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Northern Star (1837-1852), 18th March 1848, Edition 2 of 3, Page 1, VOL. XI. So 543. " iQNDffii, SATORDAY, M...

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    • jo THE IMPERIAL CHARTISTS.
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      Jo The Imperial Chartists.

      jo THE IMPERIAL CHARTISTS .

      J{Y Tery Dear Friends, The Time Has Now ...

      j { y tery dear Friends , The time has now arrived when xsa have a right to expect a simple , plain , and jLfjnitive exposition of the future views and nolicr from one in whom you have so long and p o-e ' nerously confided ; and fearless of all congruences , and regardless of the taunts of all rations , I shall now proceed to a review of the oast , and to the developement of my future poli cy . ijany laughed at the extravagant notioa of a union being ever formed between the English -jjd the Irish working classes , and the hope of j j , severance and dissatisfaction of that class

      ,-as based upon the slavish , the corrupt , and ^ jo stitute mind of our Irish brethren , created lr the venal , corrupt , and prostitute Irish leaders , who , from the origin of agitation to jfce present moment , have systematically cgu ^ ht their own aggrandisement ! at the Expense of their country , which they have mined , debased , and destroyed . flTien I addressed my first letter to the Imperial Chartists I was mocked for my preemp tion , and laughed at for my ignorance '; j . ut I was aware that out of evil comes good , and { hat the Irish people , though slow to acknowled ge their own criminality , would be the first to retrace their steps .

      "Who will now doubt that a union of brave snd sympathising hearts is about to take place , between the oppressed of both nations , against the common oppressors of both countries ? and , assenting to this , who will say that my true teachin ^ of the English people , and the false teaching of the Irish people , has not produced good fruits for both countries ? Often deceived by the prospects entertained from revolution , whether physically or morally achieved , I was slow to comment upon the . rood results to be anticipated from the French Revolution- Past history made me sceptical ag to whether that change was to present great hope which could not be subsequently realised , or whether the change was to be one of permanent national benefit .

      These circumstances , operating upon my mind , impelled me to natural caution , and not an unjustifiable reserve . I watched not the mode by which a tyrant—despot—robber King pas overthrown , and his plundering accessories put to flight , but 1 waited for the deve-Jopement of that system which was to be established upon the ruins of the strongestbecause , for the time , the most corruptdynasty in Europe . And now , from the change I derive hope , consolation , and ample reward for all my services , because I see in the exposition of the French mind the resolution that

      Labour , that achieved the victory , shall be the first partaker of its fruits ; and because I learn from the declaration of the Provisional G overnment that France , strong at home , and strengthened from abroad , is henceforth to be the nurse and protector of weak nations , rendered weak not more by the corruption of their rulers than by their own disunion . After a quarter of a century's agitation , the

      French Revolution is the only one which brings conselation to my mind , because , whether moral or physical , the English and the Irish people , as 1 shall presently show , nave been robbed of every promised benefit from e very change produced by their courage , inflamed by their oppressors with the hope that thev should be participants in those changes ; ' but , in every instance , they have been deceived .

      In the case of France , it is different . There , although deprived of the power of meeting and conferring together , they have adopted every principle of the People ' s Charter ; thus giving the nation the assurance that Labour shall be represented in the French House of Commons , and giving you the proud assurance that , from your deliberative assemblies , from your speeches , and your sufferings , great nations have learned wholesome lessons;—lessons , the benefit from which , although others have reaped the first fruits , haye not been lost upon you . Perhaps , there never was a time in the historvofthisor any other country , when

      courage , resolution , and perseverance were more required , because , if we retreat an inch , the enemy will take advantage of our fears ; and if we stand still , they will laugh at our quiescence . We have no other course , therefore , left but to advance . And now , let me show vou how the people have been robbed of the fruits of the four great revolutions which have taken p lace in this country within the last quarter of a century .

      In the vear 1822 , the Irish people , crushedjby war-rents and war-tithes , waged what is called the <; White Boy Revolution . " They fought the army of the oppressor in several pitched battles , and although many of them were hung like dogs , and although I was obliged to fly my country—but not , till the struggle was overfor thirteen months ; yet the Government of that dav , forced by the courage of the people , made many changes from which , however , the tools of the oppressors were the only gainers . In 1829 , Catholic Emancipation was gained lv popular power being brought to bear upon political influences , and the only effect of that measure was , to ticket the emancipated representatives as Treasury hacks , to be bought and sold like stock upon

      'Change-We had reform brought about by political influences , promising " Peace , Retrenchment , and Reform "—but its fruits have been " War , Extravagance , and Corruption ; " because the present House of Commons is , out of all comparison , the most corrupt that has sat for the last half century , and because the Minister supports his influence by the votes of corrupt placemen and pensioners . We have had Free Trade , the promised fruits of which were " High Wages , Cheap Bread , and Plenty to do ;" But the restdts of which have been" Low

