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Northern Star (1837-1852), 3rd October 1846, Edition 3 of 3, Page 1, TO THE MEMBERS OF THE CHARTIST COOPERATI...

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  • Departments (3)
    • TO THE IMPERIAL CHARTISTS
    • RECEIPTS OF THE CHARTIST CO-OPERATIVE '" LAND SOCIETY. vC
    • consiuuraoie aiann Ai.ap.misg Explosion op FmnwonKs.—On Monday
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      To The Imperial Chartists

      TO THE IMPERIAL CHARTISTS

      )Iy Dear Friends,—I Need But Direct Yonr...

      ) Iy dear Friends , —I need but direct yonr attention to the report of the proceedings at the Crown aad Anchor meeting on Monday last , to convince you that the spirit of Chartism lives in the heart of ihe metropolis ; and that the cause—the chief , if not the sole , cause of ihe treachery of onr rulers , and the indifference of class to our principles , may he traced to the venality , corruption , and baseness of the pnblic press . Every newspaper in London -was represented at that meeting ; every reporter took notes of the _sevtral speeches ; and yet the

      proceedings of the very largest meeting of the working classes in the centre of the metropolis has heen wholly unnoticed by tbe daily journals , with the exception of the Morning Advert iser— -the journal of ihe pothouse—which g ives a few lines of a ridiculous and erroneous report , and the Daily News , which gives as few , merely noticing the occurrence and the Wornsao Post * ditto . After the several well-merited castigatkras that I have given the press , in presence of its re- . presentativeS _f lcannot expect much favour at its hands but I do declare , that there _nevesr were six more _splendid _' spe eches delivered at any pnblic meetin g , or in any senate-house , than those deliveredhy "M Grath , Jones ,

      Harney , Kydd , Dr . M-Douall , and O'Cavagnah , at the laeeting at the Crown and Anchor ; and yet , bnt for the Northern Star , they would be lost to yon and our cause , save the impression—the deep impression , they made npon the audience , and npon me , as one _ofthatan < u * ence . They were all so truly goodihe sis best that I ever heard upon one night—that I know not to which to give the preference ; while I feel convinced as I do of my existence , that their pnblicarjon would have established tbe principles in the minds of many who are now ignorant of them ; and that , you will say , is the _teason for the press of the factions withholding them .

      Now , we have always understood that a newspaper was a kM of national mirror , MtMuDy reflecting ihe several characters performing upon the public stage . However , this opinion , which now appears tobe an error , has heen most unblushingly controverted by the Daily New , in its recent advertisement announcing its evening appearance under the title of The Express . In that advertisement we ind the following words : —

      " BUT THE FULL AM ) CAREFULLY PRE . PARED REPORTS OF THE MONET , _RAILWAY , PRODUCE , CORN , CATTLE , AND OTHER MARKETS WILLBETHE MARKING FEATURE . " "AS , HOWEVER , THE "INTEREST IN

      SUCH A PAPER MUST NECESSARILY BE LIMITED TO A CLASS "Now , this candid annonncement , coming from a journal established to supply the demand for a popular organ , will ai once convince you of what you have to expect from the most liberal portion of the press , which must he written f or class and confined to a review of the monetary , cattle and grain transactioiis . I have spent many years in pointing out to the people the manner in which , and the mode by which , they may destroy any angle grievance , audi am practically carrying out the plan by which I hope to destroy ihe land monopoly and

      labour competition grievance . Believe me , then , that , as it is the pence of the poor , and not the pounds of the rich , that constitute the shopman ' s wealth , so it is the industrious classes who read newspapers at news-rooms , coffee-rooms , clubrooms , beer shops , and pnblic houses , that constitute the circulation and the wealth of the press , and yet , strange to say , although youknow tbis fact as well as I do , yet you prefer those journals which misrepresent you and your cause and cater to your morhid taste for murders and the horrible , to those inwhichyousee yonr strength , yonr power , your cause , and vour interests , advocated and defended .

      In order to effect any one sectional change itis _secessary to bring the whole popular weight to bear upon ii . If , then , yoa would meet and form clubs , denominated NEWSPAPER CLUBS , and resolve npon ejecting from your places of resort , all that misrepresented yon or refused to represent you faithfully , you would very soon have the press under as wholesome a controul as yon have publicans , beersellers , and coffee-house keepers . In my several comments npon the general baseness of tbe press , I serer failed to recommend a partition of your support with those journals which , like the Star , advocate your principles . I have counselled the men of Nottingham to divide the exclusive patronage now

      extended io ihe Star with the Nottinghtcm Review _^ for the purpose of supporting that journal in the advo of your rights , and I now tell the Chartists of Norfolk and Norwich , that it is as much their duty to support the Norfolk Nem and Noncich Gazette as it is to support the Northern Star . I think I may aver , without any fear of contradiction , that I mi ght bave made the Northern Star the source ofan immense revenue if I had made it less of a -national organ and more of a class journal . It will also be borne in mind that I was the first person to aim a blow at the circulation of the Star by the establishment of publie news rooms , and by recommending the reading of the most important portions of its news at the several Chartist assemblies . I did

      this npon the principle that I would rather have a circulation of one thousand read by and to two millions than a circulation of two millions read by and confined to one thousand . If pelf and individual power had ever been , or -were ' now , my object , I would undertake to start in the raoney-mongering market on Monday morning next , with a certainty of realizing £ 10 , 000 _* -year , and upwards , for every year of my existence . And it is a proud consolation to me to know , that although the Northern Star no longer possesses its circulation of 43 , 700 weekly , that , nevertheless , the reduced number is read by three times , aye , ten times , as many as it was in the days of its larger circulation .

