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Northern Star (1837-1852), 26th May 1849, Edition 2 of 3, Page 5, the ^ationality" ofthe Times to May M, 1...

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      Parliamentary Review. Chartism Is Too St...

      the ^ rationality" ofthe " Times , " opposed to £ he deductions drawn from " history and philosophy . " + 1 . „ f ^ o + J «« = 1 ; + TT" « P + 1 , « « T : 53 . t ,

      The ^Ationality" Ofthe Times To May M, 1...

      May M , 1849 . ' mTT „ = __^ , ^ __ ^ ^^^^— „ ¦ ¦ _____ THE NORTHERN STAR . ! ¦¦ ~~ —¦ - ¦!¦ .. mm . ' ¦ ___ .. n ¦ ili _ .. ^ ... .,.,.,., ^^^ u- ^ - - ^ . . ^^ Ji-

      Lt Might Have Heen Supposed That, Having...

      lt might have heen supposed that , having voted themselves a holiday on the Wednestlay , thememhers of the House of Comm ons would have no ohjectionto work a whole nio-ht on Thursday . Or , had the question they were invited to consider , after disposin g of Air D'EnvcomtT ' s motion , heen a dry or unimpor tant one there mi ght have heen an excuse for their " counting out . " That , however , was not the case . 3 dr . Slaset rose a second time this session to call the attention ofthe nominal representatives of the people to the condition ofthe working classes , and to propose the appointment of an unpaid commission , speciaUy charged to watch over their interests—to consider and report from time to time on practical measures ( unconnected with political changes ) likely to improve their condition—to encourage tMr industry—and increasetheir contentment Surely more laudable , more desirahle objects than those could not possibl y have been proposed to a body professing to represent the people of Great Britain and Ireland 1 The necesaty for such a commission , it would have

      been imagined , mig ht have induced members of all parties to unite in supporting Mr . Sla-KEV * S motion . The friends of the working classes might have supported it as one mode of achieving that industrial and political emancipation to which they look forward . The friends ofthe present system might also have supported it , because nothing is so dangerous to , and subversive of , established institutions as wide-spread poverty , misery , and discontent among the people . These are the true revoluiaonisers of nations , not the " good-for-nothmg people" of Lord BkoUGHAM , or the

      "handful of vagabonds and foreigners" according to other equally sage authorities , who march into capitals , dethrone monarchies , organise armies , fight pitched hatflea , and achieve victories over the well-disciplined hosts of despotism . This slip-slop style of denunciation and deprecation is very injurious to the parties whose organs are in the habit of using it It shuts the eyes of those who are disposed to take it " upon trust , " to the real dangers which menace them . It diverts their energies into wrong channels , and , at the momentwhen they believe they are most effectuall y suppressing revolutionary elements , they find

      themselves swept away by forces , of the existence and . p ower of which they had not the slightest idea . Mr . Siaxey ' s exposition of the condition ofthe producers of wealth in this country —though cut short b y the House being counted out—was enough , to make the faces of our rulers and wealthy classes blush , and their ears tingle with shame . The immense resources of modern machinery , and improved modes of creating wealth , have been absorbed TjYthe non-producers . The condition ofthe labourer and artisan has not improved—in many cases it has deteriorated . Increased powers of production have heen followed by increased tofi and diminished remuneration to

      the labourer . Society , under the government of " the friends of order , family , and property , ' ' is a huge organised system of plunder , which denies to the great mass of the people the enjoyment ofthe comforts of famil y or the possession of property . " Order , " in the vocabulary of the brigands who plunder wholesale , under the sanction ofthe laws they have made and the machinery they have constructedmeans simpl y the submission of the producer's to he plundered in peace—and when they resist they are reduced to obedience by fire and sword .

      Twice this Session have Mr . Slasey and the working classes been treated to a specimen of the interest which the present House of Commons takes in this most vital and paramount question . "We trust the fact will be remembered whenever the nest general election may take place . It . would be well that the members of the present House of Commons , % vho may again solicit the suffrages of the electors , shouldbe questioned wh y they wereahsent . when such a question was brought forward It is time that Labour—the foundation of all wealth—should find representatives for itself , -and that the present mockery should he put an end to .

      As Formerly, Well Attended, And Many Of ...

      as formerly , well attended , and many of the leading members of the House sat out the debate from first to last . There was not much of novelty . in the arguments on either side , though Earl Gue ' threw somewhat more than his usual bitterness into his attack upon the Protectionist leader . We imag ine that this question is now settled . It is possible that alterations may be made in its details , but after the two defeats the Protectionists have « ustained , it is scarcely probable they can prevent the ultimate passing of the measure with provisions substantially those introduced by the

      Lord Stanley and the Protectionists have made another strenuous effort to substitute reciprocity for Free Trade in our shipping relations with foreign countries . Either his " whip" was not so good as it was on his first resistance to thc Navigation Bill , or some of bis supporters were disheartened at their defeat on that occasiou . Though the division was in Committee ^—where proxies do not count—the Ministers had a majority of thirteen , which , with the majority " of fourteen peers present against them on the second reading , counts twenty-seven in their favour . The House was ,

      T'Overnment. The Dukc Of Iuqnmosi> Last ...

      t'overnment . The DukC Of IUQnMOSi > last week made an outcry about agricultural distress . It is , perhaps , " rather early , seeing that for the last two or three years the farmers have been gettin * ' hiwh prices hoth for com and cattle in consequence of the failure of the potatoes . Xisually , hig h p rices are concomitant with deficient crops ; but that was not their case in Has instance , they , at least , had good crops , and therefore reaped advantage in both ways . But , though the Duke may have " given mouth" somewhat prematurely , there can be no doubt whatever that a great change is before the Britislx ag riculturist . In

      former periods when wheat sold at a low price , it was when crops were abundant , and the low price was in some measure made up by the quantity they had to dispose of . If they lost in one year they could reckon on making it up the next , and upon an average of seasons could look to a fair interest upon the cap ital emp loyedin carrying on their occupations . Under the new system this will be impossible . Low prices must rule the market . As soon as the Continent gets through its present political troubles , and settles down once more to the work of production , it wiU pour in a continuous supp ly of provisions to our market In addition , the United States ma y be exuected to increase rather than

      dilumish their exports of food . The consequence must inevitabl y be , that prices will be kept permanently down . 2 ? o doubt the farmer will , to some extent , experience the results of that reduction by a corresponding reduction in his outlay for various items of his annual expenditure ; but there are numerous expenses to which he is subject on which no reduction is at present likely , and the probability is , that the present race of farmers will be beggared by the period of transition which ve full

      must pass throug h before the country can y and completely adapt itself to the new system whichis just beginning its practical operation . We do not wonder at the landlords taking alarm at this prospect , and scenting what must come in the long run—a great reduction ot rent . One thing is certain , that , in order to accommodate our ag ricultural system to the new commercial arrangements of the Manchester School of Economists , an entire change of that system must take p lace . Game Laws wfll have to be swept away—new modes of culture introduced—aud new and more secure

