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Northern Star (1837-1852), 6th November 1847, Edition 3 of 3, Page unpag

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    • irr ft THE MEMBERS OF TflE NATIONAL LAND COMPANY. \
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      Irr Ft The Members Of Tfle National Land Company. \

      irr ft THE MEMBERS OF TflE NATIONAL LAND COMPANY . \

      \Fy Bew ,Vkd Children, I Think That Thos...

      _\ fy Bew , vkd Children , I think that those who supposed that a cation fr <> m political agitation had damped ' ardour , or diminished my energy , will ! ' f ' _-eavee their mistake when they peruse this k _' s _S ' * _^ w * _*" ° _k _* ° om S- - * * -l _ and Ylan as the enly means of redemp' _^ n from degraded poverty to manl y indepen' j ? _# will need no apology for the amount of _ce devoted to tbe Land question in this I s _* _f , i . _* star But if you should require a will discover it in the fact that

      % son vou no ! *?' wer tban six newspapers , each with its full 1 ' e ra «] ement of ruffians , devoted column after ! ! yJun * ntO abnse _°$ me , during my absence 1 _tfionthe Continent , making their high-minded \ _^ . up les about your pence the pretext for as-¦ _^ Um _*; , not only my conduct as y ° ur treasurer 2 nd bailiff , but actually trying to hunt out of v whole existence incidents connected with _pv private character , as a means of destroyiug TO confidence . When v ou have maturely deliberated upon -je sou rce from whence these fabrications have come ou will understand that consideration fax vou was not even a mere secondary thought , and * that their primary object was to gratify

      their vengeance against one who had raised two of these creatures from positive penury to absolute independence—I mean Hobson and Ardill . The one has assumed the name of the Lancashire Weaver Boy / and , when discovered in his disguise , then assumed his own name ; the other , has heen the Arithmetical Correspondent of" the Gardener FlorisV ( Lloyd's pap" _»)/ anda . yeiy pretty sum he has worked , a very pretty ass he has made of himself . This was the gentleman who kept my books for seven years , and which his friend Hobson declared were falsified by me to the amount of £ 2 , 000 . to bring Mr John Cleave In my debt to that extent .

      I now give you the following letters from Jtfr John Ardill , relative to his friend Hobson ' s node of transacting business . Here they

      are- *— _Lssns , Dec . 7 th , 1842 . It would be right now to have a day at the old machine , Job at the old machine by day and Gregg st tbe new machine by night—Eehsm was a person who used to fold on Thursdays and Fridays , Simxno & ds' brother wetting paper . £ _s . d . This week , there ia ... i 10 8 16 0

      BU 8 for what was done by one man and _t-vo boys . Will Brown working in Hobson ' s shop when not laying on , and PallUter working in Hobson ' s ofilce when not taking off : it should have been £ 2 . 10-. 8 d . The suae may be said of the other weeks . Tours , Joh . v Abdul . "Sow . that ' s pretty well for a beginning , and I pray your attention to the second : —

      Leeds , Dec . Htb , 1812 . ' . I now come to tbe question of wages . I am aware that you said Hobson shonld be paid weekly , but yeu also said that his salary should be stoppe 4 out ef the overcharges . The sooner we get these things Kttled the better ; and if yoa will write me the following or some such letter , we shall , get more right—say , - You are in error about the portraits , the price is 6 _| d _., not 7 _Jd . as yon make it , and that will bring in . £ 750 ., which should enable _nsto pay ready money for everything . I don't understand yanr aceount ofthe wages , nor do I understand how yon make the profits only £ 16- a week , as you state in

      yeur return for the Income Tax . Now , all these things I wish to have explained . ' Now , if you write this and p st it on Saturday , Hobson will receive it on Sunday , and I will answer it , and tbe more we are separated in all these things the better . There are other things as well as wages that want settling . It is not right to charge 6 d . an hour for Hobson ' s apprentices laying oa and taking off In tbe machine room , and tben there ' s insurance ; we pay on £ 3 , 900 . while one half of the property , or nearly so , belongs to llobson , and all is insured in bis name . I am aware that you teld him to insure , but then he should have done so in your name . Then there ' s coals ,

      and ens , and rent—want settling as well as wages _, lam not for COMMUNITY when the payments are all on one side , as coaR gas , and insurance , or partially so , as rent . The landlord comes here and raises our rent—ia- bas done so three times in two years—but he does ' nt raise Hobson's . Hobson took his for five years upon tke understanding that bis rent shonld not be raised , sa all falls n pon ns ; and the landlord says , ' I know my bargain with you Mr Hihson _, but I am speaking abont these premises , ' and the consequence is , that we are paying mr > re than onr neighbours , while Hobson is _paying so _nnchiihe less . Yours ,

      Johx Ardill . Now , my children , I ask you if you erer heard fraud more clearly exposed , or if you ever knew ofa more vifianous way of exposing it . Here were two fellow-servants , professing to confide in each other ; and this is the way that one observes the compact towards the other ; and this is tbe manner in which Mr Ardill represents Mr . Hobson as treating me but I have other letters which followed these , but cannot vet _divufce their contents , as I

      shall need them for another purpose . I have one ;—a statistical one—covering no fewer than twenty-four pages , setting forth the manner in whicii Mr Hobson had discharged his duties as printer and publisher of the Northern Star . I presume that those gentlemen built upon my fear . * , or my weakness—which is forgiveness—when they thus entered the field of strife ; but what will you say of my disposition when I tell you ; notwithstanding the information given of my affairs by my clerk , that I never even mentioned the affair to Mr

      Hobsea , thoushhe was in my employment for three years subsequently . What will you say of one of these men charging me with having falsified my books as to Cleave _' s account , while John Ardill , my bookkeeper , and Joshua Hobson , my editor , knowing tbat Cleave was in my debt to a considerable amount , took six months to arrange Mr Cleave ' s affairs , and without whose assistance Mr Cleave was not able to say what money he paid , or what money he received . It was not my intention to have made the slightest comment upon this affair of Cleave ' s until the arbitration was closed : but as Mr Hobson has thought proper to charge me with so heinous a crime , I will now give you that portion of the evidence which bears upon this point of the case .

