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Northern Star (1837-1852), 29th December 1849, Edition 3 of 3, Page 1, TO THE IRISH PEOPLE. Though yecs call us...

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    • TO THE WORKING CLASSES
    • ©ijailfet fttteUCgttttt,
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      To The Working Classes

      TO THE WORKING CLASSES

      Slaves, Willwg Slaves, I Can Call You By...

      Slaves , _Willwg Slaves , I can call you by no other name , because every other class in the community lives luxuriously and sumptuousl y upon your slavery , not more based upon their union and power than upon yonr slavish and subservient antagonism . 1 do not appl y the word antagonism to your opposition to your opponents—f apply

      it solely to tne wonting classes themselves _^ " In your very souls you -will secretl y despise the grip ing employer that lives upon your slavery ; but you will crouchingl y yield to his wish , _irhileyoa will land the bold resolution of the few of your own order who openl y oppose tyranny ; but , nevertheless , you will allow your masters to make tools of you , and use you as competitors to reduce thc wages of the few independent men of your order . ;

      We are now within a month of the reopening ofthe " show-box , " and you will find that the several changes propounded by the several parties will be measured by popular satisfaction , and all will cry out , that never _werethepeoplemorekanquil _. becansetheywere nevermore satisfied . I have often told you that " thefolly of to-day may be the wisdom of the morrow ; ' * _anS it i 3 not . many weeks since I informed you . that , upon a general election , the bull-frogs would have a majority in the House of Commons , with Stanley at

      their head , and Protection as their "CRT . " I told you that Buch an event would be met by the slave-owners turning out their hands , and proclaiming revolution . I told you that Ireland , in case of an election , wonld return at least eighty Protectionists ; and now , in con firmation of my assertion being realised , I implore your strict attention to the following portion of Mr . Cobdbn _' s speech , recently delivered at Leeds , and when yon have read it , ask yourselves whether I was right or wrong in my calculation ;—

      I warn them iu these days , in this age , and in the temper and spirit ofthe rime—I warn them irom entering upon a new conflict with this population , to try and put on the shoulders of this already overburdened people _those taxes which of right belong to them as a class ; ( Applause ) Let tliem bear in mind what Sir Charles Wood , the Chancellor of the Exchequer , told usin tlie last session of _parlLtment , that eren including those local rates , and including what they pay ofthe general taxation ofthe country , the landed propr ietors of this country pay a less amount of taxation in pro ] wrtioa to the local rates of this country than any other people of Europe . ( A voice— 'They ought to pay it alL ' J Wei , I ten them that if they renew the struggle with the whole population of this country , whether for the

      resumption of the bread tax , or to transfer the burdens wbich in justice _belong to them to the shoulders of the rest of the community , they will have this question re-agitated in a very different spirit from irliat it was before . ( Applause . Let them take my word for it , they will rarer hare another league _agitation carried on with that subserviency to strict _logical argument which was observed in the last agitation . It _to » t me some argument , asm ; friends " know , to keep the league from going into some other topic ; but , let but another agitation arise , a serious one , SHeh as these individuals would try to persuade their _followers-Jet it be seen tliat they bring tbe parliament into such a state of confusion tliat government is compelled to dissolve — let it fee seen thai some man like Lord Stanley is prepared to gef into the saddle , and to spur over the country with his licavy paces—and they will heat this question argued in a

      very different manner from what it was before . ( Applause . ) They will have the'whole aristocratic system under which the country has been governed for the last 150 years at once torn to pieces ; they will have the law of _primogemture—{ applause )—aud the old feudal system which remains iu this country , aud remains on sufferance only after ithas been abolished everywhere else—tlicy-will have this question brought up in a way which they , weak and foolish men , little expect ;— ( cheers )—and let them once enter the list again , either for another corn law or for the transfer ence of this taxation upon your shoulders , and I give them my word of promise that they will come out of the conflict right happy to give up not only tlie corn law and any taxation which they are going to try to avoid , but they will he glad to escape by a composition of much heavier terms than that ( Applause . )

      Again , to shew you theresnlt of competition between those who live upon your labour , read the following pithy passage : — But do you think your honourble member here would conduct his business in such a way as that ? Do you not tliiuk that if he saw another person ofthe same branch of business , conducting his business foolishly , and with a large amount of waste which was ruining both , and threatening him with destruction ; aud if he knew thatthe work was profitless to the individual who began the system , do you not think that if be found a . rival in his business enter Ing upon such a career as that he would go and say to him , ' You are _going upon a system which compels me to do ihe same , and it will lead ui both into tbe Gazette , if we don ' t stop it Do you not think that we had better stop it ?'

      Now , have I not often told you that your slavery wholly depends upon the competition of your employers ? And do yon suppose that these competitors referred to by Mr . Cobden , with the law and power of capital at their back , would lose a single fraction by the deadliest competition until they had first destroyed those upon whose labour they had competed f But to give you a still stronger illustration of the fact of my oft-repeated assertion , that the application of the land to its legitimate purpose is the only means by which peace , plenty , and prosperity , can be restored , read the following passage in Mr . Coi : de >' " s speech : —

      Don _' tyou think that in these times of industry , when wealth aud commerce are the real tests of a nation ' s power , coupled with wealth aud intelligence _^—do you not see that if you beat your iron into ploughshares and pruning hnoks , " instead of putting it into swords and spears , tliat it wiil l _» c equally productive of power , and of for more force if brought into collision with another country , than if you put all your iron into spears and swords . ( Applause . ) It is ni _.-t always necessary to hold up a scarecrow to frighten _voiir _m-erlibours _. Now , so much for thc land , and , as I am taking the whole matter consecutively , let me add the following pithy passage to the first quotation relative to anticipated revolution , should the restoration to protection be proposed .