      During the existence ofthe Evening Star which I edited free of charge , and discharging many ofthe costs at my own expence , as well as sometimes supplying it with , the necessary stamps , I bad worked the Chartist cause into the minds of parties who had never before sanctioned it . It was taken at many club-rooms , news-rooms , and coffee-houses ; and there was this distinguishing feature of attention aad industry about it , that it presented daily from three to four columns of original matter ,

      commenting upon the leading articles of the Morning . Journals of the day . And , strange as it may appear I have frequently written four columns of ori ginal matter , besides perusing the Morning Papers from seven o clock in the morning till one at noon . Now , I think , that we have in our ranks men who are quite capable of conducting a Chartist Evening Newspaperand , although the existence of the Evening Star materiall y injured the circulation of the Northern Star , yet 1 , for one , have no objection to contribute mv hnte in support of the more active advocate of our

      princip les . In the days of that Journal it was a usual complaint against me , that I furnished it with mueh original news which would have materially served * the Northern Star ; however , I persevered , because J have always attached the greatest importance to a Daily Newspaper . 1 remind you now of these circumstances lest you mi ght suppose , according to tbe usual custom of Journalists , tbat what I aimed at was to substitute Uie Northern Star for papers now taken by the working classes ; whereas , my object is t Induce o ' _-her pa _] _ters , fry your patronage , to compete wilh the Northern Star for your favour ; and I shall alw _ays be , as I bave hitherto been , the first to

      recommend their substitution . I really did not tbmk that it was in the power of eloquence to have _lhraiva the new and refreshing blaze around our

      )Iy Dear Friends,—I Need But Direct Yonr...

      principles , that those six gentlemen succeeded in communicating to them on Monday last . I do assure you , that every standing-place and every hole and corner of the large room in the Crown and Anchor , even to the very stairs , was wedged , and that it was with much difficulty that I made my way through the dense mass , and that I never heard speeches in my life more loudly , more rapturously , more deservedly applauded , while not a single newspaper has reported a single sentence spoken . Now , observe every London Journal has its own special reporter at Conciliation Hall , and its own

      correspondent at every foreign court , that the rigmarole of the Irish patriots , and the cabals of foreign courts , are all carefully chronicled , while the same press does not consider a meeting of the working classes in the metropolis worth its notice . Can yon doubt , then , ihat the proceedings in Conciliation Hall are considered as the support of faction through popular delusion , while the meetings of the Chartists are looked upon as the embodiment of national strength , threatening danger to misrule .

      But where is the use in my writing , if you do not act upon my suggestions ? Let your fellows throughout the land learn hy next Saturday that you have kicked some of the false mirrors from your places of resort , and , take my word for it , the popular action will very soon bring the press gang to its senses , and produce a more wholesome state of popular representation . Your faithful friend and servant , Feargus O'Cojjsob .

      And National Trades , Journal. — — — - ....

      AND NATIONAL _TRADES JOURNAL . — — — - . . _ _. —_ , _> . _ — , — , i _^ _——^™ i .. _——^— . — . _^^ —

      Vol. Ix. No. 464. London". Saturday, Oct...

      VOL . IX . NO . 464 . LONDON " . SATURDAY , OCTOBER 3 , 1846 . . _m _^ r _^ _i ; . _' ¦ ' . ' ii ] p , ye _Shillings anil Sixpence per Quarrel ' .

      # 4 , _$ _***^ - _< _rf _^ _t _^^^ _& _j ** _, _# _*^*»*^

      To The Members Of The Chartist Cooperati...

      TO THE MEMBERS OF THE CHARTIST COOPERATIVE LAND SOCIETY . My dear Friends , — "When famine now stares my countrymen in the face , and when it is on tbe march to your homes , I know you will bear with me while I lead you through the course by which I hoped to arrest the progress of the monster , or at all events to reconcile you to his ravages , if scarcity could be satisfactorily traced to the will of God . I so much hate and detest the tricks and the mystery of the press , that I have preferred treating this master grievance ;—this largest and most pressing questionin a familiar letter , to clothing it in the solemnity of a piece of heartless bombast . The reason I write

      to you upon the subject is , because I look upon you , every one of you , as my own children ; and the difference between me and a hired editor is this : that he will make extensive lunges at the property of others to show his sympathy and prove his humanity , while I would divide my last crust with any member of the Association—nay , with any poor man who really wanted it—giving him the largest share ? . Moreover , I am better qualified for tbe task by habits as well as by feelings , than the mere hired scribes , because I live frugally , I live humbly , aud never spend an hour in dissipation . I devote ray whole time , my whole thoughts , my whole strength , and my whole fortune , to the cause of the poor *

      and my heart sickens when I read the announcement , that a Privy Council has been held to agree upon a form of prayer to address to Almighty God to avert a famine created hy man . And when I see this pious announcement followed by the intelligence that , npon the same day , OUR QUEEN , wbo is the head of God's English Church , is to entertain a distinguished party of foreigners and domestic leeches , who are to be regaled after their repast by the merry music of military bands , I ask you—whose bowels of compassion a fellow-feeling may have opened towards your starving Irish brethren—whether sueh conduct is not anti-Christian , hypocritical , irreligious , irreverent , damnable , and insulting to the Deity ?