      • _"XAlOSATICK OF MRS EIDER BEFORE THK ABBHRATOR . 1 used to wash at Hobson's house , Ardill was living iherc , and I remember when Hobson was discharged from _tbeNoniBUBs Stab—I was there tbe nay Le came in , and he said' John will you help me to pack np , ' Ardill sa'd , ' 1 must settle the books as I supposenij turn will _comeec-xt . ' * Well _. ' saidHobson , * II" you fcelp me to pack . I'll help you to do the books , * and ihey sat down at different times to the books ; tie time I was speaking cf they were in the parlour , and Ardill said , * I mn * t bave them ready , it would

      not do for O'Connor to see them in this way . these figures want altering , and these figures want altering , ' and 1 * aw _thi-m and heard them at tnis three difiVrentdays , and then they took the books upstairs , and . Vrs llobson told me that they were at the book * , acdtLat -he had orders from Ardill not to give thc books to any one without a note from bim . She never mentioned the subject to Mr O'Connor , ner never spoke to him twice in her life , but she mentioned it to her husband , when she heard there waa to be law about the books .

      Cross-examined by Mr _Petersdorff : —No , she could not be mi-taken about the words' settling and * altering , ' sbe was sure it was * altering , ' fer she saw them doing ii—ihey used to go _sometimesinto the kitchen , and sometimes into the parlour , and were always at the b : _n ; fcE , aid then they took them upstairs , and I don '; kai . w what they done with them there . Now , that ' s the only part ofthe evidence I sball publish until the proceedings are over , nor sliould I have hinted at it in the Northern Star , did not this rascally charge , of falsifying -nv books , demand the explanation from me .

      I dare sav that both you and the world at large will be astonished when I lay before you , one ot these days , the most simple , plain , and dear account of the rise and progress of the Northern Star : and the fortunes that have beer . m : ;«! e by it , while it has never left me , n i ' s palmiest days , 4 l . a week to spend . I hav _» now d < : ne with this subject , which has been forced upon me ; and what think you ofthe . injured llobson , writing a letter in the Manchester Examiner of last Saturday , which _^ condudes thus :- —

      \Fy Bew ,Vkd Children, I Think That Thos...

      i ui- _uiBCussion I have not _sewht : I have been dragged into it . The' Whistler * having related some things of and concerning mo that were not wholly torrect , I took the liberty of declaring the truth ; thereupon Mr O'Connor challenged me as a witness apinst him , offering to 'pay ray expenses ; ' and _though I would not meet him on suoh a ground , and nnder * such circumstances , he shall find th at I do not shrink from meeting him on a 'fair stage . ' Respectfully , Joshua Hobson . Huddersfield , Oct 29 , 1847 . Now , then , what do you think of this beast charging me with plunder to the amount of 5 , 000 / . and upwards , snapping at every item in the balance sheet , lying about being discharged for his attempt to put the Land Flan upon a firm basis , my ungenerous treatment of

      him , my fraud upon the several agents and shareholders of the Northern Star ; and last , though not least , falsif y ing the books of the Northern Star , to bring John Cleave 2 , 000 / . in my debt—then reducing it to 1 , 200 / ., then to a less amount , and then , when swearing , bullying , and blustering , would ' nt do ; and when I discovered thatl _^ ould-Bot be let off , offering 250 / . to <« ni _^ to _% 1 sef - And this is the gentle youth , _tnti modest disputant , who has had the _discussion forced upon him , who only corrected afew errors ofthe "Whistler , " forgetting that he had published every one of his letters before I ever mentioned his name , and then I did so no further than merely to give his friend , the "Whistler , ' - the benefit of his evidence at mv expense .

      Having now purged my character- which is dear to you , of every simple charge thatthe malignity of those savages would trump up , I turn to the consideration ef what is important to you . Firstly , my children , to convince you that your father has not lost his energy , let me describe to you what my last week ' s performance was . On Monday night 1 was at the Crown and Anchor , and sat up till three o ' clock in the morning with our friend Mr Roberts . On Tuesday , I travelled to Manchester , and defended myself in an oven , and received money in * a draught , enough to kill another man , until half-past one o ' clock , and was not in bed till four . On Wednesday , I

      travelled to Nottingham , there defended myself in a hot bath , and received money till past eleven o ' clock , and was nt in bed till past two . Thursday , I went to London , and gave the Manager an account of all the monies 1 received for the Bank , and the monies themselves , even to the shilling that a poor fellow paid into the Redemption Fund . I then gave our financial secretary , Mr M'Grath , an account of all the monies received for the Land , and the monies , to the farthing , into the bargain . I then wrote my letter to you in last week ' s Star . On Friday , I started for Herringsgate , to distribute the premiums according to appointment—but the following very sensible address induced me to comply with its terms , and I gave the 15 / . for a corn mill . Here is the address : *—

      Respected Sir , —We , the occupants ofthe O'Connorville estate , rejoice in this opportunity of meet im : our political and social parent en his niissiou of kindness and encouragement te ns , tbe first offspring of his labours in regenerating the condition of the toiling millions of this country ; we feel grateful for your intended kindness of distributing premiums to those occupants whose allotments show proofs oftheir having bestowed the greatest caro in tbeir cultivation , ( as an inducement to all . to act with the like energy and perseverance ) . Bat after serious deliberation we have come tothe unanimous conclusion , tbat under present circumstances this intended kindness could not be distributed justly , and would have

