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Northern Star (1837-1852), 22nd February 1845, Edition 2 of 4, Page 4, THE RIGHT HONOURABLE SECRETARY FOR THE H...

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    • THE NORTHERN STAR SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1845.
    • TO THE FUSTIAN JACKETS, BLISTERED HANDS, AND UNSHORN CHINS.
    • to £*aiM$ & Cmrt4pmiM&
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      ^Lw,—>->-, ,,-.,,,... - --... . . - • Sh...

      ^ Lw , —> - > -, ,,-.,,,... - --... . . - SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE . - Dbkadful Shtpwbecks ahd Loss of Life . —Lloyd ' s , ¦ Jhnday Night—The late snow storm was attended with ^ the most melanchol y disasters along the coast . The wrecks that it occasioned were truly dreadful , many Laving foundered with their ha pless crews , all of whom perished . Along the coast , " to the northward , fronting the German ocean , the losses were very numerous . At about half-past six o ' clock on Tuesday morning , the Preventive Service belonging tothe Southwold station received information of a vessel being wrecked near die Barnard Sands , and that the crew were dinging to the rigging . Tbey instantly started off in the direction , and succeeded in rescuing the crew , who were broug ht ashore in a insensi

      shodnno- state : manv ot tnem uu ; , . urn unar dothes covered with ice . The vessel was the Emerald , of London , Charles Harrison , master bound to Aberdeen —At Whitburn , near Sunderland , a vessel called the Betsy , belonging to that port , got on the rocks and became a total wreck . The crew saved themselves by the boats . — -The schooner Eniil y , Shaw master , belonging' to WJsbeach , -while on her way to JGddJeborough for coals , was lost under similar ' circumstances on the coast , about a mile to the south of Scarborough . —Another vessel was lost at Montrose . It was the brig St . Andrew ' s , of Arbroath . Thc . lifeboat was launched , and the crew were saved by it . — The True Blue , of London , Mr . Fleming master , was Wrecked off Redcar during the storm . It is supposed that all oa hoard perished . —At Ennishowen , near Londonderry , anotherfatalshipwi-cckhappened . Thc ill-fated craft was the Hannouv of Ramsey , Brayden ,

      master : she struck on attioai called Glasheady , situate about half a mile off the beach . The numbers lost are reported to be thirteen . —To be added to the above , are those of the Victoria , of Newquay ; an American packet-ship , the Yille de Lyon , on the coast of Barfleur ; the Bee , wrecked at Camber , near Rye ; and also that of a Dutch vessel , the Hopendc , of- Rotterdam , lost near the South Rock light . The crew ef the Bee were saved by thc Coast-guard boat . The American packet was a very fine vessel , and her loss is given out at £ 50 , 000 . Themailfrom New York , which arrived at Liverpool on Thursday ni g ht , contains intelligence of the loss of fourteen vessels , the greater portion belonging to England . ' Among them was the following;—On the 19 th of last month the wreck of a large barque , supposed to be the Lord Seaton , of St . Andrew ' s , was discovered on the eastern point of the Isle of Hant , in Pendlescot Bay . Two bodies were found aboard .

      - Iaovd ' s , Satbrdax . —The Trewartha arrived yesterday at Liverpool from Cork , with damage , having been in contact off Tuskar with the Titania , bound to -Smyrna , since put into Waterford : —The Sir R . A . Ferguson , Rhode , from Clyde to Malta , foundered off Tuskar , 11 th instant ; two men drowned , having been in contact with the Hopewell , bound to Maranham , since put back . —A ship , name unknown , was partially dismasted , Dec . 1 , off Agulhas Bank , during a sudden squall , in sight of the Athol , arrived in the Clyde . —The Hornet , Shiels , from Middlesbro' to Yarmouth , was dismasted off Flaniborough Head , 5 fli inst ., and subsequently wrecked on Sand Hale ; crew saved .

      Sebiocs Coach Accident.— The Brighton He...

      Sebiocs Coach Accident . — The Brighton Herald stetes ^ t hat as theDefiance , Portsmouth and Brighton four-horse coach was proceeding onits way on Thurs day , the horces took fright as they were about to enter Arundel , and galloped through the narrow streets of that town at a tremendous rate , ultimately dashing out of Tarrant-street , fronting the Norfolk Arms , across the intervening road , deanngthe stable gate with the fracture only of a splinter-bar , entering the yard at full speed , and not being able to stop themselves , ran into a shed at the other extremity of it , against the roof of which thc coachman was earned with great force , and was immediately struck off by a blow on the breast . Fortunately there was some little space between thc beam and the roof of the coach , or he must have been crushed between them , and the progross of the coach was also arrested by thc pole sticking against thc walL Air . Loveridge , draper , of Brighton , who was sitting hy his side , stooped so as to avoid

      a concussion which must have been fatal to him , and escaped with a slight blow on the head , but Ins hat was crushed to pieces ; he clung to the . iron rails of the _ coach . His fellow-passenger , who " was sitting behind , was-fchrown off by the concussion , and was much injured . The two inside passengers escaped without injury . The coachman is less injured than was at first supposed , and is pronounced out of danger . It appears that her Majesty and Prince Albert were exposed to great danger by the above occurrence . , The Royal party ( says thesame paper ) were on the way to Arundel at the time , and had scarcely passecUhe Norfolk Arms—not by more than two or three minutes—when the coach came dashing at a tremendous rate across the road which had just been traversed by the Royal equipage . A minute or twoearEcronthepartofthe coach , or later on the part of the Royal carriage , and a collision must have taken place , the consequences of which are too appalling for the mind calmly to picture to itself .

      StarosED Mubdeb at Rxsdlesham . —Horrible An-. uK . —Information h ;> s just reached us , from what we have every reason to believe to be authentic sources , that a frightful murder was committed late on Saturday night last , on the estate of Lord Rendiesham , Suffolk . Report states , that his game teeper , who lives dose to the hall , returned to his home late on the above named night , in a state of intoxication , and after a few minutes' time desired to leave again . His wife remonstrated against this , and shut the door to prevent his getting out : a quarrel

      then ensued , and the maddened gamekeeper at length snatched his gun , levelled it at his wife , and , report says , blew her head to atoms ! He was on Sunday committed to the Bridewell , at "Woodbridge . He declares that he did not intentionally murder her , but , in the straggle , the gun went off by accident . He has a family of four children . Such are all the particulars we fed justuied w giving to the public—we fear they arc too correct . Rumour is busy , but we decline trusting toojmuch to it , in an affair of so soulnarrowing and tragic a character . —Ipswich Express , Feb . IS .

