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    • THE NORTHERN STAE SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 1842.
    • ©a 2&ealrntf antr Corrci5pottirartjJ»
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      Untitled Article

      SCHEMES OF RELIEF-UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE-HIGH AND POOR . We are on tie ere of great changes . The present System is worn out , and must give -way . Every reasoning man admits this . Ask any one whose station or experience gives him the means of knowing what is going on in society , and he will tell you that the present order of thing 3 cannot continue . At the Bame time , while all agree that great changes mnst take place , there is no limit to conjectures as to what those changes are to be , and still Ie 33 are people agreed on what they ought to be . Every "Statesman " has his own pocket code , and every political quack has his own favourite nostrum . One man is for "Equitable Adjustment , " another for "An actirh on

      the vurrency , a taird for abolishing Tithes and Corn iaw ? j a fourth for such a reduction in the government expenditure and public establishments of the country as would greatly diminish taxation , without impairing " public credit , " a fifth for the rubstituuon Of a graduated property tax , in lieu of the present anomalous and expensive system of indireet taxation , a sixth for giving to manufactures the same artincial protection that agriculture derives from the Corn Bill , tj , » tariff of protecting duties , a seventh isforthert . crse of thi 3 , his morto being " afree trade , based on a free trade in corn "; an eighth is for mortgaging the poor ' s rate , and shipping off the M surplus population" to Canada or to Yan Diemen ' s Land ; a ninth for raising a capital by loan " , or the issue of Exchequer Bills , and thereby locating the poor on the waste lands ; a tenth is

      for breaking np aJl monopolies , and throwing open the trade to India , by which meanB we are gravely assured * that the National Debt may be paid off in eight years , out of the surplus profits of trade ; an eleventh laughs all these to Bcorn , as so many ricketty abortions , and maintains ih&t all schemes for ameliorating onr condition mnst end in smoke , so long as the principle of competition governs society 3—and that the only remedy for all evil is , the universal substitution , throughout society , of the co-operative for the competitive system . A twelfth , a thirteenth , a fourteenth—and so on to the end of the chapter—are for other and various remedies , differing from one another in shade and degree , according to the different view 3 and interests of the parties , bat almost all reducible to some modification of composition of those already enumerated .

      In this vortex of opinion , the readera of ihe Guardian will naturally ask what clue we would recommend to guide them out of this labyrinth of mazes , and restore them to the region of sunshine and safety!—Our answer i 3 ,

      UXIVEBSAL SUFTBAGB ! That is the only remedy we can understand—the only one we deem worthy the attention of the working classes . With the solitary exception of cooperation , all the above schemes would ( unless accompanied by Universal Suffrage ) only aggrandize one class of non-producers at the expenoe of another , while , in the long run , they would leave the producing man just where they found him : and as to co-operation , we deem its application utterly impracticable under the existing laws , or under any form of government other than a government of ibft people . A complete revolution of manners must precede any successful attempt at general happiness :

      —sad this revolution must , as necessaxiiy , be preceded by an equality of rights , based on Universal Suffrage . The rich have no sympathy or fellow- ; feeling with the poor . They never had any , and never can have any . The hirtory of the world pTOTes this to be the case—and common sense shows it must be so , without the evidence of history .. A rich man is a man who enjoys himself , while the ; poor man is toiling for him . From infancy he has been brought up to idleness and to certain artificial ) wants , which cannot be gratified vsithout great toil I ¦ and privation en tie part of somebody . Now , as he-i ¦ mil neither bear toil and privation himself , nor * o ' . without his expensive luxuries , it is plain he must ; have somebody to toil for him . But how is he to ! accomplish this , since every one thinks it quite ; enough to work for his own wants 1 It is plain he -Can effect it but in one way , aad that is , by usurping i the whole power of law-making , to the exclusion of : ihe poor man . "" ' :

      By virtue of this usurpation he first establishes ; dominion orer the land j and having once obtained \ this , he finds very little difficulty in extending it ] to the capital and productive industry of the coun-: try . Once in possession of a power over these , it j needs no penetration to see that he will never let go his grip on the labours of the poor man , so long a 3 ; £ he laws are strons enough to enforce fri ^ claim . He j will give the latter just so much of the produce of i his own earnings as will keep him alive , and able to ; go on producing ; or , which is the same thing , be ; will continue In existence only such laws and msti- ' tutions as will hsT 9 this tendency . He will have ; laws of entail to transmit the land to his own heirs , and laws of usury to enable the capitalist to ; ketp adding to his capital out of the labour of : those he proscribes . In short , the laws and insti- tations of the rich man will have no oiher object in j new than , to keep himself rich , and the poor man j

      poor ; or , vx other words , io keep the poor man in such a state of dependence for his daily bread , that to exist at all he must oe content to produce tan i or twenty shillings' worth of luxuries for the rich j man , before he i 3 permitted to enjoy a shilling ' s j worth of necessaries for himself . This being the j case , then , ( aad -who Trill gainsay ii V ) how absurd to i think of foraang © o-operative communities under j the existing laws ! The object of sach communities \ being to establish for the workman dominion over ! the fruits of his labour , and consequently to cut , away the ground from under the feet of the npper ! aad middle classes , is any body fool enough to I imagine that these classes would not employ their present exclusive power of law-making to extin- j guish the new heresy the moment it assumed a prac- i tical form 1 Common sense tells us they would not i permit it to exist an hour longer than the enactment of a new law , or the formal execution of the old ones , might render necessary .

