartism . They must , they will , and they shall give us , JUniversal Suffrage !! Blood , flesh , and bone , before bricks and stone and mortar !
Every man who agitates for Household Suffrage is a direct enemy to the fuatianB . When the Irish landlords no longer required the votes of the forty shilling freeholders , the land was depopulated ; ani so it would have been , even with the ballot . The necessity of a certain tenure for a term of years being required by an Irish county voter * has made one half the tenants tenants-at-will asd mere s « rfs ; and get Household Suffrage , — ia plaia terms , once make the cold building , in any way the representative of money , —and at any hazard , and by some means , the rich will have it . Have not the Tories
in nine years ; got full possession of the representative mint , and in five more , or less , they would get possession of any standard of money-franchise which ingenuity can coin . We are sick of this hide-and-seek , fast-and-loose , prick-in-the-loop game . Are the people for ever to be used as a means to tbe great man ' s end ! if so , let them say , and say boldly , we have no brains ; our ' house" is our head , —ask it for oua vote .
The thieves have one and all robbed the people , and now they see the day of retribution ia at hand , and they want to set up a moat unjust judge . " Household Suffbagb . " Our cry is , and ever shall be till it is granted , every f iota of the Charter , body and sleeves ; " the Chartar , the whole Charter , and nothing less than the Charter ; " the poor man ' s house , the poor man ' s table , the poor man ' s bed , the poor man ' s meat , drink , and clothes , and therefore the rich man ' s terror 1
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FB 0 X 008 L 0 . YDOH COV JBXSfOmgin . Wtdxad tf Evtxiag , July 21 st The Patbok of rain , St . Switain , is this year establishing his faeae ; for the weather we are experiencing is mock more of a November than a July ehaneter ; nun , cold , and bleak winds prevail , which have enabled the forestalled of tbe Mark Lane Corm Exchange to raise the cry of a "bad harvest , " and caused arise of Id . in the 41 b . leaf . Tbe gam Mere in the tea trade have likewise made a shout « f short supply , " so as to produce a forced market at an increased price . This state of things is suretobe ^ felt severely By the men of London , as the mechanics are now feeling , most acutely , the effects of short work .
The WA . vr of confidence is last and far extending ; indeed there are no grounds of hope ; for , instead of any alleviation from the present heavy hardens of tbe State , poor John Bull is very likely to have other charges heaped npon him . Thns we have the Governor General of the Canadas , in his address to the Chambers , stating that , in consequence of the heavy weight of the interest of the debt , ( the Canadian debt ) , her Majesty ' s Ministers are about advancing £ 160 , 000 to the Canadian Treasury , from the empty Treasury of Great Britain ! The plain fact being , they dare not let the real expence of the war against the patriots be known , and therefore a pretty juggle is to be played off .
- Thb Whigs had , on Monday last , a feed at the Colosseum , in the borough of Marylebone . The dinner was cold , at 4 $ . fid . per head , and the speakers were remarkably tame indeed . The Chairman bad it nearly all to himself , he having to propose the first four toasts ; and having succeeded , during their proposal , in sending the company a nedding , he obligingly allowed some other gents to follow , among whom were the two Members for the borough , Sir B . Hall and Cwnmodore Napier , and Col . Fox , Dr . Bowiing , and Col . Evans , who were visitors . The Commodore decided the Whigs must go a-head ; and Col . Fox said there must be a further impetus given to Reform . As for Dr . Bowring , he Was 60 dull , that yoar correspondent fancied that Col . Sibthorp bad carried bis motion relative to the nonallowance of " extra services . " The only enlivening period was , when the dinner party broke up , and the ball commenced .
The Loxdon Members are most particularly requested to let the London correspondent have the information when , and where , they meet ; and again , that the secretaries will send to him , at either Mr . Cleave ' s , or at 15 , Little ClarendoH-street , Somer ' s Town , the resolutions which may be passed in any of the localities , for though willuog to attend on all , he finds there are three or four which meet on the same evening . He likewise asks that when anything of importance is about taking place in any locality , he may be informed of it , so that all may be fairly dealt with , and no grumbling ; it is clear , that unless te has notice , be cannot know of what is going on .
The Northern Star. Saturday, July 24, 1841.
THE NORTHERN STAR . SATURDAY , JULY 24 , 1841 .
