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Northern Star (1837-1852), 27th November 1852, Edition 2 of 2, Page 8

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      248 The Stab- Of Freedom* [November27.

      248 THE STAB- Of FREEDOM * [ November 27 .

      "Justice—Immutable , Un Iversal, Eternal...

      " JUSTICE—IMMUTABLE , UN IVERSAL , ETERNAL . ELECTION OF " THE EMPEROR . " VIVE LA REPUBLIQTJE ! The enslavement of France is consummated—the affliction of her degradation has reached its climax in the Republic assassinated Universal Suffrage blasphemed , and the Incarnation of Infamy enthroned on the ruins of national freedom " And this is the end , the result , the sum total ot Jbrenck Revotions ' " So say the accomplices of the usurper , and so say the "C onstitutional" haters of Democracy . In the infamous " Report" recently presented to " the Senate , " the author of that precious " state paper" assumes that autocratical despotism is the natural , inevitable , consequence of a . democratic revolution . " After o-reat political commotions , it happens always that nations throw themselves with joy into the arms of the vigorous man whom Providence sends to them . " That revolutions have too often resulted in the substitution of one despotism for another , is , unhappily , too true . Though history presents many brilliant exceptions ;—notably the American confederation which—grievous drawbacks

      notwithstanding—gives the lie direct to Monsieur Troplong . It would be superfluous to discuss the several points of that worthy ' s mendacious concoction . Scoundrels who can insult the immortal memories of the victors of Marathon and Salamis ; wretches capable of voiding their filth upon the graves of their own fathers , that so they may deify a dead usurper and glorify a living traitor —such reptiles are not to be answered by words . The one argument with which to answer their blasphemies is "the avenging

      hemp "—the hangman ' s death grip . The emperorship is to be hereditary . But failing male children of his own , the reigning nuisance may pick and choose from among the BoNAPARTE-nang , and appoint his successor . A refinement of barbaric despotism unpractised but by Asiatic despots , and submitted to only by Asiatic slaves . " But above this combination , " observes Mister Troplong and Co ., " France places a hope which more than anything constitutes her faith in the future ; and that is , that at no distant period , a wife will take her place on the throne which is about to be raised , and will give to the Emperor scions

      worthy of his great name , and of his great country . " The reader is probably aware that the " Princess" Wasa , one of the multitudinous royal rabble , superabounding in Germany , a girl in her teens , has lately renounced " the faith of her fathers , " and adopted all the holy impostures of the Romish Church for the purpose of allying herself in marriage to a man thrice her own age , a wornout debauchee , an ill-looking cross between a baboon and a brigand , a savage whose paw is yet crimson with the blood of his victims . But what then ? She shall be " Empress of the French ;"

      and so she will renounce her religion , forswear her girlhood ' s modesty , betake herself to loathsome embraces for the sake of that wretched brain-piercing bauble an usurper ' s crown ! Such is the morality , the decency , of the she-scions of Royalty . She shall be "Empress of the French , " as Maria Antoinette was Queen Princess Wasa , a fairer head than thine has rolled upon the scaffold ! Banish all thought of the Past if thou canst ; but beware the Future !

      Only one more quotation—two words merely—from the Senate ' s ' Report . " The election of Bonaparte to the Presidency of the Republic in 1848 is styled a " bitter sarcasm . " I , faith , Messieurs Senators , you for once are near the truth . It was in fact a bitter sarcasm on Human Progress in general , and French " progress " in particular , to confide the safeguard of a nation ' s liberties to any of the eternal conspirators against Humanity . These conspirators , whether termed " Royal" or " Imperial" are like the unclean creatures that went into Noah ' s Ark , all " after their kind . " Perfidy and cruelty are their innate ingrained qualities . Mark him of Naples