      The case , however , would be quite different under a Parliament radically reformed . Such a Parliament would represent the interests of th 9 workman , as well as of those who devour him ; and as the producers are at least as numerous as tke nonproducers , every institution tending , like co-operative communities , to protect the former from the avarice and ambition of the latter , would be sure to have its due share of legal protection . Besides , what is of more consequence , a new public opinion would instantly spring ' out of Universal Suffrage . The workman raised to the same political ¦ level with his master , would not be longer the cringing

      and timid slave he is now—and the rich man , finding his artificial superiority gone , would be compelled to renounce the callous arrogance of aristocracy , and couit the friendly smile and the good will of his new equals by courtesy and frank manners . In fact ,, it would be thea his interest to cultivate friendship with those he now despises , for , having no exclusive property in the laws , the best security for his possessions , as well as for hi 3 happiness would be found in an affable demeanour towards his poorer fellowcitizens , and a cheerful readiness to co-operata with them in ail undertakings for the promotion of public utility , or general happiness .

      Bnt as the system works now , he can have no friendly feeling towards the poor man , nor , of coarse , " the poor man towards him . He knows he lives by plundering the poor man of the produce of his toil , through the agency of the laws , which are but instruments of robbery in his hands ; and that the poor man mnst naturally hate him fsr this injustice . There can , therefore , be no community of feeling or good fellowship between them j and the man who would preach it , while at the same time he advocates the system , is a rank hypocrite , or a wolf in sheep ' s clothing . As well might Ulysses entertain kindly feelings towards Polyphemus , who wanted to eat him , as the English pauper to the lordly tyrants who outlaw and devour him . The poor have a right

      to hate the rich , so long as the rich exclude them from the rights of citizenship ; and whatever Lord Brougham ' s magazine may pretend to the contrary , they have also a right to revenge themselves when- ever they can get the opportunity . It 13 not , how- ever , because a man is rich that the poor ought to hate him ( for many of the rich are excellent and kind-hearted men ) , but because he is an enemy of the poor man's rights . Every rich man is not c-ur ; enemy , and therefore every rich man ou ^ ht not to l > e bxted ' , but wherever we can distinguish between •' onr friends and voluntary oppressors , we are justi- j led before God and man in making the latter feel our vengeance in every possible way we can reach J to flow in

      them ; and though rivers of blood were ' the struggle , the j uilt could only lie at the doors of j those whose aggieaare injustice provoked it . Re- i member , fellow-countrymen , that to strip a man of his rights , is to stiip him of his bread—of his clothes —of his ease—of his comforts—of his independence —of his self-esteem—of the power of acquiring knowledge—in 3 hort , of all those qualities of mind , heart , and person , which captivate "beauty and constitute the charm of existence . Liberty is Dot a mere sound —it is the means , and the only means , of happiness . The man , therefore , who deprives his fellow-creatures of liberty , 5 b -worse than a traitor or amttr-< Ierer , and as such should he be dealt with in tee day of retribution .

      It may be asked , what danger is there that the middle aid influential classes would sanction a military despotism in England ? Men who ask snch questions as these know little of the state of society . Themselves sincere , they fancy that sincerity in the wealthier classes is the rule , and deceit the exception . Alas ! what a delusion I These classes snbsisfc wholly by lies . The bread they eat is the bread of falsehood—ths wine they drink , and the carriages they roll in , are all the offspring of deceit . Their life is a continued lie , and their language , as taught them from infancy , i 3 that of conventional hypocrisy ! Eo lire without work , and acquire Fortunes ont of the ibour of others , is , in their nundB , the grand secret aad business of life . Brought up to artificial *^ Mr . Buc kingham .

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      wants from their cradle—wants that cannot be gratified without entailing an enormous mass of slavery and misery on those below them , they look npOn every one who would make a change in favour of the oppressed as their natural enemy . Accustomed to the cannibalism of artificial society , and finding , from history , that society has been always the same in principle , they cannot conceive any other state possible . They believe , accordingly , ( those of them who think at all on the subject , ) that men were made like wild animals , to prejr upon one another , the strong on the weak—the cunning on the simple—the learned on the ignorant , &o . ; but finding , from experience , that the men preyed upon cannot be reconciled to the system by mere brute

      force , they have invented ten thousand methods of bolstering ii up , under the forms of law and custom , which it would take a man his whole life to find out . The priest , the soldier , the hangman , the banker , the lawyer , the exciseman—in short , all who live by the crimes and ignorance of society , are , under divers pretences , hired to prop it up , their salaries being the emoluments derivable from their swindling pursuits ( invented for the purpose ) , and their employers being the ruling powers of the arislocracy , or the great state-devcurers . Even the shopkeepers and master manufacturers , amounting ( with their dependants ) to more than six millions of the population , are more or less interested in the sy £ tem 3 their business being to buy labour cheap from the poor , and sell it dear to the aristocracy ; they are immediately dependent on the latter for support .

      Besides , taken as a body , they are the basest of society . Occupying an intermediate position between the . workman and the aristocrat , employing the one and being employed by the other , they insensibly contract the vices of both tyrant and slave : tyrants to those below them , sycophants to those above them ; and , usurers from necessity and habit , they prey on the weakness of the workman , while they extort all they can from the vanity of the aristocrat . Indeed , the middle classes are- the destroyers of liberty and happiness in all countries . It is their interest ( under the present form of society ) that the poor should be teeok , and the rich extravagant and vain ; and this being the case , the man who expects from them any real opposition to despotism from inclination , must be a fool or a madman . —Beonieekk , in the Poor Marts Guardian .

      The Northern Stae Saturday, April 23, 1842.

      THE NORTHERN STAE SATURDAY , APRIL 23 , 1842 .