      T'Overnment. The Dukc Of Iuqnmosi> Last ...

      and in dependent tenures granted to all tenant farmers . , - . -

      The Ballot. The Question Ofthe Ballot Wa...

      THE BALLOT . The question ofthe Ballot was introduced on Thursday evening , by Mr . Berkeley , the Member for Bristol , aud , after a languid debate , of about an hour and a half , in which not one of her Majesty ' s Ministers took part the House divided , when the numbers were ' For the Motion 35 Against it ¦ " i 36 Majority 51

      To John O'Copell , Ji.P. Tls?„ ° F Pbi ^...

      TO JOHN O'COpELL , JI . P . tlS ?„ ° F Pbi ^^ ge . —i & Tjohn O'Connell complained . K ™ L ^ 2 ? * ** e a report of fte Proceedings of that S "Pon aformer evenins , and he observed that in the rii ? 11 J 2 ? "if ^ set forth as his own speech on the occasion , an the " goodpoints" were omitted , and the strong arguments of his opponents were inserted lie should therefore , object to the presence of strangers , and the strangers , including the reporters , were forthwith obliged to withdraw . —IPceWy Paper . b Gratiano speaks an infinite deal of nothing , more than any man m aU Teniee . His reasons are , as two grains of wheat hid in two bushels of chaff You shall seek aU da >• ere jou find them , and when yon have found them ther are not worth the search . —Merchant of Venice .

      My Dear Joh . v , —The injustice which the English have done to Ireland , through their Press in curtailing and mutilating those models of patriotic oratory with which it has been your wont frequently to edify the Imperial Parliament , and the Mghlv characteristic retaliation which you have inflicted upon the offenders , have induced me to address you in this public manner , and to offer my humble condolence to you , as a deeply injured man ! Things have come to a " purty" pass indeed when the "dearest son of his mother , " and the worthy representative of the " illustrious Liberator , " ( God rest his sow ! , ) is so treated by rascally Saxon Journalists ! Kofc onl y are your speeches abbreviated , but all the " good polvts " are purposely left out I "Thunder and turf ! " Sure this

      is more than fleshand blood can bear with ! enough , in fact , to provoke you to execute your threat of selfuumolationiipon the floor of the House—a threat which I have no doubt would long ere this have been carried into practice , were it not that your "hereditary disinterestcd ) iess" has suggested that your services may yet be of use to your bleeding country !" ] S ot only do the newspaper people leave out , intentionally , all your " good points , " but the House itself acts towards you as though-it were utterly unconscious ofthe existence of any such quality in your speeches . So sooner do you rise and commence to pour forth your mellifluous brogue , than there immediately occurs a most determined rush of members towards the gangway , the strife among them for egress reminding the beholder of a scene at Epsom

      on a "Derby-day , the outer door of the lobb y being , to the competitors , an object of great contention—a kind of "winning post "—those members remaining behind seeming to be regarded by the deserters as the " distanced ones . " But what does this treatment prove , John ?—that your speeches are not worth listening to ? Jxb , John ; quite the contrary . It in evidence strong as " holv writ" of the low grovelling taste of the Saxon members—the dogs !—since they have no appetite for the sublime and beautiful . " What do they know about oratory ? —they have never graduated at Burgh Quay ! Talking of Burgh Quay , John , the emotion which the mention of that hallowed place excites in me at this moment—but , then , it is all over!—I have applied the lappel of my coat to my optics and nasal organ , ( you can imagine how they have been afteeted , ) and will face the subject like a man .

      The reminiscences which are associated with the history of that now defunct establishment—how they crowd upon my memory ! The rents that have been received there—the reputations that have been slaughtered—the promises that have been made , and the coats that have been therein turned , all go to prove the ability with which the affair was conducted . God be with ould times , John , when at the " Loyal National Burgh Quay , " you found an auditory who were capable of appreciating real eloquence , and who , consequently , got speeches galore . It was not the dirty parliament you were talking to then , John , but to men of " illigant " taste , as numberless noggins of buttermilk , at present not extant , could have amply testified . Those were the days when the Press of Ireland , at least , did

      you justice . Some people say , but I don ' t believe them , that certain Irish editors were joint proprietors in the "brass" by which the "tin" was attracted to your mock senate , and which enabled you and them to do so mvth for your country , and so little for yourselves . At all events , of the utter unselfishness of all bearing your revered name there can be no question . I was in the gallery of the House of Commons on Friday evening , when you enforced the rule for the exclusion of strangers , and heard the derisive laughter with which tne stupid Saxon members treated you for your worthy and heroic conduct . "But , " thought I , " he will yet be able to take ample vengeance upon them for that laugh of scorn ' . " I communicated the thought to a friend who was at my side , who asked me , " Wliat I

      supposed you would do ? " "Why , " replied I , "he will give cotice of motion upon some Irish question , perhaps the ' godless colleges / ' and will make a speech of two hours upon its introduction !" ' True , " said myfriend , " he can punish them that icaji , and if he does I shall pity them . " The Times , being the newspaper against which you have directed your complaint more especially , has had the conscience to require of you to speak " common sense , " as a condition to thc pubheation of your speeches at length in that paper ! Was there ever before such a monstrous absurdity put forth , even by a Saxon editor ? " Wanting—an Irish M . P . to utter * common sense !'" And , as if to cap the cHmax , and to make the fellow ' s absurdity more complete , this conscionable overture is ma ' de to the member for the " Citv of the violated