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" The Chartists hate proved themselves more acctuate calculators than the middle classes . Whether their so-trcm would have mended matiebs is sot now the q , uest 1 ok ; but the result has shews that they were coflrect 1 st theik 0 m 5 i 0 n—that is the present state of the repre-SENTATION , it was vain to think of a repeal of the CORM MONOPOLY . ?***** ? Political povtke in this coontrt , THOCGH IT RESIDES LN A COMPABATITELT SMALL CLASS , CAN ONLY BE EXERCISED BY THE SUFFERANCE OF THE MASSES . "Morning Chronicle ( organ of the Whig Ministers ) , Friday , July ltth , 1841 . 5
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THE BALLOT AND THE ELECTORS . If the Tories boast of reaction in favour of their principles , the Whigs , resolved upon some sort of setoff as a counterpoise to defeat , begin with their little go , and they too speak of another reaction . They tall us that there is now a great reaction in favour of the ballot . Poor simpletons ! Surely if we are justified in chastising the Tories for their audacity in presuming that even a reaction in their
favour , if it did take place , and was confined to the change of electoral impressions ( foras to opinions , one half of the boobies have none ) would be an equitable title to rule the unrepresented classes according to the principles supposed to be most popular by the result of that reaction , we are more than justified in condemning the Whigs for their presumption in supposing that the success of a purely elector ' s question will satisfy the said unrepresented people .
By the way , we are in error , and hasten to correct it . The ballot is not merely an elector ' s questionit is a vital , a most vital , question for the non-electors , as we have more than once explained . But let us throw some new light into the ballot-box—the rat-trap , as Mr . O'Connor appropriately termed it . What , then , is the result which the Whigs hope for from the ballot t Liberal measures ! No ; because when their majorities were greatest , and procured by open voting , their measures were most dark , foul , and iiliberal . Liberal measures ! No , decidedly not—that is , not such measures as the people would ask for , or accept of , without the trouble of forcing the ballot as a means of their accomplishment .
As to the purity of election anticipated , or rather said to be anticipated , from the Ballot , it very much reminds us of the philosopher ' s stane . The Tories only complain of bribery vfhen their man is out-bid ; and with the Whigs the case is precisely similar . Let us have the sword and then we will look for the scabbard to keep it bright and clean , and free from rust ; but without the sword ; no scabbard , and without the vote , no Ballot .
The Whigs have told us all they would do ; and their liberality , we are told , has . . destroyed their existence as a Government ; what more then are we to expect ? Would not any extra liberality , even with the Ballot , act progressively towards their utter annihilation as a party ! What then is the Ballot for 1 Why , as a matter of course , an experiment—a bait to fish for Whig supremacy once more , and to repeat in the dark those foul deeds which they blushed not to perpetrate in open day . Such must be the meaning of the Ballot , or like many other political bubbles , it means " an agitating hobby-horse , which hitherto has invariably had its head where its tail ought to be .
One thing is quite clear , that the very last act of a privileged community would be to open the door of their snuggery and admit a large influx of competitive power . Another thing is quite certain , that with the ballot the people would lose all controul over the votes of their trustees . Another thing is quite certain , that by the new jury law qualified persona alone can serve upon juries ; and those very jurors have been the most blood-thirsty , wicked , perjured monsters that ever breathed , when a Chartist stood in the dock , whose crime was an attempt to procure peaceably
for himself the same privilege by which those very persons were empowered to decide upon all questions affecting his life , his liberty , and bis property . Another thing is qaite oertain , that the present House could not carry the ballot any more than a repeal of the Corn Laws ; and therefore we should be battling for mere moonshine . Another thing is also certain , that without the non-electors the electors cannot put on the mask ; and the people , so far from helping them , would upset every meeting called for
placing the enemy in ambush , and would petition against so unconstitutional , unjust , and unfair a measure as the ballot . Let us get the vote first , and then we can soon decide the question of the ballot . Give us the soup and we will soon get the ladle . Offering the ballot to a starving people is not less insulting than offering " a loan of your gridiron " to a man who asks you for a mutton cho ; and as a gridiron . without the chop would be cold picking , so the ballot-box without a vote to put into it would be but cold comfort for the non-elector .
Then as to the means of carrying the question . How very whimsical—how very foolish , unjust , and childish , that the electoral body should apply for aid to the noa-electora , whose interference they loudly protest against ! and is it not strange that the very men who make the people miserable and wretched , and who oppose every measure for which they think proper to agitate , should presumptuously come as suitors to the same people for a mask to hide their deeds ? Is it not strange that the Chartists seek the acquirement of six points , five whereof have been aforetime component pares of the constitution , while the constitutional Whigs offer them one of the six , and the only one which never was a part of the said constitution 1
Again , we repeat what we have more than once stated . The Ballot , with the present Suffrage , would be an unjust protection for the trustee against a general right of scrutiny as to the use made of the said trust ; whereas the Ballot with Universal Suffrage , would be a general protection against any unjust individual interference with the disposal of a defined right , and which every man would be justified in using as he pleased .
The reaction in favour of the Ballot , we imagine , is confined to some wealthy Whig masters , bankers , traders , and manufacturers , who anticipate a ready sale of Tory voters in convenient lots . It is quite a borough question ; and in boroughs , so far from lessening influence , or destroying intimidation , it would increase both the one and the other .
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4 THE NORTHERN STAR .
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), July 24, 1841, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct860/page/4/
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