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Leeds: :—Printed for the Proprietor FEABflO! O'CONNOR, Esq., of Hammersmith, C?«#
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Ci)adt£t 3£wtent3swce *
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TO THE WORLD. rp HE'great object of Medicine should beto ass5{ JL Nature^ and not to impede her beneficial open! uvub it lieu uieciiBeu vi
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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. avuuu iiitj Bysiem COB . mences , from that moment a struggle is began * -. Nature endeavouring to regain her lost sway . 4 Medicine to be truly beneficial should be on « that acts upon the secretory Organs , and by this means enter the circulating Bloed . Dr . HAMILTON'S VITAL PILLS are found to act in accordance with this , and in a way that ' no other medicine was ever known to dp . Incurable patients ( so called ) direct yotir attention to this wonder working medicine , and you will have moi » cause to rejoice than if a kingdom was offered for your acceptance .
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THE ENGLISH CHARTIST CIRCULAR Now Pablishing , Price One Halfpenny eacV in which is given a Series of Letters by Feargbj O'Connor , Esq ., on the Effects of Machinery , dire ^ and indirect . ; "Let me recommend a plan for increasing th » circulation of the Chartist Cibcular . Suppose , thenj each Subscriber should canvass for one pm » chaser ; and where is the man so destitute of in ; fluence , who has not one halfpenny friend in ths world ? By this mode the circulation would be doubled in One week . "
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SUMMER CONVEYANCE .
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SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR MR . OASTLER . AT a Meeting of the Friends of Mr . RiCHASi Oastxer , held at Scarborough ' s Hotel , Leed % on Saturday Evening , April 23 rd , 1842 , It was ananimously resolved , That this Meeting considers it desirable that 1 Subscription should be forthwith commenced among the Friends of Mr . Richard Oastler , resident ia Leeds and the Neighbourhood , upon the basis of the Subscription originated among the Friends of that Gentleman in London ; yet subject to ihs ultimata control of the local Subscribers as to its Final Appropriation . That the Friends of Mr : Oa ? tler are hereby requested to meet on Monday Evening , the 9 th of Mat , 1842 , at Half-past Seven o'clock , at Mr . Charles Smith's , the Commercial Hotel , Upp er Albios-Street , Leeds , in order to appoint a Committee and to commence the Subscription .
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THE magnificent first-clasa New York built Ship , CORNELIA * Capt . F . M . French , i # sail for NEW YORK Punctually on the 16 th of May . She registers 1 , 132 Tons , and her Burthen is 1 , 839 Tons ; is coppered and-copper-fastened ; now ia her second voyage ; and is the largest and tint Ship ever built in the United States of America . Her Accommodations for cabin , second cabin , ail steerage Passengers are very superior iu eVerj respeoc . Apply to Capt . French , on board , in Prince ' s Dock ; or to GRIMSHAW AND CO ., 13 , Goree Piazzas , Liverpool
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NOTICE TO EMIGRANTS . TITHE following splendid Ships will be despatched X punctually as announced . They are all fi : t « up expressly for the comfortable accommodation <* Cabin , Second Cabin , and Steerage Passengers , art are not surpassed , if equalled , by anv otner Ships " the trado . The charge for Faisage has been const derably reduced .
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IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT . —Tuesday . CXZrtitinued from our fifth page . ) Lord J . RUSSELL . —Considering the importance of the petition presented to the house and the great number of signatures attached , I could not abandon my duty by not coming down to the house for the purpose of expressing my respect for the petitioners , and at the same time declaring my abhorrence of the ^ doctrines set forth in the-petition . Let me , however , in the outset at once meet a charge which has , I think most unfairly , been , imputed to those who are prepared to Tote against the present motion . I deny that I and others who are opposed to it are amenable t » the charge of want of sympathy with the suffering and privations of the working
classes . ( Hear , hear . ) We know how many thousands of our fellowconntrymen are subjected to the most severe privations . We feel cempassion for their sufferings , and at the same time we admire the fortitude and forbearance with which those sufferings are endured . ( Cheers . ) But when we are asked to comply with the motion , it seems to be taken for granted and assumed that we can thereby relieve the distress . This , however , I must be permitted to deny . My right hon . friend near me has met the question on that ground . . The hon . member for Bath said , that if the institutions of the country were brought under discussion , the house would be enabled to see what alterations could be made in them for the purpose of insuring good
government . That may cr may not be a fit subject for inquiry , but it is in the first instance the duty of the Legislature to sea what would be the effect of such a course . If an inquiry is to be entered into with respect to all the existing institutions of the country , how many great questions would be thrown loosely abroad ? An inquiry will be raised . as " to whether faith should be preserved for the public creditor . Again , questions " would be put as to the right of property in land , and with respect to other institutions which are now looked upon" as inviolable . Have not those , then , who are opposed to the motion good ground to argue against the danger of throwing the ancient and venerable institutions of the country into question ! ( Hear , hear . ) The result of such
& course would be to transfer Vne great capital of Great Britain into other countries , and bv diminiEhing the funds from which labour is supplied , to throw the working classes into a still worse condition than that in which they are at present , placed . Under these circumstances , then , whether -Hon . Gentlemen vote for or against the motion , they should be esteemed as willing to eater into a consideration of that which was best for the good of the working classes . My Right Hon . Friend the Member for Edinburgh has pointed to that passage in the p-rtition which declares that the debt had Been imposed upon the country by persons who had no right to impose it . He also showed that the petitioners complain of paying taxes to meet the interest
of that debt , and of the existence of property in land and machinery , which they style monopolies . It has been said that my right Hon . Friend , " in taking this course , made unjast allegations against the people . I deny that he accused the people of any intent to plunder . The Hon . and Learned Member for Bath , usefully perhaps for . his own argument , but not very fairly as regards my Right Hon . Friend , called this a trumpery petition , drawn np by a person whom he styled , I think , a malignant and cowardly demagogue . ( Mr . R . assented . ) It was in the ? e words that the Hon . Gentleman described the purport of the petition and the character of its author . Has he not then himself made an accusation against the 3 , 300 , 000 persons who signed the
petition , which he thus describes a . 3 a . paltry one , drawn np by a cowardly and malignant demagogue If the hen . member denies that he has done- so , how can h ^ ac-cuss my honourable friend of aspersing the petitioners 1 My ton . frieud said that the petition contained certain allegations . This the hon . member for Ba . ih ^ admitted , but he said , let us throw them aside . Now , might cot the persons who were misled into the appending their sijjnatnres to such a petition be equally milled in the choice of the persons-whom they would return as their representatives to that Hou&e ! The Hon . and Learned Gentleman said , that in modern times we were supposed to have mads a great discovery when we hit upon the mode of enacting our laws by delegation instead of adhering
