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Northern Star (1837-1852), 2nd September 1848, Edition 3 of 3, Page 5, DR M'DOUALL. We may not pass over the tr...

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      In Most Cases The Future Is Based Upon P...

      _rharfote must be . I'd like to . be a Chartist , arse— -don ' t you think God will love them for a ssisting the poor ?'—Tes , my child , God ' _oves everybody that ' s good to the poor—if it \ _s not from a selfish motive . ' "" ' "Well , nurse , how did the Chartists doit ? _^ _t Why , my child , they took the people out of those large towns and hot places , and they jnilt cottages for them , and placed them on the land ; and then papas and mammas brought up their little children in fear and love of God , and they all worked and supported themselves

      _gnd then when all were happy , there were no soldiers , nor policemen , nor detectives , nor hangmen , because the people were all good ; and now , my child , every fifty years there ' s what ' s culled a jubilee , to rejoice at the change , and tomorrow is the day ; and if you aregood children , yon , and Fred , and Jane shall come out , and see the people bringing flowers and dancing and singing , and all so happy and comfortable And now it ' s time to go to bed , and I'll tell you the rest of my story another time—and if the Chartists didn't live happy—that you and I

      way . Oh , thankee , nurse , how nicely the story ends . God Almighty bless the Chartists 1 *

      J""" % Im ' The Northern Star. 5

      J""" im ' THE NORTHERN STAR . 5

      Dr M'Douall. We May Not Pass Over The Tr...

      DR M'DOUALL . We may not pass over the trial at Liverpool on Monday last , without special notice . One of the bravest and boldest in the people ' s cause , is separated from us for two years . It is true that many as brave and honest have fallen in the same contest , and many as brave and honest are , we fear , doomed to fall ; but their fate speaking of them generally , although it grieves us as much as that of him of whom we now write , does not excite _inlus exactly the same kind of sorrow as ; his . Our struggle for political power for the

      people—to be actually exercised b y them and for their own actual interest—has lasted now through many long years ; and through all this long period of anxiety Dr M'Douall , though even jet hardly advanced to the prime of manhood , has been one of the firmest champions af the cause of liberty . "We will remind our readers of the broad facts of this case . A Chartist meeting had been advertisf d by numerous placards on the walls of Ashton-under-Lyne , to be held at the Charlestown Meetinghouse , there to hear the Doctor give an account of the occurrences in London during the last few months . The meeting was held accordingly , and the Doctor and other speakers addressed the audience , occupying the time from

      half-past eight in the evening till half-past ten . During the progress of the lecture two or three policemen applied for admission , but the meeting declined their presence , stating tbat so many garbled and false reports of meetings and speeches had been used against the Chartists in London and elsewhere , by the police , that the meeting felt it necessary to exclude them . The determination was expressed with mildness and civility , and was resolutely adhered to . None of these gentry were permitted to enter the meeting room . Their disappointment was extreme . Newton , their chief , _waslwild upon the matter . Some say that his vexation caused tears to start from his eyes—butthis we do not believe , nor does it matter .

      After this meeting at the chapel , the audience , as has always been their wont at Ashton , and in most other places , determined to see their lecturer home , and so they did . They formed into a sort of extempore procession . The Doctor walked first , and more than four or five hundred Chartists followed him . They went through the town ; there was a cheer cr two ; but it was admitted by the policemen , who were afterwards called as witnesses , tbat all was peaceable , and that though some of the inhabitants were averse to such

      meetings , yet tbat no one on this occasion expressed any fear or alarm . Arrived at the Odd-Fellows ' Arms , where the Doctor slept , he took leave of his friends for the night by delivering a short speech , from _fifteen to tHenty . minutes , from the window ; this done , the Doctor said , * Good night , and retired ; the people then gave a hearty cheer , and went te their homes . These are the circumstances forming the frame work of the indictment . The meeting at the Chapel was charged to be an unlawful assembly , —the walking from thence to the Odd-Fellows' Arms was , in the opinion of the police , ' a riot ; ' and tbe speech from the window was called ' sedition , ' and all of it together

      was called' a conspiracy . ' The sedition was the principal point of the evidence . The Doctor , it seems , had pointed out the necessity of carrying out the Chartist organisation , and had illustrated this necessity , and the strength derived from organisation , by alluding to the relig ious and political bodies who have divided themselves into sec tions , classes , & c ; he had shown that the discontent existing was general , and not confined to the unemployed , —that it extended even to the army , of whom some , it was said , had

      revolted , —others had appointed a committee to consider their grievances , and were about publishing a pamphlet upon them . These and subjectsless interesting , were scattered through a discourse of twenty minutes . The Doctor warned the audience against being led into any violence , especially against drilling and training , of which he pointed out the heavy penalties ; and . he concluded by most emphatically calling upon them to support tbe Chartist organisation . * Organise ! organise ! organise !'

      This was the sedition , and the following is the process by which it was made into a shape fit for indictment . Three policemen stood at different parts of the meeting to listen to what was said ; and it so happened that all of them , without , of course , any prior arrangement , fell into a recollection of exactly the same sentences . The sentences themselves were three or four—spoken far apart from each other ; but , by a most curious coincidence , it occurred that all the policemen heard at the same moment , and all recollected at the same moment , exactly the same words , and then all went to the police-office , and , without saying a word to each other , wrote down these sentences . In

      copying them , too , it happened that , though these policemen had no communication with each other , they none of thera forgot , omitted , or added ' a word different from the others . And there was another most curious coincidence ; they all forgot every other part of the speech except those parts which were suitable for an _indictment ; their ears , both mental and bodily , all opened and closed at exactly the same moment ; and took in exactly the same quantity ; and this without any previous or subsequent preparation , conversation , or agreement . The electric telegraph , or mesmerism , perhaps , would really seem to have had something to do with this . \ Ve give the story as it was sworn to in court .