      treaty , " who , of all other Irish members , is the one who would scorn compliance with such a demand Is not this very requirement an additional reason for a repeal ofthe union ? Requiring " common sense" from yon , dear John , —and this is called " Justice to Ireland ! " Is not such conduct on the part of the Times , proof that we Irishmen will never get "justice" from England—no , not even an "instalment" of that "justice , " the obtainment of which was the main object to which your lamented papa devoted his useful public life If the shades ofthe departed dead could look down from above , and exercise any influence over us poor mortals "here below , " that of your departed sire would , I am sure , be found hovering over Printing house-square ; and if it were permitted them to assume the sliaoes thev srraced when upon earth ,

      would not the Editor of the Times be honoured with the apparition of the ' « Liberator , " in his favourite and formidable attitude as a Tribune of thc people , with the tip of his thumb placed " significantly " upon thc most prominent point of his proboscis , and his four fingers pointing to the skies ! Such a visitation -as this at the hour of midnight , would not only bring the offending Editor to his senses , but would furnish some future Irish Shaksperc with excellent material for a Milesian tragedy ; and you , sir , if not exactly a suitable " Hamlet , " would make a most proper " Grave-digger , " especially as you are already provided with divers vests , to wit : that of the ' 82 club , and the one in which yougood , loyal Irishman—appeared last Saturday at the Royal levee . And then how suitable the chatne

      racter of aravc-digger , at this time , m present state of your "beloved Erin , " for which yourself and your venerable dad , Dan , have suffered so much And then , should you drop across a skull—say of Emmett , or Fitzgerald , or that of any " miscreant rebel of ' 98 , " what reflections would it not suggest io you , irood , hv al JoIid ! But there—I will not say more * at present : I might say much more , but I refrain lest you should think me intrusive , and turn a deaf ear to my consoling voice . Should the Saxon dogs again speak slig htingly of your eloquence , I would recommend you to follow the example ofthe famous Athenian orator , who , placing pebbles hi his mouth , harangued thc angry waves ; and you will have this advantage over the Athenian , that the waters that surround the " Emerald Isle " are not

      anjrrv , but green 1 „ , I am , mv dear John , your Countryman , Hiberkicus .

      Reporting Alone Costs Each Paper From £6...

      Reporting alone costs each paper from £ 60 to £ 100 a weel ; and it is much doubted whether such expense and such space are at all repaid by the interest which the public take m readmg these debates at length . —Daily News . UiavEBsrrr College , Loxdox .-At a recent session ofthe Council the following legacies were announced :-For the College , £ 100 , duty free , by Mr . Thomas Dyson , of Diss , Norfolk ; for the hospital , £ 500 , by Mrs . Kennedy , of Pennsylvania , near Exeter ; £ 250 , by Mr . Charles Filicia , ofParlc crescent ; and £ 500 , by Mr . John Cllrties , of Devonshire-ulace . Mr . Dvson's legacy has been paid by

      his executor , Mr . Thomas Lombe Taylor , lhe £ 300 bequeathed by Dr . Fellowes , "to be added to the permanent * endowment of the hospital , has also been lately paid without deduction of duty . Thomas Slixgsbx Duncombe , Esq . —We are happy to announce that Mr . Duncombe took his seat in the House on Thursday evening , shortly after Mr . Berkeley had commenced his speech on the ballot . The hon . representative for Finsbury , who has not been in the House since the swearing in of the new parliament , appeared in excellent spirits , though he bore about aim the traces of ill-health , and coughed a little . He was shaken most cordially by the hand by several members . —jSiw .

      Letters To The Working Classes. Xlv. " W...

      LETTERS TO THE WORKING CLASSES . XLV . " Words are things , and a small drop of ink Falling-like dew-upon a thought , produces ih . it which makes thousands , perhaps millions . i * ^ " BVBO . V .

      SUFFERING . THE FRENCH ELECTIONS . Brother Proletarians , In the name of Humanity , what is to be done for the unhappy People of Ireland ? How long do our rulers mean to stand by unmoved , while thousands and tens of thousands are perishing of hunger ? How much longer do you intend to allow those rulers to continue in then- present state of criminal apathy ? i . i ii i . i i . i i ¦!¦¦ ikiiiiiii iii iniiirvnn ii mhb iiinn

      *^ r ~*»

      I may he told that I libel the Government and Parliament , in charging them with criminal apathy and heartless indifference to the sufferings ofthe Lish people . I may he told , that the Kateia Aid Bill of the present Ministry , the sums of Money voted by Parliament , and the speeches of " honourable Members , " all testify to the sympathy and earnest benevolence of our rulers ; that they do all they can do , and , that if in spite of their sympathy and benevolence the Irish are , nevertheless , perishing of hunger , it is because it is not in the power of mortal men to successfull y struggle against the terrible dispensations of Divine Providence .

      Sham and subterfuge , mockery and lies . The Irish famine is not " a dispensation of Divine Providence ; " but is—as every being possessing common sense well knows—the natural consequence of land-lord usurpation , and British injustice . Ministers and Members of Parliament have not done all they might have done to have stayed the progress of the famine ; and they have done nothing—positively nothing—towards laying the foundation of a new and rig hteous order of things . For all that the speechifiers and law makers have done , or are likely to do , the Irish peasantry may perish to the last man , and the country become a wilderness untrodden b y human beings .

