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    M' 4 in York Ardillbooks hero thev fotfr...

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

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    The Following Description O 1? The Meeti...

    _^ _nntrr . ( Tremendous cheers , aHd That ' s it /' _^ m the Land Plan , if thaland is purchased in the * » of trustee" nnta * assi _8-- » t _wer to tbe share - * S ! _T if there is any illegality or penalty attached _*^« h « _-li _ia » •«• «• the * Whistler- or Mr * _thLm et to tbe _Attorney General , and ask to re-- _^^ _Sr fie stated penalties . I shoald like to tee the _^ _wr Bo **' —the" Fot _Boj _'—^« e to prosecute lind members , or prosecute me . ( Cbeers . ) Then , * _* ihe noble fori , who resisted the gut * foot actions _^* _sDortinc ease , I would go to Parliament for & _ja v / _gjlER' for their several suits . But the ¦ _rfifetl er' snd J osh , never told you , that , besides ' v _teuMesome parts of the aet being repealed , the f rmer must get the _coasent of the Attorney _GeneiISoi * he Mnld sue for penalties , _^ cheers . ) The _•^ _Hilaee-Ss Jo sh . _' s vaunted challenge to meet me B- _?„„ j _nn _JT discussion upon the legality of the _^ — _ ji -l __^ - _ _jj <—* l __^ - _ * _m »¦

    _^ jLhsntlr p lacarded through Manchester . He _^ Ton fifteen frothy propositions to be discussed , 81 jfL _' manv more conditions for the arrangement of * f _iLossion . He says that I am not to have it all r ova wav , while , laughably enough , he contends having " it all his way . ( Cheers and laughter . ) { _£ < Wsl- _»"""« - me tere aB ( - _s-J 5 I named the jL What p lace so fit as the place where the _-fSer has been cireulated , and where his witnesses _•^ non the spot . ( Cheers . ) What place so meet _-fj j place where my blood has been shed before ia _tffcce cf our political principles —( tremendous ap-* _f _nse i-and wherethe League ruffians , attempted to Ulived to-day , can the more easily do the bidding j tbeir emp loyers—for , mark me , you have it upon ? BraBceofoneof thc most respectable _gentle-~ B Manchester , and also of a lad , that at the _jtf-acioicr Browner Office thej were in treaty witb to

    " _^ _Tties _araassinate rae . ( Groans , and Oh ! the _fliitins . ' ! Well , bat this disputant proposes , _mojgtlr proposes , tbat he should bare the power to _eml _&& one half of thejury by tickets . (* Oh ! Oh ! ' ) j - , don ' t yon think you see a balance jury of oue j _^ _'lesguers coming to an honest and deliberate _verged npon the legality of a plan which is calculated s intended to take the working classes out of { _jeir grasp ? ___ Don ' t yoa think yoa see those _inpar-^ 1 jurors vo ting their devil an angel , while the more _« ifect and secure I prove the plan to be the greater f _-sld be their hostility , and the more unanimous jjar Terdict ? ( Loud cheers , and * True . ') And ien . _this melter down of men ' s consciences proposes $ meltdown his jury , whom he knows _willbaunajjHioHS to a man upon his side , that is hispack—he _eposes that they should become smaller by degrees , ictil . at last , they are dwindled down to the

    chair-{ -jn aod the umpire , who are to decide npon Josh ' s _x _J-rpretation of the law , about which he and they jr t as hopelessly ignorant as the unborn babe . ( [ aetrs and laughter . ) Bat , yet , he'll meet me , _gdl tell him that I'll meet him too . ( Tremendous _tieers tbat made the _btilding ring . ) Ay , and I'll pie : Mm in London too , or In Huddersfield ; bat it jail be before an unpacked jury , freely admitted to jie jury-box , too numerous to be purchased and too _laKst to b « partial . ( Renewed cheering . ) And , , _ko so fit to hear the law expounded aB those wbo ae interested ia its exposition , or whoso likely to ore judgment against me if I hare juggled , cheated , 1 ~ s < kc * ived them , as the members of the Land Com- j j _^ it themselves ? ( Londcheers . ) But , anothermo-Jest condition is , that this gentle dove prays for _jjgiiDfnee from all other questions but the legality j of the Land

    Plan" An ounce of civet , good _apotoeetry . "" Wist ! charge a mam with murder , and invite htm to _extern , _send f ou aperfumed note to meet you , to ( _jlicnss the breed of a calf . ( Great cheera and _jsEhier . ) Charge a man with penary , fraud , and fecep tion ! with having lived upon the parings from tbe poor man ' s board ! and then invite hira te discuss tie relative Take and property of two tulips . ( Re-T- « - < l cheers and laughter . ) No , no , friend Josh , too are fond of walking into men behind their iarls ; jou built upon my absence , and Til walk fro jou as well as _discussing'the Land Plan . ( Ch eers . ) Was ever sucb a _ _proportion made to tbe acensed by his accuser ? Firstly , to nominate blf the iarv and net touch upon the _question of the

    character ot his accuser . I am too practised a _comctm-law lawyer for that . If I am the bad mas , and ii he is the good man , he can stand in no danger from tbe test of character . __ If he is pure , he has nothing a fear from the sincerity of motive . ( Cheers . ) Now , _fes , tteearemy conditions—the conditions upon _irbicS I always told yoa that I would meet my every icaier—the tribunal before whicb , and which alone , 1 shall always be ready to plead . ( Load and long continued ehcering . ) The next question to which this virtuous editor applies himself is the establishment , management , and conduct of the Northern Stornewspaper . He hat told yen how Ardill fonnd the moi er to pay the first week ' s wages ; how the people have been joggled out of their money and not

    paid any inUrest upon their shares ; and with _charuleri-tic simplicity , and an accuracy peculiar to this logician , he corrects the ' Whistler * in his assertion that it was be who paid thefirst week ' s wages . _'Xo / he says / yon are wrong , allow me to correct yon , it was from John Ardill , and not frem me , that Mr O'Connor borrowed the money . ' Now , my friends , extrary to all role , to all precedent , and all license , Iwill go in to the whole question of the Northern Sis ? newspaper , its resources and its management , the _shareholders and their treatment , and Uie contact and attention of my staff . That paper is , P = rhap 3 , a monument of the greatest fidelity of a portion of the pres 3 of any country . _Seeing that we iMnired an organ , I undertook to establish that

    _paper in November , 1837 , upoa condition that those for whose especial advancement it was intended should take up 800 shares at £ 1 . a share , and for viich the enormous Interest of ten per eent . should te paid , besides receiving back their principal on tee months' notice . Tbe SOO shares were set taken np . Bat sow prepare your ears for a _comoercialpn-zle-that paper , so often _enda"gered by tbe _rascality of my representatives , bas paid off -early every share with a stipulated interest of ten percent , up to the day of withdrawal , and my elerk is now here to give an _acciint of what he _understands much better than I do , namely , the treatment _oftiose shareholders . ( Lond cheers . ) Well , Mr Hobson tells yon that the machine was taken out of

    P _* ve , and he has teld the arbitrator , in Cleave _s ose , that he was always finding money for ma ; sow observe , dates are stubborn facts , and I beg the reporter ofthe Examiner to be accurate in his figures . In April , 1836 I sold one estate to Mr Barrington , tbe a _^ ent of Lord Monteagle , for £ 3 , 600 : Isold £ 2 . 000 . worth of timber for a thousand pounds , on condition that itthonld not be cat daring my life fine , and my answer to this charge of the * _WhistkrV _is _. Hhat I never sold a stick off my estate ; I received £ 500 . that was due to me , and in that year receive j lor _horses , cattle , stock , and harvest , abont £ 1 . 000 . Xow there is £ 6 , 100 . I paid a Mr Large _anortsageof £ 1 , 000 . 1 owed no money , and I should fe giid to know if I expended the balance . £ 5 , 100 .

