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Northern Star (1837-1852), 8th June 1839, Edition 1 of 1, Page 3, TO DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ. M. P.

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    • tfettis* «n5 B©m**fo &vcUTli&tnct
    • TO DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ. M. P.
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      Untitled Article

      FEAXCE . The aew French Cabinet , composed as it is , aceonfiug toM . Gauguier , of "hypocrites and apostates , " has do reason to compltin of the complaisance of the French Chamber of Deputies . After a debate , ia which M . M . Gauguicr , Marion , Corne , Pasay , Diirand , Salvandy , D ^ a-are , and Maeguin severally « poke for acd against the Secret Service Money Bill , the measure was carried by the overwhelming majoriry of two hundred and six < y-tvro Totes agiiBst seveoty-oi : e . A coolness has uiea place between the King and the Date of Orleans , in consequence of which the Poke bo longer occupies hi ? apartment * at Necilly . SPAIN .

      Madrid papers of the 22 nd ult . hare been received , with advices from the Frontier by telegraph of the 29 ± . T-e latter announce that ' on the 2 " ch , the Carlist Gtaeraj , D'Espague , gained possession of Hipoll , a fu-tre-s in Catalonia . The ffaxrisOH fortified thraselves in a chnrch , bat after " a few hoars capitulated . ^ To counterbalance this Joss , Espartero has laken the towns of Amurrio and Oruco , and compelled Don Carlos to think of flying to Cabrera ke bein * no longer safe in the Bisqnes ,

      TURKEY . In the Courrier Francais of Thursday we find the following correspondence from ConstaBticopk - . — " A warns alteration took place on April 25 between the Sr « t dragoman of the English embassy and the Eeis Effendi , on the question of a permission required for an English squadron to enter the Dardanelles . On receiving a positive refusal , thedragomac , in a moment of passion , told the Turkish Minister that England made the application merely as a matter of form , and in consideration of the ' respect which ought to be observed between Powers in friendship with each other , but that ' in suite of the

      refusal , theBririsa 3 ee ; would enter the Dardanelles , aai that reach sooner than was eipecied . ' The trath of this statement may be relitd on . The Sultan vi « ii 3 the arsenal every day , where be superintends the fittiEg out and equipping the ships . The Captain Pacha has engaged teat the whole fleet shall be under sail in three quarters of an hoar after he receives an order to that effect . This- improvement in the naval tactics of the Turk-, i « attributed to th « instroctioEg of the English officers . " Accsrd-Ui « to accouat * froa Odessa of the 9 ih of May , it appear ^ that fifty thousand infantry , twenty thousand cava ' ry , and a trails of 150 pieces of cannon , were approaching the TurkL-h frontier from Kus / ia ,

      BELGIUM . Accoarts from Ghent of the 20 th of May , state that two of the cotton manufactories thtre have lef : u £ werkin 2 since the 25 : h of May , and asother i < going to ; oJow , owing to the work people not consenting to a dimination of their wages ; tkia determination had caused * great fermentation udhe the working classes .

      Untitled Article

      ? The Aylesbcry Railwat is to be opened for tmacc and passengers on the 11 th inst . The Graxd Drss of Russia has given £ 300 to the "Wellington monaHient . Baboh Pexsefathzr is summoned to attend the Lords' Committee on the state of Ireland . Co > CEET 5 a la Hnsard have been established in Tarious large toy us threnghout the kingdom . Sugar ij how produced in considerable quantities at Otaktite . Last year this inland produced 100 tons . St . Clemexts Chtjrch Steeple is abon ; to be taken dojvn , it beins inadaBeersus state from the bells continually chiming .

      The Ex ? ExeE 5 of the Carlow Election committee are stated to amount to £ 100 a-day ueach . of the parties . TH £ Hon . Cj . pt . lix " Wai . degrav ; e h 2 s been appointed to tie c-ommacii of the Herenge ship oi the ;! i € now fitting out at Portsmouth . The Sum of 100 Guineas has been voted by the Members of the Royal Tatch Sqcadron , to the fund for erecting a public monument to Lord Nelson . Thk twenty-third meeting of the Pitt Club was celebrated on Saturday , at the London Tavern , Lord Redesoale in the chair . ThT-UE 15 MUCH Wight upon the apple trees just now , from want of rain , and bat half the usual crop of fr-ir : s expecied .

      G-sesx Peas in pod , the produce of EagHsh gardeni , were sold in Covent Garden market , en Thursday morning , at two guineas the ha ' . f sieve . Thomas Flower Ellis , Esq ., of the Northern Circuit , has been appointed to the Recorderski p of the Borough of Leeds . Upwards of £ 900 were depesited in the Lincoln Savings' Bank one day ] a « : weei , bv servants ana labourers , in sum ? varying from Is . to £ 30 . The LOBDS Commissioners of her Majesty's Treartry have approved of Dundee as a warehousing purr for East India goods . Aldebmax Copelaxb met with a bad fall Us : week , owing to bis borse taking fright , ' near Shgiton . He is now recovering from tke shock . *

      Intelligence from all parts of France an-BO 3 nce that immense damage has be en cone to the Tines in the late frosts . A FEW dats SIXCE , a head of brocoli , weig'kiag 17 fio a , was sent a ? a present to a gentleman residing in Chiehester . This extraordinary vegetable prodn ; con was grown in the rectory garden at Amberiey . The ilABQris op Elt purchased at Corent Garden market , a single bundle of asparagu ? of the usual number of heads , bat weighing 46 ibs . for 40 j . Accottxts from ail parts of France annouBce tb 3 T immense icjary bas been done to the Tines , and in many instances to the crops , by the late frost ? .

