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Northern Star (1837-1852), 8th January 1842, Edition 5 of 5, Page 4, Untitled Article

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    • THE JSORTHERJiT STAR. SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 1842.
    • THE LEEDS MAYOR AND THE LEEDS ¦ ¦ . ¦ , ¦ . ¦;,;¦' ; / '.;¦ .; CHARTISTS. ;
    • 3T* 2S*atr*ttf antr Corre^onlietttjai^
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      Untitled Article

      TO THE PEOPLE OF IRELAND . Fellow-Coitxtbtmen , —In my recent letters to the Lord Mayor oF Dublin , I pointed out the necessity of a union betwixt yon and the Chartists of Great Britain , and answered objections which were raised against that body , both morally and physically I hare also shewn that the prejudices of country and sect are passing away and stated that English men were worthy of your confidence and desirous to become your friends ; and whilst I thus stated my opinions , 1 most anxiously wished you would be led to think-and inquire for yourselves , and shake off that confiding credulity whieh has ever been your greatest political fault , and with your own senses examine calmly , reasonably , and dispassionately your present position in the field of political strife .

      I will , now , with your permission , clearly- prove ihe fallacy of these objections and prejudices , which cause you to stand aloof from the straggle in which ihe people of England , Scotland , and Wales , are ' now engaged , and which they are eo nobly sustaining , not only for their own sake but for yours . _ I am well aware that it is not in the nature of Irishmen to be either pusillanimous , or ungrateful , and ihat it is for want of a proper knowledge of . the principles of the Charter , and au acquaintance with the character of the people of England , that you hesitate to join , in the contest . that the

      Know , then , my fellow countrymen , People ' s Charter contains _ nothing that is illegal or nnjost . It seeks for nothing save that natural and political liberty , which every subject of these kingdoms ought to possess , and to which he is constitutionally entitled . It aims to redress those grievances and remove those bnrthens which overwhelm the manufacturing and commercial interests of the country , and to give the people a voice in the making of the laws which govern them . It seeks for Ireland ' s rightsas -srell as England's rights , and it is Ireland ' s cause as much as it is England ' s ; for do not be deceived , a repeal of the Legislative Union would not be worth accepting , unless you were ia possession of Universal

      Suffrage . I haTe every reason to believe that by far the greater number of the people of Ireland look forward to a , " Repeal of the Union , " as the end of their political sufferings . In this they will assuredly find themslves disappointed ; they should lather look to it as a means to an end , for , unless the Charter become the law of the land , they will Only have benefitted themselves by bringing - their tyrants nearer home , to witness the abuses which existed heretofore amongst them . But suppose a * Repeal of the Union" wonld confer all the benefits and blessings which you 30 fondly anticipate . 1 ask , why are you so inactive ? Why do you not bestir yourselves to obtain it t You answer , " bo we do , " — " we hare a Repeal Association "—we have

      meetings—we haTe our cards—and we have at our head the Lord Mayor of Dublin , who promised to obtain it for us . "—When ! " When the young Prince of "Wales becomes Tice Roy of Ireland ! " But suppose Ms little Highness should never condescend to visit jot :, when , then , are you to get it ! Has not the & Liberator * told you I Oh , no ! the cunning fox ; he h too wise to do so ; bat he has not forgot to tell yon that Chartism is synonymous with violence and infidelity , and that the people of England are your natural and hereditary enemies . Now , I am as much an Irishman as his Lordship , and as much of & patriot as to feel the necessity of your adopting a more speedy and certain method to obtain your poUtiealregener&tion . tnan the " tortoise " -like course

      vou are now pursuing ; and yet , I unhesitaiingly iay , such assertions are false and unfounded . I have already , in my letters to his Lordship , refuted the charges of infidelity and violence , and will now show that Englishmen are not your enemies , and that the prejudices which have long existed are not to be traced to the people of England , but to an interested portion of them . I know you have many reasons for believing that the English are opposed to your interests ; but , were you to reflect , that in so opposing you they would only increase their own burthens , youwould at once admit , they woaldnot , for their own interest sake , continue it . The fact is , the aristocracy and class interests are that portion

      of the English , who not only oppose yoa but their countrynren . Those are they who first insinuated themselves into the green fields of Ireland , and who afterwards deluged them with the blood of her children ; those are they who hold all offices of trust and power , and monopolise the resources of the country , and who , like locusts , devour the fruits of your industry , and compel you-to drag out a wretched existence in want and misery ; those are the leeches who suck the life ' s blood from the hearts of the wretched widow and the famishing orphans—who drink felicity from the fountain of a nation ' s misery , and who build up iheir fortunes on the ruins of social happiness . :

      They have always known that you possessed an unbounded love of liberty , and therefore they used stratagem as well as force to suppress and curb yonr independent spirit ; they taught their dependents to believe that Irishmen were little better than savages , and thus the people of England were imposedon by those vile and contemptible wretches whe trafficked in your blood , and made a merchandise ol yonr country ' s liberty . Yes , my ' pooptrymen , & was tDe aristocracy who fiat sowed- fi » sleds of slay try and oppression

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      amongst you ; they established laws and systems which were intended to grind and coerce yon it was they who forced a "State Church" upon yon , and compelled yon to pay for prayers whieh were ottered contrary to your notions of worship ; it was they who introduced those hypocritical monsters who came amongst you armed -with a Bible in one hand and a sword in the other—who spoiled and devastated the homes of your fathers—uprooted the foundations of peace and literature and who , with the word 3 of charity on their lips , but the daggers of ¦ political assassination concealed beneath their hypocritical disguise , awaited the opportunity of plunging ihem into their unwary victims ; and it is the same aristocracy which still lords it over you , and are

      even now cryiDg out for " coercion for Ireland / It is not , my friends , the working men of England who are opposed to yon ; they have no prejudices aeainst you , and if ever they had any , it was the effect of misrepresentation , and not otherwise . It is not because a man is an Englishman , that he is your enemy—he suffers as much as you do , and even more . Nor is it because he has the moral courage to assert his political independence that he is to be looked upon with an eye of suspicion—he sees that all classes of the aristocracy are leagued against the poor man ' s interest , and , with a laudable zeal , he advocates the liberties of his class against the tyranny and misrule of his oppressors , and holds

      out the hand of fellowship to you , as it is your cause a 3 well as his . Can you then as Irishmen refuse the proffered friendship ? Will the blighting influence of prejudice or party keep you aloof from a contest in which your interests are so deeply concerned ? Remember the enemies you have to encounter are the same , who onoe trampled on the graves of your fathers ; they are the same who persecuted you for your religious opinions ; who hunted your unhappy clergy into mountains and caves , to perish with want and misery , and who offered a premium for the head of a Catholic priest equal to that offered for the head of a wolf .

