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    c o ^^ __^ ^^ in ST A.TL 01 FREEDOM. i69

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    IRELAND AND THE FRENCH EMPIRE. The part ...

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    THE TAXES ON KNOWLEDGE. Mr. Hume has add...

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    Bonaparte And Abd-El-Kader. The Formal D...

    ^• J ^ ddressing the Emir , Bqnapaete took care to comment on \ . fai thlessness of the Orleans government , thus inviting attention nH ^ is o * magnanimity . He will hardl y succeed in imposing n « * m 0 St crcMous - He is t 0 ° unfeeli & g > crafty , and ca ( - nkWM have ta induced t 0 this act h ? any sentiment of c ^ iicroslty , or zealous regard for the honour of France . In arriving tttltthe conclusion to break the bonds of the captive , he , doubtless ] , , 1 , 1 in view the eclat attendant upon such an act , and the popuviriCitT ]) e thereby I uiTed - But > lowing his character , it is to _

    'V- ^ - un reasonable nor uncharitable conclude that ha mav - - Jer unreasonable nor uncharitable to conclude that he may 2 ^ . been mainly guided by darker motives . Broussa in the ttaites of the Sultan , is indicated as the place of Abd-el-Kader ' s M ature abode—so that his freedom is to be but of a very qualified ' ^ er . Something like that of Kossuth at Kutayah . Of course ^ jrtcy will be held responsible for his safe keeping ; and should \ i \ hp-sl-Kader imitate—at a humble distance—the broken faith " ; ' jtli Tfliich the very name of Bonaparte has become synonyte to

    m sions j Tnr ^ y ^ ma ( ie suffer * A fe least > suca an ey ent as . it ilsfi flig ht of Abd-el-Kader from Broussa to the haunts of his , o ! it )! d renown would , doubtless , be seized upon , as a pretext to renew f French aggression upon the East . That might bring about a in more im portant quarrel ; for England could not permit the transf ormation of the Mediterranean into a French lake or the establishment of a Franco-Syrian , or a Franco-Egyptian Empire . Any « cnch design on the part of "the Emperor of the French" would

    i mean war between him and England ; and then , if not before , i \ ronld be made the attempt to " efface Waterloo" by the sack of ] L ondon . Some such ideas have in all probability , mainly 3 influenced Bonaparte to release Abd-el-Kader from French custody . Himself the very incarnation of perfidy , Bonaparte enacted an

    oath from Abd-el-Kader , that he would never attempt io trouble Trench rule in Africa . How can the great oath-breaker expect an oath to bind a Captive enemy ? It may be that the Arab chief sill regard the cause of his country as hopeless , and , in accordance villi the fatalism of his creed , will devote his declining years to reli ° ious resignation . It may be , on the other hand , that his countrymen will summon him again to the field of combat , and tlmthe will regard that summons as the manifestation of "the will of God , " thereby releasing him from his engagement . If the latter

    should come to pass , the world will again hear tell of the wondrous deeds of " the son of Mahiddi , " waving the banner of the Prophet at the head of his mounted warriors . Be his future what it may , mankind will not forget his past ; and generations yet unborn , will p ay homage to the patriotism , heroism , > nd chivalric virtues o f glorious Abd-el-Kader !

    C O ^^ __^ ^^ In St A.Tl 01 Freedom. I69

    c o ^^ __^ ^^ in ST A . TL 01 FREEDOM . i 69

    Ireland And The French Empire. The Part ...

