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Extraordinary Increase in Potatoes.—Mr. R, Kidd, of Briery Close, near .-Amblesi.de,.. planted laso
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IRE X0RTHEM STAR.. SATURDAY. DECEMBER 3, 1342.
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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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TO THE CHARTISTS OF GBSAT BRITAIN ' . Kl DzaH Frienes — I 2 m sorry thst any difur . ion should exist in thb Cur-rtist ranks , and bavin ? a sincere desire that it may soon be destroyed . I beg to lay before you the folio-wing EGiSJitiaas , hopjiz . that if acted UDOz , they -will restore us to fliii uniry of action so essentially ncc-ssiTV to accomplish T » r an eEilavcd people their freedom . I refrain from Etstirg e ? oto opinions respecting the ciase of the diranion , lest some . -might say that I ¦ waited to prejudice the minis of the people against or in fiT . -. ar of either the Executive or those members of onr Association -who feel dissati ££ ed TOth thsir evzend .
la or 3 er that the disunion . - e-j . t be healei , I suggest far joar adoption , tbat a Committee of five or fc ^ ven pinons be &lfcc := d to . exannne the plan of OrgaB ^ ziticn , and take into coas ieration the conduct of tha Executive , and if a , msj rity of the Committee a ^ re- ; that they have acte 4 aeccrdisz to the Pian of Orcac- ' Zitio ^ , let them still h : ! d * £ c % , and if sot , let the Committee mil - upon the Executive immediatelTto resign < . 3 ize .- 1 M the Committee fesre a rep' -rur present to report tb « r ' iT- > cs * diiig 8 , bo that their constituents may see how " th _ -y have acted acd Toted . ¦ - ' ¦
Trusting that the Executive wiir se * the propriety ol a-iopting some measure themriivss to bring this nrpkasaEt affair to a close , I rerr . airr . /• ur » , Amidst all 'vreitiiers a : ; d political storms . the same , . - JTot . 29 ih , 1 S 42 . " W- BrESLZT .
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TO THE CHARTISTS OF TEE UNITED KINGDOM . Fellotr-laboarers in the canse—A ^ . c-n . ? thp many subjects which merit jor ^ r attecdon , and si ^ t of tie workinz-clasics geneK .: ' y , there is one- to jwhich we briefly thon-jh sincerely inrlis yoiir inj-a- ¦ ii .-. ts c--:: » i' : trstion It i £ 2 icv » entrally Jaiutrn thst f ¦ r £ veic ; iiths we Lave had a powerful and consiiv _ nt daiiy advocate in the " Eznrlij Stai " ne . yspaptr , the vroprietor of -which his mace , p . i . d is rtiii making , iniiucsse sacrifices for the good of the cause ; but it is unreasonable in 113 to hope or expect thfess peroaiary sicricess to ba jnech longer ConiiiraecL In order , tterifore , to . su-tala the above patriotic iudmdnil , -we urgently call-upon the general conucil of the different loeinrits , and through them vpoe all "who Tish their \ rroncs exr . ostd and their few ieina . ining rights protected , toar c ^ e th ^ ir bes t energies pn . i dcTise Etans to increase li ^ circa ' utjon of such a Tainabie auxiliary to the Chartist cnusa . If e ^ eb icaiity
tiiroii ^ iicnt kingdom tt . ik upon 11 ; average life papers < iaily , we are s ; iveTi to arsd-. TbtaECi th > £ t tne proprietor wonid then bf sb ! e to compete svcc ^ sivMy "sritiiaEy dfiily j ^ cr&al . If or , y three cr . pies i ? ere icJicu by each locality , the circulation tbus iLcrtasi ' 'd wcuid fiee the pTtprietor from any anj i ve : y embarrassment . Under these circumstances ts tiu =: thit no locality , however poor it may be , "will fail in coniitg ^ im ' mediattiy to the rescne . Ti'ho ¦ woal J wLai that tbe .-Er € 7 iir , ri Star should Ehine eo more ? Who ifoiild not regret the loss of so brilliant s inEicary of the political htrz . > n ? Yet it is BEeifcSS to conceal the frar ihat its light will be excingniihed nnless you com- forward , and tt at too without delay , to give an imp ^ tua to its circuia ' . ion , and thereby advance yonx own interest and thit of uue cf jour firmest and most devoted friends . Tours , on behalf of the Metropolitan Dcler . ite nicctins , Thomas : > I . "\ Theellr . Secretary .
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THE EXECUTIVE . TO THE EDITOR OF- ' THS " SOKTHEKi STAR . DxiB SIS . —The rece ; . i diic '^ ur&s ruiLgt b :-Vi > eon - tt jts . the country of the u £ -: lei 5 rts 3 of a ptrman-nt ijtccatirein the existin g arlkirs of Cisrsisra . A general Secretary is all that si-ms i ^ aLtid . Tie salaries ol tile rest might b :- EiTeii and the njonry applied to more needful purposes . Th-j bu ^ Isess of the Secretary should be to condnct the correEi-on ^ . erce cf the A ; sociat or :, jnd for this pnrposehe should have a rixrd residence in some central place , to draw tip addresses and to give a qnirUriy , half yearly , or annual report of the progress cf the cause . A yearly ecaftrsnes inight b ^ hel d in lendon , attended by delegates from all the localities . If these bints meet the approval of our brother Chartists , I trnsi they is-iil act npzn them , and I remain , TgutEj in tfce rood csnre , A ilEMBES OF THE XaTIONaL CUAP . TZR AS ? OCIJ . TK >>\ London , >" ov . 2 S , 1 ? 42 .
