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Northern Star (1837-1852), 20th April 1839, Edition 1 of 1, Page 3, Untitled Article

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    • FACTORY LEGISLATION.
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      MB . OASTLEB AT MANSFIELD . On the 28 th nit ., ( Thursday ) tbe above gentleman ~ aa yj promised visit to Mansfield , fffr die purpose y ieHTerin ? an address there , in befealf of the Mcaecuted Stephens . The meeting wag held in £ Large Room of the Black Svran Inn , which w&s —eedily crammed witi & most attentive audience . Aboot 2 . 000 persons assembled oa a vacant piece of ground there ; they were addressed on Chartist i * b | eet £ and on Stephens ' * per > ecutions by 24 r . | foodhou * e , of Nottingham , whilst Mr . Oastler / Those health 'would not permit him to rpeak ^ Btside . ) engaged tha attenDoa of the audience viihm .

      After some preliminary speeches ' , delivered by the bjotcts and seconders of the resolutions , Mr . Oastler proceeded with his speech as fcllovs : —Men and Women of Mansfield , —I thank too right heartily for the cordial reception which yon iare now given to an individual who is only known to yon by name , and by the report which public op inion has wafted of him to your ears . ( , ** God Wets him—Amen . " } There must ^ xe something vroog somewhere in England , or an in dividual jituated as 1 hare been—formed by nature with a jeind like mine—could not have been transformed iato an agitator . That something I have at last foKnd out—it is , that instead of this country being ja reality a Christian country—instead of the

      Government of the country believing that the Word of God is true- ^ -Englfcod is the seat of the groi-sest isiidelity , and it * governors believe the Bibie to be a lie I C Shame , shame . "/ - I have been for the last five or six weeks traversing different provinces of the kingdom ; 1 have been in towns where Ism known almost to every inhabitant ; 1 have been in the metropolis , where 1 am known only by name ; ind 1 fcave been in Nottingham , from Which , town 1 selected my beloved partner ; and I now appear kere before you , where 1 am an entire stranger . I come here for the same parpose that 1 have been before them—te plead the c&nse ot an individual , who has been arri * ted by the infidel Government of this country , because he is a

      Christianfsaame)—because he is a patriot ; and I find that , in everyplace , whether North or South , tnepeope of England are alive to tbe protection of the Christian . sad awake lo the danger by which the patriot is surrounded from the dastardly conduct of inf . de ] and traitoroasGovernment ! ( Cheers . ) At this 1 rejoice , and , 1 rejoice also that God has spared me so long , 15 , that , before I bow down to tbe grave , I have bees enabled to raise my voice before tne people of England , in behalf of the man , whom 1 believe to be the most disinterested , the must benevolent , the mosVboly , the most talented , and ihe most patrieac man in the empire—I mean Stephens . ( C Leers ) 1 rejoice the more , that 1 have been privileged to advocate his cauj'e , because he differs irom ine in

      that sect of Christianity with which 1 myself am incorporated—because he ^ ts in a different section of the Christiiii temple , to that which 1 have chosen for mr home—and because he is of a d : iferent party in politics to my own . If anything could convince his enemies , that he is unworthy the bonds with which they have trammelled tim—it would be tie fact , that an individual , differing irom him in Li > pnristian section and political parry . chouU esteem it as the brightest act of lus ii ! e , iLiat he is spenduu his last energies , that he . bids -idieu 10 the people among whom he has so long laboured , wita the greatest pleasure , under the cousciousne .-s that he ia serving his day and generation to trie best of his abiHtv . m endeavouring to rescue the character o :

      Stephens from odium and obli \ ion . and to raix ? him , not only in the estimation of tbe poor , bu ; ai « o ol the rich . ( Cheers . ) 1 wish it to be understood perfectly , that , although Stephens is tue friend , the disinterested friend of ihe poor , he is no le » s the sincere friend of the rich . ( Loud cheers . ) He an :: 1 have periecdy ascertained , that there cannot be security ior tte -pjoyirriy of the rich , so -long as there is wrong aud inju ^ dce practi ^ i to-w ards the poor . ( Hear . hear , and cheering . ) 1 repeat that I rejoice , whilst 1 am . bidding adieu to , aud tcrning my back , as it were , upon tnis world , whilst 1 am rnrninf my face hesvenwani , and shall soon have to enter into the presence of the Judge ef all the earth that I am concluding mv last campa : gu , in

      endeavouring to establish tie principles of Carisrianitv in . the land of my native birth . ( Cheers . ) Tint laud , ; eo long the land of profession ; that land , -whose j green leaves of pro eis on have long covered her soil with apparent verdure , but under these green I leaves I have et last found ont . that murde ^ C and : wrong , and fraud , and robbery , have been aknojt i nniversaily practised on the people , such as never ' entered into ihe hearts of professing heathens to \ practice in the world before . ( lt " a true , it ' s true . ) How happens it taat Stephens should be in bonds ; \ Is he not a Christian Minister : His he ever taken up any other Bible than that authorized bv the ' Church oi England , and by the Govemmect o " i" this I country : H&s he changed any of its ordinances : Has he altered any of its pre-cepts : Has he krp !

      back any of its premiss , or withheW anv of iis threatening ^ No ! It is Decani *—takiiig tbe Book of God in his hand , and , standing before the people— ( and when I say the people , 1 mean rich and poor , high and low , honourable and degraded . ) he hi * bt » ea . the oaly man who dared to read it from beginning to ending , and explain it . clearly and honestly , as h * went on . That man has only preached as God taught him to preach his own m » t holy word . He has preached the same truths to all se : ts , to all grades , to all parties . And , for having done so , by an infidel Govrmment , he has been accounted ucwon ' iy of hi ? liberty in a Christian couDiry —(* hame >—and the bs ^ est , ihe fcu ! e » u the most cotvaxdhr . the most detestable , asd ihe

      most fiend-like plot has been invented and perpetrated by the infidel Government of this country , to catch and kidnap that man of Go-, that ever was heard o ! since the world began . ( Loud cheer * . ) Yon have heard something of ths scheme , and yon shall cow hear something more . 1 know all about it . 1 am come to tell you . ( Cheers . ) S ' -ephrns has not spoken in ambiguous or doubtful phrases , nor has he been unobserved by Government ; nay , he has been regularly honoured by the attendance of a Government reporter . And ' l esteem it no slight henaar that 1 am now so attended ; so that Government will know every word I am now speaking . Thank God for that ! It so happens , that althongn Stephens has thus spoken pubbclv , and although he

      has thus oeen attended by a representative of the Ministry , taking down his « ords for the eye of my Lord John Russell;—and tkough he is the most pure . Sajcon-English speaker in the empire , never uttering 8 word that does not glow in an Englishman ' s heart;—ikhough he has thus openly , and publicly , and boldly declared the whole coHniel of God ; notwithstanding ail this , how , think you , wa > he found unworthy ( before a bench of magistrates , ) of liberty in England ? Why , from the report of some persons who heard him tali , at a little village some six week .-before he was arrested;—one of whom had asked Mai to go to take tea with him , after haying made ids speech . '—like Judas , betraying his rriend . ( Shame . ) Instead of taking >^ tt > on the report of an