to the ancient mode of taking the vote in the marketplace . I , for one , think it an admirable contrivance ; but if . in the choice of their representatives , the people can be so deceived as to give their suffrages in favour of a person such as the Hon . Member for Bath described the framer of the petition to be , it would be carrying into effect the destruction of private property and the destruction of our institutions , at the same time th 3 t the respect . for the law , which the Hon . Gent , sa truly praised as a characteristic of our countrymen , would , when they were" in the hands of designing and plundering leaders , only indnce an obedience to the measures which would enable these latter to carry more completely into effect those revolutions to which the people
themselves might be opposed . ( Loud cheering . ) It is clear that the person , whoever he -may be , by whom the petition his been drawn up , would apply what had been called the sponge to the National Debt . That person denied that the debt was a National Debt , but ^ on the contrary , so to call it was bat a pretence , and that it might with justice be swept away . Now , for my part , I believe that if you could gather together in the market-place all the adalt males in the country , and show to them that the obligation by which the public faith was bonnd to the present national creditor was . a legal and a just obligation , aud _ that a breach of it would operate with great injustice and cruelty , by sending to want and beggary people who had hitherto relied
upon it as a means of comfortable subsistence , the people would repudiate the proposition as unjust and ieiquitiou ? , and would to a man refuse to participate in so cruel a spoliation—( loud cheers ) . " But , then , I am not quite so confident that those by whom the petition was signed might not be misled by the cry of the moment into the choice of men as their repre sentatives wfto , under the pretence of the public good , would enter upon that spoliation of which the people were incapable . It is , therefore , that I prize the insfcrution , whieh I lookupon as the pride of modern times , which by delegation renders men more cirenmspeet as to the hands to which power is to be intrusted . It is my opinion that property , intelligence , and knowledge , should form the "
Qualification of a constituency , and though I '" cannot undertake to say that the present is the very best which could be had , I see in it a greater security for the continuance and preservation of our institutions and the peaceful progress of freedom than a resort at oace to the principle of "Universal Suffrage . I am aware that it is a doctrine frequently urged , and I perceive dwelt upon in this petition , that every male of a eertain age i-a 3 a right , absolute and inalienable , to elect a representative to take his place among the members in the Commons' House of Parliaments . Now , Sir , I never could understand that indefeasible right —( hear ) . It appears to me that that qnestion , like every other in the practical application of politics , is to be settled by the institutions
and the laws of the country of which the person is a native . I see no more right that a person twentyone years of age has to elect a Member of Parliament than he has to be a juryman . I conceive that you may just as well say that every adult male has a right to sit upon a jury to decide the most complicated and difficult y questions of property , or that every man has a right to exercise the judicial functions , as the people did in some of the republics of antiquity —( hear , hear ) . These things , as it appears to me , are not matters of right ; but if it be for the good of the people at large , if it be-conducive to the right government of the state , if it tend to the maintenance of the freedom and welfare of the people , that a certain number , deSued and limited bv a
reference to a fixed standard of property , should have the right of electing Members of Parliament , and if it be disadvantageous to the . community at large that the right of suffrage should-be universal , then I say that on such a subject the consideration of the public good should prevail , that legislation must act upon it as on every other , and that no inalienable right can be qaoled against that which the good of xue -whole demands—( hear , hear , bear ) . The Hon . Gentleman who spoke last said , that my Right Hon . Friend the member for Edinburgh ( Mr . Maeanlay ) had given a terrific representatio n- of the people of England—had described them as sanguinary and as anxious to destroy , to commit massacre and to plunder . Now , Sir , my Right Hon . Friend
made no EHch representation . For my own part , I think it is very likely that at many elections , even if Universal Suffrage were in operation , yoH would find that respect for property , respect for old habits , and general regard for the constitution of the country , would produce results not very different from those which are produced when property is . one of the qualifications reqnired for the . franchise . But although that might be generally the case , I do not think that in the present state of popular education —1 will not say whether a standard of education sufficiently high can ever be obtained among the labouring classes—bnt in the present condition oi the people at large , I do not think you could be sure thas there might not be , in a state of popnlai ferment on the occasion of some general election . Members returned to this House whose votes woulc be favourable to the destruction of our institufons
and would shake the security of . property .- ( Hear , hear . ) Sir , this constitution is ^ I think , too precious ( cheers ) , and the arrangements of society are at the same time too intricate , to allow you to put them to such a hazard . ( Cheers . ) I can well believe that in the United States of America—the only country which I should at all compare with this for the enjoyment of liberty and the full fruits of civilization—I can well believe that in that country , where there is no monarchy , where every office is elective , where there is no established church , where there are no great masses of property—Universal Suffrage may be exercised without injury to order , and without danger to the general security of society . " But in this country ! where there are so many institutions , which , while I believe them to be of the utmost value in holding society together , are at . the same time the possessors of great property—I speak of Each institutions as the aristocracy and the church—
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and which might therefore be held out as praas to a people in distress , I do not think it would be safe at one moment to destroy the existing system of representation , and to establish Universal Suffrage in its place . ( Hear , hear . ) Acting upon these opinions , Sir , I cannot assent to that which the Bight Hon . Gentleman who has last spoken represents as a simple prayer , that the petitioners should be heard at the bar . I do not so understand this question . ( Hear , hear . ) I think the Hon . and Learned Member for Bath has pnt it more fairly , in saying that it is the Charter to which you are now called upon to say aye or no . ( Hear , hear . ) What do I find stated by the petitioners themselves ! They have set forth at full length what they consider to be their grievances . Do they ask for any
further explanation \ Do they ask that counsel should come to your bar , and there detail what they feel on the subject of their wrongs ! Nothing of the kind . They say , "Your petitioners , therefore , exercising theirjust constitutional right , demand , that your Hon . House , to remedy bo many gross and manifest evils of which your petitioners complain , do immediately , without alteration , deduction , or addition , pass into a law the document entitled 'The People ' s Charter , ' which embraces the representation of male adults , Vote by Ballot , Annual Parliaments , No Property Qualification , Payment of Members , and Equal Eleotoral Districts . " That language is very plain ( Hear , hear ) , it is very explicit , but it is , at the same time , I must say , very peremptory . It ia not a , demand to be haaid at the bar .