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THE EXECTJIIVE BALANCE SHEET . TO TILS EDITOB . OP THE > OatlIES .. N STAR . Sis , —Torn Editorial commiriu , -in lasi Saturday ' s Skw , abound with unsaj > portcd aljt ^ otions ag ? in . « t the ExecutiTe , and contain taeh evident misconceptions , inaccuracies , an ! perversions , that I should deem myself criminal -were I eoi to attcinpt a reply . May I ask , -why was my explicatory letter thrown into an obsinte corser of year piper , while the Hull Councillors' correspondence with ^ Ir . Campbell was pompously paraded on the front page , knowing , as 1 do , that you received mine- by the same pest that con-Teyed their comn . anication ? Was there no design in \ bii 3 * ~
Possibly , too , Mr . Editor , ypu isay S ; : Ci it inconvenient to couch your strictures on our conduct in no leas " courtesy ef expression and kixd ' y in icr . e" than such Tery polite terms as " robbery , ' - ' embizz ' enient , " " fraud , " is . 4 c . Whatever our sensitiveness m 3 y inflicate of being " tiin-Bkinned , "" sncii : » tone and phraseology cerViinly " tptai Tolnmts - jot the schc-ol in ¦ w hich the writer iec-= i ^ ed tis education : Bat to your remarks on my Otrn csjs . " Ten are " Bony" my explanation Ls sosatisfacrory ; ani first you quarrel with my receipt of wages ¦ while in the West / of EnylanJ . Y :. u are surprised I should find " Bath , Bristol , Cheltenham , and Wiltskire" classed among the new districts . You seem willing to forget the reissn of my coins thither . It is tras they are not new
districts—I never stated they were . The plan cf onunization does not limit cur receiving wages to breaking tip new districts , but exu = nas the right tn as while tuiployed as the Association day think . best—the Association havisc lodced in ns the power of executing its will- An application being made- for my services in that district , and the Executive eomp ' ying with that request , and finding the West of England ia a diiorganizsd st-te , and division rampant in many localit .-s , they jast ' y deerr . ed thst compliance in strict conformity with the powers given tbem by the plan of orgasiz-ition-And , so fir from my thinking it a ^ r-na in my brother CJiarthts of the West to ac : er > t my L » buurs on
those terras , I deem them highly Isuaable for evincing eo Eterc a ( -etenninatiori t-o upboln ihe a ^ itadon in the teeth of defvetian , oppjsiticn . d : Tii : o " n ai . d p « sEC 3 * Ion . Bnt I ask for wiust purr ose d oes * b . A ssoi-bt' on cxbt , if it is not to ttrencthen the we- ' . k , reviv- ? ihe croopi : ic , inspire tke languid , irflime the torpid , ard trc : urase the few braTe and noble spirits strnai'ilm ; amift vicissitude to perseversaca and C ' "qn « : ? This ~* ± s our course , snd one ¦ which , h-j ^^ Tcr s ; sie ir . 3 T rr . Til . . wi ' . l recomiEcnJ itself to the inf-U ^ em - ^ td the -sriEe . And I cannot leave this sn j ; rct - ^ itli-. 'St ¦ "« ti :.-nii : g my heartfelt Eratitnde to the * ' men of the west" for the courage , esersy , prudence , and rirmDcss with which they ever tupwjrtea and cheered rce on . the
Your Text objection nr ^ ed ajnicst rtcsiving sum in travelling by Lcughboro' to Bti ^ to " : to afte-nd my efflicted partner is so absurdly preposterous , thnt 1 could scarcely credit cy eyes in r « icinj it- ' Y-. u cannot for the life of you r . isrovrr cot I h-ive iny rigbt more tr . ar other man to ctar ^ e cp-. a the country the exp-ecce of snch a jonrnty . " iiJ-3 this journey K- r solely for xkjiZ purpose , and nrt on : uy wsy back to ^ Bristol , your objection woula hive h * u t . me force , as it is , and as I tras on my way back - . hither , and tht txptnee was incurred on that utcrni . t , your o j-ction . s utterly void t . f point—the extra sura over my former journey from Bristol to JUanch' ^ t- _ r w ^ s tbe point o . whi ch < xplsnaticn wss solicited . I g ± Tt it . / aj s . i you have not even attemyttii to show its n ' . nconforiii ' sy with vhs plan of organ- ' z-. tion .
Your text parasraph is 3 -floundering odb—it is palpably and grossly cou - ^ sry to fact . Jly Srs : journey from Bristol U ; Manch = 3 tti was t . ol to tbe Minehesu ^ r Conference as ; ou " believe , " tat to the 3 rtt sitting cf tbe newly-eU-cte > i E sedative ii » Ja " : y , tte Cv ,-nferct ; Cc being hel ' a in August . My seconu journey ic-. 'i to that Conferesce , at wb : ch I" , appeared '' is a ra-. rjiber of the Executive , and as a rcprtstntstive of Brlit » l , Gloucester , and Cheltenham , beii- £ eliCte-1 at those places , its beitg known that 1 vas g <> ir . g there , in ray capacity as a member cf the Executive . 1 did > 0 T state there that 1 repres = r . t ^ vi 2 li 0 , 000 Cnartists , bii : U- ^ t 1 rt-pnesected towns cp . nt-sir . inj Btsrly tUat popul-ti : n . Wiih regard to the plea of my being a fugitive , acd that bsing " no plea ai " ill , " pnbaoly you ' win allow the country to judge whether barbed , husfed , and pursued , as 1 was , I ti < l a right to claim expencej while I was engaged in evading tbe lynx-ejed " ^ emissaries of despotisin , and in & feeble state of ieilth t what of the of
Again , let me ask , in part plan organisation de we find it stated the Executive should be " a f ^ txd boJjr in a f ^ ed puce- " I preEnme this is but cce of yoar own assarnptions for the ; purpose of fastening s stigma npen ilr . Cauipbell for his removal to London . If it m so , why not have shownit , prior to the last election , so as to have secared ihe jetnrn of five Manchester nraa , or prepared the people for our removal to that town by i ' -sciosing yonr present extraordinary iliKOTery ! I know , that the question -was mooted at tke pl » n of organisation meeting , but it was left out of the plan to fee settled by tie discretion of lue future Exe * uuYe who mi ^ hi hold cfice . I h 3 Ve now token probab-y my last nctice of your lemaris , howtTer gross and false you may make them I toav « the issue to the Cnartist body thrcnghont the eountry . 1 abide by what 1 have done , and by what th « Executive , as a boiy , have 'done in these matters . Honourable and just as I believe my coadjutors to tw , irith tte Ccailerin my ha _ d , Ji . i by tte-r m-Jc 1 w : ii stand or fall . Le ^ de , > - qt . , lti-:. J : K . E . Baisstow .