      the effect of creating jealousy and _ill- ' eeling amongst those whose interest and desire is to live in brotherly harmony ; the quality ofthe soil we occupy is various ; the time of our taking possession was not in all cases similar ; our families vary in number ; and some ef the occupants having a small capital have been enabled to employ hired labour ; all tbese circumstances wonld render tbe selection ofthe fortunate allottees a difficult and invidious task we regret that these reasons have caused us to decline the favour you intended , but from your known discrimination we feel confident that you will appreciate our feelings and not take offence at our determination , especially / as we are still inclined to be your debtors , merely _wishing to vary the manner of the gift . Experience has shown to us the necessity of having a corn mill ia our possession , as the common property

      of our bray : we have been put to considerable trouble and expense in conveying our corn to the neighbouring mills , and have likewise beea greatly impose i upon in _regard to the quantity and quality returned when ground , _andyon would coaferagreat obligation on ns by placing in the hands ofour secretary the amount of the premiums you intended bestowing in furtherance ofthe attainment of this object . All the occupants have in our belief , exerted themselves to the utmost in the cultivation of their respective allotments , _Vnowing that thereby they advanced not _osly their own interests , but the success of an experiment destined in their opinion to effect a moral revolution in the social condition of the British empire _, and through that of the worldat large . All are equally deserving , and by acceding te our wishes , all would be equally benefitted .

      Respected Sir , —We cannot conclude without taking this our first opportunity of personally congratulating you on having become a member ofthe British Legislature , and trust that jou will long live to be an ornament and an example to that body . This increase of honour has doubtless drawn down upon you tbc calumny ofthe venal press , but securing ihe i « ve aHd justifying the confidenee of your friends , and the members of the Land Company , you will ever , as in the Dresent instance , be able to disprove and defy _thair calumuies , thus endearing yourself more and more to _ourfiearts , and to the hearts of all true and right minded men . Tours , on behalf of the occupants , Charles Sunn Williams , _Thomas Martin Wheileb .

      On Friday night I returned to London with 25 empty sacks , in which the seed wheat was conveyed to Herringsgate , and on Saturday I returned with them to Minster—very fitting baggage for a Member of Parliament . Now , my friends , I'll describe—not fancifully , but critically—what I saw and what I heard , but I cannot describe what I felt , upon this , my first visit to my first colony . When I entered my heart was very full , I assure you . I saw the plumber and several ofthe occupants engaged in sinking a pump in the well nearest the entrance . Wheeler ' s house is the first you come to , and £ was literally astounded when I

      beheld its neatness and its beauty- In front he had erected a neat little verandah , and all around , for a considerable space , were the most sp lendid and luxuriant dahlias , sunflowers , and other flowers and shrubs , while the interior was the picture of simple neatness . I can ' t tell you what my joy was at seeing our old secretary—our old Chartist—so happy , so contented , and so improved . But as I dined with him off a cold bone of pork , and as I shall come to the most interesting part of this narrative in due time , I'll leave him for the present / . to take you with me to every cottage , and round the whole estate , for I went into every house except Ireland ' s—who lives in London , andonly comes down on Saturday—andOddv _' s , which was locked up , he and his wife _beinn " at

      work inthe distant part of their ground ' . I must inform you that Mr Wallace llussell , of j FaisIey , and Mr Sewell , one of our trustees , i accompanied me to every house , and were ¦ present at every conversation . After leaving ; Wheeler ' s I went to Mitchell ' s , who had been j a chairmaker , neither he nor his wife looked like the same people as when thev came to _; Herringsgate—they were more than satisfied with their lot , and have fourteen pigs ? . The ' . next was Ramsbottom , he had three fine pigs , and told me , that , though he had tbe worst lot he would not leave it if it were ever 60 , asjhe ' never felt so happy in his life . The next I : visited was Tawes , the man of whose condition the lousy "Rambler " made such a report . I said , "Tawes , if yoa were so destitute as the

      \Fy Bew ,Vkd Children, I Think That Thos...

      man represented you in the Nottingham Mercury , you should have made your case known tome . " - 'He ' s a scandalising vagabond , " said Tawes , " there wasn't a word of it true ; he came here when we were busy in getting in the barley , and as he said he was very hungry my wife put down some potatoes to boil for him . '" "Yes , " said Mrs Tawes , "I didn ' t want him here at all , he was a dirty fellow , and when he came in ho said he expected to find meat pies , and fruit pies , and all , the things you said we would have ; and when he began to question me I said , of course it was strange

      at first coming to a new thing like this , but that we were getting to like it bette and better every day . " ¦¦ Well , " said 1 , " you are looking better than you did when you came here . " " Yes , thank God . ' " said she , " and look at my five children , ' ' showing me five children , looking the picture of health , the eldest hot more than ten years of age . "Well , " I observed , "thank God ! I took them out of the workhouse . " " Ay , " said she , " God bless you for it ! " * Now , Tawes , " said I , " there is nothing distresses me more than the idea of having brought a man , and

      especially a man with young chudren , to poverty , and here is a gentleman ,- ( pointing to Mr Russell ) , who has brought 5 ( K . to pay you down for your allotment , and _J'lJ ;| Sr * hil ; yju back to Nottingham , to your native place , as , perhaps , you may do better there with that money . " ''Nay , but , * ' says the wife , stepping forward , "he shan ' t take it , nor any money j I wouldn't leave it if it were ever so , the money would soon go and then wc should go to the _worklieuse again if we couldn ' t get work , and we can always get work here . "Come out , " she said in great glee , "and look at our four pigs . She took me out and showed

      me four splendid pigs . I shock hands with them both , Tawes assuring me that he'd make it do , that he was getting to like it better and better every day . I then passed from house to house , conversing with all as to their feelings , and not a single soul expressed the slightest dissatisfaction , but , on the contrary , all appeared to be happy , contented , and comfortable . Before I conclude I will tell you the number of pigs that each have , but firstly , I will give you a few of the conversations . £ Lamhourne is an elderly man and has a must industrious wife ; he expressed himself , not in words of contentment but in words of