Mr . THOS . DUNCOMBE . —Look at the previous paragraph . Lord J . RUSSELL . —The words are , "If your Honourable House will be pleased to grant your petitioners a hearing by representatives at the bar , your petitioners will be enabled to unfold a tale ef wrong and suffering , " and so forth . Well , but they follow that up immediately afterwards with the demand I have recited . Mr . T . DUNCOMBE . —They mean if their first prayer is refused . ( Order , order . ) Lord J . RUSSELL . —And they say that in making this demand they are exercising a just and constitutional right . ( Hear , hear . ) They may ask to be allowed a further explanation of those evils of
which they complain , but they ask it with a view of establishing the Charter . Sir , I cannot believe that any counsel or agent standing at that bar would persuade me to grant the six points of the Charter . I should give my vote , whatever speeches may be made at the bar , against those proposals . ( Hear , ) I therefore think myself bound at once to put an end to the motion , and having thus explained my views , I will not endeavour to hide my vote by any pretence that I wish merely to hear an explanation of their demands . ( Hear , hear /) I believe it will be far better for the people , better for their future
welfare , if you do not mean to grant the prayer of these petitioners , that you should at once declare to them your belief that your compliance with the prayer of the petition will tend to shake property—will tend to increase the privations of which they complain—will unhinge that constitution of society which , complicated and intricate as it is , has produced so many blessings te this country ; that to you is intrusted the great , the responsible , the arduous duty of legislating in behalf of this kingdom , and thai , in discharge of this common duty you are obliged to put a . negative on the demand of the petitioners . ( Cheers . )
Sir R . PEEL—Sir , 1 hope I should have been exposed to no misconstruction if I had remained silent , j yet , from the course which this debate has taken , I ] am unwilling to expose myself to the haxard of a - misconstruction , or to shrink from the duty of de- j claring . boldly and decidedly my opinion on the sub- ] ject of this petition . Until I heard the construction j put upon its prayer by the Hon . Gentleman ( Mr . T . i Duncombe , w » believe ) , I thought there had been j two propositions to be considered by the House , — not quite consistent or compatible it is true , —but j still on the face of the document there appeared to i be two proposals . The one , that I should admit the > petitioners to be heard , in order that they might i itate their grievances by their counsel or agents ,
while the other appeared to be an imperative demand that I should immediately , and without consideration , pass into a law every demand that is in the Charter . Sir , I do not want to take any advantage of the Charter for the purpose of vindicating my vote , ll" the question of the Charter be not before us , I am ready to give my vote against hearing the petitioners at the bar of the House of Commons in support of their allegations . I shall give this vote oa various grounds . First , I am satisfied that I cannot be convinced of the policy of acceding to the prayer of thi 3 petition . I come to the conclusion to which the Hon . Member for Leicester has already come—the foregone conclusion , that those demands , if complied with , would be mischievous to the
petitioners themselves ; and having come to that conclusion , I think it more just and more respectful to tell them that I do not intend to accede to their peti * tion , than to give them a delusive hearing , which I know can have no useful result —( hear , hear ) . Why , Sir , what does the Hon . Member for Finsbury the colleague of the Hon . GeRtleman , tell me ? That on the result ef my decision with respect to the hearing of the petitioners will depend either awakened hope or fearful despondency . Well , I will not awaken hope by countenancing expectations which I know mnst end in disappointment —( hear , hear ) . The Hon . Gentleman eays he wishes to pledge me to nothing , he only wishes me to hear the grievances detailed . But he asks me to hear the allegations of
the petitioners , and those allegations are neither more or less than an impeachment of the whole constitution of this country , and the whole frame of society . The petition tells me that it i 3 wrong to maintain an Established Church—it says that £ 9 , 000 , 000 of money are annually abstracted from the people for the purpose of maintaining the church . The petition tells me that the people of Ireland are entitled to the Repeal of the Uuion . The petition draws a most invidious comparison between the expences of the Sovereign and those of a labourer . I say the petitiou is altogether an impeachment of the constitution of this country , and of the whole frame of society . And how am I to gratify the demands of the petitioners t Hear them at the bar ! Why .
