Current:

Northern Star (1837-1852), 2nd February 1850, Edition 3 of 3, Page 5, TO THE DEMOCRATIC,.WORKING sv :; MEN. **...

Page 5
Page 5
5 of 8

On this page

  • Text (5)
  • Transcript

    • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

      Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.

      « ' To The Democratic,.Workingof English...

      j _^^ --- _**« ¦ the 'mmwmmmm _^ _iHv ¦ - 5 „ . Mii _--.-,- ¦ _., _,.,... _^ ., Vj , . ,..., _„ fr _«^

      To The Democratic,.Working Sv :; Men. **...

      TO THE DEMOCRATIC ,. WORKING sv : _; MEN . ** j r _Fbiesbs , —In tbe pages ofthe Northern Siar of last Saturday there appeared , directed _against me , rather more than two columns of < _roen abase , and of sly inuendo , from the pen of one of its editors , —the famous J . GL' Harney . I havo now to reply to this _cliai-act 9 ristic _g _-j- _Qsion ; a task ; so loathsome , tbat nothing could induce me to stoop to i _£ but thatthe ele gant ep istle in question has an importance belonging to it , frora the facta that it has appeared in the Northern Star , and , that in noticing it I shall be able to call your attention lo matters of much more importance to yon than the 3 implc question—the dispute between Ihe heroic Harney and myself . ' _TnlTF TirMn _^ TrATTr _Trn-TTTTTTTri

      Had I but the object of personal defence in _, _*¦ _# , I would have allowed the " Billinsgate " to have found its own level , amidst the other unclean things which have ori ginated , at various times , in the same quarter ; and -with a foil confidence that it wonld have passed into th at oblivion , which has so long held from public gaze the ancient Bed cap and dagger pith -ffhich the writer made his debut upon the stage of reform . I ought not , perhaps , to speak of the dead , but having introduced them , J may , from charity , iu passing , consign them to repose in peace . *' A ter a description of two -writers in the Dispatch—which , to my mind , was a most admirable likeness of himself—he proceeds thus : —

      It has been truly said , that a man's worst enemies are those ofhis own household ; " and tbe same may be said , -when enemies take the guise ofa man's 'Mends and fellow-labourers . * The Dispatch , while _denouncing not merely mjself and Mr . O'Connor , but also the Chartists in general , and the attempt to revive the Chartist _agifation in particular , takes care to favourably notice * the very judicious speech of Mr . Clark . ' This brings me to the consideration of a matter of more importance than the stupid and ribald abuse indulged in by the Dispatch . 11 : - My answer to this is , that I am of the "household" of Harney only so far as we __ are both members of tbe National Charier Association ; and , that -whilst I am a " fellow labourer , " I have long felt ,

      that the manner of labouring pursued by "Mr . Harney bas been most mischieTons and _rninons to onr cause , and serviceable to those who make disreputable advocacy an argument against the movements of the working classes . For the compliment paid to me by " Caustic , "—one of the writers in the Dispatch—for mv speech at the meeting at the London Tavern , lam , of course , not responsible ; but , I nevertheless thank him most sincerely for it , and will add , that his remarks upon the speech of Mr . Harney upon that occasion , bave my hearty ¦ concurrence , as it is to snch speeches that 1 attribute tbe disgraceful defeats of the several agitations for the Charter .

      Mr . Harney , in stating his reasons for making me tbe subject of bis elevated criticism , observes : — I fed bound to take this course in consequence of the manner in which . Mr . _Clarlsfs admirers—the _"Whig and Slum-Radical Press-gang—have thought tit to echo bis sentiments . I bare another reason for taking this course . This week Mr . Clark has been addressing public meetings In Yorkshire and Lancashire , and I am creditably informed that his peculiar mission to Manchester was to set 'himself right with the Manchester men , '—I believe in relation lo bis patriotic conduct at Stepney ; it _impossible , however , that he may bare been trying to ' set himself right 'either publicly or privately—in matters with which I have connexion ; and as , unlike Mr . Clark , I . havo neither leisure nor money to travel abont the country , I must address yon through the only medium open to me—the public Press .

      Passing over the vapid nonsense about the ** ' Press-gang , " under whose justifiable rebukes Mr . Harney is smarting , I can assure you that the attri"buted motive of ray recent visit to tbe north is a _jmre fabrication , as the' men of Manchester and Xeeds can testify . " Set my self right with the men of Manchester" for my "patriotic" conduct ¦ at the Stepney meeting . Ay , indeed , if it were -necessary , the best mode of setting myself right at Manchester , would be by doing tbe same thing there —should similar circumstances occur—as I had the honour and gratification of having done at Stepney . Xet the emissaries ofthe Tories go to Manchester , and propose snch resolutions as were proposed by -them at Stepney , and tbey will find that the men of Manchester , whom I went to conciliate , will beat their post , and there I will be also with my " patriotic" amendment , and ready to carry it against even the formidable " L'Ami" himself .

      But Mr . Harney says , " that , unlike me , he has neither the leisure nor the stone */ to travel about ihe country . " Mr . Harney knew , when he wrote those words , that his income was nearly double the amount of mine , and that , therefore , with respect to means , he was nearly donbly my superior . But it serred his noble purpose to insinuate—what his craven heart wonld not permit him to say , and he chose to leare the inference , rather than openly assert that I was paid hy your enemies to proceed npon a tour of self-defence . The meanness of this conduct can he equalled by nothing but its infamy -and cowardice . Mr . Harney , in furtherreference to the Stepney meetings , says : —

      I meddle not with the question at issue between Mr . Clark and Mr . Kydd ; but must say that the treatment experienced by Richard Oastler . —the victorious champion of the Factory Children , and the life-long defender of the claims of Labour—was disgraceful to all concerned . The readers of this journal most have blushed to see the report of that meeting in the _Northern Star ; a journal in which jjfr . Oastler advocated 'Protection to Labour * years before Thomas Clark conld have imagined he wonld ever become a 'leader / and the associate of ' respectable reformers * ;' and when , probably , his ideas on the question of Labour ' s ¦ wants were widely different from what th ey seem to be now . The _feeling excited at the meeting , w . is entirely owing to the shallow pretext by which it was sought , in the name of the " Trades , " to cheat the working classes into an alliance with the Tory Protectionists , and the disgust ofthe people ' at seeing a mixture of professed Chartists and Socialists

      lending themselves to the miserable scheme . That . Richard Oastler was not heard at length was no fault of mine , as I several times tried to induce the meeting to hear him out , hut all to no purpose , as they declared that they had heard enough , and were folly satisfied ofthe corrupt character of the meeting . I have respected Mr . Oastlereversincelhavc known him ; and had Mr . Oastler presented himself in less questionable company , and upon a more _upright occasion , I am satisfied that the same meeting would have listened to him with delight . I will not notice the small wit of the allusion to " respectable reformers / ' but will say , that my opinions of _la"bour _' s wants are the same now as they have always been , and that the insinuation of achange conveyed in the above paragraph , is another of the inventions of the noble-minded and truth-loving Mr . < J . J . Harney .