      These are the reason ? , I have said , and I say again , that jou may return with safety to the expenditure ot i _£ > i . Say , row , you won't stop when you get therft But mark jne , * with all * their sarcasms , they are on the highroad to it , and we will compel them to do it fliey will be _oblised to return to the expenditure « f 1 * 35 , and to the _lisifcet which 1 brought forward last year , and in a short time . But how * By such a movement out of doors as I have mentioned , and" I _wisU to eee it avoided . Now what think you of tliat ? " BY SUCH A _MOVEMENT OCT OF DOORS AS I HAVE _MENTIONED , AXD I WISH TO SKK IT AVOIDED . "

      In faith , I wish to see it avoided too ; bat what I see is the impossibility of avoiding it ; and what I further see is , tbat the men wlio create it , and use the people for the accomplishment of then- own objects , will be the very first to prosecute , persecute and destroy the people , when through their instrumentality they have achieved power . Again , still further to prove to you that the folly of the day may be the wisdom of the morrow , read the _Allowing passage .

      Sow , do you suppose , if you were to sit down to make a constitution , without having the precedent of the present (•• institution to guide you , anybody would make suck an absurd proposition as tliata parliament should dt for seven years without giving anaccountto their constituents ! _Nobody would dream ofit Ask your railroad companies , your hank directors , any body in the world tliat has to delegate _jwertoanotlierbody—is there on the face of the world an example ( except in our Septennial Act ) of people giving up their power for seven years' duration ! _( Uear , and loud cheers . ) It is no answer to me to say thatparliaments do not last on an average more than three years . If ire knew that parliaments only lasted three years , that would It an answer to the quesion ; but men go there expecting that it will last five , sis , or seven years , and they aet accordingly ; and when they come near to the end they begin to go through a process something likea death-bed repentance _, and to nut their house in order . ( Applause and

      laughter . ) You remember that I have stated , not only out of the House of Commons , but in the House of Commons , the folly , nay , the viUanv , of basing present leg islation upon barbarous precedents , supplied by ignor ant people . I told them in the _Houee , that if we _* ere to be so governed , we should meet in churchyards , aud sit upon the tombstones , and I think Mr . Cobden has now accepted my view ofthe case . But to go further into the _question . In analvsing the question of Septennial _Parliaments , have I not repeated it to surfeit , that mon trill violate their pledges during the first five cr s « years of their tenure of office , nnd then return to the hustings once more with a death bed repentance , so tliat it would

      appear that I have got a very _prewwoua pupil ? _CWing from _3 fr . _CoBDEK _ais f _Uivedwith " applause" and " laughter while coming from me it was received with You ' are to understand , that in analysing Mr . _Coma's speech , I do _^ fP _^^ _sinjjle passage that I have _W _^ T _^ Z that hAvhich he states the « se ** ***** made of popular fury upon the attempt to re turn to protection . I do not repudiate ii , be

      Slaves, Willwg Slaves, I Can Call You By...

      !! , wA th nlc , _^ serve to be slaves , if you submit to be tools . In another part of his speech , Mr . Cobden states that there is a probability of ninety protectionists being returned for Ireland in case f a general _eie _,, _^ _^ _j _^ p ] ace T set it down some weeks ago at eighty ,. so that you see , I am generally before my time . But , like every ingenious man , jlr . CoBr den , after graphicall y describing the present system audits injustice , points out the remedy . He f 7 * : — I SAT QUALIFY _YOUKkliliVES . ( Loud applause . ) - - - ¦ - - -

      -Now the proper exclamation to have followed such an instruction would have been , "Bah ! h kst catch tour Hare . " Mr . Cobdex in his speech informed his audience , that the manufacturing operatives were never in a better position than now . Of course he was londly cheered by their employers ; but he should also hare told them , that the reason why they were rather better employed now , was in consequence of the two years' revolutions upon the Continent , when they were required to supply large orders . Let me now show you , critically , what I see

      foreshadowed , in the coming . straggle . The landlords'' engagements , liabilities , ' responsi bilities , and mode of living , are all measured and regulated by Protection . This I consider not onl y an injustice , but a crime of their own creation , based upon their own legislation They will not—and in many instances cannot —reduce their rents ; and it is not at all unlikely , nor unreasonable to expect , that the fanners—when they come to their sensestrill join with the middle classes in the demand for a reduction of rent . But then observe thc

      difficulties with which you have to contend during the struggle . The landlords pessess political power ; that political power is based upon tho evil uae they have made of their landed property , measuring its value as I have often told you , and as Mr . Cobden tells you now , by the standard of patronage ; and ' the consequence of this will be , that as self-interest is thc basis of human action , they would rather rely upon the result of a bloody revolution , with , the army and the Exchequer at their back , than surrender their uujust monopol y to national requirement and State necessity .

      Meantime , you shonld understand that during this conflict , and however it may end , not onl y will the wages of thc agricultural labourer be reduced , but your wages also ; and the profits of all—that is , of the shopkeepers who live upon your labour , will be equall y reduced ; and depend upon it , that neither landlord nor money-lord will consent to any reduction , until yon are fully , freely , and fairl y represented in the Commons Houseof Pav-1 i 5 itt » < _nat .

      Every newspaper now is crowded to suffocation with comments upon the Land question . The poor creatures , who know no more about it than an Irish pig does of geometry , all enlightening us with their own views , and each differingfrom the other . There ' s poor Wilson , of the Economist , that would not know a carrot from a parsuip , or a cabbage from a cauliflower , unless they were dressed , giving us his views ; and then there ' s tbe Globe publishes an articlfl which took me half an hour to

      read ; and this agriculturist , like his cotemporaries , attempts to prove that the farmers ought to be satisfied with present prices , because they are higher than those of 1835 , ' 36 , and ' 37—while those public instructors _appear to forget the " GREAT FACT , " that in those years they cheerfully expended tlieir capital upon the improvement of their landnot only in the hope , but with the certainty , that times would change , aud that they would reap the profit : whereas now they are without hope , but building upon the certainty of things becoming worse they will expend no capital , and , as is always the case , the poor labourer wiU be the greatest sufferer .