      Individual who was capable oi telling all he said , — j to please his enemies and to prove the wickedness of the Government , he was brought up , on the hearsay of individuals who actually contradicted ] themselves and each other whilst they were on oath ; which centradiction the magistrates would not have recorded against them ; ( Shame . ) This is not all . I am going to begin at the beginning . He had first made himself obnoxious to the lactory masters , gome years ago , because ne had preached from his pulpits that the labourer ought to be the man , and that the mother ought to be the nurser of the children of them both . Is not that Gospel train : ( "It is . " ) There were monsters of factory masters who declared : they had a right to take a mother who was rackling

      her infant , or a woman big with child , and work them in the mills , asd also the young child , and work it as welL Stephens told them tney had the power , but thatitwas cruel and unjust . Stephens said I will make that man too proud to eat the bread obtained by the slaying of his wife and his children in a factory . " He has done so , and has succeeded in getting a great many little children and women ont of tbe mills . When he heard of children being worked to death , he raised his voice against their murder , and a loud one it was too . ( Cheer * . ) The factory master gnashed his teeth , because Stephens boldly denounced child-murder ; and when it happem—as it often does—that a poor mother is seized "with tiie pains of labour on the factory

      floor—( shame)—then Stephens again raised bis manly voice against such monstrous indecency and craelty , and said , "it shall not be . " Life or death , -it shall not be . " Anns or no arms , it shall not be . " ( Shouts of " It shall not . ") And because he has thus boldlj stood by his Christian principle * , for the rights of enslaved and oppressed children and women in the factories , he became obnoxious to the murderers of both .. ( Hear , hear . ) In our country it has pleased the base Government to swamp the old j ? n * RiJr tracy , and by rawing to the bench the noost ignorant , unjust , fraudulent , disloyal , irreligious , and immoral reptiles in the neighbourhood . (•* It ' s j the same here . " ) There same bed men ( many of j thezi being mill-owners ) that communicated to the ; Government that Stephen * was a d&ngerons charac- j ter—that he was disturbing the peace and good

      order of Bociety , 2 nd that the population aronni him j were a grossly ignorant , disloyal , disaolHte , idle , and j fs ^ engeful set . Gorerament ' accordingly sent spies ate that neighbourhood —{ " We havp them hen / ' }— j * ad those rpiea endeavoured to * et the people i against Stephens . This did not do , however . The pre ** was then engaged up and down the country , to spread rumours of Stephens being violent , hot-* j ~ ad « l , iedirioui , and what not . The train was kibs began to be laid for Stephen * * death—mark taat ! it » o happened , however , that Stephens still fent on fearlessly opposing their oppressions , their *^ ds , their wrong ? , their robberies , and their mur-^ 5 &ad , if yon remember , a few year * ago , the ^ ew Poor Law wu passed , npon the principle that ^ giuhmen had no right ro relief from their parish £ idi , and that they ought to mbmii to be taken ~^ a ttader the protection of the coa * li *» DUonal lairs

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      of England , and surrender themselves into the traitorous tarns of three infidel devil Commission-re , beiore ibe / could claim relief * and \ hat thn otriv condition on which those Commissioners would permit the poor to receive relief , wax , thai thry would jto into bastiles and take off their own clothes —( hear , hear)—and submit to be clothed like felons , and allow the door tn be locked upon them ; and submit to be separated from their wiTes , and allow their children to be torn from them both , and there T ? main for tbe privilege of eating " skilly * and s-eeping on beds of cocoi-nut \ arn : unti ,, n

      loader be rrcogmsed as Englishmen , but only a . subjects under tbe tyrant kings at 5 omer > et Hou ^ e , obeying no laws but thrirg ! ( True , sud sh . me . ) But we will reckon with those three traitors * ,. on ' ( Cheers ,-and -we will . " ) Slrpbens could not > -ta ; . J all this . He ' began to preach against it , and deneunce all the supporters of it as unchristian , unconstitutional , and as men without the principle of | nature in their breasts . He did this boldly . ( Cheers . ) He thus made the Government his enemies , as he had before made the factory masters las foes , and now the former resolved , at all hazards to secure and silence him . ( Shame . ) D *> you think that it was unseemly , that a minister of the . Gospel should oppose the New Poor Law , when he know *

      ofall the cruelties which have been inflicted under it . ' ( No , do . ) But they say it works well , —that it is a benevolent law , which raises wages , and increases tbe comforts of tbe pour . You have it here —does it wort well ? ( "No , no . ") D- men in your bastiles live under lock and key : ( Yes . ) Is that ^ right for . fiveborn Englishmen ' ? (" No , we won t have it . " ) Do they live togetherlike husbands and wives ? or as Christians ? !* as members of the family of Datnre ? or . a * children and parent * out ; ht to do—together ? ( No . ) Does it work wt-11 , u ' eu . by raising wages ? ( " No . they are lower . "' ) I do not ask you it their bellies are iull of skilly aud resin , '' but I 3 tand up for the law- of nature a ' ad o Christianity , and , violating these , ns it does . 1 know C > t rk elL ( We hate

      ' " , t a" - ^ " " •"> ll can " c wo ^ j well as a Christian measure , whenthev ar ^ separated j and divided as they now are—when true-born fclnglushmen are imprisoned before they can obtain that which is as much their right as the rent deriv-d I from any landlord ' s estate is his . At Plowmarket . ; and at Huntingdon—they say it works well therr '• > ow , look at this paper—it is no fiction—it i . « a ; dreadful reality . Here Mr . Oastler proauced and ; r ^ ad a document , respecting the boys Draper and , Mmons . whuse case appeared in tne Star , upon ; which he commented most indignantly at ereat j length . It might have been expected , when thev i determined to take Stephens tor publishing such i thlHgs , that they would have takes him in a naiiiY i Slraightfor * ard sort of * ay . Bet m > : Serpents