      I don't think that I could seize a more opportune time for rivetting upon your minds the value of the plan that I have propounded as a means of securing you against famine , when it is the dispensation of man . God never created a famine since he created the world ; and I'll prove it to you thus : Although some may have died of hunger , yet there was more than enough of food to have sustained them if it was distributed according to God ' s injunction } that he who produced it should be the first partaker of it . There need he no famine in Ireland now . There are oxen , and sheep , and pigs , and oats , and

      fish in the seas and the rivers , and birds -he air and venison in the deer parks , game in the preserves , and rabbits in the warrens , and , therefore , what is meant hy famine is the impossibility ofthe producers of the most of those things , and the ri g htful owners of them all , heing unable to procure them at that price set upon them by those who have usurped them to their own kindly use , and have fenced them from the eye aad placed them out ofthe reach of the poor . Is it not deplorable—is it not horrible and sickening—to read of the forced marches of the military , and the removal of stores of

      ammunition as a means of arresting the cry of hunger ? Is this the grace to which the national prayer ordered b y OUR QUEEN will appeal , or would this be the response of our God , to thecryofhishungeringchildren . Wereadofthewordy bounty of Irish landlords , who cheerfully tax themselves to ten times the amount they mean to pay . We read the sickening missives ofthe old vampire , who has sucked Ireland ' s best blood , and prepared her people to die in humiliating thankfulness , lest

      the even course of patronage should be impeded . Ireland then is starving , and all that her patriots can do , after sacking every poor man ' s hovel , and debasing every poor man ' s mind , is to fall back upon the -frightenedjclemency of those to whose tyranny they had been wont to abscribe Ireland ' s woes ; and in the midst of this crying distress , every missive from the juggler concludes with an ardent appeal for a government composed of those very oppressors , against whose tyranny even the Saxon law in vain contends .

      The mouthing , punch-drinking , ranting patriots , who have drank the cream of every poor man ' s cow , and picked the hones of every poor man ' s hen , and gathered into their own trough every scrap that could be scraped from the poor man ' s platter , now constitute Parliamentary Connnittees _. tofeed a starving people upon the airy and metaphysical nothings to be produced in the approaching session . We are told that the present famine is a dispensation of God , but is God unequal or unjust in his dispensations ? And does he visit them on the poor alone ? The poor who are his especial care ! The poor who produce all , while it will be as impossible for the rich man to

      enter the kingdom of heaven , as for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle- Has God stinted Queen _Victoria , or thc lords of parliament , or the cotton lords , or the parsons , or the bishops ? And is the Lord ' s vengeance so unequal , that the idle alone shall live luxuriously , while the poor who support tbem pine away and die from want ? I tell you my friends , that famine is not the dispensation of God ; and the reason why I Wish to locate you on laud of your own is , to enable you to contend against the dispensations of man . What a woefully miserable picture Ireland ' s present condition presents , as contrasted with the hi gh state of moral

      To The Members Of The Chartist Cooperati...

      dignity and political elevation , in which the Archbishop of Tuam , Dr . McHale , painted it . One root has failed , and a nation is reduced to beggary . Now mark , if you had your land , and if potatoes failed , wheat may not fail ; if wheat failed , oats may not fail ; if oats failed , cabbages , parsnips , carrots , cauliflowers , kidney beans , and turnips may not fail ; and if they did , beef and mutton , and pork and bacon , and milk and butter , and honey and cheese , and , poultry aud eggs , and rabbits , would not surely all be struck with blight together ; and if it was even so , credit which willever follow possession of the land , would secure shelter for each during the rainy season ; and if all

      should fail , then the will of God may be pleaded , his mercy may be appealed to ; and all , from the prince to the beggar , would be suppliants of equal degree , would pray with equal earnestness , and with equal resignation bear their equal share of the Creator ' s malison . This is the reason that I wish to take your fate out of the hands of the profit-monger , and out of the Government of the unjust ruler , who restrict your earnings by the stringent laws of political economy , and increase the price of your food by the rules of _commercial speculation . Bear in mind , that I do not seize the shocking phantom for the purpose of exciting your feelings , for to rae it was a reality seen in the distance . "While chemists and professors

      of starch were engaged in investigating the condition of the potato crop of last year , I told you that they were but looking into the surface ; I told you that , although the crop was of the year , disaster would be of a longer duration , and while they were talking of the colour and co jnplexion of the skin , and the extent to which the arteries and tubercles had been affected with disease , I told you that , however imperceptible through the telescope of the professor , that consumption had reached the heart . But as we newspaper scribes are in the habit of prophecying after events occur , allow me to call your attention to the following passage in my first letter from Belgium , published in the Star of the 20 th of September ) 1845 : —

      I conclude this , my first address , by telling yeu that the potatoe crop has failed in this country . Moie than the year ' s crop has been lost . I must solve that riddle for you , not only is this year ' s crop gone but it will be impossible TO GET SEED FOR

      NEXT YEAR . Now , there is the passage with the last words , emphasised precisely as inthe ori ginal , aud the paragraph concludes thus : — OUR Parliament only has occasional sittings , to " suspend the Habeas Corpus Act , " or to shoot the Chartists . When shall WE have a Land Parliament . Again , on the 1 st of November , 1845 , you will find the following passage , in a leading article written by me — If , however , those , at present uncontaminated _, aro pitted with the smallest portion of tbe infected , ALL WILL GO . Again , when writing upon the subject in the spring of last year , I told you , that the farmers would not be able to discover the real extent of the

      calamity until their e _}* es were opened by the failure of the succeeding year ' s crop . Again , in my letters to the Irish landlords , written so long ago as 1841 , from York Castle , in my second letter you will find the following passages : — My Lords and Gentlemen , " political economy " has no " finality ; " and , believe me , thatthe political economists will never rest satisfied till they make you tenants in your own houses , stewards to your own estates ; and beggars from the Pole , the Turk , the Russian , the Prussians and the Americans , upon your own land . They wish to place you upon thc shop-board , making breeches and coats which the

      foreigner may or may not purchase , according to convenience ; while they wonld make you dependants upon the foreigner for that which you must have three times a day , or starve , or do that which I am quite sure you never could bring yourselves to , as yoa have transported thousands upon thousands for the same—STEAL . Now , do not think the picture over painted . Do not reject the advice because it comes from a " Dkstructivk . " Do not despise it because it comes through the only paper in England which dares to support the labourer against his every enemy , from

      the monarch on the throne who gives _assont to laws for his ruin , down to the policeman who executes those laws—do not . And ever bear the alternative in mind , REFORM or TRANSFER . That you may come to a righteous , a just , and a sound conclusion , is the devout prayer of lour obedient , And very humble servant , Fbarous O'Connor . York Castle , Condemned Cell , 14 th of fifteenth month of solitary confinement .