      But the strangest is yet to come . Ttese _renteuces , it will be recollected , were uttered with many sentences and many minutes between them . _Bi-tween the first and the last there would _probablv be ten or twelve minutes . There was cheering * swaying about , and much to disturb the attention . Well , we have told how thev collected , and recollected , as above-Mated , _« ud notwithstanding their difficulties , aud notwithstanding the fact that the Doctor is a very rapid speaker . ho the

      When they came into court , wever , best of the lot was selected for an experiment , to see whether his mind at Liverpool retained the wonderful power exhibited at Ashton . The judge tried hard—it was painful to see it—to prevent this , but the prisoner ' s counsel was inexorable Mr Pollock read from another speech of Dr M'Douall _' s , half of a paragraph contaif W three or four sentences ; he read thein s _A \ v , and was emp hatically c ompelled to do so bv the judge , who really appeared to •» in torture while the thing was progressing -and warned the witness to listen with all his attention ; and then he asked the witness to report what was jast read , _k Ho , ne

      could not . " "A part of it ? '' "No . " "The sense of it ? " * 'No . " .. " . Or . something like the sense of it ? " "No . " And yet on this man ' s testimony a judge and a jury have consigned their victim totwo years'imprisonment . We give the facts as they are , without exaggeration _w comment , and rather understating them than otherwise . The jury also found that tbe meeting at the

      Chapel was an unlawful assembly . We cannot acount for this . The Clerk of the Crown asked , " On which count do you find the prisoner guilty ? " and the quick response was , "On all the counts—on * all . " What was there of an unlawful assembly ? It was held in a room hired by themselves—the Chartists ; no one need go who did not choose to go ; no one was hurt ; no one was fri ghtened ; nothing was sworn to of a seditions nature . One

      witness , indeed , saw something which he thought looked like pikes , but he could not say for certain . Our main object in calling attention to this trial , is to inform all who are interested in the Doctor ' s welfare , that if they support Mr Roberts in the attempt , he will , on tbe first day of next Term , apply to the Q ueen ' s Bench to set aside the verdict . Before that time , indeed , much misery must be endured ; the prisoner is

      now in the gaol dress , on prison allowance , in solitary confinement , and allowed to be out of his cell for one hour only out of the twenty-four . His last words , on leaving the court , to Mr Roberts were , " It is not for myself that I care about it , but what are the children to do i" Ah ! what a bitter reproach is that ! What are the children to do ? Think of that working men and Chartists j and don ' t think only—act 1 Any sums for the support of Mrs M'Douall and her three children—we mav add that she is at this

      moment on the eve of " confinement' '—may be forwarded to Mr Roberts ( Essex Chambers , Essex-street , Manchester ) . We understand that Mr Roberts intends to publish a full report of the trial . The profits on which , if any , will be given to Mrs M'Douall .

      The Victims. Want Of Space Compels The P...

      THE VICTIMS . Want of space compels the postponement of comments we were prepared to offer on the trials at the Old Bailey , and the monstrous sentences passed upon the unfortunate victims of Whig malice and middle-class hatred . For this week we can only find room for the following letter ; in our next we shall have something more to say respecting these mocker ies of " Justice . "

      A VOICE FROM NEWGATE . Newgate , Tuesday Horning . What think you of the dreadful and almostnparalleled sentences passed on the Chartist prisoners yesterday 1 The poor fellows all complain of the Tery harsh sentence they have received , the mode in wbich they were tried , and the manner in which the evidence was summed up to the jury , and marvel where they ( being poor _working men ) are te either get £ 10 or £ i' < to pay to the Queen , or procure friends as sureties for tbeir good behaviour for five years , even should they survive the two years , to which they are doomed to linger under the horrible silent system . Verily , these atrocities cannot be too extensively known throughout the country , to show how

      _jastice is _administered to the poor , and how " the laws of the land are strained and perverted for the purpose of punish _, ia * political offenders . I am convinced of the utter inutility of such State prosecutions . You should he here and witness the firm determination of the men to strictly adhere to their principles , and hear their expressions of deep-rooted hatred to that system which punishes poverty and truth as crimes—nay , in fact , much worse ; for , in reply to a question put to the court by Bryson , Baron Piatt said , he was indicted for misdemeanour only ; had it been felony , he would have been allowed to address the ' court . There certainly is something terribly wrong in the administration ol justice in the criminal courts of this country .

      It will be seen that Powell ' s victims have been fully committed for trial , under the new Felony Bill , the law under which Mitchel was transported .

      Louis Blakc. This Persecuted Patriot, An...

      LOUIS BLAKC . This persecuted patriot , and true-hearted champion-of Labour ' s rights , reached the English shore on Tuesday . He left Dover on Wednesday morning for London , where he now is . Lamenting the cause of his presence in England at this time , we , nevertheless , give him that welcome he is so well entitled to . For Louis Blanc—let the vile Pressgang say what they will—has more than " deserved well of his country / ' he has deserved well of mankind , without distinction of race or clime .

