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Northern Star (1837-1852), 11th April 1840, Edition 1 of 1, Page 4, Untitled Article

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    • THE NORTHERN STAR. SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 1840.
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      Untitled Article

      DEMONSTRATION OP THE RADICAL J ELECTORS OF HULL . : On Monday , the 6 th inst , 150 electors sat down tea splendid sapper , in honour of the principles pro-*» ed by C ! olonel Thompson , and to which few son a * b so completely acceded as to make him alnost as ¦ men a favourite with the people of Hull as his wwtby father . Johk Peck officiated aa Chairman , supported on the right by Messrs . Thompson , Larard , S . Standwish , Walton , &c , and on the left by Dr . Taylor , Messrs . Stow , Bedford , Wilde . Holder , and Dr . Coffin ; Baaie } Molony and J « hn Walker acted as crou-_ r . .. „ ^_ DEMONSTRAJWO ^ OP T ^ RADICAL | tLECTOKS ut iiULib .

      The hall was magnificently fitted up with every -emblem breathinghope -and peace . Flags formerly presented by the whiga , when they hoped to cheat the Radicals , now showed gallantly at a Radical festival . We particularly noticed one very large black flag with death ' s heads and cross bones , having in large Xpi tetters v Manchester Massacre , Ratbeormac , Poland . " ?' Tories observe and tremble . " * Universal Suffrage " was conspicuous in the room , and * capital painting of tke patriot Andrew Marvel seemed to be calling attention to a nag bearing for its motto—** If we ' re too ignoraat to make laws , We ' re too ignorant to obey them ; If too ignorant to lay-on taxes We ' re too ignorant to pay them . "

      The Socialist band was in attendance , anil , togetker with some fine singers , assisted in passing the evening in the most delightful manner ; the ladies and friends were accommodated with a row of seats , -which went completely round the room behind the Coasts . When the cloth had been removed , The Chairhas gave " The Q * een , may her ears be © pen to the distresses of her subjects , and her heart inclined to relieve them . " ^ The singers then gave very sweetly , the air of The Chairman then gave " Ike People , whose * oiee is the voice of God , may it strike terror to the hurts of their oppressors . " Air , " Rale Britannia . " In rising to propose the toast of the night , the

      iealtb of X ~ P . E . Thompson , Esq . The Chairman said , ne had osly to give the * name of the gentlemaa bead * him , and who had that night honoured them with Ks eostpany , to ensure for the toast entrusted » him the warmest reception . ( Hear , bear . ) The name of Thompson came to them alwayB Sued with endearing associations , andliie memory « f past battles they had fought nnder the gallant wher filled their mindB with hope that the son would jbflew in the same noble path which had been pointed ont to nim . ( Great cheering . ) The best wish he could form for their guest , and he was sore it y * s one participated in by every one present , ibat as bis years were extended , and his knowledge of the ¦ w « wd and mankind increased , his wisdora and patriotism might keep pace with them nntil be be-« w as wen known and as dear to the millions of

      sSBglisamea as his father . ^ Continued cheers . ) This meeting was called in honour of- Colonel Thompson , for it was only through him that their sympathies could reach the son ; and he was proud to see that son here in a society so different fros that to which he was accustomed , still giving his aid and countenance to the principles which they held , and which they hoped before long to see triumphant . He was confident , from the numbers and appearance of those present , that they would heartily approve of his having invited Mr . Thompson , and . he would now call upon them to" drink the the toast , — "Our distinguished guest , T . P . E . Thompson , Esq ., may he follow in the footsteps of his farther , and obtain the respect of his country-« &en . " { Vehement cheering , frequently renewed , in which the ladies heartily joined , waving handkerchiefs , &c . )

      Mr . Thompson , on rising to return thanks , was received with lofid and long continued cheering . He spoke nearly as foi ' ows : —Mr . Chairman and Gentlemen , —I will make no attempt to thank you for the great and unmerited compliment which -has been paid me to-night ; but shall endea-Toar to recal a few drctOBsUnces connected with the politica of this town . I cannot help comparing vonx party to the grain of mustard seed in the parable which was left weak and puny , and was afterwards found a great tree . ( Cheers . ) ' - When I earae first among you , yon were a Email party of fifteen ; my task of addressing you now is a more difficult as well as a more pleasing one , when I find hundreds for tens , and meetings in every way so

      important as this . But how comes it that we are only a eectioa of the Liberals meeting thus- ! whv is it only the Radicals I may say ! Why ^ re " we not still the united Reformers ! l " see a flag there which reeals old times to my mind . I remember its being made . "We were then all united Reformers , and at that time we supported the party which have been in pewer ever &nce . We have no longer united Reformers , because they have ceased to be Reformers at alL ( Hear , hear . ) They have mocked and betrayed as . Not one question nave they settled , not one pledge have they left unbroken ; they have miserably Mwaustn every thing , and now they-are about to leave ns . ( Great cheering , and cries of the sooner the better / 1 j Aye , continued Mr . Thompson , they * r » % bout to have us , and I for one shall not regret

      their , but in what state do they leave ns ! Sneered at by fvreign nations , and at actual war with China j a war so japnstrous and unjust , that every rightthiakisg man tons from the contemplation of it in Iwrror . and disgust . A war , undertaken t o prove our light to poison a- whole nation , and in defiance of their laws , to introduce this fatal , this deadly drug , in order that demons , in the name of Englishmen , «» y gr : > w rich in the infernal traffic . ( Great eheeriag . ) . It was the belief of Englishmen , " after the passing of the Reform Bill , that taxes would be reonced : they have Indeed reduced one , but they are about to add half a duzrn more . ( Hear , hear . ) It was the expectation of the country that the expenditure would be lessened bj the bo-called

