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    0 'C O >~> 'OR TO THE ENGLISH PEOPLE . " Tho ^^ h Ireland is my country , the world is my jepublic . " —F . O'Connor . " We make Feargus O'Connor a present to the Engjjsh Radicals- —Bsnitl O'Conr . eU . JO THE BLISTERED BAXD 3 , THE FUSTIAN JACKETS , Ah ' D rXSHORN CHIXS . ill Political Childbed , —It is now nearly nine jjsontis since the palsied hand of tyranny removed me from yen ; it ia almost seven since we hare had intercourse even by letter . How glad I am once more io pour oat my feeling ? into ears -where they are sure to find a ¦ welcome ; into htarts from which they are certain of a response .

    This letter will be lorg , bnt yet it will be read or listened to by erery Chartist in the land . It will be ion ? , because I mean to ran over tie -whole period of acquaintance , -which has now stretched orer a space d eight years , wanting only twenty days . Daring tease ckht years no man in any age or conntry ever bas bean so much before the public . I hare in that time attended more public meetings , and at more places , ^ acj- man trio liTes , or ever did lire , eTer attended tJucng hoat tie whole of life . How I hare acquitted mjself in ^ several situations which under God I tras csJled ntwn to fill , this narrative shall truly sketch _ voa shall ssy whether the picture has been faithfully < jrlira or orer-paint-ed , and according to your judgjnen ; , you will decide whether or not I am entitled to the only favour I hare tver asked of the working

    passes . At starting , let me remind yon , that the eight years te irhich my remarks refer is a period which has been BHjre fruitful in events than any fifty years comprised vithia the time from the Revolution of 16 S 8 ; it was a feme , in troth , to try men ' s souls . I begin . On the 4 th ef February , 1833 , I took my HbX a £ an Irish Member in the House of Commons . I fcrooztt with me the strongest testimonials of fitness _ od confidence from my natiTe county by which any public man has eYer been honoured . I rescued the largest , most aristocratic , and priest-ridden county in the United Kingdom , from the united grasp of Whig and

    Tory , who had alternately divided its representation lor centuries . I not only did that , but I so routed the eounty , city , and four boroughs , as to retnrn seven repealers , which was then the test of fitness , leaving ( gUy the hell-bom town of Banden in the hands of the lories . I brought in with me , for the county , a person wholly unknown to the electors . I never asked a man to vote for me , to propose me , or to second me 1 jpent no meney on the election , ilr . O'Connell said at a dinner , at Dr . Baldwin ' s house , in October , 1 S 32 : "Will , JIr . O'Connor , if you open this county you will have done more fo * n all the agitaUrs put together for the last forty years , bnt the Aristocracy is too

    jtrong for yon ; however , the very attempt Till do great good . " I mention this fact more for the date t'h " '" for any value which I attach to the opinion ; observe October , 1 S 32 . That -was the first time lever opened mylipi to , or sat in company with , Mr . O'Connell , and then I had the county secured . Bear in mind , for reasons which I shall presently explain , that I never opened my lips to , or sat in company ¦ with Mr . O'Connell , until October , 1 S 32 . He -was then in Cork ; aid although it was his custom to rouse the repeal electors every -where else , and though he was at the assizes of Cork at that time ' the assizes were arjaurned to October , in consequence of the cholera upon that

    year and for the whole period , yet he addressed n » meeting , an 3 took no part in what he called a forlorn hoi > e . TV ell , I beat the most powerful families of TThigand Tory unitedly . The present Earl of Kingston , then the Hon . Robert King , formerly representative of the cotnty , and who voted for the Reform Bill , led for every reform , and whese family had divided ite spoils for time out of mind , was the Whig candidate ; Lord Bernard , > lr- Beecner , and Mr . Morris , were the Tory candidates ; and I was the people ' s can " didate . I dragged all the titled liberal clnbs and associations tkrough the mire in spite of them . I electrified the e .-uatv with the non-electors , and after an