      I hasten over that part of Mr . Harney ' s letter which relates to his own insignificant " protest " against my conduct at Stepney , and his threat of the disposition ofthe Trades , " whom I there saved irom disgrace and sale ; and in reply to his query , _resjMcting the probability of any but the Trades joining us in onr demand for the Charter , I answer , that had it not been for the criminal violence and systematic fury of himself , and men of his stamp , that the Trades , and many , even above the Trades , would havebeen , long since , in our ranks , and that ihe term "Chartist , " instead of having become allied with folly and madness , would have been the designation by which all good and patriotic men would haTe delighted to hare been known . Men

      do not object to the Charter in itself , so much as they dislike to be known as " Chartists , " because the past career of the movement has been stained by the abominations of froth and fury which have been belched forth by tbe Harneys , and tbe various risings and riotings to which their writings and speeches have given occasion . This brings me to the London Tavern , and the cause of the dissent to which I gave utterance upon the occasion of the meeting which was held there . Yon must understand , that the meeting was convened for the _inrpose of inaugurating the new movement for the Charter , and that it was held in the very heart ofthe city of London ; and that , after the reverses of 1848 , it was highly desirable that the bOT 0 ted

      b _^ _ffr _^ _it a _^ P aw * « " ° "" as would -ttd _^ _Sf" _* _? _?*^ v «* only with hope in _IIaaIT _^}^ al _^ snUx « _li ance upon their wisdom cedmg efforts , havebeen admitted to have been incautious advocacy , and the consequent opportunity for the _emplo-fment of government spies . The place , too , at which the meeting was held , rendered necessary even more than ordinary caution "Besides , we had prejudices to destroy , and enemies to convert , we had a mangled reputation to repair -and all things combined to make bombastical rant and sanguinary expressions , not only distasteful , "bnt absolutely criminal . In the teeth of all- these reasons Mr . Harney , in his usual style , sneered at the friendsofthe "little "Charter , " as he . termed the measure of the _National Reform Association :

      and ia allusion to his favourite doctrine of "blood for blood , " said : — He repeated , there was no need to despair of France , and "Whenftanee moved , she moved the world . - The people _ofEurope would rise again , and then they would treat » etr . pitiless and remoreeless enemies as they deserved , _^ Mdsbowfhemtliat mercy their oppressors bad dealt to tflepeople . For this abominable idea I did express my most unmiti gated abhorrence , and this I did with the more readiness from a knowledge of some of the antecedents of Hs author . "What , then , was this the strain * n which io introduce a new and improved agitation -on behalf of the People ' s Cliarter ?—Could not tbe _^ tterer _of tbisfoul and atrocious sentiment Aave found any n » re « _HrimeBta _jdace than at a meeting ° f C ] i art * _stsvfOTtIi £ ' L _^^ suited _tomq & j _& ja su « _su _^ _tttW cwi _^ m 3 i _^

      To The Democratic,.Working Sv :; Men. **...

      Englishmen ? -0 r does it follow , that because a man is a _^ _Chartist thathe _isi therefore hS to connect himself with opinions that the most _? Ura Tory would be ashamed to express ! Had itX the first occasion upon which Mr . Harney had dehvered himself of this obnoxious opinion / so much noticewould not have been taken ot i t ; but the truth is , that he has done the same thing repeatedly and when he last uttered the atrocity , he was aware that it would provoke a repudiation from some of hi «* colleagues on the platform . Mr . Harney , in the Star of the week before last , informed you that the majority of tbe meeting were with his views and against mine . This , is another coinage of his imagination ; for , I fearlessly assert , tliat no public meeting of Englishmen could be found that would Tiiii

      sanction such an opinion as that which Mr ; Harney delights to call his own . It is to the honour of the working classes that they abhor blood ; and they have too high a notion of the meaning of true greatness , to sanction the atrocious doctrine , that to secure its liberty a nation requires to massacre its defeated enemies ! Another reason why I disclaimed the " bloody " suggestion of Mr . Harney , was , as I have already tola you , that I bad a knowledge of some of his previous doings , and had seen their consequences , not only to the movement itself , but also tothe imprisoned victims , many of whom were excited by the madness and fury of his sayings , in print and upon the platform . I had

      seen him play the braggart before , and I had seen him act the part , which is common , to all that kind of people , and shrink from tho responsibilities of his own delinquent conduct , and , therefore , I would not be a party to a repetition of tho proceedings wbich had before brought upon ns ruin , and upon thc movement shame and dishonour ! "Why should you and I , working men , allow a cause which is dear to us , to be again made a prey to the miserable ambition of sham-heroes , and pen-and-ink warriors ? —I at least will raise my humble voice against it , and will struggle against every attempt to return to the course of advocacy which has heretofore made us a bye-word and a scorn .

      Bnt that you may not think that I am doing any injustice to Mr . Harney , and that you may-see in its proper light , my horror ofthe braggart class , I will give you an instance ofthe bravery of Mr . Harney , under _circumstances which were calculated to bring out in "bold relief" all the " metal of his soul . " Itis known to the readers ofthe Star ,., that from the time ofthe French Revolution in February _184 S , up to the meeting of the National Convention , in April ofthe same year , that Mr . Harney was one ofthe most terrible of the violent orators , who were then " up to the mark , " and " ready for any - thing . " In tbe Convention , he was brave and daring aud upon the occasion of a deputation from that body—consisting of Mr . "Wilkinson , of Exeter ; Mr . 6 . "W M . Reynolds , aud myself , being appointed to

      proceed to the Home Office , to assure the government of the pacific disposition . of the Convention , arid to ascertain what wera really the intentions ofthe government , respecting the demonstration and procession announced for the following Monday , the famous 10 th , and against which the government had issued a proclamation , Mr . Harney rose and moved , tbat " whatever might be the intentions of the government , that the deputation be instructed to inform the Home Secretary , on behalf of the Convention , that both the public meeting and the procession shaU take place , and' that if any interruption be offered by the government , that upon their heads shall rest the consequences . " This is not the exact p hraseology of the resolution , but it is quite correct in substance . The deputation consultation

      went to the Home Office , and after a with the Under Secretary , Sir D . Le Marchant ( who officiated for Sir G . Grey , the latter being then at a Cabinet Council ) , the Attorney-General , and the chief magistrate from Bow-street , Mr . Hall , we learned that the government intended to enforce the law as they called it , arid the deputation in reply , left with the government the determination of the Convention , as expressed in the resolution of Mr . Harney . Immediately on the return of the deputation to the Convention , the answer to the government , ( Mr . Harney ' s resolution ) , was ordered to be printed , and was extensively circulated throughout London . Thus you will see the Convention , was by this very resolution placed face to face with the government" and the author of it , above all men ,