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? Certainly i-ot . We knew no Eyre than Mr . Bair-Stow where eitb .= * of thera " -would be till yre saw ihe paper in print . - f Wbonlyfeope thai justice will fe ? dene i-y ailow : rg lite c ^ -ims to tttrj Biii ; und-r 1 ks cutEui ^ taE : ^ . — Bd . HJS .
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RECEIPTS OF THE EXECUTIVE FOR THE WEEK ENDING SOY . 29 th , 1842 . London—Clockhouse 0 5 0 „ Richmond 0 5 0 Lerr- ^ s 0 3 0 6 . ar ofi : e — 2 12 01 £ 3 5 Oh
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THE EXECUTIVE A >* D THEIR DEFENCE
EL « ErprHrTiE -we give the document named m our last , and vrhieh ¦ would have been then given had we received it in time . We commend ic not merely to the Teaciras but to tbe careful consideration of the people . Nothing could be further from our principles , or from oar purpose , than to deprive any man or men accused of anything of the full opportunity of making defence . We have accused the Executive of various mal-pracrice 3 ; of misappropriating the hard-earned funds con-muted to their care of disregarding , in their official practice ^ their own avowed principles ; of determinedly and wilfully violating the rviles of that organization whic ' a it is their one duty to enforce and carry out ; and of
attempting td set themselves above law , and , in the name of democracy , become pure despots . We proved all these grave and serious matters out of their own mouth 3 . We offered rso hearsay evidence ; rj 3 hired tesriiaony j vre submitted no interested witnesses to the credence of the public : we rested the whole case against them on the comparison of their own published accoants -with the plain printed words of those rules which they are appointed for the sole purpose of enforcing . It is the duty of the people new to read this defence of the Executive ; to read along with it the " grave charges" to which it makes reference ; to compare both with the rules of the organization , and to say whether or not the " charges" be answered .
As an individual portion of the people , we have a right to an opiuion ; we shall give that opinion , and the reasons upon which we hold it ; and the people will attach to them as much or as little value as they like . We have seldom known a document more difficult to comment on than this defence of the Executive by Messrs . Leach and Campbell ; for the simple reason , that there is nothing at all in it . The greater poriien of the " lonxr yarn" is made up of personal abuse of Mr . Hill about the "
denunciation" of Mr . PiiiLr and the insertion of the "Executive Sop" resolution . Now supposing every thing which Messrs . Leach and Campbell may be disposed to say upon these subjeots to be true as gospel ; suppose that Mr . Philp had really been ill-treated by Air . Hill ; suppose that Mr . Hill had never receivf d the " Executive Sop " resolution from Merthjr Tydvil at all ; suppose he bad manufactured that resolution for the purpose ; wha ; then ! How does it affect the question ? If wa should make Messrs . Leach and Campbell a ,
present oj ail that their ntmost noisiness can ask in reference to the Philp and " Sop" matters , does that meet any one of the present " charges " against them I Docs it prove that they have not for a long time back been pajing to one of their body ten shillings weekly out of public money without the authority of any public vote : that they have ¦ ot continued to do thi 3 in spite of both private and public remonstrances , and of their own pledges to the contrary 1 Does all that can be said about Pjiii p ai . d the ' Sop" afford any reason why this transaction should be " hailed by the whole country with delight , " a 3 Mr . Campbell say 3 he expected it would have been 1 Does all that can
be said about Philp and the " Sop" exonerate the Executive from tba " charge" of disregarding , in the ma ' . iers appertaining to their own office , all tha principles of Chartism ! Does all that can be said about Philp and the " Sop" prore that the Executive h » ve not wilfully set aside in the r own transactions tha organization which they are appointed to enforce ? These are the matters and things to which the Executive should have addressed themselves in their defence ; and if all the abuse they can possibly heap upon Mr . Hill about Philp and the *• Sop'' cannot answer any one of these questions , the fair inference ia that it is re ? ori-ed to for the mere purpose of diverting the c . tenv . on of the reader from the matters really at
issue . All that part of the defence which 13 occupied in praising Mr . Leach ' s eloquence a . nd Dr . M * Douaix . ' s pairiotism u alike beside tha mark . The question a : issue is not whether Leach be an able debater on the Com Law question ; the question is not whether M'Docall have b ? en an active and energetic Charzhi , or whether b . 3 may or may not , at some time , have given his H ? t shilling between two poor weavers . TI 13 q-i 3 suon is . whether the Executive did or did not , without axt due AcrHORrrr , dip their
hauls into the bag containing the hard-earned pence of poor weavers , and take out thence ten shillings weekly for rniuy months . And thi 3 question is not at all affected by anythiag which may be said about Dr . M'Doitall ' s patriotism , or about his generosity , or about the improbability of either his or Leach ' s accepiance of a " sop . " Though whole piges should be occupied with declamation about ths ~ -i and like matters , it renders the fact os appropriatiu ^ the funds of the Asf ociatioa without a vo : e of the Association , not a jot tha less unprincipled and unwarrantable .