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      PEEL AND HIS OPPONENTS . THE INCOME TAX AND GENERAL TAXATION . The Ministerial projects progress towards . completion . The New Corn Bill has been read a third time in the Commons , ard passed . It has been K debated" in the House of Lords , and the second reading of it carried on Monday night last , by a jmajority of 102 ; the numbers being Tor the second reading 119 Against it 17

      The resolution on which the Income Tax Bill is is founded , passed in the House of Commons ( some B 3 . j by mistake ) without division ; and the bringing up of the " Report" that they had so passed , led to a long debate , which , a 3 was announced in our last number , ended in the reception of the Report by a majority of 106 , and the rejection o f little Lord . John ' s " amendment , "—the old exploded contemned spittenupon Whig Budget of

      1841 . On Monday the Bill itself was introduced by the Premier , and on the question of the first reading , little Loed Johs moved " that it be read that day six months . ' This unusual course of opposing a Ministerial Bill in its first stage , led to a lengthy and wordy discussion , which ended in a division , when it appeared that there were—For the first reading 285 For little John's amendment 188

      Majority for Peel 97 The Tariff has also been reconsidered by the Government , and placed on the table of the House in an amended form . The alterations are not many , nor of much moment . Thu 3 stand the " measures of relief" in the House of Commons at the time of our present writing . No doubtiexists in the mind of any parties but that all the measures will pass into law . They may be slightly modified in their progress through Parliament ; but it seems to be clearly understood , en every hand , that they will pass mainly in the form and shape as introduced by Peel .

      The threatened out-of-doora opposition to the Income Tax has been a signal failure ! Failure was never more complete ! Every effort has been used to get up the steam ; but all to no purpose ! Where meetings have been holden , care has been taken to have them of the most select character . The getters-up of them have , in no oae instance , dared to appeal to the people ; And it is in very few places indeed , that even these select meetings have been called ; and where they have been holden , the proceedings have been so dull and tame , and , withal , so horribly selfish , as to have produced no other feelings , even in their own immediate locality but those of ineffable contempt and deep disgust !

      How conld it be otherwise ! Are not those who have so met and denounced Pkel ' s plan of direct taxation been long known as the strenuous supporters of that system which has made the Income Tax of £ 4 , 000 , 000 , and the direct taxation of £ 53 , 000 , 000 a-year , necessary ? Have they not been long known as the violent persecutors of those who wished to do away with that tf necessity , " and to reduce our public burdens to something like a bearable load 1 Have they not raised and yelled out the cry of " public robber , " " cheat , " " spoliator , " "thief" against every one who has proposed to reduce our expenditure , on equitable principles , to the means of the nation to pay ? Have they not been constantly vociferating , thai

      : " national faith n , ust be kept" ! the army must not S be disbanded , or even reduced" ! "the pensions , and sinecures , and grants , and allowances must ] not be interfered with" ! "the salaries and dead j weight must not be reduced" ?! Have they not j stood forth on every occasion , and in every manner : that insolence and bnllying could suggest , to resist i even to the death the many and continued efforts I of the people to . obtain justice in these particulars ? 1 And is it wonderful that the people who have thas i struggled ; the people who have been thus treated ; the I people who have marked and experienced the inso-1 lent and audacious conduct of the " middle-class-men "

      | i ; ' ¦ i when the burdens of the state" were alone upon ; ihe shoulders of the wealth-producers ; is it wonderi ful that persons so circumstanced should contemn I and despise the selfish outcries of these same " mid-: dle-clas 3 men" against the imposition of Peel ' s ] Income Tax , when they know that the necessity for the measure has been created by the course of con-- ; duct so unceasingly pursued by the now sensitively ; selfish opposers of taxation 11

      Is it not shamelessly unjust and ontragcously indeceat , that the " middle classes" should dare to utter one word of complaint against taxation , in whatever Ehape , or in amount however great I Is it possible to conceive of any thing so-repugnant to the principle of fair-play , as the conduct of the " middle-class men" in opposing the imposition of a tax which will affect themselves , when they have maintained the iniquitous system which has rendered that tax . necessary and just \

      The opposition however , selfish and Bhamsful a 3 it is , has failed 1 The Income Tax will pass ! And then—O then ! for a squeak ! The cry of the poor starved operative for relief from his tremendous share of taxation ; the outry of the producers of wealth against the £ 53 , 000 , 000 , will be moderation itself when compared with the vehement denunciations of the " middle classes" against the £ 4 , 000 , 000 !

      There i 3 one thing which the people would do > well to mark , in connection with this Income Tax , i and the amount sought to be raised by it . Were I our Government what it ought to be ; were our I" engagements" what they ought to be ; were all '• parties disposed to look our difficulties £ a ) ly and j fairly in the face , and to apply the only efficient remedy ; were the Debt E ^ miABLY got rid -of , and i the necessity for maintaining a standing army to I collect taxes to pay the interest , superceded ; were I the pension list , and the sinecures , andthegrants , and

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      the allowances unsparingly pruned , as they ought to be ; were the salaries of the officers of state reduced to a just and equitable amount ; were those who have the power of taxation in their hands disposed to do justice to the people , the £ 4 , 000 , 000 sought to be raised by the Income Tax would be more than sufficient for all the wants of Government ! Thb Amebicaw Govbbnmbnt does not cost the States xhbee millions sterling a tear ! Why should ours cost more \ What necessity is there for our paying £ 60 , 000 , 000 a-year for the Government of England , when the Government of the United States does not cost £ 3 , 000 , 000 ? Are we better governed \ Are we moie powerful ) either at home or abroad I Are we better fed—moreBecure

      in our possessions—more comfortable in our several positions ! The very questions are a mockery !! We are not more powerful ; for these same States when comparatively weak , wbested theib Independence from us . We are not more powerful ; for these same States , and this-less-than-three-millions-ayear Government , have , since they forced us to acknowledge their Independence , proclaimed war against , and beaten us ! ! This same people , who only pay £ 3 , 000 , 060 a-year in taxation , had a nav y in 1812 which blew our thundering and " big" one

      out m the water ; and they had soldiers which drove ours out of their country into the sea ! O , no ! we are not more powerful than they are 1 Our £ 60 , 000 , 000 a-year taxation does not enable us to fight better than they can : for they have beaten us twioe ! Our Government is not more respeofced afc home than their ' s is ; nor are our people better satisfied with their condition under our dear Government . Why then should we pay more ? and especially why should we pay bo enormously more \