      Escape axd Recaptcbe of a Prisoner . —On the 19 th ef October , a prisoner , named Lawrence Phillips , made his escape from the Bford House of Correction , and although every exertion was made , and a reward -was offered for his apprehension , he eluded detection till Monday morning , when he was taken into custody in TVkitechapel by Mr . Anderson , the governor of the gaol . The prisoner had been concealed in the neighbourhood of Houndsditch , perhaps one of the best vicinities for " putting away" a thief in the metropolis . Upon seeing Mr . Anderson the

      fr isoner started off at full speed in the direction of ' etticoat-lane , but was overtaken before he reached that locality , in which it would , no doubt , have been a matter of great difficulty to find him if he had once turned the corner . lie was convicted of picking pockets , and is well known as a thief , several of his companions being at this time in tlie prison . He resisted on being apprehended , but Mr . Anderson obtained the assistance of Mr . Glenny , of Bford , who accompanied him , and the fellow was securely deposited in a cab . The mob were greatly disposed to favour and aid the prisoner , who cried aloud to them that he was no thief .

      Fire sear the Custom House . —On Tuesday afternoon the neighbourhood of Lower Thames-street was alarmed by the outbreak of a fire upon the premises bdongingto Mr . Robert Fcnwick , bottle merchant , No . 74 , in the above thoroughfare , nearly facing the Custom House . The flames originated in the cellar , amongst a quantity of straw and packages . Owing to thc combustible nature of thc same the fire soon obtained a strong hold . Engines belonging to the Custom House and parish , ana four belonging to the brigade , promptly attended , but the smoke was so overpowering that none of the firemen could for some tune enter the p lace . Mr . Braidwood gave orders to oneof the men to put on thc patent smoke-proof dress , the invention of Lieut . Paulin . This was done , and

      after two hoars hard working the fire was extinguished , the damage being confined to the destruction of baskets , straw , wood , and bottles . Lamentable Seicide of Mb . Lamas Blanchakd . — Coboseb ' s Ixqcest . —On Monday evening Mr . Carter and a highly respectable jury assembled at the Spread Eag le Tavern , Canterbury-road , Lambeth , to inquire into the cause which led the late Mr . Laman Blanchard , the well-known contributor to the metropolitan periodicals , to commit suicide . TJhe jury , on being sworn , proceeded to the late residence of the deceased , No . 11 , Union-place , Canterbury-road , to ¦ riew the body , which was lying in the bedroom . On the re-assembling of the jury , the Coroner stated , that what they had to inquire into would be the state

      of thc deceased ' s mind atthe time he committed the act of self-destruction , and upon the evidence adduced they would find their verdict accordingly . — From the statement of the nurse , it appeared that about twelve months since the wife of Mr . Blanchard was attacked with illness , which , in the end , terminated in insanity . At' different periods Mrs . Blanchard ' s disease became more confirmed , when , about two months since , while sitting in the drawing-room , she exclaimed to the deceased that she was afraid she was attacked again , and shortly afterwards her intellect disappeared . On that occasion Mn Blanchard carried his wife up to her bed , from which she never rose . From the period of the death of Mrs . Blanchard np to last Friday evening , the deceased

      had been observed to labour under a great depression of s pirits , and that- to such an extent that he was afraid to be left alone of a night , so that when the nurse departed , his youngest child , a boy abouteleven years of age , dept with . him . The result of the loss of Mrs . Blanchard , acting upon the susceptibility of themind of the deceased , created a disorganisation , -which ended in the prostration of the nervous system , i > ad Mr . Blanchard became subjected to fits . In thc r-ourseoflast Friday he sustained two attacks , from i-.-tii of which he recovered , and at the usual hour , which was between nine and ten o ' clock , he retired i .-. his bedroom , accompanied by his son , and attended ! « - thenurse . The deceased , as was his usual cus-! ' . im , _ perfonnedhis devotions , which he concluded by tie Lord ' s Prayer , and at that time he appeared to

      Sebiocs Coach Accident.— The Brighton He...

      he in the full enjoyment of his intellects . The nurse , on the termination of the evening prayers , left the room , and in three minutes afterwards the deceased committed suicide . The boy , on seeing the Mood gush from the throat of his parent , sprang towards him , and catching hold of his hand , exclaimed , " Oh , father I" when the dece asedfell , and in allprobability died . Medical aid wa s called in , but the deceased had ceased to exist . It was further stated , that since the death of Airs . Blanchard the deceased had been most desponding , and , although giving existence to those charming pieces which pleased all who read

      them , he was sinking under a most painful state of mind . —The coroner , at this stage of the proceedings , remarked that the son of the deceased , who , it appeared , bad slept with Ms father since the death of Mrs . Blanchard , was in attendance ; but from what had come to his knowledge , he felt satisfied that no additional information could be arrived at . The Jury said they were perfectly satisfied , and returned a verdict—That the deceased destroyed himself while labouring under temporary insanity . It is to be regretted that the deceased has left four children- to anient his untimely loss .. ..

      -The Poaching Affair at Croome . —Worcester , Monday . —Three more men , supposed to have been of the gang of poachers who attacked Lord Coventry ' s keepers on the night of Dec . 19 , in the course of which affray one of the latter , named Staite , was so badly hurt ' that he died a few days afterwards , have been apprehended , and two of them have been remanded for Further examination . The disclosures which were made by them , and the witnesses examined on that occasion ( last Thursday ) , have led to the apprehension of five other men , upon the charge of having been concerned in this shocking outrage . Their names are William Bloonifield , George Brant , William Cosnett , Joseph Tandy , and Samuel Turvev . The last mentioned ( Turvey ) . it

      wiU be remembered was in custody some six weeks ago . on the charge of poaching on the night of the 19 th of December last , but was set at liberty , for want of sufficient proof , which , it is thought , has now been supplied . Brant , Bloonifield , aud Cosnett were apprehended by Superintendent Harris , of thePershore division of the Worcestershire constabulary ; and Tandy and Turvey , by Petford , of the Upton division . Last Saturday all five were taken before three magistrates ; atthe Worcester county gaol , when they were remanded for further . examination on Tuesday . At the same time Cooke ( examined on Thursday ) was also remanded to Tuesday , and the proof of Wheeler ' s criminality being defective , he was discharged .