      The Deputt , Master , and Eider Breihren of tie Trinity House have granted out of the private charitable fund the sum ef £ 100 to tbe Royal Naval Benevolent Society . Ox " Wednesday -week , being the 29 th of May , the anniversary of Charles the Second ' s restoration , tbe Judge * were arrayed in their scarlet robes . A Project is on foot , in the Isle of "Wight , for the improvement of Cowes harbour , and of the navigation of the Medina river . A public meeting has beta held in furtherance of the object . Person ' s ix THB SUITE of the Queen Dowager state , that when her Majesty left Palermo , the rac ? was six feet deep there ; and that while at LiiboH the weather was piercingly cold .

      SPEAKERS . —There are now three Peers living who have filled the chair of the House of Commons —namely , Lord SidmoHth , Lord Canterbury , aad Lord Dunfermline . Ox DlT . —Their respective friends begin to imagine that the two new-married lords , Douro and ll-inean , bare paired vff'for two honeymoon * instead of one . Tee Ret . James Aspixall , of Liverpool , has been presented to tbe Rectory of Althorpe , Lincolnshire , racant by the removal of the Rev . \ Y . Lacy , to AlihaJbws . Steam Ship ' Sibics . '— The St . George Steamjacket CompiEy ' s ship Sirivs , arrived from S :. Petersburg on "Wednesday evening , after a passage ef eiga ; dayi .

      His Imperial Highness the Grand Duke of Ru-sia fonrarned the munificent sum of £ 3 & 0 to tbe Lord Mayor on Thursday , for the necessitous poor of the city of London . The xew Btshop of Peterborough , Dr . Davys , was . elected Bishop at & Chapter held at the Cathedral on Monday last , on the receipt of her Majesty ' s writ of CoAge d' Elirz . Lady Chables Somebset , gister of Earl Poulett has accepted the appointment of bedchamber-woman in the establisamcEt of the Qteen Djwager . Heb Majesty haa been graciously pleased to confer on the Rtv . Mr . Lacy the rectory of Ailhailows , vacant by the promotion of Dr . Davjs to the gee of Peterborough .

      A Bordeaux papeb relates , that a young Mldier q-aarrelled with cis father in that town a few days -inee , a » d ia his rage cut off one of his parent ' s fingers and ate it . The Uabotis of Clasbicabde has given directions to h : s a ^ ent , Mr . Robert D'Arcy , to embaa : a portion of ihe lake , and make a spacious fairgreen , at Loogkrea , for the accommodation of t&e public . It is smocBED that , among the approaching chznges , Sir Hesteth Fiettwood , il . P . for PrestOB , as L ktly to hare an appoiBtment in the C « lonia ! drpartment

      Much constenration prevailgin one of the highest families in the conntj of Mayo , tbe head of which i » toid that bis estate ? are held without any title , and that Mr , C . will come in for £ 30 , 000 a year . Legal proceedings are about to commence .

      Untitled Article

      Couxt Muxsteb died on the 20 th inst . His office &i hereditary mawhil devolve * on his pod , who is gtill in Ms minority . The King of Hanover irili , therefore have to appoint a substitute . Oxe of the Chartists now in Montgomery jraol , named John Humphrey * , attempted to ban ' ' himself last week , by attaching his handkerchief to the hinge of a door . The -whole amount oF purchases made in the four last years' exhibitions at the Royal Hibernian Academy was thirty shillings , and that fur tvro warer-colour drawing * ! * M . Thiers appears for the moment to have renounced active politics . He is ^ oing to write the History of XapoleoD , for which , it i * averred , 500 , 000 francs have been offered him by a pubiivher .

      The 12 th Laxcbbs have orders to hold themselves in readiness to march on Monday , the 10 th of June , fer Gloucester . They will be replaced at Brighton by the lltk Dragoons , from Hounglow . The Receipts of the three BrnefiU which toolplace at the Surrey , Saddler ' s Wells , aud City of London Theatres , amounted to about £ 217 . After deducting the expenses , there will be a balance in favour of the fund of nearly £ 150 . A Govebkmext Steam-Vessel has been ordered round : o Hamburg to bring over the Marchioness of Clanricarde , lady of the English ambassador to tbe court of St . Petersburg . Her ladyship i * coming to England to visit her younger children .

      At the last meeting of the Medico-Bot * - -nkal Society , Earl Sranhope , the president , read a letter from Lord John Russell , announcing her "Majesty ' s gracious permission that the society should take the tide of the Royal Medseo-Botanieal Society . In the General Assembly , Dr . Chalmers ' s resolution , in oppo ? ition to the decision of the House of LoTSJ * in the Auchterarder ca * e , ha « been carried by 204 to 155 . This proposition indicates tbe alleged authority of the church to regulate her own policy as regarded the test of induction . The Collegb of Surgeons have established two studentships in human and c-naaparative anatomy , to be held for three years , at £ 100 per anEum . The first election will be in June ; candidates to be members under twentv-s : x vearx

      One night , last week , a most alarming fire broke out on the premises belonging to *\ Y . H . Scutt , E ? q ., alrout three miies from Cheltenham , which ler some time threatened des ; ruction to tue whole vf t&e aanaicm . The servants' apartments ' were destroyed . Thlbe is a RUJIOUB in the professior , that Mr . Justice Littledale intends , on account of advanced a ? e , toTetire from the Court of Queen ' s Bench , of which be has been one of tbe Judges for upwards of fifteen Years . A xew Steam Vessel , called the Queen , walaunched from the ^ hip-building yarl af Me « rs . Curling and young , at Liraehocse , in the presence of a vtist concourse of » pecta . tor « , on Thursday . . Tne ship is of SOJ tons burden , and was buii : for the East India Companv .