      The same parties who plundered you of your birth-right , and insnlted you by calling you " aliens in blood and oonntry , " are still forging chains to fetter and bind yoa to their will . Is it not time , then , that you ask yourselves—shall we be free ? Is it not time to ask yourselves—are we pursuing the right road to liberty ? or are you in possession of that spirit which animated your fathers when " liberty" was the watch-word ? Yes , it is timeyou asked those questions ; your political position , and the duty you owe to your country , demand that you not 0 Blyask , bntact . Weigh well the principles of the " Charter , " and if you find that they are such

      as I have stated , come boldly forward , and show the men of England that you can accept and receive them as brothers ; join your moral strength to theirs , and convince your tyrants that the working men of Ireland and England are determined to obtain that liberty which 1 b their birth-right , and that " justice" to whieh you are entitled . Let unity be your motto , moral agitation your only weapon , and you may rest assured victory will crown your efforts . I have the honour to be , Fellow-Countrymen , Your most obedient humble Servant , W . H . Clifton .

      The Jsortherjit Star. Saturday, January 8, 1842.

      THE JSORTHERJiT STAR . SATURDAY , JANUARY 8 , 1842 .

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      THE WORKING PEOPLE AND THE PRIME MINISTER . This day we publish a portion of one of the most important doenments ever presented to the British public , —a document which will be read with avidity and absorbing interest by every working man in the kingdom . Laboub has been to head quarters , to tell its wrongs , and to ask for a remedy ! Its statements have been attentively listened to , its representatives

      courteously received , and a friendly discussion had upon the measures of relief it had to propose Working men haTe been in conference with the Prime Minister , telling him the truth , and demanding from him , in respectful but firm language , measures which will tend to place them in their proper position : and their statements have been heard , and a more than ordinary interest manifested by thoso nnto whom the tale of woe was old ! This is a new era in the history of English Legislation and Government .

      The Deputation that waited upon Sir Robert Peel were not coolly and politely "bowed out ;" they were not received in a mere formal manner , and got rid of as soon as assumed politsness would admit ; but they were met with cordiality of manner , ( and we hope we may add of feeling ); and the startling truths they told , as to the operation of our present commercial system upon the happiness and well-being of the operative community , both infant

      and adult , made such an impression upon the mind of the Prime Minister , that he , himself , gave the Deputation introductions to others of his colleagues , that they , too , might hear from the lips of the working men in person , the statements which had so forcibly arrested his own attention . No greater proof than this could be offered of the interest excited in the head of the Government by this mission of working men .

      And not less has been the interest excited amongst all classes of society by the publication of the Report of this important interview . It has appeared in the columns of a great portion of the newspaper press . Nearly all have noticed it , either in one shape or other . The Times has had three " Leaders'' devoted to its consideration , in the course of which it has brought forward into more particular . notice , the more important points of the very important conversation . The Standard and Morning Post , too , we hear have also commented on the document , and so has the Morning A dverliser . Their articles

      we have not seen ; bus understand they are like those of the Times , exceedingly favourable to the purposes and object of the Deputation . The Clironicle has not yet appeared openly against the document ; that is , it has not jet either attacked ( in its " leading" columns , ) the members of the deputation personally , or even defended those principles of political economy which the deputation have impugned and assailed , and which principles are the Chronicle ' s stock-in-trade Sir John Easthope has not yet openly " come out of his shell ; " bat he has written a letter to the

      members of the deputation , and inserted it in his Chronicle , where it appears without date or address , other than the assumed signature , " A Working Mas . " Sir John attempts to make it appear that the interriew with the Premier was " a farce , " and respresents that the whole thing was got up for" dramatic effect" ! This will not do , Sir John ! This will not answer your purpose 3 You must meet and upset the positions taken by the Deputation , ere you take away from the ** effect" produced by the interview

      and statements . Meet them , man ! " You caa easily prove the Deputation to be ignoramuses . " Do so ; but do it openly , Sir John ! Do not assume to be that which yos never was— " a working man . " You have no conception of the character , Sir John : you cannot play it . The " dramatic effect" is wanting You betray your ignorance , Sir John . Give it up , or do your business openly , and in your own character ; that of a defender and apologist of the most horrible and cruel system of human slavery that ever

      existed . The " effect , " howeTer , of that Report upon those who plead so earnestly for another " extension" of our commerce , for the purpose of filling the money bags of the " great" masters yet more fully , ia prodigiously dishearteniEg . Whether it be ** dramatic " or not , we leave Sir John Easthope to determine t but , that it has not put them in very good humour , is evidenced by the following ^ strange production , addressed : —

      TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN . Sir , —After the amusing description which has been given of the interview of the Ten Hours' Deputation with the Minister , it remains only to anticipate the time when the manufacturing capitalists shall present themselves to the Grand Vizier of the hour , with a corresponding request to have the evils of the agricultural management looked into , and repressed by the strong fingerB of the law .

