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THE NORTHERN STAR. SATUIIPAY,*MARCH 11, 1843.
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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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Ok Mohdat kext , the _ 13 th instant , Mr . "Roberts , Solicitor to tHe Chartists , -will address the people of Maaehester , in the Carpenter ' s Ha ! , at eight o ' clock when he "mil give an account of the proceedings at Lancaster connected-with the Chartist trials . Admission One Penny , to go to the Defence Fond ,
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THE TRIAL . Wj can bnl call attention to the continuation of -oar report of thiB most important proceeding . "We "have given all respecting it "we could proonre np to the latest moment of going io press . It is impossible to particularize remarkable incidents "in conneovion with this trial at present . The state of our columns alone forbids it . There is much , however , to be said upon the whole Batter , both -generally and particularly . To say
this , occasions must be embraced as they present themselves . A ibssoh , jrrvBR-TO-BB-FOBGOTiEir , kxjst be tasks PfiOM it . It is the last proceeding of ike sort that toe must have in connection with the Chartist cause ! "Whatever may be the result of the Jury ' s finding , we must endeavour in future so to conduct our exertions for the attainment of right , as to preclude the possibility of the leaders of the people living again to stand at the bar , to answer Each charges as eircnmsfcsnoes'fcave iMs time enabled the AiroE ^ ET-GsKESiL to frame against them .
This can be donB . This must be done . It ie truly lamentable to see the exertions ; and time , and money , of the poor worMes employed in aid of such purposes , as we sometimes have seen them put to . "We must have no more of It ! The knowledge we have gained by the past will enable us so to direct our efforts in the future , as to produce to "ob manifest proof of -their utility . No more outbreaks ! No more secret plottings 1 Ifo more sixikes 2 No store patting
ourselves between the fangs of the Attorney-Ge neral ! No more indictments J But plenty more of peaceful and firm agitation ! Plenty more of operating on publio opinion I - Plenty more Dfnmlbtg the working people in a strong and firm union to Tesist the onward progress of oppresrioE , -and introduce tiie reign of right . Plenty more of efforts to obtain some portion of tss xam > , to show the world what we can do with political power when we procure it I Plenty more of these things ; lutail within the law f
In the accomplishment of these objects , we can have the direct Pboteciiox o ? ixwt if we choose to avail ourselves of it . The time has come when this tan be , and must be dove . We lire in a world of progression j and the mro that has been evolved by the previous applications of our energies will guide oar steps to a far advanced position .
TEE VERDICT . Fbujat Mobjctkg , 11 o'Clock . —We stop the Press to announce &e RESULT of fteTnaL The Reporter has jnst reached the office , with the news . The Court opened yesterday at nine o ' clock in the morning ; and the Judge immediately commenced bis summing-np . His addrcB 3 to the Jury occupied till four o ' clock in . the afternoon ; and we have the authority of Mr . O'Cojotob -for saying that a more able and impartial summing op never feD . from the lips of a Judge . His Jxtrdship then detailed the evidence as it affected
fine of the defendants ; he stating it as his purpose to take the opinion of the Jury respecting the defendants in batches of five . The Jury hereupon retired ; and after being absent * an hour they returned into court , with a request that his Lordship would detail the evidence as it ap-. plied to xach and aU of the defendants , as they had already taken such notes as would . guide them to a derision . -Their Tegnest -was etHnpUed with i . and after a&iin retiring , and being absent ten mimites ,, ihey returned into -Court , just it seven o ' clock , with the following
TBrdict : — QflJTVTV 05 thb Fifth Cotot ohxy . —Feargua O ' Connor , William HD 1 , george Julian Barney , John -Bsyle , John Norman , William Beafley , 8 anroel Parkas , Thom&a Tfrwifawi , Robsxt Bamsdea , John Azz&n , James Skevington , WIHisia - Aitkin , Sandy CbiSBager , «> d Win- Woodra& , GrUTSJFZ oV'ras ' Fovi . TB xxbTlTTB Counts . — Petsr Murray il'Donall , James Lead , Christopher Doyle , John CsmptiO , Jonathan Baintov , Bernard WCartney , Jamas Arthur , TbomM Cooper , Rol -srt Brooke , James 24 ooney , John Leach , David Morrison , George Ondelet , John Durham , James Fenton , md £ rc 3 erick Anzostss XsTlac
jjfQT CFOTfcTY—J » Scoolefieid , We Scholf field , Drrid Boss , James Csrtledge , { Queen * Evidenr 3 ) James Taylor , Joseph Clarke , John ifcrrsy , Jobn Tlfi ^ ie ? , Thomas Brown Smith , Thomas Fn » -sr , John AUinaon , James Grasby , Jatnra CtappenoalB , Thorn ;? Mahoo , John Lomax , Richard-Pilling , William St > piieosoo , John Crossley , Albsii Woolfenden , Bat art l £ O , Jobn Lewis , Patrick Murphy Brophy , George Johnson , Thomas Storab , Jotn Wilde , and Thomas Pitt .
ThePoraiH Cocsrof the Indictment charges the defendants with ** aiding , assisting , and abetting , divers evU-iisposed persons t who were tumuUuously OisnnbTxng , and by violence , threats , and intimidaikwu . TOBCrso peaceable subjects to leave their employment and occupation . " Thb Fipth Coukt charges for that they did unlawfully endeavour to ** persuade and encourage the said subjects to leave their respective employments , andtojnoduce a cessation of labour , in order to bring about a change in the laws and constitution of the na 2 m . "
All the weightier counts of the Indictment » re thus given to the -winds ; the charges upon which a verdict of Guilty is returned being very minor ones Indeed . "None of the defendants were in Court when the Terdict was returned , Judgment will not be passed till next , term j which will be in May next . In relation to thiB matter we give the following short letter from Mr . CCojotob : —
TO THE IMPEBIAL CHARTISTS . My Bblovbd Fbeskis , —I k » T 8 fought a battle -with my gallant band .: a battle of eight long days We have had feir play in every respect . A Judge who knows the law , and was governed by the law ; making no distinction in its application because the defendants were poor . _ There never was such a Judge—so patient , bo inquisitive , so amiable . A Jury , though chosen by the Crown , resolved upon doing justice , according to the evidence . A prosecntor , mM , compared with those to whom I have bf an accustomed . The only party thai I £ ud fault with are those who were engaged by the Crown to procure evidence . The evidence was of the lowest and
most profligate description . Our defence waa manly and convincing . O ! what a credit to be associated with finch men ! They electrified me and every body . We have been honourably found GUILTY of nothing 1 We will fight this battle yet . I go now to prepare for another fight in the Qaean ' s Beiui , —for never wfll I give up . I say nothing of my own poor services : but our friends are satisfied ) and eo am I .