      Reformers : it has . been increased , and is increasing . ( Hear . ) The debt , too , has been increased , Spring Rioe having managed to swindle four millions of Exchequer Bills on it , after he had squandered the money raised upon ihem . The -whole transaction was a piece ef gross swindling , which I can ody find equalled by the story of the American who went into the bar of an inn , and asked for a pint of shrub . When it was handed to him , -he asked the price of it . " Half a dollar , " was the reply . " . And iow much do you charge for dinner ! " continued the Yankee . The same , Sir ; h&lf a dollar . " *• TheD , " said the former , " I will have the dinner instead of the shrub , " and down he went to dinner ; from which he was going away without payment , when

      the servant slopped him and demanded the money . * Didn ' t I take the dinner instead of the shrub , " said the Yankee . " Yes , ~ said the servant , " but you have not paid for tke sUrub . " " To be sure not , " was tne reply , " because I didn ' s have it . " ( Great langhxer . ) Spring Rice ' s legislation is all upon the same p lan . ( Hear . ) ily honest belief is , that we should gain more by having the Tories in- than the Whigs . ( Loud cries of " Yes , yes , " and " Hear , hear ? ' ) The conduct of the Whigs has been most infamous . ( Hear . ) They have blundered oa from bad to worse , until they have driven the eountry into rebellion . ( Hear , hear . ) I may be allowed to regret that the people did cot endure their miseries a little longer , in hope of some chance

      for the better , rather than rise in open revolt ? but , at the same time , I am bound to acknowledge that their cup of sorrow and tyranny was brimming fulL A change is going on tven amongst the Whig ? xnemselres ; anu the moderate Whi &s no longer find themselves Ministerial ones—erea I am looked upon by them now very different from what I was tix months ago—while the bold and manly position you Radicals have taken , ha 3 commanded for you a very different appreciation from what yon have been acenmstoined to . At . first yon were despised—you then became respected—you are now courted . < Great cheering ) The Radicals of Hull have

      -always stood together ; and I do not doubt but that they wfit do so stilL Conttane-yonr plan of operation—if is a good one ; and if you see any wavering - a the part of the Whigs , put your threat in force—» s von did last time—and return two Tories . You will at the next election have one candidate in the field , and another in reserve ; and if the Whigs dare «• pot up two men , you must do the same , and let < be Tories win . ( Great cheering . ) Mr . Thompson expressed his- gratitude for the reception he had met "with , and sat down amid great cheering . His speech was listened to throughout with the utmost atie&goo .

      In proposing the next toast , the Chairman deamateed the treachery and trickery of the Whigs to * wards all the best friends of the people , and their tergiversation and abandonment of every public principle . Twelve months ago , he said , a few men ra Hull determined to be no longer the dupes of the Whigs , but to prepare for a little upon fair and just jainciples . No sooner was this resolution known than jfiieir opponents , like cowards , when they saw they oonld bully no longer , determined to submit , er pretended to do so ; Dnt the dastardly rascals . showed die cloven foot the moment they thought they had it all their own way . ( Hear , hear . ) He did not

      speak of the party generally , but only of that degraded crew known as the Advertiser clique , who abould yet be made to humble themselves in the dust , and me the day they ever divided from the Radicals . The Chairman then gave an account of the low and disreputable conduct of Mr . Clay , the candidate for this town , and concluded by proposing as a toast—*• Colonel T . P . Thompson , oar much esteemed and nimbly gifted friend , whose philanthropy has earned # » r him the love of the working mUnon 3 of this country . " Drank with all the honours , and trejnendous applause . Song— " The Good Old Country Gentleman . *

      Before lie . Thompson rose to reply , Mr . Westerbt , © fewer , said he fete it his duty , as one of those who had been duped by Mr . Clay , to bear his testiaony u > the truth of what the chairman , Mr . Peck , laa | related of the despicable and contemptible

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      conduct of Mr . Clay , and his party . He could assure the meeting that so far from exaggerate ins ; Ms baseness , it had rather been softeneddowji . ( Cheers . ) Mr . Thompson said he rose with much less 'embarrassment to speak to his father ' s health than to his own , because he was conscious they all knew his father ' s worth , and were well able to jad ^ e for themselves , both from his writings , his opinions , and his conduct ; whereas , as in his ease , they « ould only judge from his sentiments , and which he had too seldom an opportunity of expressing te -fiiem They all knew when the Ministry bad determined on the brctal war against Canada , how gallantly his father bad stood forward against it . ( " He did , he did . ") It was evident that the Government were -determined to endeavour to put down the 2 ? & * ^ ^ f [ P £ - He «** d * , ? * meeting that so far from

      exaineerafe-Chartists * e illegal , and yet , strange to say , he had lately bees among a large party of his professional brethren , where the Charter became the subject of conversation , and was unanimously and unhesitatingly declared to be a legal document . ( Cheers . ) He hepei Colonel Thompson would be their member at the aext election , in spite of the open enmity of the Tones , -er the still more dangerous , becaase pretended , friendship of the Whigs ; and in his fether ' s name be returned his warmest thanks for their kuxmess , * nd sat down loudly applauded . Mr . Djlrikl Molony then ^ ave the health of Feargca O'Connor , Esq ., the champion of the people b rights ; may God send him a safe deliverance oat of the hands of his enemies . Drank with all the hoaours .

      Mr . Johk Walker , in rising to propose a toast , said he wished to call their atteHtion to one nurtured among them , who had gained their friendship by hiei pnvate , and their esteem and confidence by his public conduct . His talents were admitted and admired by all , and the beat proof which could be offered of the hign rate at which the Whigs val » ed them , was the fact of their disgraceful and continued persecution of him : he alluded to Henry Vincent , now suffering foradvocating principles avowed by them all ; and he could conclude with the toast : — " Our talented townsman and representative in Convention , Henry Vincent , and may his oppressors perish like the leaveB in autumn . " Drunk with nine times nine-Air— " The land of the leal . " Mr . Westesby then proposed , " The Welsh Martyrs , Frost , Jones , and Williams , and may they be speedily restored' to the bosoms of their families . " Drank , by request of the Chairman , in solemn ailenca .