      , was bound to have observed it . "What I have just described occurred , as well as" I can now recollect , on Thursday , the 6 th ; and upon the afternoon of Saturday , tbe Stb , a note was handed to me in the handwriting of Mr . Harney , inviting me to meet him at a public-house in the neighbourhood of the place where the Convention met , " that evening , after the adjournment bf that body . I accordingly repaired to the appointed place , and on my arrival there , I found about six of the leading members of tbe Convention , all of whom had , like myself , been invited by Mr . Harney . I had no knowledge of the object of the meeting , except that I expected to have had to combat some dreadful and sanguinary proposition , from the violent firebrand Harney : but judge of my astonishment ,

      when pale , trembling , and with a manner , anything but consistent with his warlike tone , in the Convention and on the platform , I heard from his lips , a proposition to retire before the _opjtosition of the government , and to abandon loth the public meeting ot Kennington Common , and edso the procession ! . 1 had never before been mixed up in anything of a dangerous character , with this man , but I had heard ofthe " _Shipyard" conspiracy , where he was said to have been absent , npon a certain occasion in 1839 , when the police presented themselves , and arrested his colleagues , and where he also was expected to have been upon that occasion . I had heard of his invitation to the working classes , in the same year , to "tuck up their sleeves and go at it ; " I knew that he was , at that time , set down _throusrhoat the country as a spy , owing to the

      extravagance , and bloodthirstiness of his language , and the fact of his Continued security when his more moderate compeers were safely lodged in gaol . I knew that in 1843 , he was accused of playing the part of a Puling Spooney , " in the proceedings ofthe Convention at Manchester I knew that the working classes of Sheffield , on that same occasion , were so exasperated at his duplicity and betrayal of them , as they regarded it—first exciting them by the brutality of his language , and when his position with them became dangerous , trying to skulk from the post of "honor "—that they would have inflicted personal chastisement upon bim , had he not kept himself out of their reach . I say , I knew most of these things upon the authority of " some of the oldest and ablest men in the movement , " but I had never before been personally a witness of a trial of his valour .

      I objected to the abandonment ofthe intended meetin g , especially , as not only dangerous to our cause , but also as an act of cowardice on our parts , personally , and it was decided , in spite ofthe begging entreaties of Mr . Harney , that matters should be allowed to take their course . On Monday morning , the 10 th , it was agreed bythe Convention , previous to starting for Kennington Common , that the Executive Committee — of which it will be . allowed 1 was the most active member , —Mr . M'Grath being chairman , Mr . Doyle secretary to the Convention , and Mr . O'Connor often absent—should have the entire management of the proceedings ; and thus passed over a day , the glory of which consisted in the answer which it gave to swaggering braggarts , who prate of the disposition of the people to violence and bloodshed . And this , my friends , is the man , who instead of appearing before us in sackcloth , doing penance for his crimes against our

      cause , has actually had the audacity to appear again upon our platform , and there to degrade us all in the eyes of the world , by connecting the great , and pure cause of Chartism , with the advocacy of the resuscitation of the guillotine , as the engine of a victorious people ' s political vengeance . This is the man who has devoted two columns to the abuse of me for what he is pleased to term my moderation , and who . a short time ago , actually recommended PRIVATE ASSASSINATION through the columns ofthe Star , as the best means ofestablishing . his favourite scheme of " Justice" and " Fraternity . "Head the _followinsr extract from the letter of "L'Ami du Peupie ? ' in the . Northern Star . o f Saturday , September loth , 1849 , and ask yourselves if , in your "own households , " and seated at your " . own _beai'ths , " when surrounded by . " your own offspring , in what state of mind must the writer , Harney , have been , when he penned the following diabolical

      _asJvice : —* _... _.-: - ¦ .-. •• - Most probably it will notbeonthebarricade _. norinthe deadly breach , nor on the tented field that the defenders of justice wfll henceforth combat the' slaves of blood-reeking tyranny . If they would succeed , they muitfaU on the employers of _tlieassaiisin-soldiery in their own households ! and combat theenemies of freedom on their own hearllis .. The universal rising of the "Proletarians—the My war of the Labourers against all their oppressors—the combat , not against the tools of tyrants , but the tyrants themselves—is the good work wbicb must next be _wronoM , and to prepare the _people for which , is the sacred mission of all true reformers !!!

      There my friends , what think you of that ? - Was I right when I applied the term ""bloody democracy" to the state of things which this imbecile edition of Marat would bring about ? A sacred mission" indeed , he has chalked out for all " true reformers ! " I am not awaie if Madam _Tussaud has in her" Chamber of Horrors " a ' depository of hterary atrbcities _i but if Bbe has , I think the above contribution [ from the Chartist Septembrist ; would be a valuable acquisition . One more extract from the letter of Mr . Harn ey , and I have done ... He says : —

      J . Ur . dark , in his speech ' as spoken '—though not as re-I ported in the Star—declared that he desired 'to stand out in bold relief from the writer of this letter . I desire he should do so , for I should be very sorry that friends or foes should imagine me to be of thesame school as Thomas dark . " It is true I am a Chartist , and Mr . _ClafV professes to be the same ; but there are all conci _** Te * M _* e ,. . ofp ** n _* ion andsction both begins arid ends . I am happy to be in the potifion to _oej * le to add , that some . of the oldest and the aMest ' of _tnVchampiSns of Chartism as wianuyagreea withihTTOWSM _ttKjsitWglj dissent _SfaarHitee of _Xij _{• ttrfc " ¦ < . . . _..-,.. - . - . _.. . i : - / : 'Xl : _^ y _^

      To The Democratic,.Working Sv :; Men. **...

      From-what . I have already said it will appear plainly enough , that G . J . Harney and T . Clark do not much resemble each other ; and I think I have shown good cause of difference . With respect to the opinions of the " oldest and ablest champions of Chartism , " I can only observe ; that if they have any plan for getting the Cliarter , let them point it out , that it may be examined . The onus is upon them to do so , and if they cannot , then I ask what does it amount to that they agree with Mr . Harney ? It is all very well for these " oldest and ablest champions" tb talk glibly about the Charter ; but 1 say that I want them to mark out clearly how it is to be obtained , Can this be done 1 It * so , then why 'is it not done ? ' I propose to aid efficiently in the obtainment of every useful ' and practical extension of thc suffrage , as the surest and safest , and , in fact , the only means of arriving at the deserved end .

      I have to state to you frankly , that I am not satisfied when , upon looking back upon the result of our labours for the past ten years , I find the most perceptible of them to be " victims " and " victim funds " —friends in dungeons at home , and in chains abroad—our party scattered , and their hopes all but destroyed . Let the " oldest and ablest champions " answer ; are we not to hare something more prolific of good in the future ? And if so , point to the means ! ¦ '¦¦ _' -:- ¦ ¦ I charge upon platform violence and stupidity the miscarriage of our former attempts , and foremost amongst the most stupid ana mischievous of the orators I rank G . J . Harney . , Thomas Clark . London , Jan . 30 , 1850 . '

      To . The Democratic "Working Men.. " , I...