      The fact ia always overlooked , that the country governs itself , and pays for its own government , wholly independent of the Government up at London . Each county has a complete government in itself . It has a lord-lieutenant , a sheriff , justicea of the peace , and all inferior offioers . It has a militia , when the posse of the sheriff is found insufficient . It provides for all these by a tax called the countyrate . The counties pay , and pay well too , for the governing of themselves , just as the several States of America do ; and the one county of Lancaster pays more for that purpose than any four or five of the American States . When the tax-eaters tell us , therefore , and when good , easy , foolish people adopt

      the tale , that Goverment must be supported , the proper answer is , that the Government is supported in the counties , and in the cities and towns . But what these parties mean by " the Government , " are the fund-holders , the dead weight , the pensioners , the sinecure-people , the haunters of the clubhouses , and all the swarms of idlers that devour the substance of the nation . These are what the taxeaters mean , when they raise the cry of "National Faith , " and " Government must be supported . " It is for these that the sum of £ 60 , 000 , 000 sterling a-ycar is required ; and it is to keep up these that Peel finds it necessary to resort to the Income Tax , as the best and most equitable means of raising the required amount to pay with .

      The main portion of the business of that which is really "the government of the nation , " being attended to and paid for in the several counties , it follows that there is really rery little left for the general government to attend to , or pay for . There is the monarchy and its expences ; the officers of state ; the judges ; the ambassadors ; the nary ; and the contingent expences appertaining to this general government . These are all that have to be provided for ; all that are needed . To provide for these , and to provide amply , too , the sum sought to be raised by Sir Robert Peel , through his Income Tax , is more than sufficient ! It would be

      extbavagance to leave at the disposal of the Queen , for her own and her personal attendants , more than £ 150 , 000 a-year ; and it would not require more than £ 300 , 000 a-year for the salaries of officers of state , judges , ambassadors , and other contingent expences , if we only paid for services rendered . The whole of the navy during the last peace , cost little more than a million pounds sterling a-year ; we now pay the enormous sum of £ 7 , 000 , 000 !!! But then we have a " Naval Academy , " out of which all naval officers come . This u Academy" is supported , it is needless for us to say , out of the taxes ; and into it none can enter , unless they have interest sufficient with the " authorities . " One of the

      consequences of this system is , that a return laid before Parliament a few years ago showed that there were persons belonging to aristocratical families , who were become post-captains over the heads of thousands upon thousands of seniors in the service ! and that some of these post-captains were actually in the command of ships , having under them Bailing masters and lieutenants , who were serving at sea before these same captains iv ere born !!! And it is with stuff like this that we are to fight Jonathan Our last disgraceful war with America was commenced by one of these sprigs of nobility , named

      Dicke , a relative of the Lord of that name . Being a captain of a frigate , the Guebriere ( which word , in English , means " warrior , " "famous fighter , " or "hero" ) , and being in the West Indies , Dacre was dispatched to the coast of the United States . Recollecting the story of Van Trom p , he hoisted a broom at his mast-head , thereby notifying his intentfon to siccep ihc seas of the ships of the enemy . Jonathan went out with a frigate , called " The Constitution , " commanded by a Yankee with the rough and patriarchal name of Isaac Kull . The two ships met , and Jonathan

      beat Dacrk in ten minutes , and took him into port as a prisoner of war , the broom still slicking at the masthead !!! The loss sustained by Jonathan in this engagement was , seven killed and seven wounded : while the beating , the smashing , the knock i » £ -io-pieces , which old Isaac Ii I'll inflicted upon US , involved the killing of fifteen I the wounding of sixty-two !! and the loss of twentyfour others , supposed to have gone overboard with the masts !!! Old Isaac contrived to kill and wound , and throw overboard to be drowned , a

      hundred and one men , OUR MEN ; while he himself had only seven killed and seven wounded !! Good God ! what a smashing ! A Captain who had eome from before the mast , might have been unable to beat the Yankee ; but such a Captain would have gone to ths bottom ; or , at least , laid his own body dead upon the deck i Not so , however , the " aristocratic" Captain ; a sample of those turned out of the costly " naval aoademy . " He was smashed in a few moments , and led into port in the most lady-like manner !

      Another o ? the consequences of the present system , is , that we have two Admirals to every ship of the line !! Incredible as this may appear , it is the truth ! The fact is recorded in returns published by order of the Government ; and it is so monstrous , that it seems to call in questien , not only the spirit , but also the sanity that permits an abuse so outrageous ! Need we wonder thafc , £ 7 , 000 , 000 a-year are required to keep up a navy like this 1 If we

      have two admirals to every ship of th © line , how many inferior officers have we to keep , either on half or full pay ? Of the number thus quartered upon us we may judge when the fact is stated , that of the seven millions paid yearly for the support of our navy , not so much as a million-and-a-half goes to the seamen and marines !! Their wages amount but to the sum of £ 1 , 422 , 800 . Judge from this , what is squandered amongst the needy children of aristocratic corruption !