      Now , I think you recognise the fulfilment of that prophecy in the coercion to which free trade government is subjecting the mortgaged estates of the Irish landlords and making them tenants to their own land . You know that a settling day between us is always profitable , it tends to increase your confidence in my judgment and your belief in my foresight , while thc facts that I am enabled to lay before you lead your minds away from the flimsy sophistry of prostitute hired writers , whose sole attention is directed to thc dressing of passing events in mysterious phraseology , each miserable mental abortion presenting them to his own class of foolish readers according to his own foolish

      imagination , while I present thera to your contemplation in a solid and substantial form , deducing what must be the inevitable result of existing causes . I will , then , proceed with a few more extracts . In my third letter to the Irish landlords you will find the following passages , and although the free traders denied the announcement of Mr . Acland , made to me in June , 1842 , relative to the intention of the mill owners to turn out their hands , you will find from the following extract , that in July , 1841 , the year previously , 1 looked upon the step as a natural consequence of existing circumstances , and that I also predicted want and famine would be the only things that would open the eyes of the Irish landlords . Tbe following is the extract to which I refer : —

      Mr Lords and Gentlemk . y , —As it is my intention to devote this letter exclusively to a consideration of the labourer ' s case ; I feel myself compelled to refer to the arguments now in use , and elisd upon by the antagonist political parties . In order as much as possible to avoid the introduction of politics , I shall merely state thc professed object of thc parties , and the success whicb , by their ascendancy , they hold out as the political thing to be contended for by the people .

      Yon are both agreed then upon the principle , or rather upon the object , which is to better the condition of the working classes ; the manufacturing class declaring tbat you arc the impediments in the way of social happiness ; while you charge your opponents with false pretences , a desire to plunder you and to usurp political power , without offering to the people , as the manufactures do , even a pleasing fiction , such as " cheap food , " to feed the imagination ofthestarving , l our position being good , your cry is— " we are very well ; let well enough alone . Now , my Lords and Gentlemen , it is my intention as assessor , faithfully to discharge my duty hetween you as rivals for power . In the first place then , the

      manufactures hold out something to the people , although itis a delusion ; while you , sturdy and obstinate in your newly-acquired power , have not even yet in thc eleventh hour , offered anything substantial ns a set-off against the manufacturers ' shadow . You hope to ward off their encroachments by Parliamentary majorities , while tbey espect to assail vour granaries with a legion of starving besiegers , whose passions , by the stoppage of their mills , they hope to inflame to an extent unassailable by the voice of reason , uucontroulable b y the influence ef their leaders , and invincible from their numerical strength and their masters' implied consent , to see all law set at nought to a certain point , that point being the exact one where their own object shall

      To The Members Of The Chartist Cooperati...

      have been achieved . To these inducements for _reveneeadd the hope of impunity and the heavy stake of life or death , and weigh them against your _politicaL majority , and your scale will kick the beam .. ' My Lords and Gentlemen , thus I prepare you for a state of publ , mind over which reason , argument and influence can have no control , even for a moment ; when jud gment and common sense shall be overcome by necessity and want . I tell you that your social abuses have led to the anticipation of such a moment . I look to first causes rather than to results _, and inasmuch as I would altogether acauit _»

      drunKen man ot the crime of wilful murder , who in the moment of intoxication had deprived his fellow man of Me , while the act would nevertheless increase my aversion to a vice the indulgence in which bad led to the result ; so with you ; while I sincerely de n ore the shocking results to which tho _uncontrolled powerofmanufactures has led , nevertheless , I cannot banish from my mind the fact , that your monopoly has been the cause of those results . Had you given to natural labour , wholesome labour , and healthful labour , the full reward of its real value , the manufacturers never would have been able to drug the markets of the world with the produce of cheap labour , made cheap by expulsion from the land .

      In my fifth letter I show that the application of a certain amount of money raised , by government , for the puff base of Irish * -land , up 6 n > which the Irish people should he located for ever , at the then value , is the only means by which your extensive domains can be protected against the ravages of the hungry ; and I conclude my third letter thus—My Lords and Gentlemen , believe me that no human being has a more thorough contempt for a mere politician than I have , whether he be Whig , Tory , Radical , or Chartist , except he has some great social object in view . Lock up tho land to . morrow , and I would not give youtwopenee for the Charter

      the next day . because you would have deprived it of its jewel . The Charter can never give the people any control over the land of those countries to which their attention is directed ; neither should it ; but it can give them control orer it at heme , so far as to relieve them from a hand-to-month dependence upon all who make unjust profit by their labour . I have no doubt that in my progress I shall make many enemies ; but all whs know me are aware of the hopelessless of an attempt to turn me from any course that I once undertake . I may be before the public mind ; and if so , I stall wait till it comes up

      to me : but a single backward step 1 will not take . I am moderate in my demand , because it lessens no man ' s store , while it gives plenty to all . I am sincere in my undertaking , and I am resolved to procure the greatest amount of happineis for all , er if needs be to perish nobly in the attempt . My Lords and Gentlemen , I haye now told you how to build a wall of hearts around your persons , and of bone around yeur estates .. You muBt make the people part and parcel of the nation , or they will cease to have any interest in the well-being ofthe country .