      Parliamentary Review. It Will He Remembe...

      PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW . It will he remembered that , on the assembling of the present Parliament , one of the earliest and most important debates that took place had relation to the operation of the Bank Act of 1814 , the extent to which it had caused the bankruptcy which overtook some qf the proudest commercial houses in England , and which—if it had not been suspended by a special discretionary order from the Governmentthreatened to produce general _insolvency and

      ruin . The Ministry asked Parliament , immediately on its meeting , for an indemnity in ordering such ajsuspension of the hw , but were obstinately bent on maintaining it , though their own experience proved that it had broken down . They proposed a Select Committee of Inquiry into the matter , which , our readers will remember , we said at the time was meant to cushion the question , and prevent its settlement at a time when men ' s minds were still

      fresh upon It , and the recollection of the mischiefs it had caused was receat . As we anticipated , so it has turned out . The Committee of the House of Commons made its report too late for any effective consideration of its contents , and was followed shortly after by that of the Lords' Committee , appointed to inquire into the same subject . Apparently , both of them would have been left unnoticed , had not Mr Herries—himself a great financial authority—thought it to be his duty to bring the subject before the Commons , in the shape of a motion , calling attention to the fact of these two reportshaviDgbeen issued , and pledging the House to take them into serious consideration at an early period of next

      s . The Committee of the Commons and the Committee of the Lords have come to totally opposite conclusions on the subject . The Commons report in favour of , the [ Lords against _^ the Act of 1844 . When we come ; , to examine the facts connected with the former Committee , however , the weight to be attached to its decision is exceedingly slight . As Mr Hume truly said , the object in appointing it was to whitewash those who had a hand in making that Act , and it was presided over by the Chancellor of the Exchequer , one of its

      most decided partisans . The Report , as drawn up by him , and agreed to bj a bare majority of two / was in favour of the Act , but directly in the teeth of the evidence taken by the Committee . Some secrets were let out in the debate , as to the manner in which this result was brought about , which—however it may tell in favour of Sir C . Wood and Lord J . Russell , as partisans— reflects little credit on them in other respects . The Chancellor of the Exchequer—according to Mr Herries—exhibited great "dexterity andintrepidity"in pushing his case , and he complimented him ironically upon his accurate knowledge of times and seasons , and the admirable manner in which he worked the usual Parliamentary machinery for

      extorting a verdict in favour of a foregone conclusion . Lord John , it appears , was equally adroit and intrepid as his Right Hon . colleague . At the commencement of the sittings of the Committee , the Premier could not attend , in consequence of his other duties—a very fair excuse . But , as the conclusion approached , and votes and influence were wanted—both rendered doubly valuable in consequence of the crushing nature of the evidence against the Act which had been lai >! before the Committee j _^ _ord Joh n ' s " other duties" seemed to have suddenly ceased . He was first in his place , and the last out of the door of the Committee-room , and proved not less zealous than efficient in his support of the Chancellor . Yet , with all this whipping and screwing , the Report was agreed

      Parliamentary Review. It Will He Remembe...

      -rf _» e re maJority _we have named ; and , as Mr Hume stated , if it had not been for the accidental absence of two of the members of the Committee , the numbers would have been equal—thus leaving the Report to be carried by the casting vote ofits author-in which ?¦?? lfc . would have been still more indispua- I ™| _- . Rep _« wt not of the Committee , but of SirC . Wood . As it is , however , we imagine its real value is tolerably well understood . The country will duly estimate a document thus concocted . There were twenty-four witnesses examined by the Committee ; eighteen of ihem declared

      in the most distinct and positive language that they were convinced the Act of 1844 was a public nuisance , ; and ought to be abated . These witnesses were not ordinary men . In whatever way they were classified the utmost weight was due to their opinions . They were the representatives of tlie London Bankers , and of the Scottish Bankers—they were the delegates of the great commercial corporati ons , the leading men of the manufacturing and mercantile communities , the principal money dealers , and the men of abstract theory , who have devoted their life to the study of the philosophy of the question . All these men united in one opinion , condemnatory of the Act of 1844 , which was only supported by the

      author of the Act , Mr Jones Lloyd , and those Directors of the Bank of England upon whom that Act confers special privileges , and a monopoly . Under these circumstances , with the failure of the Potato crop all hut general , with the prospect of a harvest under an average , and the Cholera approaching us , we think Mr Herries was , fully justified in calling attention to this subject , and that his premises , instead of leading him to ask that Parliament should pledge itself to give the subject its earnest attention at an early period of the Session , led to the conclusion that immediate" precautionary measures should be adopted to avert , if possible , a recurrence of that wide-spread ruin which shook our commercial system to its centre , only a short time

      since . The Chancellor of the Exchequer was as flippant , as ignorant , and as incomprehensible as usual * but , aided by the willing hacks jh the back benches , and the Peel party ( who , on this subject , are as hopelessly wrong as their leader ) , he succeeded in parrying any division on the subject . The motion is , therefore , left again to the contingency of an Order in Council , after the mischief has been done . A repetition of the old folly of "shutting the stable door when the steed is stolen . "

      We Do Not Know Whether The Affair Of Van...