      Morder at Thatcham . —On Friday the coroner ' s inquest on thc body of Ellen Jennings , an infant , was concluded , and a verdict was returned—That thc deceased died of poison , wilfully administered by her father , for the purpose of destroying life . The coroner immediately issued his warrant for tht committal of the father , who is in custody .

      The Northern Star Saturday, February 22, 1845.

      THE NORTHERN STAR SATURDAY , FEBRUARY 22 , 1845 .

      The Right Honourable Secretary For The H...

      THE RIGHT HONOURABLE SECRETARY FOR THE HOME AND FOREIGN SPY DEPARTMENT . O . v Tuesday night Mr . Duncombe , ever ready to redeem his pledges to the country , re-opened the Post-office delinquency practised by Sir James Graham —a delinquency attempted to be smothered by the " secret eommittee " appointed by the Right Honourable Baronet himself . Much as Mr . Duxcombe ' s perseverance and resolution were admired , still some of his friends somewhat doubted the prudence of his

      course in introducing thc subject a second tune . Further inquiry , they admitted , was due to justice ; but aknowledge of the disinclination of the "honourable House" to hear a repetition of its own delinquency , impressed them with a notion that thc energy and eloquence of the Honourable Member for Finsbury would fail to supply material for fresh excitement , even on so vitally important a subject . In this respect , however , they were most agreeably disappointed : for never was a more statesmanlike , searching , eloquent , able , convincing , and even telling

      speech , than that with which the Honourable Gentleman introduced his appeal for further inquiry . Politicians may value the secrecy of correspondence for liberty ' s sake , or even for the success of intrigue ; the merchant may attach commercial importance to that secrecy necessary for the protection of speculation ; thc lover may desire protection for his love-sick strains ; and all unitedly may . seek for confidence in the wafer or the seal - . but few were prepared to sec in the violation of such' confidence the awful and astounding consequences ascribed to it by the Honourable Member for Finsbury .

      In these days of commercial speculation , with a Prime Minister whose governing rule and sustaining power appears to consist in the old adage ' " Vlr sapit qui pauca loquitur "" The man is wise who speaks little "—it is no small triumph to have compelled the Prime Minister himself to fly to the aid of the " black sheep" subordinate of his Cabinet ! It is true that the prisoner at the bar received little benefit , or even consolation from the testimony of his master . The pitiful subterfuge of Sir Robeht and his " cad , " respecting the report

      of the secret committee absolving them from blame , is below contempt . Sir James Gkaham cannot fairlv plead " autrefoisacquit " i . e ., "beforeacquitted , "to the charge preferred against him by Mr . Duncombe ; though this was the wholesale plea set up by bis leading counsel , Sir Robert . " 0 , " says he , " we have been tried and acquitted ; wiU you now try us again f " The answer is , " You have not been tried ! and therefore yon cannot have been acquitted . " If the " secret committee ' are at all to be considered as having aided in , or contributed to a trial , it

      can only be as a Grand Jury sitting on , and returning , a bill of indictment ; and every man in England who reads Mr . Buncombe ' s analysis of . their "finding " will see in the suppressio veri , —the ' suppression of truth—manifest in that document—the absolute necessity of further inquiry . Mr . Buncombe has also preferred fresh and astounding charges against the Government , to which Sir James Graham can no more plead " previous acquittal" than a reputed pig-stcaler , when arraigned on a charge of murder , could plead "previous acquittal" of pig-stealing as an answer to thc more serious charge .

      Mr . Duncombe has proposed a very plain and simple issue . He has asked Sir James Graham plainly , boldly , and manfully— " Did you , or did you not , order my . letters to be opened ? " Mr . Duncombe avers that the fact that Sir James Graham did this , was known to the Committee : and such knowledge , together with their resistance of further inquiry , must brand them before "the House , " the country , and the world , as slavish sycophants ; as mere Ministerial tools ; as men who have divested themselves of every feeling of honour to cover Ministerial delinquency ; as men who are satisfied to

      sacrifice the dearest privilege that they themselves ' possess , to Ministerial ¦ " expediency . " It is no triumph to the accused that the Committee was a mere pie-ball "tribunal , " where " Mtfrite " .. Whiggery might have had a spot or two of advantage over " black" Toryism . It is sufficient for the country to know that nine gentlemen of the House of Gonunons have had evidence to prove that the letters of a respectable brother Member were opened , without colour of law or even plausible pretext ; and that these time-serving hypocrites drew up a report altogether with holding this fact from public notice , to " settlethc question" both as to them and their "report . "

      Independently of thc duty that Mr . Duncombe owed to himself in again opening the question , he had one of higher importance to discharge to his constituents : for if his correspondence merited Ministerial surveillance , he cannot be a fit and proper person to represent the present constituency of Finsbury . The boast of Sir James Graham of the impartial manner in which the Committee was chosen , as it consisted of a majority of his political opponents , is truly

      laughable . He must have known , as we told him atthe time , that the Committee was so appointed for the express purpose of balancing accounts between Whig and Tory exercise of this unconstitutional privilege Sir James Graham knew well enough that his friends and opponents would make a compromise ; and would draw up precisely that description of namby-pamby , hodge-podge report , with which the country has been favoured .