We never were so strong . I neTeT wm in better Bpmts . I promise you that the verdict Bhall not be a triumph 7 Hurrah for the Char ter ! lam , your ever-faithful Fiiend , ¦ Uncaster Fjubctts O'Coktob . Thursday Night . wksob . In a Third Edition we shall give the remainder of Mr . O'Conkob ' 3 Bpeech in defence , the Attorney-General ' s reply , and the Burnming up of the Judge .
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PACTO&Y LABOUR " . In ihe Northern Star of last week was given an pitome of a debate in "the House , " consequent on the introduction of a motion by Lord Ashlby for ** an humble address to Iier Majesty praying that her Majesty will be gracioariy pleased to take into instant and serious consideration the best means of diffusing the benefits and bles 3 ing 3 of a moial and
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religious education amongst the working classes of her people ; " which motion was passed unanimously , it being acquiesced in by Sir Jakss Gbahav and Sir Bosbbt Peel on the part of the Government , and supported by Lord John Rdssbxi and other member ' s of " her Majesty ' s OwosmoH . " This motion was mainly founded on the Secpnd Report of the Childbbk ' s ; E » u > tkbst Commission" just presented to Parliament ; which is a
valuableandimperishablereoordoftheinjusticedonetothfi working classes , and the fearful state of physical and moral destitution prevailing amongst the children of the poor . The revelations made in this Report , as to their condition in both these respects , are horribly appalling , and almost incredible . These , however , the record stands ; and it seals ihe fate of the present system 1 It is impossible that it can much longer be sustained .
From time to time we shall give copious extracts from this Report , accompanied by such observations as we may deem needful to make the matter of it familiar to the minds of the class for whom we care . It is a powerful lever placed within their reach ; and it can and must be used to the overthrowing , the toppling over , of that course of selfish oppression and wicked misrule which has produced the awful state of sin and suffering so truly and eo fully described .
During the course of the debate on Lord Ashley ' s motion , Sir Jakes Gejlham detailed , at some length , a scheme which the Government have matured , for educating the children of the poor ; and , amongst other things , he announced that " A . New Bill for the Regulation of the Employment of Children and Young Persons in Factories , " would shortly be introduced . On Tuesday night last , the Home Secretary moved for leave to bring in such Bill ; and as he then detailed the main of the alterations Government intend to make in the present Act , we give , in this place , what oocurred on the occasion , feeling that the subject is one which intimately concerns the
working people in the manufacturing distrusts . It will be seen that several of the projected alterations are vastly important to the workers in factories ; and that they will tend to the preservation of life and limb . The contemplated power , to cause the dangerous portions of the machinery to be boxed off , and to prohibit the cleaning of machinery while it is ranaing , will be a valuable protection to the sentient beings required to watch the operations of the " master ' s" machinery , should it be obtained j while the regulations respecting meal-times and making up of lost time , will , if only made efficient , prevent the practising of much imposition aid much oppression .
It is also contemplated , as will be seen , to further reduce the hours of labour for the children in mills , from eight hours to six-and-a-half . This is a great step ; especially when coupled with the proviso that suoh children mast attend a properly conducted school daring the other portion of the day , to qualify them to enter the factory at alL The children will thus have some chanc * of obtaining , the rudiments of common knowledge at least , \ and not be subjected , as they have hitherto been , to the eternal din , and noise , and stench of the factory , without intermission or respite .
It is true that the present Factory Act protects " children '' from being worked more than eight hours a-day ; and that it directs that they shall attend school : but its provisioss have not been efficient for the purpose . They have been continually broken or evaded . The school" has , in many instances , been the "fire-hole , " and the " schoolmaster" the firerup" ! TMb has beeo found to be the ease , and reported to be so by « he Factory inspectors themselves . In the very last Report made by Mr . Sawwdbbs , bearing d » te January 25 th , 1843 , we find the following description of theJBoriof" education " provided by the ** FoBTr Thebtss of Pudsey" for the children
employed in creating wealth . And this h a sample of what has occurred in by far too many places . Let the fact be made * nown for the benefit of the Pudsey " partners" in guilt , who could not "taoil" ten shillings for school DookB for the use of those who were making them hundreds of pounds ! Here is the account as reported by Dr . Bakbr , the Super * ictendent of Factories , to his Inspector , Mr . Sacmdkbs ; and by Mr . Sausdees reported to Sir Jakes Gbahaji , the Home Secretary ; and by us reported to the working people , for the benefit of the poor in general , and for the benefit of the Fobtt Tbdsvbs of Pxidsey" in particular . Here it is : —
" In Padsey , which is a woollen distiiet , gre&t numbers of very young children are employed ; the inhabitants are poor , and education is at a very low ebb . 1 may give yon an Instance of this . At the Priestley mill , where there are about forty partners , forty-five children are employed who come under the education clauses . On one of my recent visits , I found the book-keeper was the schoolmaster , and the book * , pieces of an old newspaper torn ad libitum into sections of about thre 3 inches in diameter . On remonstrating with this m » n on this improper and falsely called education , he said , * thai he had no power to amerd what his masters ordered ? and my offer to procure for this company a e » t of elementary books for the small sum of 10 b . has been as completely disregarded . "
The shortening of the hours of labour by the present act , added to the wages of the children employed . The shortening of the hoars of labour by the contemplated act will have another similar effect . Another alteration announced we cannot commend . We mean the proposal to lower the age at which children may enter the factory from nine to eight This is to be regretted . It would have been much better to have entirely prohibited the employment of children and females altogether ; not allowing even a male to enter a factory until he was fourteen . This would have necessarily called into play a great
amount of unemployed idle male labour , which has been superseded by the cheaper labour of children and females , if society was , what it ought to be , it would take care that none of its members should be put to work , Hntil their physical capabilities were Mly developed ; for society is deeply interested in preventing the deterioration of the species , which must be the consequence if unformed beings are set to perform operations for which they are not physically fitted . ' , _ All the fork that a child or youth shonld perform before the age of fourteen , should be only suc h as is needful for educational purposes 5 the males taught the arts of agriculture and horticulture , bj easy exercises