      When this time comes , . how pathetic will the remonstrants be , ' « n the evils physical and moral , wiich always arise from agriculture where the manufacturing interest has not a controller on the spot . To say nothing of the toils of harvestwomen , and the total absence of care for the fiugers of female and infant weeders when the thermometer is below 40 , the moral view alone will be terrible and sad . Our popular poetry is fall of little but the moral dangers inse-

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      parable from the encouragement of an agricultural population . The bnab , the brako , the "rigs o * barley , " and the "rashes ; green /' hare each their several temptations , leading « U one way , and calling for pensive reflection on the legislator and the parish officer . Shall there be no balm for this , while an active superintendence on the part of a moral and religious manufacturing public might do so much to prevent the apprehended evils ? Why not appoint an inspector of nay-fields t Do the landlords properly box off all dangerous places t Are these matters to be left to adjust themselves ; or ought the law to interfere to ensure the doing rig . it ! The requirementsof humanity imperatively demand it . ; .

      The landlords may find out some time , that it is just as easy for one set of men to plague and vilify another , as was the converse . Of course it will be understood , that if the question has been treated here with levity , it was in the full persuasion that what is called the Ten Hours' question , after making the needful reservations for well-meaning blander , is a fraud directed to tbe preservation of the evils it pretends to remedy , and by the active operation and encouragement of those who made and maintain the evils for the sake of their own personal and dishonest gain . ] Yours very sircerely , i : ¦ T . Pebbonet Thompson . Blackbeath , Jan . 3 , 1842 .

      The " effect" must have been very galling upon the party with whom Colonel Thompson fraternizes to have drawn from Aim , —a generally goodtempered and quaintly humourous man , —such a piece of petty malignant spite and gratuitous insult as the above ! Yes , petty malignant spite and gratuitous insult ! The letter contains these , and nothing else ! The fling at the landed interest , which nothing but spiteful malignity could have prompted , is petty and paltry enough , God knows : but the insult heaped upon the manufacturing

      operatives by the Colonel is not so easily got rid of . The operatives engaged in factory labour have felt the woeful blasting effects of the factory system upon their household comforts and domestic happiness . They have had to submit to the power of iron and steel , which has dragged their infant children from their poor resting place , and demanded their close and constant attendance for eighteen hours together , with only thirty minutes intermission for rest , meals , education , and recreation ! They have seen their little one 3 murdered before their

      very faces : and , because they have complained of , this ; because they have demanded protection for the infant ; because they have asked for a curb to be placed upon the power which works such murderous effects ; Colonel Thompson , of all men in the world , insults them by representing that they have no more to complain of than the agricultural labourer , the "harvest women , " and "female and infant weeders" ! He represents their efforts as a " wellmeaning blunder , " and " a fraud directed to the preservation of the evils they pretend to remedy" }!!

      The operatives know that their tender offspring have to attend npon the machinery of the factorymaster for twelve or fourteen hours , in an atmosphere artificially heated to seventy , eighty , ninety , and even ninety-four degrees , when the thermometer in the open air stands at twenty-five ; they know that this iB destructive to the health of the strongest-formed men brought within its influence ; they know that their children have , by its means , become " weakly , emaciated , stunted in their

      growth , dull , sluggish , and diseased ; " and yet Colonel Thompson represents that they have no more cause of complaint than "femaleand infant weeders" who follow their occupation in the open air , when the thermometer is below forty " . He represents their efforts to obtain a modicum of protection for their children , as the efforts of one set of men determined "to plague and villify another" set of men , the millowners ! The insult is grossly outrageous I

      " The Ten-Hours question is a fraud directed to the preservation of the evils it pretends to remedy . " So says Colonel Thompson ! He only says so , however . He does not condescend to show how the enacting of a law prohibiting the working of any child between the ages of thirteen and twenty-one more than ten hours per day , with two hours for meals , will " preserve the evil" of working him eighteen hours with only thirty minutes intermission , which was the evil complained of . He doeB not show how the bringing out of the mills , the daughters and wives of the working people , and sending their

      brothers , and sons , and husbands to supply their places , instead of their walkiDg the streets workless and penniless as they do now ; he does not show how the doing of this would " preserve the evil " complained of . He does not show how the keeping of the wives of the working men at home , to attend to their domestic cares and duties ; to keep the poor man ' s home cleanly , and prepare his food , and mend his clothing , and nurse his children ,- he does not show how the accomplishment of this " would preserve the evil" complained of , which evil is that the man has to do the duties at home , while the wife works in the factory for his

      support . He does not show how the keeping of the daughters of the poor at home with their mothers , to learn how to mako a pudding and broil a steak ; to learn how to make a shirt , and knit a stocking ; to learn how to bake and boil , and mend , and darn ; the Colonel does not condescend to show how the accomplishment of all these things would " preserve the evils " complained of ; and all theEe things , and many more , are involved in that " Ten-Honrs' Question" which the Colonel designates as " a well-meaning blunder" and " a fraud directed to the preservation of the evils it pretends to remedy" !!!

      The fact is , the "Free TradeParty , " as they call themselves , are stung to the quick , at the exposure of the hollow sophistries and baseless " principles" upon which they have built their superstructure of fraud and deceit , in the hope of " gulling the natives" into another " extension" of that system which has given " millions" to a few , and taken comfort and plenty from the many ! They are mad with rage at the fact , that the working people have detached themselves from the car of Malthusianism

      to which they were chaiued by the Whigs , and have set up business on their own account ; sending , of themselves , to the Prime Minister in person to detail their wrongs and grievances , and to set forth their requirements , as a distinct party in the state . LABOUR never before could get to head-quarters , only when capital chose to let it . Now it has been there personally and by itself . Is there

      nothing in this ? Do not the " great" masters see , in this proceeding , the prostration of all hope of their being able to deceive the Minister , or humbug the people ? Their power to do these things is gone ! Well may they rage and rave ! and well may the cautious and prudently-calculating Colonel Thompson forget himself , and heap insult upon the heads of those who have disappointed a faction's hopes !

