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THE NORTHERN STAR. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1843.
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THE METROPOLITAN DELEGATES.
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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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MB . F . O'CONNOR AT NEWCASTLE-TTPONTYNE . Mr . O'Connor lectured in the New Music Hall , pn Saturday evening , Mr . Sinclair in the chair . Mr . Ktojd , in a very able manner , moved the following resolution ., using many arguments showing the necessity of carrying it into immediate prac tice , as the best means of commanding that reaped and isflnenee in society to which they -were entitled as the producers of all those comforts wEch the ZQora comfortably-situated classes enjoyed and rob kedthemoL
-At Ihi 8 moment Mr . O'Connor entered " the Hall , in company with Mr , Roberts , and was received with deafening thunders of applause After is had subsided , Mr . 3 L read fiie resolution : — Thai in the opinion of thiB meeting the plan of appealing to the different trades which has been adopted in several districts may , by proper manage ment , become highly useful ; we do , therefore recom mend the varions trades to call meetings of their different bodies to hear deputations from the Chartists , and to form themselves into bodies for the carrying out of the same—That it is the tluty of the Chartist public to encourage , iheir
friends amongst the middle classes by . exclusively . dealing with them ; and we recommend that a canTass be immediately set on foot , and that such electors as agree to sapper */ a Chartist candidate only , shall lave She support of a Chartist public . " Mr , Robxbts in a very eloquent speech seconded the resolution , and was loudly cheered at the end of each sentenoe . He declared his unchangeable attachment to the cause of equal rights , and eontend&dthatjoofliing short of the whole Charter could remed y the existing evils . He fully concurred with the object of the resolution moved by Mr . Ejdd , and begged to second the same . to it
Upon l ^ ng submitted the meeting was carried nni "" Tnfmfilv j The Chairhas then introduced Mr- O ^ Connor , who was received with the most enthusiastic cheering and dapping of handB . After It had subsided Mr . O'Cokkob said , he felt great pleasure in again addressing his friends in Newcastle . He was sorry thai it should be said that his absence affected the cause of Chartism in this district . He could not believe that principle could be affected in any such way . Itmightaffiacttheappearan . ce , but never the principle . Heapproved of ihe resolution proposed fey Mr . Kydd . Mr . K . had referred to a letter of ins ( Mr . O'Connor ' s ) on . the -subject . Mr . O'Connor said he always urged upon the Chartists
the utility of exehisiTe dealing ; it was a great means of bringing people to their senses—( hear ) . The real object of the Charter was social happiness to all . He would sot think it worth his wiule to spend the best of his life in sacrificing the more congenial pleasures of domestic bliss in . agitation , if he thought it was to end in what was commonly called a mere political change . There are other agitators in existence , whose sole » im is the aggrandisement of monpolinng capital . They never talked about tins powers of that earth which God gave as an inheritance to man , without crossing to the continent for the baas of their assumptions . It were a misconstruction of language to call them arguments . He ( Mr . CC . ) looked at homelbr the means
of accomplishing his object . Land and labour were all he asked for his purpose . They asked money for theirs from those who •» ere , by the social influence of wealth , coerced into their measures . The ; went round their factories , begging shillings from their starved operatives . They iave already thrown to the cocks at 47 , OQQ . Now , he believed they wanted another £ 100 , 000 : and what did they promise in return for it 1 Long speeches for the peoplexood dinners for themselves—( hear , hear , hear}—and " plenty" for the gullible about " big loaf , " and ""high wages . " He ( Mr . O'Connor ) said to the working classes , you are poor , and I want nothing fromyoafor myself 5 but I say , if you haTe anything to spare , saved * for that object which is for
jonr benefit—namely , a security against want , and the fear of want . I say , take the working classes oat of the slaTe-labeur market , and establish for them a free-labour market . I contend , - when one abannel of trade is closed , open another . The one I propose is , to locate the people on the land . If this was accomplished , it would then remain with the zoasses to choose between the healthful rotation of agricultaral labour and commercial misery : they aovld then please themselTes about living in their comfortable cottage or the miserable cellar . At present there jwas no such choice 5 every improve-TP » T < t fa machinery was a sure forerunner to an . additional sarplas in the labour market . The master then said , " Accept my terms , or starve . " The
operative bad no power in the master j it was despotism , and that , too , of the worst description . His aonlEickened , when he walked ihe streets of our manufacturing towns , at Ihe misery he everywhere beheld . He felt warm when ie saw those who ceased that misery pretending sympathy ,, for the objects of their own creation . Many of the miU-© eraey lad made almost incalculable fortunes ; and could no portion of that wealth be ¦ pared to . relieve the distress they themselTes had caaBedt The dirty rascals ate , drank , aod rode at the' expense of their slaves All classes of politicians "were turning their attention to the q « siion * f the Land ; they were dragged to it . He ( Mr . O'Connor ) would take this opportunity of correcting a mistake into which many ionest men had fallen , and a few rogues bad taken
the advantages . It had been said by some that he feaf t deserted t&e Charter for the question * of tne lind . ^ ndswaB EOt the case . No one who hao lead his speeches attentively could come to such a ooiiciasion . He would not give a pin for the Land in the end , if it was not hedged in by the Charter . AH he asked was , a few practical experiments , by which to prove the benefit ot _ the Land _ to the people when they gained iheir political privileges Jdr . O'Connor continued in this strain for nearly two hoars , and was londlj cheered throughout After the cheering at the conclusion had subsided , its enrolled 200 members of tike National Charter Association , all of whom took cards of member-* bip . : Mr . Kydd Tttored a vote of thanks in Kb usual flcergetic Btjle ^ to Messrs . O'Connor and Roberts , which was earned by acclamation .