      Wages , Dear Bread , and Little todo . ^ Thisalso was procured bv political influences , and all these changes were severally contended for by the besotted working classes , who howled in the wake of treacherous politicians , artful and designing knaves , trafficking beggars , who , being too idle to work , and too poor to live without labour , sustained themselves upon the credulity of a confiding people , whom they have ever and systematically deluded . Now , mark my reason for anticip ating ; better It is because

      results from the next change . you have been instructed in the value ef a new social system , of the fruits of which you have resolved that you will not be robbed . I have told you a thousand times , that from a perfect social system alone can a perfect representative system spring ; and , in this teaching , I have shown you now the greater value than ever existed before which you will derive from a complete political revolution , because you hhve adopted the social system , which is > be made national instead of sectional by the

      political change . , T Look to the present state of unhappy Irel and there you will find that , after the ravages of pestilence , disease , fanine , and the gallows , the tyrant oppressor still hopes to up * hold his sway by the bayonet and the bullet ; ^ d so debased has the mind of that country Wome bv the false teaching of hypocrites and knaves , that a young and enthusiastic Irishman is compelled to place himself within the T fangs of the law , and to dare and invite t 5 le oppressor ' s persecution , for the purpose of destroying the vice engendered , by Ireland ' s ^ chers for half a century . And the Press , tf'C authorities , oppressors , and tyrants , call t-e man mad , and demand his life as a sacrif but should he fall in the cause of his

      cwjntry ' s regeneration , he will be the victim , Cyt of ' his o-. vn but of his country ' s folly . Of ^• -r ,- I mean John Mitchel , the proprietor of tlj Vnlttd Irishman , a gentlem an whom an ^ terminating Saxon landlord ( Lord Lansd o * ne ) , has described as one destitute and de-Vo ] d of character .

      J{Y Tery Dear Friends, The Time Has Now ...

      < toy friends , having always looked deeply into the motives and objects of those who profess to lead the public mind , I naturally informed myself as to the former position of this characterless , destitute patriot , Mr Mitchel , and you shall have the result of my inquiry from the very best source . Mr . John Mitchel is the son of a Unitarian clergyman of Newry—a man remarkable for his Sagacity , intellect , honour , and love of justice ^ At the age of seventeen , our voung patriot and hero—for as such I wish to cha

      racterise the characterless and destitute Irishman—at the age of seventeen he married . He became partner in the firm of Fraser and Mitchel , solicitors , of Newry . He carried on his own department of the profession at Banbridge , within ten miles of Newry , where hehad a comfortable and happy home , and was in possession of every comfort . His mother still lives ; and , as if the whole family imbibed their patriotism from her breast , his three sisters—all lovely girls—are as devoted to the cause of Ireland as himseif . He is not now more than thirty-years of age—has five or six childrenis a fond f ather , a kind brother , and an obedient son—all characteristics of a great and good man .

      When the promising Natio n was launched upon the flood of disturbed opinion created in Ireland , its proprietor looked to the intellectual market for talent , and finding none equal to Mr Mitchel , and that gentleman believing that his country demanded his services , and that the editor ' s desk was preferable to the attorney ' s counter , he abandoned a profession which brought him in from 800 / . to l . oooj . a year , broke up his establishment , left his happy home , and tendered his services to the proprietor of the Nation . This aspiring genius soon discovered that the fetters of the press were as galling as the fetters of the law . He discovered that Mr Duffy was a PHRASE MERCHANT , and that his

      wares were cut down and altered to suit the Nation market . The patriot could not stomach this galling masterdom—this menial situation —and he resolved upon creating anew mind in Ireland . Now , my friends , without ever having seen , or without ever having received a line from Mr Mitchel , this is the true bio graphy of a gentleman whom the worst Saxon landlord in Ireland ( Lord Lansdowne ) has

      designated as " " an ' adventurer , without character j" and you will draw your own conclusions as to the motives and objects of a highspirited young gentleman , who abandons a profitable profession , and breaks up a bappy home , and embarks the prospects of a family that is dear to him upon the troubled waters of politics , at the very time when the oppressor ' s appetite is whetted for revenge .

      I thought it but right to put you in possession of so much , because every man in Ireland , who dares to deviate from the old Conciliation Hall policy , is looked upon , or rather fantastically described , as an enemy to his country . For my own part , the debased state to which political crotchetmongers had brought the English mind in 1835 , induced meat that period , or ratber compelled me , to adopt a pretty nearly similar course , in order to destroy the influence of the Press of this country , which had misled and brutified the mind of the working classes .

      Mr Mitchel ' s object is a thorough reform of the institutions of the country , and , so long ago as 1841 , 1 told you from my dungeon , that I was not for a Repeal of the ' Union , but that I was for a total separation—a divorce ; and that advent is near at hand . Were I to adopt the language and the tone of Mr Mitchel with reference to your movement , I should be highly culpable ; but he has found the Irish mind now in precisely the same

      state that I found the English mind in 1835 , and , therefore , I have different materials to act with . I am in a movement strong in moral power and organisation , and resolute in courage—a movement which could only be damaged b y the folly , the madness , or the treachery of its members , while Mr Mitchel has found a movement destroyed by those vices imbibed from treacherous leaders . However , let sycophants ^ revile Mr Mitchel as they may , I shall not be found amongst the numler .