      Let me now show you the only possible remedy for all these evils—it is , io bring ihe LXXD _IATO THE RETAIL MARKET , Hot at Sale value , but at rent value ; and by this system I undertake to prove , irrefutably , that the landlords , with protection , would receive larger—much larger—incomes than they do at present : that is , I undertake to prove that a farm ofa thousand acres , let now for 1 , 000 / . a year , or 1 / . an acre , and which the tenant cannot pay , including poor rates and taxes , would , if diviJed into farms often acres each , that is . a hundred farms , let for 30 s . an acre , that there never would be one tenant behind

      hand upon rent day ; that it would support eighty families more than nnder thc present system ; thatthe hundred tenants thus located would not care a farthing about protection ; and that every shopkeeper , mechanic , artificer , artisan , tradesman , operative , and agricultural labourer , would be prodigiously benefited by the system . And if you doubt itinconsequence of its repetition , to surfeit , by one whose every hour has been devoted to your interest—I pray you to read , and most critically , the extracts published in this week's Star , from _Shasman CrawTORD _' s pamphlet , taken from thc Irishman of last week ; and also t " h _« admirable letter of Mr . Rogers , of

      Devonport ; and bear in mind , that Shabman Crawford is one of the largest and the very best landlords in Ireland . Neither he nor his bailiffs will be fired at , nor will a single tenant run away with his crops , because Siiarman Crawford will not extract from him a farthing more than he is able to pay , after supporting and educating his family . Now what do you think of tho land of Jersey and Guernsey being able to support nearly twelve hundred to a square mile , and of the cultivator being able to send its produce to England ; while England is considered over populated , and overrun with unwilling idlers , called paupers , with three hundred , or one fourth of the population to the square mile .

      Working men , you never will be legislated for justly , until you app oint your own representatives , and you never will be independent until you are located upon your own land . The poor rates are your _' s , both by btatute law and Divine law ; and the value of those poorrates , at the lowest estimate , putting them down at six millions * year , _H"herea _£ they arc over eight millions , would produce Two Hto-TffiKn and Fort y Millions of money ; _that

      is would represent two hundred and forty millions . I put them down at forty years purchase , because thev are the first lien upon the property ; it _™ uld not require one fraction of money to purchase them , because the landlord , if compelled to return the people ' s property in kind , may surrender the amount in land that would represent the purchase money . Now that would leave the na-81 n _rental of six millions at a low rent , and

      would wholly and entirely destroy _pauper . Ay' but here's the rub ; the tyrants know it as well as T do , but they live upon your pauperism , and would rather have a revolution than such an adjustment . Now averaging tlielan d-for I wish to have good land-at _Wl to the acre , it would locate one million _families at five acres to each family , and would _« ive to each family ninety pounds _capital to commence his house and to perform _^ cultural operations , aud perhaps they

      Slaves, Willwg Slaves, I Can Call You By...

      would employ the Witney Builder to build good cottages and out-offices for fat each . However bad the present ' system is ; -and however those who live upon your toil may seek to tinkerand " patch it , and however the pr esent condition of the Irish people , cohse _^ quent upon the iniquity of Irish landlords , may . be mocked and Bneered at , I tell you that neither the Irish nor the English people will ever be satisfied until their own property , the Land , is applied to its legitimate purposes , namely , their , own comfort , based upon their num tnil

      The next session of Parliament shall not , if I can avoid it , be a mockery , a delusion , or a snare . I shall oppose any attempt , of a restoration , of Protection ; while , atthe same time , I shall oppose any attempt to use the Chartist party as an auxiliary force to achieve the ascendancy of their task-masters ; and we will shew the middle classes , that while -we are prepared to march with them in the onward course of progress , we are not prepared to aid in any struggle from the result of which industry - will riot derive its fair and legitimate _sharn .

      Again requesting you to read the extracts , and assuring * " you m these critical and trying times , that if every working man in the kingdom deserts the principles of tho Charter , aud if it is Blade treason to advocate them , I will GLORY IN BEING A TRAITOR , as I am resolved that no amount of taunt , opposition , persecution , or slander , shall ever induce me to abandon the . CHARTER AS THE MEANS , and the LAND AS THE

      END . Your Uncompromising Advocate , and Faithful Representative , Feargus O'Connor . P . S . —I have just received the following letter from one of the most philanthropic , kind-hearted , intellectual , and agreeable members , not onl y of the Reform Association , but of society , and one who , I believe , would not continue his connexion with any association which departed from its public recorded professions ; and at foot of the letter I plaee the Reformers' prayer , which he has been kind enough to send me .

      17 , Trinity-square , Tower-hill Pec . 24 . Dea ? . Sir , _—inave not been in the habit of _reading the Northern Star until I was informed that you had been pleased to insert my name , coupled with other gentlemen , in your leader of the 22 nd inst Individually , I hate to request , with aU political matters , that I only _consider myself responsible for my own declarations and opinions , and I should not continue my connexion with anyassociation if they departed from their public recorded professions . ' I would take tlie liberty of drawing your attention , nnd those mth whom you are leagued , to tlie fable ofthe' Doc and the Shadow . ' 1 place the Reformers' prayer in your hands , if it is worthy of the Northern Star . 1 am , dear sir , yours faithfully . W . 3 . Hill .

      TnE REFORMERS' PRAYER . Almighty . ' Immutable ! Eternal I Invisible , save in Thy Wondrons Works ! Unheard , save by the slumbering elements of Creation in Thy Word , which said , " Be Light ! " and Light was . ' Who art without beginning of days or end of years ,- —we would begin and end erery good word and work with Thee ! Righteousness exalteth a nation , — teach us to be righteous . Thou hast made Man a little lower than the angels , and hast crowned him with glory and honour , —inspire him with respect for his own nature , and us with reverence for tho infinite significancy ofa human soul . —The meanest of us are immortal—the greatest are hut as

      yesterday when it is past . Teaeii the mighty how mean is time—and the mean how mighty is eternity . King of kings and Lord of lords , before whom the mightiest monarchs are but abject vassals _. _-and at whose bar judges will he judged , —in whoso awful presence sovereigns will liide their crowns , and veil their faces , and nothing but Truth and Justice can stand , —teach rulers that are found minting , that Thou hast weighed them in the balance , —require of unjust stewards the talents thc Lord of thc vineyard has committed to their care , —and enable all to perceive that Thou art no respecter of persons , but acceptest those alone who diligently _sftrve Thee .