    hum April , 1836 . to November , 1837 . ( Loud cheers . ) Or I < _Lnnld be glad to know if any man living would _teif _*] enough to establish a newspaper , not having * fcere rith to pay the first week ' s wages . ( Laugh- ! te and cheers . ) But suppose it was so ? What then ! K' it magically convert paupers into capitalists ? for Sir Rider will tell yon , better than I can , _fe c > nditionof Ardill and Hobson when they entered _fij -crrice—neither of tbem had a second coat to bis back—while , during the time llobson was-doing his - n business at Huddersfield , he was reeeiving a alary of £ 520 . a year from the star . ( 'Oh ! oh ! ' and _"isme . _') Yes , £ 6 a week from me , and £ 4 . a week profit upon the labour of his apprentices , forced upon ft M'Gowan by contract , as journeymes , by tbis

    _"Scklerfor the independence of labour . ( Groans . ) Sow these are the men who , failing to ruin the Northern Star , have become the champions of the P «> I'le . Well then , I ask yon , if ever paper _with-^ the assaults that have been made upon _*^ t journal by its trusted conductors , and I ask ? - > n if it is not a commercial phenomenon , that _w the admitted distress of its proprietor , for _shid . I never denied it , —( cheers and " riever , 'V--isit _*^ t a commercial phenomenon to withstand the _astttilts ofthis rabid rascal and to hare paid £ 10 per _teat , upon the shares and to have repaid the prinei-P _* l . I _havenot dene with this Star account yet . _Ubb-EOjjcsmetomewithouta sixpence , and although this " _Suited foolwould have thrown _disreputeupon weavers

    _^ utailnrs as my associates in the directory , he was * ' p ot boy' at the bowling green of the George Inn , j _JhiddersSeld— ( roars of laughter)—and , to show jou ' " tin my estimation that was no disparagement to a . l made him first publisher , and then editor of _^ _e _Northern . Star , and to show yoa what the _Te-pro-«* aive system real / y i ? when under good _management like Messrs Ardill and Hobson , I shall now _oW your _atterticn to the lucubrations of Mr John _-tfdill _. _' _as correspondent of the Gardener Florist , and n _? on whose _escalations the' Whisthr' so implicitly this as proof of the impossibility of locating all the members of the society , basing his argument upon ie faet , that land becomes deteriorated in _proporjitfli as labour is expended upon it . (* Oh , ob , ' and _ko-rht er . ) Well , bat so it is ; an estate bought for _Si . 000 , with thirty , forty , or fifty labourers placed "Pan it will only sell for £ 5 , 000 . —( langhter ) -aEd _ft

    tr . the estate bought for £ 5 , 000 . only sells for f- . l _* ri , andsoon , nntil , after a few transfers , the _^ t becomes less than nothing . ( Laughter and _th-ors . ) He strokes it away as the Irish poacher _ftsfced thc woodcock till it became a snipe . _Jphwrs and laushter . ) Well , bnt that ' s only tte _« eory of this political economist . I'll shaw j on his _to -tice . as proof of the reprodactive system . He _j *" De _' ome in November , 1837 , without a guinea in 5 ? Pocket , npon a-alary of £ 100 a year , and ra _J _^ mber , 1840—as my books will show yon—I owed j * " ! Ardill . by this cash book , in September , 1840 , _^ _estnaHi , em I _ as _wcy _ag I ean decip her figures , J _^ h the reporters and book-keepers on the plat-JS "ill oblige mc bv aiding me in—I then cwed rif _« _eerodnEt - political economist the small sum _^ 2 . 313 . Gs . 61 . ( Shouts of Shame , shame , ' and _^ fi _ease sensation . ) No , no , don't cry 'shame , ' I am _^ enargin 2 Mr Ardill , I am only proving the _valne r _« e re productive system . Bnt you haven't heard 408 half of its powersyet . In 1839 I was first tried

    The Following Description O 1? The Meeti...

    in York : by Mr Ardill ' s books ( hero thev are , ) he tben owed me a balance of £ 120 . I am then tried and _oanvioted—the Convention ia Bitting ,. the sacral holiday comes ci , I make a tour through Scotland and England to raise money to defend Frest / the Monmouth trials come on , then the Liverpool trials in April , where I am again to be tried , then I am brought before tho Queen ' s Bench in May , then I am sent to York Castle , and the result of these _thirtean months of trial , persecution , and incarcera tion is , that lowe my clerk npon a salary of £ 100 a year , for less than three years' service , £ 2 , 345 . ( _lremsndous sensation and cries of - Shame . ') Again , Isay , don t cry shame , ' as I am _mantioning these _thinss asthe _' _Whistter' says I would be afraid te * Wh- *? _^ » the witness box , but I'll give the Whistler a hundred pounds if he would pnt him there r __* v _* _ _r . I ™ , ir— _ . m __ m . _ M *_ - __*) . _ .-. _« . _ _ . _*

    . But it so happens that I have had him there ence before , and new . mark , I pray you , the remit of nis exa-Binatwn . He swears before Baton Rolfe and a special jury , at Lancaster , that-so far from having received any money from the A _' ortJern Star-tbat I _paio-Jmoney out ef my own property—property _. mind , ol which I had none , to sopport this rery Northern Star , upon the shares ef which I was paying ten per < ent . interest , and aobody claimed kindred with it then ( Cheers , and shouts of'bravo . ' ) . But that ' s not all the value ofthe reproductive sjBtem . John Ardill , before he was with me five years , upon a £ 100 a year , had built ten or twelve splendid cottages , had purchased some houses , had taken a farm , at £ 4 an aere , from Mr W . Becket , had stocked it with twelve or fourteen o tbe very best cows , had styes full of pigs , ahorse , mule , and all tbe best of implements , had furnished a honse—which I coaldn't do—had

    beeome a shareholder ia many railway lines , had built a factory for his brother—wha was a mechanic on strike when Ardill came to me—and who , in feur yean alter , employed 150 mechanics as a master . ArdiJlbecameacardmanafactarerhimseIf , parcbased several expensive machines , and built himself a factory . He had a large banking account , and a considerable sam of money at interest , wkile in April . 1845 , he preferred the security of the pauper Hobson to the security of the pauperised O'Connor—preferred the clerk to tbe preprieter—and at that time bringing me in debt another large sum , he insisted upon Hobson joining in a bond for £ 500 . ( Here followed a scene that is _indeseribable , shouts of ' ah ! ah ! ah ! ' and ' shame . ' ) No , my friends . I am only

    describing te you the value of the reproductive system , and having instanced it in the economical management of Mr Ardill , 1 now turn to the science of Hobson . This man came to me without a fraction , borrowed the money to ooRie te LsedB ; here are two letters from John Ardill , the one dated the 7 th of December , 1642 , and the otber , tbe 14 th of Decem ber , 1842 , in whieh he describes Hobson ' s character as a servant , showing—whieh I don ' t believe mind , ( laughter . )—that he is systematically shearing me ont of £ 3 . a week in one department , and that Hobson bad tbea property insured to the amount of £ 1 , 500 . (* Oh ! oh ! ' ) Yes , aud you shall have these twa letters when Cleave ' s arbitration is over , and then the « Whistler * will have JohB Ardill

    in the witness box coavieting Joshua Hobson of weekly fraud , and telling yoa what his income is . In one of these letters he dictates one for me to copy and address to him at Leeds . He says , ' pest it on Saturday , Hobson will receive it en Sunday , aod then I'll answer it , ' and then he goes on to write the most insidious , the most cunning , the most artful and treacherous letter that ever was written by one servast as an accusation against another . In one passage of one of these letters there is a most curions _sentence , coming from a leader ot the Socialist party ; he says , 'lam not for community when all the payments are upon one side , like insurance , coals , wages , and gas , er partially so like rent , ' and then he goes on to describe how Hobson has secured his