daring school hours ; and the females the use of the needle and the scissors , with proper instruction , under the mother ' s eye , in all the domestic cares and duties of a household . This is what every child born amongst us has a right to expect at the hands of society possessing suoh means of producing wealth as we possess ; and when we have learned how to devise common sense arrangements to equitably distribute the wealth we can so profusely create , this , and much more , will be the portion of every child . Is it not monstrous , that one of the effeotB of an increase in our means to produce the good things of life , should have been the infliction of addition ^ toil and labour upon mere children , while the father is forced to walk the streets idle , for want of
employment 1 ! What follows is the Report of the proceedings in " the House , " when Sir James Graham moved for leave to bring in his New Factory Bill . It will be seen that several other important alterations , beside those we have enumerated , are in contemplation ; particularly the extending of the provisions of the new measure to the children and young persons employed in ihe manufacture of lace , and in print works , as well as in silk factories . This of itself is highly important . Here is Ihe report ;—
" Sir J , Graham said , that after what had taken place the other evening , he thought it would be best that he should introduce the Bill of which he had giveu notice , for regulating the employment of children and young persons in faotories , and for the better education of children in factory districts . The measure he proposed rested mainly on the report of the comndtee which sat in 2840 , forthe investigation of this BubJBct . The report stated the defects and omissions of the existing law -, and his © bjeot was to supply the defects and omissions in the law which the report detailed . The age of children employed in lactones was , at present , limited from nine to
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thirteen , and the hours of labour were limited 1 to eight per day . He proposed to reduce the number of hours from eight to six and a half and he also proposed that the six and a half hoursV labour must take place either in the forenoon or ill the afternoon , and not partly i ^ the one and partly in the other . He va 8 * dis po ^; k > . V (^ eve ; tfaiU : ^ e . west age of children might be safely reduced from nine to eight , eo that a child from eight to thirteen might work from six and a half to eight hours either in the forenoon or in the afternoon whoHyi and not in both . The coromittee had recommended that the maximum age for females should be altered from eighteen to twenty-one . Young persons were not now permitted to work more than twelve hours
a day . He proposed to alter the age of females ; % b theoase of males ooming under the denomination of " young persona" he did not propose to make any alteration . There were several minute provisions with jrespeot to mealtimes . The regulations for dinner contemplated at the least a space of one hour . With respect to Saturday , he proposed that the hQurs of work should be limited to nine , so that young persons would be worked twelve hours on other days and nine hours on Saturdays . From the report of the committee it appeared that objections were made to the mode in which lost time was made up . He proposed to limit those modes of making up lost time to those faotories where water labour is used . He proposed to give the insDeotors Dower
to select qualified surgeons to attend the several mills in each district , and to report upon their condition at stated times . Then as to accidents arising from machinery , he intended'to provide against them by making it compulsory jon the owners to guard every dangerous portion of the machinery in their possession from the possibility of doing injnry to any of the persona in their employment * and he also intended to prohibit the cleaning of machinery while it was in motion ; for these various purposes clauses would be contained in the Bill making it cumpulsory upon millowners to act in conformity with its regulations . Such a Bill must , of oourse , contain several penalties ; besides , it was intended to introduce as many as possible of the
alterations recommended by the Committee . He should not now enter at large into the education clauses , fur it would be unnecessary for him to restate what he had said upon former occasions , but he hoped that on the whole the measure would give general satisfaction Thus , much , however , he should say with respect to the education clauses , that he trusted the effect of the measure would greatly inoreasethenumberof children receiving the benefits of education . -The Bill-would iaclude within the scope of its operation aH children employed in silk factories , and he hoped still further by a separate bill brought in with the sanction of her Majesty ' s Government to include the lace faotories and the children engaged in printing , thns
comprehending all the children employed in all tha great branches of our manufactures . There was one omission in his statement which he bogged to supply ; Jt was that in all the manufacturing districts thechildren of any parents , whether those children were employed in factories or not should have the benefits of eduoation at an expence not exceeding 3 d . per week . The education being to some extent compulsory it would go far to establish a national scheme of instruction upon a large scale . It was not necessary for him to detain the House with any further observations . He hoped they would allow hi < a to bring in the bill , and he assured tion . Members that he should not prematurely press for the second reading .
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THE LAW OF STARVATION . Assaults upon the " Starvation Act" continue to be made with increased rigour . Not much rest is given to the Slarvert . Blow . after blow is befog {• truck ; and hitherto they hare been right well planted , and have produced a telling effect . It is now announced that a Bill to AMEND the Poor Law Amendment Act , '" will shortly be introduced to the notice of Parliament by the present Government . So ! the opposition to the
starving-todeath law has not been without its use ! The nature and extent of the Government" Amendments" have not yet transpired : but the fact that the Starvers are driven to the acknowledgement that "Amendments" are needed is a proof that the storm of indignation raised by the recent exposure of the deliberate plan laid to starve the poor , as evidenced in the SECRET RECOMMENDATIONSof the Poor Law ' Commission , is too strong to be successfully withstood .
The death-blow to the whole Bystem has been struck i The Tevealmenta made before the people , as to ihe object ot the conoooters and upholders of the " MalthUBian code , " has sealed its fate . Government will find themselves compelled not only to admit the oeoessity of M amendments , " but the abrogation of the starvation law altogether , and a return to that simple embodiment of justice and charity , the Poor Law of Elisabeth , which ( directed the employment of the unemployed poor in their own occupations , at their own homes , and at right and proper wages .