      Read—and shudder , as you must , while you read—the horrible revelations from Ireland in this number ofthe " Star . " Read tho Ballinrobe Protestant Rector ' s account of the starving man turned Cannihal , feasting himself and family upon the heart and liver of a ship wrecked human body ! Read of other horrors almost as frightful ; and then read the following addressed to the "Freeman ' s Journal : — A famine of four long years and the agonies ef hunger , unprecedented in the annals of our Irish history , together with fevers , dysenteries , swellings , cold , and nakedness , and , to crown the climax of our misfortune , a raging cholera or plague has set in for the last fortnight . The

      people are withering with fear and dying in multitudes . l ) eaths numerous , but coffins few — buried without coffins in dykes aud ditches , and many—many disfigured and destroyed by rats . Iu this doomed and mountainous parish ( Partree ) upwards of 1 , 900 of God ' s creatures fell victims to this devouring famine—more than 700 families are wandering without a house to put their heads into . They are seeking- shelter in djkes and ditches . This is the effect of the Gregory ^ clause . Five years ago there were 1 , 500 children attending the several schools in my parish ; now there are not ten children . Where are they gone to f Famine and eternity can tell . For the last week I witnessed many a disconsolate heart At Bornaliowna . l ' eter Flanagan , wife , his two daughters , and two granddaughters , died within one hour of each other . A poor sight—four corpses leaving one house together ! At Gortmora , about the hour ot midnight , there were seven corpses in the same

      house . There is wailing and crying almost in every house . At BaUybanane , William Walsh and his son were found dead , entwined in each other ' s arms and both nearly eaten hy rats . Martin Walsh , in the same village , together with his father and mother , were also found dead . Anthony Derrig , in the next field , dead under scraws . At Drimeggy I found Martin Walsh and his wife dead in a sawpit , and near to the place his little child drowned in a stream in the same village . But now there are no villages . Fat . Shaughnessy ' s two daughters , his mother , and his wife , were found in a hut dead together . There are many similar and equally distressing cases , They are now complaining before their God . On whom will we call—to whom will we make our sad complaints ? Our gardens are turned intograves—our fields strewed with the sick and with the dying—our homes mouldering in dark ruing—our people naked , shivering , wandering , and craving for a grain of meal or crust of bread .

      You have often heard of the " reign of terror , " but did ever the wildest excesses of popular vengeance create any such misery , anything approaching to such horrors as are indicated in the above appaling statement ? Yet where are the lig htnings and thunders of the Press-gang , so readily launched whenever the people have recourse to "the wild justice of revenge ?" Alas ! my friends , those lig htnings and thunders though often hurled against you , are never employed for you , or for your order , your interests , your rights , or your friends , hy the Press of this country . "When Latoub , the Austrian traitor , " pcrish'd by the justcst doom , That ever the destroyer yet destroy'd ,

      and again , when Rossi , the arch-intriguer , hit the dust ,

      " Amidst tho roar of liberated Rome , there was hardly any termination to the sympathetic bowlings of the English Press-gang . But these precious moralists have no bowels of compassion for the victims -of privileged assassins—assassins who have not the mercy to slay with the sword or poniard , hut who condemn their victims to the lingering tortures of death by famine . Oh ! unhappy people of Ireland , how much less heart-rending would he your doom would your lords and masters only deign to shorten your sufferings . by . the speedy execution of the sabre , the cannon-shot , and the rifle-ball .

      "What has become of our great regenerator , Peel ? Where are his healing measures ? Tell me not that he is out of office , that he is powerless . Were he an honest man , and a statesman worthy of the name , ho would never rest until he had forced upou Parliament tho adoption of measures calculated to put an end to the horrors above detailed . ¦ ' But suffering is not confined to the people of Ireland . On Tuesday evening last , Mr . 'Slaxey brought , or , rather , attempted to bring , under the notice of the House of Commons the condition of the working classes of this Island , in support of a motion fo i ( " the appointment of a Standing Committee or . unpaid Commission , to consider and report , from time to time , on practical measures (

      unconnected with . political changes ) likely to improve the condition of the working classes , to encourage their industry , aud increase their contentment . " The motion was moderate enough in all conscience . But then "he wished to show the House that whilst the rich and middle classes of this country had been going on improving , the condition of the humbler and most numerous orders of the population had undergone no corresponding amelioration . " Mr . Slakey was proceeding to develope the facts on which he founded his motion facts illustrative of the miserable condition of large masses ofthe industrious classes —when he was suddenl y interrupted by " an Honourable Member , " who moved that the House be counted . The counting took place , and of six hundred and fifty-six members it

      was found that only thirty-four were present . The House was thereupon adjourned till Thursday . , TT , Now observe that the House was not so thinly at tended at tho commencement ofthe evening's sitting-on the contrary , there was at one time at least two hundred and httyseven Members present . That was when that precious " Protectionist , " and " friend of the British labourer , '' the Marquis of Gbanby , moved that the House adjourn , at its rising , from Tuesday till Thursday , to allow the memhers to attend Epsom races on Wednesday . One hundred and thirty-eig ht members voted for the motion , and one hundred and nineteen a gainst it ; majority for going to the races , ™ a Wvincrthe English to suffer and gi-umble ,

      and tie Irish to starve and perish - > mne-Wr , » The announcement of the result \ ros received with loud cheering I !! " The all-] mwZit question ot the "Derby-day " hSg been disposed of , mostofthe " honour-

      Letters To The Working Classes. Xlv. " W...

      able members" bolted . ' Still there remained eighty-seven members to vote on that sham D ^ court ' s sham motion for sham reform . j ° Lthose ei ghty-seven hardworking mem - bers , fift y-three ran away tho moment Mr . bLANUY attempted to bring the condition of the working classes under their consideration . ' It was not likel y that " lion , gentlemen" could allow ' themselves to be bored with

      statistics of the condition of tailors and tinkers , weavers and labourers ? The clubs , the theatres , the opera , and tho forthcoming races presented attractions not to be thrown away for ' the sake of " greasy rogues" of artisans , who , if they are starving , are but fulfilling their destiny . They are " surplus , " and there being no room for them at Nature ' s board , it is their proper duty to hunger , pine , and die !

      Such is the comfortable creed of your rulers and lawmakers . The fate of Mr . Slaney ' s motion , is another lesson for you that ^ no good thing can come out of that political Nazareth—the House of Commons , as at present constituted . Th French Elections have terminated inall things considered—a glorious victory for Democracy . The accurate final returns have not yet reached this country , but it is certain that from two hundred to two hundred and fift y Socialist-Democrats have been elected to the New Assembly . The party ofthe Mountain is quadrupled ! It is true that the

      intriguers , reactionnaires , and Royalist conspirators Avill be in the ascendant in the now Assembly , aud , if united , will have a large majority . But that union is not very probable , and , under any circumstances , cannot be lasting . On the other hand , the union of the Mountain p halanx is . well assured ; the growing public opinion on their side is also assured ; and last , not least , the Army is rapidly becoming Red

      Republican . Indeed there is no longer a doubt that , in the event of a physical force struggle between the friends and the enemies of the Republic , the soldiers would join the former against the latter . The enemies of Democracy have hitherto calculated on the Army ,, to subserve then' impious designs against the Republic , but the electoral urn had made manifest the folly of that calculation .