    own premises at a diminished rent , by an _nnderstandins with the landlord that ay rent ' jsbould be raised , which it has been , he says , three times ; and then he tells me of- tbe injustice of giving mere boys ( Hobson s apprentices ) sixpence an hour while working in the machine room . ( Shoutsof 'Shame , shame . ' ) Oh , bat I assure yoa tbis is bat a sample of the sack , _forlhaveseoresofmore carious letters which I will not now hint at , and one especially which I think will be a reason for Mr John Ardill not offering himself a witness in Mr Cleave'scase . And now I turn to that case—the strongest ease of libel against every paper that has published it . The ' Whistler * says " , upon the authority ef Joshua Hobson . that I made a demand of £ 2 , 000 . against John Cleave , and

    then reduced it to £ 1 . 200 ., and when a Mr Barry and the solicitors of Mr Cleave discovered that the books had been falsified , ma _" " e fraudulent , and altered _, and when ) I discovered that swearing , bullying _, and storming weuld not save rae from the heavy responsibility of the result , that I then reduced my demand to a less amount , and that finally dreading the consequences ef a prosecution for fraad and perjury , mind —( shouts of'Shame , shame , *)—tbatthenl offered £ 250 . to be let off . Now , I claim a large _balancC ; from Mr Cleave , who wasindebted to everybody , while Hobson , as the manager ef his accounts , with the aid of my clerk . Mr Jobn Ardill ( and who is Cleave ' s only witness , )—this Hobson , my ' editor , is _Cleavfs _accountant and his only witness , and he has

    sworn that I am indebted to Cleave in a sum exceeding £ 600 . ( ' Shame , shame . ' ) Bat mark the anomaly ; Cleave is indebted te everybody ; to papermakers and stationers ; and his shop boy , at 10 s . a week waeea , produces a note from Cleave ta the meeting ofhis creditors for £ 82 . 101 . or 165 weeks ' wages . ( Shouts of 'Shame , shame . ' ) Well , but while this said Cleave is ranging ia debt with parties upon whose good opinion of him his whole business depends , Hobson swears that he has over paid Dr M'Douall £ 80 , the Defence Fond £ 12 . His book _aoaonnts with me to another amount , and he is charging me £ 40 . which he says he paid Dr _M'Donal on my account , while Dr M'Douall is now upon thia platform , and I have paid his expenses three tunes to

    London and back , to be examined as a witness ; and his oath was that he never heard of it before , that he never received a farthing of it from Cleave , but that , on the contrary . Cleave is largely in his debt . 'Am I right or am loot Dr M'Douall Vsaid Mc O'Connor . ( Dr M'Douall : _ies , perfectly right . ) ( ' Shame , shame , sbarae . ' ) Well , - -bnt that ' s not the worst or half the worst . Yon remember , in 1842 and 1843 , Cleave _received the majorities of tha monies for the Defence Fund , and published tbem weekly in a separate list , nnder the head ef' Monies received by John Cleave . ' Well , these monies , amounting to £ 718 ., Joshua Hobson , as the representative of John Cleave , sits by night after night , and denies the receipt of oce fraction of these monies by Cleave .

    ( _Sboutsjof horror , and a voiee ' We sent him several sums . ' ) Well , but the ' Whistlef tells you , how many sittings of the arbitrator it has taken to settle this account , and that it is not yet concluded , and that I falsified the books which has protracted the hearing of the ease . Now , my friends , here are tbe books . I admit they are falsified , altered , and made _fradalent , __ in nearly every colnmn ; but _whafris a curious circumstance , the frauds and alterations are one and all against me , and one and all bronght into the general account in their altered state , to bring tbis balance against me . ( Shouts of 'Shame , shame , shame . ' ) ' Now , here are the books , ' said Mr O'Connor , 'I invite the closest inspection of the reporters and the mercantilegeatlemen .

    ( They were exhibited npon the table , when several efthe reporters and the gentlemen who looked at them , declared that they never saw so shamefaced and scandalous a fraud . ) ' Well , but , ' Mr O'Connor continued , * these frauds may be mine ; bnt mark the curious faet , not a figure , not a letter of mine , in these books , from November , 1837 , up ta the present moment , so help me God . ( Trera ' endons cheering and waving of hats . ) You must understand that an arbitration is not like a court ofjustice , its sittings are not continuous . We have met , 1 think , seven i times , and we were te have met yesterday , but a domestic affliction , in the family ofthe arbitrator , pre-| vented us , and I took the opportunity of reading the article of Mr llobson , upon Cleave ' s case , to Mr

    Cree _. ofthe firm of' _Yandercom , Cree , Law , and Comyn , ' tban which there is not a more respectable legal firm in London ; and that gentleman ' s indignation was , if possible , greater than tay own . I have given yon the oame of the firm , Mr' Examiner , ' and the name of the aoting agent , and now I'll give yoa the conversation . I said , ' Mr Cree , was this published with your consent or with your knowledge ?' ' Certainly not , Mr O'Connor , ' he replied . ' and you cannot feel more indignant at it than I do , andi shall tell Mr Hobson what I tbink of him , when I see him . ' ' Sir , ' I said , * i » there one word . of truth in it ? 'Not a word , ' he replied . 'Sir , ' I said , ' has anything occurred during tbis protracted inquiry to damage or lessen my ehai acter as a

    gentleman in your eves ? ' ' Certainly not , ' he replied , ' on the contrary . ' ( Loud and long continued cheering . ) Now , my friends , lhave given you . tbe name , and Mr Turner my solicitor , of 24 , Great Geor gestreet , Westminster , was ako present . So much for my connexion with the Northern Star , and the fraud committed on the shareholders , of whose forlorn c ondition Mr Rider will give * you a further account . And now allow me to ask you , what would ba ths feelings ofthe depositors in ihe Roval Bank of Liverpool , in Scboles' Bank , of Manchester , in Reid Irvins _' s . and other banks , and in railway and building bubbles and joggles , if tbey were gladdened with tbe news that they shonld receive back their principa _' , twenty shillings in the pound , and ten per cent , interest ? ( Cheers , and * That ' s it . ' ) Ah , but the

    Star is your paper —( loud cheers )—and the Land is your salvation , and the rascals , who live upon your labour : md dependence , cannot stomach the one or the other . ( Loud cheers . ) No ; but the villains who _quaffyour sweat , gnaw your flesh , and drink the blood of i . _vfants , _snppose that I , too , would crush their little bones , lap up theiryeang blood , luxuriate oa woman ' s misery , and grow fat upon tbe labourer ' s toil . ( Shouts of "No , never , * and waving of hats and handkerchiefs . ) No , I could go to bed supperless , but such a meal would give me the nightmarenay , an apoplexy . ( Loud cheers , and * God Almighty bless thee . ' ) I now turn to Hebson ' e revelation—as to my mode of keeping my accounts of public money , subscribed for political purposes . 1 have given yon his mode to the amount of £ 718 , repudiated by his

    The Following Description O 1? The Meeti...

    client John Cleave—bat now I'll put him into the witness-box , and prepare for a little _aBtenishraent . When I was in Tork Castle , the _League-HOtthe Chartists—demanded my balance Bheetof the Defense Fond , lt was settled in Manchester , before auditors of _Manchester—Joshia Hobson , yea , verily , this said Joshia , furnishing the accounts and receipts ; they are all published ia the star of July , 1841 , every item . Six years has Josh , had to ponder over them , and what wasthe result ? Why , £ 280 ., due to me , and Josh , writing me this letter : — "I _nSTeraouldhave _thoughtyonwag such an a « countant the clearness of your figures and arrangement actually , astounded b _» th Ardill and me , and gave the most unqualified satisfaction to tbe auditors . " „