      On Monday , pursuant to arnual custom , the elder brothers of the Trinity-hcj . « e went to Debtford in their state barges to visit tbe alms-bouses . H-s Grace the Duke ef "Wellington , as bead ma ^ er , / vas loudly cheered , both on hi * landing and on entering his carriage to return to Lor . doi . Accident . — At an auction which took place at Bordeatx , a few days since , in a house which had not been inhabited for some time , whiie tbe crowd was numerous in one of tbe rooms , the floor suddenly gave way , and they were precipitated to tbe story beneath . A great number or persons were severely injured , but no immediate deaths took Place .

      " WE UNDERSTAND that Mr . Grote excused him-§ eFf from accepting Lord Jehn Rnsielfs invitation to dinner on the Queen's birthday upon the express ground that Mb presence on that occasion at the Noble Lord ' s table might espo ? e him to the misconstruction of being a supporter jf the Administration . Earthquake at Cbieff . —About two o ' clock ob the morning of Friday , two shocks of an earthquake were felt in this quarter , which lasted about two second *^ but tbe subterraneous noise which accompanied it continued much loccer . The weather became soft the next day . — G / us- ; oic Courier .

      Hydrophobia in Sheep . — Lan week three sheep belonging to J . Pledger , Er-q ., of Little Baddow , died from hydrophobia , having been bitten by a mad dog three weeSs previously . One of the ? hf-ep exhibited dreadful symptoms of the disease , butting and scapping at trtry one . It was destroyed by a rope , no one darisg to approach it . T-he other two refustd their food , and died in a state of sullen madness . — Essex Herald . Arsenic—The Rev . W . Thorp , of Womersley , has discovered a perlect antidote to this mo ^ t fatal poison , which ojught to be made known to all the faculty in the United Kingdom . It is , we believe , . the common reddle u * ed by sbepberds to mark their sheep , and which is made ' at Micklebring , from a ' miBerai ore called Hsmatite . — Yorkshire Gazztte .

      Rural Acumen . —A short time since one oi the ' . beadles of Brighton took a quantity of butter from a countryman , because it was deficient in weight - , and , meeting him a few days after in a pub-. ic souse , said to him , — " Yr . u ' re " the man I took twenty pounds of batter frem . "— " . Ns 1 bean ' t , ' replied Hodge . — '' I am sure you are , " sdy » the beadle . — " I tell ye I bean ' t , " ' rejoined the " connfryman ; and , if thee lik ' st l'li lay thee a guinez on ' t . "—" Done , " replied the beadle ; acdthemone > was quickly posted . — " . New , " ^ ays the countryman " tbou didst take twenty luiups of butter from me but , if they had been puunda , you'd have bad nc right to take them ; and this , " continued he , ven coolly pocketing the money , " will pay me for tb Ios 3 of the butter . "

      Spring Frosts . — The garden crops in Cheches ter _ and its neighbourhood have suffered greatly btbe late severe frosts . The forward vines are terri bly ' cut off , and gooseberries , of which there wa generally an excellent crop , ha \ e fared little better Timber trees , particularly the walnut and tbe ash appear a « if they had been scorched . The damag > ustained by the nurserymen of the neighbourhooi is verv considerable .

      Attempted Suicide . —On Sunday afternoon an 4 nterrat ) Dg looking young girl , named Mar Robert " , the daughter of respectable parents re-id ing in Swan-yard , took a boat at Lambeth-stair .. ! or the pretended purpose of cro < 9 : n g the water j bu when about half way across , sbe suddenly starte up and plunged ioto the river . The waterman im mediately seiz ? d bold of her , and with much diff culty got her into his boat again . Sne i * aboi sixteen years of age .

      Strike amongst Washerwomen , or a Mutiny IN a Laundry . — On Saturday morning sixty women employed on tbe premises of Mr ? . E"gle , laundress , in an extensive way of business , in Dorset-street , Dorset-square , struck for an advance of wages , without the promise of which they refused to finish their w » rk . Their demand not being complied with , they proceeded to create a great disturbance , to quell which , Sergeant Thompson , of tbe D division , was called in ; but on himaking his appearance in the laundry , be had scarcely opened his mouth to call them to order , ere he was seized by half a dozen of the ring-leaders , who , pinioning his arras , carried him to alar ? e copper full of boiling soap-suds , into which they threatesed to immerse him if he dartd to interfere with

      them , and did not m * tantiy depart . This he reaJily consentt-d to do , and made a speedy retreat , happy at having so luckily escaped a ducking , if not a . boiling . Shertly after , a promise agTeeable to the wishes of the rtfracteries have been made to them , order was restored , and they resumed their work . Alarming Fire—Female Burnt . —About half-past one o ' clock on Friday afternoon , a fire of a very destructive description broke out on the p - remises , No . 30 , "We ' ll-street , Oxford-street , tenanted by several families ' . It or iginated in the front attic , which was occDpied by an elderly female of the name of Weod , who nearly perished in the names . It appears that she had been from home the greater portion of the morning , when on entering

      her room a body of flames burst forth upon her and j be ' -ne overcome , fell on the floor ; furtnnately the I inmates at this period were alarmed , and dragreed j the t ) lu lady out . She was , however , ireaai ' ullT i burnt , and no time was lost in conveying her to tne ) Middlesex Hospital . The fire burnt furiously , and I aitbongh the engines ef the Brigade Establishment , and those of the county and "West of England Companies were expeditious in arriving at tbe » cene , befare the flames were got under tbe roof wa ? nearly burnt off . How it originated no one can . tell . There is no doubt , however , that it bad i been- burning gome hoars before perceived . Tbe j whole of the furniture in the house b burnt , which is not insured .