      thankfulness , and when I said , " Lambourne , what would you take to leave ? _'' his answer was , " There'l be no use in naming money , as my wife wouldn't take as much as you could count . " Mr Sewell , Mr Russell , and myself were perfectly astonished , and more than delighted , with the healthful appearance of the children . Watson , a four acre man , who lind advertised his allotment for sale , in the Star , told us that the cause of his wishing to sell was the notion that it would not be large enough for him and bis father , but his father had left , and he wouldn ' t now take 1207 . and be

      paid for the crop , as no one could bemore happy than he and his father were ; he had five pigs , and had killed one that weighed thirty-two stone . Mann , a shoemaker , from Northampton , said he never was more happy in his life ; his wife said she never was so happy—had a cow and five pigs upon two acres . Smith had mangel wurtzel , some of which measured thirty-two inches in circumference , and , as he said , quite puzzled tbe farmers . Evesham , an oldman of seventy-four years of age , and J had the following conversation . He was digging , and I said , "Come here , my child . " I

      shook hands with him and said , "Why , how do you get on r" •« I am a boy againj " said he . "How old are you ? " " Seventy-four . " "What were you ? " "A weaver . " " Well , which do you like , weaving or digging , best ?" " Why , digging , and I learned it sooner . " " Well , now my child , '' said I , "tell me how youfeel ? " " Why , happier than ever the king felt in his palace . " " Well , what would you take to go back to the weaving again ?' " Why , thev often ask me that and I always say 2507 . " ' "What , " said I , "for your two acres , surely you'd take 200 / . ? " " No , not if vou paid it " down in mv hand , and the reason

      why I say 250 Z . is , because that would be a lump of beef on the table that would just do forme to cut at while 1 lived . " In short , not a soul who did not appear more than happy , and Richardson , Cobbet ' s old cutler , showed me two rooms covered with tbe finest onions I ever saw , and a quantity of vegetables still growing , while every man upon the estate had an abundant store of the very best potatoes . I said to Richardson , "Well , now are you happy ?" " Kosciusko was never half so happy in his retirement . Look at my wife there ,

      eightytwo years of age , that doesnt know what it is to be sick now , but was always poorly before . " I said to Fitzsimon , a fine specimen of an Irishman from Manchester , " Well , my countryman , they tell me that you are complaining and unhappy too _?*' " They be d d , " says he , " they're bothering me here , writing , but I never mind them ; we re too well off for them ; sure I never was so happy in my life . Come till I show you my two pigs . I ' m obliged to keep them separate , for they fight—this is the one I brought from Manchester—isn ' t she a fine baist . "

      " Now I'll tell you about the allotments lhat have changed hands . A man of the name of Pimm has purchased a four acre allotment , for which I think he paid 901 . He has a very fine waggon , a tax cart , cart and horses , and takes the vegetables to . the London market for the occupants . He bas built a large range of suitable offices . A man of the name of Keene has purchased a three acre allotment for 60 / . Mr Gamble purchased a four acre allotment for 90 / . Mr Williams , a young man , but an old Chartist , has purchased a four acre allotment for 80 / .,

      and has erected an immense quantity of new buildings , and had bricklayers and carpenters at work . Another man purchased a four acre allotment for 90 / . Hornby purchased a two acre allotment , but I don't know the amount he paid . Wheeler purchased a two acre allotment for 25 ! . Ireland purchased a two acre allotment ; I don ' t know the amount , but those selling have not lost much upon their ll . 12 s . ; 31 . 18 s . ; or 5 / . 4 s . ; while those purchasing , have given to the Bank depositors au additional security of over 1 , 000 / .

      And now for the close . I dined with Wheeler off a cold bone of pork . He said he had sent to the public house for a pint of ale for me . I asked him if it was good , and his reply was , that he couldn't tell , as he had not tasted anything but water for three weeks , as he never felt the slightest inclination for it now . I said , "Nov Wheeler , tell me candidly which would you rather have , tbis allotment , or two pounds a week for doing nothing ? " and his reply was , " Upon my honour , I wouldn't exchange my situation for 3 U a week . " And now , my children , you shall bave a list of the pigs belonging to those represented as starving paupers bv the _piessj : —

      Wheeler , I believe 7 Barber ... » Mitchell ... 14 Watson ... 5 _Raicsboitom ... 3 one killed , 32 Stone . _Taw-s ,,, 4 Cole ••• * Lambourne ... 3 J _^ _rces . » - Westmoreland ... 2 Fitz'imon - Griffi' . fas i ... 3 _Craiviler ... 10 M-rrick ; ... « Smith ... -J Ncale . ... 2 Mann »• 5 Jowett ... 1 and one Co * . Knott ... 4 Ford ... - Keen ... " 4 three killel . Hornby ... 4 Williams ... *

      \Fy Bew ,Vkd Children, I Think That Thos...

      % miih ~ * _Hovue Thomas Smith . „ 10 Q _, mb \* , „ 1 _* ° _, c ° eh ... 2 _TTallwark ... 1 0 Jd _** ... 2 and ono killed . and two Cow , _Kishardion ... 7 Heaton ... j Pimm , purchased of and one in tub . Openshaw ... a Total—one hundred and fifty-four dead and alive . Now , my children , contrast the situation of those thirty-five men with thirty-five of

      their class not located upon the Company ' s land at tbis season of the year , and in these days of distress . Wheeler presented me with a splendid bouquet of flowers , and I gave him something in return that gladdened his heart , a i . i ° ° y ? ith Mr Sewe 11 and Mr Russell , with three cheers from tbe occupants for the Charter , and three for the Land . And now , my children , to let you see that neither the ¦ Whistler , ' ' Ardill , Hobson , Bailey , the Dispatch , or the Devil himself , shall frustrate my views _,-l nowr . proclaim to every man located at O'Connorville and Lowbands , that they shall pay no rent till next November , .. when their

      harvest comes in , and that I will pay the May rent for all out of my own pocket , giving them time till November to repay it ; so that the ruffians shall find that all their hellish _machinations . _;^ retajd my progress , and that of the _LandPlair , shall fail . I have considered it fair to monopolise a large " portion of the Star this week , because it is my intention , to devote the whole o f the next week to my constituents at Nottingham ; and as Parliament meets on the i 8 th , _J between legislation , cultivation , and building houses , my time will be sufficiently occupied . I think that I have now given the ruffians of the press , and their ruffianl y assassins , a dose that will last tbem till I have a little more spare time on my hands . Your affectionate Father , Fearqus O'Connor . Minster Lovel , Nov . 3 , 1847 .