    ( Load and long continued cheering . ) Now , what do you say to my mode of keeping my accounts of public money ? Oh ! but I keep no accounts , this fellow ssys that I keep them upon scraps ef paper . Now what ' s the fact as regards the Land Plan ? Why , that my nephew , who served you gratuitously for a year and a half , and my secretary , took an account , and entered in a book every fraction of a farthing that came in every mernitig addressed to me , the first business done , all other beiug laid aside ; and that book corresponds toa fraction with tbe entries in the Star , and when entered , my nephew , whether raining or shining , took those letters each day to the Land Company ' s office , and deposited them in the hands of the secretary , a duty tbat was

    never once omitted during the whole time of my receiving the monies directly , and a act , which is proved by the fact of the secretary making out bis list of my receipts , and entering them in his book from those very letters , and fo * which he had no other vouchers , and which wer never repudiated to the amount of a farthing . And you will see , by reference to tbe Star , that if an error offeurpence , or a penny , is made in one week , it is correoted in the following number . ( Loud cheers , and ' True . ' ) Now , Mr Hobson , Mr Ardill , and the 'Whistler' say , ' How is it if a man only pays £ 4 ., and it takes £ 300 . to locate one , how are tbey all to be located ?' There is nothing more easy . It is upon the reproductive principle . How is a man who buys a

    hogshead of sugar , and sells it out by pounds , to realise a fortune f 1 would have done it by mortgage and sale ofthe estate , but James Leach said it shou'd be kept to enable the shareholders to _purchase out their own allotments and to redeem them , and then they would be theirs for ever . ( Hear , hear . ) Well , now , my friends , what is easier than this ? I told you the value ofthis plan of co-operation two years ago , and have I not shown you that the interest is more than the shareholder pays for his share , to survey the bind , asd to make out the title and _conveyance of the land 1 Then , how is it re-productive ? Why in this way . If I get enough of money in the bank to secure land enough for all the members , that land becomes security to ( he depositors in

    the bank—ho matter how many they may be , whether 10 , 000 or 1 , 000 , 000 , they have the security of the laud , tha land paying it back five per cent ., and the bank four per cent . BuFhow , says the ' Whistler , ' are the depositors to eet the land as security ? Why , by depositing the title-deeds- ( Cheers . ) As to the question , whether the landjwould be convertible to meet any demand upon the Land and Labour Bank , that is the reason wby I require so much notice before withdrawal , in order that I might be afforded the opportunity of mortgaging the land , or , if necessary , of selling the land . Well , suppose I sell the land , what damage ? Suppose I lease the land to Grocott , aad sell it to another man , who loses by the transaction ! The man who buys it , steps into my shoes , and he ean only recover the

    amount of rent at whieh it is leased , as I could . So it would be precisely with the shareholders , if the mortgage was leased for ever at a rent-charge lo the occupants , and _, ifnecessary , theeetatewouldbecharged to the mortgagee , no occupants being liable to more than their respective rent-charge . How do the railways get on ? How do building societies get on ? How do men build houses , mortgaging the first story to build the second ? [ A voice : 'And mills . ' ] But tbe cavillers did not _Buggest the plan : here lies the sore . ( Hear , hear . ) How would Lord George Bantinck or Lord John Manners have beer , lauded to the skies , and held out as the patterns of philanthropy , if they had been the authors of it . ( Loud cheers . ) How would the fame of these men

    be trumpeted forth if they conld show you the poor cottagers placed on the land aB I can ? ( Cheers , ) If yon have four acres , they say yon must _staive upon them ; but how many pale faces do I see here who would be glad to get upon tbe land ? ( Hear , hear . ) And , my friends , as to Btarving , how many of my ohildren have you seen coming from the country , made by God , tothe town , made by the Devil , who had less money in their pockets thau when they weataway ? Why , talk oflessmoney—wben there are some of them wno have bad the respective sums of £ 50 . and £ 80 . bonus for their allotments ; ( Hear , hear . ) Is there a man among you , in this hall , that would not like to go there now ? ( ' No . ' ) Butif there is any man among you who thinks he has been deceived

    by me , I am here to answer for it ; and if there is any one here believes what these fellows say—that it has been a juggle—aud would like to have their money back , I am here to pay it them . I now tell yoa that if any man , woman , or child regrets having become a member of the Land Company , or who would wish to have their money returned—by the same principle npon which the government haa repealed the Bank Act of 1844—by an order in Council , relying upon Parliament for indemnity—upon the same principle I am now prepared to relax the fundamental rule of the _syitem , to rely upon my brother directors for indemnity , and 1 have now brought money with me to repay every shareholder in Manchester . ( Shouts of ' Nay , but we won't

    have it- ' ) Well , then , I'll spend itall . _^ _Laughter , and eriee of ' Do , and welcome . ' ) Those wbo have been juggled by the railway managers and joint stock basks would be too happy if tbe managers wonld come in tbis way and say , * We'll pay your money V ( Cheers . ) Would tbey not be glad to get a farthing back from the building societies , who have talked of building for years , but have never seen a house yet ? Oh , bnt says the 'Whistler , ' O'Connor shows us that it would take so much to do this , that , and the other _, and then he _eoes on , having got hold of a copy of our first rules instead of the second , to argue upon wrong data as to whether the scheme cau answer , without seeing , that , owing to the prosperity of it , the

    directors have reduced the interest from _six-and-a auarter to five per cent . And then it is asked , 'Why not look to the book at the bank V Why , it is rogues , in general , who knowing their own propensities , wonld be so exact , so minute in these matters ! They know the invulnerability _« f the Land Planthey know that they cannot break it down , and , failing in this , these reprobates , these scapegrace ? , this Ireland and Ballantyne , sendout the 'Whistler'to the eonnty of Cork , there to ferret out evidence against the private character of Feargus O'Connor ! Was ever gentleman treated in this way before by the press ? What do yoa think of a ruffian like that ? But I am glad to be able to meet these people with evidence of their own kind . I have a letter here whieh I will

    read , trom Mr Townley , showing how | _the * v > histler , ' when he was turned out of the army , after gentlemen bad sympathised with him , and relieved him , plundered the house of one , and stole a book from tbe house of another , which he sold , and tben cut his acquaintance—here is this man , who is the most degraded wretch , ( and I believe there will be no lack of evidence to prove that he had his finger in the knapsack of an offieer in Spain)—and this man asks you lor argument in bland words ! 'An ounce of _ivefc , good apothecary 1 * ( Cheers and laughter . ) And thia man . who cannot read a column of a newspaper eorreetly , tells me he wiil not meet me here , bat he will ' meet me in figures or on paper V Wby does he do this ? Because he knows the paper

    cannot see him _blns ' j—he knows the paper cannot detect a lie in his face , as _^ this audience conld ! ( Cheers . ) Wby is a man , giving evidence in open court , examined opeBly , viva voce , but that you may have the opportunity of seeing his face , and judging by that , and by his bearing and manner , how far his words are worthy of credit ? Ifthe' Whistler' wants fair argument , it he wishes for the truth , and is not afraid , let him come here , and if he has a blush in his sallow face , if he has a drop of blood in his heels , I'll make it jump into his nose ! ( Cries of' Good , lad , " and cheers . ) But , my friends , if this man is a villain , Ballantyne and Ireland are greater villains for hiring him ! The poor , but honest man , is hired for honest purposes , but the ruffiaH is hired for base

    purposes ,: only look at the men theyhave got for their purposes—John Ardill , Jobn Cleave , _Joshua'IIobson , Alexander Somerville , and Co . —here is a league lor you' They find they cannot destroy the Land Plaa—they find that their nonsense has no effect _upwn the working classes , and that the Land Plan bringB In more money every week , and the next thing they do is to attack my private character . Now a comment upon the financial concerns of the A _' ortfiern Star , and I will then call your attention to the private affairs of my whole family , and had the villain assassins met me here to-night , for my own honour and your pride I would have secured for them as patient and as impartial a hearing as _youjbave given me , as fmy strength consists in my ability to annihilate their every charge . ( Loud and continued cheerinn . ) What think | you , then—when the Star had 43 , 700 of a weekly circulation and was making