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THE DONCASTER FREE-TRADE MEETING . On Saturday last , the Great West Riding Free-Trade Meeting Jwas holden in the CattJe Market , where a large and commodious hustings had been erected . The meeting was called for two o'clock , in the Town Tfoil , At that hour Messrs . Cobden and Bright , accompanied by Earl Rtiwilliam , Mr . Childers , M . P ^ W . S . Wrightson , Esq ., and others , proceeded to tils Hall , and Mr . Johnson , an extensive millowner , was called to the chair . The meeting was ifeen adjourned to the Cattle Market . There might 1 m from 1 , 500 to 2 , 000 persons present . Great exertions bad been made to procure tne attendance of ike farmers : but there were very few present . Mr . Bright was the first speaker , and dwelt at great length on the Injurious operation of the Sugar and Coffee Monopoly . He advanced no new arguments ; but broadly asserted that every approximation to Free Trade Tied been attended with blessings to the
country ; and that . England ' s existence as a nation depended on the establishment of Jree-Trade principles . A Farmer on the hnstings several times in-, terrnpfced Mr . Bright Am ' mjr Ms speech . Mr Cobden next appeared , and in a long speech endeavoured toxhBW thai the farmers gained nothing by the Corn . Laws . The boasted protection of the political Landowners , was no protection at alL The farmer must not be frightened by the bngbear of foreign competition : for the foreigner could not bring bis earn into this country at a Ie 3 S cost tnan the farmers paid for the whole of their rent : thus Ihey had a protection to the whole of thor rent . After stating that tithes wire no burden ; and tnat our taxation teas no greater than other cownines , owing to our means of profiuciiig wealth , lie concluded a long speech of sophistry and fallacy , &y calling on Eari Fitzwflliam and the other landowners to come ont for "Tree Trade . " -
_ ,, __ Mr . West then requessed permKsion to ^ Sf ^ tt&meet ing , when Mr . Cobden saxd , -O , for Gods Bake don ' t let us have any more speeches to-day . Mr West— I thiak your p rinciples erroneous , and frsught with great mischief j and I wish to prove that to the meeting" ... ^^ . The Chairman— " When you are wanted to speak , I will call on jou / ' , - , Mr . Wright 8 on in ihe meantime came forward to propose a resolution in favour of Free Trade . He
spoke at length on the usual topics . Earl Fitesralliam seconded it in a long speech , priEdpailly condemnatory of the sliding scale . Be said ie had made inquiries how many quarters of wheat passed through Donea&ter , and up the Don navigation , to Sheffield ; and hs found it to be 100 , 000 quarters annaally : and if the Sheffield trade was extended * there would be more 1 wheat consumed , and they would be benefited in proportion . After some further remarks about ShdSeidj he retired amid
great cheering . Mr . West and Mr . Gfllenden , a working man , now ¦ wished to speak j but Mr . Childers , M . P . pressed forward , eridrnflj to » peak against time , to tire the people , and thus prevent the Chartists from making a ^ impjEsaioa on the fermers . At lenglh , _ when ¦ Bjot jaw that West woaldnovbe put of ^ Mr . Bright « 3 d , " All pjfftiesshoBld be heard . " ' Mr . Gillendai ihen came forward and Baid , that , as a weiking man—one who felt that he was a slave iaiisna ^ reland , hBTf » nldi > ever shrink from doing ¦ m . flot ^ ii'Ui country ere * though . surrounded by
Sdpeers and wealthy commoners . Jie ^ W ^ o / S > loynwnt for two years , and . in common wSh i&nds of iis counteyia ^ , , had ;•**** ^^ Ser and desfituSon . HeknewfuUwciliiatthe i ?^ flSrooo 5 eed ais stato of ihings was cxaes S ^ ffi ^ jss&' ^ S s S meveihefollowin gaffiendmeiit ^ - « T hat wHle this meeting enters its protet sgfiiDst Monopoly of My and erery kind ; yet feels
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it incumbent to declare that there is no hope tor the destruction of monopoly until the monster monopoly of class-legislation is destroyed by a thorough jRadicsl Reform of the Commons * House , on the principles contained in the People ' s Charta . " Mr . West came forward to second it amid considerable confusion . He said he came forward for the purpose of stating to them his opinions on the question of Free Trade ; but as their patience muBt be nearly exhausted in listening te the long speeches of ti 3 members of both Houses of Parliament , it was impossible for him to enter into the subject to the extent that its importance demanded . Before , however , replying to some of the fallacies they had that day heard , he would slate his honest conviction ,
after many yeara' study , that the establishment of Free Trade principles , under the existing arrangements of society , would be a curse instead of a blessing , and bring ruin upon hundreds of thousands of industrious men . Mr . Cobden has laboured hard to prove to i'ou . that the Corn Laws do you no goodbut wa had a right to expect him to point out the benefits that -would follow their repeal . Has he done so ! ( Cries of ** yes . " ) Well , h& ( Mr . West ) did not hear him . Pray what were they 1 Are we to have " cheap bread ! " ( Cries of " no , no , " from the Whigs on ihe hustings . ) Well , that it something pained . ' They used to tell as in the manniactnring JownB we sfeould have " cfteap bread , high wages , and plenty to
do . " We denied it . Many of u $ were persecuted for our opposition to them j and now they are coming forward and admitting all onr potiHons to be true ! and appearing before the world as mendacious delnders of the publio 1 J ( Mr . Bright : — " Come , now , West , don ' t be too hard . ") Are yoa to have extended markets 1 Earl Fitzwiiliam says u Yes" j that "if the Sheffield trad * is extended , you will have more corn come through your town "; bnt what savs Mr . Cobden ! for he is ihb authority . Why , " if we have Free Trade , the Shefflelders will send their goods to America ; and the Americans will send their corn in return " . This will oorna into Liverpool , or Hull , and be conveyed up by railway ; and not from the farmers of Yorkshire , or by your - Don napipoiion "—( great interruption ) .