We revert to this question again , in order to place before the reader a report of a slashing onslaught by Mr . Walter , on Sir James Graham , the Ministerial defender of the Starving-law . The recent etrposure by Mr . Walter of the SECRET RECOMMENDATIONS by the Poor Law Commission , will be fresh in the recollection of all : and the manner in which Mr . Waltbb ' s successive efforts were met by Sir Jakes Gbaham will not be soon forgotten . First , Mr . Walter asked the question : " Did the Home Secretary know ef the existence of a certain Report , containing certain words ; on which document the New Poor Law had been founded . " The answer was : " He did not know whether such a document existed . " Then he acknowledged that
" he had a faint recollection that some suoh * Report'had been confidentially made to Earl Gbet ' s Government by the Poor Law Commission . ' And when this evasion and equivocation was promptly answered by Mr . Walter declaring that he had a copy of the " Secret Document" in his possession , the wily turn-coat tried to fix upon him a charge of "breach of confidence" in making the public acquainted with its infamous contents . This charge Mr . Waltsb repelled at the time ; and on Monday night last he returned to the question , dealing out blows to the whole orew of starvers in general , and to the Whig-Toiy Home Secretary in particular . The following ib a report of his speech on the occasion .
" Mr . Walter said , he rose to m « ve for the production of a return of which he had given notice . He observed , that having on a recent occasion come dowo to the . House in order to discharge a duty and engage , ment , when , from the state of indisposition tinder which he laboured , and wet , indeed , still labouring , he jJmost sank under the task , he felt , nevertheless , bound to take one more opportunity of pressing upon the attention of the House some remarks in corroboration of wn&t "was the undoubtod fact , —that the dark document which he first laid before it was the foundation of the sabseqnent Poor law , and of all the miseries ¦ with which the population of England had been since
afflicted . ( Hear . ) He said , there were various degrees of certainty in the human mind—one kind being called moral certalnty * -another , mathematical certainty , —and so on . He did not know , however , that he ever trvi of a variable cortainty ; yet , it was possible , and an instance might be addnc 3 d , in which be , for example ; might be told by an Hon . Member , that he did not know whether a certain document , for which he asked , now existed . Then , that Hon . Member might have a taint recollection of it Then , this fajit recollection might expand into certainty . Atlr . ot , he mteht know all about it—that it had been given in a confidential way to a gentleman with whom be ( Mr . Walter ) once
waa connected , bat who was now dead ) and that ; therefore , he was guilty of a breach of confidence in bringing it before the House . He would , however , take this statement , only giving a cautisn against the introduction of other people ' s namea , lest he should be forced to follow the example . Once more , he declared , that he d'd not know whence he had it , and that it must nave Iain by him ceveral years ; nor was he , indeed , aware that he had it till just before the session commenced . 80 far from any blamd bsing impntabie to him for exposing it he should but have participated in the gnilt of those who planned and penned it if he had concealed lt-- ( hear ) . « Why , Slrj
( said Mr . Walter , ) what do men mean by . confidence In an affitir ef this kind t Confidence is an honourable feeling both in him who entertains it , and in him towards whom It is entertained ; but if the object of the confidence b 3 , like this report , infamous , mischief vans , era el , Who but dishonourable men can bs bound by it ? Detection and exposure are every man ' s duty 1 say this , on the supposition that the detestable production in question was ever confided to me , but to that insinuation 1 have before replied . 1 neither know ; nor remember , nor believe any such confidence . The
report lay by me for years , and was only discovered , token up , and perused , all accidentally '—( cheers ) . Then it had been Baid that the law was not founded upon this secret report of the commission of eight The respective contents proved this to be false . They were as like as the instructions for a malignant will , by which the rightfnl heirs of an estate are to be dispossessed , are to the will itself . To prove this fact a few examples would suffice : — ' After this hf-s been accomplished ( says the secret report , ) orders may be sent forth directing that after such a date all out-door relief should be given partly in kind ; after another period it
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should-be wholly In kind ; after another such period It should be gradually diminished infuanMy , until that mode of relief was extinguished . From the first the relief should be altered in fttaUty , coarse brown bread being substituted for fine white ; and concurrently with these measures as to the outdoor poor , a gradual reduction should be made in the diet of the in-door poor . ' And again—* The power of the Commissioners should be to reduce allowances , and not to enlarge them * And now he would show the cautious manner in which these base suggestions were carried out in the avowed report : — « The Commissioners should be empowered to fix a mtaimwii of the consumption per head within the workhouses , leaving to the local officers the liberty of
reducing it below ^ the imtcitmtm if they can safely do so . ' Whence , again he asked , sprang the cruel injunction that no relief should be given to the unemployed , ablebodied labourers * oat of the workhouse ? All new applicants for relief * ( says the secret report ) ' should be at once taken into the workhouse . ' And again—* The Board of Controul shall have power , by an order , with such exceptions as shall be thought necessary , to disallow the continuance of relief to the indigent , the aged , and the impotent , in any other' mode than In a workhouse . The : avowed report was full of passages to the same effect This was the very essence of the existing law . Gould this be the work of two independent powers of evil 1 No . Here was its origin in that dark code of instruction on which , in defiance of fact
and common sense , it was asserted that the present law was not founded . It occurred again and again in the dark report , that ne relief was to be given out of the workhouses , and with equal frequency was the same atrocious practice enjoined in the derivative law . But , further , could anything equal the harsh and unfeeling manner in which the English poor were spoken of in the avowed report ? They wera described as inferior to savages , and to be amended only by fines , distress warrants , and imprisonment Was he not justified , then , in stating , that all these Commissioners came with their minds as fully bent against the poer as St . Paul was in bis unconverted days , when he was described as breathing out threatenlnga and slaugh ter against the slandered and humble concerts to
Christianity f Bat still they were told that Lord Grey ' a Government did not adopt this document , though its spirit , as he had shown , was infused into every succeeding one . Why , people who could believe this denial moat be Nature ' s fools , and not the dupes of the Poor Law—( cheers . ) He had three proofs exhibitbig the character of similar fraud and deception ; each succeeding document indicating its parentage and descent from the first , and yet endeavouring to mitigate or cloak its knavery . First , he had a garbled general order with respect to pauper funeral * . Next , he bad a diet table , which , though it was signed by all the Commissioners , was now disavowed , when they fonnd the cruelty it disclosed had awakened public attention ; but their preparation of it , and their intent