      In keeping with the Colonel ' s pitiful spleen are the malignant lies of the Weekly Dispatch . That " friend of the poof , " whose knowledge ia so extensive that he stands in need of no information , gravely informs the public that " the Deputation included the President of the Executive Secret Council of the Chartist National Association , and another noted Chartist orator . " No matter that the Editor knew there never wa 3 any such body in existence , as the "Executive Seeret Council of the Chartist Association ; '' no matter that the Editor knew that Mr . John Leech , of Huddersfield , was not Mr . James Leach , of Manchester , the latter of whom is

      the President of the Executive Committee of the National Charter Association , " ( with no secrecy J ; no matter that the Editor of the Dispatch knew these things ; he knew also ihat the " effect" of the Report of the Deputation would not be to serve the interests of the class whose prejudices he panders to ; he knew that the statements and arguments used by the Deputation were irrefutable ; he knew that nothing but enormous lying , which would stir up the class and party prejudices of the upper and trading classes against the Deputation personally , could avail him ; he knew the worth of the bugbear , Chartum , amoDgsfc these

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      classes ; he knew that lies were wanted to conjure up his man ofstraw ; « o A « < oW / i < s , and created a President of a body that never had exiatence , for the purpose of representing him as composing one of the Deputation ! O I " Free Trade" j to ; -wh * t despicable shifts art thou reduced ! The veracious Dispatch , who is so Veryknowing as to know every thing , informs the world" That ihe Ten Hours' Committee was Bet upon its legs by one of Sir Robert Peel ' s own colleagues , who went to Leeds with lots of gold , after the General Election was . over , to get up a counter agitation to > the ^ Manchester Corn law movement , and to cause the manufacturing system to be vilified and misrepresented by bribed hackney spoaters . " ' -V ¦" . ¦¦ - \ .: ¦ : ; ' ¦"¦' ¦ ¦ , ' . '¦ ¦ ' " ¦ ' ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ -, ¦ ' ; '¦' : ' .. " . - . y - ' : }

      " The Ten Hours' Committee : " the " knowing one " does not know that there is a Short Time Committee in every town in the manufacturing district , both in Yorkshire and Lancashire ! "The Committee was set on its legs by one of Sir Robert Peel ' s owncolleagues , who went to Leeds with lots of gold . , Which of Sir Robert ' s colleagues was it , Mr . WisboM ! , Lord Ashlex is ifce man pomted at , who did visit Leeds , after the election , to inform the Committee that he should atill persevere in his efforts to obtain from Parliament a measure of justice for the infantile labourer in the'ftbtorieB , notwithBtanditft the altered position of parties , which

      altered position the patrons of the Weekly Dispatch had predicted would alter him ; and yet Mr . Wisdom does not even know that Eard Ashley is not a colleague of Sir Robert Peel !—nay , he does not know , what all the wi > rld knows besides , that Lord Ashley refused office under Sir Robert Peel , because that Minister had not made up his mind on the question of the "Ten Hours ' Bill' ?! Verily , Mr . Wisdom , your •? knowings " are very extensive ! But the ' . ;•* Ten Hours' Committee was then set upon its legs * " The Leeds Ten Hours ' : Committee has been in existence ten years ! Really , Mr . Wiseman , the "world is ignorant I "

      As for the " lots of gold / ' all we have to say isj we hope the "Ten Hours' Committee" got them . They will need them 1 The opponent is rich and powerful—his length of purse is such , that it can manage to get the Weekly Dispatch > on its side . Monopoly is a bad thing , Bays . ' the Dispatch . Don't let it want to haTe all the "lots 01 ' gold" to itself . The Short Time Committees have as much right to be" bribed" as he has . Leaving the press for the present , let us once more revert to the interview with Sir Robert Peel . The

      Deputation spoke with a truthful boldness which makes the whole Report of their conversation interesting in the highest degree . No doubt every one of our readers will peruse the entire document , as far as we give it this week ; but we cannot forbear from quoting the solemn appeal made by these working men to the Prime Minister of Englandjr- ; , , ¦ ' , ' f .. _ ' ••/¦ . ; - / ¦ " ¦ ¦¦; " You , Sir Robert , " said they , " are now placed in the most important and commanding position of any individual in Europe , perhaps in the world . At the head of a strong Government , with a powerful majority in the Commons , and an influential portion of

      tbe population thinking with you ; unfettered as yon declare yourself to be , save by your own convictions of what is right and useful ; the resources of an empire on which the sun is said never to set—an empire unparalleled in its natural and artificial appliances—at your command , and a population whose eutorpriae , industry , and genius is proverbial , looking up to you ; a grave , an awful responsibility rests upon you , Sir Robert I The means for producing national well being are superabundant ; the population is but limited . Broad and comprehensive views , vigorous and decided action , are all called for by the exigencies of the times , and we earnestly hope that such will mark your course . *'

      This is : not the language of sycophancy or of prostitution . It is the honest but eloquent appeal of LABOun to power ! May it be responded to as it deserves J .. . ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ,-. . ; ¦¦••¦;¦ : . - . . " .. - ¦ '¦ ¦;¦; ; .. . In the second portion of the Report , which details the interview the Deputation had with Sir James Graham , the reader will perceive that the " question of the land" is fairly set before the Government , as a remedial measure for the manifold evils we endure and are still further threatened with . The end of the present system , whether we " extend" it or restrict it , without / riving a new

      direction to the energies Of our population , is there truthfully depicted ; and an awful and sorry end it is ! Government , however , have now the truth before them . If they dare to act on it , and fairly grapple with the difficulties , the nation is saved I If the Prime Minister has not moral courage to do this ; if he adopt a faltering temporising policy ; he submits his own judgment to the cautious and tardy movements and desires of others ; if he be not fully prepared to take the bull by the horns , andfiing him , his Cabinet will speedily go to smash ! and he himself sink below the level of the would-be-states

      man . Time will speedily decide ! The battle will shortly commence . On prudent energy and firm determination the Minister's existence depends : but , whatever may be his . fate * the cause of the people is sure They stand aloof from the " rich oppressor , " atd perseveringly and successfuily prosecute their suit , as the " poor oppressed , " in the court of public opinion . t Neither bribes , nor threats , nor

      vilification , nor calumny , nor intimidation can turn them from their course t Their motto is , "Onward , and we conquer ; backward , and we fall" The cause of the people is safe ! whatever becomes of theMinister ! Cabinets may smash ; Parliaments may be broken up ; Governmental difficulties may increase and abound : they do so because they are not prepared to do justice ! The Minister who dares to do this will be the Minister of the people , and will stand : all others must fall !