    IRELAND AND THE FRENCH EMPIRE . The part taken by the Catholic priesthood in France in the events that have succeded the coup d ' eto * -their guilty complicity in the monstrous crimes of Louis Bonaparte , and their blasphemous laudation of that personification of unqualified rascality , is one that is little likely to elevate them or their creed in the eyes of Europe and of the future . But it would appear that there are those who think that the clerical supporters of the banditBoNAPARTEarenot only to be excused but worthv to be admired and imitated . The Tablet , the

    organ of Irish Catholicism , expresses great joy at the prospect of a speedy restoration of the hereditary Empire in the person of Louis Bonaparte , and says that the heart of every Irish peasant bounds when he hears of the coming Empire , and that his eve glistens at the mention -of Louis Napoleon ' s name . " And when the Vicar of Christ—if . this too , as it seems probable , is to happen—shall place the imperial crown upon the brow of the third Napoleon and give him the benediction of the Church , it will bring joy , and exultation , and hope , to the

    downtrodden peasant of this land . " Does this vile laudator of tyranny really express the wishes and hopes of the Irish people , when he thus ' represents- them to be such base and grovelling wretches that they are ready to acclaim the triumphant criminal , and live in joyful anticipation of the day when their country and them-* . ) i . _ n r . * .. _„ : « . „ nC ' nnmm ( r snhip . ct to h ' lS TUle ? selves shall have opportunity of becoming subject to his rule .

    „ an If so , there is but small hope of the regeneration of Ireland , there is indeed but a poor prospect of the blood of her devoted patriots bearing fruit , and the gallant men who have sought to make Ireland republican and free , will have to pass their lives in exile—an exile rendered doubly bitter by the conviction that the people for whom they have fought and suffered are utterly unworthy of their devotion . * The spirit of freedom , whfch is the only guarantee of

    a nation ' s liberty , must be entirely wanting in a people which is prepared to greet with a shout of joy the triumph of ihe greatest criminal of modern times—to exult when a neighbouring nation is betraved and subjected to the iron rod of the oppressor-even to triumph in the thought of themselves becoming the bandit ' s slaves !

    And if such be the character of the Irish people , it is not the less shameful for the Roman Catholic clergy , who have constituted themselves their teachers , than for them . What has Louis Boxai'arte done to earn the gratitude of the Irish peasantry ? Can the enslavement of Italy and France , the wholesale slaughters that have been committed , and the sufferings of tlie thousands that have been cast into prison or driven into exile , constitute a sufficient title to such gratitude ? Assuredly no . A crime against one nation is a crime against all the nations , and the enslavement of France is but the riveting of Irishmen's chains . If Louis Bonapart e is popular with the Irish peasantry , it is not because & s crimes endear him to Irish hearts , but because the Catholic

    Ireland And The French Empire. The Part ...

    priesthood have understood the compact entered into between force and fraud—between the Elysee and Rome—to mutually uphold each other upon the necks of the prostrate people ; and thev have laboured to make their ignorant and degraded dupes pro ' - Bonapartist , so that they also may gain b y the fall of freedom . Rumours are afloat that the Irish priesthood have not onlv

    been crying up Bonaparte in iheir pulpits and their press , but that their emisaries have even been plotting with the French government at Paris . The tone of their organs would amply justify the suspicion of such being the case . They have continually and openly expressed their wishes and hopes that the coming winter would see the sack of the British Metropolis by the armies of Bonaparte .

    If it be reall y so ; if there be truth in the assertion that the Roman Catholic priesthood is nothing more than a vast cons ^ iracy against the freedom and intelligence of the human racea conspiracy whose members are destitute of faith and of conscience , and who never hesitate to sacrifice every sentiment of nationality and patriotism to the interests of their order and the progress of their reason-crushing system , it is time that their mask were torn off , their entire body denounced as the greatest of criminals—as the hateful and eternal enemies of humanity .

    Proof of the Irish priests' guilt may surely be obtained if this Catholic-Bonapartist conspiracy has as yet assumed a definite form . If it has , the traitors should at once be seized , their conspiracy broken up , aud they themselves punished with a severity commensurate with the enormity of their crime . At the least , their own language has been such as to suffer none to doubt their mora I guilt , and consequently no idle talk about " religious liberty " should screen them from the punishment they merit .

    Tne people of great Britain and the real thinking men of Irel and may do well to take no heed of the priestly cry about ' , religious intolerance" and "persecution * " For us , Religious Liberty means the right of all men to have free growth for their intelligence and freedom to worship their God as that intelligence shall dictate .