      In allusion to the last toast , the Chairman said that it had been suggested to have a petition signed and presented in their favour by Grace Darling , who had already so greatly distinguished herself by saving the lives of her fellow creatures . Mr . Wildb then gave " The health and speedy liberation of Messrs Lovett , Collins , M'Douall , and all our other persecuted and imprisoned brethren . " The Chairman- then gave " Radical Reform , may it 3 supporters increase and its triumph be near . " The Chairman next gave " Robert Owen : " may he live to see his principles spread over the earth , as the waters coTer the sea . " Doctor Coffix replied in a speech of much feeling and talent .

      When our Reporter left , the meeting was continued till a late hour in the morning with the utmost friendship and hilarity . The best results may be fully anticipated from the meeting .

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      It is Mr . Bronterre O'Brien ' s particular request that all letters and communications intended for him , shall , during his imprisonment , be addressed to the care of Mr . J . Smith , News Agent , Scotland-place , Liverpool , by whom they wiD be duly forwarded to him .

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      THE DUTY AND INTEREST OF THE MIDDLE CLASSES TO BE INCESSANT IN THEIR EXERTIONS FOR THERELEASE OF FROST FROM BONDAGE . The great struggle of the higher , monied , and middle classes to keep the people in subjection ; to enhance and continue that political thraldom by which the industrious bees are cheated of their

      Ehare in the arrangenment and disposition of the social hive , and of their due participation in the honey thereof , has given them a signal triumph ( at least in their estimation ) in the fate of poor Frost and his compeers , who Beem to be driven from the land and the home of their fathers , the endearments of society , and the sweets of life for ever . They regard this as a triumph becaHse of their alleged leadership in the movement at Newport .

      This matter has almost exclusively occupied the attention of the public from that time to this . We deem it not at all likely that the public will ever suffer if to rest until their tin just sentence has been reversed ; but now , that a little of the most feverish of the excitement has subsided , we may well address ourselves to that class of whom the most prominent of those victims was a distinguished and

      most respectable member , on the suicidal folly of their conduct in permitting him , a member of their own order , to be thus sacrificed in defiance of the forms of law ; and on the duty which they owe to themselves—even for the preserving of that political dominance , of which they are as anxious for the retention as we are to deprive themef it—instantly to set about an effectual agitation for his recal .

      It is , at least , worth while to inquire into the direct and remote bearings of this case upon the state and circumstances of the middle classes as the ostensibly free subjects of a constitutional and representative Government . Let us Buppose , for the sake of argument , that all that has been alleged of the purposes and designs of Frost is true ; that he did intend , through the medium of armed force , to change the constitution and form of Government ; and to make an entire revolution in the institutions of the country . Let it be even granted that his

      purpose \ ras to levy war against the Queen in her realm ; to wipe off the National Debt with a sponge ; and to effect a general distribution of property , prior to the establishment of the People ' s Charter as the basis of a new constitution . We are not aware that the wijdest vagaries of party maMce ever charged him with more than this . For the sake of our present argument , then , let it be all granted ; and then let us ask of the middle classes how stands the case ? They claim to be the free subjects of a free

      state . What is the guarantee of their freedom ? They will tell us lae law—the common and statute law of the land—of which Frost was a transgressor . The slightest glance at the history of the last hundred and fifty years trill show us that the common l aw , which has been defined to be " common right , ' is little else but a name . The security of the people ' 3 liberties by the common law has been again and again proved to be no security at all ; and that dominance which is called the "freedom" o * the middle classes , to whom we now

      address ourselves , is ^ upheld only by the statute law ; and it is justly and truly holden , by the most eminent legal authorities , that the statute law can then only be acknowledged as an efficient safeguard of the subject ' s liberty , when the construction of all its forms , enactions , and provisions is most rigidly literal ; that the law must be held to mean just what it says and no more , nor anything else ; that if a prosecutor fail in complying with any portion of the literal forms of a penal

      statute , and neglect to rectify his blunder previous to coming into Court , such neglect vitiates the whole proceeding , and puts him out of Court . And though this strict abiding by the law may sometimes cause a culprit to escape upon a point of form , yet can it never be departed from without sacrificing the snbject ' s only certainty of safetyfrom oppression . This doctrine has been always held in theory ; though recent experience has furnished ns , in this case , with a lamentable departure from it in practice .

      If this then be a true statement of the case , with respect to the operation of the statute law upon the snbject ' s liberty , the middle classes are , of all men , most bound to see to it , that the law in all—even the most minute—of its forms be , in all cases , most religiously complied with . They have wealth , power , and influence ; they have the franchise , by their representatives ; they make the laws , and hence they think themselves invulnerable ; but if they enforce not the administration of those laws by that method which is alone recognised as their safeguard from oppression , they may find , to their titter

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      cost , that they have been deceiving thenuelves—that , while seeking to establish , they have , in reality , undermined their own political and social status . There iB not one of their whole order who may not shortly be obnoxious , and the subject of a Government prosecution . If , then , they permit , in this case , the forms of law , which are the subject ' s only safeguard , to be quietly dispensed with , how clear is it to perceive that they are establishing , against themselves , a fearful precedent—a precedent which , , ^ 9 * . *¦* « " * ^ ^ d « oeivingthemselve 8-that , wWi « «^ n «» ?« « = t . M « ai , A « > .. <« . : _ i : i _

      no tyrannical Ministry will hereafter be slack to lay hold of for the M liberal" effectuation of the destruction of any and every one by whom their nefarious proceedings may be called in question . Let but this case be quietly passed over and forgotten , and depend upon it that it will be most carefully remembered by those who may be hereafter disposed to revert to it as an instrument of oppression . If the principle is to be recognised that a conviction may be sustained in defiance of a

      glaring violation of the forms of law , the consequence of following eut this principle will be that the functions of Parliament will be , in a great measure , superseded . Instead of the wholesome progressive coarse of canvassing alegislative bill in all its details , before it can become a law , it will be then only necessary to enact the principle ; leaving the forms and details to the necessities arising oat of the purpose of the prosecutor which may call for them . This is an awkward predicament , but it is not the worst into which the precedent of the " Queen v . Faost and others" is like to lead you , Messrs .