      Man lives not by bread alone . By Thy Word , which by its power could feed multitudes , and yet by its frugal providence commanded mortals to gather np the fragments , Thou hast taught the nations that nothing should be lost . Touch governors the wisdom ef economy , and Thine earthly vicegerents tlie wickedness of waste , and the wholesome uses of a sparing management of Thy material bounty . Give to statesmen a saving grace-to use thy temporal gifts as not abusing them , and to remember that they are set over us for our good , and under Tfice for their guidance . We are all equal in Thy sight , —may we be equal also in our own . Thc great ones among the Gentiles exercise dominion over them , but Thou hast said it shall not be so among Thy followers , for the chiefest among us shall he our servant , and our

      minister shall be the greatest oi all . Thou hast made of one blood all nations and taught ns to call Thee Father . Forasmuch then as we are Thine offspring , and that Thy first and great commandment is , " Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself , " hasten the reign of Peace on earth , and good will among men . -Turn our swords into ploughshares , our spears into pruning hooks , — -prosper our agriculture , make the solitary places glad , so that tlie desert may rejoice and blossom as the rose , neither may there be War any more . —When thc small still voice whispers , " Which is my neighbour ? " let conscience answer , " He whom I can serve . " —When Jerusalem would hold no dealings with Samaria , remind us that Thou / _dB _| % spirit , and to be worshipped neither in _tcinjjHf made with hands , nor in consecrated cathedra _^ fbut in spirit nnd in truth .

      Counsel the Queen's Counsellors , and teach our senators wisdom . Bless us with wise and upright magistrates , fearing Thee and hating covetousness . Majesty itself is nourished by the field , —awaken the prince to tbe sense of what he owes to the peasant , animate bim with that pure religion and _undefined which visits the widow and tlie fatherless in their _aflliction , and guide him by Thy Spirit to the conviction that earthly power doth then show likest God ' s , when mercy seasons justice .

      Suffer not Pharisees " to lay burdens on men ' s shoulders that are grievous to be borne , while they will not touch them with one of their fingers . Let not the poor be bought for silver , or the needy for a pair of shoe * , that the rich may sell the refuse of the wheat . Renew within this people the right spirit which shall lead them to prove all things , and hold fast that which is good . —Inspire in us the love of that liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free , —and to that end do thou make us children in malice , but men in understanding . Knowledge is power , —enable us to thirst after it—prosper the means of education—spread abroad the reign of intelligence—of that wisdom from above which is first gentle , then peaceable , full of good fruits , without partiality and without hypocrisy . Save the people from those , who while they promise them liberty , aro themselves the servants of _nnj-rnntion—enable us to seuaratc power from

      licentiousness—to have a giant ' s strength , but not to wield it as a giant—not using our liberty for a cloak of maliciousness , but as the servants of God . Prosper the cause of temperance ; that emancipated from the slavery of their appetites , men may learn by sobriety the virtue of independence , and be strengthened to defy that fear of man which bringeth a snare . Let all the ends we aim at be our Country ' s and Truth ' s , and God ' s . Bless our native land—in its basket and in its store . Give rulers hearts of flesh , and no mote hearts of stone . Teach property that it has duties as the equivalent of its rights—and protect poverty in its rights while it is strengthened to discharge its duties . Let us not g ive up to party what was meant for mankind , or lend ourselves to faction for the gain of thc fewatthe expense ofthe many .

      , Shed Thy blessing over that vast Empire which Thou hast committed to our stewardship , for Thy service and the happiness ofthe world . Inspire in us a sense of thc awful importance of our trust , and enable us to teach the nations how to live by the lesson ofa good example . Teach tho Queen that from us , under Thee , she derives hor power ; that to seek Thy kingdom is to preserve herown , and that to be Thy subject is best to find loyal subjects in us . Adorn our chief magistrate with the christian graces , and givo her wisdom to choose wise counsellors , having a single eye to the puluc good , aud

      Slaves, Willwg Slaves, I Can Call You By...

      their . c _^ try |||| _# v ; , ;¦ ' ' ... " . " _^ r ' _f _^ _V-- _' "' 'We ; . _^ _TaJw _^ rn p _^ h ' _^ r . feliol _^ Uzens of tlie _sisterislana _^^ _iJIMsing of tho _' spiritof love and of a sound mittpp _& _tlear _i : them—answer- them—help them—feed _tlwjB ' by Thybountifulhand _^ -lead them by Thy ,-o _^ uiefe _"* rators--8 ave them from oppressionthat ihWe : dmy , of the spirit and in the bond of peace , , tliey may , by pationt continuance in well doing , in due . season , redcom their country , and raise themselves by industry , mutual conciliation , and self-help , to greatness and prosperity , by leading peaceable , ' sober , and pious lives , in all _godliness and honesty ; * _---- . - .

      Bring justice ' to every man ' s door , and enable judges to inspire respect for the laws , by the wisdom , purity , and impartiality of their judgments . Have pity on the victims of society , enable us to avert the effects of poverty by anticipating its causes , and lead us to be more sedulous to prevent cr ' me than to punish it . Promote human intercourse and brotherhood , making the supply of mutual wants the bond of mutual kindness . To this end advance useful arts , the

      strengthen heart of industry , and crown labour with Thy prora _te of daily bread . Teach us all * _u i _* ! lve D _& mutual dependence , and that neither heads _nojkfcaiids can say lime no need of Thee . Mcmbjrs all of one body , may we feol that neither rich nor pody can suffer without injury to both : and ffiattlio weal of the many is tho truest interest _ojpC . iB _^;^! _bouour _, preferring ' one another , _mty "Truth" Right , arid Libeky _^ m _-coSl fort to the cottage , security to the court , and stability to the throne .