      " In the awful name of the Most Holy and Almighty God , the Trinity in Unity , to whom it appertains to read the depths of the heart , md whom we loudly invoke as the judge of the simplicity of our intentions , and of the unreserved sincerity with which we have determined to enter upon the paths of the new political order . We have decided upon proclaiming , and we do proclaim , as irrevocably ratified by us , the following Constitution , & c . " All men know what followed . Those who may have need to

      refresh their memories will do -well to turn to the Tory statesman , Mr . Gladstone , and attend to his evidence . Turn we now to Bonaparte , " the elect of God and the people . " On the 20 th of December , 1848 , he took the following oath , surrounded by the members of the Constituent Assembly : — " In the presence of God , and before the French People represented in the National Assembly , I swear to remain faithful to the Democratic Republic , one , and indivisible ; and to fulfil all the duties which the Constitution imposes on me . "

      The " Citizen President" added with his arm raised : — "We beseech God axd Men to witness the oath !" He also said : — " The suffrages of the nation , and the oath I came to take , will command my future . My duty is fixed . I shall fulfil it as a man of honour . " I shall only see enemies of the country in all those who attempt to change by illegal modes , what France has established . " Consummate hypocrite !—profound perjurer !—Iscariot the 2 nd!—thine own words shall brand thee with eternal infamy ! "We beseech God and Men to witness the oath !"

      And this miscreant is saluted " Emperor of the French . " " And this is Hie end of French Revolutions !" Itisalie ! Itfone but the veriest fools can believe in the stability , the permanence , of the incarnate fraud . But the votes ? The votes not yet cast up are calculated upon to number eight millions . Whv not ? The ballot-box is in the hands of the usurper ; and in spite of Republican manifestoes and the abstention" of vast numbers ; the votes must exceed those of December last , and mil The reader is referred to our Paris correspondent ' s letter for some

      curious particulars concerning the operation of this miserable farce oi " voting the Empire . " One fact will dispose of the question as to the genuineness or fraud of this vote for the Empire . A Lille journal ^ dated Sunday evening , observes : "We have visited all the polling-booths , and we have not seen any ballots distributed with ' No . ' It is true if sucJi ballots were ' seen they would be forthwith seized , and the bearers arrested ; for this peremptory reason—that no demand has been made at the Prefecture to print such ballots . Such printing and distribution would consequently becontrarytolaw . " Comment would be superfluous ! The Moniteur gives the definitive resultfor Paris and the department of the Seine as Mows :-For the Empire ; 208 , 615 ; Against : 53 , 617 ; Absten-

      "Justice—Immutable , Un Iversal, Eternal...

      tions : 53 , 269 . Even this account admits the existence of a formidable Republican force , numbering more than one hundred thousand electors . But this is far short of the truth . The Times correspondent plainly intimates that the affirmative vote of 208 , 615 is a Napoleonic flam . The correspondent of the Daily News is still more explicit and plain-spoken . He says " the impression is o-eneral in Paris that the ballot for the Empire has been a gigantic swindle , but that the fraud practised has been so gross , so overdone , that it will be impossible to prevent such an exposure as will convince the most credulous . " In support of this

      declaration he gives facts and figures at great length ; and if his evidence is to be ° depended on , no one need despair of Paris . He gives a list of manufactories and other establishments , employing altogether not less than 15 , 000 workmen , and affirms that they have all abstained in obedience to the Revolutionary manifestoes . He adds that the inhabitants of many sections of the different arrondissements are prepared to prove that the vast majority of the electors of their districts stayed at home , while the official returns represent almost the entire population as having voted . " It is well known—whatever the official returns may declare—that at Lyons the " abstentions" were very numerous ; and at Marseilles more than half the electors abstained .

      So much for the mockery of this " solemn appeal to the nation . " this " consecration of the Empire by Universal Suffrage !" But suppose a majority—large or small—of the French People , to have really voted for the empire ; that vote , nevertheless , will be null and void ; not binding upon the minority ; but to be set aside and reversed even by arms , at the first favourable opportunity . Look at the composition of the presumed majority : —1 st the rich and the idlers who vote for the Empire as the means at hand to crush the Republicans ; 2 nd the Army—the blind slave of discipline and its brigand-chiefs ; 3 rd the vast array of government

      functionaries and officials directly or indirectly dependent upon the central government , " and said to number about eighteen hundred thousand ; 5 th the hordes of priest-led peasants , the dupes of sacerdotal fraud and Bonapartist illusions ; and , lastily , workmen coerced by their "Masters" and by the police , to vote the enslavement of themselves and their children . To rebel against the vote of such a majority is the holiest of duties . Moreover , above all other considerations , there is the everlasting truth that a nation has no right to denude itself of Freedom : no right to condemn majority or minority to slavery ; no right to despoil future generations of their liberty;—that eternal law alone , and of itself , is sufficient to quash the vote of the 21 st and 22 nd of November .