if I hear them , let me hear them effectually . But is it an effectual hearing to permit four or five persons on their behalf to make speeches at the bar of the House ? Are those speeches to be relied upon Suppose the speeches at the bar failed of producing an effect , and a demand were then made for an inquiry , should I refuse it , or suspend the whole public business of the country , in order that the bulk of these allegations might be ascertained as to the policy of an Established Church , and a Repeal of the Union I— ( hear , hear ) . Is not that the only effectual way in which the petitioners would have an opportunity of explaining their grievances ! and is it for the advantage of the petitioners themselves that I should suspend the
public business of the country for the purpose of inquiring into this subject 1 What is the petition ! If I had a doubt , which I have not , upon this subject , strange as it would seem , the speech of the Hon . and Learned Member for Bath would have convinced me that the greatest absurdity ever committed would be to enter into an enquiry with respect to the allegations in this petition—a petition which doeB not represent the sentiments of those who signed it—a petition that is atterly at variance with the judgment and good sense of the 3 , 000 , 000 of petitioners , but which ha 3 been imposed upon them by a cowardly demogogue ( loud cheers ) whom the Hon . Gentleman knows , and whose personal knowledge of his character entitles him to speak of him with
disrespect and contempt . ( Loud cheer 3 ) I take the description of the petition from the Hon . and Learned Gentleman himself , and could I admit t le framer of this petition , a person so described by the Hon . and Learned Gentleman—a man who has perverted to his own evil purposes the minds of the respectable intelligent , industrious , honest labouring classes of this country , to the bar of this house , for he no doubt will be the person selected to defend the allegations of this trashy petition which he has drawn up , ( cheers ) without be ' . ng a party to the continuance of that delusion under which they labour ? ( Loud cheers . ) It is into the allegations of that petition that the Hon . Member for Finsbury asked me to go , and the allegations of the petition have been
described by the Hon . Member for Bath . When I refer to the prayer of the petition , when I refer to the character of him who is said to be its author , when I refer to the certain consequences of raising expectations which I know I must disappoint , I must say I think I am acting more respectfully and more justly towards the petitioners ia refusing at once to accede to their demands , than by giving them a delusive hearing at the bar , and afterwards telliug them they have made no impression whatever on my mind . ( Loud cheers . ) The Hon . and Learned Member for Bath cas described the character of the people of England . He aaidthat in other countxies of Europe the appeal was to force , while in this country the appeal was to law . He said the
labouring classes possessed the physical force , which if they were inclined to enforce it would overpower every opposition ; but they were controlled by their good sense and by their willing obedience to the law , for which they entertained respect . Tha Hon . and Learned Gentleman pointed to the decrepit constable going into the midst of a crowd and seizing a powerful man ; the officer of the law was unresisted : and although his prisoner was a person of much superior strength , he evinced a willing submission to authority , aud the people by whom he was surrounded offered no opposition ; but what nerved the arms of the constable \ Why it was the tacit influence of the law .
that stood behind him . ( Cheers . ) And what had given that influence to the law ! What but the conviction that it wa 3 just ! ( Loud cheers . ) Do you believe that if the people of this country were in the condition described in this memorial , which declares that "this House has by unconstitutional means created an unbearable despotism on the one hand , and a degrading slavery on the other "—if that was a just representation of the people and the constitution of England , would that law which backs the decrepit constable possess the authority and influence it now exercises ? ( Loud cheers . ) Do you hink the people , of whom ( he Bon . and Learned
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Member has given such a description , weuld have that respect for the law they now entertain , if they did not feel that that law which guarantees property , which secures liberty , is a law equally for the rich and the poor ! ?( Cheers . ) What description was given of the people of England by the other Hon . Member for Finsbury ! He Baid , ¦ ' I have travelled through various parts of Europe ; I have had opportunities of observing the condition of the labouring classes abroad , and comparing it with our home population , and I defy you to find a more intelligent , a more prudent , a more independent , or a more nigh spirited race of people than the people of England . " I grant it : but I ask him what has formed their character 1 ( Cheers . ) Is it to the bricks and stones
of their houses that we must attribute thBir character \ No , it is to the laws and institutions of a free country . ( Cheers . ) The high-minded independent character of which the Hon . and Learned Gentleman spoke has been formed under those laws and institutions of which this petition contains the impeachment . ( Cheers . ) And if it were true that we lived in a state of despotism on the one hand , or degrading slavery on the other , the people of this country would never have the respect for authority , nor would they deserve the character which the Hon . and Learned Gentlemen has given them . ( Loud cheers . ) I did not understand the Right Hon . Member for Edinburgh to state that the people of this country were of a sanguinary disposition ; and
that if we admitted them to power , spoliation of property would be the result , but that there would be great danger if they consented to the prayer of this petition , so prepared by a designing and cowardly demagogue , adopting the description of the Honi and Learned Gentleman —( cheers ;)—or , if this be a libel upon the petitioners , how can the Hon . and Learned Gentleman maintain that those who bare been parties to a petition so full of trash and delusion , might not in other 'instances fall victims to other designing demagogues , who may say . to . ' . them ; "Now you are possessed of power , now you have the means of exercising it , and you are a degraded and cowardly race if you do not enforce your own termB ?" ( Cheers . ) I do not believe they would at once yield
to such delusions ; but what security can the Hon . and Learned Gentleman give , that having been deluded once , the petitioners would not be deluded again ! ( Cheers . ) I understand the Right Hon . Member for Edinburgh to argue that if you make an alteration in your constitution upon principles like those laid down in this petition—if you think that public faith ought not to be maintained , and that the public creditor should not be paid , because debts were iucurred by Parliament without due authority for the support of wars which were unjust—if you think that land is a monopoly—if you think that machinery is a monopoly , you will be exoiting hopes and expectations which you cannot realise without leading to confusion , and which you cannot disappoint
without danger . I understood him to argue that anarchy and confusion must arise from that state of things , because there would be no security for property ; and that , in fact , uncertainty and spoliation of property must necessarily arise . ( Cheers . ) But I did not understand him to affirm of the people of England that they were of a sanguinary and barbarous disposition , and inclined to possess themselves of the property of others . ( Cheers . ) On account , then , of the delusion which must arise from granting the prayer of the petition , I cannot accede to this motion . If I am told that the Charter is involved—if I am now deciding the question of Universal Suffrage , Annual Parliaments , and Vote by Ballot , I am content to rest the iesue upon that ground also . I
believe that Universal Suffrage will be incompatible with the maintenance of the mixed monarchy under which we live—I believe that mixed monarchy is important in respect to the end which is to be achieved rather than in respect to the means by which it is gained—that end I understand to be the promotion of the happiness of the people ; but in a country circumstanced like this , I will not . consent ' -to substitute mere democracy for that mixed form of government under which we live , and which , imperfect as it may be , has secured for us during 150 years more of practical happiness and of true liberty than has been enjoyed in any other country that ever existed , not excepting , the United State 3 of America ,
not excepting any other country whatever . ( Cheers . ) We may be suffering severe privation . I deeply regret it , I svmpathise with the sufferers , I admire their fortitude , I respect their patience , but I will not consent to make these momentous changes in the constitution , with the certainty that I shall afford no relief to the present privation and suffering , with the certainty that I shall only incur the risk of destroyiLg that constitution , which , I believe , if you will permit it to remain untouched , -will ' secure to your descendants as it secured to you and your ancestors , those blessings which you never find in any rash or precipitate changes , however plausible iu speculation they may appear to be . ( Loud and continued cheers . )
Mr . MACAULAY desired to say two words of explanation in reference to the matter just adverted to by the Right Hon . Baronet . Ho denied most distinctly that any expressions imputing cruelty or a sanguinary disposition to the people of England , or anything whatever of that nature , had overpassed his lips . ( Hear , hear . ) His argument had not led to anything of that sort , and he appealed to he memory ef every gentleman present whether he had drawn any parallel with the cruelty of the French revolution , or had given utterance to any expression of that nature ? He made no such alltision - whatever . ( Hear , hear . )
Mr . MUNTZ said , that as the debate had taken Euch a peculiar turn , in con 3 equeuce of the construction put upon the motives of those who might vote for the present motion , he felt called upon to explain the reason why he should vote in its favour . It was the same reason that induced him to vote for the motion of the Hon . Member for Rochdale the tother evening . He should vote for the motion simply on the ground of inquiry . When he looked around him and eaw thousands of his fellow-countrymen starving from the want of the . necessaries ' of life , and from the want of labour to procure those necessaries ,
and when he found 3 , 000 , 000 of the people appealing to that house to be beard on the subject , he could not make up his mind to reject the prayer of the petition . 3 , 090 ^ 000 of hie starving fellow-countrymen was a vast number ; and though he believed with the Right Hon . Baronet opposite that there were many desires expressed in the petition which would never realize the hopes of the petitioners , or conduce to the good of the nation , yet he could not make up his mind to reject the prayer that the petitioners might be heard . Mr . OSWALD opposed the motion , on the ground that if carried , it would delude the people , and buoy them up with false hopes .