      The Press of this country has been the greatest enemy of the institutions of this country and o £ the rights of the people ; and if ever the system should tumble about the ears of the aristocracy when they are unprepared for the crash , " the ruin must be attributed to the Press , whose purpose It has been to keep them in a state of ignorance as to the popular mind and passing events .

      It will scarcely be believed that the speeches reported in the Press , as made in the House of Commons , are as foreign from the truth as if a man had turned the back of his head for his portrait . Each prostitute journal reports its own fool , or rather prints its own fool's speech as supplied b y the fool himself , while , if the ablest tongue and soundest head pourtrays oppression in its proper colours , the portrait is confined to the members themselves .

      Now , my friends , these are the things which require correction ; and I defy you to correct these abuses otherwise than by having your own representatives in your own parliament , and let me now call your attention to the ignorance of your rulers , who , in pandering to the trading , manufacturing , commercial , professional , and landed interest of the country , insolently tell you that , there is no escape from taxation—that there is no hope for labourthat there is no resting place for industry beyond the clemency of the landlerd and the mercy of the speculator—a fallacy which I will now proceed to expose .

      As I have observed in the House of Commons , I repeat it here—that "it is unfair and unjust that ministers should receive their salaries for the performance of certain defined duties ; and that the same ministers , when op * posed in their extravagance , should turn upon their opponents , and ask them to propose better and more salutary measures . ' ' What would the farmer think of the ploughman , who , upon being scolded for doing his work badly , told the master to " PAY HIM , and do the work better himself ? " "What would the

      manufacturer think of the spinner or the weaver who , upon being scolded for spoiling his work , should tell the master to " PAY HIM , and do it better himself ?' ' This mode of dealing with the public and the public money , I look upon as a great injustice—an injustice , however , which is met with cheers in the House of Commons by the tools o f ministers , the placemen , and pensioners , who are actually called upon to vote the people ' s money into their own pockets .

      Under ordinary circumstances , I , like others , might remain dogged and sulky , merely making myself popular by taunting the Chancellor of the Exchequer , in the House , with his incapacity or indifference ; but , when I see the clear road of escapewhen I see my way out of the labyrinth—1 will not , schoolboy-like , rest satisfied with pouting and complaining , but will propound my remedy at once .

      ' My frietids , as it is likely that this , my manifesto , may ba extensively circulated , it is not only desirable that ! ' should point out the remedies for Hie present evils , but that I should also show the source from whence they

      J{Y Tery Dear Friends, The Time Has Now ...

      have arisen , and the causes which are likely to perpetuate them , if the public mind is not seriously led to , and convinced of , its own power to destroy them without revolution or bloodshed ; but , on the contrary , the change making the rich richer , and the poor rich ; and then , if I can convince plain and sound understandings of these facts ; and if the great majority , whose united co-operation could realise the results , shall withhold their assistance , let them hereafter bear all their sufferings without a murmur . -

      Firstl y , I lay it down as a truism , that Ministers , paid out of the taxes ; that noblemen , anxious to preserve even a feudal dignity . ; that landlords , anxious to preserve foolish and aristocratical privileges ; that bankers , whose wealth is realised by the speculation of traders ; that commercial men , whose wealth is dependent upon the same source ; that manufacturers , whose losses in trade are made good out of reduction of wages ; that admirals and naval officers upon half-pay _ and ^ ooking for promotion Mftat generals , cololftlls , majors , captains , and lieutenants , on full-pay and halfpay 5 that lawyers , whose wealth depends flpon the mystery of laws , and upon the convulsions

      of society ; that placemen and pensioners , who live upon the taxes—I contend for it , that it is as impossible for those parties to represent Labour , or to pare down expenditure , as it is to turn the sun from its course . Upon the other hand , as Labour is the only source of wealth , and as its application to the developement of the natural resources must inevitably confer benefits upon all classes of society , except those of the legal or military professions , I contend for it ' that , if Labour alone was represented , every other class of society would be benefited , and that through a more equitable distribution of property , the taxes necessary for the support of the State could be equally imposed .

      I have laid it down a thousand times for you , that these facts are known to many—but that those many have an interest in their suppression , because the capitalists , who speculate in unrepresented Labour , would rather realise a profit of a hundred millions a year , preserved to their own kindly use , than see an annual distribution of a thousand millions , if their share was likely to be a fraction less under the more extensive " and equitable system .

      My friends , you must bear these facts in mind , and you must not be continually asking for knowledge , upon which I have written scores of volumes , and which I have thoroughly sifted ; but , having led you from the A , B , C of politics , to that state of education , when every working man is a philosopher , and when all understand the true principles of political economy—namely , political economy based upon RECIPROCITY—the one element omitted by the Free Trade school—I say

      that , having brought your minds to this state of maturity and thought , the time has now arrived for enunciating bold and unequivocal truths—truths which I have been prosecuted for proclaiming , both in England and in Ireland ; but truths so palpable and irrefutable , that they now defy prosecution . If , then , I am able to show that , from your own property , you are enabled to save , not only your own class , but to confer a boon upon all classes of society , have I not a right to demand your cooperation in the realisation of that plan which I shall now propound ?