      But suppose the maintenance of our Navy should now require the sum of £ 3 , 000 , 000 a year ; i . e . when the disgraceful state of things we have faintly hinted at are set right . Suppose this : and for that sum we csuld have a really efficient and all-powerful navy ; a navy such as a nation situate and circumstanced as we are , should and must have , if we hope to maintain our standing amongst the nations of the earth . Suppose , then , that a really powerful navy would cost us £ 3 . 000 . 000 , still that would make

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      the whole expenditure of the general government to be lees than £ 4 , 000 , 000 sterling a year . We defy any man to point out '/ . thei necessity of any expenditure beyond this ! The whole of the government expences of the United States ; the general government , with its army , navy , ambassadors , custom-house officers , and all put together ; and adding thereto the government expences of twenty Srates of which the Union consists ; all these put together , do not amount to £ 3 , 000 , 000 sterling a year . Again we ask , why should we want more ? And if we do not want more , vrbj should we raise more ?

      "Ah" ! but whispers somebe-wiskered and mowstached dandy , who , is trussed-up in a suit of regimentals , and who , because he wears a sword , dubs himself a soldier , " you have made no provision for the army ' . Englancl , or at least her govornment could not exist without herarmy ! That army now costs the nation £ 8 , 000 , 000 annually : how could you maintain that army when you only propose to raise j £ 4 , 000 , 000 for the whole expences of the general government . You must surely have forgotten the army , and the necessity there exists

      to provide for it . " O ! no , Mr . HAiav-FAdE , we have not forgotten the army ; though we have made , in our estimate of government expenditure , no provision for its payment . And why should we ? What is the army wanted for ! We have already been at peace for a quarter of a century ; and every session of parliament brings with it the royal assurance that the continuance of peace with all those powerB of the world that we need care for , becomes more and more certain . What , then , in God ' s name , do we want the army for ? True , we are at war with China , and we are sending

      a considerable portion of our army to India to take * ' REVENGE" upon a barbarous people who put some of our people to death , for invading their hearths , their homesteads , their country . True , that " glory" and " victorias" are being achieved by " our arms'Mn the Chinaman's land ; and that" glory" and " viotories" are to be reaped £ n Afghanistan : bat was for it for the purpose of forcing the Chinese to allow us to poison them with opium ; and was it that we might be able to invade the territory of the Affgans , and ( Christian-like !) " REVENGE" their "barbarous" deeds

      of warfare consequent on that invasion ; u > « s it for these things , / that we have maintained a standing army of 100 , 000 men for more than a quarter of a century I If not ; then we again ask what is the army wanted for ? We are aware that the common notion is , that the army is wanted to support the government . It is time that we had a clear conception of what the word government means . As we have stated above , ovr government is to be found in each county , just as the government of the United States is to be found , in each stata , with this difference , that their state governments are not near

      so expensive as our county governments are . Let us again look at our county governments , however , which axe ia their form and manner ( stripping them of their abuses ) just what they were seven hundred years ago , and are the very best governments in the world . What is government ? And what is its business ? Its buBineBS is simply to keep the peace , to take care of men ' s persons and property ; and to ' give to the people all the enjoyments which nature tenders to them , as far as the mutual safety of the whole will permit . To effect these objects , we have

      in each county a omef magistrate , called a lordlieutenant , appointed by the Crown ; and he has deputy-lieutenants appointed by himself . We have justices of the peace in abundance , holding their petty sessions in every small district , and bringing their collective wisdom to a sessions of the whole county once in every quarter of a year . We hare , in case of emergency , a sheriff to call out his posse , to protect persons and property . The posse being thought insufficient , we have one , two , or three battalions of militia in each county , ready to be called out by officers already appointed .

      This is the Government of England . This is English GovsnNMENx ; and in God ' s name , what do we want with morel What do we want with an army to cost us , besides our county government , the enormous sum of £ 8 , 000 , 000 a-year 1 God has drawn the waters around us ; and by all he has done for us , seems to havo said to us , " be wise , and be virtuous ; and be the greatest , the freest , and the happiest people in the world . " What , then ! are we to cast these blessings from us ? Are we impiously to reject them , and to encumber ourselves with this standing army ; with this burden which presses us to the earth , and which exists in open violation and defiance of all those principles which were the guide of our free and happy forefathers ! .

      . Blackstone , the great teacher of our laws , tolls every student , that the laws and constitution of England know nothing of a standing army ; that those laws hold barracks , inland fortresses , and every thiDg tending to make the soldier a character different from the citizen , in abhorrence ; that those laws , in their very prinoiple , forbid any thought of keeping the soldier in a state of separation from the people ; that when men have arms put into their

      hands , and are embodied for the purposes of War or defence against foreign aggression , they ought to be disbanded and beoome citizens again the moment the war is over ; that the character of . a soldier can never be permanent , consistent with the laws of England ; and that , in whatever country there is a permanent standing army , there never can be , and there never was , anylhiug worthy of the name of publio liberty .

      Such are the teachings of Judge Blackstone , the great expounder of Epglish law . And it follows , as we said before , that either Blackstone did not know what English law was , or that our £ 8 , 000 , 000 aryear standing army exists in open violation and in defiance of the constitution of the laud . Blackstone did understand English law . No one , not even the greatest stickler or apologist for a standing army , will dispute this position . That law distinctly lays down that every man between certain ages , is liable to be called upon to take arms to to

      defend his country from the invade ^ repell aggression upon our national honour abroad * Many statutes appear upon the pages of the statute-book setting this forth , clearly and unequivocally . Ou « of these , beiflg Chap . VI . of the "Statute of Winchester , made at Westminster , " in the thirteenth year of the reign of Edward I ., and in the year 1285 , is so apposite , so fully to the point , and so completely sets the question at rest as to the right of the people to have arms , that we quote it at length , as follows : —

      And further it is commanded , " That every man have in his house Harness for to keep the Peace , [ after the antient Assise : That is to say— : \ ' ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦¦ ' " : - ; : . ' ¦¦ , - \ : ¦ ¦ ¦ .. " ¦ ¦ V Every man bttween fifteen years of age and sixty years BhaH be assessed and sworn to Armor according to the quantity of their Lands arid Goods . . " That la to wit , from fifteen pounds Lands and Goods fourty marks , an Hauberke , a Breaat-plate of Iron , a Sword , a Knife , and an Horse . " And from ten pounds of Lands and twenty marks Goods , an Hauberke , aBreast-plate oflron , a Sword , and a Knife . " And from fire pounds Lands , a Doublet , a Breastplate of Iron , a Sword , and a Knife .