In like manner all their personal abuse of Mr . Hill , all their laudations of each other and themselves , and all their talk about Philp and the " sop , " affords no explanation of the many matters so much and seriously requiring it . It doe 3 not all show why ; he enormous sums charged for " travelling" and " a ^ ititing" expences should be charged to the country at all , or what rule of the organization justifies them . We thought our observations on these items could not be misunderstood ; but where people ¦ w ish : o misrepresent , it is easy to affect a misunderstanding . We are spoken of as though we had positively stated these items to be fraudulently
charged , vv e have done no such thing : we merely a « ked for information respecting them . All we say , or have said , is that , on the face of the balance sheet , they ought to have appeared so plainly as to showibr themselves that they were not fraudulently charged . This was not the case . There was no information given to the country as to the business by which they were incurred , so as to enable the people t-o see that they were charged according to rule . We said that this information onght to have been given ; that the absence of it left themi floating in a
mist of uncertainty and vagueness , which , until it I was removed , might warranty the suspicion that ; there -was something unfair about them . If the ; Executive knew them to be all right , and if their : accounts had not been so kept as to prove their Secretary to be utterly nnfit for his place , it was in : their power to have so explained every one of them as to remove all the liability to doubt which ought never to have existed . Instead of thus explain' injr , they ** spin a long yam" about Mr . Hill ' s mirchief-lovin g propensities , their own eloquence atd patriotism , and various other matters totally jrr ; jcV 2 ni . Another portion of the Defenoe is a laborious reply to an olj ciljn tLat has never beeu started , about ihe Secretary ' s salary . We never for an instant : dcuied ; bat the Seorciary is a permanent officer , aud : thvuM h * te cswjbj wa ^ es . Wa think him wjll i
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entitled to his wages , and are quite sure that there is enough of work for him at all times if he were able and disposed to do it . But we do think that his own published accounts , and the state of the society generally , of which he is the chief officer , afford sufficient evidence that he is utterly unfit for that office , because utterly incompetent to discharge its duties . This is our opinion ; we are sorry to be compelled to entertain it ; we hare given onr reasons for it ; and the people will , of coarse , give it as much or as little weight as they like . The only part of this long rambling dociiment which bears at all upon the question , and offers for themselves any defence is the following : — " And now let us tell you a a few facts as to the treatment we have received as an Executive
" The 22 nd rule say « , « When members of the Executive shall be employed as missionaries , their salaries shall be tho same as when employed in the Council ' : coach-hire and one-half of any other incidental expences shall be paid to them in addition by the parties Wbo may require their services' Now we can prove that the above clause has not been adhered to in the localities where we have acted as lecturers . We give the following samples ef it 3 violation : —We went to
Birmingham , afttr many strong invitations , a . d with the understanding that our travelling expences would be paid . On ; hig point , however , we were completely deceived : instead of our tspences being paid , the Local Council came to a vote that they -would net allow us one halfpenny , bnt that we shonld be paid from the general fund , aud after being at considerable expense of coach hire and living at Birmingham , we were indebted to the kindness of a friend for the means te get home again .
" We assembled again in London , and met exactly with the same treatment as in Birmingham , with the exception of the vo ! e : in fact , we were obliged to borrow money from Mr . Cleave to bring us home . We could lay before you scores of such casts if it were necessary , but we think the above quite sufficient" ' This , like all the rest , is sufficiently blunderingly stated . There is no twenty-second rule in tho organization . The eighteeenth rule does pay , nearly , but not exactly what is here quoted . It perhaps might not be too much to expect the President and the Secretary to quote correctly from the rules of the association ; but we will take the quotation as it stands .
The observations following and founded upon this quotation seem to us to contain a tacit admission that the sums charged as " travelling " and " agitating ' expenses , are , some of them at least , improperly charged to the country , instead of to the respective localities , on account of which they were incurred : and the effort is to shift the blame of this irregularity from the Executive to the localities . This is , at best , but a lame effort . It is the duty of the Executive to see that the localities do comply with the rules of the organization ; that is the single one duty for which they were appointed—the single one duty of which , as it seems to us , they have never attempted the
performance . Had they carefully regulated their own acts by the rules of the association ; and had they rigorously insisted upon a compliance with those rules by all its officers and members , we cannot think that they would have found much difficulty in obtaining that compliance from particular parties , under such circumstances as they state in reference to Birmingham and London . Giving , then , all credit to their statements of the treatment they received from all these places , they do not , on their own showing , justify themselves . There can be no doubt that if they had appealed agdinbt ill-treatment to the body by whom they were appointed ,
that body , if it could not even have redressed , would , at all events have prevented the recurrence of such things . If the Executive went to Birmingham as missionaries , at the invitation of the Birmingham people , their travelling charges , their salaries , and one half of their incidental expences ought , by the plain rule of the Organization , to have been paid by the Birmingham members , so long as they were so employed . And if the Birmingham councillors refused to comply with the organization , it was their duty to have then and there appealed to the Birmingham members ; to have shown them the plain bearing of the rale , the necessity of its being complied with , and the
injustice that would be inflicted on their mHch poorer brethren in many other parts , if those expenses , which of right appertained to that locality , should be charged to the genera ] fund- This is what the Executive ought to have done , if their statement be correct . If they had done so there can be no doubt that the whole matter would hava been set right . The whole question , however , of the liability of Birmingham hinges on the point of whether they went there as missionaries ^ and at Iheregiiest of the Birmingham people . If they did there can be no doubt that Birmingham ought to have paid , and ought yet to pay , those expences . If they did not ; if they merely
went to Birmingham because it suited their own pleasure and convenience to remove their sittings there , they ought then to pay their travelling and other extra charges out of their own pockets . The country has decided by the resolution of a National Delegate Meeting that the Executive shall sit in Manchester ; no power but that of another National Delegate Meeting , or a general rote of all the members of the Association , can alter that decision . It is quite clear , therefore , that if the Executive chose to move from Manohester to Birmiugham , not as Missionaries , but as an Executive to hold a session , they had no right to charge
the country with the expence . If , however , they went there at the request of Birmingham , if they had been solicited to go and agitate in and around Birmingham , because there was a prospect of doing good to the causp , and if , in consequence of such solicitation , they went there to hold a portion of their session , sitting as a commktee during the day , and labouring as agitators in the evening , which we rather think to have been the case , it then appears plain that their salaries might be charged to the general fund , but that their travelling and all extra expences ought to have been defrayed by Birmingham . And any
refusal on the part of Birmingham to do this , was a gross violation , not only of the terms of the organisition , but of the principles of equity and justioe . The same remarks will , of course , apply to London , and every other place in which the Executive have been treated as they say they have in these twoj We are informed by Mr . Bairstow that the localities in and around Manchester never defray any expences incurred by members of the Executive in lecturiug , and that , consequently , all these expenses aro of necessity charged to the country under the head agitating expenses . All we can say is , that , if this
be so , it is shameful ; it is a gross fraud upon every other part of the association . Our observations last week , in reference to Mr . Bairstow ' s lecturing in tbe West of England , are equally applicable here ; we think it a shame that North Lancashire , Leicestershire , Nottinghamshire and other poor districts which pay their own local lecturers , should also pay lecturers for such places as Manchester , Birmingham , London , Bristol , &c . Ic is clearly unreasonable to suppose that the Executive can defray out of their salaries travelling or 0 ther expenses incurred in lecturing .