      never keep a straight course ; so Lord Broughair about twelve months ago . in the House of Lord- — to which House he had tumselt bten raised bv the people , was employed to denounce Stephens as a rirebrsiid , an incendiary , and as a seditious person . Thui was tie first open st-p taken by Mmi * . : c ers \ J dld thi ^ J ^ - P « rpo ^ ot ' siukiubiepheus iu the estimation of the uobies of the land . and to lead them to cry oat , •¦ away wiih him " '¦ Brougham ksd not thecourre .-y to wr .: e u . step ! t- ^ ¦ thoogn he ( Stephens ) ha-pens to be ¦ , < u-eai ! a scholar as' Brougham i . «—( be : ir . hear , and chee- < j !—and a man of as high honour nnd as nolle | descent too . He did not a « k Stephens i ; ib . e repi . « r . i 1 in the papers were true , but he at one dfziounced I Him as seditious and an incendiary , and incited iht

      government to prosecute l . im . brougham then said that St-phei : s woiiid not be heard of at 12 munths end . ( Laughter . ) U hich is n ; ust tLnught of now 1 wonder ? ( Cherrs , laughter , afij "Stephmslo be i sure . ) ] lus > e'l Lext cetiouueed bw ^! ,, -u > iu ti ,-! House o : Commons , without a . > kijig wht-: hrr the , reporters were . correct cr no ! , in tLi-: r st ; iteinents : ii i tap papers . Tais was done- to lo «> r . > : ev > hcas iu ih ^ j esnmauon < . f 1 h- ; nidd > dn >> rf . 13 mi ! i : h : iin . you i bw , had himseii trjkeci nboui Ki « e " s h-ftis b ' reu ; kicked about ? or footballs . Broughams brol !; er h « . ' | oppo-ed thepayrntnt of taxes . Nnv . whil-t ke

      thuaeuouueed Mepaens . L .. r . l- 'itzwuiia . ui . wtw had " . aught the reformeis t . i rebel w ^ s sitiinjj by his jidi . > ; undRuise ' . i had , ii / the lower house , " for " iiis cauiu ind suppurrer , Bidnes o ! J > i-eis , who with F ; tzwuliam Lord said , "we will pay no more : ast-s " whose " son went with his lather to a public i ^ e-ULg . and gave three groans for the Qneen of Ev .-lr . u- /; but tbe noble Rus > eii did not biu > h when iu t : iepr > -- ' -euce ' oi Barnes and ( J ' Connell he denounced Stephen- ; es a traitor . ( Shame on him . ) Next they employed O'Conneilin ihi ^ dirty job ! 1 in sure i need not tell you what heii . ( Laughter , and he ' s u \ iilain . ")_ One wouid have thoaght tfiat Rus .-el ] would have blushed wken he eagajjed U'Conneil t . > denounce Stephens M < -u ia power now ha \ e no ? hame at all . They have sh ^ kt-a h ^ nds with luiideiity , and have said to hvpocri .-y and trc-acbr-rv you are my brother and my si > : er . ( Cheers . ) Sie ' pheiis wa < denounced in Ireland bv O'C ' onneU amongst his

      Precursors ; bnt there it vou ' . d not work as the ; Government wished : O' ConnfU ' s spleen only served i toicaXe ^ the people love Stephens more . Tneyncxttried the Binnineham Conncil . and employed it to i hunt down Stephens—and to cnll tor his apprehen- ! < : on—I * amsorry now that my remarks must brar . ! as it were , "upon your friend>—for H he had not keen ; denouEced by the Radical Council i > f Birmingham , he would not have been apprehenivii . Did -sou everbefort ? hear of such a dark mftrna ! scheme , ; being planned and adopted by civilized statesmen . to put down guy man ? They then determined upon a siinDltnneons attack en himself and me . Tkey got my late master to discharge mr . hnpinjj thus to silence me . and persuaded the factory mas- ters of Dukinh ' eid and Ash ton to « lencH him . by starving him out of the place . They openly and nvoweojy cecla . ced upen resoiutrly starring him out . The cotton masters actuaiiv entered into an open

      agreement not to employ man , woman , or child . who dared to worship at any of Steph-n * 's chapels . This , however , did not succeed . Stephens would lather eiarve himself , Uau lei his people starve . He * aid , " Y * du shall have a . 11 my salary to keep you upon , aa far as it will go , rather than you shall yield to such monstrous oppression . " He gave them his ' salary , for two half-yi-ars , and thus broke the master ' s inion . This plot having failed to ' silence him , what think je , was the next thin ,: they attempted ? It was mooted iu the newspaper .-. bosn of London and the country , that Stephens ought by all . means to be apprehended . They were continually full of paragraphs containing exclamations , such as " When wiii Government arTesthim ¦ " and so on . This was done to see whether it was safe to take him—they were mindful of their own

      popularity—were jealous , that the people would be j angry . 1 will give 3 on a specimen of the letters then published ' , respecting Stephens . The following was in a Manchester paper , signed " Clericus : "" In these days factious demagogue ? , and inSdel preachers , are allowed with impunity to traverse ihe country , inflaming the minds of the people against all lawfnl authority in Church and Si ate , and weakening- their faith in the fundamental doctrines of Christianity . By factious demagogues 1 mean such is en a ^ the Rev . Mr . Stephen ? , one of those false teachers , ' described . — 2 ud Pet . 2 nd ch . ' ' This irreverent gentleman —( a cast off from tne Methodist body 1 am told . ) Aye , aye , Air . Backbiter—Mr . Slanderer— "you are told so , ' no doubt .

      but you very well know that you are told'a falsehood , and you are too happy to give additional circulation to the lie ; Stephens was not " a cast-ofT from the Methodist boayv No , no , that body would have been too happy to have retained him . He leit them of his own lree will , against the remonstrances of many of their best and most talented preachers . The slauderer proceeds , — " This irreverent gentleman lately visited this neighbourhood , and 1 am informed , by an ear witness , that he told ihe deluded multitude * to arm themselves . '"' ( To be sure he did—and is there notacau * e Mr . Clericus , when they live surrounded by such company as yourself ?) " His advice has been followed , and at this very rime the weavers are buying arms . " ( 1 am

      right glad of it—if they had bought them sooner , they woald not hate been robbed and cheated as they have been . ) " The members o ! a secret club pay so much a head oat of their earnings , to create a fund for this purpose . 1 heard a woman say , ' It is time to have pistol , ' meaning , as I supposed , it was time to shoot parsons . " What a gxulty conscience thi « - fellow must have ! ( Loud cheering . ) M any follow in hus ( Stephens '*) train , providing themselves with piki * , guns , drc , and talk very large about murder , selecting their victims , and giving them notice of their approaching end . ' ( How very kind and considerate these murderers are to ' select 5 and ' notice' their ' victims' so carefully . ' ( But never mind , we will bear the villain out . ) * The

      most violent state of feeling pervades the meetings , and some of onr countrymen imitate their leader Stephens , by holding forth to the astonishment ot tho se who strive to understand the terms made use of . The magistrates have taken wise and precautionary measures for the prevention of a Todinorden scene , by appointing upwards of a thousand special constable * , throngh " the union , which has a saintary effect . An active correspondence is also carried od with the Secretary fcr the Home Department ; and in case of need ,, proper ansistance is at hand , or nearly so . Weiaeniion this as an example for other places that mav be carsed with the visii of such a reckless incendiary as Stephens ' . " ( Hear , hear . ) At the time all these things were coming out ,