      Amongst -the traitors , trimmers , and sham Republicans who have been ejected from the National Representation are Marrast and Lamartine . Every true democrat , every honest man , will exult over the fall of these two men—the two worst enemies of the Republic . The War of Princi ples is extending . Bologna and Leghorn have been added to the number of martyred cities for wliich a terrible

      reckoning must and will be enforced . Rome still holds her own and defies her banded assailants . It is asserted that the Hungarians have already beaten the Russians and carried the war into Poland . The Republican insurrection is gaining ground in Germany . Ere long the French Democrats will measure weapons with the slaves of the Tsar on German soil ; and " France will break the sword of war in the breast of the last ofthe Kings !"

      L'AMI DU PEUPLE . May 24 , 1849 .

      Public Meeting. Parliamentary And Financ...

      PUBLIC MEETING . PARLIAMENTARY AND FINANCIAL REFORM . Thc first public meeting called by thc Council of the Financial Reform Association was held on Tuesday , at the London Tavern . The meeting' was convened for ono o ' clock ; but long before that hour the large room of thc tavern was densely crowded , as also was the gallery . On the platform we noticed Arthur Anderson , Esq ., M . P . ; R . B . Osborne , Esq ., M . P . ; J . Williams , Esq ., M . P . ; J . AVvld , Esq ., M . P . ; B . M . Willcox , Esq ., M . P , ; Colonel Thompson , M . P . ; L . Heywortii , Esq ., M . P . ; George Thompson , Esq ., M . P ., ai \ d others .

      The chair was taken hy Sir Joshua Walmsley , M . P ., who briefly opened the meeting , and called upon tho honorary secretary to read the report . Mr . 11 . T . Atkinson then read the report , which stated that— " The council , upon mature consideration , have decided upon advocating such an extension of the franchise , as will give to every male occupier of a tenement , or any portion of a tenement , the right to be registered as an elector ; the only condition coupled with that ri ght being , not the payment of rates , but the fact of being rated , or having claimed to be rated for the relief of tho poor in respect of the qualifying premises . The effect of such a measure in

      strengthening the popular voice in thc House o Commons may be inferred from the fact that the present constituency ofthe United Kingdom would be increased by thc addition of upwards of 3 , 500 , 000 voters . The council seek to invest this extended right of voting with the shelter ofthe ballot ; and , in order to keep actively alive that sense of responsibility , which , in tho public business of the nation as in the private affairs of life , secures thc faithful exercise of si power held in trust , they advocate tho return to the old constitutional system of Triennial Parliaments ; while another and not less important change sought for in our representative system will be that which will give a more equal apportionment

      of members te constituents . District and periodical aggregate public meetings will be held , tracts will be distributed , aid will be imparted to the various metropolitan registration societies now in existence for watching over the interests of liberal voters , and important facilities will be offered for the acquisition of frechold qualifications in the surrounding counties . " The CiiAiBMAxsaid that meeting was an answer to the taunts wliich had been thrown out , that the middle classes of the city of London did

      not sympathise with the movement for the extension of the suffrage . There were those amongst them —and he hesitated not to declare himself one—who looked even beyond thc principles contained in thc report . ( Loud and protracted cheering . ) They had , however , adopted what they considered the best means of carrying out tho great object they had in view ; namely , the greatest extension of the suffrage . Tho hon . gentleman , after stating that each speaker would be limited to twenty minutes in his address , called upon

      JMr . It . Taylor , who moved the first resolution : — " That , in the present contest between the advocates of a searching reform in the national finances and the parliamentary representation , on the one hand , and the upholders of a system which favours the few at the expense of the millions , on thc othor . it is important to ' strengthen and give effect to public opinion through the medium of an organised bodv , uniting reformers of all grades ; and that the establishment of the Metropolitan Financial and Parliamentary Reform Association is , therefore , a matter not only of expediency , but likewise of paramount necessity . " Mr . W . J . Hau . seconded thc motion .

      'Mr . Elliott , who stated that he was a working man , then came forward on the platform , to move an amendment , namely , " That the naeoeintinn be called tho Metropolitan Parliamentary and Finan . cial Reform Association . " He strongly advocated the adoption of Universal Suffrage . Mr . Osb ' obnb ,-M . P ., said he could have no hesitation in seconding such an amendment as that which had been proposed , and in doing sane could not but exclaim" Strange that such difference should be ,

      ' Twixt tweedledum and tweedlcdec . " - ( Laughter . ) Ho ( Mr . Osborne ) could not forget that the last time he sat in that room was to canvass the electors of Middlesex , and if he had not been so much amongst them as probably they had a right to expect , it was for the reason given by the mover of the amendment , that he was essentially a working man ; and though he did not work by day , he attended to their interests by night , and ho could add that he had not yet acquired that art of political legerdemain by which a man was said to modify his opinion . He * had not modified the opinions upon which he had been returned to parliament ; and , from all he had seen of tho constitutionof that House , he was not likely to modify them while he had a seat there . He grieved to say that there was a lamentable want of feeling on the subiect of

      reform in that House of which he was a member . It would hardly be believed , that in the- nineteenth century there was no such thing as a popular party existing in the House of Commons . There were certainly true and good men in that House , but he grieved to say that among them sickness and disease had been busy . The great patriarch of reform , Mr . Hume —( cheers)—he was sorry to say , was grievously ill ; the two members for Finsbury , those honest and independent men , were not able to take their ieats ; and tho hon . baronet , the member for Mf . rylebone , he understood , was also ill . There was great apathy and distrust among Reformers themselves , and he repeated again , that at the present time there was no popular party , no leader , and no popular principles will be expounded in the House of Commons . ( Hear , hear , and cheers . ) He who

      Public Meeting. Parliamentary And Financ...