If , therefore , these be not paid by the localities , and if their services be still required as lecturers , we see not what else they can do but charge to the general fund , though clearly unwarranted by the organization . If this be the true statement of the case , it is clearly in the power , and it is as clearly the duty , of the Association to remedy the grievance for themselves . All the members , and all the general councillors , either know the rules or ought to know them . Let them see that they adhere to them themselves , that the Executive may have no excuse for deviation . If no attention is to be paid by any body to the organization , it may as vrell be givea up at once ; there is no r . se in merely tantalising ourselves and the country with it . , ' ,
W hile , however , we enforce upon the members and General Councilors especially , their share of attention to the r < . q JTeme-nts of the organization , we uo not forget ti \ at the one tingle duly of the Executive , the sole tiiiug for which they are appointed , is tr , attend ij ilt \> very hiizmcts . Their great fault s ? ems to us to be , that they have been always labouring af : cr us .-iuhitES . as lecturers aud agitator :., instead of attending to tho simple duties of
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their office ; the consequence of which is , that while by them and others , our principles have been widely extended throughout the whole country , our Association is , in fact , no association at all , but a huge mass of crude , shapeless elements , without form or comeliness . There is no regular correspondence , and due understanding kept up amongs t us , there is no sameness of system and adherence to rule , and consequently no power , which there certainly ought to be , of bending and directing the whole energies of the whole people towards any given point at ; any given time . This is to be effected by organization , and only by organization . All the agitation in the
world will never do it . The organization of the National Charter Association , worked by an efficient Executive—aye , even by a Secretary alone , of clever and business-like habits , and who would mind his own work , and keep to it , might in a few weeks , with the co-operation of the people , be made so perfect , as that that Secretary might at any time , in two or three posts , have the opinion , upon any given question , of every member of the Association . But he must be a Secretary of a very different caste from the one we now have ; he must be a man who knows the organisation , and is able to instruct others in its management .
We hope the people will take the whole matter into consideration . It is high time . Nothing is so vital to the movement as a due attention to organisation . It is clear that the persons now composing the Execative lack either the disposition or the peouliar kind of talent for attending to it . Their forte is agitation . As agitators they , aro energetic and useful . ; There may be enougfi of occupation found for them in the sphere which is most suited to them . It is more reasonable and more right for each distinctive locality to pay its own lecturer than for us to have a body of men under the name
of an Executive , who are , in faot , merely lecturers occupying the best and most cultivated grounds of Chartism at the expence of the poorest and least cultivated . We suggest , therefore , that in future the Executive consist of a Secretary and four unpaid members resident in London , Birmingham , Nottingham , Leeds , or any other place on which the people may determine . We are decidedly of opinion that an efficient Secretary is the only paid officer needed in our movement , and that with such a functionary—an tjbeieni man ^ -having the advice and assistance in the concoction of documents , Ico . of a Committee chosen from the
General Councillors in his own locality , the orgazizition may be well worked without any recurrence of the evils which have originated the present very painful , but we hope very useful and profitable discussion . This is the course adopted by our Scottish friends , who beat us hollow at sober , clearheaded arrangement . Our readers will perceive that it is recommended to them by a communication in- ' this " day's paper . That communication is . from a tried and valuable friend to the cause . One who has seen much and suffered muoh in it ; and whose opinion desesves the best attention of the people . ¦ ' it ¦ .
Our readers will see also a communication from Mr . Beeslet recommending the appointment of a Committee to inquire whether the present Executive have violated tho organization or not . That , of course , is a proposal for the people to consider . To us it seems a farce i the more especially as the Executive have already admitted that the organization has been violated , by refusing to defend their own acts and meeting the charges against them with mere bluster and blash .
To our mind it 13 of much more consequence to prevent these things in future than to trouble ourselves about ihe past .: That which is past cannot be recalled ; but the people may make past errors a beacon for the future . We recommend therefore that the whole matter be taken up by all the localities , at once ; th&t the members and councillors meet togther and deliberate upou the subject ; that they , endeavour to keep in mind the whole question and to keep out of mind everything but the question—the duties of the Executive and the manner in whioh they have bsen porformed ; that they lay the balance sheet—not the last merely , but the last three
balance sheets and the organization both before them , and examine thorn together ; that they read in . connection therewith , the letters , of the Hull Councillors to the Executive—the . articles in thb Northern Star of this and the last two weeks , and especially all that the Executive , have said for themselves in explanation and defence ; that they weigh all these carefully and dispassionately , using their j own clear sense of right and wrong , and their I'own appreciation of prinoiple ; not suffering themselves to be led or biassed , either by us or by the Executive , but judging fairly from the evidence which lies before them , and recording their opinions in firm , clear , and temperate language .