      Stephens was quietly pursuing his ministerial office , deiending the rights of the poor to liberty aud life ; nay , he had resolved to attend no more meetings , and had published his reasons , viz . —the attack made upon by the Radicals of Birmingham ana Scotland . All this would not do , however , and so Russell issued an order about torch-light meetings . Now the cause why those meetings were held was this ;—At the . great Kersal Moor meeting , 600 people and upwards were discharged from their work , by the cotton lords , because they attended a dav-light meeting ; so it was then thought it would be " better to have . tie meetings held when tbe tour * of work were over . There never were more peaceable ineeUDl * than then ? torch-light meetings . The

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      one at Hyde , which they Raid was so riotous—why . it was a * peaceable as possible , although one of the Magistrate * wanted to have a waegou-load of straw burn' , in order that some charge might be made : igainst the poor people . 1 will explain this to you . This waggon whs purposely placed 111 the path over which the pro : ession would have to pass to the meeting , and those who placed it there , waited to see whether it would be xet fire to , either by accident or otherwise . ( Shame . ) Why , the people , without being told to do so , actually ' lormed a complrte guard ronud the waggon , stiia ordered the torch-bearers to take the other side of the road , and to hold thfir torches to tbe ground , that they might not set it on fire by any sparks tallina bv chance

      ( Hear , hear . ) Now , it so happened , that , ' notwithstanding ah these traps , Stephens was not yet appreiu'cded . ( Ju the Stti of December , the Bury meeting wu * held , and Hi ^ iiibottom ' s null ( tit Asl > iou-unocr-Lyne . ) was burned rf . iwn tli ; it wry nigi . i . It 7 in ^ iit ha \ e been sr . p ; . <» ,-i ] , that when Stephens was about eighteen imies off at the time , there was a probability of his tscttpiiiii being accused of causing this fire-but no ! The Editor o ) th- Manchester Utiurdian actuaiiv charged the fire upon him , in a leading article . X ' pou the strength ot that leading article , Stephens was absolutely

      denounced in almost all the papers iw England—Whig , Tory , and Radical—as an iucendmrv , and charge ! with setting tire to that mill . Nay , Fox Mtiule , one of Her Majesty ' s Ministers , went to I Scotland , and , in Perth , distinctly an- uufquivocully charged Stephens with having " set fire t .- llifgiabottom ' s mill ! ( Shame . ) Although this was running tlirosgh the kingdom , aud was in large print , iu the lending article ; yet , in another part ol [ he >; imi' paper , in vry small " prim , that uobody , 1 suppose , might find it out , this same slanderer " and liar—Taylor of Manchester , inserted the following : "Messrs . HiuEinbottom state that tht-v kuow

      nothing , in connexion with the appearance of the premises , that should lead them to suspect that it wa- tbe work of an incendiary . " And yet , 1 repeat , Stephens was chu . rgvd m the same paper , by the self-same editor , with being the incendiary . ( Shame , shame . ) Nevertheless , the occupier of the mill did not believe there wns any incendiarism about it . Government , however , tb keep up an appearance of incendiarism , sent down a reward of ± Jou for the discovery o : the incendiary ! This sh-onid be known , in order that the people ro-. iy have some conception of the cold- blooded villauy ot the Government of the present day . in the persecution of poor Stephens . Roe , the head of tbe police , Philiipps , Maule , Chad wick , all came down to trv

      to mute out a case against Stephens . They , how ever , found ont sometliing they darrd uot ' publish about the fire at A » htou ; sj far from charging Stephens with having set fire to it , they found out that somebody else had . They said very litile about H . 1 have my spirs . You must know , in the Government , hs well as they l : ave theirs over me . Now , 1 believe ihat that null was set tire to on purpose , and ch-. irgvd on Stephens , in order to make it a plea . ' or his appreheus-. on . ( Shnme . ) 1 bey at last , however , arrested him . One would have thought he would have been taken before tne magistrals , and by tb-.- police , of bis own district , as other offenders I are ; bui no—two poiiremen came- down fiom L 011-j doa . > iiid took him en the highroad and dragged him to Manchester

      , and would not let him even bid i mo . A bye to his wife . T ? ho was very ill w the time . ( Sham-. ) ' 1 hey took him to an inn iu Manchester , nvta then to a place called Worsley , about eight luiles 1 n > m Manchester . The police-officer ha . d in his pocket a djcamen : empowering him to place the c-j : uinaiidiug officer of the district . Col . VYVmysy iineer Lis orders , and for ca . ling out the troops wiien and a > o ' . ten as he ( the police-officer ) thought proper . Colonel Wemys : blu .-hed . to ha \ e his own uis-. 'race told him . in open cturt . bv the prisoner at . tat ? bar . Si ^ y . l ; cu < » as at la « t broii ^ ht to the Court i House , belore -ox ursrvt-u ni * gzsirn . i ?* . two of a-Idio j only acU-d in the case , the rest were evidently , a « Lamei : of the whole transaction . There was much . perjury—much swearing black wa < white , but not j a » oru about ihe tire at ~ Ashion ! Perhaps tie most I uncuii . UKutional thing that ever was uone in a j cuur : o : justice , was with re . « pect to tbe bail . ( Hear h