Mr . C . VILLIERS said that many Members of that House , when addressing the populace or their constituents , made against the House much the same accusation as was contained in the allegations of the petition . They endeavoured to bring it into discredit , charged it with legislating for a class , and said there was no hope for the people without a new representation . He would remind the Hon . Member for Lambeth that he had held that language . ( Hear , hear . ) He ( Mr . Yilliers ) had not made use of this language , though it was the constant practice of many gentlemen who agitated on the Corn Laws to say thai it was idle to attempt xny altera ' ion , and that the real question was the Reform of the House . And now the people
took them at their words , was it fair that they should be called spoliators and described as being unworthy of the franchise \ ( Hear , hear . ) This he thought was conduct more shabby and delusive than the present motion . He was not disposed to deny many things he had heard in the course of the discussion with respect to the consequences of extending the Suffrage , but when they sat in that House abusing each other , and imputing bad motives to each other , it was not surprising that the people believed them at last . ( Hear , aud laughter . ) He had made a similar motion to the present on the subject of the corn laws , and if it had not been
rejected , he believed much misery might have been averted . He did not see why the petitioners in the present case should not be heard . Such a pro-: ceeding , without producing a sudden change in the representative system , might lead to a progressive alteration . Though many of the objects of the petitioners might be characterised as objectionable , this was no reason why the petitioners should not be heard , and he reminded the Right Hon . Baronet opposite that he could not himself concur iu all the opinions of his own supporters ; and in proof of this statement he need only refer to the opinions entertained by some Hon . Gentlemen opposite on the subject of Orange lodges .
Lord CLEMENTS said , that as no person connected with Ireland had addressed the House , and as the subject of the repeal of the union was mixed up with other topics in the petition , he begged to say a few words iD reference to that point . The Irish were not very much accustomed to meet with the sympathy of the people of England , and he confessed for one , he was not prepared to be made a cat ' s paw on the present occasion . The repeal of the union might be a subject worthy of discussion in itself . He did not preiena to say that he was himself an advocate for that measure . But , however that subject might be brought forward , this was not the manner in which it was to come before the House . If the poorer classes of this country felt themselves aggrieved let them bring their grievances before Parliament : bnt the people of Ireland were sufficiently
strong to stand upon their own resources . He wished nbt to be coupled up with any petition of this kind . ( Loud cries of "Divide , divide , " and great impatience manifested by the House . ) The House might be impatient , but he wished to state his opinions on the subject . ( Cries of " Go on , go on ;" " Read , read , " and laughter . ) The people of Ireland required much improvement and much alteration in their representative system , and in the mode of sending their Members to that House , and the sooner that subject was taken into consideration the better for Ireland , aHd the community at large—( a laugh . ) But , at the same time , they perfectly differed from the prayer of this petition , which he looked upon as only subversive of the institutions of this country , and one to which he could not give bis assent—(" divide , divide . " ) He trusted that the measure
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with regard to Ireland would be shortly brought before the consideration of the House , and that the Irish representative system would be cleansed from all the impurities to which it was nove subjectdaughter . ) He would not detain the Hduse- ( hear , and a laugh)—but he begged most distinctly to reprobate the idea of Ireland being brought forward ^ in this manner to serve the purposes of certain individuals , and when the people of that country had not the slightest chance of being admitted to those privileges to whioh they were justly entitled .-: -- ' - ¦ . ¦" : : .. "¦/ : ¦ ¦ -. ,. - . ¦ -: ¦ . ¦¦ . ¦¦ - ¦ ; . J -
Mr . O'CONNELL wiBhed to say a few words , in order that his vote on this occasion might not be misunderstood . He should not vote for hearing the petitioners , br reason of what they had told him about the Repeal of the Union . That was a subject upon which ihis own opinion was fixed ; and he was not induced to support the motion because it was mentioned in this petition . In short , he did not wish to indentify himself with this petition at all—( bear , hear ) . His vote was grounded upon one consideration , and that was—though perhaps he might be mistaken—that he was a , decided advocate for Universal Suffrage , and that it was his opinion that every Englishman was entitled to be represented in that House— ( hear ; hear ) . If he wanted a reason
for that opinion it would be the total failure of the Right Hon . Member for Ediubro ' , —( hear , and a laugh , ) - ^ who disclaimed Universal Suffrage , and condemned the present state of Suffrage in this country . The Right Hon . Gentleman drew no line where servitude should end , and liberty begin—( hear , hear ) . The comparison , too , made by the Noble Lord of a man's claiming to be a juryman did not apply , because the juryman decided on other people ' s property , whilst the voter protected his own u it were to gratify these petitioners togive them a hearing under such limitations as the House might be pleased to impose , he did hot think it would be going too far , and he should therefore vote for the motion .