      We have given Mr . Buncombe's speech at considerable length ; and it is not bur intention to weaken any of his points by comment : but we cannot abstain

      The Right Honourable Secretary For The H...

      from directing particular attention to a most noble burst of impassioned eloquence . It is not often truths are so fairly and so boldly stated . The Honourable Member , in reference to . the uses made of Mr . Mazzisr * s intercepted letters , said : — ' , But unfortunately thc poison had gone forth to the Neapolitan Government . The British Government had informed them of the intelligence of the purport of the first letters , and it was-too late to recaUit . . The Austrian Government sent their spies among those unfortunate people ; they resided at Corfu , and they told those people that in Calabria the peasantry were ripe for the enterprise , and waiting for them . These men were thus induced , notwithstanding their assurance to Mr . Mazrini , to leave Corfu . They went into Calabria , where , instead of finding the peasantry ready for them , they wore conducted

      into the mountains , where theybecame easily mastered by organized troops which had heen sent there by the Neapolitan Government , who had been instigated to do so , no doubt , by the British Government . Seventecnof those persons were tried by a mnitary commission , and condemned to death , and nine of them were executed on the . following day . They were persons of noble family ; two of them , of thc name of Bandieras , were the sons of an Austrian admiral of that name . The Bandieras and their seven companions with a calm and hgtpy hearing bore good witness to their faith , and died like martyrs , having slept peacefully on the night before their execution . " If we fall , " they said to a friend , " teU our countrymen to imitate our example , for life has been given to us to enjoy nobly and usefully ; and the cause we die in is the purest , the holiest , and the best that ever warmed the breast of man . It is thc cause of

      thc independence of our country . " Such are the men whom you were thus leagued with Austria to crush . Those men were executed , and this is the way you adopted and the end for which you gained information , with a view of ( as you call it ) "frustrating that attempt . " Why did not you send nobly and generously to these individuals aud state to them— " You are plotting on iiAtish ground ; you are running into danger ; this must inevitably be your ruin ; let us persuade you to desist from such a course ? " They would have listened to you ,

      and you need not have suppHed another Government with the means of entrapping men and putting them to death . I say that they are the victims of this system , and their bloodis upon the heads of her Majesty ' s presen t Ministers , as much , aye , much more , than it is upon those whose duty it was to pull the trigger that launched -them into eternity ; and if a monument be erected tO ' their memory at Cosenza , where they fell , as I hope it will , it ought to-be inscribed upon their tombstone , that they fell in the cause of their country , and of liberty , through thc treachery of a British Ministry . ( Cheers . )

      " Aye ! the blood of the departed patriots , is on the head of thc British Minister ! and he— -not the hireling who drew the'triggcr—is responsible for the foul deed ! Mr . Duncombe was fully justified in ascribing the above atrocity to English Ministerial policy . It is precisely similar in character to that practised by Sidmogxh , whose good offices , in the right direction , his worthy successor appeal's to emulate , and successfully ; as in his first "innings" he has beaten him by five runs , with a wicket yet to fall . How many Englishmen have been sacrificed in precisely the

      same way ! The mode in which Castles , Oliver , Edwards , and others of Sidmouth ' s tools produced sudden outbreaks at home , was by taunting the men of Lancashire- and Yorkshire with cowardice and backwardness , assuring them that Derby , Leicester , Nottingham , and Birmingham were ready to "beup and doing ; " precisely as the Austrian spies assured the insurgents of Corfu that . they would meet with hearty co-operation from their brethren in Calabriaand who were thus marched blindfold to meet the hireling's bullet instead of a brother ' s aid .

      We trust that every man m England will read aud preserve the above extract from thc speech of Mr . Buncombe ; and we feel assured that the " scene " following and preceding the Speaker ' s call to " order , " will not be forgotten : — " Then , " said Mr . Buncombe , " how stands that question between me and the Right Honourable Baronet 1 Tf a Member in his place asks thc Right Honourable Baronet whether , in thc exercise of his functions , he has opened that Member ' s letters , and he finds that that Secretary of State , while he has had the meanness—aye , and the baseness , to commit the act , has not had the courage to avow it . ( Great cheering . )

      " Thc Speaker . —Those observations appear'to be of a personal nature . If the Honourable Member has made those observations personally to the Right Honourable Gentleman opposite , the Honourable Gentleman no doubt will be glad of the opportunity to withdraw them . "Mr . Buncombe . —SIR , I APPLIED THOSE OBSERVATIONS TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE GENTLE . MAN IN HIS MINISTERIAL CAPACITY . TO THOSE OBSERVATIONS AND THAT LANGUAGE I ADHERE—( Cheers ) : SO THEY MUST AND SHALL REMAIN . "

      What . a . rebuke ! Cuhran , once cross-examining a young dragoon major in his teens , said ,- " Come now , soldier , answer my question : " to . . which the major replied— "I am not a soldier ; I am an officer . " " Then , " said Curuax , " Mr . Officer , and no soldier , answer my question . " So with the Minister , but no gentleman . " I have , " says Sir James , " been guilty of Ministerial meanness , baseness , and cowardice ; and as a gentleman I avow it . Let us see whether this is a strained point of our own , or whether Sir James ' s own very words will not bear this identical interpretation . Sir James commenced his reply—if replv it can be called—thus : —

      Sir , I rise under great disadvantage to follow the Honourable Gentleman who has just sat down , and to address the House . For although in my own judgment and conscience ! feel a strong conviction that I have done nothing in the execution of ray public duty of which any public servant or gentleman can be ashamed , yet the topic now under discussion is one on which I feel that in the mind of the British public there must naturaUy exist a strongprejudice against * public servant who has exercised thisparticular function ; and also I feel that lam addressing a body of gentlemen of the United Kingdom in whose bosoms there must be a feeling which , in their generous natures , makes the execution of this duty in a public servant repulsive to them . I feel , therefore , all the disadvantage of my present position .

      Is not this the hangman ' s excuse ? He , too , feels " a strong conviction that he has done nothing in the execution of his public duty , of which any other hangman or gentleman can be ashamed . " Does not Sir James himself here furnish more than a " prima facie" case for a new trial ? Nay , does not he furnish ample grounds whereon to found conviction ? He does indeed do so ! There is a prejudice entertained by the whole of the British public , as well as by the body of gentlemen of the United Kingdom sitting in thc House of Commons , in whose bosoms there must be a feeling which makes thc execution of this hateful spying Ministerial duty repulsive to them ! No wonder that Sir James felt the "

      disadvantage " of his position ! He would shelter himself under thc acts of former Governments ; and would lead us to the conclusion that custom justified transgression . However , if morality is to keep pace with commerce , let us go back beyond the days of Sidmouth , Fox , Pin , or even "Walpoms , and see ' how the matter was viewed by thc Venetian Ambassador in 1641 . An act of letter-opening was complained of by the A enetian Ambassador in that year , and was explained away by Lord Fielding and Sir Henry Vane as a " simple eruor , " which subsequently grew

      into wholesale inspection . The violation : of faith , even in those " uncivilised" times , the Venetian Ambassador designated as a "damnable example . " And in speaking of the inviolability of correspond , ence—of course the character of public servant not then being separated from that of gentleman—lie wrote thus : —" which practice , most noble sirs , is not the laws of our nation alone , but universal , and hath been maintained and unviolated of the King , and the public , ' and of all Christian Governments , no less than among the most barbarous . "