But Sir . Cobden says , " tithes am mo BtrKTHBw ' to you , because other -nations have to pay for their religion as well as you . Yts ; but they don't pay as much 424 you do ; and I think you will agree with me that iithe 3 , which ara a tax upon industry should be abolished , and that speedily too . But will a Repeal of the Corn Laws do it 1 Ho . Mr . Cobden knows this , aad so he would fain persuade you that tithes are no evil . He also says iaxes hate nothing to do with your competing with the foreigner j but how stands the fact i During the -war , when paper money was plentiful , and prices high , the farmer had to give so many quarters of wheat , or the price of it , as his share of the taxes : when Peel ' s Bill was passed , prices fell ; BET TAXES IID MOT PAli IS THE SAKS FEOFOKTION I
and the farmer has to give to the tax-eater nearly one-half as much more of his produce than he did before ! Has the foreigner this to contend with No ; and Mr . Cobden knows it . The tax-eaters , the drones , the locusts , the fundholders , the parsons , the placemen , and the pensioners , are the great incubus that presses down British industry . The interest of the National Debt , at 8 per cent , is £ 24 , 000 , 000 a year ; or equal to the earningB of nearly one million of labourers at 103 . a-week ; and
if those labourers had , on an average , oaly three to a family , there are three millions of persons handed over a 3 slaves forever and ever to thefundholdera ! Mr . W . then went into the " extension '' question , quoting a variety of tables , and proving that reduction of wages had accompanied every " extension of commerce . " He concluded by asking Mr . Cobden if it teas true that he had been telling Mouss&n De Lainesfrom ~ his print works , at about 100 per cent , of profit % asd at the samb tiik iedtjciko his WOBXXKH 5 d . OUT OP XVEBT Is . Sd .
The Chairman then put the amendment and the original motion to the meeting ; when the amendment was lost ; although it was cheering to witness ho many hands held up for it in sueh a quarter of the world . Mr . Cobden then came forward U answer Mr . West's question ; and said , that " as ta ihe profits he was getting , he wished he could mike Mr . West prove his words ; and , as to the othbk , he always PAID AS HIGH WAGES AS ANT 0 XB £ HOAO £ D is tbs trade , and would continue to do so . " Mr . West— " That is no answer to my question : Have you reduced your workmen 0 / late $ 5 . out of every ls . 6 d . V Mr . Cobden— "I CAN GI 7 E NO OTHER ANSWER" 11
A vote of fhftTiVB to the deputation was then carried ; and , after three cheers for Free Trade and Earl Fitxwilliam , the meeting separated . It is but fair to state that Mr . Bright , Mr . Cobden , and Ear ] Fittwilliam treated Mr . West with every courtesy and respect .
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THE REPEAL PROSECUTIONS . THE BASS COMPROMISES THE IRISH PEOPLE SOLD FOR THE PERSONAL SAFETY OF THE
» LIBERATOR . " The all-important intelligence , given in cur last , will have in some measure prepared onr readers for the second blow" of th 9 Government , struck within ihe last week ; which blow , if Ireland had been " led" by honest leaders , " might Tiate recoiled upon those who aimed it ! but which , as it is , bids fair , even without the promised " blows" to follow , to annihilate the Repeal agitation , and sead , —not back to
iis cradle , for it has outgrown ihatf-bat to its grave , the giant power that hicht havb wok a matioh's FflfiXDOU ; but wluch , mifcdirtKJted , or rather treach erously sold by iis leaders for the sake of personal Bafety , Beems to be doomed to add another to the long list of popular failures , which , in every country under heaven , have so often Deen recorded : strength ' ening the hands of rampant despotism * > and burying in the tomb the hopes of enlightened patriotism !
We again present our readers with a mass of information taken from the best sourees , and giving the views of opposite parties ; by comparing which they may arrive at something like the exact truth . Indeed we may Bafely challenge comparison with any Weekly Journal in the empire , for the wellselected and ample intelligence to be found in our pages , on all mattets connected irith the Irish Movement , " or inde&d of any " Movement" affecting the mass of the people ; placing us as it does in an unrivalled position compared with our contemporaries . Onr readers will lack no means of judging whether onr remarks this week are warranted by the events tb » i have transpired .
First , then , Mr . O'Conuell , his son Johh , the proprietors of the Freeman and Nation , certain members of the Repeal Association , and two Catholic priests , have been held to bail to appear in tbe Court of Qaeen ' s Bench , next term , on a charge of Conspiracy , " Si ditisn , " and ** Illegal Meeting , " and wita sundry other offences : all , however , coming under tlitj vague and undefined charge of " Consrnracy ?'
Here we have the game of 1839-40 and 1842-3 played over again : the scene being rune Ireland . 'Tis true there is some difference in the mode of 11 playing the game" ; and " play" it is , compared with the treatment which the Chartists have Buffered at the hands of both Whigs and Tories . We have said Messrs . CCosnell and Co . have been " arrested . " We were not correct in so sayiug . First , a very polite note" was sent to Mr . O'Con-MEii , frcm the Crpwn Office , apprising him that
" ihe Crown Solicitor had been directed to take proceedings agafnst him , " and " requesting to know when it woula suu Mr . O'Conskll ' s convenience to attend to enter into recognizances . " Then we are told that " Mr . Ksamis waited upon Mr . O'Cov hill , to know at -what hour it would be convenient for him to give bail . " Mr . CPConjckll " goes in Ma own coach to the Judge's house f u inspects the splendid and extensive collection of paintings ; "' acd , quite at home , " &hakes hands with the Judge" 1
Now we dont envy Mr . O'Conmell his good fortune ; still we must congratulate him on hu being a Repealer we beg pardoa ; a " FEDERALIST " we mean , and sot a Chartist . Had he been the latter , he might sol nave faxed so weal . He will remember that there was no " polite note" Bent to Mr . CCojcnos ., nor any anxiety shown to consult his u convenience . " On tae contrary , he was waylaid by a common thief catcher , and trapped on the road as if he had been a highwayman . The only gentlemanly calls" made at the houst . 3 of Chartist viotiots , hare been those of brutal policemen ; in many eases dragging men out of iheir beds , and tearing them from their families withoat a moment ' s warning The only " ooach" for English Tiidms has been the
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prison van , in which mea have been linked together like wild beasts , band-euffed , and leg-chained 1 Instead of lt shaking hands with tbe Judge , " we have seen Magistrates insulting and . oppressing , and Judges fulminating their coarse-abuse and political spleen against the men they were required to lonestly and impartially try . Instead of w inspecting paintings in Judges' houses , " Chartist offenders have been crammed into filthy and abominable dungeons , made to herd with felons ; and treated with the utmost indignity and cruelty : and all this bbpobe tmal ! befoke examination J ! before being ALLOWED to enter into their recognizances !