      And National Trades' Journal.

      AND NATIONAL TRADES' JOURNAL .

      I Ui N B '- * ; Vjjly0 ^4 ~ ~ London, Sa...

      N' B- * VjjLY 0 _^ 4 ~ ~ LONDON , _SATUCTAYrN 0 VEMMRr 67 l 847 r „ . _CJg _^^

      Our Bailiff And His Balance Sheet. Tom B...

      OUR BAILIFF AND HIS BALANCE SHEET . TOM BAILEY . The unfortunate Tom Bailey That hung himself one morning in his papers . Be the hole in my coat , Tom , but you are a funny rascal , and , but I'll send my linendraper ' s bill into you , for you make me burst my shirt laughing at you . "Wh y , then , now , you poor misguided unfortunate individual , why couldn ' t you derive some slight consolation from the hope expressed by your townsmen on Wednesday night , that , by the application of emollients , sedatives , and restoratives , you might yet be brought to a state of sanity _. fsobriety , and honesty . But , Tom , as you WILL be drowned , and you aro determined that no one SHALL help you ; and , as you have ventured upon another cruise in a

      leaky boat , you must bear the peltings of the storm . Again , I ask you , you great Tom fool , why you didn ' t stick to the hung hole and the Tent peg , and keep your cock instead of the goose-quill in your hand ? It produced better stuff , Tom , and its effects soon passed away , _awhile the ink from your goose-quill stamps you as an irretrievable ass . You poor thing , l was ready to do everything I could for you , but you won t be saved , and here goes to destroy you . Now , mind , Tom , I ' m not going to hit you one blow , but as they say that grocers' apprentices _spi Surfeited with ' gooddies , ' I am going to ch oke you with your own sugar-stick . Now , _I'bm , here is the whole every word of your last raving , and I leave it to Tomkins , and Timkins to answer-

      —During the period we have been engaged en the subject of Mr O'Connor ' s * balance sheet , ' as Treasurer to tbe so-called National Land Company , we have had several attempts made by certain writers in the columns of a contemporary journal to draw us from our game , by involving us in a dispute with themselves . We would net wish to be thought aoting disrespectfully towards those gentlemen , when we tell them that we have nbt time to spare , just now , to turn aside , to knock such small creaturea as themselves on the head . No ! no ! gentlemen ! the feint will not take with us : we are too old sportsmen to be led off our game by tricks of that kind . Let us dispose of Mr O'Connor first , if you please—which we feel that we shall be able to accomplish very soon , from the raging muod he ia at present in ; and then , wo may , perchance , honour you with a coup-de-grace , if you be still ambitious of martyrdom at our hands .

      In the meanwhile , Tomkins , we will take another * pell with you at the ' _balancs sheet . ' The debtor side—my dear fellow ! have you ever looked at the debtor side of this curious document 1 Well , we felt concerned that you had not ! nor has oae in five thousand of your associates—so as to attempt to understand it . We will therefore try and explain a little of it to you . But first , are you quite sure , Tomkins ! that all the money yourself and brother contributors pay , or have paid during the last two years , into the hands of the local Secretaries—and which are so pompously

      announced , week by Meek , in the columns of the ' Star '—always reach the treasury in full tale , and are appropriated to tho objects you contemplate ? And now we will explain to you our motive for asking this question . In casting up the several sums of money enumerated in the columns of the ' Star ' as having boen contributed by individuals to the funds of the Land Company , for the eight months from the 19 th of December , 1846 , to the 14 th of August , 1847 , we find them in the gross to exceed , by three thousand and thirty-five pounds seven shillings and threehalfpence , the sum acknowledged by the Treasurer through the General Secretarj .

      As you appear , Tomkins , to be _incredulouB on the subject , we will go into it rather more in detail . On the 13 th of December , then , the ' Stab ' acknowledged to have received , on account of the Land Company , £ 179 6 s . CI ., but the General Secretary _passo-l to tbedebit of the Treasurer no more than £ 80 . 13 s . lOd . ' . —what became of the remaining £ 98 . 12 s . 7 d . ? Again , on the 27 th of March the ' Star ' acknowledged payments on account of land , £ 313 . 8 s . 8 d . ; Bank , £ 274 Si . Ql . ; together , £ 587 . 10 s . 8 id .: bat tho Secretary to the Treasurer passes to the

      credit of the joint parties , for that day , no more than £ 526 . 7 s . lid . —we again ask , what became of the other £ 61 . 2 s . Sid . ? Take one more instance . On the 1 st of -May , the' Stab' acknowledges the receipts ol the ' National Co-operative Land Company' to amount , for the week—to Lund , £ 2 , 995 . 2 s . 3 d . ; Bank , £ 111 . 12 s . 7 d . ; together , £ 3 , 106 . 14 s . lOd . Yet the Secretary gives the Land and the Bank conjointly credit for no more than £ 2 , 959 . 3 a . 2 . _I . — dropping £ 147 . lis . 8 d . by the way—what became of this money 1

      On tbe 26 th of June the ' Star' announced the receipts as follows ; Land , £ 1 , 130 . 13 s . lid . ; Bank , £ 168 7 ' . 3 d . ; Land Purchase , £ 440 ; together , £ 1739 . ls . 2 d . Yet the treasurer , through his secretary _, passes to the account of the ' Co-operative Land Company / from all sources , no more than £ 1 , 019 . 16 s . ; creating a difference between the gross sain raised , from the three sources specified , and tbat for whioh the parties have credit in the books oi 1 Feargus O'Connor , Esq ., Treasurer and Bailifl to the National Co-operative Land Company , ' of no less a sum than seven hundred and nineteen pounds five

      shillings and twopence ! Again , on the _, 17 th of July there is a deficiency in the accounts of £ 400 ( within a few pence ) . But we have not epace to quote all the instances separately , of deficfenc * which we have found subsisting between the suras acknowledged in the columns of the ' Star , ' during the eight months referred to , and those passed to account by the Secretary of the Treasurer , —as they extend , in all , to thirty-one in number , varying in suras of from seven pounds to seven hundred pounds I—and amounting in the whole , as we before said , to three thousand and thirty-five pounds .