      THE CHURCH PROPERTY , of every description , in this country amounts to over 10 , 000 , 000 / . a year;—that is , in tithes ] Church lands—which , in consequence of imperfect tenure , do not realise anything like their real value—and from all other sources , the Church property in this country , if applied to its proper purposes , would realise more than ten millions a year , and would save a large amount in litigation . Indeed , it has often struck me as an anomaly , that , while philanthropists complain of being burdened with 18 , 000 , 000 / . a year for the support of an army and a navy , that no one is found bold enough to declaim against the payment of over 20 , 000 , 000 * . a year , paid to the Church , and as poor rates f or the support of unwilling idlers .

      This question is so extensive—its results are so monstrous—and its injustice so palpable—that it is impossible to dispatch its consideration without a word ] or two b y way of comment ; a word or two which will strike the mind of the reader with amazement and horror . The interest of the National Debt—the permanent National Debt—apart from about three millions ayear interest payable upon Long and Terminable Annuities , which expire in 1859-60 , is 24 , 400 , 000 / . a year ; and the amount paid to the Church , paid in Poor Rates , and in litigation consequent : upon those two funds , amounts to fully twenty-two millions a year . Now what becomes of your national faith , so far as these funds are concerned ?

      The first—the Church fund—belongs to the people ; and in the olden time , before the adulterous murderer , Harry , stole them from the people , they were administered by frugal , pious ' , charitable men , and they constituted the poor relief fund of your ancestors . But when the murderous monarch stole them from you , and conferred them upon panders and hypocrites , who supported him in his lewdness and depravity , his daughter Elizabeth was obliged to'find a substitute for that fund which was stolen from the poor , and that fund now ranges between six and seven millions

      a year . Well , national faith is extensively paraded in support of the fundholder ' s right to his ^ interest , and upon the same faith—as there is no statute of limitation against the rig ht of a whole people—I base your title to the restoration of Church property , which is your property ; and to the proper application of Poor Rates , which is your property ; and which you could hold in trust for your successors , and

      with which Parliament—wherein your order is not represented—has no rig ht to deal . Keep this figure ever before you , that while the fundholder ' s title is based upon national faith , guaranteed by Parliament , in which you are not represented , I base your title to Church property and to Poor Rates upon Divine f aith , upon God ' s covenant with man at his creation , when He also created the earth , and commanded man to subdue it for his

      sustenance and support , commanding him also to live in the sweat of his own brow , covenanting with him that the husbandman should be the first partaker of the fruits of the earth , and making it " the first duty of man to " comfort and assist the weak-hearted , and raise up them that fall . " But here is the injunction upon which your indefeasible title is based .- — ., " The Lord ssith , Thou shalt not reap all the corners o f thyfield , neither shalt thou gather all the grapes in thy vineyard , thoushalt leave them for the stranger , the widow , and the orphan . "

      Merciful , justice ! , How divine , how holy is this , the injunction of the all-wise Creator of man , and how the tyrants who blasphemously attribute famine to the dispensation of God , must blush at the reflection that f amine affects the industrious , and only the industrious and producing classes , while to the money-mongers it furnishes a profitable source of speculation . Indeed , so conclusive is Scripture as ! to the right of man to live upon the . produce of the soil , that we are * old that ,

      J{Y Tery Dear Friends, The Time Has Now ...

      "They who die by the sword are better than those who perish from hunger , f or their bodies pine away , stricken through for want of the fruits of the field . " Let me , now , test the justice of the working classes . We are told that clergymen are educated upon the feith that they shall receive compensation for what has been expended upon their education . But it is no part of national faith that an archbishop shall receive 15 , 000 / . a year fork ' ving sumptuously ; it is no part of national faith that one idle pauper in a parish shall nip up and devour all that was intended lor the sustenance and support or the

      willing husbandmen of that parish ; and , therefore , the adjustment that I would make is this , in order to show you with what facility and justice the proper adjustment of our financial affairs may-be arranged . I would allow every wording clergyman , during his life , 300 / . ayear , making them all equal in the eyes of man , as they are in the eyes of their Maker . i ^ MtUArr ^ igSL ^ w parishes so that England and Wales shouhTbe divided into ten thousand , with a working'clergyman to each , which would smount at a salary of 300 / . a-year to three millions per annum , —thus making a saving from that source of seven millions per annum . We will estimate the Poor Rates at six millions

      per annum ; and as they are incontestably the property of the poor , they should , under the p resent exigencies of the times—and all other channels are closed against labour—be devoted to the opening of the only natural channel for the national industry—THE LAND . These Poor Rates I would divide into three classes . Two millions a-year I would allow the landlords to purchase at thirty years' purchase , which would produce sixty millions , and those landlords , who were not able or who did not choose to release their estates from the burden—that annual amount of their property may become security to those who would lend the