      Middle-class Men ; for , whenever thenceforth called to defend yourselves against a penal prosecution , you will find yourselves in a state of most blissful ignorance as to your true position . Yon may suppose yourselves safe in the knowledge that , in your case , not merely the usual practice , but the plain words of the law have been disregarded ; you may tell the Judge that you received at different times the documents which the law sa ^ rs yon shall receive at the Bame time ; but the accusing counsel will instantly start up and remind the Court that , in the case of Frost it was ruled that the " same

      time" might mean two different tunes ; that Monday might mean Saturday , or Saturday Wednesday ; and that , therefore , the objection must be overruled ; nor could the Court do otherwise than overrule it . Thus might yon find the law fitted to the humour of the prosecutor ; and the idea that an Englishman cannot be condemned otherwise than in accordance with the law completely falsified in practice . There is yet another consequence which you must not lose sight of , for to you it is important . The apathy you manifest at the open violation of your only safeguard against tyranny places you in a strange light before the other classes of

      society . The higher or aristocratic classes most cordially despise you . They see your clumsy efforts to imitate their vices , while you seem careful to avoid every semblance of their virtues . They do feel conscious that , while delighting to be all in all , and the monopolists of power , they have done something for the comfort and well-being of those whom they delighted to look down upon as their dependants ; while they regard you—their impotent successors in a feudalism not less absolute , because less honourable , than the ancient one—as a low , mean , sneaking , cowardly , selfish set of fellows , whose very hearts are set on gold , and who care not , so they get it , how it comes .

      That this is their opinion of you , is proved sufficiently by the contemptuous treatment of your Corn Law repeal cry . They will neither repeal nor modify the Corn Laws to abate your clamour . Nor do your own Government—the middle-class Government—powerless as they are , and important as even a single vote is to them , think it worth their while to purchase the support of your whole body by a concession of this matter .

      You will not lessen the contempt with which you are regarded by your betters , by allowing one of your own order—a man of most estimable character and of respectable connections , to be dragged from his home , reduced to the condition of a felon , and made to herd with the miscreant outcasts of society , for a crime of which he was never legally convicted . Let him—one of your own order—be thus treated , and then you will indeed , deserve to be chastised with whips , and doubly chastised with scorpions .

      But if you are despised by the classes above you , you are most sincerely hated by those whom yon affect to think beneath yon . You asked , you begged , you almost kneeled to them , for aid to carry the Reform Bill . You know that without them you never could have carried it . They did aid yon . They gave to you the franchise ; and had you honestly employed the political power you obtained through their assistance , Chartism and the Charter would not in this generation have been thought of . It has been your fate hitherto to blast and disappoint the hopes of a confiding people . The representatives chosen by you have been more tyrannical and oppressive than those which were returned under the old system

      of Tory despotism . The Tories have , in truth , been the rulers , under a system of Whig connivance , and in return for all their sacrifices in the cause of Reform , the labouring millions of this country have received the boon of the New Poor Law , the Rural Police , a failing revenue ^ increased expenditure , national disgrace , and accumulated suffering . ' All this has been the result of middle-class advancement to the possession of political power , and now if , in defiance of the law , you suffer the advocate of popular rights , however uatvilling you may be to ' recognise those rights , to be thus classed with felon , convicts , you will indeed have filled up the cup of your political iniquity , and -of that cup will a frantic people , one day , fill to you a double measure of the woes you have inflicted , and make you drink it .

      Where will yen be when the masses refuse to trade with you ? when the publics-house is forsaken and the teapot broken } when the pipe is dashed to the eartb , and a general reBolve is come to to abstain from every article ( as far as possible ) from which the revenue and your profits are alike derived ! And , above all , how will you feel when the advice of your pets , the Poor Law Commissioners , Bhall be acted upon , as , depend upon it , it will be , and not one penny of poor-rate be collected till your books have been examined , and your affairs carefully looked into , in order to the assessment of yonr profitable stock-in-trade 1 These are nofc ' matters to be passed

      over witha-Btwerv ¥ os'wnsk-4 n&k £ ttp-9 dux « mb « 1 either to endure all this calamity * , ' or to join with the working classes—who are the main staff of your order , and without whom you would be nothing—in demanding the recal of tKdir friends—the liberation of all those incarcerated for political offences—the enactment of measures of substantial and speedy justice . Your fate is in your own hands : it is not too late yet to retrace your steps ; but the golden moments are fast fleeing away , and with yon it rests whether you will be wise in time , or wait ' till , in your infatuated blindness , you are borne away in the hurricane which your own folly has occasioned .