Mr , T . DUNCOMBE , in reply , said he would promise the House that this was the last division he should take on any proposition of this kind after seeing the manner in which the petitioners were about to betr&ated . At all events , if the individuals who had signed this petition , comprising the greater part of the industrious classes ot this country ; should ever again condescend—( hear , hear)—to approach that House , he would be no party to their degradation after the manner in which he saw Vkis petition was about to be received —( hear , and a laugh);—and he must say that if the interpretation which the opponents of this motion had thought proper to put upon this petition , as being a proposition for the sweeping confiscation of property , as
the Right Hon . Gentleman the Member for Edinburgh called it—( hear ) , ^ -for the destruction of the Monarchy and the Churcb , and expunging the National Debt —( hear , hear ) , —if such were the objects of the petitioners , or there were any propositions of that kind in this petition , let not their censure and indignation and abhorrence fall upon the petitioners , but on the head of him who brought it to the table of the House— ( hear , and laughter . ) Let him be the individual responsible for it —( laughter , and cries of' * No !") Yes , he would say that no Hon . Member of that House ought to bring up such a petition , if such were the objects of it—( hear , hear );—and if he thought that the petitioners had any such views , he '' would ' not be the individual to
appear at the table with their petition —( hear , hear . ) Parts and parcels of that petition had been read , and he did not say that if he had had the drawing up of it he would have framed it in its present shape—( hear , hear ); there were many parts of it from which he dissented , and he mentioned that at the beginning of the evening , when there were few Hon . Members to hear what the petitioners asked forj although they now came down in shoals to deny them a hearing at their bar —( hear , hear ) . The petitioners asked hot for a sweeping confiscation of property —( hear , hear ) . He only wished that the Right Hon . Member for Edinburgh would allow them to come to the bar of that House , working men as they were , and if he would do that and hear their statements , in support of the allegations
contained in this petition , and if they could prove them by documentary evidence or by producing additional witnesses at the bar , they would put to the blush the Right Hon . Member for Edinburgh * who had so libelled them ( hear , and a laugh ); and many , though they were not even in possession of the franchise , when they left the bar , would leave the impression behind them that they ought to have the franchise , and that that House would not be disgraced by seeing one of those men on the benches Of that House — ( hear , hear ) . The concluding paragraph of the petition was , ho would admit , worded rather ambiguously —( hear , hear ) . But the Right Hon . Baronet opposite most fairly stated—( hear , hear)—he did not complain of the opposition on the other side so much as he di d of that on his own
side of the House ( hear , and laughter ) , but the Right Hon . Baronet stated that he would not take advantage of the wording of the petition , if Charter was not intended by the petitioners : ( Hear . ) They asked first to be beard at the bar of that House ; and although the closing paragraph was rather ambiguous , he knew their meaning to be , that if the House would not hear them , then they demanded of the House to pass their Charter . But the petitioners concluded thus , " And your petitioners , desiring to promote the peace of the United Kingdom , —( hear , hear , )—security of property ;
and prosperity of commerce , seriously and earnestly press this petition on the attention of your honourable House . " . ( Hear , hear . ) Where was the confiscation of property , the destruction of the monarchy , or of the church ? or where was the sponge , as he heard it said , of the national debt ? ( Hear , hear . ) But Ike Right Hon . Baronet took advantage of what was thrown out in the speech of the Hon . and Learned Member for Bath , that this petition was drawn up by a malignant and cowardly demagogue— -he believed those were the words of the Hon . and Learned Member—and said
that he would name the individual if the reptile were not beneath his contempt . ( Hear , hear . ) If be alluded to the individual whom he ( Mr . Duncombe ) supposed he did , he had been grossly misled and imposed upon . ( Hear , hear . ) And now he would speak of the individuals who had signed the petition and those who drew it up , and would read their explanation of what they meant . In the course of the winter there was a difference of opinion between the Chartists in Scotland and the Chartists in England . A meeting took place in Glasgow , and the question was then , considered whether there sheuld be two 'petitions or only one . What the Scotch Chartists objected to was the Repeal of the Union and the mention of the English Pbor . Law ; but the answer , and it was an answer to the Hon . and
Learned Member for Bath , and to many Hon . Gentlemen who bad put this false and , he must say , unjust interpretation on this petition , was to this effect : — 11 In conclusion , " ( this was addressed to the Scotch Chartists ) , " let it be firmly impressed on your minds that' our sole objects in drawing up the petition have been to draw public attention to the cause of our national embarrassment , the misery of the labouring classes , and those subjects which deserve meat unwearied attention . The standard ef our cause ib where it ¦ was , undimiuiahed ia its mpteme importance and unshorn of its national interest Brethren , we shall keep it there ; aid us as you have done , and let union ,
peace , and energy characterise eur united and inseparable exertions in the great cauBe of England , Scotland , Ireland and Wales . " Five names were signed to this document . The mention of the last one , "John Campbell , " excited much laughter . The Hon Member then observed , that these were the sole individuals who drew up the petition ; aud no one else , he believed , had even seen it until it was in course of signature . He repeated , that he deeply regretted the course which the House was about to adopt . All he asked on behalf of the petitioners was , to give them a hearing ; while , in his own mind , he felt convinced that to admit them within the electoral pale , instead of endangering , vrould add stability to the property of the country—( hear , hear . ) The House then divided , when there appeared , — For the motion ... ... ... 49 Against it ... ... ... ... 287 ' Majority against the motion ... 238
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LEEDS . —The Association is rising rapidly in numbers , and although a good many of its members are out of employment , it has been enabled with a little assistance from Churwell , Wortley . and Woodhouse , to send its proportionate share to the Convention , for the members . On Sunday lastj the Council voted 10 s ., in answer to the appeal of the Convention last week ; 2 s . 6 d . was sent a week or two ago by Mr . Garbutfc , who had collected it for that purpose . The Association has of late turned its attention more to local affairs than they have done before ; the Chartists now take a prominent part in every meeting , both-local and national , that takes
place in the town , and in order that they may make an attack on Whiggiam and Toryism in the Council , on the 1 st Nov . next , let every working man who . is qualified , claim to be put en the burgess list . To be successful , it only requires that every one do this—let the Councils of Holbeck , Hunslet , and Woodhouse , take the matter up at once , and be really determined to win , and nothing can prevent them . In order to carry it out more successfully , a central committee should be appointed in the town , comprising men from every part of the Borough . Let the Chartists sea to it . The Council would respotfully reauest that a larger number of members attend on Monday night ? .