The matter is one fraught with as much importance as any that has occupied the public mind for along time . We ask not , therefore , that the people should tako us for a guide ; but that they should divest themselves of prejudice , and view the whole subject in the clear light of common sense and Chartist principle . We warn them that the consequences of mistake may not be easily rectified or averted . Since writing the above , we observe in the Evening Star of Wednesday evening , which we have just received , a portion of a letter , in ref ' erenco to the subject , from M'Douall . It seems to ha . ve beeu written for the Northern Star ; but , for what reason we know not , it has not been sent to us . A part only of the letter is given in the Evening
Star , with a promise for its continuance this ( Thursday ) evening . Of course we can neither give it nor reply to it , until we have seen the whole ; and before the arrival of the Evening Star with the latter portion of it , our paper will have been at press some sixteen hours . We may just observe , iu reference to the poniou which has appeared ,: that its tone is of an altogether different character from that of the blundering bluster of Messrs . Leach and Campbell . For the present , we content ourselves with giving , from the port' . on which has been published , the following acknowledgment of the accuracy and justice of all that we have Baid about the ten shillings a-week business : — " You say that was contrary to rule . So it waa . "
, This is all that we have said about the matter . Far tho parallel case , by us given week before last , and out of which so much bluster about " robbery , " and "' fraud , " and " transportation" has arisen , the Doctor and his colleagues may thank , not us , but their Secretary , Mr . Campbell , who forced us to show him that his expectation of the whole country "oing into fits of " delight" about it , was a little absurd . We suppose this admission of the Doctor's , and the admission of Mr . Leack before the South Lancashire Delegate Meeting , that he could not defend that act of the Executive , together with the assertion of Mr . Baikstovt , made in our hearing , that he knew nothing of it , and was astounded when he saw it in the Balance Sheet , will settle all the
bluster about ' ' Our having been actuated by some private malice or some petty revenge in the " denunciation" of it ; and will show pretty satisfactorily , that we have only done that which it was our duty to do ; and which if we had not done , we should have deserved to be denounced . We dismiss this matter with the observation that we think it a little odd that the " sense of justice" about which the Dr . writes very well , did did not prompt him to send this letter at once to us . Meantime wo may observe that we see nothing in it to shake , but much to strengthen , every position we have -taken ; and many strong arguments for the recommendation we have abovegiven to the people , in reference to the future settlement of the Executive .
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THE AP ^ fii ^ Np CONFERENCE . ' U ^^ HpI ELECTIONS . - Al ^^ HPrHB S TDRGE PARTY . SOLUTli ^ BF&F THE MYSTERY WHY '¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ . chWtists" Wish to " get rid
OF FJARGUS . " ' -. * The 27 th of December will soon be here ! On that day the Conference of Delegates , appointed by the people in open public meetings , in their respectivefccalities , conformably to a request issued by Mr . Joseph Sturgk , of Birmingham , on behalf of the General Council of the Complete Suffrage Association , will meet to prepare a Bill to be propesed to Parliament , to secure the real representation of the whole people . Several of the localities have elected their delegates ; others are preparing to do so ; and circumstances so combine , as to make this meeting one of the most important ever convened , or holden , in connection with that Movement , which has had , and has , for its first object the assertion of the principle of universal right .
The struggles connected with that Movement have been long and arduous ! The conflicts have been many and severe ! The persecuting hand of power has been laid on with heavy effect upon the advocates of , and firm adherents to , the cause of Usitebsal Suffrage . From the first hourof the proposal of that measure by Henry Htr . vr , as the only likely means to secure & Radical Reform of the Commons House of Parliament , up to the present moment , there has been a continued -effort on the pare of Government to put the agitation down ; an / d a continued resistance on the part of the working
people against the persecuting acts of the Government . In this resistance the working people have been " alone in their glory . " They have not had the co-operation , or even the countenance , of any of the classes above them in point of station . Nay , ; those classes , one and all , have been arrayed against them . Each one , and all , have accused them of the moat villainous . '' designs upon the property of the country . " " -Each- one , and all , have harked on the Government to " silence the grumbling rascals , " whose * ' only aim was to . uproot the foundations of society , and produce anarchy and confusion , so that they might have the chance of possessing themselves of the wealth of their neighbours through a general
scramble . " Each one , and all , have joined in Volunteer Associations to aid the Government in putting down the " ragged rascals , " who wished to "destroy our glorious Constiution , by inciting the people to revolt , and by spreading disaffection and sedition amongst the labouring poor . " Yoomanry corps have been embodied and used , with terrifio effect , to accomplish this purpose . The dungeon , the halter , and the block , have also been used . Imprisonments , and hangings , and beheadings , have been rosortedto , to put down the , demand for such a Radical Reform as would restorb to each male adult in the kingdom that share in the representation of the country which . Blackstone says the Constitution awards him !