      What a reflection upon our improved civilization ! Two hundred and four years ago a private letter was looked upon as something sacred , even by barbarians , * while our expediency-policy has found nine gentlemen " barbarous " enough to sacrifice this inviolability to Ministerial necessity ! Wc write before the debate is concluded ; and Wc shall anxiously look for a satisfactory response , to that "throbbing pulsation" which Sir James assures us beats in the bosoms of those " generous Englishmen " by whom he was surrounded . No doubt the swelling

      heart of little Lord John -trill go pit-a-pat in unison with the heavier groans of the outraged money-monger : but we much doubt that his little " noble " nature will sustain him in . the conflict between English feeling and Ministerial expediencyi As to Peel , there is but One course for him : either to sink himself , or to cast his supercargo , Sir James ] overboard , who has so often endangered the Ministerial vessel . We believe that no act of Peel ' s life would be hailed with half that joy that would be sure to follow the announcement of the SPY'S dismissal

      The Right Honourable Secretary For The H...

      THE TRADES' CONFERENCE : LORD

      ASHLET : AND THE QUESTION OF LABOUR PROTECTION . Hopeful as our anticipations tothe cause of Labour were from the projected Conference about to be held by thc various Trades , the position achieved by the Honourable Member for Finsbury by his splendid speech upon the spy . system , has added considerably , to our expectations . We have no doubt that the comprehensive mind of Mr . Duncombe , added to his laudable ambition to serve a cause in which he has nobly enlisted , will present this national assembly

      not only to the English mind , but to the world s eye , in its proper shape and form—as the . miniature of that full-length picture . of Labouk ' s Protection which must and will result from the combined knowledge of the Trades and their Emanci " p ater . If we saw good and substantial reason for such an assemblage before thc meeting of Parliament , and prior to thc ministerial developments made even at this early period of the Session , all that has since transpired has served to confirm us in our former views .

      We had come to the conclusion that in Trades ' questions themselves , delegates of their own order would find ample cause for deliberation : but we confess that we were not prepared to view the whole case of the labouring classes in so comprehensive a manner as we . now are , —thanks to the masterly exposure of Lord Ashley oa Tuesday night . Those who have attended to our teaching on Labour questions , Will rcjneniber that we have " ever contended for a consolidation of the interests of all as thc only means of security for all . It will be impossible for the Mechanic , the Corkeuttcr , thc Goldsmith , or the

      Shoemaker , to dp justice to their own ease , o * to arrive at wise conclusions with reference to their own order , without , at thc same time , taking into consideration the condition of eyery class of labourers . The present policyof Lord Ashley appears to us to be not only justifiable , but politic . He has taken a comprehensive view of the whole question of workingclass grievances ; and , with commendable patience , has delayed the exposure of those monstrosities known to himself , until armed with the force of evidence to

      impress them on the minds of all . The knowledge of the existence of a grievance is one thing : the publication of irrefutable testimony is another thing . Mr . Cobden , with every seeming of sincerity , might say " nay" to every assertion of the Noble Lord : and cognizant of tliis easy mode of disposing of an argu . ment , Lord Ashley postponed his exposures until he could meet such wholesale flippant denials with "The Book" containing the printed evidence taken before Committees , and by Commissioners appointed by authority .

      Armed with such irrefutable testimony , Lord Ashley proposes to go through the whole catalogue of grievances seriatim , allowing each to stand on its own merits—thereby protecting himself against the possibility ! of jumble or mystification . Chambers , in his " Employer and Employed , " admits the necessity of training females in domestic pursuits ; while Lord Ashley asks how it is possible for little children of four years of age , engaged in print-works—for that was the section of labour that he brought before the House on Tuesday—he asks how infants of forty-eight months old can fie instructed in needle-work , or other

      branches of female education , when they are compelled to work twelve , fourteen , and even sixteen hours by day and by night ! , As it is our intention to deal move at large with the proposed measure of the noblo Lord when it comes before us in a more tangible form , we shall abstain for the present from further comment , merely observing that Sir James Graham pleaded " expediency" and " PROFIT" as a justification for continuing thc infernal practice , and for resisting the noble Lord ' s humane intentions : a circumstance which characteristically enough elicited the high encomiums of pinch-uelly' Hume and the Malthusians !

      We have merely taken this cursory view of the philanthropic intentions of Lord Ashley for the purpose of presenting it as a ^ feature that ought not , and cannot , bo lost sight of by tho forthcoming Conference : thatis , if . Labour is to begenerally , and not partially , represented therein . Communications approving of this step taken by the Trades continue to pour in upon us from all quarters : and wc rejoice at being able to state that in Manchester several Trades have already elected their delegates . The fact of Mr . Duncombe having consented to preside over the deliberations of thc Conference will give to the body a surpassing importance ; while it will furnish a

      guarantee to thc delegates , and those whom they represent , that no extraneous matter will be allowed to divert their minds from the consideration of the great and important questions which thoy meet to deliberate on . Should this first , step in the right course succeed according to our reasonable anticipations , we have little hesitation imsaying that Peel ' s " occupation will be gone , " unless , indeed , as is his custom , he . may be prepared to deal with the Free Trade party as he has dealt with the Church and the Landlords—leave them , when he finds a stronger power ready to urge him on more briskly in his war against existing absurdities .