      amount to Government , and the best security too . Two millions a-year I would strike off altogether , as an inducement to the landlords to purchase , and the remaining two millions a-year I would allow to remain as a lien upon the Land , to meet those charges which do not wholly belong to the Poor Rates , and for the maintenance of the old , the infirm , and the disabled , who have not been able in youth to realise wherewith to live upon in old age . All the bastiles I would turn into agricultural schools and colleges , renting a sufficient amount of Land to enable those institutions to be sustained upon the self-supporting principle , and upon the completion of each young man ' s education in college at the age of eighteen years , he should receive his fair proportion of those profits realised by his labour from fifteen to eighteen . In those colleges youths should learn the science of agriculture , of chemistry , geology , and should receive a good , sound , practical education . The sixty millions realised by the sale of two millions a year of Poor Rates I would apply to the purchase of Land and the building of houses ; and those localities being freed from the payment of taxes altogether I would charge rent at the rate of 61 . per cent ., which would be lower than 4 / . per cent , under the present system ; and then our account of savings would stand thus : — . £ Realised from Church property . 7 , 000 , 000 Retaineli of Poor Rates . . 2 , 000 , 000 Rental produced from 60 , 000 , 000 at six per cent . . . . 3 , 600 , 000 £ 12 , 600 , 000 SoawmaM

      Now , by this table , I make the Poor Rates realise within 500 , 000 / . a year of their present amount , while I relieve the landlords of two millions a year , and this I am able to effect by applying the sixty millions , realised from the sale of Poor Rates , to the full develoepment of the national resources , by the application of the labour of the unwilling idler , while I am able to establish the principle of reciprocity , charging 61 . per cent , for the outlay , by releasing the occupant from the payment of rates and taxes . My great object , as you are aware , has ever been to realise the whole benefit of unrestricted Free Trade for all classes—that is , as we have declared in our thousands of resolutions , that we are for Free Trade , but that we are for turning the advantage to national and not class-purposes . If , then , we can preserve ' national faith , by carrying Free Trade out in its entirety , based upon the principle of reciprocity , we are the real Free Trade party .. And now I proceed to establish our right to deduct twenty per cent , from the property of the fundholder , showing , nevertheless , that he will be a large gainer by the change .

      What I propose , is to produce an amount of income from other sources , equal to that produced by Custom and Excise Duties , and to sweep those duties away altogether and establish complete Free Trade upon the principle of reciprocity . Mr Cobden , in his speech upon the Income Tax , showed the manner in which those duties pressed upon consumers , and let the reader peruse the p lain , the simple and incontrovertible statement , submitted by Mr Cobden , who said—What amount do the people pay on articles consumed ? For every 20 s . the working classes expend on tea , they pay J Os . of doty ; i ° * & Vfcfy 2 Qsi they expend on supa * , they pay 6 s . of duty ; for every 20 s . thoy expend on coffee , they pay 8 s . of duty ; on soap , 5 s . ; on beer , 4 s ; on to . bacco , 1 «« . ; on spirits , 14 s . ol duty , on every 20 s . they expend upon these articles . learn that the annihilation of all

      and he will Custom" and incise duties would be a savin ( f © the consumer of more than fifty per cent ., i d therefore ,-national faith is not of that sticky nature which would makeitunjust to reduce theiincome of a national faith fundholder by twenty , five per cent ., if the necessaries of life were reduced by fifty per cent . He lent this money upon the faith that he should pay a very much higher per centage than he even pays under the present system , and upon this arrangement the account would stand thus : — Received from Church Property £ and Poor Rates . . . 12 , 600 , 000 Deduct twenty-five per cent . from the interest on Funded Debt and Exchequer Bills , and , in round numbers , you effect a saving of . . ... 7 , 000 , 000 Making a total of . . , 19 , 600 , 000

      a year , or , as nearly as possible , covering the deficit occasioned by the remission of our Excise and Customs Duties . In the case of the working clergyman receiving 300 / . a year , his revenue would be equal to 4007 . a year under the present system ; but suppose that the pious may object to touching Church property by the abolition of Excise and Customs Duties ; we would save in their collection , and the amount of patronage consequent upon their existence , a sum equal to the amount that I propose to realise from Church property . The amount saved in the collection does not rest with that paid upon Excise and Customs Duties , for I am now going to show you another grievous , onerous , and unequal tax , which also costs an amazing amount in collection , and which I would con . solidate into one single ofiice—I mean the Assesed Taxes . Those I would wholly abolish and would substitute a graduated ' scale of taxation to meet the deficit .

      J{Y Tery Dear Friends, The Time Has Now ...