      : Godliness is great gain—may Thy ministers no longer makc . a gain of Godliness . _Teach-them that the pastures are for tho sheep , and not for the shepherd—that they must watch as well as pray ; not as dumb dogs , but as faithful pastors . What to Thee is tho sound of viols ; or wholo rivers of oil ? What the solemn meetings or vain oblations ? Thou wilt not hear for much praying nor answer vain repetitions . Thou madest tbe sabbath for man , not man for the sabbath—and religion for the people , not alone forthe priests . Uncloak the Pharisee , and uncover the _Levites - purge the church of covetousness—that the cure of immortal souls may no

      longer be profaned by the traffic of mammon—or the purity of the sacred calling be defiled by the policy of faction , or the sordid purposes of party . Wc are not only members of a family , and ' subjects of a state , but citizens of the world , and the kindred ofa common humanity . We are men—let nothing that is human be foreign to us—but hasten the tiihe when there shall be but one Lord on earth as in heaiven—when Thy will shall be done here below as it is there above , and when the children of a day shall claim as a Father , the Great Parent of the Universe , and strive to be more worthy of His love liy toying one another , and keeping His _commandmentSj Amen

      Slaves, Willwg Slaves, I Can Call You By...

      _'• _^; g [ iL . _. _^ _ijftii > j t _^ ' _¦¦ " ¦ " ¦ _^ _^» lde _# _tlc _# ! _ljan _^^^ byj the von ference _^ v wheh \ ' _j ft ; . irju _^ _upt _^ ij _^ _gjly _^ _agreed . r ' _tii ' with the exQeption . _bftiu ) sixth _jojause , ; j An amend-: ment was proposed _^ in _^ favour of tho •• members electing _thftjeoretary , but the clausei as it ' stobd , was agreed W A resolution was then' passed for each councilman' tb bring tho subjeot before the members of his locality . On Sunday evening the , ! I _- '' ¦ " ¦ - _' ¦ _¦'¦ ¦ _¦• . _Ct ! - _< . | jm . Iii .. wiu

      members of the Colonel Hutohinson locality , discussed the constitution , and- every , clause was unanimousl y agreed to . On . _MoniJsy evening : the _^* _% tubjeot . was brought bofpro the ; _Wiembers of tho Seven Stars locality ,. when it was unanimously adopted . ' SAtPORD _. —A meeting was held at J . Simpson ' s , St . Hope-street , when it was unanimously agreed , " To join the _National Chartist Association , as established by the lato Conference at London . " The meeting was then adjourned to Sunday next , at the same place .

      S<U< U ' « I A "Whig And A Tory ; And On...

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      ; Thnlc ° U ^Serve To Be Slavesif Would ...

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      Bradford. — A "West-Riding Delegate Meet...

      Bradford . — A "West-Riding delegate meeting was held in tbe Democratic School-room , Croftstrcet , on Sunday , December 23 rd , for thc purpose of discussing the best means of carrying out the new plan of organisation . Delegates present : — Halifax , George Webber , Thomas lloldan ; Iluddersfield , James Emsal ; _Hoimfirth , James Hurst ; WikdMi , Jonas Sugden ; Bradford , John Smyth ; Thomas Wilcock , secretary . Thomas Holdan in the chair . Thefollowingresolutions wereadopted . Moved by John Smyth , and seconded by James Emsal , " Tliat in the opinion of the delegates present thc plan of organisation , as put f orth in tho Northern

      Star , of December 22 nd , is defective , inasmuch as there is no provision for carrying it out ; neither is there any plan by which localities arc to elect officers in the country ; we , therefore , are obliged to reject the plan laid down by the Metropolitan Conference . " Moved by John Smyth , seconded by George Webber : — " That this meeting recommend to the Chartists generally to continue the agitation for the People ' s Charter , whole and entire , through the medium of lectures , tracts , and all legal and peaceful means to obtain its enactment ; and we call upon the nation to propose a plan of organisation , whereby power will be given to enable the localities to elect officers , so that the energies of thc people may bo concentrated for one and the same purpose . " Moved by George Webber , seconded

      by James Hurst : — " That wo , the delegates , recommend thc Chartists ol the West-Riding of Yorkshire to tako into consideration the propriety of establishing a West-Riding Co-operative Manufactory , to consist of £ 1 shares , to be conducted solely by , and for the benefit of the working classes . " Moved by George Webber , seconded by James Emsal : — "That tho delegates present take copies of the above resolution , and lay the same before the locality he represents ; and that the secretary write to all localities in the Riding , and send a copy of the above resolution . " Moved by George Webber , seconded by James Hurst : — "That ono penny per member levy be paid in at the next West-Riding delegate meeting , for the purpose of defraying the expenses of the Riding ; and that all

      localities on the West-Riding lecturing plan be requested to send delegates to the next West-Riding delegate meeting , fov the purpose of making a fresh plan , and for the payment of the expenses of the last plan . " Moved by Thomas Wilcock , West-Riding secretary : — " That this meeting adjourn to the first Sunday in February , 1 S 50 , in the Democratic School-room , Croft-street , Bradford , at ten o ' clock in the morning . " Great Chartist Demo . vstratio . y at Northampton . —On Wenesday evening , a grand Chartist demonstration took place in the Music Hall , commencing with a tea-party and followed b y a public meeting , when the spacious hall was crowded to suffocation . The chair was occupied by Mr . Bates ; and several

      excellent songs and recitations were given . At about seven o ' clock Mr . G . W . M . Reynolds , who had received a special invitation to attend , entered the hall , accompanied by Mrs . Reynolds , and was received with the most enthusiastic applause . — Being called upon to address the meeting , Mr . Reynolds made a long and argumentative speech in favour ofthe People ' s Charter , and the necessity of resuscitating the Chartist agitation throughout the land . He dwelt with his usual vigour upon the wrongs of the working classes , and the tyranny of the rich , exposing all thc infamous abuses which characterise our political and social institutions , and showing how the oligarchy regard and treat the millions as their slaves . Having urged upon