      It will be quashed' and annulled by the hurricane voice and ominpotent vote of the triumphant Revolution . That Revolution may be somewhat distant , may he at hand . But come it slow , or come it fast , —come it will , ft is impossible that France should long submit to the shameful rule of the vilest miscreant that ever assumed the attributes of absolute power . Frenchmen , brothers , it cannot be that you will tamely contemplate your country dishonoured . Your children ' s rights made the spoil and prey of

      "A most Remorseless , treacherous , lecherous villain ! A murderer and a villain . A slave , who is not twentieth part the tithe Of your precedent lords—a vice of kings—A cut-purse of the empire and the rule , That from the shelf the precious diadem stole , And put it in is pocket—A king of shreds and patches .

      No ! France will repudiate and shake off the rule of this cjesa ? of burglars—the bastard heir of a brigand-usurper!—the illegitimate representative of the hereditary principle !"—the despotic product of duped democracy!—the thievish defender of " property !"—the law-breaking champion of " order !"—the perjurious friend of religion!—the licentious protector of " the family !"—the lying , oath-breaking , plundering , kidnapping , blood-spilling " Saviour of Society !"—the evidence of his harlot-mother ' s shame !

      —the soulless plagiarist of his heartless uncle!—the embodiment of hypocrisy , fraud , mendacity , and charlatanism!—the personification of truculent treason , crime and cruelty!—the Emperor of thieves and prostitutes!—the scourge of France , the curse of Europe , and enemy of the human race ! Abhorred by the just , hated by the good , and execrated by the true , all nations demand his overthrow ; and posterity will regard the day of his downfall as one of the most happy and memorable in History ' s calendar .

      May the day of justice dawn speedily and the hour of retribution strike quickly ! Avenging Nemesis ! hasten th y Conquering march , make bare thy red right hand ! Hail to thee , France f May the blessed Easter-morn of thy resurrection come soon to shed its solacing beams upon our darkened desolate Europe , crucified with thee between the thieves of Fraud and Force ! At the trumpet-blast of thy awakening all nations and peoples from the Thames to the Tiber shall arise , and hurling thrones and tyrannies to the dust shall join in one thundering acclaim of brotherhood , freedom , and

      victory—VIVE LA REPUBLIQUE ! —the Republic of Liberty regained , Labour redeemed , and the Solidarity of the Peoples established upon the everlasting basis of universal Right , and immutable eternal Justice . L ' AMI DU PEUPLE .

      Notices To Coreespokdekts Stab, Of Freed...

      NOTICES TO COREESPOKDEKTS Stab , of Freedom . —/ thenk it a rather short notice for you to give of your intention to discontinue the . Star , and am certain if ike paper ' were brought under the notice of the Democracy , it would very soon acquire a " Paying Circulation . " In order to effect this , some of us are to tr / the following plan . A club of three or four , instead of taking a cony among them , are to taJce one each ; keeping one for the use of the club

      toe are to leave the rent on , sale with booksellers who will exhibit them . If they sell , the buyer may continue to subscribe regularly on his own account . If they are unsold we will then put them in ' the hands of friends who are not yet subscribers for the Star . A trifle of expense and labour m this way may do an immense amount of qood . And surely the readers of the « Star will not permit the disconthmmw of suvhan admirable exponent of Dcmocravy tvhen so little could make it self . supporting . M . S ., Dundee , November 24 , 1852