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      — ^~ ^ ™ ™ » v v * ^ r v ^^^ F ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^ F ^^^ r ^ r ^ F ^^ r ^ w ^ r ^ r ^^ r DEVIL-KING LAW . "The wicked Bhall be snared in the work of his hands . " We are indeed much mistaken if the three-headed Devil King has not , for once , well illustrated our motto . We recently took occasion to pay a just tribute to the first good thing that , so far as we know , has yet issued from his den . We always wish to give even the Devil his dae ;

      nor would we be less just to the Devil King . We should indeed be sorry if those for whom , on all occasions , he has manifested a most , diabolical solicitude , should lose anything af the fall benefit of bis satamc care . / 'Tis so seldom , indeed , that the least semblance of an approximation to justice disturbs the uniformity of his pceoesdings , or varies the character of his mandates , that we mast earnes % « peat our call

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      on all honest men to aid in this his first essay towards a good work , contrary to his wont and nature . To be seriouB , howover , we do think that the people never had so fair an opportunity of emancipating themselves from the trammels of the New Poor Law as that which is afforded by the order of the Commissioners , dated 6 th of March . This cursed law , which , in point of fact , annihilates all law , upon the subject of relief to the poor , was entirely the work of the middle classes . It was passed for their especial benefit ; that , through its medium , they might obtain more and greater facilities for grinding the faces of the poor , and for coining their bones and blood . - r ^ II ~ I * on all honest men to aid in this his first essay *™ i-j « _ — ij - % . —1 _ . _ x . vs . _ .. i .. y

      Little , indeed , did the mercenary , avaricious , and cruel monsters imagine that into the pit which they had digged they stood a good chance of being plunged themselves , and that , too , by the very power which they , had contrived for the purpose of carrying their unchristian and devilish designs into full and horrid execution . Yet so it is ; and if the people did but know their power , and had they resolved , like their forefathers , rather to die freemen than to live slaves , they would soon so act as to compel the profit-mongers to go to Parliament , and ask for the repeal of the accursed law , with far more earnestness than that with which they first sought for its enactment .

      Let the people now bestir themselves in every place where the law has been brought into operation : let them determine that for once "it shall work well , " and that its middle-class admirers shall have their full share of its boasted blessings and advantages . The orders of the Commissioners are law . In their exercise of this most unconstitutional power , they have inflicted the most terrible injury—the most heartless and relentless cruelty upon the poor , for the crime of poverty . These acts have been applauded by the shopocracy , and they have been adored as gods by

      tho worshippers of the factory Moloch , and the votaries of the trading and commercial Mammon . Partners united for life at the altar of God have been separated ; children have been denied the sight of their almost distracted parents . Homes have been broken up , and hearths have become desolate . Seduced innocence has been driven to the commission of infanticide and self-destruction , while the mean , base , worthless , diabolical , seducer is secured with impunity according to law . All this , however , has been only like the sounds of music and revelry to the brutes who fatten on public plunder , and who are now canting about " cheap bread" only that they may the more effectually enrioh themselves by

      the robbery and the legalised murder of their helpless fellow-men . Now , let the people fight those gentry with their own weapons . Let them be speedily and effectually entangled in the meshes of their own pet law , and the more they kick and plunge , under the operation of the Commissioners' " rules , orders , and regulations , " the tighter let th « cords be drawn . These fellows want some instruction in the propriety and fitness of the law of retaliation , and if the people possess half the courage and good Btomach to the work which they ought to do , they will give them some practical instruction on that subject which they will remember , and it may be profited by to the latest hour of their existence .

      Let every honest lover of his country and his kind rush to his postr , and let committees of ratepayers , and of those who do not directly pay them , be formed in every village and town in every Poor Law Union throughout the nation , and this with as little delay as possible , that they may aid the Devil-King in his benevolent designs . We recommend this course , in order that the fourth suggestion of the foul and hell-begotten monster may be carried into full effect with all imaginable celerity . Had our advice been followed , —had no Guardians been appointed and rates been steadily refused , the law

      before this time would have disappeared from the Statute Book . We regret that thiB was not done , but we do not yet despair . If our present advice be followed out , the eve of deliverance will soon arrive . " It is , however , clear , " say the Commissioners , *• that the valuation of such stock-in-trade as may be rateable , must be made in respect of the profit which , may be realised by its means , and not of the total present value as so much capital . " And again , in the same direction : — " It is incumbent on the officers making the rate to shew the groundt of this estimate . " There ,

      fellow-countrymen—there is your text drawn in its full and fair proportion from the Bible of the triple-headed monster himself . See to it that you preach such a practical sermon from it to your profitmonger oppressors as they shall not soon forget . Those who now afford with reluctance the meanest pittance from the parish funds to unwilling poverty , who look upon distress with an eye of cold indifference , and who care not that the lovely daughters of England should die in a ditch or get their bread by the abandonment of virtue , so long as they can get a reduction of the p oor rates , may ,

      if the people will but bestir themselves , be made to feel , even to their heart ' s core , the anguish of spirit and the cruel bondago they have made their victims endure . Let the committee We have recommended be at once put into active operation ; lot a vigilance more searching than that attributed to the fabled Argus be exercised over the rata book , and let us see how these shopocrats will relish the balancing of all their business accounts and the ascertaining of their profits , in order that they may contribute their honest f hare to the relief of the necessities of their poorer brethren . How will they face the world

      when it shall be discovered that all their splendid establishments and brave show of wealth is only a delusive fiction , and the . ofllcer must enter in his books , that So-and-so , whois considered one of the staunchest manufacturers , shopkeepers , and tradesmen in the place , is only dashing on upon the credit of a fictitious capital , and that he has not the means of paying 5 s . in the pound . Under the active operation of this order of the Commissioners , ruin to thousands would be the order of the day . Many who now tyrannise over the poor with a high hand , would stand a good chance of experiencing the pleasures of abastile , and have the opportunity ot testing in their own persons the comforts of

      separation , and the nutritious qualities of a workhouse diet . No feeling or sympathy has heen-exptessed or felt when . the . jpoor opEsessed mechanic or agricultural labourer has been compelled to break up his home , or when , in the hour of nature ' s severest anguish , the daughter of poverty has been refused an asylum , and been compelled to bring forth her offspring ( as , not many weeks since , was the case in Leeds ) in the public streets , exposed to thegaxe of the casual passenger . And they , too , may be , before they are aware of it , deprived of every comfort ; their daughters may resort to prostitution to satisfy the demands of hunger ; and their wives may be leftto bring forth their little ones upon the stonesof the streets .