      Untitled Article

      < ¦*•¦ * ¦ ¦ ¦ - 4 , ; ' Manchester . —Adoption of the Penny Postage . —The Mancbwt ^ port « ii ^ E 8 l . i ! Hliyii ^ wired as intimation from the goMmastfr-geBetal to make such preparations and arrangemeuts as he may deem necessary in older t > carry into effect the f enny postage . Meeting in Favour of the Poles—Extraordinary Row . —a meeting of the " friends of Poland" was pummon ^ d on Friday evening , at the Assembly Ropnv , Tnewbald ' s-road . At an eariy hour the room was tilled with a very mixed audience , a large portion being working men . The gallery" was crowded , and exhibited many resiptcts . b r females . Tbe chair was to be taken

      at eight o'clock , by Daniel O'Cnnnell , E < -q ., M . P . That nour having passed , without tbe appearance of that getitU man , considerable imp ' -ttienc * btgan to be miini ' ei'ted by the crowd . At ) a « t come person proposed that a General or Major Beniowfky take the uhair . This was tbe signal for an txplosion of frantic fory on the part of a portion of tbe Crowd which defies deseription , aDd all that we could gather for a period of Bemetbiug like half an hour was , that another person had proposed Dr . "Wade . "What was the origin of this tremeBdous outbreak we coo \ not dirine . But certain it was that the people assembled began a fierce attack upon each

      other—blowjj were dealt most energetically and indiscriminately ; and a hundred voices , hoarse with rage , all shouting at once , rendered the seene as exciting as it was uaaccountable . The platform was regularly " stormed " a dozen or two times , and lost as often ; those below pulled the occupants of the disputed position down by the legs . Those above kicked ferociously their assailants , and precipitated headlong into the crowd euch as had daringly ascended . Innumerable single combats , mingle with trios , quartets , and every other description ofpugilistic encounter diversified the general affray ; and many a bloody visage , battered hat , and blackened eye betokened tQe sineeritv of the combatant * . All

      we could do was to watch the is * ue , which turned oiat , as in most similar cases , that all parties having bumped and bellowed themselves to exhaustion , began to ask what it was about , and found that it wa « " a mistake . " The Chartists had " come upon them , " and objected to Dr . Wade ( as . we were informed , ) aud the Poles generally were infuriated against Beniowsky , whom they considered as a spy ; and as , unfortunately , they all began to fight before they knew what for ; and as , when men or : ce get into a row , they are somewhat incapacitated from argument ; and " , indeed , when every one is shoutiDg no one an be beard , it was impossible that anything but cheer exhaustion could terminate the battle . When this desirable consummation was attained it was agreed that a Mr . King should take

      the chair : aid he endeavoured tn PTnlain the ohipot the chair ; aid he endeavoured to explain the object of the meeting , which we collected to be to convey to the Poli .-h exiles the expression of the sympathy of tkv working classeii with the oppressien and cruelty which has been inilicted on them by the Russian Emperor . In the horrid confusion of the meeting , of course no ; e-taking was out of the queition . Th « unJience , however , appeared cordially to concur in ; he fentimentsof Mr . Kicg , and a resolution was agreed to expressive of the abhorenee of the atrocities which had been practised on Poland , and their contempt for the Grand Ddke , now on a visit to tbi . s eounrrv . —Sun

      Untitled Article

      " Tke ndt best thing to teii : g right yourself i * to put your eiurnriu the wrong . ' D . O'C . Sir , —The plain and simple language in which your letter to the Chartists of Birmingham ia couched , would—if your positions were tenable , your argument * sound , your intentions unequivocal , and your honesty unquestionable , —give to that document much weight ; but , inasmuch as your positions are not tenable , your arfrurnentH not < ound , your intentions not unequivocal , and vour honesty not unquestionable , the plain aad

      sim ple language tends only to make the deceit plain to simple people . A half-witted child , at a single glance , will discover the motive of your present appeal to the Chartists of Birmingham , a ? you call them . You imagined that a division hid taken place in tbe Radical ranks ; and being chut out from all participation iu Engli > h agitation , by which your lri-h stool was tottering , you lortked to tb « split as a Godsend . Ftelixi / uem Jaciunt aUan perieutu ciutum . " The slight bait in the letter of Mr . Muntz is seized with the avidity of a hungry fish on a spring evening ; and while you but -napped at the fly , you have swallowed the hock , and left yourself completely at my mtrev .

      In thus renewing my -correspondence with you , I must first remind you that your day has completely gone by in England and Scotland—thatit is fa * tpassag away in Ireland . I mention this fact , to forbid a continuance of your former familiarities . You commence your letter to the Chartistu of Birmingham a * brother Reformer * , while no brotherhood , or identity of feeling or interest exists between you aud ihem . "What lioyou tt'jyour "brothers"' in tbe fouTtb sentence of your epistle ? u But the d 8 ercDce in this respect is very exten .-ive , because I am convinced rnvself that vour

      mode of action does not assist , but , on the contrary , powerfully impedes , the progress of Reform . " You will ? ay that this observation merely applies to the iBeac ? , and not to the principle ; now such for twenty years has been your sophistry . You profess to agree with every man a- * to a principle , a right , or an end to be attained ; but your m ^ -ans are always the only meaas , while your means have never yet attained a principle or right , or a desirable end ; but , on the contrary , your means have always gone to the suppression of the

      princi ple . By squabbling about trie all-absorbing importance of judicious means , right has been lost sight of . All hope of acquiring right has been destroyed , by the mystification of your means ; while no project that you have ever undertaken , has been brought to a successful issue , because your means have been inadequate to the accomplishment , and for thi 3 reu-oD , that you are aQ unsound politician , and an avaricious man . You are obliged to preserve your popularity by a promise of great thing ? , wbiie your courage fails of supplying the means . I do tot over-rate your

      poprer when I assert that you might have carried a repeal of the Uuion . I do not exaggerate vour means when I say that there were sufficient at \ out di » po = al to have abolished tithes . I do no over-estimate your popularity and your influence , when I say that , upon your triumphant return from Scotland , ycu might ha > -e -. lictared any terms to William the Fourth , even to Universal , or your Hmiyehold , Suffrage ; nor do I violate troth when I say that you hare no : done one solitary good to man , or to mankind , during the whole of your life .