      " And from fourty shillings Land and more unto one hundred BhiUings of land , a Sword , a Bow ^ and Arrows , and a Knife . ¦ .:- "¦¦' ¦ ¦' . ' - , ¦' "And ha that hatkles 3 than fourty ehillings yearly shall be sworn to keep Giaarms , Knives , and other less weapons . . ' ¦ ' . [¦ ¦¦ ¦ ¦ ' - : \ . '¦' , .. ; . / . - . " : ¦ . - . ¦ " And he that hath less than twenty marks fa Goods , shall have Swords , Ktrtves , and other leas weapons . " A . nd-ail ' other that may shall have Bows and An rows out of the Forest , and in the Forest Bowa and Boults . . - : ¦ ¦ . . ¦ " ; ¦ ¦ ¦ ' ' : ' •¦ . ¦ ¦ - ' . ¦ ; ¦ ¦ . . ¦ ' ¦ ¦ :. ¦ , ' ;¦ And that view of Armor be made every year two times .. . .- ' ¦ .. - '¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ,. - . . ¦'"' ,. ¦¦¦¦ '¦ ¦ ' ¦ ¦ ' ¦ ¦ ¦¦• . " " And in every Hundred and Franchise two Constables shall be chosen to make the view of Armor .

      " And the Constables aforesaid shall present before Justices assigned such Defaults as they do see in the Country about Armor , and of the Suits ; of Towns , and of Hign-ways , and also snail present all « ich as do lodge Strangers in nplanflisli ^ Towns for Whom the ? ¦ will notannrerV ,

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      " And the Justices assigned shall present at every Parliament « nv > the King such defaults as they shall End , aad the King slian aad remedy therin . " Herfiithen , vresee that if is corMv >* ded that every jiuk sh ( iil'haveiri ' ' hishottfew andstanding in life . Otherstatutes directly provide that at stated periods there shall bei regular musters of alt persons liable to hear arms , when and where they shall be examined aad taught as te the use of them . It is also provided that " the kings of the realm shall levy a number of their people and subjects for the service of their majesties and of the

      realm in their wars , such as are most able and likeliest to serve in the same ; " and the 18 th of Edward the Third , cap . 7 ., passed in the year 1344 , expressly provides that " men of artah , hoblera and archera , chosen to go in the king ' s service out of England , shall beat the king's wages from the day that they depart out of the counties where they were chosen , till their return !' This , then , sets the question at rest , as to the practice in former times , with respect to the bearing of arms . It was not then a " profession * ' ! It was a dutt imposed upon every one . The soldier was a citizen , and the citizen was a soldier . He was required to learn the use of arms , and to hold himself

      in readiness to defendhis common country ; holding himself in readiness , indeed , to defend his own possessions . When he was called upon to go out of the country to maintain his country ' s rights or the national possessions , he was then " at the King's wages ; " but these wages ceased the moment he returned , when the war was over . And thus it is with the American States at this moment ! They have adopted this most excellent and liberty-preserving " English Institution ; " and while they preserre it , they may bid defiance either to attempted despotisms at home , or tyrannical invasions from abroad !

      But what is our practice ! Have we preserved this institution ? No 1 } Our rulers have acted as if they were determined to leave nothing undone to make the government of England precisely the contrary of that which Blackstone and the ancient laws of the land say it ought to be ! Not only have they made a permanent standing army in time of peace ; not only are they in time of peace continually augmenting tfcat army ; not only do they , by means of barracks , fortresses , depots , and other establishments carefully keep the soldiers separated from the people ; not only have they made it death

      by the law in any man to attempt to seduce a soldier from his duty , not only do they keep up the enormous half-pay ; not only have they numerous bands of military officers on full pat , though engaged in no service whatever !; not ; only these things have they done , and these things they do ; but they have establishments for the purpose of taking children from their homes at a very tender age , keeping them shut up in an enormous building , standing in the midst of the wildest heath in the kingdom , at a great distance from all the habitation of men—there to be cut off from the rest of the

      people ; to have their minds formed in a purely military mould ; to imbibe no feelings in common with the-people ;' 'taken .-. so young as to require nurses to attend them : an establishment , in short , the very outline of which conveys to the mind of every man who contemplates it a complete conviction with regard to the motives from which this establishment , this " Military Academy , " was made . !

      O , no ! we need make no pro vision for a standing army . A standing army is iiQt of the "Institutions of the country . " A standing army is . Unconstitutional ! It ia acknowledged to bo so every year of parliament ; for the act by which it is kept in existence is only passed from year to year , solely on account of its unconstitutionally ! ! | No ! no we shall need no standing army , when we have done justice to the people ! That army is only now required to collect at the point of the bayonet the

      £ 60 , 000 , 000 a-year needed to support and carry on the present iniquitous system . When the debt is got ridof ; when the pensions , and sinecures , and retired allowances , and grants , and dead weight are removed from the back of the broken-down people ; when ihe salaries of the officers of state , the judges , and the ambassadors , are reduced to a reasonable amount ; when the civil list is placed on a proper footing ; when these things are grappled with , and equitably adjusted , then we shall have no need for a standing army !