      Now are we not warranted in asking , in the name of thatportion ofthe contributors to the' Land Plan ' who give us their confidence—and we are happy to say they are no inconsiderable nuaiber—what bas really become of this large sum ? If disbursed in any form—as stipends to Lecturers , or Secretariesas bonuses to Committeemen , or agents of any kind ;—or if Btill remaining in the hands of Local Secrotarif s , as accommodation to them in their business , or otherwise , as an indirect way of rewarding tbeir services , why is it not acknowledged in some way or other—either by note or direct entry ? IB anT case , the absence of more than three thousand

      Our Bailiff And His Balance Sheet. Tom B...

      pounds out of the sums contributed by the Co-operatiro Company during the short space of eight months , can no longer be tolerated without explanation . We know tbat _aecretaries must be paid—that deputies to conferences will be paid—that directors will be paid too , —thnt committee-men , if regularly employed , will grumble unless they are paid , —that agents ot all kinds will expect remuneration , — and that , above all , public lecturers engaged to travel about a country in order to ' beat up' in favour of any cause , wil ! expect , and hare a right to be paid . Let us see then what the cost is in the case of the Land Company , let us have it fairly and openly stated how many thousands of the hard-earned shillings of tbe poor men who contribute towards this

      fund are weekly _swa'lowed up in their business of agencies of one kind or another , Here is on the face of these acoounts _npnnrda of three thousand pounds which has been subscribed by a class , — -the honest industrial portion of society , — for a special purpose , whieh bas not reached its destination , and of the explanation of which sum , up to this time , no application ' s afforded either by the general secretary or the treasurer ! In their name we demand an explanation * It is possible that a satisfactory explanation may be given of the discrepancies existing in the ac counts alluded to . If so , we shall on the part of others as well as for ourselves , be perfectly satislied ; we ask for nothing more , —we will have nothing less a

      . Had we never heK'd , or read , anything of Mr O'Cannor _' _s book-keeping before , —of the management ef his ledger/—of his first bringing a chargo against a salesman for a debt of £ 2 , 000 on account ofthejVor' / ier » Si ( ar , aad for funds contributed for the defence ef Chartist prisoners , unaccounted for , — whioh demand was subsequently , reduced to a sum little exceeding £ 1 000 , —then , as the investigation went on ( to a smaller amount still , and so on , until at length the once formidable claim , becoming . . i '

      ' Small by degrees and beautifully less , ' at last vanished clean away ; and instead of being claimant for £ 2 . 000 , the honest bailiff is reported to have tendered £ 260 to bave the affair closed without further investigation , —we say , had we not heard and read of such matters as these connected with the book-keeping of the'Treasurer to the Land Company , ' nor beheld such discrepancies in his accounts as are discernible in almost all parts of thia balance sheet , we might not , or rather , perhaps , we may say we certainly should not , have bad our suspicions aroused to anything like the degree they now are _ub to its correctness .

      At present we entertain the belief that the whole affairs of the Company , if strictly investigated , would exhibit an instance of the most shameful extravagance and culpable negligence , both in the keeping of its accounts and the application of its funds , that ever disgraced any _estabisbment in this country ; and that tbe whole of the balance _Bkeets hitherto issued by the treasurer are nothing buta record ofjugglery and delusion : that these accounts have never shown what is the true financial condition ofthe Company or the value of its property , by many [ thousands of pounds , —tbat the secretary himself has not known

      wbat was the real condition of them at the time he vouched them with hiB signature—that members of the boasted Conference , at the time they have passed the accounts of the treasurer and secretary , have not known whether tliey were correct or not by thousands of pounds , —and that the all-sufficient , all wise , treasurer himself did not know to ten thousand pounds bow he stood with the Company at the time he was making his boasted declaration , at Nottingham and _clsewhere , _as to the extent of its funds , —we will make manifest to our readers and the shareholders in this Land Association , before ne hare done with the subject .

      Wastefulness , egotism , blarney , dissimulation , gullery , and corruption , characterise every part of its proceedings . We will , therefore , for the sake of our poor deluded , _over-tmWmg countrymen , —for the sake of common justice _t-tVise whe are unable to protect themselves , —for the honest gratification to ourselves of exposing knavery , detecting fraud , and denouncing hypocrisy , —cease not from laying bare to the _sootfe and derision of an insulted constituency the unblushing arrogance , the unparalleled effrontery , the immeasurable ignorance , the disgusting charlatanism of the _memheious political adventurer , whom an accident has elevated into tho seat of their representative to the great council of the nation , —until he shall be shunned by honest men of all conditions in British society ; when we will leave him to all the ignominy of convicted and selfaccusing guiltiness , —his name a terror to many , bis fate a warning to all