      I fhall now proceed to analyze the several paragraphs in your letter . Zn ' o . 1 is a tissue of agreement and disagreement , between yourseif and those whom you address , the folly of which is made manifest , by subsequent paragraphs ? , in which you declare that no agreement exist ? between you and the Chartists , and feel yourself compelled to put forth all your powers of sophistry and blarney , to procure that agreement , of which you boast as already existing . There is no similarity between Universal Suffrage and Household Suffrage . There is no similarity between Triennial and Annual Parliaments . There is no identity of principle between men upon the question of the Ballot , where one party

      advocates it under existing circumstances , and another party would not accept it without Universal Suffrage ; and yet upon these three vital points , you profess to agree vrith m « n , from whom you difftr tolo CWld as to tbe means . The means of what ? Why tht means of carrying your principles ; not the means of carrying the principles of those with whom upoi principle you profess to agree . I shall tell yoi the mpans you require . The means of stopping firgt our agitation , and then , the means being placed in your hands , of carrying ywir own to the mosi profitable end . No . 2 goes for nothing . No . 3 h answered by one of the selections from a speech at Yonghal , upon the princi p le of exclusive dealing

      Untitled Article

      No . 4 is a healiDg clause for any of the Ar istocracy in whose favour it might oe hereafter your interest to apply it . Who in this earthly world has gone so far in the abuse of all our Aristocracy as yourself , from the bloated buffoons , to the men win acquire wealth by the industry of others ? Can the interest ef the Duke of Leinster , Lords Ci . oncurry and CharlemoNT , and others under the present syptem , be considered a * identified with those whom you call your clients in Ireland ? and yet are they not the partita into whose hands you have offered to throw all future agitation and Ireland ' s destinies ? And thus , merging jour influence in their interest , do you ac the same time , merge it in the hands of their

      " order" in England , for they are identical in both countries . Yet you condescended to give U 8 & taste of hope , by telling us , " that still there are among that Aristocracy , sereral honest friends of peaoeful Beform . " You should have explained what you meant by peaceful reform ; but as you have omitted ir , I shall supply it-. It means ' an eternal talking about nothing at all , a continual jabber about right , without redressing a single grievance ; a delegation of the people ' s cause , to those who have an interest in suppressing the public voice , because they live upon public plunder . Whennextyou * rite , pray favour us with the narnfes of those of the Aristocracy who are favourable to Reform , and the Reform to which they are favourable ? The list won ' t be long —the task will therefore not be difficult . Your fifth

      paragraph is only made important by the many fallacies , falsehoods , and fooiwh assertions , which you have had the ingenuity to cram into so small a space . There are nine sentenctp , and twenty three inaccuracies in this paragraph . I shall notice a few . We do not exclude the middle classes from our ranks , but on the contrary wo court them . The middle classes have not the same interests in good and cheap Government that the operatives have ; because the middle classes , many of them , live by bad , and prosper by dear Government . The middle classes are the authors of all those sufferings which they

      experience at the hands of the Aristocracy , while they are also the authors of all the miseries which tfee working classen expsrienee from the middle , classes , from the Aristocracy , and from dear and bad Government ; because the Government emanates from a majority of thfi middle eias . « es , and therefore we must look upon them as the authors of their own misery . The weight of taxation doe * not press upon the middle classes with a comparatively equal pressure as it does upon the operatives . The majority of the middle classes live not upon trade , not

      upon fair dealing , but upon the fictitious prices which the taxes allow them to charge for their commodities . The small shopkeepers and all persons with small , and especially with real capital , are equally with the operatives , oppressed by taxation ; but pride , as yet , has induced them to prefer their social distinction , to political improvement . No . G is nonsense . No . 7 . In this paragraph you should have stated , that the dread of Universal SuiVrwge , without any denunciation of its opponents , is , of itself , a sufficient intimidation to the middle classes . There never yet

      has been any reform brought about in any country , by the middle clas ^* , which has been beneficial to the working classes . I d «? f y you to point out one solitary instance of such a fact , while every Reform , for the advantage of the middle classes , has been brought about by the folly of the lower order ? , who work for the change and then lo * e sight of the advantage , till law has ri vetted their chains more closely . No . 8 . I shall take the marrow of this paragraph . You gay , " He who dees not agree with you in everything is not allowed to agree with you in anything . " Would to God that we had adopted

      this rule of action sooner ! Our motto now is , " He who i . s not for us I .- against uh . " We have adopted that , and I trust we shall act upon it , became I have invariably found that some men would agree for the moment with the Devil himself , until they found the fitting opportunity for differing ; that opportunity generally arising when the cunning had duped the uuwary into a surrender of their own opinions . When did the people trust in you or your friends , that they were cot deceived ? No . 9 . I have always blamed the RadicaUfor their tacit endurance of Whig and Tory

      meetings , and for not mastering , to a man , to crush either or both of the frictions . You have your House of Commons , tbe theatrs fit and proper for the discussion o / middle-class grievances : there sit their representatives . The principle nf petition— the court of appeal of the nonelectors—has been destroyed , and public meetings are their substitute . I would go a thousand miles to frustrate a Whig or a Toiy meeting . We always in \; te them to attend ours ; but , skulking scoundrels as they are , they lurk on the outskirts , for the purpose of creating disturbance . Your organs