When the ChartiBts , the poor Chartists , spoke their minds , they were persecuted : and Mr . O'CoicfEit and his party denounced them for having brought themselveB within the power of the law . But then it was Whig law : the law which was necessary to keep the Whigs in office . Now he gets a taste of Tory lew : and cries oat against the injastiee ! Have we not often told him , that the law is held in leash by the party in power , ready
to be slipped at their oaprioe ! each osing is for their own respective purposes . The law which persecuted the Chartists , is the same law tbat now persecutes the Repealers . When it persecuted the Chartists , it was justifiable ; but now that it persebute 8 the Repealers It is tyranny ! and instead of trying to alter the law , Mr . O'Coknbll is even now actually trying to make merchandize of its abuse .
We remind Mr . O'CoNJfEU . of these things , because many a time and oft has he made brutal jest of the treatment of the ChartistB ; and hounded on the Government to their persecution . We renrnd Mr . O'Cosmeli . of these things too , because , when the Chartists were in his present position , and guff , ring brutalities and grievous wrongs , to which he is not subjected—they did not shrink and whine , as hb is shbinking and whining 1 They did not eat their own words ! renounce their solemn pledges ! ! offer to TAKE LESS than the whole of ths
pkin-CIM . BS FOB WHICH THET HAD WIEVIOBSLY CONTENDED !! ! AND DASTARDLY COBSPxlOBUTSE THEIR CAUSE pok the sake of peesonal safety !!!! No ; they were men : and stood stedfast in the hour of trial ! We request our readers to peruse attentively tho copy of the warrant on which Mr . O'Conkell and the others have been held to bail . They will there find that the Government-n ^ has been so widely and dexterously Bpread , that Daniel , with all his popularity amongst ihe jury class , will be fortunate indeed if he obtains a verdict of acquittal . First , it will be
seen that the accused is charged with " having unlawfully and seditiously conspired with certain other persons to excite discontent and disaffection ;" thiw , as in the case of the *• Lancashire Conspirators , " Mr . O'Connkli , may ba made amenable for , —because made to be connected with , —pereous whom he never heard or saw j but who may be charged with sedition uttered at Belfast , or Cork , or anywhere else ! We Bay "may be ; " for it may be that the arrests are not over yet . The " buster " . order for the Clontarf gathering , and for whioh Mr . T , Mor « ah , the Corporation Solicitor , Bays he is alone responsible , may be made to support the charge of H demonstration of physical force , " to say nothing of tbe " monster "
meetings themselves . The denunciations of the "SAXON , "— now cringingly , but TOO late , withdrawn , —may bear out the charge of exciting " jealouties and hatred between her Majesty ' s subjects . " All the harangues , laudatory of the private soldiers ; all the talk about "fixity of tenure "; is met in this document . The ** Arbitration Courts" form a striking feature in the warrant ; on these is grounded a charge of " assuming and uearping the fMterogative of the Crows" ! "Illegal meetings " follow ; seditious libels" are lumped in with ** seditions speeches "; and finally , the collecting and obtaining of the "Repeal rent" is made an accusation , as having been " a means to promote and effectuate " the alleged objects of the alleged " conspirators " .
Here is , as we have said , a net large enough I We shall see whether Mr . O'Connell will make of that net a cobweb ! With the wicked and treacherous conduct of Mr . O'Connell still fresh in our memories , when similar snares were laid for the reviled Chartists , we still will not designate him And his friends as " wretches wortht of the notice of the Aitornet-General , " Nol Had we no other cause of dislike towards the " Liberator " , we should be content to forgive * and , if possible , forget . Bnt wj have other and weightier charges against him .
These prosecutions , if the Government can procure a conviction , may serve it for a time . O'Connell may succumb under the lash of the / aw , as indeed he has already done . He muy calculate on shelving the agitation , with a few lawyers clap-traps in the Four Courts , and a few months of " martyrdom " in Kilmainham Gaol ; hoping that this will do fcr "his time . " Aye , and he may Buoceed , too . But will the struggle for freedom end there 11 Will the now awakened masses be for Irag content with such
a return for their " shillings , " which , like drops from the heart ' s blood , havobeen wrung from their miserable incomes ! Will " Youno Ireland" unlearn its *• war songs , " and the ** Sfirit of the Nation" wither or die with the treachery of O'Costnelx ! We shall sco ; but it strikes us that persecution , —found so utterly powerless to crush Chartism in this country , —will not be found more efficacious in dealing with tho democratic spirit of the people of Ireland , suppressed though the cry for Rbfeal may be in a wbine for
" FEDERALISM" ! >! Do the Tories suppose that the means by which the Whigs immortalized Chartism in England will suppress Repeal in Ireland J When did persecution ever yet change the current of opinion , except indeed it was to divert it for a moment from the principle , to the consideration of the best means to destroy tbe oppressor ! Chartism was persecuted ;
and appeared for a season to slumber ; but it rose , not so much to advance its own principles , as to destroy the Whigs , who persecuted its votaries So with Repeal . The anjost and extravagant use of the law may for a season arrest the external progress of Repeal ; but the moving hind will go on \ and when it again breaks out , it will be in indignation against those who used persecution as a substitute for law !