      TO . THE _DEMOCRATIC "WORKING MEN .. " _, i ;_ . My Friends , —Owing to ; my connexion with the Star , I have seen Mr . Clark ' s letter before publication , and , consequently , am in a position to answer him at once . Under ordinary circumstances , I \ vould not have used the , privilege of my office , but would have allowed my opponent ' s letter to have remained unnoticed for the time usual in newspaper discussions . But Mr . Clark ' s utter disregard of all the decencies of controversy , his falsehoods , and distortions of facts , must not be allowed to diffuse their author ' s venom even for one week , without the counteractive truth on my Park ... The reader will not fail tocontrast the tone of

      myformerletter , with that of Mr . Clark ' s reply . I was warnedby friends , bothin London and the country , of the sort of concoction I might expect . In London , several persons who well know the man , warned nie , that although it would be . impossible for him to . refute the statements and arguments of ' my letter , he would give me a " pretty considerable" doso of blackguardism . In a letter received from a friend in the country , I was informed that Clark had told him that he must return to

      London to get his reply inserted in the Star . M y friend answered that he had no need to put himself to that trouble , because from Harney ' s well-known Jove of fair-play , he would not refuse to insert anything he ( Clark ) might send . Clark ' s answer was : " No , not the sort of answer I intend to write . " Thus pretty plainly intimating that he intended his answer to be not iii accordance with fair p lay _, ill' . Clark's , letter has not surprised me . Knowing the man , and knowing that , under the too-transparent guise of borrowed ' "respectability" and aristocratic apeishness , there exists a being as coarse in . his ideas as he is

      " unclean" in conversation , a decent letter from him was not to be expected ' . The man who , as Land Director , lolling in an arm-chair , with his feet on a fine carpet , and surrounded by all the luxuries of '* office , " cannot give a civil answer , or write a . civil letter to a struggling . ' allottee , '' or a poor and anxious " member" of the Land Company , notwithanding that to those parties he owes the bread he eats , was not very likel y to write a deceut reply to a man who had sonnded the depths of his political duplicity , and forced the fri g htful unmasking of himself exhibited in the foregoing epistle .

      Mi * . Clark acknowledges himself " sincerely thankful , " ' for the crumbs of laudation thrown from ihe Dispatch table ; and avows that " tbe remarks upon the speech of Mr . Habney , " have his " hearty concurrence . " Why not add , that the remarks on the speech of Mr . O'Connor , the denunciations levelled against the Chartists generally , the condemnation ofthe attempted revival of Chartism , and the filthy outpourings against the Proletarians of Paris , stigmatised as " vagabonds of the gutters , " have also his " hearty concurrence ? " I shall presently remind you of

      Mr . Clark ' s former and widely different estimate , of the praise and censure of the Dispatch , when I come to notice his raking up of dead and buried calumnies . Mr . Clark is proud of being the _^ pet of the Dispatch ; and in one part of his letter vaunts of his influence at Manchester . I will here quote from the report of a speech on this very subject , delivered by a man who Can command the attention of assemblages at Manchester , far larger than any that would listen to Mr . Clark . Mr . Walter Cooper , speaking at Parringdon Hall , on Sunday evening , January 20 tb , observed that : —

      Mr . Clark had been lauded in the Dispatch of to-day . ( Hisses . ) Now , God preserve him from envying Mr . Clark tho praises of the Dispatch , as , if the Dispatch were to eulogise him , he should fecgin wondering what damnable deed he had committed . Neither did he envj Mr . Clark the position he would hold in the estimation ofthe working classes . _ Hut the Dispatch at the same time had made a most viUonoiis and dastardly attack' npon Mr . Julian Harney . And why ? Because * he had defended the brave ouvriers of Paris , whom the Dispatch called the 'vagabonds of the gutters '—the gallant fellows who had shouldered theirmuskets . and for three rights guarded the property ofthe bourgeoise inithe streets , of Paris , during the strife and tumult , consequent on revolution . Because Mr . Julian Harney had advocated national property in land . Because , in fact , he wished to open the eyes of the many , to the trickery and humbug of the Financial Reformers .

      It suits Mr . Claries purpose to " pass over the vapid nonsense about the press-gang , '' " under whose justifiable rebuke , " he says , _<* Mr . Harney is smarting ! " Poor fellow ! It is too evident he is smarting . In my letter , I stated that " Mr . Clark's admirers—the * _"Wlii g and sham radical press-gang- —had thought fit to echo his _sentiments . " And 1 added , commenting on the Stepney meeting , " one fact should not be lost sight of ; Mr . Clark was

      favourably reported , and , in several instances , complimented by the very journals that , not long since , were in the habit of vomiting the foulest vituperation , on the heads of the Chartists , for moving Charter amendments at the , Anti Corn Law meetings . " Miv Clark , in his . dignity , passes over all this as " vapid nonsense . " His silence on these and mauy more matters in my . letter , unnoticed by him , vouches for his discretion .

      I have no wish to meddle with Mr . Clark's income , or his mode of expenditure . _, I have stated . the fact , that I have neither leisure . nor money for travelling about the country . Mr . Clark seems to have both . He . is a luck y man . "Whether his travelling charges are defrayed from . his own private purse , or by enemies . or friends of the people , is a matter on which he is best fitted to speak , and respecting which I neither know nor care . In the meantime , ; it-may be most convenient to " pass o yer" that matter also . ,

      Mr . Clark " hastens over ? . ' what he terms my . ' , ' insignificant protest" against his conduct at the Stepney meeting . I fancy he will not so easily get over the hostile spirit he has evoked amongst the veritable working men of _London . His attemp t to exculpate ; himself from the charge of having called up that hostile spirit , by vapouring about " criminal violence and systematic fury , " preventing the Trades , and other parties joining the Chartist

      movement in times past , will not serve him . Itis by hia own conduct in the present , that obstructions have been set in the way of the Trades co-operating with the Chartists . He takes . credit to himself , for having saved the Trades from / being cheated into an alliance with the _^ Protectionists ' . " ' He may assure himself , that it-will be long ere he . will receive _a-testimonial of gratitude from the Trades for his . chivalrous performance '"" of . _-ftedaties of _sftyioiirsbip . -Thai he several tuba tried to

      To . The Democratic "Working Men.. " , I...

      get _Rearing for Richard Oastler _' can be bes _' t spoken to b y those who were at the meeting _, irom what I hare heard ; I believe Kichard Oastler himself will , not _^ endorse Mr ; Clark ' s account of his own honourable conduct on that occasion . _^ As regards : his threat of : what he will do at Manchester if the occasion offers , I give him . a friendl y word not to try - the Stepney game there , unless he is sure of the absence of Richard Oastler . - : ' ¦ ¦ ¦¦ _'•

      Mr . Clark avers . thathis opinions of Labour ' s wants are the same now as they have always been . Perhaps so . But if so , he has been an exception _ to the USUai 0 T _^ of factory woric _ ers ; 'and I predict , that should . " Parliamentary Eeform , " or the influence of his ' middle _, class triends , . ever lift him . into the House of Commons , he will have to very materiall y change his opinions respecting . "Labour ' s wants , otherwise he will hot for long wear the honours of a " popular member / '

      "Protection to Labour' ? has hitherto been the prime motive for seeking the Charter . - All-trades are demanding protecfcion _^ ven ' fd &' e _labour protection . The factory workers are even _nojv demanding further legislative interference , and more legislative protection , in order to " _= make the Ten Hours Bill a verity . Seeing that Mr . Clark is an aspirant for Parliamentary honours , ; it is to be hoped that oh this question of " Labour ' s wants" he will - 'talc a'thought an' mend . " .