      But we may depend upon it , the capitalists and moneymongers dahe not meet the ordeal . They will shrink appalled from the inquiry . And then what is : the alternative ? A decision of the Court of Queen ' s Bench is recorded againsi them ; and , since that decision , say the . Commissioners— " Ix can no LONGER BE DOUBTED THAT EVBBT EATS MAY BE SUCCESSFULLY APPEALED AGAINST IF AST INHABITANT HAVING PRODUCTIVE STOCK-IN-TRADE BE OMITTED

      THEREFBOM . " TbJB then is the alternative : —If the shopkeepers do not like to have their books overhauled , the people must not like to pay t £ e rates . The law pretends to be made for all . The Commissioners say that any rates may be successfully resisted if any inhabitant liable to be rated is not in the rate book . Let the fact be ascertained ; and wherever it is so , let no rates be paid . Let an appeal be made as directed by the Poor Law Commissioners ; and let them aad their friends , the middle classes , fight it out as best they may .

      Untitled Article

      - — _ .. —^——m ^ ^^^ ~ - ^^^^^ ' TO ALL THOSE WHO ARE IN A WORS * POSITION THAN UNDER A PROPER ADMINISTRATION OF AFFAIRS THEY WOULD BE LIKELY TO BE . " Hereditary bondsmen , know ye not Who would be free , himself must strike the blow [• My Friends , —I am now of the leaders of mj party almost alone in this Bea-bound dungeon . % ' me incarceration would be a comparative r « . lief—and for this reason , because I know yon well enough to be assured that the moment you aron *! from your slumber , and find yourselves deprived of * ' your accustomed and legitimate leaden , you wiQ be seized by that frenzy which marks the member _ , ^^ TO ALL THOSE WHO ARE IN A WoS position twaw ttvtyet > » -n ^^^ lP

      of a united family / when bereft of a fond and affec * tionate parent . I have seen my associates lopp « 4 off one after the other , and , I have exclaimed , "With the incarceration of myself , one of two dreunurtaiie * must occur : —Either your leaders will congratulate themselves in their separation fVom a worthlen party , or that party will arouse from its lethargy V , and , with a voice not to be misunderstood , will dj ! ' h mandthe release of those whohave unjustly Buffered . *^ I have told you over and over again that X woddt-lj break oppression ' s head , or oppression should breafc * my heart ; and now that I am within the tranunek *

      of the law , I shall not retract a single jwntende' & * I ever ntUMdr nidth 6 r ' /^ t ' P 5 ni ^ ^ j ^ MdQ ) i at the expense of my principles and jeur cause , jf have been prevented from fredyKexpressfa w my thoughts for the last ; six tto ^ SU& i ~ im I should endanger the cause <^ ' J ^ jrV B ^ ae ^ and his associates , and from the fear flbat flji wonted boldness of the Star should be urged ^ matter of further persecution against ^ o / ur frieajf who remained for trial . The whole fprocesfr &ns ^ over ; Frost and his associates are gone from 4 » land of their fathers , while our brothers ai e *^

      signed to loathsome dungeons for no other «^» JI than seeking the destruction of oppreaflion , eSJI means that the law with its multifer&ns ^ w » H could furnish has been resorted to ; they have Wj their victory , but Us pric « ^ rejtaains' in ^ your nad&ji If you submit to the degradation and puiilahniS ^ those who stood up for youi rights , what have Imm complain of ? In taegreat changes which iu con ^ men with them I soug ^ , I idld not contempliteV M did not look for , any amelioration of ^ my ownliriaM dition or oircumstances . The change wa 8 &rTda-- * S wholly for you ; inbooking fof that change fce'ksKl ble , the anxiety , and ' the expenses bis . been ) in al

      is there that I would not hear for fefl' ^^ -f ment of our common object ! But individ ^^ tiner . f ing will not do ; will yon bear * tet £ 1 pr ^ eribe to you—what I advise ; to you—and what , if ^ ej ^ ary , ^ I will command you to perform ? Wili you perforai ^ an easy and a pleasing service for three abort f months , in order tov ensure an eternity <^ I bliss ! Yes ; let your enemies revile foui ^ let your oppressors condemn you—let ^ jaafc ^ foes despise you as they may , still J doll love you in my heart , because , in the bottom Of tWfI hear t , I believe in your virtue , your wortnVandyoifclf patriotism . I now jpeak to you only , with th £ bli » i * $

      tered hands , the fustian jackets , iaid the naftoja ^ chins ; I seek not to associate yon with any iothiet ^ party in the state , I tell jot i £ at jfcbeir warfare i * i that of the rich oppressor against the pooir ¦ « & % pressed ; that you must stand alone or tall together ^ My Editor—as good , as honourable , as oonscienttoMliL and virtuous a gentleman and patriot as lives—tov gether with many other good £ ri « nd > , has endeaVouw ^ to induce the middle classes to join you . I tell yonJ and I tell you truly , that they never will join yon Is Your weakness is their strength , and from y « ij | poverty springs their aggrandisement . ;; - '

      " As well may , the lamb with tiger unite , -3 The mouse with the cat , or the lark with the kite i" A ? Take this , without further explanation , as a truism ; i The law has been turned against you—th&mstita 4 l tions of the country have been perverted for youill ruin ; how then , independently of the law and t&ij institutions , can you right yourselves ? I will teft I you . ' - . ¦ ¦ : ¦¦ ¦' ¦ ¦ ' ; | i For three months show your real ' sympathy torn your incarcerated leaders , by subjecting yourselwi

      to the regimen imposed by law- upon them . '> AImuht don all orders but your own—desert-the house M profligacy and dissipation—mark With your strong ** indignation the man who vioJateslhe sacred pledg * of abstinence—andlet that pledge be , the sacred oaAto abstain from everything profitable to you ^' ta s ^ masters . Thus , you cut off the very sinews of war ! and carry desolation into the ranks of yoal oppressors . This is but one step—for I do not wish you to give up your constitutional agitation , and your persevering demand for the establishment of the Charter of your rights , ;