      How to resuscitate the "Star of FitEEDOM . " -My dear Sir , so it appears ^ hat . the once popular . " Star" is doomed , and that this is the last flicker of its brilliant rays . . Surely if the case had been properly known , there are sufficient men of principle left in the country to have kept m existence the only sterling democratic paper in the Queendom . Let us us hope that the time of the " Star * will be butgbrief , for we may conclude that the time is coming when its

      Notices To Coreespokdekts Stab, Of Freed...

      light will be ; needed , and must be had . I would propose that the sterling democrats of every town immediately form themselves into convening committees , for the purpose of seeing what additional subscribers can be had , and that a committee be formed in London to receive the result of their labours ; and as soon as a sufficient number is obtained , that the " Star" be recommenced . I think , too , without any degree of dishonour , those who are anxious to establish a guarantee fund , each binding himself to pay a small quarterly or monthly donation , towards meeting any deficiency that may occur . The " Reasoner" is kept up this way , and no one ever

      thought that it was dishonored thereby . This is a course widely different from that of indiscrimate mendicancy ; It will be a certain number of men who are anxious to have such a paper as the Star , and who agree to pay a certain sum to uphold it , asking no one but themselves . I trust that the case will be taken up in good eartest . What other paper have we , or can we get , so faithfully to represent the European democracy in the event of another European crisis ? which of course is inevitable , certainly now . Hasten then , brother democrats , to the rescue , and let not the Star , which has so loug lighted us on our way , fall permanently and finally for want of support .

      Queenshead , near Halifax , Yorkshire . C . Shackletok . " The Star , of Freedom . "—Dear Sir , —Your announcement of the failure of the Star must be to many an honest democrat , what it has been to me , a heavy blow and sore discouragement . I had hoped that it had improved in circulation , as it has in composition and arrangement ; that it had surmounted the obstacles thrown in its way at its birth , and that it would ultimately be firmly established as a light to our path and a guide to our footsteps in the road to freedom ; and though even now disappointed , I would still

      hope that it is yet possible to save it from annihilation by a little extra exertion on the part of the democracy of the country—at least it is worthy of an effort—by all who appreciate its usefulness as an organ of communication beeween the various sections of the really useful portion of society ; and its worth as an honest advocate of the rights of man ; and I would at once suggest that a subscription be commenced forthwith to rescue our favourite from so sad a fate , and ourselves from the shame and mortification consequent on the desertion and loss of so faithful a servant .

      Kew-road , Nov . 23 rd , 1852 . An Old Chartist . [ The above is only an extract from a lengthy letter . ] Charles Hardy , phesterfield . —Thanks for your generous offer . You shall hear from us in good time . W . W . Brown , Bradford . — Accept our thanks for your kind suggestion , i W . Brafield , Mile End . — Thanks ! Peter Gray , Dundee . —Thanks for the good resolutions of yourself and friends . J . De Cogan , Liverpool . — See the notice in letter over the leading article .- ^ . Wilson , J . Johnson , and R . Bevigton , Manchester ; a " Red Republican , " Leeds ; R . Johnson , Nottin gham ; " Two Socialist-Democrants , " Glasgow , J . M'Gregor , Glasgow ; "A Young Red , " Edinburgh ; T . Caithness , Edinburgh ; T . Robson , Northampton ; and several more friends will please to receive our best thanks .

      Tempbkance akd Education . —Mr , Thomas Wilcock , Bradford , has favored us with two communications on Temperance and Education which other and imperative claims on our space prevent us giving in full . The following extract conveys advice which the friends of Temperance and Education will do well to act up to . Temperance societies on the principle of total abstinence from all intoxicating liquors have been in existence twenty years . The first society was formed by Mr . Joseph Livsey , and eight other working men of Preston in Lancashire on the 23 rd of March . 1832 . A large amount of good has been done by the temperance societies in almost every town in England . But the success is very iittle in comparison to what it might be if the societies were properly organized . The time has arrived for the temperance society to take further steps