      We do not know whether the affair of Vancouver ' s Island is a job or a blunder ; Either way it is calculated to add to the discredit which already attaches to Earl Grey ' s Colonial Administration . The Hudson ' s Bay Company is by its very nature hostile to colonisation in the ordinary sense of that term . The nature of their principal trade , that of fur dealers , requires that their territories should be kept as nearly as possible in a state of nature , and be occupied principallyby wild beasts , and the almost equally wild races of men required to hunt and trap them . If , therefore , in view of the future importance of Vancouver ' s Island , as a commercial

      station in these remote seas , it be desirable that it should be colonised at all , the Hudson ' s Bay Company are the worst parties iu the world to cede it to . There can be no doubt whatever , we believe , of its importance in this point of view . In the recent negotiations with the United States respecting the Oregon territory and our North West boundary , the retention of that island by this country was especially insisted upon ; and now , when we have secured it , to give a' territorial supremacy for eleven years to this Company , is virtually to close it against colonisation * besides , by the terms of the bargain , saddling this country with a pretty large debt if , at the end of that period we choose , to take it out of their hands again .

      In The Lords A " Show Debate" On The Sub...

      In the Lords a " show debate" on the subject of African Slavery was got up by Lords Denman and Brougham . From the report of the Committee of the House of Commons on the subject , it appears probable that that transcendant humbug is likely to receive its death blow at no distant period ; and , of course , all the pseudophilanthropists and dilletanUfriends of humanity are ready to rush forward to the support of this venerable piece of deception . But whatever { the Denmans , Broughams , Wilberforces and Buxtons may do , we believe

      the time has gone by for saddling this country with an enormous annual expenditure , for the purpose of maintaining an ineffectual blockade of the coast of Africa , and other equally costly and useless machinery for the Suppression of the Slave Trade . " The whole policy of the _Anti-Slavery Society has been an utter and a signal failure . The millions of treasure that have been squandered on tbeir hobby , and the thousands of European lives that have been

      sacrificed to it in those pestilential climes ef Africa , have , so far from suppressing the Slave Trade , only added to its horrors and abominations . Yet in the face of this fact , now universally admitted , we have such men as Lord Denman and Bishop Wilberforce asking for a stringent and complete blockade of the whole coast . They might as well ask us to blockade the Moon . The one is nearly as practicable as the other , when the extent of coast to be guarded is taken into consideration .

      The Indefatigable Bentinck Has Had A Par...

      The indefatigable Bentinck has had a parting fling at Sir C . Wood on the Sugar Question and his Custom-house blunders , which the Chancellor treated in what Mr Osborne calls his "jaunty" way ; and the House having been already sufficiently dragged through the dirt on this question , had no objection to take another dip in the mud , for tbe support of our Finance Minister ' s vagaries . [ The preceding remarks were excluded last week by press of matter . ]

      Sir Charles Wood Commenced A Fourth Edit...

      Sir Charles Wood commenced a fourth edition of the Budget on Friday night , by stating that he should have very little that was " new " to say on the subject } and he followed that statement up by one which certainly was no news : namely , that he had made " various' ' statements on the subject already . Of that there could be no doubt , and as little that these speeches and the financial plans they professed to expound varied very materially from each other . In his last essay , this " comical Chancellor / ' as Lord G . Bentinck truly styled him , played some strange fantastic

      tricks with figures , reminding us very much of the conjurors and sleight-of-hand folks who frequent fairs and races . First he gave along rigmarole story , which led to the conclusion that the actual deficiency on the ordinary ' revenue for the year would be about 300 , 000 / ., in consequence of the Government having reduced their original estimates by the sum of 800 , 0007 . Remembering that at the commencement of the _session the estimated deficiency approached somewhere to three millions and a half , and that £ an increase of the income-tax , from three to five per cent ., was

      proposed to meet it , we certainly breathed a little more freely when we heard that deficiency reduced to 300 , 000 Z . We were almost about to repent for having lightly e stimated the financial abilities of Sir Charles Wood . We were , however , speedily undeceived . It was only a novel way of looking at the fi gures , invented for this occasion by that ingenious gentleman . In the first instance , he looked at them through a diminishing glass , and then he applied the magnifiers ; the deficiency on the

      ordinary revenue under their influence , speedily mounted from 300 , 000 / . to 2 , 031 , 000 / ., which , to make a long story short , Sir Charles proposes to meet by borrowing to the amount of 2 , 000 , 000 / . ; in other words , in addition to the nine millions added to the National Debt last year by this eminent financier , we are this vear to add two millions more ! The Chancellor , with a candour and naivete peculiarly his own , admits that this is a very objectionable

      course , being neither more hor less than adding to our debt and burdens in a time of peace . But , then , what else can be done 1 He does not know , and as the Government have still plenty of credit left , the easiest way is to « chalk up / ' The whole of the eleven millions , in round numbers , which in two years Sir Charles Wood will have added to the National Debt , and charged upon posterity , are as utterly sunk as if they had been thrown into the Atlantic . He professed to be hopeful as to the future financial prospects of the country . We confess there appears to our mind no ground whatever for that hopefulness . Clouds and storms are gathering on all sides of us , and the disasters of 184 ? appear as if they were merely the heralds of still more fatal calamities

      in the succeeding winter and spring . Should our antici pations prove correct , there will inevitably be an extraordinary demand and a heavy drain on the Exchequer . This will drive the Finance Minister to devise other expedients of meeting their demands-and we suppose , reductions being practicable only by hundreds of thousands , while additional expenditure goes on at the rate of millions , there will only be one termination of theaffair-either in largely increased taxation , or in adding to our burdens b y additional loans , and saddling posterity at the same time with taxes , because their forefathers were so silly as to have Sir Charles Wood for a Chancellor of the Exchequer .