    But it does not mean the right of a body of men to exploit a whole people , to keep the masses in eternal degradation by excluding every ray of reason from their benighted minds , and to conspire to deliver the country into the hands of a foreign despot . No ; we would allow no such liberty to the priests of any creed . We would rather endeavour to burst the mental bonds of

    their ignorant and brutalised dupes . This can alone be accomplished by a system of national education—free , ot course , from the interference of sectarians of every denomination Were our rulers a government inspired by a desire for ensuring the welfare and advancement of the nation at large , such an educational system would be carried into effect forthwith . But they

    have no such desire . Like their Whig predecessors , the Tories fear any extension of knowledge amongst the mass of the people . What hope then , have we of seeing the evil teaching of ambitious and immoral priestcraft counteracted by efficient education , so long as the executive and legislative power shall remain in the hands of these factions ? None whatever . The evil in the

    neighbouring island will be suffered to grow until it shall result either in the destruction of our . nationality or in the slaughter o f numbers of the deluded Irish peasantry . Such a catastrophe ca n only be avoided by the people driving for ever from power the representatives of the factions , and replacing them by a national government that would take the necessary steps to ensure the education of the entire people .

    The Taxes On Knowledge. Mr. Hume Has Add...

    THE TAXES ON KNOWLEDGE . Mr . Hume has addressed to Mr . Collett , the Secretary to the Society for the Repeal of the Taxes on Knowledge , a letter which contains an important admission , ^ to the effect that the Whigs and the Tories are the " two great oppressing parties , " from whom no measure favourable to the advancement of the people is to be hoped . Joseph ' s eyes seem to be at last opened to the real character of Lord John Russell . He has discovered what

    everybody knew long since , that the little leader of the Whig party is an unprincipled shuffler , whose only aim is to gain power and to keep it . It is passing strange , however , that Mr . Hume should not till now have discovered the fact that Russell , in effect promised to repeal the taxes on knowledge whenever it should be jn his . power to do so , and yet , with power in his hands , " pertinaciously refused to knock off any one link of the enslaving chain that prevents the spread of knowledge and the education of the

    nation . " It is not the first time that Lord John has belied m office the professions he had made when out of power and in need of support . The hero of expediency , par cxcellance , acted in this matter only according to the rule that has guided his whole public life , and least of all men should Joseph Hume have complained of this , seeing that he has , according to his own cenfes-, sion , long been the supporter of Lord John Russell from the verv same cause—expediency . He has supported men whom he

    believed to be political tricksters , and who form one of the " two great oppressing parties , " simply because he considered it to be expedient to keep them in power in preference to the other " great oppressing party , " whom , however , lie has never proved to be mere dishonest or oppressive than the men he supported . It may be , that MivIIume feels somewhat jealous of the " Democratic" speech of Lord John Russell at Perth , and is anxious ,

    therefore , to prove his insincerity on the present occasion , by bringing forward his former misdeeds . It would certainly be a most unkind thing in Lord John to . install himself in the place of the " veteran Reformer . * ' This might go far towards explaining Mr . Hume ' s anxiety that Mr . Collett should not " demean the Society' ' he represents by seekinglhe co-operation of the Whig leader . )) s £ i & *

    The Taxes On Knowledge. Mr. Hume Has Add...

    Be Mr . Hume ' s motives what they may , we can very well appreciate the truth of his objections . We can readily believe that little aid would be obtained from the political cheat , Russell , that the agitation would be used as a means of carrying his " Lordship" into power , when it would be sacrificed to the most miserable of compromises , or entirely and contemptuously thrown over-board . Lord John Russell and the Whigs have as little as any men a real desire for the extension of knowledge among

    the masses . They know full well that their pretended liberalism and regard for the country ' s Democracy would fail to blind the eyes of the people when a universal and efficient education had removed the absurd prejudices and easy credulity which still exist to a large extent , in " enlightened and educated Britain . " The baser branch of the aristocracy , therefore , has little inducement to free the press from the shackles with which it still continues bound .