      ;' Exalted o ' er bis less abhorred compeers , And _Catering in the infamy of ¦ ears . ' ' Good morning to you , Mr Tomkins . ' " The top of the morning to you , Mr Timkins . ' 'Well , Mr Tomkins , have you seen the last number of the Mercury . " ' Nay , Timkins , Bailey was convicted of wilful and corrupt perjury on Wednesday night last , by a jury of his townsmen , and I'll never read his lies , no more . ' Well , but , Master Tomkins , figures is figures , and how will you get over these here ? ' ' Well , what be ' _s they , Master Tomkins ? ' ' Why , see here , on the 19 th of December , the Mercury says that the Star acknowledged to have received on account of the Land Company £ 179 . 6 s . 5 d ., but the general secretary passed to the debit of the treasurer no more than £ 80 . 13 s . lOd . ; what became of

      the remaining £ 98 . 12 s . 7 d . ? ' ' Why , ! Timkins , thou fool , it went to pay the expense of fifty delegates from all parts _' of England , Scotland , and Wales , that assembled at Birmingham . ' Oh I Tomkins , I thought they came there for nothing , and gave their time for nothing f Why , d—n thee , thou fool , baint they all working men , and where dos't think they'd get money to run about the country ? ' Well , Mr Tomkins , don't be angry , but tell me how you account for tlie next item , £ 61 . 2 s . 3 _| d . on the 27 th of March . ' c Here , thou d—d fool , take this here book of our bailiff in thy hand , and see if it agrees with balance sheet of secretary , and entries in Master King ' s book , that was at O'Connorville . ' £ . b . d .

      To Mr King , to pay meB at O'Connorville ... 80 0 0 Bent of offices in _Deon-strcDt ... 9 5 0 Advance to occupant to bb located ... 5 0 0 Paid Dunnage , on account of work done to new offices of Lund Company ... lt 0 0 Acknowledged too much from llochdale last week ... ... ... 7 4 8 £ 61 3 3 ' Now , master Timkins , there ' s 61 / . 9 s . 3 ., making an error against our bailiff of 7 s . Here are figures , master Timkins , and tiiese are sums paid by the directors . ' ' - Well , master Tomkins , God forgive Tom Bailey , but let us go on to the next item , on the 1 st of May —147 Z . lis . 8 dl Well , take this here book ;— £ . b . a . _PaldHea ' en , Mitchell , and Oddy , oeew pants at O'Connorville 8 0 0 King , for wages Bt _O'Connorville ... 19 0 U George Wbeeler and Hewitt , clerks , ) four weeks 12 6 C Directors , four weeks' wngCB ... 32 0 0 Withdrawn from Bank .. ... -C 11 £ Dunnage , for wotk done at Bank and Land office 33 - - Current expenses for the month .. - ' 0 0 0 £ 147 11 J

      • Why , master Tomkins , if it baint just the ticket , but if I was ' nt fool enough to think that all the men worked for nothing at O'Connorville and in the office , and that the directors took no wages , and that our bailiff paid all out of his own pocket that was withdrawr from the Bank , and that the tradesmen ir London were cutting each other ' s throats ti see who should do the work for nothing , am that the current _expenses , to pay for postage stationary , parcels , porters , and all the restV it , was all got out of the stones . ' ' Thou ' rt i d-d old fool . Why does ' nt write to Lam Office , and pay twopence for a balance sheet ™ then thou'd see what secretary pays Why , man , he pays for all except land am houses . ' Don ' t be angry , Tomkins , but the next sum is such a wallopper for one week , that I sliould like to hear vour op inion of it . ' Well , what is it ? ' ' J Why , 719 / . 5 s . 7 A . ' 'Well , here , take secretary ' s book' : —

      Our Bailiff And His Balance Sheet. Tom B...

      ' .. * . d . Dm , nag « - - _» 11 7 Andrews , for bricks ... ... 2 is a Plasterer and labourer , for school .. S _' 12 9 Paid for sand ... _i 1 1 * _Carrlagfl of bricks ... ... _^ 0 8 0 _Bricklayer and labourer six and a half ' da ?* m 1 19 0 Putnam , on account of privies ... I 18 0 Loan to Mr O'Connor ... .. 0 18 0

      Dr M'Douall , _waeus 2 0 8 Withdrawn from B _.-. uk ... ... Vri 0 8 Gas fit'er _' s bill a' Ba „ k _J >« d office ... 8 0 0 Directors ' iva « _a _.-fourweek * .,, ... S 2 a a Hewitt nnd Wlieoler , four weeks ... y > o _q Annuitants , O'Connorville ... 2 6 0 _Boonbam , ono month's _wajk-es ... ¦) 4 a Gathard ditto ... .. G 00 John Clark , one week ... J- 1 0 ' Paid allottees at _O'Connorvillo ... 275 10 0 _PaidntR . ; dmi . rley 10 2 10 Bent , _Dean-street ... ... ... 5 5 0 Wages to Dr M'Douall * 10 0 Putnam , carpenter , on account of wheelbarrows ... ... ... 19 9 8 Richardson , on accouut of garden seed 1 10 0 £ m 5 0 * M-WH _* MS » . VXow , Timkins , take the two weeks , the 26 th of June and the Srd of July , and you will find it stands thus : — £ .. s . d . Acknowledged In thc Stab fer the two weeks ... ... ... 8 , 705 13 7 _J _Received by the _trsasurcr from socretary ... ... _"¦ ... 2 , 840 3 7 j Which leaves , Tomkins , a balance upon the two weeks of ... ... £ Sf > 8 5 0

      ' Now , Timkins , did your ever see a man ' s nose plainer on his face ? ' Tomkins , what ' s the meaning of loan to our bailiff of ten shillinp ; s ?'' Why , Tomkins , it means that our bailiff never touches the money , and I was hi" the office the same day when the bailiff came ih , in a devil of a hurry and said , 'I say , _Whenler _; can you give me ten shillings in silver , till I ; get down to my office , for I haven ' t a fraction . ' Tomkins , I smell _? brimstone ~ -I see a horrid figure before me , Tomkins—is it the devil , or h it Tom Bailey , Tomkins ? ' It ' s both , Timkins , grinning at the balance sheet . ' " But Tomkins , was there 452 / . drawn in one week out of our Bank ? ' 'No , Timkins . ' 'But how is that , how is that , Tomkins ? ' - . Now Timkins , take the balance sheet , and you will find , 19 th June , £ . s . d . Received sn account of land ... ... 712 1 5 Bank 041 4 6 Land Purchase ... ... ... 50 0 0 l _t £ 1 , 333 5 II