    snpara ;] eled Etrorgle of five days , I Wis sent to the House of Commons by a majority of 842 . I opened the Oanty , the City , Mallow , Kinsale , and Youghall , and jfcook Bandon by myself ; and the whole cost a mere nothing . This was considered as a political earthquvt v e I came to England with all the prejudices at an Irishman . I looked upon English Protestant , and Irish Orangeman , as terms quite synonymous , ssi laid at Britain ' s door every grievance of which Ireland complained . The House of Commons I thought , as far as regarded Ireland , might be taken ae a fair specimen of English feeling towards the lar » 4 tf myhirth ; and , in consequence , I hated , abhorred ,

    Kid detested the very name , of England and everything Eaeiish . Resolved , ho-wever , to confirm my hatred , or dispel the mist , I determined to think for myself;— i man ' s greatest crime ; that is , if , after thought , be ; should act for himself . With this view I attended public dinners and public meetings , and , above all , I attended the sober man ' s Parliament from twelve to three , ' ¦ when the people ' s petitions were presented . From these , ources I soon learned that St . Stephens was not England , and that the House of Commons was not the ' Bouse cf the r-eeple . My prejudices began to weaken ; ray hatred was on the wane ; when the cure of igau-, acre was completed by the noble stand made , hastily , i mi of themselves , by the English and Scotch people , j against the Coercion BilL

    In passing , let me tell yon , that I prophesied , the Coercion Bill a year and a quarter before it was introduced , for proof ef which , I refer the reader to the Cork Southern Reporter of the 6 th of DeeeBibcr , 1 S 31 , where , in a Epeech of mine , delivered at 3 Reform meeting in the Court House , will be found the following prophetic \ words : — " I support Reform for England upon prindp ! e ; but in Ireland I tell you that it will be the very i wont measure ever passed , if not followed by a Repeal * of the Tnion . Because the very first act of the Reformed Parliament will be to pass some gagging Bill , to ; ¦ mother the expression of public opinion in Ireland !! . ' '»; This prophecy waa fulfilled . '

    I stall now take a review of my conduct during the \ first Parliament in which I sat , and which comprised ; the Sessions of 1 S 33 and 183-i . When my eyes became ; opened , I became an universal Member , yet not forget- j Ung Ireland . Though Ireland -was my country , the ¦ world I looked upon as my Republic . In those Sessions I became popular -with the English and Scotch people ; ) ttiey sent me their petitions . I presented and' sup- ported mere petitions than any man in the House . I j at with the Speaker , and rose with the House . I never ; MM alscnL J What -were the questions , and how did I vote ? I , forced O"Connell to bring Repeal from under his bushel- I opposed his tithe instalment scheme of making ttie people pay 13 s . in the pound to the parsons , and j 10 s . in the pound to the landlord . I voted against j

    every clause of the Irish Coercion BilL I moved the , rejection of , and voted against every clause , of the j mitigated Coercion BilL O'Connell opposed me , and j epported it alL I voted against the fixed duty oa i com being substituted for the more uncertain restric- j tton . In fact , I opposed a repeal of the Corn J laws , unaccompanied by reduction of taxation ,

    tod other measures which would give to the i low , instead of U the high , the benefit of the j diange . I voted against the Ballot : for the same ] reasons 1 would do so again now . I voted against ! CTery single clause of the English Poor Law Amend-1 ment Ac ; , as it is called ; and I had the satisfaction ! of receiving a letter from Mr . Cobbett , which -was j published in the True Swt , saying , thai "ifoUthe Iruh j Members , caMr . g ihtmtelva Liberal , had stood by him at I did , he icovld have defeated the measure . " I voted j ¦ gainst every grant ef money . I voted for the expul-Mon of the Bishops from the Home of Lords . I brought every abuse before the House—the transports- i

    tion of the Dorchester Labourers , for whose retain I j laid the foundation -, the caae of Mr . Taylor , confined tot what the House termed blasphemy ; the liberation st Grant aud Bell , proprietors of the True Sun , impri- ooed in the Queen ' s Bench for what a jury called libel , bttt -which the Attorney-General and the Whigs cheered ¦» ben coming from the present Eail Fitawilliaja and William Brougham . Grant and Bell were imprisoned for precisely the same thing -which the other two were *« r « l for . I supported some proprietor of a Brighton paper against hu oppressors , and some persons , » hose names I forget , who were imprisoned for aon-payment of church rates . I defended the trades' "Unionists as a legal and a ussful body . I ? oted for every measure in favour of the Di&seatexs