    £ 13 , 000 . a year profit , I was becoming monthly more and more in debt ! While I was in York Castle it had a circulation of from 16 , 000 to 18 , 000 , and in thirteen months the scale turns from £ 120 . in my favour , to £ 2345 . Gs . Cd . of a balance against me : while uow , under my own management and control , all the monies received by that honest working man , William Rider , I am able to pay ready money for everything , and the Star is making from £ 60 . to £ 80 . a week profit , —( loud and long continued cheering , waving of hats and clapping of handa , )— and , thank God , while the Dispatch and my revilera are making smoke amid the jeers oftheir insulted readers , —( renewed _chcars )—and all that , the copyright of the Star , and ray bed , and R , y property—for I have seme yet—is all security to the depositors in the National Land and Labour Bank . ( Loud cheers ) But while I am upon my commercial character , let me announce a fact which no gentleman and few

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    traders _« an beast of , after sueh a life of turmoil , vexation , and pereeeution-I never had a bill protested in ray life , except one for £ 25 , and that was given as an accommodation bill and I paid it .- ( Loud cheers . ) And now , Mr ' Examiner , ' write to tho Provincial Bank of Cork-there I had a large account ; ask the manager what my habits were , and advertise in England for my dishonoured engagements , and I tell you that no man in England , no man m the world , holds bill , bond , or note wiih tho n-rao of _teargus O'Connor to it - ( tremendous cheenng ) -and yet I am not to be trusted . I am so luxurious , ! suppose ; or such a spendthrift , or suoh a drunkard . ( Cheers and laughter . ) Now , for my relations . I am charged with _having _dflfraudad mv

    uncle , Arthur O'Connor , in his exile . Now bera again , Mr ' Examiner , ' take down names and facts . 1 never had a dispute with Arthur O'Connor in all my life . I never had an angry word with him . I never had an _antjry letter from him , or an angry message . But mark the fact . The very property of which 1 am said to have defrauded Arthur O ' Connor , the said Arthur O'Connor recovered upon my evidence . ( Loud and long continued cheering . ) It was my father ' s property , made over in truBt to my sister , for the benefit of his children—I being one of them—and in case of Arthur _O'Connor ' s being defrauded , I would have had a child ' s share ; but justice _csmpelled meto give evidence fer Arthur O'Connor , and from that hour to tho present my sister ' s

    husband—my brother-in-law—and myself havo never exchanged words ; and hia name and _addreBs , Mr 'Examiner , ' is 'Standish Sraithwick , Esq ., Phale Heuse , _Enniskeane . county of Cork , Ireland . ' ( Loud and long continued cheering and clapping of hands . ) So that the injury sustained by Arthur O'Connor , was having received the property and sold theproperty . Now , my friends , I ask you , whether or no any other man living but myself , —mixed up as I have been in the public affairs of two countries ; watched as I am bythe nation at large ; dreaded as I am by tyrants ; with my every act pryed into and misrepresented by spies and informers , and paraded to the world by a blackguard , _family-prying , lifedestroying , and degraded and polluted press—I ask

    you if , under those circumstances , any man but myself would be pure enough , bold enough , and innocent enough , to meet them thus upon the publio platform , refute their every most insignificant eharge , and convict them , one and all , of the basest treachery and villainy ? ( Loud and long continued cheering . ) But , that ' s my Btrength and your protection . Nor shall I ever think that I degrade thc dignity of the senator by defending the honour ef the man . ( Cheers and waving of hats , which lasted for several minutes . ) Mr O ' Connor resumed : As to having defrauded my nephews and my female relatives , and all that I was concerned witb , 1 never , in all my life , had dispute or quarrel , litigation or controversy , with any relative , male or female , with the single exception that 1 have stated—with my brother-in-law _; nor was level in an Irish court ofjustice , as plaintiff or defendant , except at the suit of William the FoHrth , for trying to rid the country of tithes . ( Choers . l I never

    wrote to a relative to answer those attacks , but I will furnish the Examiner with the name and addresB of every male and female relative I have in the world , and with the addres * es of noblemen , _macistrates , clergy , grand-jurors , landed proprietors , and Roman Catholic clergjmen _, within IB miles of my residence in Ireland , and not a man or woman of them would say tbat I have ever committed a mean , or dishonourable , or ungentlemanly act during the whole of my life ; and I am not going to exchange a life ' s character thus earned , for the stain of having robbed the men , women , and children whe accepted me as a present , and have repaid my exertions with their trust , their confidence , and their hearts ' -blood affection . ( Great sensation and cheers . ) But it so happens that , unasked for , I have two letters here ; the one from my nephew Roger , whom the ' Whistler' says I robbedand the other from his mother , my sister-in-law , whom the ruffian says I also plundered . Now what sayg the nephew ? It is to Rider . Ih says : —

    Dear Rideb , —I will thank you to give the enclosed in . to Mr O'Connor ' s own hand upon his roturn to England . I see by the Star that he is to be in London on Saturday next , and it is important that he should rcceivo it atonce . What does this ruffian of a « Whistler' mean by charging tny uncle with fraud , and lugging my mother ' s and our relatives' names twfore the public . Tours truly , Rosbr O'Connoe . ( Loud cheers . ) Now here ' s Mrs O'Connor ' s : — Fort Robert House . My Deab Feaugcs , —I cannot express my horror at the manner ia which your relations' names have been

    ueed as the means of injuring your character . Tou say , truly , that you never processed , or was processed by , any person in Ireland , nor had you ever any litigation or dispute with rel . tive , male or female , during your life . My children are naturally indignant with thos « porEons who have dared to take such liberties , and I write under feelings of the greatest excitement lest you should class me or my children amongst your enemies . I remain , my d « ar Feargus , With my children's fondest affections , Tour confiding , fond , and affectionate sister , _Mabv Lo . vgpield O'Connoe .

    ( Another burst of applause followed the reading of this letter . ) Now , said Mr O'Connor , I havo done with my private affa ' rs . and I proceed to walk into Mr Mannix and bis ' Whistler . ' Now , my friends , the law , if I was not very fastidious about character , would furnish me at once with a statuto ' of limitation , at least against Irish slander . And why ? Because I _camejto you , returned for my native county , in 1832 , after such a triumph as no mortal man ever achieved before . A county in whioh tbe power of Toryism eould not be shaken by money ; a county nearly tho eighth part of Ii eland in population and extent ; a county with'thirty-six resident noblemen ; witb a battalion of parsons whose right to the tithe I had been invading ; with the _wealthiest aristocracy whose

    privileges 1 bad been assailing ; with the magistrates all opposed to me ; and the press all opposed to me , and yet although watchful , living on the spot , and ever ready to damn an enemy in a country where private character is of the highest value , not a sentence of tliose revelations of the ' Whistler , ' not a single line _ridecting upon my character , was ever published by a newspaper in that county . ( Great cheering . ) No . the press there was conducted by gentlemen . Well , from 1832 to . 1835 . I certainly did not win the aristocracy ofthe county to my views , and yet again at the election of 1835 , 1 was returned by another triumphant majority , and yet neither then' nor ever since , has that press , or the press of Ireland , though a portion of it is ready _todkmn mo ,

    yet no Irish newspaper has published a sentence reflecting upon my character . ( Loud cheers . ) Ns , it has been left for the press of the money-mongers and the League , for the press of the _spieB and informers , for the press of tbe devils who are sure to hate me in the same proportion that yeu love me . ( Cheers , and 'Met heed them Feargus . ' ) Yes , I love their _slander , it ismy life ' s Wosd , * the censure of slaves . «<¦ adulation . Now for my qualification . This Mr Mannix of whom I never heard before , and of whom not one * of my family ever heard before , told the 'Whistler , ' it appears , that my qualification was made out by a roll of bank notes , one end being held by Mannix and others , as they wouldn ' t trust me with them , while I held the other end . Now my