      , -ar . ) Ma ^ na Charta declare ? thai -excessive l'ii : l .-L . ill not be taken . " ( Hear , hear . ) Stephens : m < no excessive salary ; it u « . when at the highest , only about £ -20 ( 1 a year ; and yet they demanded i'J . ' . 'OJ bail , lor thf purpose of k ' eeping him in gnul . (^ hen the Bishop of C ' U . gher was committed for a crime which J must not mention , he was only -t ; , u lo btui in a comparatively small sum . about une-u-iiin oi his inc .. me . ) Good bail was itauietn : r ..-iy olk-red—attested to be pood by the Officers ° ^ . C" -rt on mini—but twenty •' our hours' notice o ' i b . iil w ; ts demanded by tbe Magistrates , and the ctinsni'ji-x-ce was . that Stephens w ; ls put into a ii-ion > cell , and laid within the iron door , on an iron _ bedsteaJ . ( Shame . ) God saw him there , and he will not forget it . SomeDutly else will lie there some time . (•• Aye . aye . ") The ri-sult was . that Su-phens . aiierhis second examination , was required to rind uail in jti > . ( AX > , ten times his income ! Many W niKs expressed their retret rhat there had been

      no notiuK or ui > turbaiices . "What a fine thinif , " said thr *_ v . " it would hare been : o have seen uasoldiers' swords drawn on tbe ocea .-ion . " A youni . ' ia . iy . a diughtt-r of a . lactoiy iua--ti-r , ^ aid , " shf hoped they * ouid hang Slepnecs , and shf would uuy a rupe , if nobody eise would : " ( " Poor thinfi . " j The people were determined that nothing sht . u ' . d provoke them to break the peace , and however Government may have deem .-d Stephens and O'Connor , and myxelt . to be breakers of ibe peace , J assure you we never do break the peac ; we merely advise Vi-. c people quietly , bu ; t :, e \ Vh gs want to have a disturbance , in spite of us . To shew you the malice which th-e magistrates hore towards Stephens , 1 wiil read to you an extract Irom a speech made by

      one o : them ( Captain Clark ) bttween Stephens ' . " first and > econd examinations . This fellow was oc of tbose wbo was to judt ; e tbe i-a"e . ' Hear him : —'' Iht-re wa * in tins district a firebrand , a demon , going abuut sowing poison in trie minds of those whom he hai deceived , acd wa « cntinuing to deceive others . '' ' Certain it was U : ; u he tnuk in hi * hands—L : s accursed hand ?—the Book of God—and equally true it was that he selected passages Defining his wicked purposes . Certain it was that , by assumption too plain to be misunderstood , ht has cosn ^ clit-a hi ? c ^ iuded lollowtr ; to destroy factorie ? , and Lew down cottages in their flourishing district , as msny as tney could fancy ; and this with the Bibie be . ' ore him ! Sow , « : tul the Captain , il the life of a lellow creature wa- all that this man

      wanted—if ue wouid spare the mills of thtr enterprising manufacturer *—if he would spare the eottagts of tbe peaceful operatives , and allow them quietly to furnish food far their wives and children —if he would be satisfied with one Hie— one fellow creature—if the sacrifice of one single life woulri restore peace , comfort , and happiness in the district —his ( uiacing hi * hand upou tne left breast ) could Dot faii in a better cause . " The meeting was convulsed with laughter at the coarse manner in which Mr . Oastler mimicked the patriotic discontented Captain . Did you ever hear such wicked hypocrisy —such horrid blasphemy—and thin , too , pending Stephenn ' s examination , frcm oce of his judges vShame . ) Tney have postponed Stephen ' s

      trialopened all tne leturs through the post—and yet , alter all , they cannot nil their green bags with evidence enough to haug him—anil they never will ! Although this postponement proves his innocence , and aiso satisfies us that Minister * do not kelieve the tales of their own tools— yet it still very much increases the expense ; for we expect he will now be taken up to London , ai-. d have tu pay three times a » much in law expenses , as he would hare done , if he had been tritd at Liverpool . You never hdd such a champion before—therefore , help him . ( " We will . ") There is only one more circumstance which I shall cow mention under this part of my subject ; it is the Queen ' s Speech . Tbe Government even went no far as to have the case

      teucbed upon in the Speech from the Throne . "We are led to expect that a Kural Police will be formed , from what was there said . ( ''We never will have iu ") The Duke of "Wellington acted on that occasion like a man who ? aw and understood what was right and what was wrong . He toot up against Government , and said , if they had been determined to apprehend aD _ v incendiaries arjd any traitors , why did tney le . t alone the great one ? If there were to be Government prosecutions , why did they not prosecute O'Connell H ( Loud Cheers . ) Brougham , who had before urged the Ministry on to prosecute Stephens , just as the Devil urge * on his poor followers to commit ? in , and then , just like Satan , as soon as Ministers fell into his tT&p , Brougham turns round upon them and says— " What fools you were ! Stephens is only a little rogue—Dan ' , the great one ! " Why if Brougham is not the Devil himself , he has thus proved tfeat he is his first-born son .

      ( Laughter . ) I have « een what tbe feeling of Englishmen is on the projected measure of a Rural Police . It seem * to me that it will be the Dexfstep in the downward course of England—the next chapter in tbe Devi ! ' 3 boot of infamy . J Jo not hesitate to say that , rather than I will submit to a Frenchified , centralised gend aruu-rie , I will > Ut : the death either of a patriut or a traitor— -whichever they may cull it . The bare mention of a Rural Felice brings me to your old friends , the London-Pbjiee . Some of them are here , I've no doubt , though I cannot see their lobster coloured coats . Polieemen , who sent for you ? I want to know that P You dare not hold your head ? up—did you ever know a rogue that dare ? ( Laughter . ) Who sent for you ? Did the Duke of Newcastle ? No ; I know he did not . Then why did yon allow tbe Duke of Newcastle to Le ch ? . rg ( -o with' it , you cowardly scoundrel ? . Did you not see the Nottingham paperi , charging binTwitb it ? Tnen v . by did you not con-

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      tradict them ? The Duke of Newcastle hates the New Poor Law , and therefore he cannot tike you . Was it the Dake of Portland—the Chairman of the Worksop Union ? I have been told itwaa him , and the Magistrate !* friendly to the New Poor Law -a Vlr . Unwin-I believe that ' B the name—they say was one . They are feols for sending for you ; there is always danger where you come . The people are more uiv * at ) sried now than they were before . Have you told Lord John Russell that they did not want > au here ? Yau need not tell thn people not to arm—I've teld them to arm , and they will believe me rather than you . You would run the very first time they showed their te « th , that I do know .