      On The Same Night That The Chancellor Th...

      On the same night that the Chancellor thus gave another proof of the financial incompetency of the present Government , an event occurred in the Lords which showed , in an equally conclusive manner , their general administrative incapacity . During the whole Session , the attention of Parliament has been directed to the subject of Corruption and Bribery ut Elections , Numerous Election Committees have reported that seats , gained b y such means , were null and void ; and these reports , both general and special , have been the subject of reiterated debates . Sometimes the discussions

      took place on the motion for issuing a writ for a particular borough . Then the Government brought in a Bill , called the Horsham _Borough Bill . After proceeding with that for some stages , they dropped it , and took up Sir John Hanmer ' s Borough Elections Bill , as being superior to their own—which was , certainly , no difficult thing to achieve . Tbey carried that Kill through two triumphant divisions , and then dropped it for the Corrupt Practices at Elections Bill , which they persevered in carrying through all its stages in the Commons —

      , where it occupied a main portion of June—four or five weeks . The Bill , thus forced through the Lower House at a late period of the Session , and which was itself a prominent cause of the protracted sittings of Parliament— was sent up to the House of Lords , and , on its second reading , abandoned by Lords Lansdowne and Grey , the colleagues of Lord J . Russell , with an admission that it was so full of blunders that they could not ask their Lordships to sit long enough to make it a feasible or practicable law .

      Thus, The Great Show Of Virtuous Indigna...

      Thus , the great show of virtuous indignation against bribery and corruption , which has been made during the whole Session , has turned out a mere farce . The franchise of several boroughs has been suspended during these debates , and , at last , Parliament will separate without any further settlement of the matter than may be gained by some of the accused boroughs getting separate writs—as Derb y has already doneand resuming the trade in votes , with the implied sanction of the Whig Government .

      In A Debate On The Bill For Reducing The...

      In a debate on the Bill for Reducing the Duties on Copper and Lead , Lord G . Bentinck exposed another of those fabricated and false returns which it is the custom of the present Ministry to get up , for the purpose of carrying their Free Trade measures . Lord George has a happy knack of finding out these things ; On this occasion he showed up Mr A . W , Fonblanque , one of the clever arithmeticians and critics of the Land Company and Mr O'Connor . Of this worthy Whig hack , Lord George said : — I do not know who he may bo ; perhaps some pluralist , who combines tlie duties of editor of a newspaper with those ef a secretary to tho Board of Trade , and , if so , the multiplicity of his _business may account for the confusion of his returns ; but if the miners of Cornwall are to suffer for his blunders , then it becomes a matter of no small importance tbat the Board of Trade should produce to the ccuntry those representations on whieh the happiness , tbe comforts , the prosperity , the subsistence , and even the lives of IOo _. _OdO EngliBh people depend . The question is—these misrepresentations having occurred so often , and always in favour of Free Trade nostrums—whether they are blunders . Are they not frauds ?

      We Must Reserve Comment On Several Other...

      We must reserve comment on several other topics , including Mr Disraeli ' s Review of the Session , until next week , when we shall bring up all arrears .

      £O &Ta%Tr& # €Omsnonaente

      £ _o & ta % tr _& _# € _omsnonaente

      J. Sweet Acknowledges The Receipt Of The...

      J . Sweet acknowledges the receipt of the following sums for the defenceof Dr M'Douall : — £ s . d . From _Kirkby-in-Ashfield .. M .. 616 Mr Gee .. ,. .. .. » 0 o 9 Mr Shepherd .. .. .. » 0 o 3 From the Shoulder of Mutton , Barker-gate 9 2 0 Mr Robebts has received on account of the Defence Fund for Dr M'Douall , the following sums : — Wm . Kilshaw , Elland _ ,. .. 0 0 C T . _Buothrojd , Almondbury _« „ „ o i 6 James Sweet , Nottingham .. .. .. 038 T . H . Simpson , Todmordcn „ „ on 6 From Mr Wallace , Burnley .. ., Ill 0 From Mr Carpenter 0 2 0 W . H . Clifton ' s communication is respectfully declined . An _Ame-jcan _Citizrn . —No room . Diseased Potatoes . —Mr John Flint , of Derby , recommends our correspondent at Lowbands , to diir the

      potatoes out as soon as possible , as the diseased ones will decay , whether in the ground or out , and to boll or steam , and mash them , adding some salt , aud then store them away for feeding stock . Land Meetikos . —The Chartist trills and other importsnt matters , compel tbe postponement of reports of several meetings of Land members . Mr J . Ieonbide . —Tho correspondence shall appear in our next _. The M'Douau , Defence Fuhd . — The balance sheet shall appear In our next . Newcastle-on-Ttne . — Press of matter compels the exclusion of tKe report this week . Manchester . —Mr T . Austin . —Next week . Tbe Victim Fdho . —A few females of Leicester three weeks ago sent 16 s . 4 d . per Mrs CuUey to London , which has not yet beea acknowledged . Our correspondent should have stated to whom the money was seat . John West . —Received ;

      Present And Future State Of Europe. Euro...