    friends , were not Valentine and ; Orsop . —( great laughter)— ereat fools to have pinned I heir faith to such an ass as this ? Why , just think if money passed , it is the man buying the qualification , who Bhould give the money and not receive it : and yet the blunderbuss talks ab : > utholding " the notes , fearful of trusting me ; whereas it is I who should pay the notes . ( Great cheers and laughter . ) Now then , what do you think of this fellow ? But my friends I need no secrecy ; you shall have the whole conundrum of my qualification explained to you , and from it you will learn a wholesome lesson , as to the absurdity of this principle which we seek to destroy . When I went into Parliament , my property waB as follows : I had about £ 400 . a-year for my life , whieh was

    the worst property 1 had . 1 made every year about £ 900 . a year by ray domain ; but that domain was only mine for 9909 years , and therefore , not for my life . ( Great laughter . ) Now that was the law of property qualification—if I bad ten millions a-year in landed property for nine million years , it would not qualify me to sit in Parliament , whereas £ 400 a-year for my own life , and which I had not the power of leaving , would qualify me for a county , and . 8800 ayear for my own life wsuld qualify mo for a borough ; so tbat I had £ 400 a-year of bad property , £ 100 . ayear more than John Brightis required to have , and yet that with £ 908 . _a-yenr made by rny domain , and £ 2000 . a-year ma < " e by my profession , not owing a man a guinea , and'having some spare cash , was not

    sufficient to qualify me , although the meaning of qualificatien is tho presumption that £ 300 . a-year makes a borough member able to live independently , whilst £ 600 . a-year is required for a county member . ( Laughter . ) However , aware that 1 should swear to my qualification , I went to a friend of mine , and here the Examiner shall have his address , 'Robert Hartnett , £ » _q-, _Barrister-at-Law , Macroom , county of Cork , ' and 1 told him that I wanted to purchase a life interest on his e « tate for £ 500 . a-year , and for whicii I would pay him £ 3 , 000 . by a bill at six months , and give him the reversion of . Fort Robert , and the timber growing upon it after my death . This gentleman , of the highest character and honour , didn't hesitate a moment ; the doed was prepared , he assigned me the £ 500 . a-year , the deed wus registered _, and cost me £ 95 . Mr Hartnett came to

    London , when I Was petitioned against , to prove the validity of the transaction , and tho value of the property upon which the annuity was granted ; but four penthmen , four rabid Tories , from tho county of Cork , came to London , and swore that they valHed the estate ol Mr Hartnett in sections ; one valuing one quarter , another another , and so on , and that on horseback : theBe four bouourable men swore tbat one wrote his valuation on his nail , another on a bit of _slato and put it under a _stono , and another on a stone , and they swore that they came within a few farthings of each other in the valuation . ( 'Oh , oh , ' and groans . ) Now I was unseated , and , contrary to all rule and precedent , my opponent was seated , although in such cases there is invariably a new election ; and upon tbe fair principle that the electors should not be deprived of their franchise . ( Groans . ) Now all I

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    know about this Mr Mannix | is , that a friend oi mine writes me as follows : — Mv Bear _Fbahbub , —1 commit the ' Whistler' to your tender m » rcie *; and as te Mr _ManHbc , I ' m sure you never hoard of him . He is the natural son of Sir Georgo Mannix , who . ' was the Major Sirr of the county of Cork , in th * year ' 98 , and would have _turnsd hangman lo hang jour father and your undo Arthur . He is not remarkable for anything hut hia political asperity , ani used his best exertions to induce Bobby Nettles to get up a Tory opposition for tho county of Cork , at tho last general election . I don't know that ha was « ver called to the bar ; but I know that he n « ver held a brief in a court of law or equity , yet I believe ho was on « of the valuer * of jour property—a pretty occupation , _forgeoth , fora Chancery barrister . _YourSj my dear Feargus , most faithfully , M . llARRT . '

    ( Tremendous cheering . ) Now , my friends , I have dealt with the question of qualification , and I a _* k you , it ever gentleman or culprit gave a more clear or simple narrative ofthe several incidents connected with bis whole case ? But yet , there is another chargo , and a heinous _ena—the charge of cowardice . My friends , when danger was thickest I was nearest at hand . Did I run away from Birmingham when the battle raged ? ( Cheers , and ' No . ' ) No ! I wns addressing a meeting at Rochdale , and was to have had a procession in Blackburn the next day ; a fair excuse for absenting myself , but I put it to the _meeting , if my fit place was not inthe midst of the conflict ? I urged the meeting to pass a resolution that I should return to Birmingham , instead of

    going to Blackburn . I started in the middle of the night from Rochdale—arrived atBirmingham—drove with Dr M'Douall , in a ooach and four , through the infuriated yeomanry cavalry—went to the gaol of Warwick , and wouldn't stir from the gaol until Dr Taylor was liberated , nt twelve o ' clock at night , and _brought him back in the carriage with me , in'triumph . ( Tremendous applause . ) When nine ruffians lay upon my breast in the _Townhall , Birmingham , dnd swore that I shouldn't address the meeting , and asked fora rope to hang me , 1 extricated myself , single handed , jumped over the Mayor's bead—who was in the chair—and addressed the meeting upon the principles of Chartism . ( Loud cheers , and' You did . ' ) Wasthat running away ? ( Cheers _. and'No . ')

    When the TorieB hired their blue lambs ' to murder me in Nottingham I wounded thirty-nine —( tremendous cheers and laughter)—at least they swore to it before the magistrates ; and I drove 28 , 000 people before me like a flack of sheep . ( Great _cheerint _. ) I received many wouRds , but none in ray back , 'Whistler . ' ( Roars of laughter . ) I took possession of the enemy ' s ship , lashed it to the Chartist barge , and sailed through the town in triumph . Did I run away when the League hired a band of assassins to murder me in this room ? ( Loud cheers , and' No . ' ) No ! I was knocked down five times—my blood was shed—but all my wounds were in the head , the chest , the body , and the limbs in front . ( Loud cheers . ) Did I run away at Ratheormac , when I

    preached the funeral oration over the bodies of my murdered countrymen , in the midst of two _regiments of _sddiers , and whom I denounced as murderers and butchers ? ( L » ud cheers . ) Did I run fiway at Henry Grattan ' s election for the county of Meath , in 1881 , when 1 was trampled under foot by the dragoon horses ? No ! I sacked their committee rooms—carried their crimped voters upon my backand Henry Grattan said to me , ' By God , you are more tban Hercules . ' ( Tremendous cheering . ) Did I run away from Dungarvan , when I received two stabs ofa bayonet from policemen , and had my clothes literally torn oil my back ? No ! I dissolved the committee , and against _allhope _. secured the election of the repeal member . ( Great cheering . ) Did I

    run away from _Youghall , at _ Jobn O'Connell's election , when the town was literally crammed with military men to return the son of Baron Smith , against John O'Connell ? No I When we were pressed hard I dashed through n double file of soldiers , with fixed bayonet * , knocked the sub-sheriff downwho wanted to take possession ofa voter ' s house , to disqualify him—I smashed in tho back door with my shoulder , ran out of the front door with him upon my back , and polled him before the sub-sheriff oould get possession . ( Tremendous laughter and cheers . ) Talk of courage , Sir , I have been four times on the field of conflict ; I have been fired at , but never returned my _adrersarj ' s fire . The last man I was out with was a Captain Coughlan . Take that down , Mr

    ' Examiner . ' He had the credit of having shot three meE , but he didn't cow me ; he fired at me , and grazed my nose . I fired in the air , and asked my second , Mr Longfield , for another pistol , to give him another shot , but my adversary threw his pistol away , came up . and embraced me , and said— ' By G—d , I couldn ' t bring myself to fire again at so brave a man ;'—( great cheering and [ waving of hats , ) and he and I , who went out to fight , returned in the same carriage . Is that , then , any proof of cowardice ? or have I quailed or evinced moral cowardice when before my judges and packed juries ? No ! When the dungeon was before me , I told them that if I wont in a Chartist I would come out a Republican , and that the sternness of purpose should triumph over the oppression of the law . (