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      WAGES OF LABOUR AND " EXTENSIONS "

      OF COMMERCE . The great demand upon our space this week by the Report of tho Short Time Committee ' s Deputation , aud the proceedings at several meetings , and of ihe Scottish Delegates , will prevent us from giving , in' the present paper , the observations we promised on the last mooted infernal " scheme '' of the " great" Cotton Masters of Lancashire , to get rid of the poor unfortunates they have inveigled and trepanned from the agricultural districts ,

      now that they have no further use for them . Thoso observations will keep , however ; and though we are prevented just now from giving them , the world shall know the nature and sincerity of that " sympathy" with the operatives which the " great " masters nqwpretend so feelingly to entertain . Their scheming , both to get the agricultural labourers here into the manufacturing districts , and to get them back again now that they are worked to death , shall be laid bare ! 0 ! yes ' . we will know the value of their ' -sympathy" !

      Meanwhile , we cannot but congratulate the couut try upon "thefix" in which the" great" masters are placed . Tho gauntlet has been fairly thrown dotvn to them , ; they have been challenged to show that former " extensions" of commerce have had the effect of adding to the wages of labour and the profits of the master ; they have been fairly told that if they will but do this , the working people will join them in demanding another " extension ; " and they have also been told that if they fail to do this , the working people : will still continue to stand aloof from " the : extension of foreign trade agitation , " and go on in their own way * on their own account , and for their own object

      the " great" masters have been invited to a fair encounter ; and they shrink from the contest I Not one of their organs or advocates have dared to answer or notice the questions We have recently put to them . Neither the CAronjc / tf , nor the Sun , nor the Globe , nor the Manchester Guardian , nor the Leeds Mercury , have dared to accept the challenge we have given them . Nor has Mr . Cobden or Mr . Plist dared toattempt to shew that our " extended " commerce arid improved machinery have added to the comforts of the coitage and the till of the shopkeeper . A orhave they even ventured to attempt to shew that they have notteken from both . They ' dare not

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      thus attempt ! They will shirk the questions we have raised , and affect to treat them with contempt-This , however , will not do ! Those questions must be met , and satisfactorily answered ; or the working people will never join the " great" masters for ** Corn Law Repeal , " as a means of further w extending" commerce : and the '' great '' masters are powerless for this purpose until the working people do jomthemJ ' ¦ ¦ - ¦¦ , ; : ; .- - \ . - .: rV : v , ' ;/ vV p ¦ . ' v - \ ¦¦"¦ ¦' . ¦'

      We have before dared the " great" masters to open their ledgers , and tell us the exact amounts they have paid as wages for the same description of work , every year from 1810 gto-1842 . We aoaim dare them to do this , and we tell them they will hare to do it ! The nation must fathom this thing . We must know all about it . No measures can be safely taken until we have this information . We must know accurately what the past offsets of our " commerce" have been , with all its " extensions , " before we can j udge what is likely to . accrue from future and further " extensions . " : The information must be had ! - ¦ : ¦ . "¦ - : : " ¦ ' ¦ ' : ¦ - ¦"¦¦ : ' ¦ :- ' .- : ' . ' ' ¦ v-Y-v-,: '

      Tho' the great masters dare not , voluntarily , give this information , the working people , dare I The reason for this conduct on the part of both 'master and workman , is obvious ! It is the interest of the one that the truth should be concealed ; it is the interest of the other that it be blazoned forth Accordingly the operatives are at work in all parts of the kingdom , preparing the tables of wages we have asked for . To those who have written , apprising us that they aro so engaged , we beg to tender bur best thanks , accompanied again by the request that they will take carei to be very exact . Be ^ sobb tif every thing you set down ; and then : we will defy the devil , with all the ^* great" masters to boot , to upsat our positions . ;

      Perhaps we oannot do better than close this short article with two specimens of the "honour" and u henesty'Vof the •' great '' masters in the woollen and worsted districts . These personages make •' great" pretensions to these two qualities : let us test them . ¦ ¦ . - ¦ : ¦ "" ¦ ; . ' /¦ ¦*' . ; - ]¦ ' [ : ¦ \/ -- ' . '¦" ¦¦'¦ The woollen merchants , then , we boldly aver , are so" honourable" and so " honest * " that they do not pay a single penny for the "finishing" of their cloths ! They cheat out of the clothier the finisher and the puchaser more than pays for the entire cost of dressing ! Here is the operation .