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    and slaves , and all -who were desolate and oppressed . I endeavoured to tax the Irish landlords for a sweeping provision for the Irish poor , but in this , as in every thing else , Mr . O'Connell opposed me . I made five fruitless efforts to get a House , to bring the case of the Irish poor before the country . O'Connell always kept the Irish members away , and the House was always counted out I furnished Mr . Littleton with the draft of & new Stamp Act , which I took ' -great pains and trouble in drawing up , and also - with the draft of a ne-w Quarter Sessions Bill for Ireland , by which I sought to bring spetdy justice home to every poor man's door , by giving him & cheap court of equity as veil as & court of law , in his immediate locality .

    By the Stamp Act , I sought to put it out of the power of the landlord t * distrain upon , or to refuse a lease , or stamped receipt to , or otherwise oppress , or capriciously remove his tenants . By the Quarter Sessions' Act , I sought to confine all cases between landlord and tenant , buyer and seller , master and servant , debtor and creditor , to a cheap local court , and thereby save the expense of the superior and more expensive courts of justice ; these Littleton promised me to support , but he broke his word .

    During my Saturdays and holidays , I devoted myself to attendance at public meetings for instruction , and I refused all invitations to Ministerial dinners- upon those days . I refused patronage and other indirect bribes . I opposed the emigration or transportation scheme . 1 voted in a minority of four , in a House of 300 , against Mr . Cobbett ' s motion , for the removal of Sir Robert Peel from the Privy Council ; being struck off the records of the House . I voted for the admission of the Jews among the infidels ; and here let me say that that -was the only vote wbich I would not now repeat ; not that I hate a Jew , but because I dread the influence of his money , upon a constituency

    qu&liued by a money value . I would now rather see the devil than a Jew walking into the House of Commons . I -wish most sincerely that the single-breasted Quaker , Durham Pease , this " marrow fat" member , was out of it Such was my conduct fr > r the two stsaions of 1833-4 , —my best efforts being marred by Mr . O'Connell . If the debate was upon an English question , he said , "leave it to the English members ; " if upon a Scotch question , he said , " leave it to the Scotch members ; " and if upon an Irish Church question , " leave it to the Whigs and the Tories ; " but he always spoke himself ; so did I ; except when he actually held me down , or sat upon the skirts of my coat

    Thus ended the two first Reformed Sessions , and the Tories got into office . A dissolution took place , and I ¦ was denounced by the -whole liberal press of Ireland , and opposed by every one ef O'Connell " s friends and relations in the county of Curk . I was told that I never would have a chance again ; that I had been a mere bubble upun the Repeal surface . Well , what did I do ? But , let mo tell you , that at the close of each session I tendered my resignation in tbe Marketplace of different large towns ,

    where I explained my aifftrences with Mr . O'Connell , but it was not accepted . Upon the second election I took no trouble—I never stirred among the people — I only addressed the electors once . I was engaged till tbe day before my own election in returning Mr . John O'Connell for Youghall , at his titter's request , who ordered the whole ceunty Ko attend , but made off" himself , and forgot to leave even poll bouks ; here , as everywhere else , I paid my own exptnees , and got no fee -. but more of this in another place .