      Mr . Clark avers , that -. ' the causes of the failures of preceding efforts - have been admitted to have been incautious advocacy . ' ' Who so admits ? Lethim speak for himself _,, but not for others for he has ho authority to proclaim himself the great I AM , —the embodiment of Public Opinion . Mark how generousl y heacqiiits the Government , tho Legislature , tlie Press , the Middle Classes ; & c , & c , of all responsibility , ' and . lays the . entire blame to '' incautious advocacy . ' \ Mark , too , that he attempts _tomake : me responsible for

      all the " incautious advocacy" in the past and present . Certainly I cannot lay claim ; to a superabundance of caution—a quality _wl'ich 18 ever largely possessed ] ¦ b y selfish and coldblooded schemers , and intriguers . But supposing there has been " incautious advocacy , " and that I havebeen one of the /•• incautious , " can Thomas Clark lay . his hand on his heart , and running over the history 0 f Chartism as recorded in the Northern Star , declare that I have been the only , or the principal "criminal ? " ' : ; < _;¦ ¦ ;¦ _¦ -

      Mr . Clark quotes the following from my speech at the London Tavern : — lie repeated , there was no need to despair of France , ' and when France moved , she moved the world . The peoples of Europe would rise nguin , and then they would treat their pitiless and remorseless enemies as they ' deserved , and show them that mercy , their oppressors had . dealt _^ to the people . ¦ ¦¦' . He adds : " For this abominable idea I did express my most unmitigated abhorrence . " He goes on to describe the abovo ' as a "foul and atrocious sentiment ; " as '' an opinion more suited to savages than an enlightened

      community of Englishmen , " Tp all this I _haye only to answer , that I repudiate not one word oi the above sentiment ; ' Mr . Clark may mouth about " atrocity , " " savages , " and tell of his " unmitigated abhorrence , " but I defy him to write down , or speak down , a sentiment which has taken possession of the hearts of millions of the cheated and cruelly-wronged peoples of Europe . Mr . Clark adds : " Mr . Hamey , in the Star the week before . last , informed you that the majority of the meeting were with his views , and ; against mine . : This is another

      coinage of his imagination ; for I fearlessly assert , that no public meeting of Englishmen could be found that would sanction such an opinion , as that which Mr . Harney delights to call his own . " "Whatis the use of Mr . Clark writing about " could ,- " and '' would , " when the fact is , as hundreds in this metropolis can testify , that the majority of the meeting did applaud my . sentiments , and expressed unmistakeable opposition to his , Mr . . Clark ' s brazen assertion of the contrary , 'will enable yon to measure his veracity in matters I am about to call your attention tb .

      Mr . Clark introduces the revelation which , he imagines is destined to crush me with a sneer about my being brave and daring in the convention of 1848 ' ; meaning b y this sneer , that I was violent and bragging hefore all otliermembers , I have taken the trouble to glance over the report of the proceedings of that body as published in the Northern Star , and find that my speeches were among the most moderate delivered at that time . The

      resolution which he professes to quote , word for word , and which he says , I moved , never had existence , save in the coinage of his own imagination . It was not on Thursday the sixth of April , that the deputation was sent to the Home Office , buton Friday tho seventh . . At the meeting of the convention that morning , Mr . T . M . Wheeler moved , " That the convention should issue a proclamation declaring their determination to hold their meeting on Monday notwithstanding the foolish proclamation of the Government , and notice of the police . " Mr . Cuffay seconded the motion , . which was

      supported by the following delegates in the foi lowing order '—Messrs . West , Child , Adams , Shaw , Stevenson , Cochrane , _Bplwell , "Watson , Wilkinson , "O'Connor , K ydd , Ernest Jones , M'Carthy , Francis , "Reynolds , Clark , Aston , Lig htowler , Wild , Dixon , Fussell , Donovan , and G . J . Harney , who said , "Mr . Donovan had alluded to foreigners ; ho could assure tliem that nothing but the niost profound respect prevailed iu their breasts , for the rights of Englishmen , and they would refrain from attending the procession , for reasons he need not state . He wished ho armed men to surround him . ' ' . ' Several other delegates supported the motion , whicli was then carried . I

      am next reported : as reading an article from the Times o f that day , ' and appealing to the Convention to denounce 'the editor of 'that paper as a "base calumniator . " Mr . Reynolds moved : —'' That a ; deputation be despatched to Sir George Grey ; to acquaint the Government--that thoy have no intention , and never had , : to ; make any armed display on Monday . " Mi _* i Ti Clark seconded the motion , and after some ' other delegates had spoken , "Mr . G . J . Harney ; supported the motion , but ., . wished ' the Government to be informed ihatihey had resolved to hold a processionpeacefully ami legally . "' The motion was carried . '

      Every one will see that there is the greatest p ossible distinction between a formal resolution , such as Mr . Clark has invented , adopted by , and binding the Convehtion , ' and the ex pression of a mere individual sentiment , for which the . bod y at large could not be held responsible . The Convention not having passed any resolution of mine , it was impossible that any such resolution should havebeen " printed and circulated ' about'London . ¦ ' Thus , likea house of : cards puffed ' down hy a breath , falls the monstrous fabria of falsehood p iled upon falsehood , so cunningl y conceived , -but ; ' so clumsily executed' by '' ' my' desperate arid unscrupulous opponent . . .

      It is true , that in answer . to the police notice , forbidding the meeting , & c , "a proclamation" announcing ' * the firm determination " of the Convention ; to hold , a meeting and procession , was printed and circulated ; but I neither suggested , hor drew up , -nor proposed the ' adoption of that proclamation . What I did ' propose you shall now learn . •' On the return of the _deputation from the Home Officeand oh Mi * . Reynolds having

      , delivered the report , Mr . Harney moved ,- — "That the report of the deputation , to the Home Secretary be * p rinted , placarded about London , and circulated in the country ; and thai , the _tfrahis of tlie _^ ohVeniibn be given to the members _. _oif the' _^ _eputaiyon , / foi * the _satisfactory , manner in whichf they had discharged their duty . " Mr _' V _& _ltot _^ _neihg then not so " respectably _whHwfe ; 1 w at _preseHt , ' could _:-Lj--.. _'« _-... _^ -:. _.- ' . * _.- _¦ : <¦> 4- * . _^ F- _^ _- ' t--j _-n- _-- ' " _^ _-- ' - _v

      To . The Democratic "Working Men.. " , I...