      ( Cheers . ) I have seen you run belore now—in Hudder .-field . Martin was there , as well as hen-. He was a valiant nun . He run like a good 'un . ( Lnuuliter ) You did not take my advice in Huddcr-iiflii ; I mid you to be quiet , and the people would let you aloin--if not , they would break your nemU , and sepd you about your business with atlra in your ears .. ( Laughter and cheer * ) You know you were glad to escape with your lives—it was more than you deserved . I know nothing of the Mansfield people . I hope they will be peaceable . If the policemen strike you without a cause , let them know that you can strike as well as them . ( Hear , hear , hear . ) You are sent to put down

      the idle , disorderly , and dinsolute rabble of Mansfield , are you ? Why , there never was a more quiet people in thu world . There is not half a job here for a common constable ! ( Laughter . ) What are you , you policemeu !» An idle set of dtones . Did God Almighty give you those arms * to be hile with ? Did He give you those eyes to leer and spyabout tbe cottages of the poor with ? Did He give you those ears to listen under tke windows of the bouses of the widows and the latherle . ss ? Are not you policemen ashamed of yourselves to come here and tell the people they have no right to huy and sell arms , when , under the very nose of your headquarttra , close by the palace of the Queen , and in

      the neighbourhood of the seat of the Government , there are the finest araioury-shopH in the world , where anybody may buy arms ? Why do you not use your authority there ^ you cowanTa ? Are you begotten of English fathers P—bern of English mothers ? Will you , then , thus disgrace the blood of your ancestors—the character of Britons ' Will you , able-bodied , Hue-looking , utraighr , athletic Englishmen , degrade yourselves ro come here and lounge about in idleness , aping poor , old , worn-out washerwomen , who like to hear every secret ? And this in a town where poor young women are obliged to work 14 or 15 hours a-day to support vou ?

      Hence , ye base , degenerate cowards , a » d never look an English girl again in the lace . ( Loud cheers . ) Do not you ( the people ) break their heads , unless they break youra ; but point at them as they pa ^ . » , and ^ n on the other side i . f the rond , rather tkan breathe tbe same air ! If you-ee one of them in a shop , I do a . « k you never to enter that > hop : itiain ! ( Cheer * , and "We won ' t . ") If you see them in a house—never mind whether your brother ' s or your sister ' s—swear you will ne \> r cross that threshold again . 11 ' you set them at church or cluipel , do not enter ifceni again ; hut biivu a church of your own , uncontaminated bysuch scum . If you set' them in a public-house , do

      not speak to them ; but every one march out and go hmiie . Cut . such infamous , baie , women-spnilers as ttu-e . Drive such cowardly , idle hounds as these out ef society . Send them to Coventry , and they will not be very proud of their blue clothes . ( Laughter . ) I have not mi > Tepre « ented them . They are the idle , . « hanuless scoundrels I have described them to be . I do not backbite . They are here ! ( Cheers . " They are . " ) Now ' l am poir . g to do what you very little expect I am about to praise an individual , who has been represented to you as your mo * t dire and malignant toe . I speak tu you us working 111-n , mind . Your enenves , I can tell you , always deceive you in

      fighting their b-utles against you , by denouncing as your bitterest foes those , who wish you best . They wanted to do so in the case of Stephens ; formerl y they played the same trick with a Nobleman resitim ^ in your immediate neighbourhood—a Nobleman whom I nerersaw in my life- with whom I never had any communication , either directly or indirectly ; but now , as I am in this neighbourhood , I am determined to do him all the justice I can . He deserves tbe thanks of tUc poor , and from me he shall have them . He has been held up to you by the Whigs as the greatest enemy you have : the Whig press ban ever denouueed him . " I have reason to be grateful to him on your account ; because he

      was the indirect means of introducing Sadler into Newark , and thus enabled him ( Sadler ) in Parliament to do more for the poor of England than had previously been dene by auy number of the House of Commons . TheW ' bigs say he is a tyrant;—the tyrant Whigs say this . ( Hear , and cheers . ) But you know thtin . ( " We do . ") From enquiries that I have made amongst hid servants , tenants , and neighbours , I know , and you know , that amort excellent landloH , a more kind master , and a more friendly neighbour cannot exist . ( Cheers . ) True , the Whi g * hate him . Tell me where is a g-od man whom they do not h-. ue . ( Hear , hfar . ) My friends I know the Duke of NewcistleditVer * from you in

      politics , but not more so than do his traducer * -the ^ higs . They cm coax and ' cant to gain you over o their measures , but the Duke is too stiff " for that , and yet not too proud to be benevolent ann kind to all . He differs frvm you in politics , as I said before , and so do I . Stephens differs from me in politics , but that is no re *< on why I shouldn't love him . 1 shall not talk to you now about arming , because I shall be at Sutton next Saturday , and I will then advance what I have to say on that subject : I will rt-11 the people when they ought to arm , and when they ought to use their arms . But I do say- / do most openly and mitr / uivorall y advise every one to arm , and to lie wed tinned , in order to be uble to

      . stand in his own threshold , and meet his enemy face to face ; in order that the cottage of the EnglisLman may 01 : ce more be the castle of its owner and that no vile imp of an overseer , or relieving officer , or Poor Law Commissioner , may ever dare to lay violent hands on the married wife of a freeborn Briton ; that the title to labour may be as secure , aid as sacred , and as legal , as it is constitutional ; and that , in the time to come , the governors of England , whether Whig , Tory , or Radical , shall not dare to pass enactments at variance with the right of every one to live and be free . I hope tbe time will come when party differences shall be forgotten , and patriot and Christian shall he the only names known ; then it will be satisfactorily ascertained and acknowledged by persons ot property , that their only security to that which they

      call their own , is founded on universal justice , and that it they dare to trample on the right of the poorest and weakest , and most defenceless—the widow and the fatherless ; if they dare to do this , Omnipotence will raise up a loud shout from the voices of Englishmen , and a cloud of witnesses armed ready for the fight , to declare and to maintain in the ear and in the face of the proudest and richest , that " if we have no right to live , thou hast no right to rule ' . ( Tremendous cheers . ) In conclusion , defend Stephens as he has defended you . I am almost exhausted . My heart is now warming and getting into the work ; but my body fails me . Men , women , and children , let this be your watch-word , "Damnation , eternal damnation , ts the accursed New Poor Law ! " ( Tremendous cheers followed the conclusion of Mr . O . * 8 address . )

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      [ This Article was prepared for our last number but displaced for other matter . ] , Cupidity never sleeps . Argus eyed , it watches every point : no favourable opportunity escapes its vigilance . If holden by humanity in partial restraint , it sits ever restlessly and uneasily under tbe infliction ; and , though it may sometimes affect tranquillity aad calmne . 13 , 'tis but a deceitful ruse

      looking for an unguarded moment , when a dash may be again made for the liberty of unbridled wickedness . Gloating in yet unsatisfied enjoyment over the caged victim of its power , it * malicious penetration overlooks no avenue—no chink , nor crevice—through which a chance exists of introducing into the den another coil of the slimy cord of oppression by which the subject of its tyranny is already bound .

      Consistent in its character , it betrays the samo coolnesSj insidiousness , and perseverance , in all forms and under all circumstances .

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      A knowledge of this fact , acquired by previous observation , has prevented us from being at all surprised at the address manifested by the commercial " vampires" of our mills and factories ., in seining upon the moment , when they supposed the public mind to'be fully occupied , for an effort to cheat the constable , andbrvak out of that wholesome and salutary rtstraint , in which they have , for some lime , been holden by the Factory Act .