      the audience the necessity of agitating for the rights and privileges so audaciously withheld from the " serfs " of this kingdom , and having shown the working men how they were nothing but " hewers of wood and drawers of water" for tho indolent , pampered , arrogant aristocracy , Mr . Reynolds proceeded to observe that he invited his hearers to nothing save a peaceful and moral , though firm and unflinching agitation . ( Cheers . ) He drewa picture of the state of the continent , showing what it now is , and what it might have been , had not the " crowned miscreants" sot tho upper hand of the people . But he declared his conviction that the nations would rise again , and that on the next occasion it would be no child ' s play for the foes of

      freedom . ( Loud cheers . ) Germany was sure to rise within a year ; Hungary and northern Italy would follow ; and France would not remain behind . ( Hear . ) Wc were standing on the ova of momentous events ; the affairs of Europe , though apparentlv clouded to the gaze of the superficial observer , were really touching upon that crisis which was built of hope for the lovers of true freedom . When once the ball of revolution should commence rolling over the continent of Europe again , emperors and kings would not fly temporarily , but would be exiled for ever ; thrones would not bo merely shaken , but would he upset altogether . ( Tremendous cheering . ) Then the social and democratic principle would receive a fair trial ; and from the banks of the . Seine to the waters of the Danube , the true sDirit of Republicanism would nrcvail . f Cheers . )

      Kossuth , Mazzini , and Ledru Rollin , would become the leaders of European freedom ; and the glorious work would inevitably he accomplished without fear of further impedi ment , much less of reaction . ( Prolonged - cheers . ) Mr . Reynolds then proceeded to state that the people of England must be prepared to avail themselves of the coming events upon the continent , and take that imposing moral altitude , whieh would win them their rights . Their ' s would be a bloodless triumph consummated bypeaceful means ; but the issue would not bo the less glorious . ( Cheers . ) Mr . Reynolds then oxpatiated . -It great length upon the principles of the People ' s Charter , and concluded a long speech amidst prolonged and enthusiastic applause . —A vote of thanks , proposed by Mr . J , Rymill , and seconded by another gentleman on the platform , was then awarded to Mr . and Mrs . Reynolds ' , for their presence on thc

      . Xottixciiau . —The council met on Sunday afternoon ; Mr . Trcece in the chair , when thc secretary informed the meeting that the Mayor had granted the use of tho Town-Hall , for Mr . White ' s lecture ou 3 " e \ v Year ' s day . The council then took into

      To The Irish People. Though Yecs Call Us...

      TO THE IRISH PEOPLE . Though yecs call us poltroons , we raoruityour dragoons , And we powers out our blood on thc battle ' red plains ; Sure we man your war . shipg and feed all their Lordships , Whilo _yees call us barbarians , amfhorrible names . There ' s the ' bloody ould Times ' , ' wid its threeha ' penhV hnes , . _.- ¦ /" And yonr Parlhnint-house , wid ifg Saxon oppressors ; ¦ ' Wh _\ your fioord ofall _Worke , and ypur Viceroy ' s quirks , _"fou _' vft . stripped us of potuooks , ; _-creepens , and ould

      Friends and Countrymen , While I am analysing the several points of the much-reviled Charter , it is my duty to do so in language that all can understand , and in a spirit that none can repudiate . Tho greatest difficulty against which Chartism has hail to contend is tho foolish and excitable language in ivhich its principles have been propounded , and the fear with wliich it has struck the privileged classes ; the expounders of the law explaining it to juries as a wholesale system of plunder , while tho affrighted proprietors of every description of property have based their support of what is foolishly termed lhjekal govhunment upon timid of Chartism .

      "Whenever tho Whigs have been out of power , if they have not voted for , they have defended , Chartist principles ; nay , ever since the commencement of Lord Grey ' s Reform agitation down to the present moment , the Whigs have hold office upon no better tenure than popular fury , created by themselves , and when they have achieved power , they have enacted the most sanguinary laws to suppress the expression of opinion . 1 But , my countrymen , mark it now , and mark it -well too , when I tell you , tliat never

      was there such an antagonism of classes in Parliament , as you will see next Session . Aud observe , that this prediction comes from one who has had twenty-seven years close and continuous experience in political matters . In 1822 , I was obliged to fly my country for thirteen irtonths _, during thc timo of the Whiteboy disturbances . Jn 1831 , I was tried in the county of _Corlc for anti-tithe agitation . I have been tried in England for Chartism in 1839 , 1840 ( twice ) , and in 1843 , together with fiftyeight others , for eight days , and in every instance the Crown has appointed a special jury to try me .

      I have been immured in a condemned cell in solitary confinement for nearly eighteen montlis . I regret that the ignorance in which you have been kept with respect to English politics should render it necessary to inform you—perhaps for the first time—of the suflering and persecution to which I have been subjected for tbe advocacy of the principles which I am now propounding . My countrymen , during tho whole period of Chartist agitation Irishmen have held the most prominent position . Thoy have been amongst thc ablest lecturers , and have always constituted a fair proportion of Government victims . I think this introduction is necessary to convince you of three

      things—1 st . —The _difficulties against which wo have to contend ; 2 nd _# -My sincerity ; and S « l . — -That Irishmen in England , who understand tho subject , do not repudiate the principles sought to he characterised as damnable and destructive ; and above and before all , bear in mind that John _O'Con'neli . voted for every point of the Charter last Session of _PsYvKamont ..