      Now , I ask you , if prophecies could be more completely fulfilled ? Did not the cotton lords turn out their bands ? and tell their starving slaves to besiege the landlords' properties ? Has not the very first effect of free trade been to compel the mortgage of tbeir estates , for the sustenance of the poor ? And do not those barriers , those straitened limits , to which they would now gladly bend , stand in danger of falling before the cry of want , and pressure of hunger ? And have I not shown you , that it has always been my opinion that the Charter would not he worth possessing , if the land was locked up from the uses of the poor , and fenced in by the capricious landmarks of the rich ? But , I made a more recent

      prophecy for you at Nottingham . In analysing the construction of the present Cabinet , I told you that free trade principles predominated—that it possessed within itself the elements of dissolution , as Grey , and his relations and tools , constituted a majority of that caliinet ; and-which , from the disposition of its leader , would be kept in perpetual turmoil . Well , what do we now learn ? Why that Lord John Russell was anxious for the immediate assembling of Parliament , but was overruled by the Grey faction ; uo doubt upon the principle of political economy , that hunger , like water , must find its level .

      I do not dissent from this maxim , while I beg to remind Lord Grey , that art can dam up water , and procure for it an artificial level , by opposing artificial barriers to its course ; while hunger , in its full tide _, creates an overwhelming torrent , which no artifice can arrest , subdue , or level . It is unequal in its progress , raging in the valley , roaring on the mountain top , and descending the hill side in an irresistible torrent of uncontrolled and uncontrollable fury ; take heed , you lord with a crooked mind anil eco-. nomical heart , how you build upon the science of political economy as a means of resisting unnatural want , and "lay not the flattering unction to your soul " that your cabinet-breath can stem the torrent , or arrest the storm , created by the wild elements of popular indignation .

      It would serve but a poor purpose thus to place the ripe cherry before you , without pointing out the means by whicli you may pluck it . I think , then , that I have made one gap , and not a small one , in the hard wall by which , for ages , your native soil has been enclosed from your nse , or even from your view . As I told the Irish landlords more than five years ago , I was then before the public mind , and I was obliged to hear the torrent of public anger , until thought and reflection had soothed it into repentance and approval ; and I now tell you that , although I am practically keeping pace with the existing meagre mind of [ the

      day , yet , nevertheless I am as far before it in bold , in natural and manly conception , as I was then . I saw that field of happiness , the gates of which wonld be open to the poor without a ' single loud knock upon the mere approach of their united voice . I know of nothing easier of accomplishment than the achievement of a sufficient amount of land for every man wbo wishes to live upon his own honest industry , —thus thinning the artificial labour market of its idle reserve . I have pointed out many of those means , many of which have been neg lected ; but one has become sufficiently fascinating , even in its sectional progress , to give the world a taste of what national co-operation may effect . I can build a good house , fit for a prince to

      live in , for less than £ 100 ; I can purchase four acres of land , capable of being turned into the richest garden , for another £ 100 , and , divested of thc law of primogeniture , it is worth to the industrious occupant _£ 400 in the retail market . My landlord , Mr . Short , a mechanic of Bilston , in whose house I now live , upon his own three acres , has visited it , I am sorry to say in my absence , as he came for HIS RENT ; but I am told by tliose who saw bim , tbat he was nearly frantic with joy when , for the first time in his life , he entered a castle of his own , and saw it surrounded by his own little territory , and for his title to whicli he said he would not take _JE 400 , anel he was perfectly right . And although forthe present I am the landlord , yet my tenant could eject me .

      T would gladly give him a .- € 100 rather than surrender the spot to which I am so much wedded . However , it delighted my heart to hear of the ecstacy of his , and I beg leave to tell him , that he would not know it , if he saw it now as it is , in a perfectly finished state . In my last , I told you that I was going to inspect a farm of between one and two hundred acres . I have seen it , and have bid for it , and hope to secure it . It is in the very centre of the mining districts , wilh a population of nearly a million of consumers within a circle of twelve miles , and I am now about to start to where you shall learn next week , to bid for another farm

      To The Members Of The Chartist Cooperati...

      of larger amount , but for which I expect to pay an enonnous sum as the land is marrow in the most healthful district , and near one of the best market towns in England . But I don ' t care what I pay for land , provided it is good ; for I have always told you that land really worth £ 60 an acre is better value for £ 80 , than land worth £ 15 an acre is worth the acceptance . Therefore you must look out for squalls next week . I must now conclude with the most characteristic anecdote . At the meeting on Monday nigbt last , there was a man eternally bawling out— " The Land \ The Land ! "W hy don't you buy more land ? " and a person who knew him said , after the meeting , "Sir , did you know who it

      was that was continually calling out about the land V I replied , "No . " •' Well , " said he , "I stood near him , and he was one of the contractors who was disappointed in not being able to make his pickings out of the land . " Now , my friends , you will invariably find that those who have been disappointed in their pickings are the greatest sticklers for economy and rapid action . However , you may rest assured that neither scribes nor brawlers will drive us a single hair ' s breadth from our course . By this time the weather-cock is on the spire ofour national school , and our flag is proudly waving over the first Chartist seminary , and which , without comparison , is the handsomest public building within fifteen

      miles . I am , my friends , Your faithful friend and bailiff ; _Fbaboub O'Connor

      Public Prayers To Avert Famine. The Foll...