      was behind the scenes knew tli . it there was "real difficulty on any occasion in scraping together members who had been returned on what were called Liberal principles , and he did not not hesitate to say , that many of the eighty members who voted with Mr . Cobden , if they had thought that tho vote which they were giving would have turned out the government , would have stayed away rather than have voted at all . ( Hoar , hear . ) Therefore , he said they should never rest satisfied—that those members never would do their duty until they hud applied to them that gentle pressure from without which had not only influenced individual members , but even ministers in this country . The want of a popular party in this country was mainly owing to the conduct of hor . Majesty ' s present Ministryfor that government ' which had illll

      , ""» * . * . MMMV * MJ , . » . >'"> » H . UIU » "J 11 W 1 J 1 MU climbed to power on the shoulders of Mr . Cobden and Mr . Bright were the first to throw cold water on those men , and to make the Cabinet the prerogative of the oligarchy which rule this country . ( Cheers . ) He had great respect for men in high stations when they exhibited ability and principle , but he could not see why they , the middle classes , could see no wisdom except in a lord ( cheers ) , and no probity except in estated gentlemen . Bethought the tendency was to make the House of Commons a great burrow for titled rabbits . ( Cheers and Laughter . ) The House of Commons was in consequence nothing better than a taxing machine , by which a minister was . enabled to raise a greater amount of taxes than ever was imposed b y the most despotic monarch of anv period . What was thc

      conduct of the Whigs in 1830 , and what was their conduct in 1848 ? The two periods were very similar , and each year had produced a revolution in Franco . In 1830 the Duke of Wellington ' s Ministry was turned out on a Whig motion for Financial Kgform ; and it was well worth while to ask what had been tho experience of the last nineteen years with regard to public economy . In 1830 the public expenditure was £ 54 , 000 , 000 . But there was a surplus of £ 1 , 711 , 000 . Let them mark that ' . In 1848 the public expenditure amounted to £ 58 , 000 , 000—( shame , ) and the excess of expenditure over revenue —spending more than they got—was £ 3 , 000 , 000 . ( Shame . ) Yet tho interest of the debt had been reduced iii the mean time . What else had they got ? An income-tax o ££ ' 5 , OO 0 , O 0 O , which had been laid on

      on false pretences—( laughter , and hear , hear ) , —for they were told at first that it would ' only be imposed for three years . ( Hear , hear , hear . ) But tho tax was opposed by the present government , —( hear ) , — yet when they came into oftec they turned round , and coolly prepared to increase the tax to £ 5 per cent , last year —( laughter );—and if the people had not , on putting their hands into their pockets , and finding a deficit , instructed their members to speak out , they would have had an increase of the income tax . In 1830 the estimate for the army and navy , ordnance , and miscellaneous , which nobody could explain , and nobody get at —( laughter ) , — was £ 17 , 500 , 000 . ( Hear . ) Those estimates , however , included agate at Buckingham Palace , £ 80 , 000 , and £ 600 for taking a bishop to Jamaica . It was a gross

      delusion to tell the public that their representatives in the House of Commons were able to control the public purse under the present system . In 1830 , when the Whigs came in , of course they thought thev must do something , and they reduced the item of tho expenditure to which he had referred to £ 14 , 000 , 000 , taking off upwards of £ 3 , 000 , 000 . But what was it last year ? Why , they would scarcely belive that it had increased £ 9 , 000 , 000 —( shame , shame ) , —and the present estimate was £ 23 , 315 , 852 . ( Shame . ) But the government said " We are retrenching now , " and they began by reducing thc number of poor clerks , who had , perhaps , wives and families—they caught the small tiics and allowed the leviathans to break through . They had saved a few thousands by reducing the number of clerks ; but if they were sincere in what they did , they must begin at the heads of the departments . Then , with respect to their diplomatic expenses , it was enormous , hut no one had a chance of being employed in tho service

      unless he were connected with the Lord Tom Noddy family —( laughter)—no man whoso name was either Smith , Jenkins , or who possessed the patronymic of Euggins . ( Laughter . ) It would be next to impossible to send a man with such a name to a foreign court . The diplomatic establishment costs £ 180 , 000 ; and what did they get ? Thc work could be done for much less . ( Hear , hear . ) For upwards of a year they had had no ambassador at Madrid , who had received £ 6 , 500 a year . He was a very amiable man , but he was withdrawn ; and it was notorious that their affairs were going on there much better because they had no diplomatic interference , and saved at the same time £ 6 , 500 —( cheers ) , —but if they must have ambassadors let the Smiths , the Jenkinses , and the Bugginses have a chance now—they , he thought , would be satisfied to do the work for £ 1 , 000 a year . ( Hoar , hear . ) Tho Prime Minister might come down to the House and say he had reduced tho number of the Horse Guards , saying , " Sqo what I have done—I have taken oft' gome of

      the dead weights . " Why , thc Horse Guards cost £ 190 , 000 . The present commander-in-chief received £ 3 , 700 a year , with perquisites , whilst Lord Amherst , when commander-in-chief , received only £ 1 , 000 . ( Hear , hear . ) And with respect to the perquisites , they were as much looked after as a cook looked after the perquisites she possessed in the suet . ( Laughter . ) " 'Tis from high life high characters arc drawn—A saint in crape is twice asnint in lawn . " The honourable gentleman concluded by urging the necessity of the middle and working classes possessing themselves of forty-shilling county franchises by tho means proposed by the council . Mr . Thomas Clark said : Sir , as the resolution now before us is an invitation to all classes of

      Reformers to co operate with the promoters of this meeting , in carrying out thc objects of the association over which you preside , and , as I have the honour of being a Chartist myself —( cheers)—and of belonging to thc Chartist party —( loud cheers)—than whom no body of men have , by priority at least , so much right to bo heard upon this question of tho suffrage . ( Hear , and cheers . ) I am anxious to offer a few observations , not only upon the resolution itself , but also upon what has fallen from the preceding speakers . Thc Chairman , in opening the business of the meetinc :, seemed to me to have

      had some dread of opposition and therefore ventured upen a caution , bidding you to be aware of the influence of " Tory gokC " " which , as he said , had been employed in causing divisions at other great meetings in different parts of the country , lie appeared to me to have insinuated this remark againstthe Chartists , owing to the opposition which they at one time offered to the Anti-Corn-Law League , when the same unfounded charge was made against them , ( Hear , hear . ) But , Sir , my object in speaking here , is not to foment disunion nor to create derision . ( Cheers . ) I therefore repudiate the insinuation of the Chairman .