      It is well known , now , that hone but " great " masters have any chance in the market . Those of small capital are done up ! There are hone left now but a few of the " great ? ' ones , who are known to be " greats that is , they are known to possess " immense capital . " These go , then , say into the Leeds or Huddersfield Cloth Halls , amongst the clothiers who have their "baulks" there for sale : that is , cloths in an unfinished state ,- —just as they have left the weaver , and scourer , and fuller . The clothiers who attend these Halls are men of small means ; men who reside in the country villages so thickly studded throughout the West Riding of

      Yorkshire , and who are just able to make one or two pieces , and bring them to 1 market for sale . But they must sell . The small capital they" have , and the other pressings of the system , render it necessary that their money should-. . be turned over . The man with the purse knows this ; He shakes the purse in the poor clothier ' s face , when he bids him a price for his cloth . The clothier is athiamexoy . He must sell ; he is forced to do so in many instances , at less than prime cost : and , in almost all instances , at a sacrifice of the greater portion of the profits his class used to get . The consequence is , that the race of clothiers is rapidly declining—the little : master sinking into the rank of journeyman

      weaver . . Next follows another process . " The clothier , when the price is agreed on , takes his pieces to the "meaaureMn" for the " great" master . Thisisgeneraily an important , fussy , stand-out-of-way person , age . He knows what he ha 3 to do . Hehas to cheat in the measurement ! He will do this , to the extent of two yards in each piece , spite of all the clothier

      can do . In vain the clothier measures it fairly before his face . The measurer " can make it into no more . " The clothier is forced to submit to the robbery , or take hiB piece back again . But he must have money He cannot eat his cloth ! He is compelled to accede to the measurement of the " measurer-in , " though he well knows that if he had to go , thelnext hour , to purchase the piece back again , the " measuring out" would be quite different !

      Those two yards , thus cheated , robbed , from the poor clothier , will in most instances , pay for the after dressing ! But the cheating does not end here . In the course of the dressing the cloths have to be " tentered , " after they are " wetted" and " raised . " These "tenters" are formed of long horizontal bars fixed upon upright posts , and made of wood or iron . The bars are filled with hooks , on which the cloth is hung by the " lists . ' The uppermost bar is generally a fixture to the top of the upright posts ; and the lower bar , in short lengths , with joints something like those of a turnup bedstead , is formed so as to slide a certain distance in " slots" made in the upright post . This is done to accommodate the " tenter" to the different

      widths of the cloths , and to stretch them to their proper width when affixed to the hooks . When " master croppers" were more rife than even factories now are , these " tenters" might be seen occupying the fields around their houses in almost every direction : for then the " drying" was nearly all done in the open air . Now however , these have nearly disappeared , along with the " mastercropper " himself ; and the " drying" is mainly done in the " stoves , " or " dry-houses , " attached to eaoh factory . This prevents the process we are now desscribing from being seen , as it would be , were the

      " tenters" in the open air , as formerly . When the " piece , " then , goes to be " tenteredj " it is first affixed by the " yead-hend" ( head-end ) to the topmost , or endmost post , but not to the bars , other than loosely , on some slight pieces of wood that turn down from the posts to keep the cloth from the ground . When thus hanging loosely in front of the tenter , the men all get to the " hinderend" of the" pitse , " pndpullit to the length required . Now , this is a hard task ; and a rope and pair of blocks ( sometimes with three sheaves ) are provided , to enable the men to stretch the cloth to the " extent " required . Formerly the manufacturer or merchant was prohibited by Act of ParliarneRt from stretching his piece of cloth more than a yard beyond the

      length stamped upon . it in the " baulk" by the supervisor ; for the stretching it beyond this point injures the texture of the fabric . Now , however 1 that law has become hitched off ; and the pieces are stretched two , three , four , and five yards longer than they measured when in the "baulk" ! The length tfa ' . iis obtained will more than again pay for the whole process of " finishing , " inoluding the new schemes of " boiling" and " steaming ' resorted to to make coarse wool into fine . All this is to the manifest injury of the consumer . The texture is injured by the" tentering , " and what is left i 3 hort by that process is finished by the '* boiU ing" and " Bteaming ; " for after the cloth has undergonethese several processes , it is more rotten than it used to be after many years' wear !

      And the mea who thus systematicall y bob and cheat , are ? honest" and '' honourable" men Quite " respectable ! " And they want to repeal the Corn Lawa solely to ensureihe operativeB " cheap foodi high wages , and plenty to do / ' No doubt they do ! Had they not better give up cheating the clothier , and-. thus ' allow him to have a modicum of wages , before they make such " great" pretensions about the interests of the operatives 1 " Now , then , for the Stuff Trade . " Honest" and " honourable" and " respectable" men are engaged in this deparfcmont too . The following is a sample of their practices .

      The standard length of a Stuff Piece is twentyeight yards .: It is so posted up in many places in Bradford Stuff Pieoe Hall . No manufacturer has

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      any right to make a piece one yard longer . If h « does , he infringes upon an established rule of the trade . The Stuff manufacturers , almost univer sally , set this principle at nought ! They are too " bonest" \ to be bound by rule ! They make their pieces from 36 to 39 yards long ! And ^ hey do > not pay one single penny more to the weaver for weaving the 39 yards than they paid for the 28 !!» They dp not pay one single penny more to the printer , or dyer , or finiaher ! And when they seid them into " our foreign markets , " they ; Bend them , and pay duty for them , as though they were

      of the standard length , 28 yards 1111 Their " hoaour" and •* honesty" first teaches them to rob the weaver and dyer at home ; and then to defraud the foreigner abroad , to keep and ** extend' ^ whose custom we are to ruin the British farmer and agricultural labourer ! " Honest" men ! give over robbing and cheating before you ask the working people to > extend" t / pur commercial system' ^! " Honourable and iespe ^ a ^^ p ^ ea ! a I ^ peal p ( the Corn Laws to enable you still further to cheat and rob would be of infinite service ; would it not ! •' Don't you wish you may get it" !! -