      Sir Robert Peel would rather be thc Minister of a substance , than the puppet of a shadow : and if the Trades present such a front as will convince him of their union , and evince resolution to persevere for the accomplishment of their whole rights , Sir Robert Peel is just the man to review the forces , reconnoitre the x > ositions of . the respective parties , and place HIMSELF AT THE HEAD 01 " THE MOST POWERFUL ! Far and near as the news of tills Conference has spread , and open-mouthed , open-eyed , and open-eared as our virtuous Press affects to be , it is curious that not a single organ of the many who designate themselves "Labour ' s only champions , " should have deemed so important .. *! subject worthy of even a passing notice . And yet we arc told that thc

      Press is thc great bulwark of national liberty . There is little doubt , however , that when the work is done —as done it assuredly will be—we shall be then favoured with thc realised pirophecies of our now silent cotemporarios ! Mr . Duncombe entertains most sanguine hopes from the result ol * tho projected Conference ; and we feel assured that his pledge to open the Conference on Easter Monday , and to preside over its deliberations , will bo received as an ample and gratifying apology for the non-acceptance of numerous invitations to Yorkshire , Lancashire , and all parts of the kingdom during the Easter recess ; and that those who will experience disappointment at not seeing and welcoming their champion , will rejoice that , though absent , he is engaged in doing thc work of all .

      To The Fustian Jackets, Blistered Hands, And Unshorn Chins.

      TO THE FUSTIAN JACKETS , BLISTERED HANDS , AND UNSHORN CHINS .

      My Dear And Only Friends,—Although I Hav...

      My dear and only Friends , —Although I have from time to time been taunted and sneered at for resting my hopes of all salutary changes in the moral , social , and physical condition of thc people of this country on your exertions , I have never yet been induced to transfer that hope to expectation from any other source . Thc great , and indeed the disastrous influence possessed by thc middle classe s of this country

      over the labourers was never moi-e significantly , though negatively , displayed than at the present moment . The complete cessation of all agitation by the middle classes is ample proof that the law , or rather the Government , has done for thma . ll that they require , while they have in return , through their representatives , aided the Minister in the completion of those financial schemes , which , although most just , most sweeping , and most comprehensive , must nevertheless end in the final overthrow of thc present system .

      The middle classes see permanency where there tV no certainty . They imagine that all the advantages arising from Sir Robert Peel ' s recent alteratons must be permanent ; whereas the only measures to which any fixity of duration can be assigned are the Property and the Income taxes . I do not say that his Sugar Bill would be so altered as to meet your inability to consume by increased duties on that article ; nor do I say that the present reasonable hope of

      My Dear And Only Friends,—Although I Hav...

      " prosperity" arising ' from your present ability to consume , would be met by a return to the former glass duties , auction duties , stave duties , or the increase of any of those duties which Sir Robert Peel has recently abolished ; but what I do say is thisthat his application of the " surplus" in his hands has been impolitic , unjust , ' unstatesmanlike , and unwise . I will take the six great articles of

      reduction , comprising within themselves nearly the whole amount of thc " surplus , " the reduction of thc duty on sugari the repeal of the duty on cotton wool , on glass , coopers' staves , the auction duty , and the export duty on coal . Tho reduction on these six articles amounts to more than three millions and seventy thousand pounds per annum ; while the remaining 425 comprise no more than about £ 320 , 000 , or perhaps leaving a loss on the collection .

      Now , perhaps it would be impossible to . have selected six articles producing the same amount of revenue from a reduction on which the working classes would derive more insignificant advantage . I will make a shopkeeper ' s bill of it for you , and see how the matter stands . Suppose a man whose family uses Benefit of reduction per week . ¦ : d . 21 bs . of sugar per week 2 . V Fabric composed of cotton wool , 2 s . per week 1 JGlass , per week 0 i-Auction duty 0 Staves O

      4 . 1 I have taken the most advantageous view of the " savings" in which your order can regard them . I have allowed a poor man ' s family to use two pounds of sugar per week , and two shillings ' worth of fabric made of cotton wool , on which the duty was 121 per cent . ; and upon which , for calculation ' s sake , I have allowed you five per cent ,, leaving 1 \ per cent , for the grower , the merchant , the manufacturer ,, thc wholesale dealer , and thc shopkeeper from whom you purchase ; and I find that your share of the " saving , " even should my data . be correct , will amount to fourpence farthing per week , or eighteen , shillings andfivepence

      per year ! This is allowing . you great regularity in housekeeping ; and if I '¦ take the wages of a man , able to expend as above , at , 18 s ; 5 < l ; per week , it will not be too much ; and let us then see how with him the account will stand . 1 Sir Robert Peel has expressed a hope' that the working classes maybe allowed their share in his reductions : but belittle knows the parties with whom they have to deal on Saturday nights . Those parties will have their share , and their full share , in the " reductions : " but those reductions will be In ihe workmen ' s wages ; and the reasons assigned will be the greater facilities of purchasing the necessaries of life .

      Now no man can say . that , this view is strained , when we recollect that parties very generally urged the growth of temperance as a justifiable reason for reducing wages . Nor can we shut our eyes to what passed on thc promulgation of thc former tariff . Indeed , I never can forget that golden passage in Mr . Drury ' s admirable letter to Mr . Duncombe , wherein he sets forth the greater difficulty of the working classes to contend with griping capitalists than with the law itself . Thc Income tax is to be reimposed

      for three years : and this circumstance , together with the plausible pretext of " reduced necessaries , " will be seined as sufficient reason for reducing your wages on the very first opportunity . Taking the more-thanprobable reduction , then , at one shilling per week , consequent on your IMPROVED condition , we shall find a balance against the labourer of £ 113 s . 7 d . per year ! And this is the Ministerial boon in return for the increasing " loyalty" of her Majesty ' s loving subjects !

      Now , I am perfectly aware that to any other class of working men in the world , except those of England , it would be very foolish to write SO phvinly as * I write : but I sincerely rejoice that you have now arrived at a state that enables me to speak plain common sense to you without being liable to have my words , my motives , or my conclusions measured by the old rule of system . The great " prosperity " of the country and the income tax has furnished the Minister with an unexampled " surplus . " This "surplus" being immediately collected from the wealthier

      classes , proves their wealth ; while , co-tempoianeously with the re-distribution of this " surplus ' ' among the parties from whoso store it was taken , we learn the astounding fact from the Home Secretary , that one in every ten of the working classes is dependent upon parochial relief for existence !—is , in fact , a " parish pauper } " and is to be made a union vAQABoxn !! Now , does not this clearly prove to you that however , desirous Sir Robert Peel may be to better your condition , " system" stands in the way of his doing it eft ' ectually ?