to carry it into execution , were as notorious as any fact could be . Then he had the evidence taken before the Committee on which he himself sat , which evidence waa suppressed for no other reason than that , if duly investigated , It would be found to make against the Committee itself / to falsify ita report , and to disprove the assertions of the Poor L » w functionaries . And , after all these proofs , both from foot and analogy , they were told to believe that the eeoret report was rejected by Lord Grey's Government 7 Really the amateurs of the New Poor Law arrogated to themselves the privilege of publishing or suppressing— -of leaving untouched or changing—whatever they presented to the Parliament of the country . And these were the people who were now taking ob them
the fabricating a plan of education which was to instil into the rising race the principles of Integrity , honesty , fair iiealing , and truth I—( hear , hear ) . With respect to the charge brought against him of traducing the immo * Ul » ak © , erery one knew how WBpeotfUlly he ( Mr . Walter ) had spoken of that illustrious nan . Bat , With all his admiration of him , itwonld be the excess of sycophancy in him er any one to assert that his Grace came too near to omniscience to be liable to imposition . If , indeed , he had usad expressions like the following , as applied not only to the Duke of Wellington , but also to the Right Hon . Baronet -who was no ^ at the bead of the Government—that be had no confidence in them ; that It v « 9 impossible to compose a Ministry of worse materials ; that their whole lives had been devoted to oppose good government and to uphold
bad i *—if , he said , be bad used these expressions , and had afterwards taken office under those persona whom he bad so severely stigmatised , then he should indeed have rendered himself justly liable to the reproach and derision , not only of that House , but of all the country , and etetf honest man in it Bat that any one who had really used those expressions should venture to reproach another with traducing the Duke , did appear to him to transcend the usual bounds of human confidence , or at least to indicate such a want of memory and consistency as must disqualify the man himself from the discharge of any pabUo functions—( hear , bear ) . He concluded With moving for an account of the antna expended in ont-door relief to the poor during the years 1841 and 18 * 2 , and of the work performed for such expenditure . "
Sir James did not venture to reply to , or repel the heavy bomb thrusts here made ) He barely contented himself with acceding to the motion , as far as materials existed to enable the returns required to be made out . On Tuesday night the Lords were engaged in a debate respecting the iniquity of the Starvation Law . It was began by Lord Tetnham , who moved" 1 st . That it 1 b the opinion of this House , that the separation of nun and wife , of parents and children , which takes place in the Union Workhouses , is an exceeding evil and the cause of evil * . " 2 nd . That its abolition ought therefore to be forthwith Bought . " 8 rd . That by a judicious administration of outdoor relief , the use of the workhouse for married paupers , except for casual poor and cases of exigency , might and ought to be abvllahed . "
These resolutions were enfored upon the attention of the House by a speech full of correct feeling , and characterised by considerable ability . From it we give the following . It will best speak for itself : — " The first resolution declared that the separation of man and wife was an exceeding evil , and the cause of evils . A large and helpless portion of the community found themselves treated contrary to those principles ! Which they saw guided every day life . On that head he would lay before their Lordships several thoughts upon the matter . In the first place , every one acknowledged that the principles which regulated the law and practice of divorce were wise and just ; the result was , that the number of divorces was very few .
Perhaps they ought to be more numerous , as was shown by their proceedings last night in the case of the son of a Noble Marquis . In that case the question of divorce did not turn , as it ought to have done , upon the conduct of the husband to the wife or the wife to the husband , but simply and improperly upon the state of feeling between a son and his father . The law of England recognized only two kinds of divorces , the divorce a mensa el thoro , and the divorce a vinculo motrimmii . To the former of these the poor were subjected . On entering the workhouse they were ipsofuetQ divorced . There was no shame attaching to that divorce , but there was more pain attendant on it than if the divorce bad been consequent upon the conduct of either party . The pain which they endured
was a thousandfold augmented by the fact , that there existed ns cauee for their being divorced . If their Lordships only looked at the number who entered the workhouse never to return , —if they looked to the number who actually died in the workhouse in a state of actual divorce , they could but . feel that the law was most cruel and unjust in its operation . The law said , that there should be enly two kinds of divorces , but the authority of those who had the care of the poor decreed that there should be many different kinds of divorces , ^ If the one portion of our law were just and equitable , the modem legislation , which gave authority to the Commissioners at Somerset House , must clearly be most cruel , unjust , and oppressive . In granting divorces it was most wise that their Lorships should ,
in every possible case , see that there was no connivance between the parties , no pretence , but clear manifest adultery , before they would Bay ' content : ' to any divorce bill . If any man came into the workhouse and said , ' 1 am poor * ,: 1 have no means of subsistence ; 1 wish to be admitted ; ' then the answer to the man must be , ' You cannot be admitted unless you submit to be practically divorced from your wife . * The Bystem of practical divorce went on day by day , and every day ; and when a poor man was thus debarred from the society of his wife , how could it be expected that he should regard that as a paternal Government which bo treated him ? Again , the House well knew that there should be no divorce granted to a man who had himself been guilty ef cruelty or adultery . In such
cases the Courts would not interfere ; but the workhouse authorities attended to no auch nice distinctions ; men and their wives might live together upon the beat possible terms ; there might be endearment , there might be purity ; but Instead of their being kept together by a kind law , they were torn from each other ' s bosoms ; what waa the character ol that law which Beparated man and , wife for other crime than poverty f Cases from time to time came before tile courts of law in which persons were found acting net according to nature ; children suffered from cruelty or from neglect , and courts always treated the unnatural act as a crime :
but here the Legislature interfered to produce the commisBion of unnatuial acts—they not only divorced husband and wlfe , but they separated parents f com . ch'ldren . It was no uncommon thing f « r wotten to be imprisoned tor neglecting their children ; bat here people were imprisoned , because they wished to take care of their offspring—bow could those two laws stand together ? A bill waa a few days ago laid on the table of their Lordships' House , which was objected to on the ground that it went to introduce a new crime ; but the Poor Law never seemed to have been objected to on that ground , although unquestionably it treated as crimes acts which in ail previous time had been regaided aa
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praiseworthy . There were acts which imposed as penalties three months' imprisonment , or three years , or transportation for life ; and the wisdom of the Judge was often shown by the manner in which he apportioned the punishment , and the result of that wisdom was , that there of ten appeared a wide interval , between the actual sentence and the maaimam ot puaishment ; but in the workhouse there was nothing of that sort —no limit to the punishment inflicted on the ' poor * Aman andjhia wife presented themselves at the door ef the workhouse and requested relief ; he was immediately taken in and subjected to a punishment—there was no descending scale—nothing left to the wisdom