BRADPORO « - ^ -Dele « atb Meeting . —In accordance with the announcement in the Star % a meeting of delegates from the several districts of the West * Riding ? was held in the Chartist room , Bradford , on Sunday , May 1 st , at ten o ' clock . Delegates present from Bradford , Mr . . Fletcher- ;_ ¦ Bingley , Mr . Firth : Dewsbury , Mr . Wilson ; Leeds , Mr . Fraser . Mr . Fraser being called to the chair , Mr . Fletcher was appointed secretary * After a lengthened conversation it was deemed very advisable that a District Union Bhould be formed for the purpose of supporting permanent lectures , and to forward thiB view the following resolutions were agreed to : —
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u That a central committee be resolved upon , to consist of delegates from each of the districts in the West-JRidinig , wishing to co-operate in the supoort of district lecturers , one delegate to be sent from each district . " "That this committee assemble quarterly , and that the district secretary have a discretionary power to call special meetings in cases of emergency . " " That Bradford being the most central position , be the general place of meeting . " " That Mr . Fletcher , delegate from Bradford ; be appointed secretary for the union until next meeting , which will be holden on the 29 th May , at ten o'clock ; in the Association Rooms , Bradford . There being so few delegates present , it was not thought advisable to enter into any arrangements regarding the appointment of lecturers . But as it will be
evident how advantageous such a mode of employing lecturers would be to the spread of our glorious principles , we press upon the attention of ourbrotherChartists the resolutions we agreed to ; and trust they will send delegates to the next meeting , on Sunday , the 29 th of May ; and we also particularly request the Councils of the different Associations to Correspond with the Secretary upon' the matter . Remember , brethren , all we have now . to depend upon is the wide dissemination of our principles to ensure success ; then be up and doing ; do riot , we beseech you , let this important union be destroyed . Remember , in union lies our strength and importance . You are requested to correspond with Mr ; G ; Fletcher at Mr . Alderson ' s , Bankstreet , Bradford . ¦ ¦ ¦ . "'¦ ' :. '
CoiLBRpOKDALE . —Mr . Halfbrd lectured to a large out-door meeting on Monday last . Several cards were taken . They will hold other out-door meetings in the neighbourhood Bhortly , and will be ready to sell more cards . Rothebham . —The cause in this place is continually gaining ground . Mr . T . B . Smith visited us on Tuesday evening , and delivered a powerful and eloquent lecture , in which he discussed , in a clear and lucid manner , the whole of the points of the Charter . Numbers aro continually coming to join our ranks .
Convention .- —Ai the Convention sitting ,, on Thursday , an address to the country , a remonstrance to the House of Commons , and a . memorial to the Queen , were adopted . A vote of thanks was given to Mr . Duncan , as chairman , Mr . Leach , as vicechairman , and Mr . Campbell , as secretary . The address , memorial , and remonstrance , will appear in next Star . Babnslet . —The cause of human improvement has received some additional impetus during the past week by the labours of Mr . T . B . Smith , who has been with us delivering lectures on various important subjects . Oh Saturday evening , we had a good meeting in the Odd Fellows' School Room , ' to hear a lecture on teetotalistn , and the claims of the National anti-Tobacco and Temperance Society . The address was clear , and full of sound argument , and appeared to give very general
satisfaction . On Sunday afternoon , Mr . Smith jreached on the Barebones , to more than one thousand persons , and in the evening , in the Odd Fellows' School Room . On Monday evening , thesubject was a full , fair , and free representation of the people in Parliament , which was handled in the most clear and satisfactory manner , and rivited the attention of the audience for nearly two hours . At the close of the lecture Mr . Frank Mirfield in a speech replete with good sense and manly feeling * moved the following resolution , " That this meeting is resolved to go for nothing short of the whole Charter , name and all , and as long as our leaders act honestly and stand by us , we will stand by them . " Thanks were then voted to Mr . S . for his valuable services , and the meeting separated . MnJSmith enrolled four persons as members of the National Anti-Tobacco and Temperance Association .