      towards accomplishing the civilization and education of the industrious classes ; and in order to accomplish this object , the temperance societies must be properly organized . Every person *> ho isrcknowledged a member should pay something per weelc towards the expenses of carrying out the principles . As it is at present ihere is too much dependence put on individuals such as a Yicar of the Parish who ' perhaps gives a five shilling donation yearly , with the understanding that all tendency to free expression of opinion on any other subject shall not be allowed in the halls or meeting rooms . The same may be stated in respect to to such as manufacturers , merchants , bankers , and tradesmen . As a teetotaler I want to see teetotal societies take an independent position . At present the burden and expense have to be borne by a few individuals who actas a committee . If the societies were properly organised , and had good printed rules

      for their guidance , the members would be able to distribute tracts , establish debating classes , schools , libraries , and in each town a news-room , supplied with good newspapers , periodicals , & c . The advocates and members of temperance societies are very much in want of a better system of education . It cannot be obtained in a day , a week , a month , or a year . It requires time and perseverance . D . Thompson— You will comprehend the impossibility of publishing the " Report , " A . W . S . —We believe the entire cost will be one guinea . A Subscriber , Arbroath . — " Candour" and "honesty" should dictate to you tho impropriety of anonymous correspondence . " Traveller , " Dublin . —Shall hear from us per post in the course of a few days .

      The European FREEnosr FuND . —Dear friend , seeing your noble appeals to arouse our Britons to action in aid of the oppressed people of Europe , I cannot but consider it my duty not only to subscribe myself , but also to obtain sbscriptions from others who may be willing , if authorised for that purpose . I send these few lines to request you to be so kind as send me a subscription sheet , and yo u will oblige one who is proud of your friendship towards the suffering and oppressed . With such undenible " facts before us ns Mazzini enumerates in his letter to the Committee , the fund cannot but succeed .

      The face of God's earth is defaced by tyranny , and he that does not aid in dragging the tyrant from the throne , is a supporter of oppression ; if the shilling subscription succeeds , it will force open the doors of the dungeons , and give freedom to a band of invinceable heroes , before whose presence the tyrants of the earth will quail . The fetters are firm , but let every man who loves liberty do his duty , and soon the imprisoned patriots will be free . I enclose Is . for the Kefugees , and Is . for European Freedom . —I remain , dear friend , yours Pratevnallv .

      Archd , Morrison . Paisley , Nov . IB , 1853 . [ We will see that a subscription sheet is fovwarded . —EnrroE . J , W ., sending eight shillings , partly for Die Refugees and partly for the European Fund ( acknowledged in another column ) writes as follows . " We are oi the great Mngyr ' s opinion that the time for mere words and wind is past and that this should be a time of action . We have suffered and are suffering through demagogues and selfish spouters whose only aim has been to make the moht out of the peoples wrongs in the shape of Money . These selfish and designing individuals should be exposed to the whole world ; for when a man joins a cause ( however holy that cause may be ) inspired by selfish motives , he through the same influence will most assurdly betray that cause if he has the opportunity . '

      State op Europe . —The Star op Freedom .-Sir , allow a simple vldierof Liberty to address a few words to you , the " chief de Bataillou" under the same sawed banner . Whilst reading your appeal to the British People on behalf of the enslaved peoples of Europe , I remember why I am speaking and writing English , why I am without a home , and exiled , I remember tho Mood that was flowing through the plains and forests of Sarmatia ; I iemerober the spilled blood of Poland and liberty ; I remember the wild frantic shrieks of mothers , whose children had been torn away from their breasts ; I

      remember some Cossacks breaking compassionately the empty cradles , and trying in vain to destroy the images of the children that led the mothers to the grave : I remember the Royal words L ' ordre regne a Tarsovie . " ( Order reigns at Warsaw ) I remember those words well , they were dungeous , chains , knout , tortures and snowy tombs in Siberia J The king ( Louis Philippe ) who pronounced these words died in exile , but his horrible words have not died away , they sound awfully in the ear of the world . Order like that in Warsoff reigns now everywhere except England , that remains disorderly . The order

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Nov. 27, 1852, page 8, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_27111852/page/8/