      - . ripJi _, _^ brd'te turn / up his nose at ' a _. yote of ; thanks , / eye n though moved b y _! Julian Harney . | /; l ' come now to . that terrible conspiracy- —the private meeting . ' ~ _iThnt such a meeting did take place is true ' . ' I will answer presentl y Clark ' s account of my appearance ; U on that occasion . I must here . ' , ' observe that , ' -. _jvithin four and twenty hours , _evehtshad progressed rapidly . The Times , and other journals ;; had excited the utmost fears of the "higher" and middle classes ; the shopocracy were mustering in thousands , to be sworn in as " specials ; " the government ' s murderous preparations went on ; every hour the strength of our adversary , and oui * own weakness , became more and more

      apparent . There , was no longer any mistaKe that , if we meant to proceed with the procession , it would be a ; fight from the , moment of leaving Kennington-common , in the direction of the Houses of Parliament , and for which the people were certainly not prepared . It may be said this should havo beeii foreseen when the Convention voted the proclamation in repl y to the police . True . It was undoubtedl y a rash act to defy our enemy , without first well considering our own strength and his . I shared in the rashness of that act , and so did Mr . Clark . Biit , I repeat ,. I was not the author ofthe proclamation ; nor its principal promoter . I assented to itin common with the rest , and

      I think I did not act very wisely . By why did not the cool aiid cautious Mr . Clark raise his voice _against-this committal of the Convention " face to face with the Government ?' " Go back to my words , not my resolution , for I moved none ; to what did they commit the Convention---if that body could bo committed at all by the more words of an individual—? "Mr . Harney wished the Government to : be informed that they had resolved to hold a procession , peaceably and legally . " ' Butby Saturday evening the 8 th of April , it . Was , evident to every iiiah in London , that a peaceable and legal procession ( the Government construing thc lawj and having , marshalled its armed

      forces ) , was an impossibility . If , then ; under these circumstances , I had proposed the abandonment of the procession , I should have been guilty of neither inconsistency nor cowardice . But b y Saturday afternoon it was pretty well understood that Mr . Clark , and his colleagues wore not at all likely to lead a fighting procession ; and every other kind of procession being , under the circumstances impossible , the procession was , therefore , already virtually abandoned . Brat' the . Public Meeting , Seeing the hopelessness of the procession , I did then desire to abandon the public meeting . Wh y ? Because I saw that the meeting without the procession would be of little effect . Situated as we were , I desired that instead of the meeting , the delegates themselves should proceed as a body from the Convention with , the petition , and attempt to carry it to the House of Commons . I

      knew that if this course was carried out i t would place the delegates , myself included , in danger . I knew that if the police used tlieir truncheons or cutlasses , we were likely to pretty generally receive marks of their loyalty . I knew that such a course would probably involve . our arrest on tho spot , and-so bring . to an issue before . the judges a question we were incompetent to determine in our own favour , by . an appeal to arms . Did the course I devised savour of cowardice ? The meeting came to nothing . Mr . Clark and his friends , looking _^ forward to a field-day of spouting , and nothing more , could afford to be valorous . For my part , some of my personal friends not having attended , I judged it unnecessary to fully develope my views . Moreover , it was sufficient for me that the majority decided that in their opinion the meeting was advisable under any circumstances . I at once assented , and from that moment showed as much readiness as

      Mr . Clark himself , to take my share in the forthcoming gatkering . Most assuredly , if I had felt any trepidation , I should noi havo selected / Mr . Clark and his friends to be thc witnesses of my fears . I admit , that though guided by a pure motive and a desire only to serve the , interests ofthe movement , I ' was , nevertheless , "incautious" — "incautious" in placing faith in the honour of Mr . Clark . A man has no more right to reveal the particulars of a private meeting , than ho has to reveal the contents of a private , letter . Is Mr . Clark qualifying to play the part of an ; "informer ? " Certainly his disregard ot truth when it suits his _purposo to deal in falsehood , might help to qualify him for that office .. , ' ¦•

      lie pretends tint I appeared at the above named meeting " pale and trembling , " and . . idds ,. that in spite . of-my " begging entreaties , " it was decided that matters should take their course . It is impossible for me , at this moment , to communicate with persons who were at that meeting , —Mr . Kydd , the only friend at hand , was not present , but I can refute Mr . Clark by the very best circumstantial evidence . Throughout the sittings of the Convention , I waa daily in the company of John "West , Samuel Kydd , and Ernest Jones ; nnd several times in the company of other delegates of less note , I appeal to them whether , from the first moment to the last , they over saw me as described by Clark , " pale , " "trembling , " and giving expression to

      " entreaties , based on fear ? If they are honourable men they will speak out , and convict my calumniator of falsehood . Ernest Jones I cannot appeal to now—but on his liberation I doubt not that he will do me justice . You have read Clark ' s account of my demeanour on Saturday evening . If I was then so terror-struck , surely " twenty-four hours later I should have been still more afraid . Well , that ( Sunday ) evening , Iwas with Clark and others , in company with Mr . O'Connor and a friend of his ( whose name I will not drag into this discussion ) , at Osborne ' s Hotel . Let Mr . O'Connor say if Iwas

      then " pale , " , " trembling , " die . The next morning , the 10 th of April , was I absent at the meeting of delegates ? On the contrary , I was in attendance before many others , and when tho roll wa 3 called I answered to my name . On leaving the Institution , in John-street , I took my place next to Mr . O'Connor , on the front seat of the . carringe ' ' » Arrived at Kennington Common , I accompanied Messrs . West and Reynolds to address the Irish section ofthe meeting ; and my speech is on record in the Star . Turn to that speech and see if it betrayed symptoms of fear ? Ask Messrs . West and Reynolds how I conducted myself in their company .

      That either bn the Saturday evening , or any other occasion , I appeared "paleand "trembling , " or at all conducted myself as represented bv Clark , is nfoul and villanous falsehood ; and Clark knew that ha was penning gross untruth , —falsehoods without any foundation—any excuse , save the wickedness of his own heart and the recklessness of his inveterate hatred . ' The lted Cap , the dagger , the tucking up the sleeves , tho Ship-yard conspiracy , are with the exception of tho first named which I have never

      disavowed , pure calumnies , as Clark well knows , and as ere now ho . himself has declared . The " Puling Spooney" was disposed of iri March . last , in ray affair with Mr . O'Connor respecting Republicanism , when the folio wing letters appeared in thc Star : — _: ¦ ¦'¦ " ¦¦ ;; ,. _Accrington ; March 20 th , 1 S 19 . My _De-Ji _IlAitNFy , —I will'at once say , what I have often said , that , a more manly defence than yours was never made . " Thine fraternally , "William Beesley .