and clemency of a judge . How contrary waa all that to the received maxims of English law I In the ordinary courts of justice a man or woman wan brought np and sentenced according to the nature of the offence , and according to the character which they might have previously borne . If that character were good , the witnesses ; recommended them to mercy , the jury recommended them to mercy , and the judge listened to that recommendation , and the amount of punishment was awarded accordingly ; but in the workhouse the honest man and ! the thief met upon terms of equality . The poor man , for no crime ef his own but poverty , . was imprisoned like a roflian , and kept in confinement all
bis life j In an ordinary prison , if an offender were sentenced to any given duration of confinement , or a convict were sent to the hulks , some attention was paid to his conduct If he complied with the rules of the house and evinced submission to autherity , a report in his favour was made , and some portion of bis punishment remitted : but not so with the inmates of the workhouse . The convict sentenced to ten years might get five off , but men who bad committed no crime must go into a workhouse and expect no mercy . In a well-regulated community the state of the law ought to be such as to meet every emergency that could come within the scope of legislative enactments ; but
there existed no power whereby the evils of which he had been ; complaining could be remedied , Suppose a man , his wife , and their children presented themselves at ) the door of the workhouse . They said they had no food , no money , no employment , and they asked the master of the house to give them food and employment His reply would be , ' You shall have it if yon will come into the bouse . ' What would they rejoin ? They would naturally say , ' We are lawfully married ; our children have been born in wedlock ; we love each other , and we love our children ; will you give us employment ] and bread without separating us ? " He answers ? No . ' Then they reply , We cannot accept
relief on jyour terms . ' They retire ; but hard necessity soon compels them to return , and again they are repulsed . | Then one dies of want —( hear , hear ) . Surely the officer—the lenal offioer—the man acting under the law , who ! has refused them relief , —has not that man committed a crime , and ought he not to be punished t lime would soon show that the Poor Law was not a piece of legislation which could be acted up to . He questioned very much whether It was wise that any law abonld bo assume the form of a tempter as this
Poor Law did . Was it right that any portion of the law of the land should be so framed as that it should offer a temptation for the destruction of all domestic ties , andj that the bribe which it gave shonld be a loaf of bread ? A single man might bear the brunt of bad times ; he might accept the remedy offered to him or he might reject it ; but the case was 1 different with a man and his wife . What a painful case of conscience it would be for them to consider , after they had gone ( into toe workhouse , what amount of torture they ought to have endured before they accepted relief I
The Iron Duke opposed the resolution . He did so on the ground that the Government were about to introduce a Bill to amend the " Amendment Act , " and that if their Lordships were not satisfied with the new measure , they could suggest and move other amendments . He also attempted to get rid | of the effect produced by the forcible reasoning of the Mover of the resolutions on the subject of Separation in the Bastiles . Here is the Duke's answer : and right , worthy of him it is !
"For Instance , tbat what has been called a ' divorce , " and argued upon as in fact a divorce , is , in truth , no separationalall , except so far as regards sexes ; the parties reside under the same roof ; they see each other at all hours of the day ; it is only as serns ihey are separated } , The Noble Lord had appealed to their Lordships , and asked what would be their Lordships' course of conduct , supposing such a proposition were made to one of their Lordships . Why , my Lords , 1 apprehend that your Lordships are—1 know some are—liable to have that ; proposition made to you—( bear , bear ); ancb of you aa ore members of the naval and military professions —( hear , hear )—are liable to suffer that very privation . ?'
A " separation is no separation at all I Putting the husband in one place , sometimes in one workhouse , and the wife in another , and the children in a third , and studiously preventing all communication , even the ordinary one of seeing each other ; all this " is in truth , no separation at all" I What wonder is there that we should have such laws as the Starvation Law , and such practices as every day ' s experience makes us : acquainted with , when our leading legislators shut their eyes to the common and well-known facts of a notorious case , and lie with such a bold and unblushing u grace" ? The Earl of Stanhope replied to the fanciful analogy set up by the I&on Duke to-justify the no separation at all . " He Bald : —
" The forcible separation of man and wife was a direct violation of the holy Scriptures , and ' could not be justified , as bis Noble Friend ( the Duke of Wellington ) supposed , ! by any supposed analogy with the military and naval services . Officers in those aerv ices were not obliged to enter them . "The Duke of Wellington—What do you say to impressed seamen t Come , there 1 have you I " The Earl of Stanhope—Impressment was an evil justified by state necessity ; but no person was legally liable to impressment unless he was a seafaring man , and , being so , he was aa much separated from his family on board a merchant vessel aa in the Royal Navy . " I Lord Stanhope also spoke of the SECRET DOCUMENT . He avered that : —
" The object of the present Poor Caw was to prepare the country for having ao ' Poor Law at all . This waa the ulterior object of the law . as described in a document which had happened now to see the light , though studiously and carefully concealed from public observation , for the non-produetlon of which shuffling excuses were made , and which , when dragged from its obscurity , did appear the most flagitious and execrable paper that ] had ever been exhibited before a publio assembly he would not even except the Natioal Convention of the French Republic It waa proved by this paper , and avowed by the authors and supporters of the law , that their object was to do away with Poor Laws ' , altogether . "
This allusion to the " Execrable Paper" brought " The Dokb" upon his legs again ; and he made the following extraordinary statement : — " The Noble Earl has referred to a document which has been represented as having formed the basis of the Poor Law Bill . Knowing , as 1 do , my Lords , that no such paper ever emisted , 1 will venture , in this House , to deny the assertion altogether . 1 again repeat that MO 8 UCH DOCUMENT EVER EXISTED . " i Verily , the " sayings and doings" of our senators are most contradictory ! Sir Jakes Graham bad some "faint recollection of suoh a document having been made ] confidentially to the members of Earl
Grey ' s Government , " when Mr . Walter stood before him in " the House , " with a oopy of the "execrable paper" in his hand ; and when hard pushed , he could tell how many copies had been printed , and where they had been distributed . " The Duke , " a ] colleague of this same Sir James Graham , avers , in spite of the "faint recollection " of the Home Secretary , and in the teeth of his circumstantial account of the existence and disposal of the number of copies printed ; " the Duke" in the teeth of all this , boldly asserts that the dooument never was in existence at all J ! ' Which of them
are we to believe t We cannot imagine that both have told the troth . This is impossible . One , ot other , mastjhave fibbed I Which is it the most likely to be ! Sir ] James Graham , who , with every inducement to deny the existence of the " Exewable Paper , ' ^ reluctantly ( admits that he has " a faint fecolleotion'i of it ; or "the Duke , " who boldly denies its existence altogether ? Which of these members of the same Government are we to believe ! The one gives the us to the other most fully and flatly . Which is most vfojrtny of credence 1 ^ And which of their respective statements is in accordance with fact !