      The amount , then , sought to be raised by Peel , by his new Income Tax , would be more than sufficient for all the purposes of general government , were the expenditure of that government only that which it ought to be ! Let the working people note this fact well ! Let them hoard it in their memories ! Let them remember that an expenditure of that amount would give ua a truly efficient and really powerful government ; efficient for all the purposes of protection at home , and powerful against all aggressors abroad . Let them treasure up these facts , and let them remember also how easily the required amount could be raised I' !/ A tax of three per cent , upon the Income of the

      country would be all that would be required ! Away would go all the old , expensive , and cumbrous machinery of indirect taxation ! Away would go the indirect taxation itself ! The £ 53 , 000 , 000 now raised by its means , would be left amongst the producers of wealth ; to be enjoyed by them , instead of being , as now , filched from them by an unseen hand . ' Wo should then be in a condition to bid defiance to the foreigner and his foreign trade ; for we then should have amongst us , at home , more than he gives ua for the whole of our foreign trade put together ; and we should have , besides , ihe whole of the vast heaps of wealth we now let the foreigner have for an old song to distribute and divide amongft ourselves !!!

      Working people 1 do you now see where the pinch is ? Do you now see what it is that the Charter is mainly required to effect !

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      of ounces just specified . If > the : parcels ] are under sixteen ounces , they will pasa through the post-office free ' :.- . if they weigh mobe they will be charged to Mr . Dtocombe : and we have no right to tax the pocket of that gentleman , because he kindly consents to be the bearer of the people ' s petition into what should be the People ' B House . The las * petition cost Mr . Duncombe many pound s from inattention to this particular .

      Mr . 'Duncombe is again preparing to do his duty to the people . He has already given notice that ho will present the ifATiowAi Pettiiow , on the 2 nd of May ; and that he will , on the following day , move that the House of Commons take it into consideration ; and ; that : the Potittowees bb heard at the bar in support op thj 2 ib demands , by Counsel , oe by their Agents . Now , then I working people of the United Kingdoms-t with you the work rests ! It is your own § and for yourselves . You have a week to work in * Work as though yon had never worked before 1 Every hand to the ^^ pump I and every fist to the Petition !!! The time is short : improve everjr moment of it ! Lose not one !

      SIGN ! SIGN !! SIGN !!! SIGN ! H ! and then for th « presentation on the 2 ad of May 11 and the answer of the Commons to the nation's demands !! The following is the PROGRAMME OF THE PROCESSION WITH ¦ ' - THE NATIONAL PETITION TO THE HOUSE OF COMMONS ON MAY THE 2 nd , 1842 . . . /'; Marshals on horseback . Instrumental band .: Council of the National Charter Association of the

      / Metropolis . Female members of the National Charter Association of the .- Metropolis . - Two marshals on horseback . Instrumental band . Delegates representing Wales . Delegates representing Ireland . Scotch pipers . Drum and fife . Delegates representing Scotland . Brass band . Delegates representing England , From various parts of the Country , v Marshals on horseback . : Sword of justice . THE NATIONAli PETITION Borne by representatives of Trades . Marshals on horseback . National Convention / , Carriages . Band . The Metropolitan Trade's Association . 1 Marshals on horseback . Favours to be tricolour for gentlemen , and white rosettes with scarlet riband for ladies . Councilmen to carry wands . NOTICE .

      The members of the National Charter Association will assemble ia a central position as early as eight o ' clock , and march to Liucoln ' s-inu-field ' s preceded by bands . A grand dinner will : take place at the White Conduit House , on tho conclusion of the proceedings .

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      THE WORKING PEOPLE ; -THE TRUCK-;'¦ ' . MONGERS ; -AND THE FRAUDULENT MANUFACTURERS . A BEFEBNCE to our short report of the proceed ings of the House of Commons on Tuesday last , will , put the reader in possession of the fact thai Mn BqsFiELD Febband then moved for the appointment of a Select Committee to inquire into tho truth of his allegations , as to the extensive practice of the truck-system in all parts of the country

      where the labourer is at the mercy of the employer ; and also into ^ the numerous frauds that are committed by onr manufacturers in the production of their goods , to the manifest and direct injury of the national character and name . We are sorry that we are not able thi 3 week to give the speech of the Honourable Member in making his motion It is important that the working people should know the nature of his pleadings on their behalf : and we shall endeavour , next week , to put those of that class who read the Star in possession of them .

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      Fbost , WrLLiAMS , asd Joms . —Mri T . P . Green , of No . 1 , Bath-street , Birmingham , requests the relations , friends , neighbours , and acauaintances tn Wales , or those of any part of England , Scot land , or elsewhere , to furnUh him with as many particulars as possible of their life , character political traits , biogi-apical ' sketches , the political persecutions they have undergone in . their local situations , with any facts connected with the con ' spirators who obtained their conviction , Govermentalor ' localagents , Src , to enableMr . Green

      to do full justice to the exiles . All comidunica tions , to be prepaid . Any friend that may have been implicated in the Newport affairs may suppress their name , but furnish the facts , that all means may be used to make the public acquainted with the grievous wrongs those men have en-.. - dured . . ' . - . - v . :.. ¦ ' ¦ ' - ¦'¦' ' ' ^' . \ ' ¦¦ . '¦ . " ' . ¦¦ C » Bowman . —We have not by us just now the tables which would enable us satisfactorily to answer his question . .. ¦" : Depiford and Greenwich Chartists . —Mr . Mor »

      gan may send his money here , with the statement of the souice : whence derived , and the purpose to which it must be applied . T . Pbeston . —His communication is an