      PUBLIC PRAYERS TO AVERT FAMINE . The following is a copy of the prayor composed by his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury , by order of her most sacrad majesty , Queen Victoria , and ordered to be read on three following Sundays at the several places of worship throughout the kingdom . O most merciful Father , the creator and giver of all things , and who hast been pleased to create this world for man's enjoyment , we beg humbly to approach thy t hrone in thc hour-of affliction , to lay before thae our manifold « _"ifferings , to the end that thou mayest be pleased to relieve uft miserable _sinatrs from want and scarcity and famine caused by man ' s disobedience of thy holy will and commandments .

      • o most merciful Father , we , thy unworthy servants , thank thee most heartily for thy manifold kindnesses , and we feel assured that thy bountiful gifts , if divided according to thy holy Judgment , would be ample for the sustenance of thy whole people . But , O Lord , the nobles and rich people have taken all the produce of tlij people ' s land and their labour to their own kindly use < and have left the producers to pine and starve for want ' O Lord ! we bless thee , and save us , we beseech the ? , from those who oppress and misgovern us . O Lord ! we thank thee and pray that thou mayest be pleased to defend thy people from famine caused by neglect of thy holy commandments and law , wherein it is written , that man shall live by the sweat of his brow , and that the producer shall be the first partaker of the fruits of his own produce .

      O Lord ! we toil and sweat , but the great ones devour our produce , and impiously tell us that famine has been caused by thy holy dispensation , but we heed them not , O Lord , because we put our trust in thee , and because thou hast opened our eyes to the evil works of our

      ene-That it may please thee to . indue the lords of the council and all the nobility with grace , wisdom , and understanding . We beseech thee to hear us , good Lord . That it may please thee to reform the magistrates , giving them grace to execute justice and to maintain truth . We beseech thee to hear us , good Lord . That it may please thee to bleas and keep all thy people . We beseech thee to hear us , good lord . That it may please thee te give and preserve to our u 3 o the kindly fruits of the earth , so as in due time we may enjoy them . We beseech thee to hear us , good Lord . That it may pleass thee to protect and defend thy people from kingcraft and priestcraft .

      We beseech thee to hear us , good Lord . That it may please thee to save thy people from overtaxation , starvation , and misrepresentation . We beseech thee to hear us , good Lord . That it may please thee to save thy people from all National Debts , idle pensioners , and standing armies , We beseech thee to bear us , good Lord . That it may please thee to preserve us from all state churches , tithes , and church rates . We beseech thee to hear us , good Lord . That it may please thee so save us from all Bishops Parsons and Church dignitaries . We beseech thee to hear us , good Lord . That it may please thee to defend and protect the poor from all hereditary legislators and corrupt lawmilkers .

      We beseech thee to hear us , good Lord . That it mi » y please thee to defend thy people from all landlords , cotton-lords , and money-lords . We beseech thee to hear us , good Lord . That it may please tlrce to save and defend us from unjust judges , packed juries , and cruel _magistrates . We beseech thee to hear us , good lord . That it may please thee to defend thy people from cunning barristers , _petty-fogging lawyers , and their clerks . We beseech thee to hear us , good Lord . That it may please thee to defend thy people from all false witnessas , hired spies , and informers . We beseech thee to hear us , good Lord . That it may please thee to defend thy people from all soldiers , sailors , and policemen . We beseech thee to hear us , good Lord . That itmayplease th _« eto save us from all distillers , publicans , and brewers .

      We beseech thee to hear us , good Lord . That it may please thee to save us from all Jews , pawnbrokers , nnd money jobbers . We beseech thee to hear us , good Lord . That it may please thee to save us from all bankers , merchants , and brokers . We beseech thee to hear us , good Lord . That it may please thee to » ave us from all rattle boxes , poor law bastiles , and bone crushing . We beseech thee to hear us , good Lord . That it may please thee to save us from all newspapers , magazines , and pamphlets . Wo beseech thee to hear us , good Lord . That it may please thee to save thy people from land commissions and Parliamentary committees . We beseech thee to hear us , good Lord , Thatit may please thee to save us from all poor law commissioners , their assistants , and clerks _.

      We beseech thee to hear us , good Lord . That it may please thee to save us from mob orators , demagogues , and all artful and designing men . We beseech thee to hear hs , good Lord . That it may please thee to save us from all Whigs , Tories , and free traders . We beseech thee to hear us , good Lord . That it may please thee to save us from all patriots , beggars , and jugglers . We beseech thee to hear us , good Lord . That it may please thee to save us from all placemen , pensioners , and idlers . Prom tyranny , oppression , and misrule , Good Lord deUver us _. From slavery , tribulation , and woe , Good Lord deliver us . From railway directors and political economists ,

      Good Lord deliver us . From the hulk , the dungeon , and the tread-mill , Good Lord deliver us . From the loom , the factory , and the mine , Good Lord deliver us . From class legislation , monpoly , and all peculation , Gooel Lord deliver us . Oh Lord ! ive beseech thee to restore the land to thy peoplo ; to grant them strength of body to cultivate it , so as in due time they may enjoy its fruits , and to grant them strength of mind to resist all the evil machinations of their enemies , who would teach them that thou , 0 Lord ! and not they themselves , had afflicted thy people with great sorrow and sore affliction .

      We beseech thee 0 Lord Almighty . ' to grant our prayer , and then , O Lord" ! there will be no moro famine in the land , and thy peoplo will be happy—yea , joyful , and will sing praises to thy holy name—for we love and adore thee , in spite of the machinations of your enemies and

      Public Prayers To Avert Famine. The Foll...

      ours ; for 0 Lord ! it is these grievances which we humbly ' beg you to redress , that cause plague , pestilence , and famine , battles , murders , and sudden deaths , and other disobedie nce of thy holy commandments , which theiawg . ° _* our rulers will not allow us to keep . We bless thee 0 ! Lord , and put o * r whole trust in thee . Amen ,

      [ _Iti _isearnestly requested thata good reader may he selected to read the above prayer a ! all congregation * of the working classes on Sunday next , the people joining in the responses vvith a solemnity becoming the awful occasion . I

      Receipts Of The Chartist Co-Operative '" Land Society. Vc

      RECEIPTS OF THE CHARTIST CO-OPERATIVE '" LAND SOCIETY . _vC

      Per Mr. O'Connor. . Section No. 1. Share...