We fancy that it will be the business of Mr . Waltee to ^ pur up Sir James . Gbaham to set these queries at rest . Mr . Walter has a copy of the " JErecra&feJDocument" in his own keeping ; how came he to be in possession of it > if" it never existed at alir Sir James Gkaham says it was sent to the Times lEditor by Earl Grey ' s Government : " ihjs Dbkb" saya it never was in existence . A bold assertion will sometimes get folks oat of a difficulty : it sometimes , nay ; of times , happens that a bold ] assertion will involve them more completely . Perhaps his Iron-ship will learn that a still-tongue . j / Aw time , would have been a friend .
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LANCASTER ASSIZES . ( Continued from our first page . ) * of the yeomanry-rn p swear ? ng in of special & * , stables—no reading of the riot act , in short ffie » preserved peace throughout the whole period oflh » disturbances elsewhere , and yet I am charged ^ rift having conspired to effect ; by force ^ andiumult '¦? * change in the constitution . And upon whose evidecc ^ gentlemen ! FirstiGriffla , who has been for mat years a professing Chartist ; he hasi filled responiiM and popular situations in the Chartist movement-1 , 1 has long been kn 6 wn as a reporter for Ghar&S newspapers ; -he was" ^ he ^ first person who' sngg ^ i the calling of the : Coiiferenoef yet > he has appeaiS in the / witness-bex against those who he was & «
principal instrument of bringing ¦ together fhenia appeared before you in the character of a betrayal bfchfefbrmer associates . TheSeividence of suejfi man should be received with caatioij . ; he hasdisra ? garded all the obligations of friendship , and trea cherously violated the trust and confidence reposed in him—may not suoh a man deceive you ? In the ad dress which I have quoted , this Griffin talks of tha virtue and glory of a public man consisting in itvah ing faithful to his principles till death ; and * aow see him doing bis ntrnost to destroy ihe men nha rZ main faithful to the principles : he h * s betrayed . j » the conclusion of his address , he hypocritically 4 { T peals to the Ruler of the Creation , to stamp with th «
seal of his divine approbation the exertions of jqv self and brother defendants for the obtaiuatent « f the Charter . What a base hypocrite must this sun be . He calls upon us to do our duty as he pleda himself to do his . Behold the fulfilment oHS pledge I He has appeared in the witness-box against him upon whose funds he so long subsiBted , and against men who relieved him in bis need , andes ?*} him from the pangs and horrors of starvation , —thns snake-like stinging the hand that fed , and fixing uj envenomed fangs into those who nourished hin Upon the evidence of this man I was arrested dragged from home , and insulted by the grossly Oh ! gal annoyance to which 1 was subjected ; whennot
, content with arresting my person , the officer wb arrested me searched my home , and took away let . ters , books , &c ; and all . this in violation of the Jaw The other witness , Cartledge , was a delegate , »» his support to the resolution passed by the Confer , enoe , ( I believe seconded the address adopted by tk delegates ) , and was a violent supporter of the etrik Surely ; Gentlemen , you will not convict me upon tin evidence of men so base aa these . But if the verdict should be " Guilty , " though the cold prison eel ] -. though my consignment to the living toob of crime and misery should be the consequence , yet believe me , Gentlemen , 1 speak not the language ^ idle rant or bombastic folly , when 1 declare t * un .