      PRESENT AND FUTURE STATE OF EUROPE . Europe is in a state of anarchy and mental confusion , and evidently all parties are at fault , and know not what to do or recommend . They are in that state when they know too much , or too little . Too much to continue in the ignorant , divided , and oppressed condition in which they have so long been ; and too little to enable them to adopt practical measures , to relieve themselves from the evils of anarchy , into which this half state of knowledge has hurried them .

      They now require the aid of cool heads and sound minds , to relieve them from the anarchy in which they are , apparently , irretrievably involved . They vainly expect relief from political changes , wh en these , from the extremes of despotism to the most licentious liberty , with every phase between , have been tried again and again , and ever without success . No experienced and reflecting mind can be satisfied with any mode of government , or of forming the character of any people hitherto practised . It may now be asked , what then is to he done , seeing that these have all signally failed ?

      The answer is , that it is amoral , intellectual , and social , and not a mere political change that is required . The population of the world , arising from a false fundamental principle , on which alone their characters have been formed , have been made to become most ignorant and immoral , and their reas oning faculties so _perverted , that they call falsehood and deception truth and virtue ; and there are none ( owing to tbis

      Present And Future State Of Europe. Euro...

      falsehood ) that understand how to introduce the change into practice . - ¦ ¦••¦¦ , In a former article it was stated , that truth can alone save society from otherwise interminable anarchy and confusion ; and this saving truth shall be given to the public , in ° n 1 _^ o- ; _«* w , so that , if possible , it shall be fully understood , and its immense importance to the human race so fully

      comprenenueu , tnat governments and people cannot fail to appreciate its overwhelming advantages for themselves , and all future generations . This moral , intellectual , and social revolution is now demanded by Europe ; and this perplexing agitation will not cease until the change from falsehood to truth shall be accomplished . To effect this change throughout Europe —for it is now an European _question—it is

      necessary , 1 st .- —That the | governmentsand people composing this quarter of the globe , should openly and ' simultaneously acknowledge the great error on which all governments have acted , and on which the character of all has been formed , and agree to abandon it in principle and practice . 2 nd . —That , in like manner , they shall

      acknowledge and adopt the unchanging law of nature , which is opposed to this falsehood , and commence to arrange a new practice in conformity with this law of nature . And 3 rd—This practice will consist in creating new arrangements , all of a virtuous and good character—1 st , to produce wealth abundantly ; 2 nd , to distribute it justly ; 3 rd , to form , according to natural capacity , a good and valuable character from birth for each within those

      arrangements ; and , 4 th , to enable them to well govern themselves locally , and also to assist , when necessary , in the general government . To those who understand the science of society , the science of the formation of a rational character , and the science of the influence of circumstances over human nature , the above will be sufficient to enable them to have a distinct conception of the practice ; but , to those unacquainted with these three sciences , and their application to practice , no words will enable them to comprehend such a new combination of physical , mental , and moral power , nor will they , from want of the requisite knowledge and experience , comprehend such scientific arrangement for accomplishing , in a

      very superior manner , all the business of life , until they see the whole change in practice . Yet , when these arrangements shall be seen in practice , it will be discovered that they will perform , in a very superior manner , all the business of life , with far more ease and pleasure to the producers , and far more economy to society , than have been experienced at any time in any part of the world , under any government , or by any people . The only real difficulty is to overcome the earliest and deepest prejudices arising from an erroneous education from birth , and the constant inculcation of a false principle in childhood and youth , which , in after life , pervades every association of ideas , unfits the mind to detect error , or to discover truth , when , except for that error , both would be most obvious .

      This is one reason why no party in Europe can discover the cause ofits present general anarchy , while all admit that there is something fundamentally wrong in society . This is the reason why the only remedy for this evil is not perceived or even imagined , although the cause of , and remedy for , the evil , are most obvious , and the application of the remedy to practice simple and easy . But , so irrational are all parties , that they cry out for the practical remedy , and refuse the admission and adoption of the only principle that can make the practice successful .

      _Another difficulty arises from the transition , which is unavoidable , from one principle and practice to another principle and practicebecause it includes a change of almost all preconceived ideas , and acquired habits and prejudices . It is , however , most important that this transition state should be well understood : its condition and the future state of Europe shall be explained in succeeding numbers of this

      paper . Robert Owen London , 29 th August , 1848 . ,

      Receipts Of The National Land Company, F...

      RECEIPTS OF THE NATIONAL LAND COMPANY , FOB THB WEEK ENDING THURSDAY " , AUGUST 81 , 1848 . PER MR O'CONNOR . BABES . £ B . d . Mertbjr , Mor . Nottingham » 16 0 gan .. 19 0 Sleaford .. 0 IS 6 _Portsea .. 8 8 6 Thomas Hodges 0 2 6 Brighton , Arti- Wm Bailey .. 0 2 6 choke .. 8 16 9 ET Hallam ., 1 19 0 Lambeth M 6 1 6 T K Turner „ 0 15 0 Walsall .. 2 16 6 JA Smith .. 0 2 0 Chepstow ,. 113 0 Chas Howl . « 0 l 0 Westminster .. 0 5 6 Wm _M'Mahonrt 0 16 0 Lichfield ,. 2 12 6 GHChatwin .. 0 2 6 £ 31 11 8 BXPBNSE FUND . I Brighton , Arti- Lichfield ., 0 16 choke » 0 2 0 _Nottingham , Westminster .. 0 2 0 Sweet „ 0 16 £ 0 7 0

      Land Fund ••• ... ... 21 11 8 Expense Fu...