      We are told that out of 3 , 500 , 000 houses , only 500 , 000 pay the Window Tax ; and , therefore , I will make my scale of direct taxation from that number , and having relieved them of all other taxes—Excise and Cnstom Duties , and the collection of those taxes , what I propose is to establish a Property Taxthus : — The IOOjOOO of first class proprietors of the 500 , 000 who now pay the Window Duty , whether they be landed proprietors , bankers , merchants , 'distillers , brewers , barristers , or belonging to the wealthiest class of the 500 , 000 , without reference to the description of property , I would tax to the amount of 100 / . f ft year , which would make . . 10 , 000 , 000 The second hundred thousand of that class I would tax to the amount of of 30 / . ayear . . 3 , 000 , 000 The third hundred thousand I would tax to the amount of 20 / . a year , making- . . . . 2 , 000 , 000 The fourth hundred thousand of that class I would tax 102 . ajear , making . . . . * 1 , 000 , 000 The fifth hundred thousand of that class I would tax at 5 / . a year , making . . . . . 500 , 000

      Making from this source . . 10 , 500 , 000 per annum , and relieving the payers from all other taxes whatsoever . We may presume that a million of the occupiers not now paying Window Tax , and the wealthiest of the three millions occupying houses , and following trades and professions , not only pay some tax , but would be great gainers by the remission of Excise and Customs Duties , and that they may fairly pay SI . a year taxes , or 5 , 000 , 000 The next million we presume would make a saving of at least 2 / . a family , and from that class would be realised 2 , 000 , 000 And the last millionof the 3 , 500 , 000 whether working men , lodging house-keepers , shopkeepers or small tradesmen , should pay a tax of 1 / . ayear each family , or . . 1 , 000 , 000 Thus making a total of . . 24 , 500 , 000 per annum , leaving to be added the sale of Crown Lands , the revenue derived from Stamps , from the Post-office , Foreign Bills of Exchange , and other accounts , f rom which the payer would derive a direct profit , making in all about 6 , 000 , 000 ? . ; thus leaving a revenue from those sources alone , independently of the Church Property , of 44 , 500 , 000 / . a year , leaving 21 , 000 , 000 / . a year to be paid as interest on funded debt—three millions a year of which will be extinguished in the years ' 59-60 , and leaving the enormous amount of 20 , 500 , 000 / . to provide for the exigencies of the State .

      Of course , I presume that the people of this country will not much longer consent to pay idle placemen and pensioners . The reader must bear in mind that though I have classed the property-tax payers in numbers of a hundred thousand in one case , and a million in the other , that , nevertheless , it would be just and fair that those members should pay according to a graduated scale , producing in the bulk the amount that I have stated , and to accomplish which , as every thing is easy when money is to be raised , the Chancellor of the Exchequer would find no difficulty ; nor do I think that any of thechisses , fromthelowest million paying 20 s . afamil y , to the highest hundred thousand paying 100 / . a family , could complain of the impost when relieved from every description of taxation and duty ; especially ' when it is borne in mind that the payers of the duties upon Excise and Customs , now amounting to nearly twenty millions a year , make a profit of the consumer of more than thirty millions a year ; ay ! forty millions a year . Of course , I propose to abolish the Probate and Legacy Duty , and every onerous and inquisitorial duty ; the tax upon dogs , horses , carriages , servants , windows , auctioneers , game licenses , bar licenses , spirit licenses , and all other taxes which now press so heavily upon the poor , as the rich invariably make them pay them . To remit the duty upon timber and bricks , and all building materials ; and will the reader for one moment reflect upon the impetus that this change would give to every branch of trade , commerce , and manufactures ; the number who could then afford luxuries , who cannot now procure the common necessaries of life—the impetus given to coachbuilders , house-builders , and all descriptions of trade , and the honourable" competition that would be created amongst shopkeepers , whose interest it would then be to realise moderate profits upon the principle of quick sale and light profit .

      Now , my friends , in my general calculation I have left the Church property untouched , whereas , if you were to draw five millions a year from that source , which legitimately belongs to the people , you would have a surplus , after paying the fundholder his interest , of 25 , 600 , 000 / . a year , and a further saving of two millions a year upon the Long and Terminable Annuities , which expire in the years ' 59-60 ; and which , if made permanent now , should , not be set down at a million a year , " and in the more extensive view , the account would stand thus

      : — Received from Church property and Poor Rates . . . . 12 , 600 , 000 Saved on collection of Customs , Excise , and taxes .... 6 , 000 , 000 Graduated Propert y Tax . . 24 , 500 , 000 Stamps , Post Office , & c , and sale of Crown Lands .... 6 , 000 , 000 Difference between terminable an- ' ... _ , nuifcies and landed debt , at the present price of stock . . . 2 , 000 , 000 Leaving a' total income of 50 , 100 , 000 . i iu .. Tjiiriniamua Or a surplus , after paying the interest of the funded debt , of . 2 . 9 , 100 , 000 Ample , I should think , to meet all the exi gencies of the State ; and more than the people will presently consent to pay . Now , my friends , you have my definition of Free Trade , based upon reciprocity ; you have my mode of setting all the springs of industry at work ; you have my-mode of throwing all classes upon their own resources ; you have my mode of producing national loyalty to national institutions ; you have a table set before you , which does not profess to be complete or unsusceptible of improvement ; and if the sceptic should sco ff or the alarmed should quake , I tell them , that there is move dangerto every institution in the country , by a dogged perseverance in the old and corrupt system , than would attend the adoption of my proposition . And , if attachment to the present old boroughmongering system is based upon custom , precedent , or antiquity , let us , in God ' s name , extinguish our gas , and return to the farthing candle ; _ let us abolish our railroads , and return to the jog-trot coach ; let us abolish our steam navigation , and depend upon the temper of the winds and the elements ; let us destroy the printing press , the electric telegraph , and the penny postage ; for , as sure as Jnight follows day , means must be adopted to cultivate the natural resources of this wealthy country ,