How has Mr . O'Conneil met *• blow the second ? We have before seen how he met " blow" the first . We announced in our last , the astouading intelligence , that he , who had solemnly pledged himself never to enter the " Saxon" parliament again , had backed out of that pledge , and announced his intention of petitioning the " Saxon" parliament tor ? justice" upon those who had signed the Cloutarf Proclamation . We announced that after oil his revilingB of the people of England , he had at length , in the hour of his adversity , implored THE HELP OF THE ENGLISH PEOPLE ! These Were strange tidings , no doubt , to onr readers ; but vie have stranger revealments this week to disclose ! Last week Mr . O'Connell was yet a Repealer . " His langmage then
was" The only tyranny he disliked was the tyranny of the Union , and the only oppressor he recognized was the enemy of Repeal . " " The Repealers would not shrink from their duty to obtain a National Legislature again—( cries of 1 , never !*) No , they would not ; and he requested that those gentlemen who presented him with the address from the Loyal Repealers of Manchester , would inform their friends in that town
that they wero determined to usb eveu ? effort to sffsc ? a Repeal in a legal way , and to say that he ( Mr . O'Connell ) had no doubt ; of success , if the people took his advice—no more doubt than he had of the rising of to-morrow ' s sun —( great cheers ) . " u ipas manifest the Repeal was coming . '—it was perfectly manifest they must have it on one condition —their not putting themselves in the power of their enemies . But this he told ; them—to have confidence in him —( cheers ) . Let him be sneered at , but he deserved their confidence —( enthusiastic applause ) . "
Again" The more they proclaimed , the more prudent they would be in adopting the means for effectually
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carrying the repeal . So far , at least , he ( Mr O'Connell ) was not much abashed by a proclamation —by the last blow of the sword—( great applause ) . No , he was not in tho least daunted . Upon the contrary , he was doubly sure of success , and he called upon the people of Ireland to listen to him while he said that they then had an opportunity of making their country a nationagain— ( load cheers ) . All they had to do was to obey him —( loud cries of 'We will , we will . * " ) And he concluded in these very words : —
" Hurra then , vox . Old Ireland and Repeal—( tremenidous applause )! Whoever ( they would remember ) committed a crime gave strength to the enemy ; therefore let Repealers pledge themselves to & perfect obedience to the law , and he would pledge himself , and vow solemnly before the inhabitants of the empire , that he would never be taken away fr om ihe legal pursuit of agitating for a Repeal of the Union until he saw an Irish Parliament ONCE MOHE sitting in College-green— ( great applause , which lasted for a considerable time , after which the Learned Gentleman resumed his seat ) . " At the Repeal Banquet in the Rotunda .
" Mr . ; O'Connell said , —The next toast , gentlemen , is oeo that you will respond to with rapture , — "The Repeal of the Union *'—( long-continued che « ring ) Having spoken so often on this toast , he should not trespass at length on the theme . One thing he would say , IRELAND WQULD NEVER ACCEPT OF AIT INSTALMENT OF THE
REPEAL . THAT JUSTICE COULD BE OBTAINED FROM A LOCAL LEGISLATURE ALONE . " Now we think here are proofs enow of O'Connell ' s sentiments as a Repealer ! There is no mistaking any oneiof the above sentences . Notwithstanding his absurd talk about " petitioning , " and " going baok" to the " Saxon" Parliament , he was still an avowed Repealer . ' IRELAND WOULD NEVER COMP ROMISE . " " Never accept an instalm en t of the Repeal . ' Snob was his language . But now , —only a week intervening , how shall we astonish our readers when we tell them that
MR . O'CONNELL . HAS AGREED TO COMPROMISE
has offered to take an " INSTALMENT" OF REPEAL !! Yet so it is ! 11 'Tis true , 'tis pity ; and pity 'tis , ' tis true . " We complimented Mr . O'Connell last week on the wise discretion he had shown iu forbidding the Clontarf meeting , rather than risk the shedding of the blood of the unarmed people . Mr . O'Connell , in so doing , did perfeotly right ; and had that been his worst offence , he might have laughed at the taunt of cowardice flung in his teeth by the bloodhounds of the Tory press . Again , on his " arrest , "
he issued a letter to his followers , whioh will be found in our " Irian News , " imploring of them to observe " the strictest and moht profound tranquillity . " This , too , was perfectly right . This it was his duty to do . But what then } His appeal to the people to joiu the ranks of the Repeal Association was responded to by hundreds of thousands . His demand for more " rent" was answered by the collection of hundreds of thousands of shillings , and the accumulation of tens of thousands of pounds . His requirement of the exhibition of the physical strength of his party was enthusiastically met by the
assemblages of immense multitudes , numbering , accord * ing to the Repeal organs , from one hundred thousand to one million of enthusiastic and resolute Irishmen . And lastly , —hardest task of all , —when the crowning demonstration was suppressed by Proclamation , and the people insulted by the spectacle of two or three thousand men-butchera trampling upon tbe rights of millions ; and again , when the " sacred person" of their darling leader was outraged by the grasp of
the law , and that leader bid them preserve " profound tranquility" they Obeyed his orders . They have been profoundly tranquil ; and thus carried out to the very letter all his requirements . Ihe people have done their doty : is 6 'Conneli prepared to do his f The people have fulfilled their part of the contract ; is he ready to give them their reward ? Is he leading the way to " Colleqh Green ! " Is he ready with ** his machinery to carrt the ^ REPEAL" and l give to Ireland "herIndependent and purely Irish Legislature " t
What has been his conduct ! What his speeches since the striking of this " second blow" ? We refer our readers for the answer , to his speech delivered last Monday , at the usual weekly meeting of the Repeal Association , iu the Corn-Exchange . Let every man peruse that speech attentively ; think upon it !; and then say whether ( the offer to " compromise" has not been made \ First of all Mr . O'Connell attempts to wriggle out of his abuse of the " Saxons" ! He " pledged himself that he would , in accordance with the Chairman ' s suggestion , drop the word 'Saxon' ! " This announcement was met by " laughter" and