HUDDEK . SFIELD . —A moat dreadful accident occurred on Tuesday last , at the mill of Messrs . Armitago and Brothers , Mill-bridge . A man of ths name of Taylor , went down , it is thought , to oil the water-wheel , when some one in thf mill , not knowing , set the wheel in motion . The poor man was immediately cat in twain , aud the two parts cut into pieces . We understand he has buried his wife , but urifoitunately he leaves a child to mourn his loss . , . STOCKPOB . T— The New Poor Law axd its Victims . —The Workhouse "test of labour , " : or " labour test" as it is termed , has been applied to about 150 out-door paupers at Stockport . They have been placed to breakine stones , &c . two-thirds of
whom have been paid at the rate of Is . per day for Beven hours' labour . All these however have recently been reduced Is . a week and three hours proposed to be added to their labour . Last week the body willingly acceded to the abatement , but objected to the additional labour—and a deputation of four were selected to wait upon the Board of Guardians and argue the hardship and impropriety of depriving them of the three hours during which they might probably get a few pence extra towards the necessities of their families . The Board woto inflexible . j and the men continued to work the old rate Of labour , seven hours . They worked up to Saturday afternoon at four o ' clock , but in the forenoon a warrant had been issued against the individuals composing the deputation "for refusing to work and maintain their families . " Their names are John Williamson , Jas ,
Goodwin , J . Barnes , and R . Hyde , all of whom have large families . Thoy were taken to" Sadlers Wells " and confined there . till Monday , when- tKey were brought before the Mayor , Thos . Walmsley , Richard Sykes , James Newton , and Robt . Gee , Esquires , Mr . Wm . Vaughan appearing for trie paupers , and Mr . Coppock attending on the part of the Board of Guardians . The hearing occupied the Court a long time . It was proved 'that the defendants were paupers , and that for the six days' work at tenpence per diem , five days' earnings were paid in bread and potatoes , and the sixth , tenpence only was given them , which was all the cash they received for their labour during the week . It was admitted by two of the witnesses that complaints have been made about the quality of the bread ; and it was also admitted that more of the defendants had refused to
work , absolutely only objecting to the extra ; three hours—the new regulation being from seven in the morning , till six at night ; one hour- only being allowed throughout the day for meals , &c Mr . W . Yaughan contended that the proceedings were arbitrary and excessive , the defendants being at work when the party obtaining the warrant swqre that they were refusing to work , and had neglected their families ! The wives stepped tor ward and denied that their husbands bad neglected them . Mr . Coppock defended the proceedings . The bread , & . O . that was given to the paupers was . as reliefj not as wages ; and that the work allotted to them was intended as " a labour test . " The new instructions had been issued by the Commissioners ; and if the pauper refused to adhere to them , they , by decliniiig to work according to their instructions , refused to maintain their families . Hence that expence would fall upon
the rate-payers in general . They had been ordered to work seven hours per day for six days , at tenpence per diem , which they had refused to do . The defendants complained that they had been entrapped into the business by the Governor and Oakes ( Coppock's clerk ); and denied that they had refused to work ; or that they were ever given to understand that what they worked for was parochial relief . So long as they laboured hard for what they got , they should consider the payment to be as wages , and ought to be paid in money . Williamson said he had two days ' due . The Bench said the defendant ' s had been sufficiently punished by being confined in the cells since Saturday . They could not by law interfere with the orders of the Commissioners , and they must be observed ; but they would take the responsibility of ordering that the paupers Bhould not work after four o ' clock on the Saturday . ( Applause . ) They were then set at liberty .
LEEDS—On Friday week two women named Sophia Cuff and Mary Ann Dunn , were committed for three months each ( with hard labour ) to Wakefield House of Correction , as rogues and vagabonds , for haying obtained the sum of 16 s . 6 d . in money , six yards of new flannel , and a shawl , from Mary Theaker , servant to Mr . Kershaw , painter , Wellington-road , under pretence of being able to " rule her planet" and make her acquainted with the secrets of futurity , promising her at the same time an excellent husband and plenty of children , who were all to do well in the world . The foolish girl found out , after repeated visits , that both more money and inor goods were wanted than she could conveniently spare , and fancying that she had been "done , " sho gave information to the police and caused their apprehension .
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Bradford Markets , Thursday , May 5 th . — Wool . —The Wool trade is altogether of a monotonous _ character , owing to the unwillingness of the spinners to purchase , except at rates which the staplers cannot replace : the latter have been equally cautious in their operations , and the stock in the market is by ho means so considerable as it was a few weeks back ; nor is it probable that any material quantity will be brought to market till shear day , and till the prices of new Wools be established . ^— -Yarn . — -Although we cannot , report any decided improvement , in the demand for Yarns , yet quite as much is doing as has been for several weeks back . We are glad to
hear that more ia required by the Delaine makers .. In prices no marked alteration . —Piece , —During the week we learn that considerable quantities of gooda have been taken out of the market , and chiefly those of our staple manufacture , the Merino . We believe these are for the American market , for which but few have been sold of late , compared with former years . We would hope now that , the season is at band when both the exporters and home merchants usually make their purchases , that we may be able to report more extensive doings , and if any advantage is derivable from the new tariff and the continued fine weather , that our operatives may feel the good effect of it .
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Subscriptions for the wounded and damage dont at the Hall of Science , Manchester , received bv m Abel Heywood :- y * : . - ¦ ' : - ¦ - ¦ ¦ ¦' "¦ . ' , ¦ - ¦ ¦ ¦ ' . ¦ ' ¦ ¦ ¦ " ¦ ¦ : " ¦ ' - ' ¦ ¦ ¦ " £ e . * Aston-st . Association Room , Birmingham 0 7 j Association , Northampton ... .... l q « Abergavenny Association ... ... o fi i Mansfield Association , per John Lynn ... 1 0 a Sutton-in-A 8 hfield Asssociation ... ... 0 12 n Oldham Chartists , Mr . J . Dunkerly ... 0 6 I Charter Association , Rooden-lane ... 0 2 e Chartats , Pitsford , Northampton ... 0 J ? Wellingborough , Mr . Edward Hall ; .. 0 6 a Skecby , near Mansfield ... ... o 3 X Sheffield and two or three other places , per Mr . Julian Harney ... ... ... 117 j ¦ : ¦ ¦ ¦ : : " : - : - ¦' /¦ ; ¦ ; . „ ¦ ¦ , ¦ ¦ :: ¦ ¦ ¦¦ £ S - 6 i ' t .
Leeds: :—Printed For The Proprietor Feabflo! O'Connor, Esq., Of Hammersmith, C?«#
Leeds : : —Printed for the Proprietor FEABflO ! O ' CONNOR , Esq ., of Hammersmith , C ?« #
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8 THE NORTHEBN STAR .
To The World. Rp He'great Object Of Medicine Should Beto Ass5{ Jl Nature^ And Not To Impede Her Beneficial Open! Uvub It Lieu Uieciibeu Vi
TO THE WORLD . rp HE ' great object of Medicine should beto ass 5 { JL Nature ^ and not to impede her beneficial open ! uvub it lieu uieciiBeu vi
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Middlesex , by JOSHUA HOBSON , at his Pri » Ing OfflcestNes . 12 and 13 , Market-street , B * gate ; and Published by the said Joshua HobsO ? ( for the said Feargcs O'ConnOE , ) at .. bif . I > i | f . ling-house , No . 6 , Marketrstreet , Briggate ; « internal Commtmication existinjj between & **? No . 5 , ^ ^ Market-street , and the said Nos . 12 « f 13 , Market-street , Briggate , thus constituting ^ whole of the said Printing and Publishing w onePremiBea . All Communications must fee addressed , ( Tost-paidr HOBSON , Northern Star Office , Leeds . ; Saturday , May 7 , 1812 . r
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), May 7, 1842, page 8, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct889/page/8/
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