      Conscious of their obnoxious character as rnerr beasts ef prey , devouring and destroying « hil « thvy produce nothing , the evidences of inrellig . nce anj resolution now manifesting by the people are to them what the distant cry of the hounds is to the fox upon the open plain ; and , like the fox , they begin to think of their hundred tricks and put them in successive requisition . Their first trick wax to endeavour , by the humbug agitation of the Corn Laws , to delude the people from the pursuit of the Suffrage—the only rational object of pursuit .

      By this they hoped to accomplish two things—the retaining of the people in political vassalage , ( by which , being socially powerless , they would become less capable of self-defence hy the waste of their moral energies in fruitless strife , ) and the increasing of their ill-gotte . n wealth b y a robbery perpetrated upon their brother " vampires , '' the land-owners , backed , in due time , by the yet further grinding ot

      thu faces of their pjor operative slaves . This trick however failed . The machinery was clumsy , end , in spite of the performer ' s dexterity , the juggle was exposed . The people were not to be cajoled from steadily advancing towards the mark at which thej are aiming—such a right and honest control over the making of all the laws , as should secure them , notonl y against the present endurance , hut also against the future inlliction of injustice .

      Thus foiled in their grand purpose , their next thought is bow to make the best of things as they are ; and their ingenuity is uot slow in discovering the means by which even the disappointment of cheir plan- for the consolidating of their power tnaj possibly be turned to present acount as long as the system , which they perceive to be fast breaking up , can be kept together . Some little restraint is laid on their iniquitous ravages on society by the Factory Law : this restraint promises , on the whole , to be rather increased than otherwise by the new Bill upon the subject

      which has been already twice read in the House or Commons ; . and this is , of course , wormwood and gall to the Factory Lords . They have made several previous efforts to get rid of this inconvenience ; but to no purpose . Their own Iriends , the Whig GoverHinent , had been compelled to denounce aud regard them as beings destitute of the common feelings of huDiasity , who could not be safely suffered to po at large ; the friends , of humanity had aroused the public mind so thoroughly < ip (> n the subject , that every movement both of the . "Uiliowners and of the Government to relax the cord was watched am ! counteracted .

      Thus situate , they have now remained quiet for some time , watching a more favourable opportunity . That wpportunity they suppose now to have arrived . The public mind is agitated to the very core , with a variety of most important matters ; the great mass of the working classes—those whom they most fear —are fully bent on the all-absorbing topic of the

      Suffrage ; the shopkeepers and middle-rnen are yet gaping after the Corn Laws ; the Government and their dependants are struggling for political existence ; while the Tories , many of whom formerly joine . l in the cry of humanity , and fell into the ranks of benevolence , from merel y factious motives , are on the < j , ii vivc for the elevation of their party into temporary political ascendancy .

      In the midst of all this bustle and excitement , the Factory Lords are making the attempt to slip the very slight moorings of honesty which bind them , and get clear off in the smoke . A Bill is , therefore , introduced by their friends , seemingl y for the purpose of remed ying ^ some anomalies and inconveniences in the present Act ; but reall y , to enable them to get rid of it , by opening anew the discussion of the . whole matter , at a time when they suppose tbe public to be so much occupied with other matters that they shall have all the discussion their own way .

      Arrangements are accordingly made and step < taken , in the most prompt and business-like manner for the accomplishment of this object . Delegates have been in London some time , watching events—sounding and tampering with Members , and making all necessary and villanous preparation . Shortly after the holidays the Bill will be committed , and , as a further step to the completion of their scheme , Mr . Baines , the "Liberal" Member for Leeds , held a packed and private meeting in the Court House , here , on Wednesday week , for the purpose of receiving their instruction * on it .

      We are told , in the Mercury , that the meeting consisted of about one-third masters and two-thirds workmen . But we are not told what proportion of the two-thirds were overlookers , managers , and Others , whose pickings are enjoyed on the very uncertain tenure of the pleasure of the masters in whose presence they were acting , and who have been officially declared by even a Whig Government to be capable of perpetrating any wickedness in the furtherance of what they suppose to be their interests . Neither are we enlightened as to how

      many of the remainder of this In-o-tkirdx were slubbers , whose immediate gains are derived from the toil of the poor children , in the increase and prolongation of which they have , therefore , an apparent direct interest . We are not told what proportion of this meeting was made up of children whose limbs have been crippled and their constitutions ruined , or of parents whose hearts have been broken by the operation of the cursed Factory System . We are not told what proportion of this meeting consisted of those honest , learned , and valuable

      members of tbe medical profession , who declared , from their knowledge of the human frame and its capabilities , that children of less than ten years of age could never be employed in factories at all , without inducing a horrible amount of physical suffering , and such constitutional deterioration as must cause the whole species rapidly to degenerate . We are not told how many people , among the onetkird masters and two-thirds workmen of this meeting , held the opinion that little factory slaves are human beings—that they have a right to all the

      natural pleasures and enjoyments of other human beings—that they have moral and intellectual faculties which require cultivation and guidance—that they have eternal destinies which may be influenced to a great extent , by the circumstances in which they are placed . These are all matters of some consequence to be taken into account , in considering the fitness of the characters composing this meeting , to instruct the Legislature as to its course of duty on this great subject ; but on all these matters the

      Mercury affords us no direct information . The meeting was strictly private , being " called , " as the Mercury says , "by circular ; " we are of course , therefore , unable to determine whether the parties composing that meeting ( and a similar one which the Mercury tells us was holden the Saturday previously at Bradford ) did , as Mr . Baines says , " represent fairly the interests of all classes ; the employers aa well as the employed , " otherwise than by looking at the results of their deliberations .

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      Fortunately these afford as excellent premises , from which to infer thts general character of the meeting and the value of its " instructions" as could reasonably be desirea ; because the Mercury says they were all come to unanimously . They may , therefore be safely taken as a general'index of the character . of the parties . What , then , were the unanimously expressed opinions of tnis meeting , at which " the interests

      <> f all parties "—whether " employers or employed " were " fairly represented " ? Not having had tbe privilege or a " circular , " we are obliged to take them as they ; are reported to us by our neighbour of the Mercury in his last week ' s paper ; and , among these unanimous opinions , we tind the first to be that if the alternative is the enaction of-the Bill now . before Parliament , or the leaving untouched of the present Factory Act as it stands , the Bill had better be withdrawn and leave the law unaltered .. Now , it would havebeen more satisfactory , if the « representatives of

      the interests of all classes" had assigned their reasons for this opinion " ; but this they do not appear to hive done . No doubt they have reasons why they object to this Bill . What can they be ? The Bill goes on the same general principle of legislation as the present law . It provides for children being received into the mills at the same age , and for their working , under the same regulations , the same number of hours as is required by the present law . It cannot , therefore , be on

      any of these accounts that they object to it , and P ' . - efe . r having the present law unaltered : it must be on account of something in which it differs from the present law , Now , in what does it diffwr from the law as it now stands ? Aye , there ' s the rub ; and . in that difference will be shewn the true character of those " fair represent .-. tives of the interests of all classes " whom Mr . Baines summoned to " instruct" him ; and to whose wishes he promised to use his best exertions iu his place in Parliament to give effect !