"cheering , " and ¦ * continued laughter and cheering . " The Corn Exohange patriots are notorious for cheering anything tbat falls from Dan j and truly we are not surprised that they should indulge their risible faculties with " continued laughter" at this Jim Crow jump of the "Liberator . " O , what a glorious revenge have the long : insulted , long reviled , Saxon population , in this self-prostration ; this dirtlicking humiliation of their foul-mouthed libeller ! But Daniel doeB not stop here . Having , as he thinks , made his peace with the " Saxons , " he forthwith sets : about forming an " holy alliance" with them . He first announces that he " was readt to
TAKE A DEPENDANT PARLIAMENT , " if M offered him by the British Government" !— - [" idon't he wish ne may get it "? J—and then , by way of steadying his hearers , and allowing them to recover from tho shook such announcement must have given , he proceeds to say that : — " He had received a proposition from a gentleman of high station in the popular oau 3 e in England , who was exceedingly anxious for the well working of any system that would give freedom by means of their own representatives to the Irish people—( cries of hear , hear ) . " We refer our readers to the speech itself for the actual proposition . Mr . O'Connell prooeeded to say : —
" He met these suggestions in the spirit in WHICH THEY WERE DRAWN AND DICTATED J and he told them what had occurred in the Association already ; aM > that if the people of England , oh RATHER A SUFFICIENT PORTION OF THEM , CAVE FORWARD , THERE WOULD BE NO DIFFICULTY IN ARRANGING THE REPEAL ON THOSE DEPENDANT TERMS ALLUDED TO .
It might be said that consenting to take a dependant Parliament was shrinking ; bwt he cared not what taunt was made use of . It uws no shrinking . On the contrary , it took away from their enemies every argument that they could use against them . Hb repeated again that that Association were PLEDGED TO . THIS . " And again : — "He had spoken particularly of a federal Parliament , as a means by which Repeal could by obtained , and also likely to conciliate both nations ; but it was not such a one as he H A . D looked for —( hear . ) He had before delated himself ready to accept a federal Parliament .
HE WOULD NOW REPEAT , THAT HE HAD BEEN ALWAYS , AND WAS NOW . ; READY TO ENTER INTO ANY ARRANGEMENTS WHICH WOULD GIVE IRELAND SUCH A PARLIAMENT . It had been hinted to him that many parties in England would readUy meet his views on this point , if on the completion of Repeal , their arrangements should be of a popular nature . He would tell them in England that as soon as they had formed a party strono enough to assist the Irhh psopte , HE WOULD JOliS THEM IN OBTAINING FEDERAL 1 ZATlON—foheerB ) . HE WAS READY TO MAKE A CONCESSION so as to find out a common point of unity . "
Now , let thereader go back , and read once more this man ' s solemn assertions , repeated over and over again , only on the previous Monday ; to keep in mind these * sacred vows" " registered in heaven" ! that ** Ireland'WOBLD never compromise j " " would acc ept no instalment © f Repeal j" and that "he
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would never be taken away from the legal pursuit of agitating fora Repeal of the Union , until he saw an Irish Parliament once more sitting in College Green "; and then say whether I he is not trifling with the holiest feelings of humanity bartering a nation ' s aspirations , that the game of delusion may be continued for " his time , !' betraying the cause of whioh he is the all-powerful chief , to save from a gaol his owncowardly caroase We call this " shrinking , " let him say what he will . Peace and " profound tranquility" on the part of the people say we : ] bui we also say " measurespractical , peaceable , constitutional measures , to carry the Repeal" ! { Not a betrayal of it ! Not a shrinking from those measures ! i Not a whining about" FEDERALISM" !!!
But our readers will be anxious to learn who the " illustrious unknown" is , that " high in station in the popular cause in England , " has offered his assistance to the *| Liberator" to obtain Federalism . Know ye , ! then , ' tis Joseph Stuhge the Brummagem Solon , whose legislative system is so " complete , " that it can be made to work either with a majority or minority ; a man who did his little best to bring the principles of Demooraoy into
contempt by setting at defiance the voice of the people expressed through their representatives , and violating the principle that the majority shall rule . This is the man that is now ihelping Dan to hoist the rag of " Federalism . " j Ah ! Joseph , it wont do I Three Millions cf Chartists petitioned for REPEAL ! and they will not allow you to hand them over to Dan , ^ fbr compromise , as quietly as Dan hands over the Irish people to the Tauries I
O'Connell cannot blame us for bis position . We have , in spite of himself , striven to aid him , and to promote the professed object of his agitation We have borne patiently with hia booSb , and scorn ; his calumnies and falsehoods . We have passed unnoticed the pitiable scurrilities of that miserable sycophant , Ton Steele . We have refused to reply to tho libels of his bribed press . We hare striven to undo the mischief he was doing in setting race against race , by labouring to promote a kindly and fraternal spirit on the part of the English and Scottish people towards their Irish
brethren . And we beg to assure the gallant people of Ireland , that however much we may have felt it to be our duty to comment in severe , terms upon the conduct of Mr . O'Connell , we have but one feeling towards them , —tbat of sympathy ; but one wish , —that of seeing them suooeBBt ' al in their straggle for self-government . With them we will struggle against coercion , and against treacheht ; against t the despotism of their oppressors and the falsehoods of their leader . And we now tell that leader , — -and in so telling him we speak
the sentiments of the British masse ? , —that he shall have no assistance from them for the humbug of federalism . If he has his " measures , " " peaceable and constitutional , " " prepared for the carrying of Repeal , " let him go on with them ; and we are with him . If he cannot carry Repeal under present legislative arrangements , let him say so , and hoist the banner of the CHARTER as the means of rendering triumphant the flag of Repeal . If he will do this , we ate also with him . But no compromise No instalment ! ! IfO FEDERALISM J ! 1 DOWN WITH ALL HUMBUG ! I
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there would be no Labour at all , or social existence at all , if " all taxation" was repealed ! But while the League have developed this queer "new move , " we do not hear that they have moved to let the dapes who gave them the £ 50 , 00 < r know what has been done with their money ! Now such a motion as that would be attended with some prac tical good . We should get to know bow much John Murray has fobbed ! We should learn what has been the amount of his "tarnation ''; and should also be in some wise able to . judge whether it would not be advisable to apply fits doctrine of " freedom from all taxation" to himself .