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      Again have the public been most grossly insulted by the new Whig official , who seems determinedvtoi eclipse even the old woman who sat in the civic chair last year . A requisition , signed by six members of the Town Council—the body who elected him to be the wearer of the ^ gold chain" —and signed , too , by not less than fifty borough voters , and by more than a hundred municipal voters , was presented to him last week , asking him to call a public meeting to consider the propriety of memorialisiDg her Majesty for a free pardon for Frost , Williams , and Jones . The parties who presented the requisition , so signed , to his worship , were also instructed to ask him , if he felt the least hesitation about to the

      calling the meeting ^ grant reqaisitors the use of the Court-House , and they would convene the meeting themselves . But no 1 Both these requests were refused ! His worship M could not recognise any other party in the town than Whigs and Tories . ' ? 'Tis true . That was his reason ! Fit man to be a Mayor ! Well : the parties whom he had thus grossly insulted learned that a public meeting was to be holden in the Music Hall on Tuesday evening last , at which it was announeed the Mayor was to take the chair . Many people were curious to see what sort of a thing it ( the Mayor ) was j and so determined to so ! But no time was fixed for the meeting . The Bilfs calling it duly sot forth , that it was under the auspices of ^ he ^ Society for the Extinction of the Slave Trade ¦;' ¦ ' and they also pompously announced that " Prince Albert" was " Patron and President ¦ : "„ but they announced no time for the meeting to

      commence ! No matter ; the time was learned ; and , though the doors were opened so early as five o ' clock , and though all means had beth used to get together a meeting of the Mawworm , Cantwell , and Praise-God-bare-DOhes sort , yet when the business was proceeded with at half-past five , it was found that more than three-fourths of the meeting were of that party which the Mayor had refused to recognise ! ""' . ¦ "¦'; "; .- ' ¦ ¦' . . ¦ . '' . ' ¦;' :, ¦ - '' "• , ' v : \ --- / - ;;; ¦ . Alderman Tottie moved that the Mayor should take the chair , which was seconded by a broad-cloth gentleman near him ; and the Mayor was proceeding to seat himself without a vote . He / stopped short , however , when he heard a deep sonorous voice in the body of the Hall moving , " as an amendment , that Mr . William Brook should preside . " This was 'duly - and promptly Beconded and put to the meeting , when it was carried unanimously , not a single hand being held up against it . '

      The Mayor arid his few friends , —after Alderman . Tottie had sillily enough bawled out "this meeting is dissolved ! " precipitately rushed from the platform at the very moment Mr . Brook took his seat in the chair ! A number of policemen were in attendance atthe meeting ; and Aldebman"Captain"Tottik was so frightened , that he took a number of them away to guard him home 1 ¦ When the Mayor and his friends had departed , Mr , Brook opened the business of the meeting , and introduced Mr . Jones , and several other gentlemen to address it , and move the resolutions . A real good Chartist meeting was thus had . The room was more than ordinarily lighted . ' The glass chandeliers were filled with wax candles ; and these , in addition to the gas-lights , gave the splendid room a very elegant appearance . :

      A memorial to the Queen for the free pardoo . of Frost , Williams , and Jones , was unanimously passed ; and several resolutions were also passed , as will be seen from an advertisement : inserted in another part of eiir paper .

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      Brief Rules for the Government of all wh » - . write fob Newspap £ RS . — Write legibly . Make as few erasures and interlineations as possible In writingnaviesof ^ persons and places be more particular than , usual to make ^ eve ry letter distinct and clear—also in using words not ' English * Write only on one side of the paper . Employ no abbreviations whatever ^ but write out every word in full . Address . cajnmwiications not to any . particular purson ^ but to " The Editor . " Finally , when you sit down to write , don't be in a hurry . Consider that hurried writing makes slow printing . The Poets— Our poeticalfriends have been as usual exceedingly bounteous 1 we have so large a stock

      of poetry and apologies for poetry on hand , and our friends supply us constantly so liberally , that we shall not henceforth particularly notice this department in our " Notices to Corres-• pondehts . " We shall select from the mass sent us as much as we have room for , with as much im ~ . partiality ax possible . Accepted pieces will , therefore , be known by their appearance in the paper ; and authors whose communications do hot . appear loill not , therefore , conclude that they are rejected because of demerit , as it would be impos' sible for us to find room for half of even the readable poetry that comes to ns . Zl . A . —The landlord can distrain for twelve months , if so much be due , but not for more than is due . More Chartist Blacking — If the patriotic effort of Mr . Pinder to rnise a fund for the Executive ,

      without taking anything from any one , have done nothing else ^ it has aroused a spirit of competition among blacking manufacturers , which may be turned to good account if the people require it . Mr . Wm . Brelsford , of Burnley , now offers a like means for raising a fund for the Convention , lie offers to give ihreehalfperice out of every shilling of Aii receipts to the Convention fund % and to pay carriage to any part of Lancashire on orders of 10 $ . value , accompanied by cash . William W . Tipping , Bingley . — FFe cannot insert ¦ his communication : the lawyers would call it a libel . ¦ ¦ ¦¦" - ¦' . ¦' -. ' V > . ' ¦ ¦ ;' " ¦ : ¦ " ' ' : ¦ ; '¦ . ¦ ' . ¦ ' " ¦ ' . Henry Bates . —We believe the Huddersfield Poor Law Guardians ineet at their Board-room , Bux ~ ion-rpad , every Friday . . '"¦ . ¦• .. ; .. '•' Thaddecs Caffebky , of Balldghademine , Ireland , sends us the following note , which we publish :-

      —"¦ " Ballagbadernme , Jan . 2 , 1842 . My Dear Sir , —Owing to a matter which I am sorry ; -. I cannot publish , I am obliged to tell my friendsmy generous friends of Britain , that I must decline their correspondence , as also all communication with them in future . ¦

      "lamlyoura , ' .. ' «> Thaddeus Gafferky . " A Poor Man , Bristol . —George Julian Harney hat received the twelve poilage stamps—will the donor be pleased to say whether they are for Holberry oniy . or for Holberry and others t George Julian Harney has received 3 s . 6 d . front the Nottingham Chartists assembling at the King George on Horseback , ferMrs . ElizabethTaylor The money has been handed to Mrs . T ., who returns thanks . John Crowther . —We have no room . , . Henry Johnson is a fool , and something more . He is rightly served . : : : ¦ '