And yet all these means have failed ! The demand for Universal Sufprage , and the conviction that it alone can give us a Parliament that will or can , honestly apply itself to ascertain the causes of our numerous social and political evils , with a view to the application , of a simple , yet efficient , remedy , ia stronger and more generally entertained than ever ! ;• The Conference to be holden in Birmingham
on the 27 th instant , is ostensibly called to give effect to that increased demand and growing conviction . It is ostensibly called to prepare a Bill to be proposed to Parliament , to enact that Universal Suffrage in the choice of members to the Commons ' House shall become law . This is the ostensible object of the promoters of that convocation of De * - legates . And the people in answering the call made upon them to elect Delegates , are taking the neces Ba . y steps to realize that ostensible object . . ; -
They are electing in all parts , men who have been long known to them by their stedfast and firm adherence to the principle of ¦ ¦ ' . Unitebsaj . Suffrage ; men who have borne the heat and the burden of the day hi the advancement of that principle ; men who have proved their devotion to it , by braving imprisonments , and enduring persecution in its infinity of shapes . The people are taking the only means that exist to secure the end the originators of this conference say they have in view , by sending to it men whose whole "life and character is a auatantee that there
will be no flinching from principle ; no deviation from the one right straight-forward course ; no temporizing ; no coquetting ; no compromises ; no bargaining ; no sellins . The people are taking this , the only course that men honestly fixed upon the attainment of their object could possibly take ; and yet , the evincement of their determination to secure the ostensible ends of the promoters of that Conference , has caused ALARM and dissatisfaction amongst those same promoters !! They openly confess their surprise and disappointment at this answer to their appeal ! ;
Now , why iB this 1 What cause ia thero for ALARM ! What reason for either dissatisfaction , or surprised Why should the concoctors of that conference be disappointed ? They profess to bo admirers and advocates of the principle of Universal Suffrage . To promote the legislative adoption of that principle , they call upon the people to elect a number of delegates to embody that principle into a document , called a Bill , to be laid before Parliament . The people respond to that call , by electing men to sit in the Conference Chamber whose past conduct proves them to be worthy of the people ' s confidence , inasmuch as it is a guarantee that they will honestly
apply themselves to the business for which they are called together ; and yet surprise , and dissatisfaction , and ALARM is manifested by those who have issued the invitation to the people to confer together ! Again , we ask , why is this I . ¦ It is the result of the Birmingham election that has principally caused this ALARM ! The . Birmingham people , having been called together in puhlio meeting , choose Mr . O'Connor , Mr . George White , and two other well-known Chartist 3 , along with two members of the Christian Chartist Church , to represent them in the coming Conference ; It is th'is . result with . which the callers of that Conference are dissatisfied . ¦ ¦ ¦ _ ¦ ' :
Our readers know the history of the Sturge movement . They know that that movement wasnot . determined on till every other effort to cajole the people from the advocacy of Universal Supfrage had-failed ! They know that scheme after scheme * was planned and developed for accomplishing this " purpose . They know that they were denounced aa "impracticable , " because they did not join in with the Anti-Corn-Law party , in endeavouring to procure a " practicable" measure , the repeal of the Corn-Laws . They know that the dodge of "Extension of the Suffrage" was also tried ; and they cannot have
forgotten the Fox and Goose Club scheme at Leeds , which was to amuse the people with Household , . Suffrage , while the foxes " got rid , " as Dan said " of Feargas . " They know that the Sturge movement for Complete Suffrage was never heard of ' till it was plainly apparent that the Anti-Corn-Law party cculd not possibly obtain the public ear ; cauld not get the public to listen even ; to their nostrum for relieving the conntry fr , om the dire distress and suffering it endured . The people know that it was not ' til \ matters has assumed this shape ' ;
it was not ' till tb ' e advocates of " cheap - . food "* and " low wages ' were literally driven from off the public stage ; it was not ' till the working people had evinced an unconquerable determination not to relax in their efforts to obtain . Universal Suffrage , . as i means of securing the end of good aud housst government : the people know that it was not ' cill the agitation for the Charter , kad buperceJed ail o-thtr agitations , and frustrated the designs of the Fret-trade Poor-Law-euforcing party to make their question -he question of the day , ; the . peoplefeuoW
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that it was not til . political agitation bore this aspect , that the Sturge movement was even heard of ! They know also , that the ma : a movers in that movement , ¦ were , and are , Corn-Law Repealers , and supporters of the horrible New Poor Law in all its atrocity ! The Sturge movement , however , at the juncture just-described , was made . It protesaed to ; have for ijts object the enfranchisement of the people . Its promoters advocatod what they were pleased to call Complete Suffrage ; defining their u completeness " ta bo just that which every body understood by the -Urm Universal . They formed themselves into a Sew political Association , and asked the people to join them in it . They adopted , the Nonconformist newspaper as their organ of communication with the public ; and it is with the lament of that organ as to the result of the Birmigham election , that we now purpose to deal .
We have already detailed the result of the election just named . We have already stated that the people . of Birmingham chose Mr . O'Connor and Mn White , and two other backbone Chartists to sit as 'their representatives in the coming Conference , along with two of Mr . Sturge ' s friends . It may be well to remark too , that the public meeting which made this choice , was called by Mr . Stuuge ' s own party ; and that that gentleman presided on the occasion . Respecting the election thus made the Xoncoif fbrmist of November 23 rdj has the following remarks : —
V The result of the election of delegates for Birmiiigbam to the ensuing conference , recorded in our columns last week * took us , we honestly confess , somewhat by surprise . Wa cannot but admit that , every deduction having been made en the score of the comparative smallness of the meeting , occasioned by the arbitrary conduct of the Town Hull authorities , and of local irritation , excited by a ffincied slight , put upon an active Chartist agitator by Mr . Sturge ami the Coancil—the rejection of fonr out of six names uomitinted by the Council of the Union , and the substitution in their room of avowed foes to the Complete Suffrage Movement , wears an ugly ' appearance . We cannot conceal from ourselves , no * shall we attempt to
conceal from out readers , that the s&me game may bo played in many other places . We know the advantages possessed by an unscrupulous and organised minority over undisciplined numbers , however superior ia point of real force . We are quite alive to the danger , which , probably , none have foreseeu more clearly thau Mr . Feargus O'Connor and his staff of agitators , of scaring , by means of successful insolence , back into inaction , if not into opposition , all those of the middle class who have but recently given in a timid adherence to the great principle advocated by the Union . Wo foresee that , here and there , men who would haV' 3 done battle for the unenfranchised , will not do battla