How comes the £ 100 , 000 on ? Does it come in fast t or only dribblingly !! We fancy that folks are asking " what's the good of it !"
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THE LEEDS MERCURY AND THE LAND . The Mercury nas given up the controversy ! To us "he has not another word to say . " How could he ! We have pinned him down so completely , that he cannot make another shift : so he is compelled to " give in" with asgood a grace as his saturnine nature will permit of . But when " giving in , " he reiterates his opinion , thak in the " wordy" article to which he took exception , we " intended to support and Uphold the statement , that a profit of £ 300 a-year might be realized , after paying the rent of the land , and the wages of labour , from four aores of land ; " and he again avers that" no one could read the language of that article , without
entertaining the same opinion . " Now this we must again rebut ; even at the risk of being deemed " destitute of decency and good manners . " We again tell the Mercury that this is " misrepresentation . ' * We again defy him to shew from our " words" that any man could by possibility come to such conclusion . We again tell him , " vulgar and low-lived" as it may be , that he cannot , for bis very soul , derive such an " opinion" from our " words . " We again tell him , that tbe " statement" was manufactured by himself ; palmed upon us ; and be then ( most honestly ) proceeded to combat , and rkjutk it , leading th » wotld to believe that be was combatting and resut inq our " words . "
His conduct , during this controversy , has been most disreputable . He first misrepresented us ; wilfulty misrepresented us . Of this we complained , and asked him to explain . We told him that unless he did vouchsafe such explanation , we should be justified in interpreting his silence into acquiegceaoe with oar ascusaiion of wilful invention . Ho did essay an " explanation " . In doing so , however , he passed over our " words" entirely , and adduced a portion of a letter written and published four months before our " words " were penned , as
his justification for attributing to us the " statement '' he put into our mouth ! We then exposed the " trick . " We called it an unworthy shift . We designated his conduct as dishonest ; we said he was a turning , twisting , eel-like opponent : and because we did so , the Mercury now says that we " are SO entirely destitute of decency and good manners , as not to be able to conduct a controversy on matter of fact without vulgar and low-lived abase " . It is •'• decent" to put words" into the mouth of your
opponent which he never used : it is " vulgar and low-lived" to expose the fraud . It is "decent" to try to wriggle out of the mess , by bringing other people ' s " words" to uphold your assertion tbat your opponent made the statement yon attributed to him : it is " vulgar and low-lived" to designate this as trickery , and to follow your shameless and dishonest opponent fully up , and lay him sprawling on his back in the dirty kennel of invention and falsehood I
If the conduct of the Mercury throughout this controversy has been in accordance with , decency and good manners , " we are quite content to be considered as " vulgar and low-lived , " We know where his conduct has landed him ; and we know also tbat be has enabled as to orovr orei him moat lustily . The Mercury overs that we shrink from upholding the statements of Mr . O ' Connor , respecting the £ 300 CLEAR PROFIT , from four acres of land ; and that " we leave Mr . O'Connor and Mr .
John Linton to their fate . " We do neither one not the other . In the first place Mr . O ' Connor never made such a " statement . " He gave a rough calculation from memort , of what Mr . Linton had done Mr . Linton , seeing that there were inaccuracies in that calculation , forwarded to as a plain and clear " statement" of what had been the actual result of his experiments upon some three quarters of an acre of land . That " statement" bore out Mr . O'Connor ' s rough estimate in the main ; and on that " statement" have , ever since , been all
our reasonings , calculations , inferences , and conclusions ( as well aa those of Mr . O'Connor in the Star ) been founded . We have not "left" either Mr . O'Connor or Mr . Liniow , " to their fate . " The " statements" whioh we have made on the authority of either of those gentlemen , we are still ready to uphold , if tbe Mertury should again venture to gainsay them , or try to refute them . And in doing this , we will not try to pin him down , even to "decency . " He may be as " vulgar" and as " low-lived" as he pleases . - The pubh ' c
will know how to discriminate - between the argHment and the " abuse . " The more of the latter , the less of the former . And , whenever we see a man shy off on the pretence of "vulgarity" and " low-livedness , " we always set it down that he is oonsoious that he is beaten . Were it not so , he would stand bis ground , and triumph . Were " vulgarity" or " low-lived abuse" resorted to against him—the exposure of the one , arid the exhibition of the other , would be his justification . None bat the really contemptible ever affect contempt .
For the present we must desist . Other matters claim both time and space . Some other daj , we will return to it . We have another Report of Mr Baines ' s to bring before the public , to show that " the Land ; THE SOIL , is our only resource . " We shall dish that up for him some day ; and give some other matter tbat will tend to manifest the soundness of hia advica .