      Mr . SkevinOton . — We have not room for the letter intended for the Commonwealthsman . The . Newton Class , Bishop Wearjiouth . —TAe « P- , knowiedgetnent by Mr . Campbell of the receipt of < the 10 s . ' is light enough . V * j , J . M . —The nominations of many localities for the General Council have already appeared ; others will be published as fast as we receive them . In reference to the other point of his enquiry $ we believe the usage to bevfor their functions to cease ' vislanter ; but we fear the general organisation . isnot generally v /( i \\ carried out . ''¦'" . . ¦ ' ¦ ' , G . M . BAaTLEtT , —His letler has been received a a shall be forwarded the first opportunity ^

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      NORTH LANCASHIRE DELEGATE MEETING . TO IHE CHARTISTS OP NOBTH LANCASHIRE . Gentlemen , —According to a rule made at the Erst delegate meeting , held at the Temperance Hotel , Blackburn , it is particularly stated that delegate meetings shall take place every six weeks , for the purpose of transacting the business of the district ; a delegate meeting will therefore be held at . Aocringion , on Sunday , 16 th Jan ., 1842 . Business to commence -precisely at one o ' clock . Now , my fnends , let everyplace send a delegate to this meeting , bo that every place may be properly represented ; and have their opinions laid before the meeting . I find that there his been gome

      dissatisfaction existing in the towns connected with the district that proper notice was not given of the last delegate meeting through the columns of the Northern Star ; and , therefore , they had no means of either ~ knowing when the meeting would take place , or of sending a delegate . I beg leave to assure such places that I sent due notice to the Sia , ; irat , on account of leaving home in a hurry , to attend a discussion on the Corn Laws , at Barnoldswick , on the Monday evening , I forgot to put the letter in the Post Office before I left . I wrote the letter on Monday at noon , and just at that time a person came up from Barnoldswick for me , to go ihat afternoon to the meeting . There was no time to be lost , for it was then after one o ' clock , and the

      distance we had to go was upwards of seventeen miles , and a rongh road ; tbe meeting was to commence at BeveB . o'clock . I , therefore , in the hurry of the moment , forgot to post the letter on the Monday , fcut on the Tuesday I wrote another , and sent it , along with a report of the meeting , taken by Mr . Mooney ; but neither the report of the meeting , nor ihe notice of the delegate meeting , appeared . This caused a great deal of dissatisfaction . The people of Barnoldswick were hurt that such a triumph over the Plague , in an open disenssion , and the cowardice Of ihe Plague advocates , in running off the platform , and oat of the Chapel , and leaving the meeting in

      ihe hands of the Chartists , who had defeated them not by blows , but by argument , should have been left unexposed . The different towns expressed their resentment st me , for not sending notice to the Star , so that they might have been able to send delegates to the meeting . I am as sorry as them that they did not appear in the Star ; but I have since received a very kind letter from Mr . Hill , the Editor , expressing his regret that the letter had been mislaid , and , consequently , non-inserted . I expect that we shall this time hare a full meeting of delegates , for there is a good deal of business to transact ; and there will be the business of the Convention to

      petUe . I am sorry that a misunderstanding should exist between this district and the Executive with regard to the election of members of the Convention , it feeing the opinion of North Lancashire that it should send its own member ; but the Executive have decided that it cannot—it must be in connection with South Lancashire . I am sorry that I should have been elected by the different towns in North T . * Tn » jmVrft to represent them in the Convention , but when I consented to become a candidate for the Convention , I knew sot but that North Lancashire would send its own delegate ; but it having been decided differently by the Executive , I beg leave 4 o have my name withdrawn from the nomination list , for this reason—I cannot conscientiously allow myself to be elected for South Lancashire . I know nothing of them : I am not personally acquainted

      With them j I do not know their feelings , wishes , desires , and determination with respect to the Charter becoming the law of the land , only from newspaper reports ; I have never been amongst ihem at any time ; I have never attended any of their private or public meetings , with the exception of three or four ; and therefore , being totally ignorant of their circumstances , I should not be justified were I to allow myself to become the representaiire of those whose condition I am unacquainted with . I have not that ambition to want to become a member of the Convention for the sake of its name ; we have had too many of that description already . I would rather be at home in my own district , increasing the number of our Associations , and spreading our principles into every village and hamlet , bo that by any means I might be doing good , and assisting in the bringing about the political redemption of our common country . I am . Your humble servant , In the cause of Chartism , William Beeslet , District Secretary .

      The Leeds Mayor And The Leeds ¦ ¦ . ¦ , ¦ . ¦;,;¦' ; / '.;¦ .; Chartists. ;

      THE LEEDS MAYOR AND THE LEEDS ¦ ¦ . ¦ , ¦ . ¦; , ;¦' ; / ' . ;¦ . ; CHARTISTS . ;

      3t* 2s*Atr*Ttf Antr Corre^Onlietttjai^

      3 T * 2 S * atr * ttf antr Corre ^ onlietttjai ^

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      The National Petition . —Our publisher , Mr . Hobson , has pnntedthe National Petition for 1842 , on a neat sheet , for the purpose of being extensively distributed amongst those from whom signatures are asked ; that they may know for what they , are signing . He is ready to supply them to the A ssociations and to individuals at the following charges . —100 copies ; for 2 s ; . 1 , QQQ for 15 s . Petition sheets , of good strong paper , ruled in four . columns , and holdin < , 1 two hundredI names when filled , may also be had , price 2 d . each . The Petition and sheets may also be had from Mr . Cleave ^ London ¦;; Messrs . Palon and Love , Glasgow ; and Mr . Heywood , Manchester . But in ail cases the money must be sent in ad-- Vance—the price being so low as to preclude . credit . ' : '¦ ¦ ' "¦¦"¦ ' ' - '' •" . ' ¦>¦'¦ '¦¦ - " .

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      _ ^ .-T . gE ^ -, N .-Q ^ : >¦ ¦ ¦ :: ' .. > : - .- ., : ¦ , /' ^ .. ^ -v v- ^

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Jan. 8, 1842, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct875/page/4/