      Every bedy who knows anything of the present law knows that it is either so blunderingly or so rascally constructed as to admit of being continually evaded . Every hudy knows that it is continually evaded—that children are murdered under it , by being worked the apparentl y short hours twice over , in two different mills on the same day . The Bill provides against this by enacting that " no child or young person shall work iu more than one manufactory en the same day . " Everybody knows that , under the present law , the certificating system is a mere humbug—that surgeons are not required to certify actual age , but only tbeir opinion of " size and appearance "—tbat a certificate is frequently obtained lor an elder child

      in the name of a younger , who is sent to tbe mill with u , and that thus children are often worked two or three jears under the legM age . The Bill provides against this , by enacting tbat no certificate shall be given otherwise than upon personal examination at the factory where the child is lo work . Other evasions of the law are provided against by this Bill-enlarged powers are given to the Inspectors—and penalties , in some cases rather heavy , imposed on the violators of ita provisions . These are the , principal matters in which the Bill differs from the law , as it now stands ; and it is therefore on these accounts that Mr . Baines ' s "fair representatives ol the interests of all classes" wi 8 fi , " if that be tke alternative , " to-have the Bill withdrawn and he lefc as they are .

      The law was passed for the avowed purpose of protecting " the interests" of " the employed " against the rapacity of " the employer . " Those therefore who desire to retain the anomalies by which its purpose is defeated , furnish the best possible evidence that instead of " representing fairly the interests of the employed , " they represent nothing but that principle of -villanous cupidity which would gladly escape from the trammels of all law , and which would , not OF . ly remorselessly but exultingly , coin . ^ tt . gold for its coffers the blogd , bones , sinewsy ai | ij |* t ( frnal happiness of all tfie children of pover % -whom their ai-cursed system , having made poor , can centralize and draw together .

      Strongly tinctured with this infernal spirit are the remaining unanimous opinions of this meeting , as communicated by the Mercury . "It was finally determinea by a unanimous vnte that a > actory BUI lorinea „ ,, „„ the following princi ples , wnuld st-rv , ; effectually the iniere . sts of both the children , and those of more advanced a ge e ^ loyed in the \ Yoollen , the Linen , anj tho Y \ oratu-l manufactories , without injury to their employers . J ' That th « hours of work should be eleven in thp day , makine sixty-Mx hours a week , instead ol' sixty-nine hours as at prtj&snt . That children shoul d bn admitted to woTk in Factories at S . EVEN Years oy AGK , and receive in . trucifens in the bcCu ila .

      That children of the bro of seven and eight years aiwold > A > t work mure than Jive hours aud a hall a day , or thirt > three hours a week . " ' That children of the a ** of nine and ten vears sh . iul . l not work more than seven hours and a half ' s day , or fortyfour hours a week . 3 } That children from eleven to eighteen years of ace should not work more than elewn hours a day , on an . average of nix ( lay * m the week , or sixty-six hours in the whole . That all children emplnjRd in factories of the age of fr (\ Tn seven to ten years of » ge both incltwiv * , should r ^ ceiv ^ education in the factory Schools two hourin aav '

      , every . from MoHeay to Friday inclusive , making ten hmirs education in the week , exclusive of such education as might be » flur 4 ed to them in Sunday Schools . The meeting also expressed a . unanimous e \ nim that whatever laws were ^ made for the regulation ot factory labour should bo the law of the land , an . ltiot InspecW law , which however necessary it mi ght have been . atthe first rnactment ol the hactory Act . was no longer- Squired now that it waa tul . y ascertained what laws were necessary for the proper Kovernment ol those establishment . ' 1- r »

      It was also the unanimous opinion of the meeting tli ? t tt-e existing laws allowing lost time to . be made up in factories Irom accident * t . th > machinery , or from failure in th » water power , according to the provisions of the present Kacrorv Act , were just aud advantageous , both with regard to toe mast .- ™ and the work-people , and that any alteration in the aw that would depnvu them „( this privilege was not called lor b y the extent of any existing abnse . And it was , in exclusion , voted unanimously , that any master manufacturer neglecting to box ott such parts of hi * machinery as exposed Ins work-people to danger , should be liable to be summoned lelorn a magistrate , and that he should be made responsible by th « law lor any personal injury that should ariae to Iiis work people from such neglect .

      VVe n » ve thought it right to give the whole of these unanimous votes and opinions , as recorded by the Mercury , that our quotations from them may not be accused of being unfair : and we havetfo hesitation in giving adecided opinion that the whole affair , with all the movements of the MJllocracy in connection with this Bill , including the bringing in of the Bill ( which we believe to have been part of the plot ) is a base conspiracy to get rid of the slight proteetioa which the law in its present atate affords to the helpless infant Factory worker .

      Let them be sure , however , that their movements are not unobserved ; that though the friends of the Factory-child have not recently been noisy they are not asleep ; and that thongh . the people are occupied in the pursuit of Universal Suffrage , which they intend not to give up till they have secured the the game , they have not run blind in the chase and that , in the very hottest of the pursuit , they have ever a hand at liberty for the support of suffering innocence , and wherewith to daei down the representatives of cupidity , cruelty , and cant .

      We shall return to thU subject next week and shew , a little more at length , the tendency of some of these " principles" on which " the representatives of the interests of all parties" suppose that such a Factory Bill as would satisfy them might be framed . We shall also comment on someportions pf the Bill which these parties are anxious to have withdrawn ' ; of which Mr . Baines says that the promoters are doubtful whetherit be advisable to proceed with it ; and af which we say that we do not believe its promoters ever intended to proceed with it ' ' ' .

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      qp — - It is said that the Dcke of Devonshirk meditates a journey into Abasia ; that his Grace is enthusiastic in the extreme in favour of the insurgents of that country—so much so , indeed , that it was believed he would devote his fortune to that cause . 1

      Untitled Article

      THE NORTHERN STAR . SATURDAY , APRIL 20 , 1839 .

      Factory Legislation.

      FACTORY LEGISLATION .

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), April 20, 1839, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1053/page/3/