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TO THE CHARTISTS OF LONDON , Brethren , —The period having now arrived when , according to the New Plan of Organization , our functions as your delegates have ceased , we venture to lay before yon our parting address for your attentive perusal . It will not be necessary for us to give a detailed account of our proceedings ; suffice tojsay , that with a very limited amount of funds , we have accomplished a vast amount of good . Brethren , we address yen as men who are determined te use every effort for the attainment of oar beloved Charter . We are prepared to make every prudential sacrifice for that object . We call upon you to do the same , if yon are men who h ' iAimk in
the ennobling principles of which we have been the representatives ; give , we beseech you , every practical proof in your power of the fidelity of your belief : suffer not an opportunity to escape you wherein you may be of use in disseminating the principles' ot unadulterated Chartism . Bear the vilification of designing enemies with that forbearance which is truly indicative of a weli-f egulated mind , and the sequel will be the triumph of every virtue that adorns the character of man over every species of vice that degrades him . We earnestly request you to give all the pecuniary support in your power to the new Exeontive . Let not their means of doing good be crippled by want of the necessary funds .
Brethren , we call on you to unite—to be firm ; for unity and perseverao . ee , in a nation that is oppressed , will secure to it its freedom . Let petty bickerings cease for ever in your oatuisels , and peace and harmony succeed in their place ; Adhere most rigidly to the law ; but sever cease to let yonr oppressors know that they deprive you of participating in its enactment . Brothers , once more we call on yon to support the Executive—to concentrate your efforts to forward the New Plan of Organization . Shew the world you mean what you talk about . Let the spirit of brotherly love be seen to pervade all your actions ; and in tbat spirit we bid you farewell .. Signed , on behalf of the delegates , Wh . Matthews , CluJraan .
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NEW MOVEJOF THE LEAGUE . REPEAL OF { ALL TAXATION !» We must call particular attention to tbe " new move" of tbe League , as developed at Wakefield on Fr iday last . \ For years we have ( been expounding the doctrine that our difficulties , including the " verge of Bankruptcy" and " ruination" have sprung from excessive taxation ; and that it was hopeless even to
dream of being better , until we dealt with an almost untparing band with that ticklish question . We have oftentimes set forth the gross injustice that would assuredly } be inflicted on all classes of lam-payers , by any measure that would further depreciate prices of articles of produce , while our tax-engagements remained fixed in money-amount . We have also , times without number , demonstrated that any measure of free trade must inevitably enhance the burden of taxation , unless the amount of taxation was reduced , so as to meet the " altered circumstances of the country . "
Hitherto , bowever , | it has been impossible to get the Leaguers to touch the question . They have fought most exceedingly shy of it . Look it in the face they would not . ; Tackle it , they dare not . Now , however , the Rubicon is passed ! Now , however , tbe League have touched 1 Now , they have handled ! and bandied to some purpose , too Be it known , that on Friday , Oct . 13 ; h , 1843 , Mr ,
John Murray , hired tool of the League ; paid emissary of that body ; and representative extraordinary of the League in Wakefield on that particular day ( having been sent down from London expressly J ; this said Mr . John Mubsat , being hired and paid as aforesaid , did , before the face of hundreds of British subjects , and when acting on behalf of the League , propose that " Labour should be freed from all monopolies , and AU TAXATION" !!!
Now thut ' B what we call going the " whole hog " with a vengeance . u Labour freed from ALL taxation" f What will Sir Robert Pesl say ! There is a blank look out for him ! Labour necessarily bears the burden of ' all taxation . " Nothing ; nor nobody else , but Labour and the Labourer , can by any possibility pay taxes . " Labour is the source of ALL wealth . " "Free Labour from ALL taxation , " and you have no taxation at all 1 !! Again we ask , what will Sir Robert Peel say \
We now get at the meaning of the League , with respect to taxation . They are for maintaining " National faith" " with a fhook" ! John Murray , specially representing and acting for the League , proclaims tbat " Labour ought to be freed from ALL taxation . " What is the DEBT-man to do ! What is the abut to do ? How is the navy to be paid Where are the " pretty misses" on the pension list to look ! How is the civil list to come on ! Where is Albert to get bis £ 30 , 0001 What are to become of the privy ! councillors % What of tbe BiNECtTRisxs ? And what of the salaried men ? OJ John Murray ! and O ! you the League ! What a hornest's nest you have thrust your ugly hoof into at last !
For ourselves , we nave never dreamed of "freetng labour from ALL taxation . " We have maintained that taxation ought , in justice , to be monstrously reduced : reduced from £ 60 , 000 , 000 to 44 , 000 , 000 a-year : but tbat is the extent to which we have sought to go . John Murray and the League seek to sweep taxation away altogether ! ! ! Mr . Cobden once talked of " arresting tbe wheels of Government . " John Murray , the paid representative of the League , has shown ns how the League are to accomplish the " arrest" !!
Say not , tbat this is not the intention cf the League . Every Leaguer in Wakefield voted that such was his intention ! Every mother's son of them voted that "ALL taxation" ought to be abolished !! j We must mention ; another extraordinary circumstance connected with this Wakefield meeting . All the reports yet given to the world have been
furnisked by the Leaguers themselves : and yet not one of them has set forth the wording of Mr . Murray ' s resolution ! They say he moved one , " embody ing the principles of the Free Traders . " The ** embodying" was such as we have set forth : it therefore follows , even according to their own showing , that it is a principle with the Leaguers that Labour ; t . e the nation ; " ought to be freed from ALL TAXATION" ! 1
What say the Labonrers themselves , to such a doctrine ! Labour now seeks protection . Labour is taxed , —heavily enough God knows : and for that taxation Labour ought to lie well-protected . But what protection could Labour expect ; what protection would Labour be likely to have , if it was "freed from all taxation" \ Labour is badly off as it is
The Northern Star. Saturday, October 21, 1843.
THE NORTHERN STAR . SATURDAY , OCTOBER 21 , 1843 .
The Metropolitan Delegates.
THE METROPOLITAN DELEGATES .
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4 THE NORTHERN STAR . j ,
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Oct. 21, 1843, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct952/page/4/
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