      J{Y Tery Dear Friends, The Time Has Now ...

      and that there must be aa equitable distribution of the proceeds , else will the hand of the unwilling idler be raised in strife and enmity against the pampered , idle pauper . My friends , in this our struggle for complete and entire Free Trade , based upon the principle of reciprocity , you must convince t ; ne shopkeepers that their interests are identical with yours—that the mechanical p ower which

      makes a pauper of the unwilling idler is not their friend—and that the well-employed and well-paid labourer is a better customer , a better friend , and a better subject , than the system-made pauper who is consigned to the workhouse and made a burthen upon their industry . I have now placed my budget before you ; read it—think of it—suggest what mprovements present themselves , and let your delegates be prepared to discuss it . I remain , Your faithful friend and servant , Feaiigus O'Connor .

      Jl^^^^

      jl ^^^^

      ___And National Trades' Journal.

      ___ AND NATIONAL TRADES' JOURNAL .

      Vol. Xi. So 543. " Iqndffii, Satorday, M...

      VOL . XI . So 543 . " iQNDffii , SATORDAY , MABCH 18 , 1848 . ~~ ZEg £ ! 2 S &~ L

      Carlisle Election. Great Excitement Has ...

      CARLISLE ELECTION . Great excitement has prevailed at CailUle on occasion of the electoral contest . On the nomination day , the town presented a right rarely witnessed . A forest of uanda were raised for Dr M'Douall . A poll was demanded , and the following is the result : — Hodgson ( Torj ) 477 Howard ( Liberal ) 414 Dixon ( Liberal ) 32 S M'Douall ( Chartist ) 55 A second edition of the Carlisle Patriot states that aoon after four o ' clock the successful candidates and their friends , and Dr M'Doual ! , repaired tft the busting : * to be present at the mayor ' s declaration . Thecrowd in front was immense—12 , 000 , at ihe least ; and the pressure even upon the hustings was almost unendurable . After much difficulty , and a good deal of inconvenience , the major announced the numbers as ei ? en above .

      The conduct of the Chartists appears to have been admirable in the extreme , snd though unsuccessful this time— ' wait a little longer . ' The following is the worthy doctor ' s speech from the huntings . Dr M'Douall , who was received with deafening cheers , next came forward , and said—Gitiz-ns of Carlis ' e and electors—Nothing could be more gratifying to my feelings than the honourable reception you hare bo . w given me , which ia not merely flattering to my feelings an a man , but is still more gratifying because I believe that you do not cheer the person but the principles he advocates . ( Great applause . ) You have heard the different candidates address you . You hare been told by Mr Dixon that he is thinking about making improvements , and I never kiew &

      Whig that did not begin with thinking , and end by doing nothing . ( Laughter and cheers . ) They are continually thinking but never acting ; and as for Mr Uddgson , all he seems to have come forward for , is to blu « h —( laughter and cheers ) — blu * h $ or the corruption of the freemen of Carlisle , 1 shall therefore leave him before you with his blushing honours . ( Laughter . As for Mr Howard , he comes forward much in the same way that an auctioneer would go into a huxter ' a shop , for the purpose of knocking down a number of whafi he calls the household suffrages . ( Hear , hoar , and luud cheers . ) So truly ignorant are " vast numbers of the people of the nature of the Charter , that when I asked a free and independent elector the ether day , what was its meaning , hesaid— ' It means triangular Parliaments , universal gufferins , and vote

      by bullet !' . ( Laughter and loud cheers . ) Now , ifc strikes me Tery forcibly that the interests of this city , someway or another , are in a very triangular position jast now , for the candidates seem to be neither Whig nor Tory , and what with one thinking , another blushing , and a third promising , none of them advance a single step . ( Cheers . ) We all know that there is greater danger at the present time as far as the interests of this country are concerned , and I would direct your attention to this return by way of proving and showing how far it is to be feared—though , if I point out those evils , we must not either think er blush , but must all act . ( Hear , hear , ) If wo think , we must think for a good purpose ; it we blush at all , we must blush because we are not doing our duty . ( Cheers . ) I will lay before