      Having said thus much , and before I enter upoi a consideration of the manner in whioh our friend * have been treated and tried ; let ' tne consider W present position as contrasted with that which m occupied fifteen months ago . In January , 1539 , w started from a certain point—our principles were-bat little knqwn- ^ -tbey bore all the' horrors of iiovel ^ and of innovation . Many * men joined us for ibi

      purpose of turning those principles' to fchfir owi advantage . I then told you , te I now repeat , M our greatest difficulty would be in wuuwmng the chaff from the corn , in separftttpg :: - prisc ^ le ftai delinquency . At length we have ^ accompU * hedtli end , and though the price ia dear , yetk ^ p nirelttii valuable , \^ e have got rif of . thenu i 5 l ! fejr ! * & * % clog upon us—the . past will furnishTex ^ ejien ce ftr the future , and teach us to know our friends frol

      our enemies . ' - Now , although a year , or two ; or three is alod period in o » e man ' s life , yet is it nothing in t | history of a country ; and I do assert , without ( m of contradiction , that in no country upon thefaeeii ! the earth has the democratic Cause , made Such pit * gress as it has in this country within the last twe | r » months . We must infer , then , ifeat ^ if we do jot ; go back , our next starting must-be , from &i | tj ||^ whereat we have now arrived ; When that mX start shall be , must depend whoUy upon yonrsOT as you are now left to the nie > cy , irf wil < Jdes | y I would date it from next Monday / week , * . £ p tf ! Monday ; and notwithstanding all that has beeffl " * i

      in derision of a sacred holiday , and in contemjf # public meetings , that every town / -village , 4 p hamlet should meet upon that day , and getjp petitions to the House of Ooacfnons in the mode . i ^ manna ! in ^ which I sh ^ hereafter ^ descrn ^ ^" object of those . petitions aKduld * be , to 1 «^ that an humble address be presented to her tiir . jesty , forthwith to' dismiss her ( present adviw . from her presence , and to select others m * would make the question of Universal SnifrigM Cabinet measure—to petition for the restoratiwlf Frost , Williams , and Jones to their families * aid likewise to liberate every man now incaroeraM ^ political offences . If we wished to make aoiJf pression upon the House of Commpns , upoB ; tto

      question of the Suffrage alone , I shojild never cona * sel you to resort to petition ; but inasmuch * a * valuable debate may be had on the other two subjerf * I do deem it advisable . * . The mode of getting up the meetings land *** petitions should be as follows : —A requisition & <*" be sent forthwith to the proper ; authority , adfcf him to convene a meeting for the above objects . 1 ° the event of refusal , the required number of bwa *" holders should convene it themselves : when a boMr

      a manly , and discreet Chairman should be appoint ** to preside over the meeting , and keep order , xj * petition should be signed , not by the Cb * irnianjb » by every . man and woman -in the neighbourhood ^ there should be a men ' s petition and a woman * petition . One large sheet of foolscap would conWJ a thousand signatures . Let those remain ** - *?™| ferent houses of resort . Let them be parted to * W sheet upon which the petition is written , t *^^ - name at least be appended to that sheet , a » ofl «^ wise it would not be receivable . Let Ae petitions ^ very Bhorfc , to run thus : — ' ;

      The Northern Star. Saturday, April 11, 1840.

      THE NORTHERN STAR . SATURDAY , APRIL 11 , 1840 .

      Untitled Article

      ¦ B —•¦ —^ i ^— " ^ l " ™ ' *— ^^^^» - ^—^ "I I' ' ¦ "" "' M ™ THE CHARTIST TBIAtS- ^ THE LAW , THE EVIDENCE , AND THE VERDICTS . We have given such copious reports of the trials of our friends as to make it almost an insult to bur readers to offer a comment on the proceedings ; however , as many may be ignorant of the application of evidence to political eharges , we deem it our duty to expose the inconsistencies of the law , to comment upon the testimony of the witnesses , and to expose the prejudices of Juries . , , . M ,. THE CHARTIST TBlAt 8-. THE LAW , THE ~ _„ . ,, ~ . _ ... « ., ™ . ^~ , ~

      The Judges of the land have laid it down as a principle , and which the Crown prosecutors' have reiterated , that every man in the state is entitled to be possessed of arms ; and yet they have sent the law to the Juries , that the very possession of those arms or the purchase of those arms , amounted to ample proof of conspiracy . They have said , "God forbid that the time should ever arrive when Englishmen should be denied the right and privilege of meeting , by day or by night , to discuss their grievances , and broadly to canvass the acts of the Administration ! " and yet when they do so meet the ques

      tion left to the Juries , both by the Court and prosecutor is , whether they , as rational men * apprehended danger from those meetings ? Why , of course , a Jury of monopolists , both of money and the elective franchise , must feel some alarm at being compelled to admit the community to a parcipation of their own wealth , and to the ehare of Parliamentary influence by which that wealth has been taken from the labourer , and conferred upon him within the pale of the constitution . It must ever be borne in mind , that a qualification for a Parliamentary voter , and a qualification for a juror is nearly the same ; and thus the trial of a Chartist is a mere appeal

      from the non-elective influence to the elective power . All their prejudices against Chartism rally in the jury box ; there determined ; to uphold their authority as long as a foot of resting-ground remains . As middle-class men , the belief is , day after day , dinned into their ears that the establishment of the Charter would amount to the ruin of their order ; they , therefore , are the most ^ unfit tri-. bunal to try men for political offences , and hence the indecent haste with which every verdict . has been returned . The evidence , in many cases , such as twelve honest men would not hang a dog upon ; and in no instance has it been sufficiently strong to warrant a conviction for a common assault .