      Now , Timkins , 400 / . of that money acknowledged for the Bank was paid in that week by Mr Dewhirst , of Leicester—there ' s the name for you , Timkins—and it was placed to his credit in the Bank , but it was intended for the Land Purchase Department . And now , Timkins , if you look to the account of the- next week , the 26 th of June , you will see the Land Purchase Department 440 ? . ; so tbat you see , Timkins , these blunderbusseshave been poking their fingers into two fires at the same time . Now , Tomkins , there ' s only one more item of 406 J . on the 17 th of Jul y ? ' f Now Timkins , mark the figures . — Mr Dunnage .. ., ... Expenditure , as per voucher and office 5 0 0 book .. ,. ., 7 9 5 Rent of Bank nnd Land office ... ' 2 10 0 Paid Mr Chionery , for Stamp on Deed S 50 0 0 Withdrawn from Bink , J . Gradj „ . 1 0 0 £ 405 19 g

      • What , Tomkins , our bailiff has . Chinnery down 450 / . ' Yea , Timkins , and a precious sight more too . That ' s only up to that time ; and does ' t know man . that 450 / . charged by the bailiff , and 350 / . paid by the secretary , is only 800 / . ; and the stamp of the deed alone , without lawyer ' s pay , and they don ' t work for nothing , Timkins , come to 900 / . Now , Timkins , how do you like the law expenses for satisfying Bailey , the ' Whistler / and Josh . Hobson ?' ' Eh , dear me , master Tomkins , why ever did they spend all that money , when we could do just as well and better without it ? ' ' True , Timkins , but you remember what a howl there was at the bailiff to put us under the wing of the law . Now tell me , master Timkins , if ever in all your life you ever saw or ever heard of so , plain and simple an answer to these rascally charges ? ' ' Never , never , never , master Tomkins . ' 'Now , master Timkins , just look atthe 3 , 035 / . 7 s . l _^ d . that Old Bailey charges your bailiff with embezzling in eight months ; and see the five weeks that he has taken as instances , and there you'll find that the secretary has paid on account of the Company in those five weeks , the sum of 1 , 432 / . lis . S | d . ; and that 4001 . of that is still represented in the Land Purchase Department ; and now , master Timkins , write to Mr Dewhirst , Greenfield ; Leicester—as our bailiff always gives addresses , and I ' m blowed if our bailiff did ' nt tell me this morning that he'd take the secretary ' s hook , with all the entriesand the banker ' s book

      , , down to Nottingham on Monday next , and challenge Bailey to meet him before a committee of the Land members of Nottingham _,, with the balance sheet and the secretary ' s book . And now I'll tell you what , master Timkins , since figures were invented , no man ever saw such a balance sheet ; and our overseer , Mr Cullingham , said this to me , master Timkins , says he , ' There can be nothing in that balance sheet that has not been paid by the bailiff , but there ' s scores of pounds that ' s not in that he has paid . ' Now , master Timkins , there ' s a large profit on printing , not a fraction for travelling expenses , not a fraction for advertising , not a fraction for plans , engineers , draughtsmen , pay clerks , and the hosts of vultures that always follow the funds of a company . Now , master Timkins , see what other companies have done , and what tliey have spent , and see what our bailiff has done with what he has spentand ifthe money was in other hands , the Company would have ' booked up' long ago , and a call would be made upon shareholders to pay off the cormorants . Now , master Timkins , we have nearly 150 cottages built , two splendid schoolhouses , the finest ' stock' of any Company in the world , and handy to 50 , 000 / . to go on with , and every fraction of it bearing interest from the day it was paid . Now , Timkins , I'll give you a bit of Bailey ' s arithmetic . Now hear the way he professes to analyse a balance

      sheet—We will now , however , spend a few minutes , and it does not need that we should spend many , on the tedious , and , in a many portions , most ridiculous matter , which occupies the six columns ho has devoted to defending himself from tho strictures of the 'Mbrcdrt : ' for speaking in all honesty and i airness , wc cannot discover that in mere than two instances , and both of Ihom admitting of very natural explanation , has Mr O'Connor caught us tripping , amidst all thc ex ' ensivo calculations , ana ' yzation , and _specn-I lation we have entered into _respecting the affairs _, of the Land Company during the last six or seven ; weeks ,

      | The first of these counts is , that in a certain list l f ° _S 1 ei l ! _^ -J ' we ent « cd ' Straw i _^ a _, n .:. _^ V * tU , ° balance aue e- this item _i stood * Cattle and Straw' to that amount . i Now we admit the charge _. as we drew it _. to be liter * ! filly incorrect , but altogether disavow the motive for ' ¦ the entry attributed to w . Mr O'Connor says it I was wilful , palpable , and eorrupt falsehood . ' We _i say it arose from the impossibility of separating the tivo classes of subjects thus , incongruously , put to" ¦ ether . We wore aware of the dilliculty at the time , . but _imagining that it could not create much difference on the general balance , and finding : only a com-• parative small entry for straw besides this , " we v « ttured to put down thc whole sum for that article . Now this is the head and front of our offending in this particular . But if we added -something to the cost of the cattle on this point , the Bailiff himself admits that we were considerably below the amount in the gross sum wo charged . Truly this is quarrel-- ing about straws . ! satisfactoril of

      Having , as we consider , y disposed that count in the . indictment of' wilful perjury , ' we pass to the next charge , which is founded on a quotation by us of an item , i _. yal , £ 80 . ' Mr O'Connor _sars ' there's no such item in tho balance sheet . From this broad , unqualified statement , the reader weuld be led to believe that the name of Lyaj ia not to be found in tho balance sheet at all , with any sum attached to it . Yet , the truth is that tke extent of our einning amounts to this , —and to this osily , that we quoted the sum £ 10 . more than we intended to do .

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Nov. 6, 1847, page unpag, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns3_06111847/page/1/