    Tremendous and long-continued cheering . ) Well , my children , has not my path been chequered ( ' Ay , that it has . ' ) And when did leader ever before in tha midst of such trials preserve such consistency ? ( Cheers . ) Mr O'Connor went on to refer to the character of the estate he had bought and resided at for the people , and no man , he said , could have been more careful , or penuri us , so far as their money was concerned , than he had been of tho money ofthe poor weavers . ( Ie had gene about the estate at all honrs of the night , just as if it wore his own , when there was any fear of anything being taken away ; not a horse could kick in the stable but he heard it . ( Applause . ) He had not squandered £ 10 . since tho Land Flan was established that could be avoided . There wns

    security to the depositors in the bank ob that proper t y alone if other security were wanting . And when he handed it over to trustees , he would not part with it till he had made it all security to the depositors in the bank , as he was resolved ' that he would not bo made the instrument of enriching one set of working men , at the expense of another set . If he had gambled with the money , if he had lent it to the rogues to buy grainfrora abroad—then they might say his bank was unsafe ; but when ho had £ 5 . in ront for every £ 4 , paid upon tbe shares to exhibit , his bank could not be very unsafe . ( Cheers . ) He had lived too long an honest life to make it worth his while to turn rogue now . He did not say these things to soften the asperity or vituperation of his

    enemies , who were the hired hacks or tools of the Anti-Corn Law League . They had failed in tho cry , and they dared not meet Feargus O'Connor in Parliament , for when the single-breasted blackguard , thc member for Manchester—when he should get up and talk his rubbish about the Game Laws , he Mr O'Connor , would get up and say , ' Let ' s have none of your nonsense ! ' ( Loud cheers . ) Or Jet him say that the League represented the working _slasses and he ( Mr O'Connor ) would | -ay it was not true . ( Cheers . ) Let Mr Bright say he represented Manchester , and he ( Mr O'Connor ) would say , ' Not yon ; you eo in at the north , and I'll go in at the south _, and see which will find the most adherents !' ( Cheera . ) He would say the same to Bowring , and

    if there was another election , as in a couple ot years there would be , he would have alongor 'tail'than aver O Connell had , ( . Cheers . ) Thoy wero told that Chartism wns dead—that it was emasculated—that it was not equal to making a policeman ; but if it was not _» qual to making a policeman it was equal to making a lord , fer Sir John Cam Hobhouse was only member for Nottingham till be ( Mr O'Connor ) rai > ed him to tho _peerage . ( Cheers and InuehteiO lie _plodged himself to use every effort to advance their interests in the estates , being about to add 400 votes already by tha purchase of another plot of land in Oxfordshire . So far from there being any fear of a loss , if a man get an allotment next Monday , be would have

    a bonus of £ 100 . offered for it . Somo had as much as £ 1 ( 50 . offered . [ A woman : ' We havo had £ 100-offered for ours , ' and applause . ] He was asked when by this system he should be able to locate all the members ? His answer was— ' Just as last as they enabled meto buy the land . ' ( Laughtor . ) There was nothing he gloried in more than knocking the roofs off the houses ofthe old debaucheosnnd spendthrifts who had lived in idleness , to put in their places the honest hard-working man . It was related ofthe Q , ueen , that when she was visiting at the Duke of Argylt ' s , in Scotland , she took up the young Marquis of Lorn and actually gave hira a kiss , and this was mentioned as a fine trait in her _eharnater Why he ( Mr O'Connor ) took np forty or fifty children

    » day , and wiped their _Boses and hugged thero ! ( Cheers , and expressions of _sjmpatby from the females in the gallery . ) When down in his old farm house w ' th them , he gathered them round him with their cats and dogs , fighting for his hand , and listened to their stories ; and did they think he wns the man to wrong their little children—did they think he was the man to wring a single morsel from their board or to prevent their parents from educating and bringing them up properly ? No , he was not ; he loved the children—and their mothers also , too much for that . [ A female in the gallery : ' Lawk ! —bless the man . ' ] Heappealed tothe manner ofhis life when he was on the _estates , ii he was not m ? st careful and penurious in his habits asto their money , and said , ' I will tell you an anecdote about your bailiff ' s turn out , During my absence at tho

    _Nottingham election tbe oats for the horses ran low ; I ordered my trap , which cost £ 7 . Wi ., to go to Gloucostor to purchase oats ; I took forty empty sacks on the dash board , two model three-prong forks , and two model spade 3 standing up behind , and on tha teat with me two peasants iu their working jackets , who wanted to buy cabbage plants . In passing Inthe Court-house I met a jolly farmer © f my _acquaintance . I love the farmers . We had some cbat ; When 1 passed on , a limb of ths law , with whom Be „ was conversing , asked him who that wns ? Ihat 8 j < eargu 8 O'Connor , ' said he , 'tho momfaer tor -Nottingham . ' O'Connor , ' exclaimed the legal man , well , I ' m d—d if that isn't the rumnu wt turn out I ever saw for a member of parliament . ' Well , now . ' responded the farmer , 'do you know but that ' s the very kind -f chap we want ; the Marquis of Worcester , our member , dined here the other

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    day ; he camehore in a gilded coach , with fou * horses , and dined hero , and I went fo hear him , and _suchad—d pack of rubbish I never heard . I'd rather bave half an hour with O'Connor than a week with him . ' ( _Traraendous cheering and waving of hats . ) Now _thai _' s my turn out , and that ' s what I pride myself in , and what I glory in—that is what gives mo strength—it is my disregard of conventionalism , and my zeal , not my _sirained or affected feeling lor y < mr class . ' 'Loud cheers . ) And now he would ask the meeting , finally , ifthey ever heard sucb a thing before 89 tho _pmsof England —a free press—not content with attacking the private character of a gentleman , but actually raking un all his Drivateaffairs and his family ? (

    Expressions o ! 'indignation . ) But if they calculated upon destroying his character before ha entered Parkament , in that way , they made a miscalculation . He m i g ht be indifferent , he mipht be apathetic , at times , but se long as they goaded , so long would he kick . The 'Whistler' charged him with having fallen out with Dr M'Douall , but what had this contemptible ruffian to do with him or Dr M'Douall ; he did fall out with Dr M'Douall—the doctor was young , enthusiastic , and exciteable , and probably thought that I was rather sluggish ; but I'll say this of Dr _M'Deuall _, that ho is the only man who left our ranks , who remained out of them for a considerable time , and who , though under the most trying and disadvantageous circumstances , never wrote a word or spoke a word hostile to our cause , our principles , or

    our _leaders . ( Loud cheera , and 'True ; he never did' ) Well , then , was that a man , young , talented , enthusiastic , and devoted , to be shut out from a national cau ? e _, in the advocacy of which he glories . I have shaken hands with Dr M'Douall , and with God ' s blessing , though I failed once , I will make him the Chartist dodor of Manchester yet . ( Loud cheering , nnd ' That ' s right . ' ) Having gone through all tho charges—and he hoped if he had omitted anything tbey would tell him of it—he would ask if they thought he had not done it as a gentleman ? ( Cries of ' Yes ' and cheers . ) He asked if it was not moro dignified in him to come to Manchester to meek his enemies boldly to the face , and to go to _Nottingham , as he meant to do on tho morrow , than to sit at home or

    waste words on paper ? Did they think it was any _lefsening of the dignity ofa gentleman , and a member of parliament , to defend his character" ( Cries of' No' and applause . ) As for the attacks of the papers , it was only fun for hira . He had only nine upon him , and lie wanted nine and twenty ! ( Cheers . ) It would kill many a man , but when he lay down on his pillow , he devoted half-an-hour to laughing at them—it was only like tickling him with sugar-sticks and he answered them occasionally with a tap ofhis bamboo , which mado them quake again—and he slept none the less soundly for it afterwards . ( Cheera and laughter . ) Now I bave made a clean breast , but if I have left anything unanswered , mysteriously answered , or unexplained , it is your duty to me , your

    duty to yourselves , to your families , to your country , and the mighty cause / in whieh yon are engaged , to ask for the fullest and most satisfactory explanation . My habits are frugal , my life is simple , my resolution is nerved , and 1 am resolved , come weal , come woe , that the league of _people shall breakdown tke league of oppressors . ( Tremendous cheering . ) Are you all satisfied with my explanations ? ( Shouts of' All , all , ' and cheers . ) Does any man or woman wish to receive back with interest the monies they havo paid for shares in the Land Company , or the monies they have deposited ih the Bank ? ( Cries of ' No , no ; we have bags more for you . ') Mr O'Connor then resumed his seat amid a perfect storm of applause that made the building ring .