      I am ready to admit that the " man of substance " will be able to use more sugar , more cotton wool manufacture , more glass , and to sell his "traps " cheaper by auction than he can now ; but what I contend for is , that tho measures of Sir Robert Peel will not enable the present non-consumer to be a consumer of those articles . And what I further assert is this , that Sir Robert Peel ' s present measures will make the very next " p anic , " however trifling it may be , fatal to all classes of society—but most fatal to those for " whose especial benefit" he says he has made the change . If you are not able to consume ,

      the Income tax will be a very inadequate substitute for all his alterations . And now metbinks I hear some one saying , " Well , what would you have done to have met the Minister ' s views , and the Home Secretary ' s frightful admission ? " Well , if we leave " system" out of the question ; and if we bar the necessity of balancing adverse and contending interests without any certainty of result , for the mere purpose of keeping the thing afloat ; and if indeed the improvement and well-being of all should be the object

      of those who govern , I will tell you . £ 3 , 400 , 000 of money "is money all over the world , " as we say in Ireland ; and the duty of the Minister , with that " surplus" in hand , waste have xp ^ llediti » -udentially rather than politically . If Sir Robert Peel had purchased , as he might have done , 200 , 000 acres of very good land , and leased it to " the one in ten" of the system-made " paupers , " he might have preserved all his higher duties , and might have swept the frightful item of £ 8 , 000 , 000 per annum " pauper" money from his column of expenditure \

      Now , you mechanics , and you insolent '' foppish " aristocracy of Trades , don't laugh at mo ; but firstunderstand that every single item that Sir Robert Peel / proposes to bring within your reach , by a reduction in its price , comes from , the land . Two hundred thousand acres of laud would give direct employment to 500 , 000 individuals , and would produce a " surplus , " after their consumption , larger than tbc interest of thc national debt ; and then 500 , 000 would be about thc " one in ten" of the " pauper" class . Of

      the "first-principle" gentlemen , who know as much about the value of labour when applied to land , as an Irish pig knows of geometry , I ask ; I mean Spottiswoodc and Co ., and the " TO RT" advocates of increased issues of paper-monct /; I ask these gents , what objection they can sec to the purchase of land under such circumstances ? Will they tell me that the people ought rather to starve in deperek-ce to a " statesmanlike-principle ? " that it is antUlemocratic to purchasevihsit ought to belong tothe people themselves , but which , unfortunately , thev cannot

      otherwise have ? In 1840-41 and' 42 , 1 made several prophesies with reference to the policy of Sir Robert Peel ; and day after day I find events and circumstances strengthen ing and confirming the opinions that I then entertained and placed on record . The only advantage that I now sec in a perseverance in that policy is , that sooner or later the neglected agricultural interest must be thrown upon tho consuming labouring classes for protection . There is nothing else for

      them . The landed interest alone derive no benefit ( beyond the dangerous facility of procuring money at alow rate of interest ) , from that system of centralization which has grown to such an alarming extent . They derive no advantage from the accumulated hoards of the leviathan manufacturers ; but , on the contrary , they are now beginning to discover that the " protection as labour" would enable the labouring classes to deal more extensively and advantageously for themselves in the home market .

      Whenever the landlords of this countiy are prepared to make common cause with the working classes , they can materially benefit themselves , and at the same time confer commensurate advantages on the labouring classes . The manufacturers , and all wholiveontheabour of others , wm die in resisting

      My Dear And Only Friends,—Although I Hav...

      the claims of Labour ; before they will join . mn ing its emancipation . I admit that we have * " ** up-hill work to convince the slotlvful clodp oles 1 ! v fact ; but nevertheless it is progressino- m ^ i " farmers that whistle at the plough" are beirin to acquire some knowledge : and knowledge nin ^ that they do require to save thems elves ° , „ f ^ people . na the The manufacturing and trading ; classes hmore active , stirring , bustling knowled ge tit ? Ht agricultural classes ; and for this reason—w ] , ' ' ¦ there is a demand there is a suppl y . The li a T- terest , being protected by old feudal laws ' inade ; b " themselves , and by pulpit-hobgoblinism preached l / their sons , have relied upon those things , backed I * a standing army , for the security and i-rotec-hik- imi i 1 'UA

      u .- ! .. ^„„ . j .: ~„ . , 0 t their properties . There was no demand , as fai ! they were concerned , for any other descri ption ^ " knowledge" than that furnished b y legis ] ,-it ( 1 N ' priests , and soldiers ; and that knowled ge Iiaville Ifo ! come obsolete and useless , there they arc , flound er ing on their backs , assailed , and not able to defend " themselves . Thus it always is ; where there ' s n grievance there exists a sense of dangerous skcumt and but little knowledge ; while , on the other hand where grievances exist , intellect is shar i'e . vkd to r ' sistaxce . Hence we find the foolish old " defender '

      of the Protestant faith , and so forth , " mere childre in the hands of Catholic disputants , who have hi long grievances to contend with . And precisely it is with the labouring classes . Their grievanceand sufferings break through that proclainj " prosperity" of which the Minister ostentati on ^ boasts ; and the consequence is , that the " ons pauper in every ten" becomes enlivened by anj „ philosophy which promises to shake unjust security to its very centre . It is for them that I have spent

      the best years of my life in comparative seclusion , If is for abandonment of their cause that I have quat . relied with friends most dear , and with associates most valued . Where is the heart that must not feel and sicken—where is the man that can refrain from weeping , on looking on such a picture as thc Home Secretary has bceii , p bliged to present as a foil to the painted representation of " prosperity" drawn by thai "fascinating finajjjtjpr , " the bookkeeper of the monied classes—Sir Robert Peel .

      My friends , my only friends—you who have confided in me ; who have defended me when assailed ; who have never deserted me in adversity—to you I say that thc next paxic , trifling though it may be , will place you in the ascendant —( after some suffering , 1 admit , )—when all the trickery of Ministerial policr must fail . Be united ; be wise ; bo firm : for after all , to our measure—and to that alone—all persons possessing real property , and wishing to preserve it from the lewd grasp of speculating traffickers , must comc-to THE PEOPLE'S CHARTER . Ever your faithful friend and servant , Fear us O'Coxxor .

      To £*Aim$ & Cmrt4pmim&

      to £ * aiM $ & Cmrt 4 pmiM &

      Jam£S Asn Worth, Hetwood. — There Must S...