      PER MR . O'CONNOR . . SECTION No . 1 . SHARES . £ » . i Exeter , per F . Clark 1 8 i Tavistock , per It . Holl 0 11 Dodworth , per T . Croft .. .. ' - 0 I Artichoke Inn Locality , Brighton , per W . Flower .. 1 19 I Plymouth , per E . Robertson .. .. .. 1 15 ( Newcastle-on-Tyne , per J . Nesbett " ... » 2 10 5 _Norwich , per J . Hurry 2 0 ( Cheltenham , per T . Ulett 1 11 ( Nottingham , per J . Sweet .. .. .. 1 1 _< Worcester , per M _, Griffiths .. ., .. 012 e Birmingham , ner W . Thorn .. „ „ 1 5 S Todmorden , per J . Mitchell .. .. .. 180 Kilmarnock , per J . Dick 19 3 City of London , per J . Dunn 0 7 0 Preston , per J . Brown .. .. _^ 3 12 0 Manchester , per J . Murray .. ., .. 2 16 0 Oldham , per W . Hamer .. .. .. 0 18 0 Ashton-under-Lyne , per E . Hobson .. .. 2 2 10 Sheffield , per G . Cavill .. .. .. 12 6 Wigan , per T . Pye 4 6 2 Leicester , per Z . Astill 10 8 Colne , per B . Hey ,. „ .. „ 0 15 6 Bolton , per E . Hodgkinson .. ., . „ 0 15 11 _ £ 37 8 4 SECTION No . 2 . mmm _^ SB . kB . xa . _Ilalstead , per J . Hurry „ „ " „ / HO *) Exeter , per F . Clark „ „ „ „ 2 0 4 Winchester , per J , Gallagher ., „ ., 1 3 fl Tavistock , per R . Holl .. „ .. 280 Artichoke Inn ; Locality , Brighton , per W . Flower 0 12 8 Devizes , per J . Stow .. .. „ „ 9 14 0 _Oonglcton _, per J . Gosling ; u .. .. ono East Retford 116 Chepstow , per C . Walter 1 11 6 Hawick , per J . A , Hogg 15 0 Plymouth , per E . Robertson 0 2 8 Cripplegate , per J . E . Cartwright .. .. 4 9 4 Newcastle-upon-Tyne , per J . Nesbett .. 9 0 10 Cheltenham , per T . Ulett .. „ .. 346 Nottingham , per J . Sweet 0 ID G Norwich , per A . _Bagshaw .. ; . .. 4 4 11 Worcester , per M . Griffiths ., ., .. 0 19 8 Birmingham , per W . Thom .. .. .. 158 _Atherstoue , per C . Vero .. ., .. 1 10 Newark-on-Trent , per W . Walton .. .. 10 0 Barnsley , per J . Ward .. .. ,. ,, 500 Corhridge , per R . Han-ley .. .. ., 130 City of London , per J , Dunn .. .. ,. 16 8 Preston , per J . Brown .. .. .. 3 16 6 Manchester , per 3 . Hurray ., „ .. 348 Droylsden , per do . .. .. ,. ., 3 14 2 Oldham , per W . Hamer .. .. .. 320 Paisley , per J . Lilhgow „ .. 2 0 0 Torquay , per J . Stononian 3 14 1 Lynn , par J . Scott 2 0 10 Newton Abbott , per J . B . Crews .. 20 0 0 Ashton-under-Lyne , per E . Hobson .. .. 0 17 0 Sheffield , per G . Cavill 1 14 9 Clapton West , per E . Evans .. .. 4 2 10 Leicester , per t . Astill 13 0 Darlington , per W . _Custton .. „ .. 078 _-rv-vt . --....... j ,...., _,. ... T n . , .. .... Swindon , per I ) . Morrison .. .. „ 5 6 0 Bolton , per E . Hodgkinson .. .. .. 3 19 6 £ 116 _ 1 » J > FER GENERAL SECRETARY * SECTION No . 1 . SHARES . £ s . d , £ _s . d . Jas . Smith - . 0 0 6 Ely . . . 0 12 6 Mr . Barton - - 0 10 0 Hyde - - - 1 6 6-Wbittington and Pershore - - 2 2 0 Cat - - -246 Totness- - - 1 0 8 Croydon - . 680 Stalybridge - - 5 0 0 Warrington - - 0 13 0 Hull . - - 0 15 0 Hanley - . . 239 Wellingborough . 0 18 6 £ 17 12 & SECTION No . 2 . Tos . Bartlett , Lit- Derby - - - 0 13 5 tleton Pannell . 2 10 0 St . German ' s de Gr . _Sainsbury , do . 0 10 0 Navarre - - 7 3 1 Edinburgh - - 1 10 0 Square Buckley - 0 9 4 r . G . Harney -620 Northampton - 0 18 6 Oarvel ( Scotland ) 14 8 Hanley " - - - 2 4 6 Portsea - - - 0 6 9 Sleaford " - 0 15 9 Hr . Russell , Bittern 1 10 0 Mr . Chancellor _itrood ( Rochester ) ' Yarmouth - - O 4 4 per Willis _. . " 832 Horsley , per Ilard-Fred . Capern - 0 1 0 ing - - - 0 4 6-Fred . York - - 0 1 0 Joseph Miller . 048 _Westminster - 010 4 Ely - - . 14 0 r . J . Rodborn - 0 4 0 Thos . Moore - - 0 1 0 Whittington and Hyde - - - 0 4 0 Cat - - - 4 8 4 Pershore - - 1 0 0 Edward Sullaway 0 2 6 Ayr - . . 054 Croydon . - 0 19 9 Totnes . - -242 Market Laviugton 4 13 8 Stafford - . 054 W . Cuin - - 0 3 0 Hull . . - 0 7 0 Chorley - - - 2 16 6 Shiney Row - - 1 14 8 Joseph Pattison - 0 3 6 Stevenson Cullen - 0 16 Joseph Vowel - 0 3 0 Perth . . - 2 0 8 Warrincton - - 0 15 0 Lambeth . - 5 5 0 Washpound _; - . 1 12 0 j _£ 64 13 11 TOTAL LAND FUND . Vfr . O'Connor , Section No . 1 ... 37 8 4 Sir . _lWheeler „ „ ... 17 12 G £ 55 _ 0 _ 10 Wr . O'Connor , Section No . 2 ... 116 19 9 _tfr . Wheeler , „ „ ... 64 13 11 £ 181 13 8 NATIONAL CHARTER ASSOCIATION . PER MR . o _' CONNOB . EXECUTIVE . Mr . J , IT , Longmend , Cornwall „ „ 0 2 8 FOR WllLLAMS AND JONES . Darlington ., .. .. ... .. 0 3 0 RECEIPTS OF NATIONAL CHARTER ASSOCIATION . PEE OENEBAt . 8 ECRETABT , r . Salmon . - 0 0 6 C . Willis , do . - 0 0 W . Salmon - . 006 Hull . . . 070 W . Lcpper , Itochestei' 0 1 4 FOB MB . FBOST . _Newport , per J . II . Anderson . 010 Williams - - 2 7 6 Brighton . por Flower . - 018 6 W 1 LLIAES AND JONES . W . Lepper - - 0 1 0 Bradford , per Cole 0 o 0 _BVG 1 _STBATION FUND . Oockermouth - 0 3 9 VETE 1 UNS ' , WIDOWS ' , AND orphan ' s FUNDS . Cheltenham - - 0 2 3 CROWN AND ANCHOR MEETING . Mr , Jenkins - - 1 0 0 Mr . Black - - 0 0 G Thomas MaktinWueeler , Secretary . Ehkatom . —The £ 2 acknowledged from _Taisley on the 19 th of Sept ., should have been in the 2 nd Section . In answer to numerous correspondents relative to the amount and object of the Directors' Levy , 1 have to refer them to Rule 21 , where they will find tliat it is one halfpenny per share per month ; that is—6 d . a-year for one share , ls . a-year for two shares ; and unless a fresh arrangement is _mndo by the ensuing Conference , it would be advisable that , in future , it shoulel be paid in advance . T , M . _AVheeler . Sec .