      • Kirkdale Prison, March 2 . 1st, 1849. ...

      • Kirkdale Prison , March 2 . 1 st , 1849 . My Dea . _1 * . H _\ _aHEY , —1 cannot think that the portion of O'Connor ' s _lctt * r , referring to the Lancaster trials , can bo intcuded to apply to you , 1 am certain , tliat every man who witnessed . your conduct on that occasion , must have admired the manly and honourable maimer in which you acquitted yourself ' Yours truly , : ¦ ¦ _-,., James Leach . ! I can how . understand who was the creature that p oisoned the ear of Mr . O'Connor , and caused that gentleman to give currency to statements one of which ;—the "Tilling Spooney" invention—called forth the letters from Messrs . Beesley and Leach . "As to the Sheffield affair , it is true that _byactiri-r in accordance with the wishes of tho Sheffield

      Chartists I incurred the displeasure of men who had never before , nor have they ever since , been connected with the true and steadfast friends of the Charter . George Cavill , Edwin Gill ( in thc ¦ Star office ) , and other old Chartists can testify , that not for one day did I shrink from thc performance of my duties . Tho " personal chastisement" is purely and simply the coinage of Mr . Clark ' s imagination . But why would he , in tlie blindness of his hatred , stumble upon Sheffield ? No vote of censure was ever passed upon me by Sheffield Chartists ; yet something liko a vote of censure was passed _upfen Mr . Clark by tho Chartist Council , when he backed out of his election contest

      with Mr . Roebuck . On that occasion , having sent him tho Sheffield letter before publication , ho acknowledged himself in the Star indebted to my "kindness . " Yes , he then professed to value my kindness , notwithstanding that according to his present revelations , ho must have well-known all the atrocities — Eed : Cap , & c , he ., he ., whioh now move him to such eloquent denunciations . _ I shall now proceed to convict Olark on the evidence of Clark . ' His . words , jn the past shall condemn him iri the present . . ' _^ ' . , „ ¦ ; _'In ' IfeceBiber , 18 i 6 _, my & elf , my gallant _fl-iend Carl Sobapper , and _ibe Fraternal -Democrats ; we . ro ¦ _Mutovetl by tho PUpaUh . Qe that _ocgawoft-th *

      • Kirkdale Prison, March 2 . 1st, 1849. ...

      Dispatch brought up against me tho "Red cap , " the " dagger , ' " Ship-yard , " he ., Ac . A meeting ofthe society was held at iheir then place of meeting in Drury-lane , and "Thomas Clark , of the ; Chartist Executive , " . was appointed chairman . I read a reply to the Dispatch . Carl Schappcr , ' Christopher Doyle , Charles Keen ( one of the Ship-yard members ) , and others , spoko at that meeting '; and a string of resolutions , expressing confidence in and thanks to me , and " unqualified censure" on the Dispatch , moved by Christopher Doyle , and seconded by John Arnott , were unanimously adopted . On that occasion—nearly eight years after the ** Red cap , the J- _Eliip . yard " affair , the invention of the dagger , & c ., he . upwards of four years after *; the alleged betrayal , & c , at Sheffield ; and nearly four years after the alleged timo of the " puling spooney -the Chamnan , MR , THOMAS CLARK ! deliveredI the following speech . . ' { Northern Star , Dec . 20 , 1 S 4 C . )

      The Chairman said , I think friends there can he bo doubts upon your minds , as to ' the " 'vigour * of lancuace which can be employed hy the editor ofthe _DiswatiA when it suits Ins convenience . In the presen t instance ' how ever , it must be admitted ,- 'that his ' vigoui" has been exercised to little purpose , as I am convinced that no man who lias the least knowledge oi Julian Harney ' s public or private chavactcr , will be found to sympathise with the infamous and calumnious statements , wliich are contained in the paragraph in ' qu ' estioh . ( Loud cheers . ) Formjown part I f ' eul tho utmost gratification in having the opportunity which my present position affords me , of expressing the high esteem in which I hold the patriotism and worth of my friend Julian narney . ( Loud cheers . ) I have known

      him lor many _yeirs as a public man , and during the last five or six yeai a , I have been honoured with his personal confidence , and from all tliat I have seen of him , I am fully justified in asserting , that a more pure or _singlemiiidod-patiiot does not exist . ( Ilear , aud cheers . ) And bear in mind , friends , that the opinions I have expressed of Julian Harney , are not particularly my own , but , to my personal knowledge , they are participated in by the great _democrats party throughout the ! country . ( Cheers . ) I have but just returned from a tour through the principal towns in the provinces , and I can assure this meeting that _, _noman stands higher in the estimation of the veal move- ; ment party , than the person against whom the scribe ofthe liispatch . has shot his venomed , but pointless darts ( Cheers . ) Julian Hamey enjoys our confidence . ( Hear , and cheers . ) And notwithstanding'that , we subject ourselves to tho five of the Dispatch battery , we . will express that confidence . ( Hear , . hear . ) The writer ! . does not know-Julian JIarney _. _' _i ' never , saw Julian Hamey , ' but nevertheless I harbour _! an instictive idea , that ' the conductors of the JVorl _' icrn Star newspaper , are not altogether

      ' unknown' to the author of this beastly libel . ( Hear , and cheers . ) ' ¦ ' And as ' dates' and circumstances are so faithfully (?) chronicled by this ' friend of Maud , ' 1 labour under the impression that Julian Harney is indebted to the assiduity and industry of other 'friends of democracy * than tho ' we' of the Dispatch , for the * facts' which are chronicled in the disgusting and unmanly article , but owing partly to . the exertions of Julian Harney himself , a wind lias been created in the country , whieh can distinguish between the fair and honourable criticism of an editor , and such scandalous , and yet ' utile attacks , as that which has b _.-en made upon our esteemed , aiid worthy secretary . Julian Harney , strong in the consciousness bf his own integrity , can afford to despise this paltry attempt to injure him in the public estimation , but itis our duty to notice it as a base perversion of tho functions ofa public writer , and as an act which merits our strongest condemnation , seeing that it corrupts the . press , which is the source from whence the public habitually derive their impressions of men arid things , and is , therefore , an abuse of one of the noblest institutions of which tho age can boast . ( Great applause . . ¦ ¦'

      Contrast the above speech -with the now brutal insolence of my once eulogist who in his letterfoul and false calumniator as he is—dares to charge me with " crimes" and professes to wonder at my " audacity" in appearing on " our platform . " But what shall be said of the audacity of this Clark , who , 'in the teeth of his former professions of '¦; friendship , continued nearly to the present time ; in spite ofthe fact that he has worked with me as a Chiirtist associate ufctil this time , suddenly pretends to given , revelation of my '¦ " crimes "which he seems to have discovered only when he saw that his own intrigues were seen through by the man he denounces . Eypoerite in the past , or calumniator in the present ; either way he is selfc revealed to the disgust of all honest men .