      Before we come to a consideration of the application of the evidence to the offence charged , in the case of O'Brien and others at Liverpool , let us consider the conduct of Mr . Justice Coleridge upon O'Beien ' s trial at Newcastle , as contrasted with his views at Liverpool upon the trial of Kay , Smith , Jackson , and Doyle . At Newcastle , the objection to the evidence is , that the whole speech has not been given , and that that omitted , might have amounted to a qualification of the matter charged in the indictment . Now see how this

      decision exactly squares with the rules of evidence in all cases , with the exception of Chartist cases . If one line in a letter becomes necessary evidence , the whole letter must be read . Again , a whole letter , with the exception of one line , may amount to evidence which the one line may wholly destroy . In the judgment of Judge Coleridge , then , as delivered at 'Newcastle , we entirely agree ; -while , for the same reasons , we differ toto cato from the same Judge as to the admissibility of the evidence adduced against Kay , Jackson , Smith , and Doylk « Upon their trial , even the exparteevidence was not , as

      in Newcastle , from the notes of a practised reporter , taken at the moment the words fell from the lips of the speaker . The evidence at Liverpool rested wholly and entirely upon the swearing of a drunken policeman , who wrote a clear transcript of all that was said , and without a single note , three hours after the speeches were delivered , admitting , upon his cross-examination , that he had selected what he considered to be the most treasonable passages from the speeches of the several speakers ; and also

      admitting that his admission to the police-force depended upon his capability tf satisfying Mr . Beswick , the superintendant , as to hisjitnesi for reporting Chartist meetings . Here , then , We ask whether the Bame rule of law laid down and acted opon at Newcastle , has been observed at Liverpool ? We say , decidedly not . And what can be more absolutely requisite and necessary than that the rules and practice of the law , whether good or bad , should at all events be uniform 1

      So much for the law ' s equality ; and now let us make one or two observations upon the evidence of Mr . Clarks « n , the sub-reporter of ' the Manchester Guardian . That witness was the only one called against O'Brien , Richardson , Jackson , and Bctterworth . He admitted that hereportedforaWhigpaperwholly opposed to Chartism . He admitted that he selected for insertion the passages which would best suit the taste of the readers of that paper . He admitted that he did not report one-half the proceedings : some he considered unnecessary , and , during a great portion of the time he was tired , and engaged in

      conversation with his friends . That although aware his paper would not insert more than a mere paragraph , he took full notes , for the purpose of improving himself I Here , then , we have four men isonvicted upon the evidence of a person who admits prejudice , carelessness , and incompetency . And again , we refer to * the practice , before alluded to , which requires - the reading of the whole letter—a practice which is only departed from when a necessity arises for preparing a clear stage for the Corn Law and middle-class humbugs by the Incarceration of honest men , 'opposed to their schemes and their villanies . ¦ ¦' ¦ '

      So much for the law , the evidence , and the verdicts ; and now for the clemency of the base , bloody , and brutal Whigs , and their County-Palatine , Tory Attorney-General . Poor O'Brien—the amiable , the indefatigable , the oppressed O'Brienwith his brother defendants , had sat for ten hours through an anxious trial , without a morsel to eat . O'Brien was very ill , and had been so for some timo ; Richardson declared that he had had no

      breakfast—and yet , the moment the verdict was returned , it was moved , by order of the County-Palatine , Tory Attorney-General , that ; the famished Chartists should be instantl y consigned to the cold dungeon , there to resuscitate exhausted nature under the tender care of a Bridewell keeper , and which would have been done had not Mr . O ^ Connor given bail for the prisoners' appearance .

      Will this teach you anything , you beggars , and you slaves ! Will this induce you to accept the invitation tendered by your new allies 1 You talk of physical force—you talk of dying in the last ditch ! But hold 1 we do not—we cannot blame you ; the result of this last shock has not as yet been felt throughout the land . O'Brien ' s wife is now in her confinement . Good God J what must be her feelings ! Here we stop , otherwise sedition , libel , and conspiracy would be but mild names , did we dare to indite the sentiments with which the whole transact

      turn has inspired us . Read all the trials , and rejoice that not a single Chartist has attempted to procure a commutation of his punishment at the expense of his cause . Poor Smith , a cripple , in requesting the postponement of his sentence , Baid" My Lord , I will return , I will not injure my bail , or dishonour my cause . " We learn from this that every poor man considers the cause his own . That cause is UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE , AND NO SURRENDER ! "England expects every man will do hia duty !"

      Untitled Article

      THE LIVERPOOL PEOPLE AND THE CHARTIST PRISONERS . We cannot withhold our very best thanks from the people of Liverpool for the kind and generous support administered to our Chartist friends during the Assizes . They opened both their houses and their pockets to their brethren , and manfully sustained them through their many difficulties .

      Untitled Article

      T ¦¦ PW > * ¦ ¦ ' ¦ ¦ - ' " ¦ ¦ ' ' ¦ ¦ ' " ¦ ¦ ' ' ¦ ¦ ¦ = ¦ ¦ " m h 4 ; ivjfljcfrAit % mjb&fi . . at-a b . \ . .-, ¦ . -. . -..::.. - . ,- 9 ^ ~| - » -W ~¦ ~ " " '" "' ¦ - i ¦ ^ —^— . ¦ i mmm ^—mm . ——. ^ ^ . - ¦" ' ~ fr * j ' fr * ' *| ' f 1 ' ' — j ^ mm T " " ""' ¦ ¦ " ' M " ^ ^ " "" " —^ 1 ^ ' — ¦ ] ^ B } ? I i m

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), April 11, 1840, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/king-y1kbzq92ze2679/page/4/