      Land Fund ... ... 21 11 8 Expense Fund ... 0 7 0 21 18 8 Bank ... ... . » ... 55 15 6 Transfers , Snig ' s End ... ... 45 0 0 -6122 14 2 Wm , Drxoi _* . _GaaieTOFHE * _Doilb , Thos , Class , ( Corres . Sec . ) _Paiur U'QuTH , ( nn . 8 m . )

      Thb Liberty Fund. King's Cross Northampt...

      THB LIBERTY FUND . King's Cross Northampton , Locality , Mr W . _Munday ,. 0 30 0 Hoshier .. 0 5 0 Gainsborough , J _Halstead , per R Man „ 0 . 50 Payne .. 0 3 0 Sheffield , G Lincoln , J Sharp 0 7 6 Cavill „ 0 5 0 _ £ 1 16 _ J EBBATUH . Two pounds , formerly acknowledged from A . Walker , Edinburgh , was from A . Walker , Hamilton . _JoHU _JI'Cbae , Secretary .

      For Families Of Victims. Beceivid Bt W, ...

      FOR FAMILIES OF VICTIMS . BECEIVID BT W , BIDE * .. Hammersmith , Northampton , per George per W Mundy 10 0 More .. 0 111 Northampton , J Cropley , Crad- per J Gardner ™ 0 0 6 ley , near Stour- Northampton , ** bridge .. 0 1 o per R Clark » 0 0 6 J Thomas , Ditto 0 i 0 A few Chartists , G Pearce , Ditto 0 0 6 Hartlepool ., 0 8 6 £ 1 17 10 RECEIVED IT liND OFFICE . , JHR .. 0 2 6 Mr T Williams 0 2 6 Worcester 0 16 Moses Topham _,. 0 2 0 _jSfl 8 6 BECEIVF . D BT J . H ' CBAE . Sheffield , per G Charterville Al . Cavill « 0 10 0 lottees , per G Bubb . „ 8 5 0 JB 0 15 _ 0

      Fob Dr M'Douall's Defence. Reosivbd Bt W...

      FOB DR M'DOUALL'S DEFENCE . REOSIVBD BT W . R 1 DBR . _Mftt > sneld _, perT A few Chartists , GHibbard » 0 10 Hartlepool .. 0 4 8 £ 0 5 8

      Fob Hb8 100uet. Beoeivsd Bt W. Biseb. Tf...

      FOB HB 8 100 UET . _BEOEIVSD BT W . BISEB . _tfe _wcastle-upon . Newcastle-upon-Tyne , 1 to 10 , Tyne , Mr MuL liarley Hill , _lins . per W per W Downe 0 2 6 Downe h 0 0 6 £ 0 3 0

      Defence Fund. Heobiyed At Land Office. M...

      DEFENCE FUND . _HEOBIYED AT LAND OFFICE . Mr T Williams , 0 2 6 Mr Thompson 0 8 0 Worcester 0 017 6 £ 18 0

      Dzfenoe Of Kb O'Conncb's Seat 111 Fahuxi...

      DZFENOE OF KB o ' _CONNCB'S SEAT 111 FAHUXINT . ' Worcester H a ¦ I e 6

      The Chartist Tuials.

      THE CHARTIST _TUIALS .

      Central Criminal Court.-Augtjst 26.

      CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT .-Augtjst 26 .

      Robert Crowe, Alias Crone, 24, Tailor, W...

      Robert Crowe , alias Crone , 24 , tailor , waa indicted for sedition . The Attorney-General , Mr Welsby , Mr Bodkin , and Mr Clerk , prosecuted ; Mr Parry appeared for the defendant . The Attorney-General , in stating the case tothe jury , said that the present case differed in this respect from those which had preceded it ; that the words alleged to have been uttered by the defendant would not be deposed to by a professional shorthand writer , but by a _police-constable . Thejury must be aware that tbe Government had not aiways the opportunity to send professional _short-hand

      writers to these meetings , and , therefore , they were compelled to resort to other means . In this case it would be impossible to deny that the language used by the prisoner was of a highly seditious character ; and although the fact of the speech being made would no doubt depend upon the evidence of one constable , he was instructed that that constable waa a very respectable man , and they would bear in mind he could bave no motive for misrepresentation . The defendant was a journeyman tailor . He was an Irishman , and a member of what was called the Irish Confederate Club , an association established in this country , and which was in correspondence and communication with other clubs , both in England and the sister country . On his room being searched , a card was found , on which was inscribed a harp with the motto ' Let everv man have his own

      country , ' and' Mr Robert Crowe was duly elected a member of the Irish Confederate Association on the 15 th of May , 1848 / and there was therefore no _doubt of his being a member * of the association to which he had referred , The Attorney-General then proceeded to state tbat the meeting in question was . held oa the 31 st of July , a few days after the rumour had reached England that Ireland was in a state of rebellion , arid that the prisoner uttered the seditious language imputed to him at a Chartist meeting-house in Dean . street . The prisoner was not taken into custody until some days afterwards , and on the

      constable telling him what he was charged with , he endeavoured to hand a paper to a woman , but the constable took it from him , and it turned out to be an address or speech , probably intended to be made by the defendant at some future meeting , and when the jury would have that speech laid before them , they would have no doubt of its dangerous character and tendency . At this time Ireland was supposed to be in rebellion , and the jury were aware tbat , a short time previously , a person named . Mitchel had been most righteously and properly convicted of felony .