      Irishmen , you are not mere slaves in your sea-bound dungeon—you aro worse than criminal convicts in a penal colony ; your sufferings aro consequences of oppression and misrule , and oppression and misrule are consequences of your disunion ; and my principal aud only object in devoting very valuable time to your service is the hope of establishing a union which will destroy oppression and misrule . \

      As soon as I have analysed the six pointsj of tho much-reviled Charter , I will then write you a series of letters showing the right of every man to he maintained in comfort , happiness , and plenty in tho land of his birth , and the capability of your land to effect it . I now come to

      VOTE BY BALLOT . Under the present system of franchise , I am opposed to Vote by Ballot ; bnt in order to show the difficulties against which public men have to contend , I have felt myself bound by duty to my party to vote fov it , lest my opposition should warrant the antagonism of any party professing liberal principles . Lord John Russell , Lord Stanley , when a Whig , and many other prominent Eeform

      agitators , declared , that one of the chief objects and tho main result of the Reform Bill would be , to place the electors under rorui . AH "VIGILANT CONTROL . Such an avowal can lead to no other conclusion than that the voters are trustees , and that the people are the owners of the property , and that , therefore , upon the misuse of that trust , the owners of tho property have a perfect right to demand its _surrmuW .

      To show you that there is ono law for the rich and another for the poor , let me remind you that all the members of clubs vote by ballot , but that ALL have a right TO VOTE . Now , this shows the difference of the ballot as applied to Universal Sufirage . Now , let ns suppose the number of voters in Ireland to be one hundred thousand—but it is not fifty thousand ; but taking them at ono hundred thousand , aivl the population at eight millions , one in every eighty has the vote . Suppose , then , a club having four hundred members , and suppose five of those , or one in eighty , to have the vote ; do you imagine that the " 395 would long tolerate such a system ? or do you suppose they . would allow thc five to _voto with masks upon thoir faces %

      The Ballot , with the present franchise , would destroy wholesale bribery , hut it would also deceive the people , as all would declare that they voted for the popular candidate , and no one could refute it ; aud thus that popular vigilant control , so necessary to be exercised , would bo destroyed . I think I can givo you the most perfect illustration of the result of the ballot , with a limited constituency , and which I stated in the House of Commons . Mr . Stocks , a man in extensive business , and holding a high office in Huddersficld , was once requested by ardent and professing friends to allow himself to be put in nomination fov a vac art office . The contest had been between

      To The Irish People. Though Yecs Call Us...

      a "Whig and a Tory ; and ono party _wishing to divido the interest of the other _ptrty _, waited upou Mr . Stocks , and assured him tliat if he stood he would be elected by a large majority . Mr . Stocks acquiesced , the day of ballot arrived , tho voters sat round a largo table , Mr , Stocks' proposer o : i his right , and his seconder on hisleft . " There you go , Stocks , " said the proposer , ' putting . his paper into the ballot-box ; " thero yoa go again , _Stom , " _wwA tbe _aeoonder ; _"flbile , porhRps , _' . _y _« ii . _j | -i'l ' " jo ; astonished to . hear that when tho _baltotbbxM | : . bpbned Mr . Stocks had not onb ! 8 ikotB ' r _^; _v ; _Miw "' _-c' 6 uld ahv fact more clearly iliuBtrnte' th _' e'de _' ccption that the _Fallot would give rise to with th ' eprbsemY limited 8 \ iffrago I . vrhftn yovi reflect that the i * aooft' question is tho great question which must riow . _ba solved , and the majority of ' tha elfiotors'live _ubwfcttie knavery , the dependence , ; the e ' eotors'ive uponthe Knavery , tue ubjjvwubui . o , a "Whig and a Tory ; and ono party _wishing ndivMn the interest of thc other party , waited

      and the disunion of the _eleotbrsi _/ 'j In large towns , where freemen , as they are called , sell tlieir votes for five shillings or half-a-crown , the ballot may . ; be essential , and until a system of representation based npon the mind and freewill was framed , it might also be necessary ; and for this reason : because many English masters employ from five to seven thousand hands , and a few of those , lashing their slaves to' tho hustings as tho Irish " slaverowners . were in the habit of using their slaves , may neutralise and overpower the free votes of a majority _iniuiy . electoral district . . To conclude - under this ; lieadi ' lot mc assure you . that the ballot without the vote is the gf ai e Jivitlioiit the fire , the s _] nt without the leg of mutton ;' die pot viitliout the- ' potatoes . So much for the ballot , of which the frieze coat electors and the independent voters of Ireland have never stood in need , as with them principlo and character bas ever been dearer than money . Now to ¦

      EQUAL ELECTORAL DISTRICTS . Irishmen , in these days of progress , when thero is knowledge upon every passing breezo ; when we arc govdrned by railways , steam navigation ' , tho electric telegraph , penny postage , the ' printing press , and that g igantio monster maichinery ' which Has come upon us with a hop , step , ana | a jump ' , jand which is not yet . legislated for ,, and which . makes the working man tho dependent slave of its owner— _-uiio _' er Buch _circumstances ifc may be absurd to refer to any by-gone system ; but when . , ypu are _' _stilKgovernqd- ; by , musty _sta-Iftay-brjustifiod _' _n _: _^ _iJ _% _¦ _Mb _1 _> _- _•; _: _V _^ _?*> ' _^ f . ' . f . v Know , then , Irishmen , that up to tho reign ' o ' i '' ' James the First you bad _eomil electoral districts

      in Ireland , and that--monarch created forty rotten boroughs , whoso representatives constituted moro than a third of the Irish parliament so polluted and corrupted by an influx of monarchical tools and toadies , all well remunerated for their prostitution , was to pass an act to attaint O'Nial , O'Donel _, O ' Dogherty , O'Calhan , and other princes and nobles , whose estates in Ulster had beon previously seizod by James ; and that the same parliament assigned to the samo monarch over 500 , 1 ) 00 acres in Lciuster to be divided amongst his English followers ; and to show you tho effect of such an iniquitous system of plunder , the injustice led to thc Itevolution , and justly too , of 1 P . 41 .