      triumph when you are not opposed , and your opinions and resolutions are , in » uch cases , stated to be those of the majority . Henceforth , I trust that the Radicals will consider it a part of their duty to upset every Whig and Tory meeting . No . 10 . The Legislature has already gone as far as it dared to go in suppressing all public meetings ; and would go the full length tomorrow if it dared ; and if it did so you would nup port it . No . 11 . This paragraph you deem important . When you characterised me as a

      bloodthirsty revolutionist to your mongrel crew of emptybag barristers , hireling attorneys , and patriotic shopkeepers in Dublin , admitted at a shilling a head to hear the poor man ' s grievances discussed ; when you did this , I took little notictof yon , but when you denounce a whole body upon the assumption , I challenge you to the proof . Pmy , are you accountable for every word spoken in Ireland by every man who feels himself aggrieved ? Now , then , for myself , and those with whom I have acted . I defy you to quote a single line bespeaking violence , or a desire to resort to it . The

      expression whichyou ascribe to one of our speakers , happens to be a sentence embodied in an address from the Convention to the unrepresented ; and here I repeat it upon my cwn responsibility—I mem tohave Universal Suffrage—peaueably if I can , and forcibly if I must . In your next paragraph , you gay it comes literally within the law of high treason . Here , then , we are at issue . You have the Attorney General at your back ; you

      have backers ever ready to stretch the law , and I defy you all to twist , thwart , warp , turn , or construe , this my declaration into a violation of any law . In No . 12 , jou also dwell upon the disadvantage of revolution to tbe working classes . Very good , Sir ; it is because all moral and physical revolution have been injurious to the interests of the working classes , that we have borne the rule of your friends so long , rather than have recourse to violence .

      In this paragraph you have mentioned , without knowing it , the besetting gin—the great grievance under which the working classes labour , namely , the living from hand to moutb , and being in a complete state of dependency upon their employers , and hence the difference between English and Iri .-h agitation . If every man had his month ' s provision in the store house ( which , with the blessing of God , Universal

      Suffrage will give him ) , there would be an end to your sophistry ; to the power of faction j to the necessity of an hiied army of meroenaiieu , whose only business ig to subject labour , under brute force to the dominion of capital . What a hard hearted man yju must be , when you state that men may subsist for a w « ek or a fornight upon plunder , and thia is all that tha bees have made during life . Thus under your

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      mucL 8 y 8 rem , the poor man has not wherewithal to subsist for a week without plunrler . Anfl this from you , with the boasted power which yon hav * so long possessed . Out upon yon , yon vile hypocrite ! I novr come to the physical force paragraph , which , in order that the answer may follow the obaervatioo , I shall here introduce : — " But jou cannot possibly succeed . In any attempt at violence you would bs opposed by all ju . t anil reasonable epc-rativea theiun-lve 8 ; br the rui'MIe cluin , sroug ml vigorous , Hud nbh-rrent of any change that woui . ' end » nft-r the social stolei by all th « power and wealth of the aristocracy ; by the concentrutrd furce of thr u'm > -i } rei mzrirv ; and by thn orgairaatioa , skill , And resistless power ot ti »« entire British army . "

      Firstly , Sir , Examine the quotations which I give from some of your speeches , and then if you cannot find an answer , I shall endeavour to supply one ' . " Hereditary bondsmen , know ye not , They who would be free , themselves mvist strike the Wow , " O'Connell ' s motto . " Though I am old , my arm is not yet too withered to wield a sivord in defence of Ireland ' s riphts ; and , so h < Op me God , 1 weuld rather see her fjreen fields crimsoned with gure , and her streams running blnod , than see h-r aii-eriosconcinued . " —O'ConnM at the Droyhrda dinner . " Let roe have the petitions of 5 ( RO 0 O fighting men , and lettheru run thus , and then I'll get your prayer granted—We 5 ( 10 , 000 fighting men do humbly pray your Honourable H < iu » —and let the Hhuhk know that you are determined to light . " —O'Cunnellat IVIiite Conduit Jlntis ,-.

      "Obr ! if we had a Parliament sitting in College Green , the Kildare boys would walk in some hue morning , with their short sticks , when the House was about in divide , to teach thi-ir Members how to vote . "— O'ConnM in Dublin - " The English working classes never will join yon ; they nre an over-fed , uMlish . savage race , opposed oi indiffereit to everything Irish . "— O'Connell at Cork . " The shoplteept rs have th « votp * , Vut the peeple have thfi money . Let no man spend hia money with an enemy : let evury man , then , only deal with him who will support the rppeal ot the Union . "— O'Connell at YomJutl .

      " Let a general run be maJe for jjold ; it ia the orlv mean * by which the people e * n shew their influence . " — O'C » nn , U ' s Letter to the 1 ' eopln in 1831 , which caused the run upon th- » Cork banks . He was reviled in the House of Commons lor it , and he justified the act . " LetevcTy man ' * door he marked who shall oppnse ihe people : at all events , let us have the satisfaction of knowing our friendrt from uur enemies . " —0 Coniwll in Kerry . " I art yonng enough yet to Bght f » r a repeal of the Union , and where is the C' . wan ! Irishman who would i oi light in so glorious a came . " — O'Conr . elluta dinner in Cork .