    As to the tory faction , the desire for the repression of the freedom of the press , and consequently , of the spread of knowledge , has never been concealed by its adherents . They have an instinetive hatred for an institution which has done so much to destroy their greatly admired feudal system ; and they will never aid in the abolition of those imposts which hinder trie propagation of the more advanced ideas of the time—ideas which they are well aware are so adverse to the system they uphold .

    The taxes on knowledge consist of , ] . The duty on paper 2 . The duty on foreign books . 3 . The duty on advertisements-And , 4 , The penny stamp on newspapers . All the four are undeniably prejudicial to the material and moral welfare of the people . The duty on paper , it has been shown , has a most injurious effect upon the manufacture of that article . If it was taken off , not only would there-be a large increase in the home consumption of paper , but we should be enabled to manufacture largely for

    exportation . There would be a considerable increase in the demand for labour in consequence , and this consideration alone should be sufficient to cause the whole of the labouring classes to demand the immediate repeal of a tax so injurious to them . If we had a Parliament representing labour , instead of one representinglabour ' s enemies this fact would of itself suffice to doom the obnoxious impost . But like its fellow taxes , its effects upon literary production , and consequently upon the spread of knowledge , are equally baneful .

    The duty upon foreign books produces so little that its retainment as a question of revenue can be but of little importance . But its evil effects in repressing the wide spread desire among the people for a better acquaintance with the works of the great thinkers and writers of other lands is very great , and since as a means of raising revenue , it is valueless , there can be no other cause for refusing its abolition than an indefensible desire to exclude as much as possible the writings of foreign authors .

    Ihe advertisement duty is equally objectionable . The anomalies it presents are such as to cast ridicule upon the law-makers who were capable of causing such an absurd enactment to be

    placed upon the statue-book , and the legislature that can suffer it to remain there . Why hinder the public from making known their various wants through the medium of the periodical press , while every other means of effecting the same object is unshackled by taxation ? The injustice of the tax is even more apparent in the unequal manner in which it is levied . The domestic , who , in two or three lines , advertises for a " place , " has to pay the same amount of duty as the rich advertiser who can monopolise a page .

    But the penny stamp on newspapers is , more than the foregoing , a tax upon knowledge . By raising the price of the public journals , it limits their circulation , and consequently their power of instructing . That this tax was devised to fetter the expression of opinion as much as a means of raising revenue is a fact too well known to be disputed ; and although those in power dare not publicly avow it , it is doubtless the same potent reason ( hat causes them to so pertinaciously refuse to abandon it . It is true , there is

    the advantage of postal transmission , and this fact is made the most of ; but this postal transmission is not an equivalent for the penny stamp , inasmuch as vast numbers of stamped journals never pass through the post at all . Let an ordinary postage stamp , as on letters , be affixed to every copy of the journals intended for transmiseion by the post , and abolish the penny stamp . There would be something like justice in this . If this would be likely to impede the spread of knowledge , by confinin 0 .

    to one or two readers the journal that has hitherto passed into the t hands of several ( and we confess that the necessity . for pay ing p postage would , in all probability , have such an effect ) , we see no ) sufficient cause why the newspaper stamp should not be taken \ off , and the transmission of newspapers by the post remain free e nevertheless . As a national institution the post office should be e for the benefit of the nation , and not merely a good scheme for ir raising money . The profits arising from the carriage of letters rs

    would be amply sufficient to cover the additional expense of ) f newspaper carriage . And even were it not so , there are many iy pensions paid to aristocratic idlers , the origin of which is shame- 2-ful to the receivers , and such that their continued payment is dis- sgraceful to the nation—pensions , some of which are paid out of of the post office revenue itself . Let the payment of these be stopped ? d and the money expended in the circulation of useful knowledgege among the people .

    But there can be no hope of such a result so long as the peopleple : remain apathetic on the subject . The advice of Mr . Hume to pufoutt no faith in either Whigs or Tories should be taken . Both of theseesei factions have an interest in the maintainance of the Taxes on om

• Citation
  • Northern Star (1837-1852), Oct. 23, 1852, page 9, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_23101852/page/9/