      you a statement of the greatest importance to the manufacturing interests of this country . 1 find that we exported in yarns and thread , in 1845 , six millions nine hundred and aixty-threethousand two hundred and thirty-five pounds ; in 1847 . the last year , it was only five millions eight hundred and thirty-seven thousand pounds , which speaks plainly of the serious injury the country has here sustained . ( Loud cheers and great uproar ) This shows that there is some * thin s rotten in the state of Denmark—something radically bad even in the very principles Mr Dixon has laid down for you—for whilst he , as he says he has , assisted to unsbaekle commerce , and txpatiates upon the advantages to be secured by free trade he forgets to point out the way in which we are to precure them ;—( hear , hear)—in facr , he contents

      hicncelf with only thinking—and thinking , be fails to show us the way . ( Hear , hrar . ) I shall ant . ( Cheers . ) If we want to secure ourselve * in the present proud , position which we hold in the scale of nations , if we desire to continue first and foremost amongst the nations of the earth , I should say , give scope to our growth , and lighten the heavy load upon commerce by throwing overboard as speedily as you can some twenty or thirty millions of taxes . ( Loud cheers . ) When , for instance , Cobden came forward to propose the repeal of the Corn Laws , I warned him of the effect without a reciprocity of intercourse . I told him that if he could not reduce the taxes , the manufacturer would fall back upon wages , for he must either dirfliuiahihe one or reduce the other . ( Cheers . ) Such is the position of this

      rountry that if we repeal the corn laws or the tariff duties , and open our ports , without , at the same time , lowering our taxes , we shall never do . ( Hear , hear . ) _ I will just take yeu now to the home consumption , —the potds consnmed by the people in this country in 1845—ia which year the working classes expended of their wage > 3 , in the purchase of gflods , _ Iflineteen millions six hundred and ten thousand six hundred and fifty-seven pounds sterling , whilst in 1847 we have come down to nine millions five hundred thousand . ( Sensation and groans . ) The cause of this ia that the manufacturer found his profitsleaaening and trade decreasing , bo that he was compelled to diminish wages , and to fall back and exist upon the savings of years of industry . Mr M'Douall proceeded to state his opinions upon the

      various questions of political interest before the country in almost the same terms as he used when addressing the meeting at the Athenseum a few days ago . Before concluding his long , and certainly eloquent speech , he hoped , he said ; that he should have the honour of seconding a motion in the House of Commons , proposed by Mr Feargus O'Connor , for the People ' s Charter , It was his lull intention to go to the poll , and he intended to canvass this very afternoon , by taking 10 , 000 men with him , and respectfully soliciting the votes of the shopkeepers of Carlisle , by which means he had no doubt at all he should be returned at the head of the poll . The only mas in Carlisle whom he had canvassed was Mr Hodgson , and he believed that gentleman would be down early at the poll to record his vote in his favour ;—( laughter)—ne should be glad to see Mr Howard and Mr Dixon at the same time . ( Cheers and laughter . ) If they conducted

      themselves with so much good grace and sense on the polling day , he declared it would go a great way to palliate their past offences . He trusted the middle classes would lay aside the prejudices and fears with which they regarded the Charter . He knew that it was a bitter pill to some of them , but if they only swallowed it they would find it , though bitter to the mouth , sweet to the stomach ; and lie could only say that if the people of Carlisle returned him thoy would find him ready to advance their interests in every possible way , After' reverting to the subject of taxation , and denouncing the system of capital punishment , Dr M'Douall implored his auditors , whatever they did , to be peaceable and orderly , for if he saw any one of his supporters attempt anything like an attack upon piopertyho should be the first to oppose , him and deliver him over to the hands of justice . | Once more he hoped his friends would rally roudd his standard , and that tomorrow asignal triumph of Chartism mi ght be recorded . Vociferous cheering hailed the conclusion of this speech .

      Prestos Tba Parti And Bali..—In Our Sixt...

      Prestos Tba Parti and Bali .. —In our sixth page we give the report of the Preston meeting , both from the Prkston Pilot and the Pskston Chronicle . We thank both the Chronicle and thoGuARDiAH for their accurate report of Mr O'Connor's speechwhile we equally thank the prostitute Phot for Us attempt to throw disrepute upon the opinions of his townsmen . Wo admit the right of the preaa to canvass the opinions and speeches ef public men , provided they repert them accurately , as tbe Guardian and Chuonicle have done . This is all the working classes demand—this is all their cause requires .

      Dalrt , Ayrshire —A large public meeting was held here on Mon day evening last , called tor the purpose ef adopting an address to the Citizens of Paris , and also for ad pting th' NaWl Petition . Mr James Orr , an old veteran in the cause of Chartism , was called to the chair . Mr M'Ghee , having read the address , delivered a very pithy speech The address , which _ was seconded by Mr Sneddon , was agreed' to , amidst loud acclamation . Duncan Robertson , after a few pointed remarks on the French Revolution , read the National Petition , after which he spoke at considerable length on the People ' s Charter . The Petition was then seconded by Mr John Bingham , and carried unanimously . The report of the delegates , sent from London to Paris , was read from thft Northern Star , which was heartily cheered by the meeting .

      N Ws M I V

      n WS M I V

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), March 18, 1848, page 1, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_18031848/page/1/