      Now Sir , do you fuppoge that you so frequently preached such doctrines io vain , or that they were not likely to have considerable effect upon your hearers ? "What do the words fighting men mean ? What were the short sticks for ? where was the gore and blood to come l ' r « m ? or how many strwams of it have been shed in Ireland to oppose the factions , whose oppression you have fo often and so suct > es « - fully denounced , but whose ranks tou hav « now

      joined ? Ia there a man of the higher or middle classes to whom you could apply derision , or whose property you could injure , that you have not marked or rained Have you not giten your tongue a latitude only tolerated by the shield you have thrown round you ? Have you stopped at anything to gain vour own point , while you thus pompously array the powers behind you against our present position ? You talk of armed Aristocracy , of armed middle class , " etrong and vigorous , " aye , made strong by the honey of the been . You speak of the concentrated force of an armed Yeomanry , and the

      organization , skill , and resistless power of the entire British army . Once array them against us , and we'll beat them all , or make a houseless wild where all shall roam in equal desolation . Once array them against the people , and nature will supply the week ' s provision ; once array them against the people , and stand for one hour behind your bankers' counter , and see the effect . Your army ! Poh ! it would be but as a Hea bite , when allotted to the several stations , where principle and couiage would rear their heads . Never again , Sir , endeavour to stop the present agitation by

      intimidation , ? uch as you have resorted to in your letter , lor if you do , you will lead us to suppose that by physical force alone can we obtain what we hav ' t resolved upon having . As to your jargon of the inapplicability of the terms of the Suffrage to the name whioh we give it , just mark your folly ; does not the same argument hold good against your own scheme P Would not many houses be occupied by persons who could not vote ? then is Household Suffrage , as applied to your franchise , as uutrue aud foolish , as is Universal Suffrage to our details . You speak of heads ol families , married people , scientific teachers , and apprenticeships , as constituting part and parcel of your elective community . Now if it is so

      complete , why require so much complication , the txistence of which in our plans , furnishes jou with so many plausible exceptions to the princi ple ? A jain , is not the man who occupies a house for a less time than six months , a householder , and yet in your comprehensive details , so nicely squaring with your principles , all those are excluded . Your fdrourites the saldiers , all , at least , who have not been in the same barracks for x-x months , would be excluded ; and this you cail perfection , and have the matchless effrontery Co ask the mea oi Birmingham to dismiss , in the first p lace , Universal Suffrage from their political vocabulary . The difference between our principle and your jargon is this—that we statewhom wewould enfranchise , and therefore ours is defined ; while no human being could guess at your standard .

      So much , Sir , for your arguments as to definitionand how ene word upon the Ballot . I thought that this question had been set at rest , till the possessien of the Suffrage should have resuscitated it . You say " whoever votes by the ballot , his vote is his own . " Those are your words ; now the declaration of the Duke of Newcastle , that he had " a right to do what he liked with his own , " was not more unprincipled . What ! the vote bis own ? for wbat , or lor whose benefit , or in trust for whom ? Was it given to him ? Could you furnish a stronger proof of the necessity of every man having a like property of his own thus to protect . But yet you are for the Ballot with the present franchise . The

      Ballot , Sir , with the present suffrage , would be a protection for individual turpitude against a general right of seratiny . The Ballot , with Universal Suffrage , would be a general protection against individual interference with tbe disposal of a right . You ask the meu of Birmingham to form a Precursor or Reform Association . Weak old man ! vou must be doting . The time is noi far distant when every Precursor Association in Ireland will change its name to Radical Association , for the attainment of Universal Suffrage . Sir , you prefer Triennial Parliaments to Annual Parliaments . No doubt you do , and weuld prefer the tenure for life to either , if you could accomplish it .

      Now , Sir , having for the present shown that no kind of sympathy oridentity of principle exists between you and the Birmingham Chartists , I shall make a -very fey .- observations , and then take my leave for the present . This assault upon Birmingham has been in agitation since last winter , when you threw out your first feelers , by bespattering some of the then leaders with your praise ; bu * , Sir be assured that your presence in Birmingham for the furtherance of your proposed plan , would be scouted by tho 3 e upon whom you rely for support . Do you for one moment imagine that the people , or that Mr . Attwoob and Salt , or Muntz , would write themselves down as tools and fools at your bidding ? Sir , you have really gifted the Editor of the Star

      with a power of prophecy ; for had yeu read that paper of the 25 th of May , which literall y and critically predicted every single word of jour letter of the 1 st of June , you would be struck with horror , at the importance , which you have conferred upon the Editor of the Star , and at the laugh to which you have subjected yourself . Now , pray do read that a tide under the head Household Suffrage , nnd then you will fiLd the * xact plan of your Parliamentary H-o- u-s-e- . As you uy * ent oraiors are doing much to retard the march of Reform , I make you the followiDg proposal : —I will meet you at Birmingham , at Manchester at Leeds , at Newcastle , in Edinburgh ,. at Glasgow , in Carlisle , and in Dublin , to argue our respective

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      yiew 8 upoa the question of ihe suffrage . 1 will meeir you npon tie following conditions : —I will undertake , upon mj part , that no persoual matter , as the slightest ' 'hostility to you , shall be used or evinced towards joo . That you shall not be as one farthing ' s expense . That admission isball be fr . ee . That ' your time shall be my rime . That we shall , if a division be doubtful , tell the numbers That we shall have three chairmen , two of whom irt case © f a division shall be tellers . You to have

      theraanageraent ot all the speaking details as to time The question to be pur , Household Suffrage as youshall detcribe it , against Universal Suffrage , as I shall support , it . If you accept of this offer , Sir , I pledge rayseif that for the occasion the people will curb their , feelings o » " general hostility , for the many wrongs ysu have done , and t ?* . e many trick ? you hare played , whilst I shall rely upon my own resources .

      Sir , as it is of the utmost importance thafc the real principle should be laid before tke people , and as you are of opinion that the pre-Upon the other h » nd , if ycu decline this invitation , cease for ever to interfere in political agitation . I have the honour to be , Sir , Your obedieat Servant .