      Sir Joshua Wai . msi . ey here rose and protested to the meeting that the speaker was quite mistaken . He did not mean the Chartists—he repeated tint he did not . This announcement was received with loud

      cheers . . . Mr . Cl . a . 'rk continued : I ? im now perfectly satisfied , the Chairman having assured the meeting that he did not mean the Chartists . ( Cheers . ) I wudd have been much better satisfied with the objects of the association , had the suffrage been set forth therein as a rtglu to which all men are entitled , and wholly untrammelled with rate-paying qualifications . ( Cheers . ) Still , I cannot deny that the enfranchisement of three millions and a half of the people is a most material consideration , and whilst I uphold the right of suffrage to man , not as a registered ratepayer , but ns ' MAN , lam not disposed to - quarrel with those reformers who are not prepared to go the entire length with me . ( Great cheering . ) I do not only not think it advisable to stop upon the way to

      quarrel with them , but , on the contrary , I wish them success . ( Loud cheers . ) I wish it , however , to be most clearly understood , that myself and those with whom I have the hor . our to be allied , will never cease to struggle until ad are admitted within the pale of the constitution . ( Loud cheers . ) And it is he f * aiie ; P . T tliinlr +. l * i ^ « ccr » oit » iirvr » ttAW noooloi ^ to tl ««* l grand and paramount Object that I wish it God speed . ( Cheers . ) Thc report which has been read by the honorary secretary sets forth that the main intent of this association is to abolish class legislation . ( Hear , hear . ) But , gentlemen , whatever the intent , that object can never be realised so lung as you permit the present propertied qualification for senators to remain in force . ( Hear , hear , and loud cheers . ) The rules of this association will

      remain radically defective until the abolition of " Property Qualifiration" shall'have made one of them . ( Hear , hear . ) We of the labouring classes have as much objection to being excluded from the House of Commons as from the political franchise . ( Cheers . ) Surely the toiler is as fit to make Jaws tor tlvisgreat industrial commwrnty as the idlw ! ( Loud cheers . ) The industrious only can legislate honestly for industry ! ( Hear hear . \ We have been informed to-day , how advisable it is that the middle and working classes should net quarrel , and their past differences have been lamented . But , Sir , what have we learned from the facts so eloquently set forth by the honourable member for Middlesex ? Why that the Reformed parliament , which has been in a great measure the representative of the middle t in

      classes has been more extravagan expenditure of the ' public money , and more tyrannical in its conduct genet ally , than were the o'd boroughmongeriug parliaments , and that Russell , the pet ot the middle classes , has been a greater spendthrift than Wellington ! ( Hear , and loud cheers . ) Will not the evidence of the honourable member for Middlesex , as to the conduct of the reformed parliament , furnish some reason for the feelings which the working classes have hitherto entertained towards the middle classes ? ( Hear , hear . ) The middle classes have been known to the working men only through the perfidy and tyranny of the representatives of the former in the House of Commons , and therefore , I repeat that the feelings of the working classeshave not been ground ess , ( Cheers . ) I do not however mention these things in , a spirit of

      Public Meeting. Parliamentary And Financ...

      ansiry Miidictivencss or for rerrimiimtnrv pen'o ^ —( cheers)—but simply as a dt fence for niv V : > . order , and as prepa'atm -y to a bet er uiidcrsinntling in theluUue ( Loud eheers . ) 1 will , however , add . twit i ! anything could tend to keep alive the dmibu oi the working classes as to the designs ofthe middle classes , it is such conduct as was pursued thc other evening in the House of Commons , hy manv of tho most nifluennal ofthe liberal members , on " the motion ot Mr . D . ummond , for an inquiry into lhe svs . tern and application of our enormous taxation . ( Hear , and cheers . ) I confess , that I was not onlv ?/ T , ' ' > > * > . J , lmich ^ appointed tq find as lellers tor the government , for in that instance such they were in effect , the names of Mr . Cobden aud iViilner Gibson . ( Hear , hear , and " Shame " ' )

      I am aware that there were some things said by Mr . Drummond , with which 1 would notidentifymvself ^ but yet he said many good things , and , as Mr ' Gibson himself said , the motion of Mr . Drummond was quite " unexceptional . " Why not , thfreforc , take the motion upon its own intrinsic merits , and not take vengeance upon the motion instead of the proposer ? ( Hear , and chsc-rs . ) This , too , I ring * me to what has already been said by the honourable member for Middlesex , who , in the course of his able speech , pointed out the little union there is at present among the friends of the people in the House . I have no doubt but tt : e honourable gentleman spoke feelingly—spoke from experience , when he deplored the want of cordial understanding that existed amongst the few men in Parliament who are , ono

      way or other , identified with the cause of pro * gress . As in the case of Mr . Drummond , it appears to me that there is a childish jealousy as to who shall do the people any service , —( hear)—and , therefore , one wiil not unite to help the other . ( Hear , and cheas . ) Now , sir , upon this platform at the present moment there are six members of the House , including yourself , a ll of whom profess liberal opinions , and I put it to the meeting , whether this recommendation from them to us to unite with each other , w uld not app ? ar more consistent and have greater weight with us if they would themselves set the example of union by acting together upon * all occasions in parliament , and opposing every government , no matter whether Whig or Tory , in every instance , when the interests of the people require such opposition . ( Chews . ) The enemies of the people in the House are strong

      through their union , and « o would our friends also be strong were they eyually united . Mr . Clark concluded amidst loud cheering . Mr . Joseph Sturoe regretted that physical force principles had too often been associated with the name of Chartism . jS ' o doubt many who had professed Chartism bad been guiltv of violence ; but as well might they charge Christianity with the evils of the Established Church , or the horrors of the Inquisition , as to condemn Chartism because some of its supporters were mad enough to resort to physical forccv ( Hear , hear . ) Chartism was founded on Christian principles , and all that was wanted to secure its success was a revival of the motto of " Measures , not men . " St f soon as good and honest men were found to carry them out , Chartist principles would assuredly triumph . ( Hear , hear . )