      Jam £ S Asn worth , Hetwood . — There must surely fc > some mistake . We arc not aware that anvbodv lias impugned either thc " designs" or the " character "« Ifr . Bell ; we are sure that wb have not done so . Ife " designs" we beneve to be perfectly honourable ; and for anything we know to the contrary , his " character '' is unimpeachable : but it does not follow that belicv ' mj this , we are not to tell Mr . Bell that he docs wroii ; , when ire think so . This is all that we have done , tiia is what we shall do again when occasion calls for it , Spite of the sensitiveness of remark that some person : exhibit . There is far too much of a disposition to con . strue fair and legitimate comment into " attacks" on " character , " and "designs , " and make of the matters

      personal quarrel . We beg to tell Mr . Bell and fo ' j friends that they will not succed in doing so on Chi ; occasion . There shall be no discussion with us either aj to his '' designs" or his " character ; " for we have at present . to do with neither . AU we have to do with is his publication of strictures affecting the Executive committee , before he had corresponded with them , and learned their reasons for the course they had deemed it needful to take . This was all we originally complained of ; this we complain of again . L . Pitkethiy , HuDDEKsriEtD . —The great length at which we have given the Parliamentary debates on the Tariff , lord Ashley ' s " nen- move" for obtaining for another and extensive class of infant workers a modim of protection , and Mr . Duncombe ' s gallant exposure of

      Post-office villany , has left us no room this week for communications . A , Y . L ., Deptfobd . —He has borrowed money oa flu faith of the rules . Those rules set forth that tie payments shall he so much per week , or such-and-such a fine for neglect . - To that condition A . Y . LSayrai , when ho availed himself of the aid of the society ; of course ho is bound to abide by it . It would be dis . honest in him now to seek to breakthrough his engage , ment . If he objected to tlie fines for non-payment , he should not have entered the society , nor availed him . self of its help . ; . Bagclet . —Richard Lalor Sheil is Commissioner of Greenwich Hospital . The appointment was conferred on him by the Whigs , when in office .

      S . C ., GLOssor . —les . Leaving without notice will not entitle the employer to retain the , wages earned by the workman . He may have him committed to gaol for breach of contract ; but he is bound to pay him tor what has been worked for . Stopping thc wages by the employer , under the pretence of "lines" aud " abatements , " will not exonerate a workman from his eon . tract to give " notice" when he wishes to leave that employer . A wor feman who is foolish enough to absent himself from employment under such cirenm . stances , gives thc thieving employer the advantage . What the workman should do in such case is to give

      the required notice , and summon the employer for the "hire" defrauded from him . It is the tame submission ¦ of the workers totVie thieying practice of "fines" n » 3 " abatements" that has caused it to become rcguladj systematised . Captain Maboabit . —We arc infornlcd that a ball and other entertainments , for' the benefit of the Spanish Republican and refugee , Capt . Margarit , will take place on Monday evening next , at the Cheshire ChccW , Grosvcnor . row Chelsea . . We trust that thc attendance of thc friends of liherty on this occasion will bewmcrous . We believe Capt . Margarit to be a trttS patriot , and well deserving thc assistance of all good

      democrats . Wm . Lewis , Brecon . —His ( pieries could only be answe re ! by a lawyer who had all the documents , evidence , and facts before him . It is no unusual thing for magistrate to give more credence to the unsupported " evidence" ot one policeman than to the corroborative testimony of twenty indifferent persons point-blank contradicting the . statements of the police-prosecutor . In this case the policeman made oath that the party he complaint ot had struck him ; i c , assaulted him . Four others , indifferent parties , who saw thc whole transaction , swore that he did no such thing—that ho neitln-r molested thc ' poUeeman uor any one else : but what of that ' ¦ Ihe magistrates believed the one oath of thc intcrcwl policeman , who had apprehended thc man , and who haa

      to make out a justification for such apprehension ; w " they disbelieved thc evidence of the other four disinterested parties . On that-belief they commi tted the party , against whom the policeman swore , to \ mw and the oath of the complainant is their justification-W . L . has no remedy , unless he chooses to prosecute v > said policeman for perjury , if ho thinks he lias eviil * " sufficient to sustain such a charge . Wm . Peplow , Staffokd . —Wc apprehend by tbis time Mr . Peplow will have seen tlie Star of last week , a "" learned all the particulars of the CISC respecting * he writes . He will also have learned that his r » was written under a misapprehension of thc real tact . and that its publication could do no geod to any part } - A contradiction and explanation of A fur different W IwiutWIV * »» 1

      „ - " •^¦ * - is needed to successfully meet thc alleged facts narrate in the Star . Will Mr . Peplow be kind enoug h to convey an intimation to his friend that we cannot interfere in the matter between him and thc party to whoni I > lettoi' is addressed ? He will oblige us If he Jo * , ' The friend in question will , we are sure , ou vcftcctiou , see the propriety of the course wc adopt . The correspondence that has taken place is one in which «* " ^ not at all concerned . . It has not been provoked byanj ' thing that wc have either done or said . Indeed , of vti . existence , we were totally ignorant , until the receipt ol the papers sent through Mr . Peplow . The only »»> which we judge of the propriety of the request ma * to us , to interfere in tlie matter by publication , is ' j ourselves if we shall serve thepnolic interest by aecct'

      ing to such request : and the answer that reflection a " judgment give is , that it would not serve any public interest , but would involve us in a discussion between individuals on individual matters ; a discussion , whif while it might be lengthy enough and angry enough ' and exhibit more than enough of petty jealousy »>' envy , would not interest or benefit the reader . ? of tni Star , nor conduce to public good . Though wc deploy thc condition of the party applying to us , as revealed ' the papers in question ; and though we should lwO been happy to publish the facts , to rouse public svn' ' pathy and aid ( as we have ever before done when » r plied to ) yet as we are interdicted from making any u » of the documents unless all be inserted , we have no . ' ; tentative but to decline publication for the reasu '"

      above set forth . J . Mason , Birmingham . —His letter is received , and sha be published . We keep it over for the present , beca ^ - we expect a communication from another party « j ^ ' lation to the same subject , and think the two wdl better to go together . The case of the party invoii ^ will be stronger when seen at once , than when given piece-meal . - G , ' Ansem , TttKuoAiK-Iiatre , — Becelred too i » insertion .

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Feb. 22, 1845, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_22021845/page/4/