that 1 would not change my present situation fcr that of my accusers to escape all that torture « sid inflict upon me . Though my march from this »© t was to the scaffold , there to exchange the embnea Of love for the cold grasp of the executioner ' sred . reeking hand , there to yield np life with its h » rt » correcting sorrows , its hopes and joys alas , too few for that unfathomable futurity beyond the grave r- } would not—1 speak : the language of calmrefleetioih exchange my lot for that of myaccu 3 er 3 . Let them shrink from the light of day , let them fly from tie hauntsoftheirspeoiesjandalone—cutofffromtheBjn pathies of their fellow-creatures and the love of their kind , feast oa tha reward of their treachery and not
on the gains of their fiendish falsehood ; let thea not forget their broken pledges and violated vows , vows or adherence to a cause they have so infamous ly betrayed—the remembrance of these will add i relish to their enjoyments and a zest to , ftor pleasures . Bat , gentlemen , there will come v < 5 « when they will have their reward , when reflectW sting shall poison all , when the worm of memory shall gnaw at their hearts , and like the Fromethaa vulture feast upon their vitals , until the conscience-stricken vnretohea shall wither benejib the tortures of coascioua guilt , and , dying , shall go down to the grave without ths love of wife or child , countryman or friend , to shed a tear to their memories—remembered only to be
execrated , and thought of only with feelings of tha utmost loathing and disgust . Gentlemen , I feel that it is as a Chartist , not as a Conspirator , flat I am arraigned here . I am a Chartist , and I glory in the name . I not only believe Chartism to m founded in truth , but that the legal establishment of Chartist principles is absolutely indispensible to raise the working classes from their present wretched and degraded state . Witnesses ima appeared before you who have gravely assared this Court that they were not cognizant of any distress in their localities . I know , gentlemen , that , at any rate , there is deep distress in Sheffield , ( Mr . Hamey here drew a striking picture of the
distressed state of that town , which we are compelled to omit , ] And in Sheffield things have not been so bad as in many other towns ., The distress is not confined to one part of the country , it extends throughout England , Scotland , and Ireland .... I frill not dwell upon the distress endured at the present moment by the pro ad-hearted and independent people of Scotland , and as to Ireland , the name is sufficient to remind yon of ita two millions and a half of mendicants and its Inmper-fed peasants nor will 1 take up your time in commentingnjxra the general state of England—enough that lremindyou of things in this very county ( of Lancaster )^ ealcnlftted to moko as blush For tamely allowing ouch a state
of things to be ;—it is enough that I remind you , gentlemen , of tales , alas 5 too trne , told of the sufferings of the people in this very conn ty . That Englishmen , aye , free-born Britons , gentlemen , their wives and little ones—soliciting , yes , act Daily begging the carrion flesh offdisease , destroyed animals , that tfier might stifle the gnawings of hunger with food which the wolf might refuge to tear and the vulture disdain to gorge . And why is this state of things t Because , as a Chartist , I believe that the people are not represented , and their interests are not oared for in the Legislature . Because , to quote the , language of Sir George Sinclair , one of the best men who ever sat in the Bouse of Commons , because , as he told the
House in . his Bpeeoh , delivered in May , 1840 , becaoso the members of that House are admirable repre * sentatives of the opulent and the prosperous , rot very sorry legislators for the industrious and tha distressed , eager to make ample provision for tha luxury and extravagance of the Court—unwitting to take the slightest notice of the interests or necessities of the poor . ' * There , gentlemen , such is , the description of the House of Commons , not by Chartist demagogue , but by a Conservative Legislator . Chartism has been denounced on all sides , but could even the Chartists have bronght the country into a worse state than it is ! Does not the Dresant statebf thingsproclaim , trampet-tonjpifld ,
that the privileged classes Of society have abusea the powers they have exercised ; that they are neither fit to govern the nrtton tt large , nor themselves as a class ; ¦ »' - » working the misery of the mUlionB . they are most certainly conspiring their own ruin . Tuedqwnwjra progress of England must be arrestea , or » U mm m been predicted by Lord Howick and others as uw natural consequences of the present state of . tninff j will certainly come to pass . I ha * e labour * throughout my publioAife to prevent such a « ° ncitt « sion , and for so labouring during the late strike J »« dragged before this tribunal . The remedy for m present evils 1 believe will be found in inTestingJBJ neoDle with their riehts . 1 presume to be » ChMtofl
is not to be a criminal . The Attorney-General . said , on the trial of Frost , that the Chartists wM clear a right to agitato for the Charter as the Wm of 1832 had to agitate for the Reform Bill , adtog tbat if ever the day « hall oome , that on the we ® the Charter shall be arrayed the strength and sm « w % the numbers and intelligence of the country , tftu undoubtedly it will become law , and mere weaiu will struggle against it in vain . This is . all *• ask ; leave us to enlist publio opinion on our side , if we can , and we will . * ra <» the issue . But loose not the bloodhounds of pa *" cution upon as , nor seek by gaols and scaffoWs » stem the onward oroness of mind , for I warn uos »
who would have recourse to such means w-P " down Chartism that they will miserably fail . TM dominant sects and privileged class-as of all coofltnes in all ages have tried by persecution to present their power , and they have ever ^ Jailed . So sure " the despised , trampled upon , persecuted Chrisw triumphed over their enemies and oppressorsi bew " ing down by the force of opinion the power of »» pagan hierarchy until the imperial purple was worn by a convert , and the Mowera of theoro » > e « the acknowledged masters of the Roman iWorw . v " so sure will the now persecuted Chartists , haw" truth for their guide , and justice for then * « n « i triumph over present and future opposition ^ »« r the force of reason and . the march of mind oblige
monarchs to acknowledge the justice ef their pra > oiples , and compel the privileged classes toywiq w the rights of man—rights based upon the ¦ p . « n ' °# » - w Do unto thy brother , as thou wouldst thy owner shoulddo anto tbee , " Gentlemen , that principle ,: " altogether violated under the present system of ; legi * lation . A state of slavery exists ia this country , » real as that which exists in Carolina or Consun ^ nople ; the difference between the slavery in WWJ and America and that whiob exists here , JsJ ?* V 5 those countries the slave ' s body ia sold , ^ tbe mai ^* place , and . in this country you sell ^ his labourmm house of legislature . Against such a state of mm
I protest / against it ; Iwffl coateaeU . If w-Wfc the principles "* . I conscientiously \ entertain w ^ . » , be a seditionist , I am ^ content to be V V * r £ as suoh j and , assured as I am thai .- 'tB we » principles alone will be found ; the , po $ " £ salvation of nations , and the resouing of % mw *» f from their present state of physical suflttmg . aw social degradation , 1 am content to-., be-.-re » "W £ through life as a seditionist , and go down , to uw . grave with the title of seditionist inscribed OP ?? OT tomb . Gentlemen , if theplain and honest expoatton of facts 1 have laid before you has been sofiiownJ w convince you of my innocence , you will acqais iB ^ but 1 will not seek to purchase such a verdict » J any abandonment of my principles . X iJ" 2 incarcerate my body and torture me m J <« £ prisons , but you cannot enchain . *{ 10 II * 5 . j nor prevent with your laws and J *" •"
The Northern Star. Satuiipay,*March 11, 1843.
THE NORTHERN STAR . SATUIIPAY , * MARCH 11 , 1843 .
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4 ; ^ THE NOR THE UN STAR . , ,
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Northern Star (1837-1852), March 11, 1843, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct925/page/4/
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