      advertisement . . " ¦ ' .- .. '¦ ¦¦ ¦ :- .. -v' ¦ ¦ . '¦ . ¦ ' : ¦'¦ - . ' ; . - " - " ¦ ¦ Henry Bijrton . —Nothing can be further from our intention than to give offence either to individuals or societies . We would gladly afford space for all the well written and well meant addresses of : . individuals and societies if it were possible ; but - we assure Mr . Burton that if we did so , we must exclude from the ^ Star everything else , and even then all could not be published . We are sure Mr . Burton would not wish to see the Star entirely ; ' . occupied with addresses such as : that to which he refersin his letter ; while the complaint in this very letter if his , that such addresses have appeared in our paper—one but a very few weeks

      ago—is an evidence of the impossibility of selecting , without giving offence , as each party sending an address of course deems that address to be more important and necessary than the address of any other party . It was this very thing which obliged us long ago to § ive public notice , that in future we shouldinsert no such addresses except from important public bodies , such as the Executive , the Convention ] great Delegate meetings , or in special cases where toe might have reason to believe that necessity existed for deviaHngfrom the rule ¦ This noticehassince [ beenrepeated severaltimesi ; and we were therefore bound to suppose the Birmingham readers of the Star to be acquainted with . it . - '' ¦ ¦ . ¦ ' i ' .. ¦¦' ¦'¦ " - ' V . " :. ¦ -. : ' : : ¦• ' ¦ . - .. '

      Timothy Thatches . —We are not aware of having omitted to publish any list of subscriptions which we may have received from Mr . Heywood . That gentleman : has staled that he sent a list some time ¦ ago of the receipt of which we have no recollestioh , though it is quite possible we may have received it , and in the mass of correspondence . which comes here , more than three-fourths of which goes to the " devil" for lighting fires with , every week , it may by chance have been over' . looked and destroyed rand this-may account for the neglect of which the King George on Hone * back Chartists complain . B . / T . does not seem to understand the driveller . His great object is te obtain a noticeih the Northern Star , which would serveas an advertisement for his" spoiled rag" We feel no disposition to . bbligehim . > : : : William Greenwood . —ffaworth is a township .

      situate in the parish of Bradford , in the West Riding of the county of York . It contains , ac cording to the census for 1841 , « population of 6 j 302 . There are 1 , 348 houses , 112 of which are uninhabited . It also contains one church , or chapel of ease , seven Wesleyan , Methodists , Bapv tists , and other dissenting chapels or meetinghouses , in connection with which are eight Sabbath schools . In addition to the above there is also one free day school . John O'RopRKE . —FFe can neither say " Yes" nor "'No" ' till we haveseen the communication . J . A ; . yofN ; S . —Wehavehoroo * n . Richard BKrEStnt ^ t re fer to the advertisement . James Duffy , of Sheffield , will receive a letter at the post-office , Liverpool , on or before the 28 tk instant , containing the address of his son George ' s wife , who will leave Liverpool on the above date ' : ¦ for'America . '" ' /¦ ¦"¦ ¦ :: ' .. : - ¦'¦ . '¦ ¦ ' . A Walking Gentleman . —We have no room .

      Ant Person in Brighton wishing to have any Char * - fist scarfs may be supplied by applying to Mn iVi ¦ ¦ Marling . ; Mas , Frost ' s Estate Fund , —The balance-sheet nextweek , ;¦ : ¦"¦ : ' v ¦ ¦; ' . ¦' . ¦ - ¦ ¦ : ; --W ^ . '"

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      THE NATIONAL CONVENTION AND THE NATIONAL PETITION . The Convention \ % fairly at work ! Let the reader carefully peruse the copious reports of their proceedings , which we this day present him with ; and let him firmly resolve to act up to the spirit there indicated , and turn not , either to the right hand or to the left , from the straightforward Chaiiter highway . Preparations are being made by the Convention for the presentation of the

      GREAT NATIONAL FETITIOM on the 2 nd of May . The members of that body are doing their duty to tho country j by making all arrangements to give due effect to the National Will . Is the Country doing its / duly to ihe Convention I Are all tho signatures obtained to the Great National that can b 8 obtaiued ? Have all the exertions possible been made in every locality to fill the sheets ! Is it not

      ws-Bible to ADD to the musteb boll of Chartism , during the ensuing week , many and good recruits , who only want asking 1 Let this be tried !!! Let every shoulder be put to the wheel—every effort made , during the short period that will intervene between and the presentation of the embodiment of the people ' s voice to the " assembled Commons , " to swell the number of those who demand freedom for themselves ! freedom for their children !! freedom for their country !!! ' . ' . ¦ . ¦¦¦ . : ' .

      s ? As fast as the sheets are filled up , let them be neatly pasted together , and rolled up into parcels with a cover on , ( but which cover must not inclose the ends of the parcel ; they must be . left open , ) and forwarded , through the post , to the following address : — ' ¦ T .. S . Duncombe , Esq ., M . P ., Albany . ( Petition to Parliament . ) Lond <) Q . Bestt ^ jtoo , that each parcel weighsunder sixteen ounces . It is easy to make two or more parcels of the sheets , if they weigh more than the number

      ©A 2&Ealrntf Antr Corrci5pottirartjj»

      © a 2 &ealrntf antr Corrci 5 pottirartjJ »

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      A THE NOBTHfRN STAR , r ^*^^ ' " ' — ¦ ™ ¦ -. — - - - * ¦ I II - ¦ ,. - ' ' - - ' - •"¦ - ¦/ , - ¦ ,- ¦ . _ ...,- _;_ , ., ;¦'¦ - . ^ ¦ ' ill Bill ' ' ll ' lT I MM III I ¦ " ' " ¦—^ -- *~ ---- . '—!—¦¦_ - ¦ . _ ^—~— -Tfcj ^

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), April 23, 1842, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct887/page/4/