with them ; and that many a heart which would havu been content to strive on behalf of just principles , will decline to take any part in a conflict , the issue of which turns only upon persons . Should , therefore , the main object of the Birmingham Conference be defeated , although we cannot say -we expect such a result , we shall not , after -what has already occurred , be overw helmed with astonishment . Such a calamity need , not be , ought not he , will not be , if the avowed friends yt Complete Suffrage are active , prudent , and firm ; tut , lookirg to all the bearings of the case , it would -be childish to blink the conclusion that such a calamity maybe . "
The surprise of the Sturge party , at the result of the Birmingham election is here openly avowed . Now , for the life of us we cannot see , what there i 3 to be " surprised" at , if the callers of the coming Conference expected or required its sittings to ba attended by men whose firm adherence to the priuciple of Universal Suffrage conferred upon them peculiar fitness for the task of embodying that principle in a Bill , and surrounding it with proper details to ensure its due and honest working . The men who were so chosen ; at least the four who we assume have caused the u surprise" here trumpeted
forth , are known as long-tried and earnest advocates of the main principle the Sturoe party profesa to have at heart ; and yet they are ** surprised " that the people of Birmingham , who know what their services have been ; who know the devotion they have evinced ; who have been witnesses of the efforts they have made : they are " surprised" that the people of Birmingham , who know all this , should prefer such men to men whoso profession even of the principle of Universal Suffrage is but of yesterday ' s date ! Really this expression of " surprise" under such circumstances , is very " surprising" I ! ; ¦; . - . ' .:
The writer adduces several reasons to account , in part , for the " ugly " result he deplores . One Of them is "local irritation , excited by a , fancied slight put upon an active Chartist agitator by Mr . Sturqb and the Complete Suffrage Council . " This refers , we opine , to the famous " NO" of Mr . Sturge and hia compeers to the application for assistance towards the . defence of the persecuted and imprisoned Georga White . We know not to what extent "local irritation" may have been excited by that " slight" ; but we do know , that if the remembrance of that " NO " influenced the people of Birmingham in their answer of "NO "to four of Mr , Sturge ' s nominees , and in the return of White himself , under Sturge ' s nose , the action reflects upon them the highest honour and credit ! It is honourable alike to the head and the heart . White is a man
who has served them faithfully and earnestly . According to the Nonconformist himself , he is " an active Chartist leader . " His services have been deemed worthy of governmental attention . Twice has he been laid by tho heels ; and his zeal and devotion have only become the more plainly apparent . When he was under bonds ; when he was immured in one of the cells of Warwick Gaol ; when he enduring the full weight of Tory persecution ; when he was awaiting his " trial , " where he would be enabled , the pecuniary means being forthcoming , to expose in all its hideous deformity , the system of espionage and spyitni resorted to by the authorities to entrap poor simple-minded men ; wken hi 3 poor but faithful friends were trying to raise
those nficossary pecuniary means , application was made to Mr . Joseph Sturge . To whom could application have been more proper ? Mr . Sturge bears the character of a philanthropist . Philanthuophy would aid any man , under such circumstances . But the applicants had a right to calculate on-political sympathy . Mr . White was a Chartist ; fn other words an " active" advocate of tho principles of Umversal Suffrage . Mr . Sturoe professed to be the same . To him , therefore , and to his friends , was the application most properly made . A plain , simple , unqualified "NO , " was the answer . ! If this " slight" did cause "local irritation , " and dictated the" NO" of the Birmingham people , it does them infinite honour !
: We know the advantages possessed by an unscrupulous and organised minority over undisciplined numbers , however SUPERIOR in point of real force . " Thus writes tho NoiicohformUt ! What does it mean ? Does it mean that , an ' unscrupulous minority" elected the Birmingham Delegates in the face of an " undisciplined majority V If it doe 3 not mean this , pray what does it mean ? If it does mean this , the advantages possessed by such "minority'' over such " majority " were great indeed ! But what was Mr . Stuege about , to let the *' minority" enjoy such an advantage as to have the election to themselves I Did ho . really decide in favour of the " minority ?" . If he did , his character for uprightness is not w <" , rtk much !
It is amuzing to notice what n 0 n 3 er . se an angry defeated man will sometimes 'talk to take the edge off his defeat , and soften his i ' x \ l . Tha sentence just quoted is a sample in pjjnt . The pets of the Nonconformist were put on orMe side ; and other , and , in the opinion of the Birmi ' . igham people better ' men .. elected in their stead . Forthwith the Nonconformist talks about " -anscr upuJous and organized minorities" triumphing o ? cr " undisciplined majorities ! " Nay , in hia angr r and . blindness , he avers * that . such minority wil ) alwajs hare an ad ' vantage "over undisciplined numbers , HO WEVER bUPERIOE in point 0 ? . real force . " What arrant nonsense !
The- ' surprise" occa- iioned by this election leads our friend into som ' 3 other " surprising" statements and admission ? . He avosv 3 that the result of this election , if followed up jn a similar manner throughout thecountvy , may end * in . a . defeat of ' the main object for wiiich the Conference is called ! " This i 3 a curious admi-sioa . T ! ie ' Conference ' h avowe'lly called to prepare a bill , embodying the principles of Uiiiver .-al Suffrage .: The election of delegates pledged to maintain Universal Suffrage to tho law gasp , may end in th < 3 -dct ' eai of that
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TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN STAR . Sir , —In our orgasizition yon will find it is stated that the General Tresaurer shall be elected by tbe GcnerV . CousiilloiB . This has not been done yet , but at tbe next nomination for Executive Committee , I am det ermined , should health permit , and I am free from fjc' . ioa ' o dungeons , tha ' e I will place a person in nomination for ibat effice . I mention this , eo that it be not lost sight of in your strictures on the organization . ^ E . S .
Extraordinary Increase In Potatoes.—Mr. R, Kidd, Of Briery Close, Near .-Amblesi.De,.. Planted Laso
Extraordinary Increase in Potatoes . —Mr . R , Kidd , of Briery Close , near .-Amblesi . ,.. planted laso
Ire X0rthem Star.. Saturday. December 3, 1342.
IRE X 0 RTHEM STAR .. SATURDAY . DECEMBER 3 , 1342 .
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4 - ¦ THIE NORTHERN STAR . !' : •/ .. ¦ •• .,. ¦ . '¦ ; -- . : ' : : "• : . ' ; . ; :-. ¦ ' -
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three potatoes spring m ms &araeu , the euormona increase oi' whicn , when taken out of the ground , may be . judged ironi the fact that the produce weighed eleven stone and a half .
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Dec. 3, 1842, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct915/page/4/
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