    Mr Ruder , ( Mr O'Connor ' s present olerk ) , came forward and said : My friend * , do you wish to put me on my oath ? for , if you do , I ' m ready to be sworn . ( Cries of' No , no , lad , we'll believe thoe . ') Well , then , I'll tell yeu thc whole truth and nothing but the truth , and I'll begin by saying , that until I heard Mr O'Connor ' s speech , 1 had no moro notion than any man in thia meeting the course tiiat he meant to pursue , nor had I one wori of conversation with him upon the subject—not a word . ( Cheers . ) And , my friends , I ' m no tool of Mr O'Connor ' s . I ' m a working man , like yourselves , but there are a great many afraid to tell the truth , for fear thsy might be thought to » l *; but as Mr O'Connor has appealed to me , I'll answer everything to the best of my ability . And as

    he _askB for my opinion of hira aa ar master , I say , tbat a working man never had a better master or a more indulgent master in England , or in the world .. If ho _wan-s a favour , he has only to ask for it , and its suro to be granted , and if he ' s sick and not able to work , no matter forhow long , his wages are always tbere for him on Saturday night , and he ' s no man to listen to stories from his servants . And , now , I turn to Josh . Hobson , and the Northern Star first . In reading after Mr O'Connor , I found that he said that he was determined to step in the shoes of the lamented Henry Hunt , and when he came to Leeds , I was one of those that _welcomed him . At that timo Leeds was tbe very hotbed of Whiggery and corruption , and when I heard of Mr O'Connor going to

    start the Siar there , I didn't like that a man for whom I had a respect should be sacrificed , as others were who tried the experiment at Leeds , and I told llobson that I was afraid the gentleman would be _sacrifiod , Hisanswer was , ' You d—d fool , if he is fool enough to come here and spend a couple of thousand _jimongBt us , why should we be the _feols to frighten him V ( _Tremendoue _* groans and hissing . ) Well , my friends , he has said that he found some ot the money forthe Star , but 1 should like to know how he could when I tell you what took him to Leeds . He asked Richard Oastler to lend him £ 10 , but Richard Oastler knew bis man and he wouldn't lend it liim ; and he said , 'Rider , I'll lend you the £ 10 ., and mind , if you don't pay it , I'll hare the shirt off

    -our back . ' ( Great laughter , and cheers for the ' Old King . ' ) So you see , friends , that it was I who went security for _£ 10 . for the man who lost to much money by the Star . Mr O'Connor has told you that ho was pot-boy at the George , but he hasn ' t told you that he was night scavenger to a Punch and Judy exhibition . ( Great laughter , and' That ' s thc fittest job for him . ' ) Well , he tells yeu now , how the shareholders in the Northbrn Star have been cheated and juggled—but I'll tell you bow he commenced hia political career . He was the printer of a paper pub . lished at Huddersfield , ealled ' Tlie Voice of the West Biding' and got up by the working men in five shilling shares , and Hobson devoted it to ballads , and the publication ef 'Last words and dying

    speeches . Well , it soon came to its end , and how did the shareholders fare ? Why , _JobIi . took all the type , the presses , and the printing materials , and I believe sold one of the presses to Mr O'Connor , ( Groans and rows of laughter . ) ' Now , that ' s the man that accuses Mr O'Connor of cheating the shareholders in the Star , while 1 am here to tell you that it is my orders to pay every shareholder that applies tho full amount that he holds scrip for , and ton per cent up to tho day of payment , and no man has ever applied to me without getting his interest and his shares paid frff , if he desired it , and I now hold tho book in my hand , -which will prove lo you that John Ardill , notwithstatiding ' . his feeling l _& r the shareholders , never

    paid a farthing of interest _. _'except to himself , * and that last month I paid off the Keighley shares £ 25 . in full , and £ 10 . interest at ton per cent , making £ 35 . ( Criesof'Shame , shame . ' ) Well now , that ' s oneof the men tbat was supporting the Star ; the man that has challenged Mr O'Connor to discuss the Land Plan with him : but if you know as much of his _eharacti-r as I do , you would ' nt only not let Mr O'Connor meet biro , but tho poorest man in the meeting wouldn't consent to stand on the same platform with him , I hold in my hand now a letter from ono of his apprentices , that will give you Josh . _Hoboon ' s character , the man that has assailed Mr O'Connor , and if it ' s your will _i'll read it . ( Shouts of' Read , read . ' ) If you wish it I will , but I am sorry

    to see so many females present , as it may offend them . [ Here Mr O'Connor rose , took the letter out of his hand , and said ' Then you shan ' t read it . '] And now for John Ardill . He was one of the _mechanics on strike , when Mr O'Connor established the Northern Star . ( A voice from tho platform i' You ' re wrong ; he was a knobstick , I know tho chap well . ') Well , whatever he was he want to the landlord of the 'Leeds Arras' to borrow £ 10 . thinking that if he held ten shares he might be employed upon th * Star . Well , he was employed , and I am here to tell you that for fifteen weeks togother _. I and tbe working men in Mr O'Connor ' s employment , havo gone home en Saturday n _ights without a full settlement of . our wages , and Ardill ' s brother used toc _« racto the Star Office on Saturday nights , and in my presence take away every farthing of the money to pay his workmen , ( Groans , and cries of Shame shame' \ Well all the that

    , we saw way Mr O'Connor ' s money was going , and thoro was a man of the name of Robert llannam , who owed Ardill some money , an old man of no earthly use , ( and Ardill put him over tho books and paid hira £ l . a week out of Mr O'Connor ' s pocket , ( Tremendous sensation and groans . ) Well , though Ardill got his salary , the office was shut up three and sometimes four days a week ( Shouts of ' Shame . ' ) Ardill was at his farm doing his own business , and the old man wasn't allowed even to enter payments in tho oash bonk , and I'll tell you what happened . An agent came one day and paid some money , and Robert entered it in tho cash book , and when Ardill saw he entered it he got into a rage with tho old man , and told him that he didn tallow any one to interfere with those books , though he was pa d a pound a week for it . Well , I to d Robert that he'd be discharged . 'No , ' _s » _jb Robert , 'hedare not dhJ . han . eme . I know too much about his goings on

    here He knows I know as much aa would hang a man' And he then told rue that every parcel that was char ged two shillings , his orders were to book it _half-a-crown to Mr O'Connor , and every parcel that was charged three _s _hillinxs to book _iWour shillings . ( Groans and cries of Horrible . ') Well now , , my friends , _romembor that I ara ready to Bwear toevery word I am stating in a conrt of _jastico . _WelJ 7 when the Star was broug ht to London , Ardill had "Spart- ' ner iu a card manufactory , and the letters from his partner used to oome into my hands" and they used to run _thuB : — ' I must havo _cafch to buy leather , ' and I _usod to poBt the answers _^ with cash the same evening , whilo the printer of tho * . iloa-

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• Citation
  • Northern Star (1837-1852), Nov. 6, 1847, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns3_06111847/page/3/