      Mr . Piiillijiorb remarked that the object of tho association was to obtain the sutlrage for no less that 3 , 712 , 0715 ofthe people , and surely such a boon was worth struggling for without objecting that it did not go far enough . The Ciuirmas then intimated that the amendment proposed to thc resolution was of so trivial a nature , that it had been determined to embody it in the resolution itself . The resolution having been accordingly amended , it was put from the chair aud carried unanimously . Mr . William "Williams , thc late member for Coventry , was then introduced to the meeting as the mover of the next resolution , which was as follows : — " That , in the opinion of this meotinjr , the expenditure of the state is characterised by an

      extravagance the most reprehensible ; that to sustain this reckless waste an enormous amount of taxation is required , wliich , as now levied , presses most unequally upon the different sections of the community ; that so largo a proportion of the taxes is imposed upon thc necessaries of life , that no economy nor self-denial on the part of the poor man can enable him to escape from those burthens ; that the effects of such a system arc not only cruel , arbitrary , and pernicious towards the industrious classes , but are calculated to produce the widespread demoralisation and those flagrant crimes which are thc offspring of poverty and distress ; and that , therefore , thc whole framework of taxation should he so altered as to adjust its burthens to th « respective means of those w ' honrcto bear them . "

      fhey were told that one of thc effects ofthe Reform Bill would be to reduce taxation ; but what had been thc case ? Why , since the Reform Bill was passed , thc taxes had increased no less than £ 4 , 000 , 000 , and the expenditure £ 7 , 000 , 000 . The productive , power of tho people had been fearfully reduced , and thc consequence was that last year 3 , 500 , 000 received parochial relief , and 100 , 000 were committed to prison for crime . Surely , then , if something were not done to stay the further pro gress of this downward system " they might live to sec a prophecy Sir Jnnics Graham published in a pamphlet thirty years ago to the effect that * ' whenever the country presents the spectacle of millions wanting bread , then would the people sweep away titles , pensions , and honours . " The only remedy for this complication of evils was Parliamentary l ! oform ; it was useless to expect Financial Reform till that had been attained . When Lord John Russell introduced thc Reform 13111 . he made use of those

      remarkable words : " 1 propose by this bill that the people shall send to the Commons House of Parliament their real representatives , to deliberate on their wants , to consult on their interests , to consider their grievances , to hold the purse-strings of the nation , to lay tho foundation for salutary changes in the well-being and comforts of the people , and that laws shall not he passed for tho benefit of classes by men roused from their slumbers at twelve o ' clock at night to vote for what they knew not . " ( Laughter . ) Sow , he hoped when Lord John Russell saw the report of this meeting in the public press , he would lose no time in sondinga subscription to qualify him a member of the association ; but , at all events , they wanted no more than what was here promised , and with less they would not be satisfied . ( Cheers . ) Mr . Samuel Morlev , in seconding the resolution , said he was connected with a house in the Citv that

      employed upwards of 2 , 000 men ; and as ho had learned from experience that thc wages of labour were hig her when bread was cheap than when it was dear , he was somewhat surprised to find that Mr . Roebuck , at a meeting hi Sheffield , had asserted the contrary . In several districts , doubtless , wages were regulated in some respect by thc price of bread , but in manufacturing neighbourhoods wages were regulated by the demand for labour . Dr . LoxostiYit supported thc resolution , and advocated a system of direct taxation .

      Mr . Lawuekce Heywortii , M . I ' ., did thc same , observing that at present £ 3-5 , 000 , 000 were extracted from the pockets of tho poor man in thc shape of direct taxation , which otherwise would be appliedat least a great portion of it—to the purchase ot articles of consumption , and thus add to thc productive powers of the country . If a direct tax often per cent , were adopted , it would induce all parties , from thc nobleman with an income of £ 300 , 000 ayear down to the poorest operative , to see that the money was properly expended for the benefit of the state . So sinecures would exist under such a

      system , as it would have tho effect of making every man » watch-dog upon the acts of thc government . ( A laugh . ) Thc . R'iolutioii , like thc other , was then put from the chair and carried unanimously . Mr . 1 ) . Wike proposed the third and last resolution , as follows : — " That in thc opinion of this meeting , the Commons Rouse of Parliament , as at pre , sent constituted , represents neither the populationthe property , nor the industry of the country ; that the election of its members lias in numerous instances been , the result of briberv and corruption , coercion U 11 U lntluiJAWio ** , -ki , »« \ l . n . l .. *~—t a :.. *_ : i —< . ! . * .. » present the monstrous anomaly of a few hundred , voters in some districts returning as many members as several thousand constituents in other districts ; that the Reform Act has totally failed to realise the expectations of the country , or to harmonise with the spirit of the ago ; and that therefore a largo oxtension of the franchise , a complete independence in its exercise by mcar-s ofthe ballot , a more equal apportionment of representatives to population , and

      the limitation of parliament to three years , becomo not only measures of common justice , but also of prudence or safety . " Mr . G . W . M , Reynolds , the editor of a cheap periodical , in seconding thc resolution , announced himself to bo an ultra-Republican , and in a violent strain proceeded to insist that every man who conformed to tho laws had a right to ho represented in the House of Commons . After protesting , amidst much impatience on the part of thc meeting , that thc aristocracy were moi-e tyrannical and despicable than any in the world , and that ons-half of them had obtained their possessions by the prostitution of their female ancestors in the time of Charles II ., he recommended his hearers to stady his own writings , where they would find all these political questions treated with freedom and liberality . Some confusion arose out of ; the intemperance of Mr . Reynolds ' s language , hut it soon subsided , when thc resolution was pvAto a show of hands and carried unanimously .

      Thanks were then voted to the Chairman , who briefly acknowledged fee eomplimentj and the meeting broke up shortl y after five o ' clock .

      Death Fhom Fbioht.—As A Young Woman Was ...

      Death fhom Fbioht . —As a young woman was lassing the churchyard , Weymouth , a few days ince , in the dusk of the evening , a small' dog iclonging to a person residing close by , jumped hroughtho vails suddenly as she passed . She im * Mediately walked to h er father ' s house , near the ipot , had seven , fiis , & ud expired the next day ..

      Vjssljk Rc^Pity».

      VJSSlJK rC ^ piTy » .

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), May 26, 1849, page 5, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_26051849/page/5/