      With reluctance , I pass over some minor matters , to come to his charge oi PRIVATE ASSASSINATION . The candid Mr . Clark quotes the passage wliich suits his purpose , no more . The extract is taken from a letter on Swiss affairs , written atthe moment when , in Autumn last , Switzerland -was menaced with the fate of Rome and Hungary . The reader will find the letter in full , in the Star at September 15 th , 1849 . Looking forward to the probability , of a general attack ofthe European tyrants on Switzerland , I wrote : — Notwithstanding its limited population , Switzerland could very speedily bring a hundred thousand troops into the field . It is true that , ns regards numbers , this fore ?—though enormous—could be soon outmatched by the numberless hordes of Russia , Austria , and Prussia—to . say nothing of France . But over aud above tbe regular troops ,

      the male adults generally are well versed in the use _tlf the rifle , and the natural features of the country give its defenders advantages over every other nation in Europe . I anticipate that the tools of the tyrants will meet _toSi warm work , should they attempt the conquest of Switzerland ; yet , I must add my conviction , that in the event of a _struj-gle , the Swiss will be crushed . In these days mere physical bravery does not avail to save a people from _destruction . Not Miltiades _, nor _Themistocles , nor even . Leonidus , wei'c they living now , could save their countrymen from slavery had they to contend against the physical force of the modern tyrants of the world . The science f * of war has now reached a perfection which ensures to those who can command the necessary strength in men and metal , the triumph , however vile their cause , to

      these days a « allace could not exist for a week , and-a Tyler would be crushed the moment he raised the standard of revolt . Were Switzerland again enslaved , I doubt if even a Tell could redeem her . Most probably it will not be on the barricade , nor in tte deadly breach , nor on the tented field , that the defenders of justice will henceforth combat the slaves of blood-seeking Tyranny . If they would succeed they must fall upea the employers of the assassin-soldiery in their own house holds , and combat the enemies of Freedom on their own hearths . The universal rising of the Proletarians—fhe holy war of the Labourers _ac-aiiist all their oppprussorft—i 3 » combat , not agaiust the tools of tyrants , but the tyrants themselves , is the good work which must next by wrought and to prepare the people , for which is the sacred _misslea of all true Keformers .

      Theso sentiments are mine , and though I stood alone I would not shrink from avowing them ; hdt I do not stand alone . Mr . Clark may affect t » hold up his hands in horror , and shout diabolical ; ' ** ho may excite the Press-gang to raise thehowlrof "bloody democracy , " but 1 have the best assurance , that thoso sentiments are approved of by s majority of the veritable democrats ; who can distinguish between " private assassination , " and tho killing by tlie people , in self defe nce , of wholesale assassins—ruffians who train and pay their human machines to murder the people , and " mow down in masses . "

      Writing this letter within three hours of ib » paper going to press , I am compelled to leave _sonw matters unnoticed , which otherwise I would haye done ample justice to . A word on ono _subject eie I conclude . Supposing that I were all that dark has represented me to be ; supposing that' eveiy circumstance inmy political life from " Ship-yard , to the " private meeting , " had been exactly _« 8 stated by Mr . Clark , let me ask you what has thst to do with the question of Clark ' s efforts tb janlSB Chartism subservient to the middle class movement ? All this cloud of words — " Eed Cap , " Ship-yard , " " Sheffield , " " private meeting ;" •' private assassination , " "bloody democracy , ** & c . Ac , has been cunningly raised by . my opponent to hlind you to the true question at _issua . That he has shirked . It is his policy ; but a polity too transparent to mislead . Some friends deplore this contention . Let those who do so , _boaraa mind , that this strife was commenced by " the platform violence and stupidity" of Thomas Clark .

      _^ This contest , though an evil for the moment , toH be productive of goo *" d . To the people gcneraHyift can matter little or nothing whether one or both < oT thc disputants are politically extinguished ; but'fliB progress or otherwise ; of theprincipJcs at issue , w _* matter of the utmost importance . At this _momenSt I anticip ate a period of popular delusion , unequalled since the Reform Bill movement ; but , the day iff that delusion over , the misled people will do ; justice on their deceivers . For . myself I have no fear , l _^ - life has been a series of struggles , and the present with Mr . Clark and those who direct him , will not ffi

      the last . Years before Thomas Clark was _herafl of , I made my eiitrance into public life—uot wi & the " red cap , "" hut as a worker and sufferer in "fte struggle for a Free Press . By years of _industiy and ' devotion to the democratic cause , I have wm an honourable position ; and , though lam _awaa that my career has not been free froin error , lean proudly say , that 1 have ever preferred _principled personal considerations ; and , therefore , may safely defy the utmost malico of my enemies . Iara , - Men ol tho "Working Democracy , . * Oneofyourown Order ; Jan . 31 , 1850 . G . JULIAN : _IIAKXEZ .

      Tne Snir " Tali-Nmoi" On Saturday,-From ...

      TnE Snir " _TALi-nMOi" on Saturday ,-from -Canton Captain Campbell , bound for London , ran entirely wrecked off tho coast near © tine , fit ® leagues from Boulogne . Tho crew , consisting _sff _eighteen persons and three passengers * were _saveo . A Cm of Man- * Churchks—The _Cincinnafi Christian Herald states that Indianapolis , - the capital of Indiana , has a population , of C , 750 , " with seventeen churches , 1 , 800 church * _Hvembeis , soft 1 000 members of the Sabbath _sqheols , all volu * - tavv . " Colleges ix the Unitkd _Staijks . —There ara- " m the United States 119 colleges * the oldest of which is Harvard University of Oaiebridge , _Massaotafflsets , established in 1638 . * _Sbc- next oldest i > _"JTwte College , ai New Haven , eataWtshed in 17 ft _(* v 3 * 1 * aggregate number of _volumes , m the _Ub _** a _* rteB *• £ these colleges is 643 , 328 . . The library _oSHarwofl University numbers _J-1 , G ( M ) volumes . :- ..

      Fmsderick Docqiass says , : in hia NorA Stars" The new year promises well for th _^ _c auSe of-ite slaves . Signs already appearing above thepolituau horison _indwatft a coming _stornv -tha _enemies w justice and $ umanityflag _an'd-Mte _* - Theysce- _»» _TthOi-ia _^ of- reckoning draws ; _ftigh * wad . few : t $ & _8 ¦ _febl _jJL _^^ _ifchcm ; ' * _'X " :: / .: ' . _' -: ; . . : _a- _;' . _> . " ¦¦ '

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Feb. 2, 1850, page 5, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns3_02021850/page/5/