      Irishmen , always bear ono conclusive and irrefutable fact in _mindi that _Ikelisu sever had a Parliament ; nnd for this reason : though Catholics could vote , Catholics could not sit in _I'arliament , where they were obliged to support the tyrant ' s Church . Let me giv < _s you an instance , one which will prove the sincerity and religious devotion of your Protestant representatives . Up to tho year 1735 thc grass land of the feudal lord was liable to tithe for the support ofthe Protestant parson ; and what do you think ofthe Protestant representatives ofa Catholic

      peopJc passing a Tithe Agistment in 1735 , to exempt their own land from the payment of tithe to support the divine _trusteos of their own conscience . Irishmen , only picture to yourse-ives a poor forlorn widow , with six desolate orphans , scratching by thc road-side for a sufficiency of manure to produce half-an acre of potatoes ; think of the loyal yeoman , witli his red coat , his badge of loyalty , digging every tenth rood of that widow ' s potatoes , while the feudal lord , with his tliree , four , or five thousand acres laid out in pasture , sheep-walk , and deer-park paid Ivor a _fractiox-.

      I may be told that these times are past and gone but I deny it . Thoy arc differently represented in tbe magic " mnthorn , but the oppression still continues ; and to show you how men that won't feel for others will feel for themselves , when the legal goad pricks them , Jet me remind you that when _Goulbouvn's Act for the commutation of tithe threw a shave of the onus upon thc landlords , many of those landlords , who had formerly _imprisoned , transported , shot , and huRg the resistors of the payment of tithe , were thc first to cry out , when a portion of the burthen was transferred to their own shoulders , they wove the most violent spoutcrs at public meetings , many as magistrates were deprived ofthe commission ofthe peace-, and in the course of a few years Parliament did them the justice to relieve them of twenty-five per cent _, of the burthen , although you aro not benefited to the amount of a fraction by the reduction .

      My countrymen there is no more important point in the People ' s Ghautkk than _IiqUAL ELECTORAL MBTU 1 CTS . To give yon a full-length portrait of the _absurdity —nay , the iniquity , would occupy move space than I am entitled t _» ; ' however , as the inequality of ths English system is equally oppressive as the Irish system , I shall lay the English system before ysu in another letter ; while , for the present , I shall confine myself to nn analysis of the Irish system . Here it is as regards representatives and population : —

      Population . Representatives Antrim 270 , 188 2 Armagh 232 , 293 2 _Carlow 80 , 228 2 Cavan 24 '" , 153 2 Clare 2 WJM 2 Cork 77 : 3 , 39 s 2 Donegal ; 2 !) _0 , < MS 2 Down 361 , 440 2 Dublin 110 , 047 2 Fermanagh ... 15 ( 5 , 481 2 fJnlwnv 4 _

      Kerry 203 , 880 2 Kildarc 114 , 488 2 Kilkenny 183 , 349 2 King ' s County . 140 , 859 a LcitrinY 155 , 297 2 Limerick 2 S 1 , 038 2 Londonderry ... 222 , 174 2 Longford 115 , 491 2 Louth 111 , 070 2 Mavo 388 , 887 2 Month I 83 . S 2 S 2

      Monaghan ' 2 _W , i ¥£ ' 1 Queon ' _sCounty 153 , 930 2 Hoscommon .. _' . 25 S _. . 521 2 Sligo 180 , 880 2 Tipperary 435 , 553 2 Tyrone 312 , 950 2 Waterford 172 , 071 2 "WostmoatU ... 141 , 300 2 Wexford 202 , 033 2 " vVicklow 120 , 143 2 7 , 657 , 079 01 Row , here you have a . populnt ' on of seven millions , six hundred and fifty-seven thousand , six . hundred and seventy-nine , sending sixty-four members to pariiament ; while a population of three hundred and forty-two thousand , thvee hundred and twenty-one , send forty-one members to Parliament . Again , the county of Cork , with a population of sevea hundred and seventy-three thousand , three hundred and ninety-eight , sends two members to parliament—while tho University of Dublin , with a population of leeches , of seventeen hundred and twenty-seven , who live upon your sweat , your blood , and your marrow , sends two members to parliament . But , my countrymen , with your assistance , and God ' s blessing , wc will pull down all these temples of corruption , of dissipation , and barbarism—and , in their Htead , erect thc temple of happiness , contentment , anu peace . Ireland has been our mother , our cradle , our nurse , and our protector . Her anxious , heaving bosom , has been tho pillow of our infancy—she will , I trust , be our grave ; and shall we not , then , prepare her for our reception— -that our memories may spring through her pure and hallowed mould , and long live green in thc land of our nativity . Your faithful friend and countryman , London . Feakgvs O'Cossor .

      Tiie Mixers Of Yorkshire. To The Editor ...

      TIIE MIXERS OF YORKSHIRE . TO THE EDITOR OV THE SOUTHERN STAR , Sir , —The miners of the abovo place have , for several months past been trying to unite themselves for their mutual protection throughout the entire district , viz .: Adwalton , _Wostgatc-lane _, Jy ' eathortown _, Gildersome , ( fcc . _d-c , aiiut ' jey now number from 250 to 300 . Xo sooner did it become known amongst the co ; il masters that the miners of the whole district were about to send in statements to their respective collieries , asking fov an advance of about tivepencc per day for dressing their coal ? ,

      & c , than they generally agreed to advance their co _/ . _ls to thc consumer fivepencc per ton . 2 v ' f ths miners , generally speaking , are getting not less than four tons per day ; thus while the masters are unwilling to give quo fourth ptivt of the advance from tho consumer , they will pocket from each man ' s days work not less than Is . 3 d , The coal masters have lately held a meeting , at which they resolved not ts give employment to any _uiiuev who may have been discharged by his former employer . G . IiKOWK .

      A Largk And Very Beautiful Giu:-C'V.\Vnw...

      A _LARGK and very beautiful giu :-c ' v . \ _vnW \ icv I a » been made by Messrs . Abbott and Co ., of ( atcihead , for a mosque in _Constantiuotli .

      ¦

      ¦

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Dec. 29, 1849, page 1, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns3_29121849/page/1/