      Mr Parry interposed : Surely the Attorney-General ought not to prejudice the defendant by alluding to other parties . This indictment had nothing to do with Mr Mitchel . The Attorney-General admitted he was wrong , and withdrew the observation . At all events , there was very . great excitement upon the subject of Ireland , when this meeting took place , and a policeconstable was directed to attend it , and after he had been there a short time he heard a person read

      something from a newspaper , in which there was the expression' to hell with the Queen . ' This was received with cheers , and loud expressions of approbation , and that circumstance would give the . jury some idea of the character of the meeting aud . the persons who attended it . The defendant , after this proceeding , addressed the meeting and made the observations imputed to him , and which were . - received with marks of approbation . The following evidence was then adduced : —•

      Reuben Brothers , a police constable of the C division , proved the delivery of a speech by the prisoner , on Monday , the 31 st of July , at 83 , Deanstreet , Soho . The defendant in the course of his speech said , The late insurrection in Paris has shown how easily a crown may be crumbled , and the time is now come for men to be brave and the game is their own . I do not care for those persons present who wear other people ' s clothes . I do not care if what I Bay is criminal . I , for my own part , shall do all in my power during the next week to put a stop to trade , and urge the Irishmen in London to rebellion . '

      By Mr Parry . —1 swear I did not copy this statement from my deposition . I bave been on \ y six weeks in the police force , reckoning from the present time , and at the time this meeting took place I had not been more than ten days or a fortnight in the police . I bad attended five other meetings ot a similar kind before the 31 st of July . There was a meeting every night except Saturday . I was a druggist ' s assistant before I became a policeman , and I occasionally made up prescriptions . My salary was £ 20 a year , but I did not find myself . ' My pay now is I 6 s 8 d per week , and the commissioners do not board and lodge me . ( A laugh . ) I resigned my last situation at a druggist ' s , and was for twelve months out of employ expecting a situation upon a railway , but did not obtain it . During tbat time mv father supported me .

      Re-examined . —My character and testimonials were fully inquired into before I was appointed to be a policeman . I swear positively that I made the notes which have been produced before I went to bed on the night the meeting took place , and gave them the next morning to _Superintendest Beresford . I was ordered to go to the meeting by one of the sergeants of my division . By the Jury . —I was not asked whether I was a Confederate or a Chartist before I was admitted to the meeting .

      John Gray , a police sergeant , deposed that he apprehended the prisoner on a warrant on the 5 th of August , near his residence , in Orchard-street , Camden Town . He told him that he was charged with making a seditious speech at the meeting in Dean-street , on the 31 st July ; and he replied that he was aware of it , and he had heard about it the night before . The prisoner then put his hand into his coat-pecket , and took out a paper , which he handed to a female standing by him , and witness took the paper from her , and now produced it . He afterwards searched the prisoner's lodging , and found the Confederate Club card , which he also produced . The Attorney-General then put the documents in as evidence , and required them to be read .

      Mr Parry objected to the written document being received as evidence against the prisoner . There was no proof that it was written by him , neither was there any evidence that it had been written before the alleged seditious speech was made , so tbat it could not be taken as any proof of the mind or intentions of the prisoner at the time of the meeting _. He was aware that in a celebrated case , that of Algernon Sydney , a paper found upon the prisoner had been received by the judge— Judge Jefferies he should state — as evidence of an overt act of treason , but that decision , he believed , was now universally considered to be an infamous decision , and he trusted that this paper would not be admitted on the present occasion , upon the grounds he had urged .

      Baron Piatt said , it appeared to him that the paper was clearly admissible . What were the facts ? A man was taken into custody and told that he was charged with sedition ; he says in reply , that he expected it , and pulls out a paper and endeavours to get rid of it by passing it to a woman standing by . Surely , under such circumstances it would not be said that the paper was not admissible ; but , as to the effect or value of the evidence , tbat was , of course , quite another point , and would form a proper subject of remark to the jury .

      The paper was then read , it ended abruptly and was signed ' Robert Crowe . ' The Attorney-General then 8 aid ( > that in _consesequence of the line of cross examination adopted by the coutsol for the defendant , he had thought it right to send for the . Superintendent of the Division to whom the constable first made hia report , and ho should call him aa a witness . Mr Beresford was accordingly examined , and he supported the constable in his statement respecting tbe report being made to hira on the night of the meeting , and also said tbat he gave him paper to make a written statement , and he said he believed he Baw the written statement by the constable the next morning , but he did bo at all events before thQ examination took place at Bow-street .

      Brothers was then re-called , and in answer to * question from Mr Parry , he aaid that the expression ' To hell with the Queen , ' was read from Borne news _, paper , but he could not tell whether it was part of a report of a drunken person being apprehended in ireland for making use of the expression . Mr Parry eaid be _was'instructed suoh was the fact , and that the odious expression bad nothing to do with the meoting . This was the case for the Crown . Mr Parry took an objeotion to the indiotment , on the ground tbat the _different sentences were all given as though they had been ; oonseoutively delivered , whereaB the evidenoe showed that there were other sentences interspersed with them . This , he laid , he apprehended was a fatal variance

      _^ After some argument the objection was over * ruled . Mr Parry then _addmeed the jury for the defct »

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Sept. 2, 1848, page 5, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns3_02091848/page/5/