      Exsui.Vc Land Conkj-Reece. — The Directo...

      Exsui . _vc Land _Conkj-reece . — The Directors , in ne cordunco with the powers entrusted to them by the late Conference , hnve decideel that the above body shall assemble iii Uiriniiighiiiii , on the first . Monday in December , as specified in the rules ; they have also decided that the country shall bo divided into districts , containing as near as circumstances will allow , 400 members in each district , such district to return one member to the Conference ; to carry out tlie above decision , it is necessary that ' each _suu-seerctiiry" should immediately make a return of the exact number of members in his branch , including both sections , this return must be sent to me , prior to Thursday , October Sth , the Directors will then divide the country into the requisite districts , and make a levy adequate to bearing thc expenses to be incurred .

      Elucviok or _Riuan or _Diim-ctous _Eiioh branch has the power of nominating _candielates to fill thc ollice of Directors ofthe Chartist _Co-operativeLand Soeiety , such nominations must bo sent to tiie General Secretary , T . M . Wheeler , 83 , Dean-street , Soho , prior to Thursday , Oct . 10 th , ( after wbich no nomination cau be receiveel ) iu order to their being published in the Star of the ensuing date ; lists of the candidates will then be furnished to the various branches , outof which five persons duly qmili / ied must be elected , the mode of election must be by ballot , and tho number of votes recorded for each candidate , in order to the same being laid by tlieir delegates before the Conference . Printed instructions will be duly forwarded to eaeh _sub-secretury upon the receipt of thuSoniiiuttious . Thomas Martin _WiiEEtEB . Secretary .

      Consiuuraoie Aiann Ai.Ap.Misg Explosion Op Fmnwonks.—On Monday

      consiuuraoie aiann Ai . ap . misg Explosion op _FmnwonKs . —On Monday

      Morning Was Created In Sidney Street, Po...

      morning was created in Sidney Street , Poplar , in consequence of a fearful explosion occurring upon the premises in the occupation of Mr . Edward Ileal , lie was preparing a quantity of combustible matter used in the manufacture of lireworks , and whilst so engaged , the whole of the composition exploded with fearful violence , setting the shop on tire , and demolishing : between A 0 and 50 squares of glass . The force of thc explosion was so

      grc _;» t that the unfortunate occupier of the premises was knocked down , his clothes set on fire , awl the flesh in some parts was torn from his inns . The _engines of the parish and School-lloiise-Lane , Shadwell , promptly attended , and the fire was spcftdily extinguished , but not until considerable damage had been done to the premises . As soon as the nre waa got out , a medlcalgc _nlloman was sent for to attend ,. Mr . Deal , ' it was then ascertained that he was severely burnt all over the body .

      Jl

      JL

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Oct. 3, 1846, page 1, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns3_03101846/page/1/