      FEABGUS O'CONNOR . Northern Star Office , Leeds , June fa ' th , 1839 . P . S . Sir , you have made me , a present to the English people ; and , by my soul , I swear that 1 wiii be true and just to them and to Ireland likewise , and that you shall only assail their rights over my lift-less body . What the devil do jou mean with your blarney ? F . O'C . i ii i ^^^^ ~ I " I * n' III l | « - 1 « l i

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      . * ^^^^ jtjHyi . uw . . _ j TO P . H . MUJS 1 Z , ESQ . " My opinion * remain the same as they evur have been . " Sir , —I select che ten wordsabove ( which I ha-ve taken trom the postscript of your letter to the Editors of the Northern Star , ) as the subject of my verv brief reply . All the charges in the body of your letter will be considered as armour for yourself , rather thai ? as weapons capable of wounding your opponentsas a ttaiik company to cover your retreat , ratherthan an advance to announce your approach , dressed in your old opinions . You decry Physical Force ; s » do I ; but-1 never have recorciBeuded it ; while joa have not only recommended it , but have laugbtd to scorn the idea , that without it the improvementswhich you profess to desire are attainable . Now , Sir , you will require the proof . When you were afe Perth , upon a Radical mission , you reeommendec the leaders to form rifle clubs , to purchase rifles , and to practise shooung , as moral force was a I ? a humbug . By this advice , Sir , you subjected yourself to transportation for seven years ; and , iastead of receiving the penalty which the law awards to your indiscretion , jou have beta

      invested with a power to administer the law , and , ic virtue of that power , you have joined in an attemp * to suppress the moral power of the people , which can only be exhibited at public meetings . I w ^ £ « not at Perth with you ; but , as I believe you to be a man of veracity , I stale , upon yjur own authoritVj that you advised the men of Perth to take up a physical position . You made no secret of it j for you thus delivered your opinion , after the large meeting * held at the . Town Hall , when > ou resumed j our seas as Deputy Chairman of the Political Uuion . I shall refresh your memory by repeating the conversation verlatim : —Mr . O'Connor : " "Well

      Mumz , you see the boys art ratker physically inclined . " Mr . Muktz : "I never doubted it ; I have always iaid that moral force is a humbug , an .-3 that we shall have to fight f » r Universal Suffrage . I didu ' t wait till now to think so : when I was ai Penh , dtd-was asked what was the best plan , I told them there to buy rifles , and to form a rife corps , as moral force was ail a humbug ; and , by ^ , they . have done it . But I think it injadicioua ta frighten the enemy . " ISow , Sir , 1 have stated your words , and if I err , or colour you ?

      meaning , the Star is optu for your reply , and I aia ready to receive correction ; but holding , till deaied that 1 have correctly reported your words , 1 hopeaai trust that your opinions do not remain ihe same as they hive ever b-. en . I hope so , Sir , because 1 abhor the very thought of procuring change , evenfrom absolute slavery to the fullest state of liberty , by anarchy and bloodshed . I hope so , Sir , because I do believe that the full exhibition and wise direction of Moral Power will prove sufficient for ou . r purpose , without-aiiy recourse to brute force , tc

      savage warfare , or dispatch of foes most hostile bv ritte precision . If your opinions remain unchanged , S . r , you are in honour bound to surrender yovi = Commission of the F

      our embryo views to he well-merited censure , which time alone can wipe out ; while we may arraigc . you aud your . party upon acts committed in violati » t of law , for the attainment of views which yc-s . have the candour to confess have Hot been realisei Mark the desolation which your agitation oaus

      against corruption , not more pernicious thun that which has replaced it ; while , duriag our five years . " agitation , not a single act of violence has been committed in furtherance of our cause , or for ti , * attainment of our-objects . In the absence of criras-. the weakness of your brother maeistrates has r « l

      ceived false testimony for evidence , and they ha ^ thereby triumphed not so much over their victic as over the hw , to which I seek to make there amenable . If I have correctly stated your word . * , you stand charged b y your present stricturesagaiov physical force , either of not remaining of the sasi-t opinion , or of acting with lews ingenuousness to t ); tmiddle class whose aid you court , than do those who * " .

      views jou so unsparingly censure . Your letter , Sir , all through furnishes the mast conclusiT ^ and melanchol y proof , that to the change of old , arc not to the folly of new leaders , is to be ascribes any damage which is likely to occur to the cause . Sir , nature has betfn very bountiful to youadded to a noble person , she has gifted you with » splendid genius , and a generous soul which make *

      , £ « ? Ti * " & ?* tbat -y « o > l" > nW nave fallen a should have lost so powerful an auxiliary I a--glad to find you in correspondence wiih ' H 4 WK » as it leads me to suppose , that when reason re « . urnt ^ der sea % and prejudice and envT are baui-he « that we shall once more «* you ' in your propw POaiJo n , backing . the poor to tight , if necisar * , tor those right * to which all acknowled ge thtt \ i

      Sir , assuring you that I remain of precisely ft * - same opinion , not only which I have ever tntes- - tamed , but hav ? also fearies . -l ^ . cxnr . ^ a nttmely , that Universal Suffrage ^ hjOSOfcSB **^ - of the law , or that I , for oce , will 3 * R « K ^^ P ^ v it / e it necessaiy , in the accc wp ^ j ^ SfeB i ^^ y ^\ ' ^ l ^^ y ^ V ^

      Tfettis* «N5 B©M**Fo &Vcutli&Tnct

      tfettis * « n 5 B © m ** fo &vcUTli&tnct

      To Daniel O'Connell, Esq. M. P.

      TO DANIEL O'CONNELL , ESQ . M . P .

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), June 8, 1839, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1060/page/3/