    A second time I was returned , and had the county been polled out , my majority would have b-en over 1600 . I came a ^ ain to England , and again proceeded in my straightforward course . My first motion was to bring the Ratbconnac murder before the House . Mr . O'Cunriell and Mr . Hume got up , and asked me it I would embarrass Ministers by such an untimely motion ? I said I would —that I was pledged—but no one would second the motion for an investigation into this most blood-thirsty affair , now slumbering as a thing forgotten . but which , though opposed by tho « e of the same persuasisn as the sla n , I will ytt bring to light , and have blood for blood , if justice is to be had on earth .

    In lS 3 a I was ousted by aa Election Committee , an Irish repealer voting against me upon every division . Let mB name one for curiosity : he voted that a printed p * per found upon a file , which the High Sheriff , now Lord Listo wwl , admitted be had never seen , was a good and supirieiU service upon the High Sheriff . I don't impugn kis honesty , kut I do his law . I did not know the complexion of the House , and Mr . O'Connell very kindly seat his two sons , Manrice and John , to strike

    my Committee ; and , by some unforeseen accident or another , my case was submitted to six of tbe most iniqnitous Tories in the Honse . Let me mention three of them—Barnaby , Jockey Houldsworth , and Sir Colin Campbell : in short , tbe whole House burst out laughing when they saw tbe Committee come to tbe table be to sworn . More of this , however , in its proper place , and which , I pledge myself , will make Englishmen stare .

    In June , 1835 , I ceased to be a Member of Parlia- \ ment ; and in July , 1 S 35 , I Btood for Oldham , upon ; Chartist , Repeal , and anti-tithe principles . That is five years and a half ago ; and then did 1 form my first : alliance with tLe English people . > I was defeated at OldLam by a mistake of Mr . j Fielden ' s . It was this : —I was first in the field ; but ; requiring franks , and a knowledge of the leaders of tbe j ^ Radical party , Mr . Fieiden , by an accident , enclosed my letters t 3 Mr . Jushua Milne and Dr . Fitton , of ; Royton , the two principal members of Mr . John | Cobbrtt ' s Committee , who , I was assured at the time ,

    was not going to stand , but for whom tho 3 e two gentle- ¦; men were hard at work , aad in correspondence with ; Mr . Fieiden . I Epent fifteen days tA Oldham . I went ' there a strangtr—I left it a beaten man ; bul my i upright Committee , more than pleased with my conduct , j sent for me after their defeat , and announced that my ; conduct throughout had given universal satisfaction , j and that the Committee had come to the unanimous ; decision of paying all expenses , which were vtry heavy , ! and even asked for my own private bill , which I would j not allow them to pay . A beaten man generally sneaks ) ¦ oSl However , I received a public dinner after my J

    defeat ; and , no room being large enough to hold tbe guests , we were obliged to have every room in the hotel , and tiey were too few . I was honoured with a public entry into Athton , Rochdale , and Manchester ; ray Committee attending their baten man in several carriages , and joining the largest pnblic procession ever witnessed in Manchester . The cure of pnjudice was then completed . I saw England for tbe first time with the naked eye . I saw a drunken manufacturer , as drunk as an owl on Sunday , wfeo took me very severely to task for calling upon that day on temporal matUra . Mr . Ainsworth was with me . The

    elector could not be " reasonably deemed" in a condition to lie on the floor without holding , bnt he belshed out that he was for Church and State , I then f « r the first time saw the Rattle Boxes and their victims . I waa up betimes every morning , and watched the pallid face , the emaciated frame , and the twisted limbs , wending their way to the earthly helL I saw the exhausted frame staggering home more ghastly still by candle light , after fourteen hours' toil : and I said , hore ' a a field for philanthropy . From that moment I became the unpaid advocate of my fellow roan . Five years and a half have passed away , and were I asked where I am most-popular ,

    I should say where I have been longoat known at Oldham . When I returned to Losdon , I racked invention for the means of opening England , as I had opened the . county of Cork . The grand question of the session waa the Irish Corporation Reform Bill : the grand struggle upon it , was the Lords against tbe Commons . I held meetings at Brentford ^ nd elsewhere to encourage the Commons in resisting the Lords' amendments- The Irish Members were full of valtur , and , in their pot-valiancy , had resolved to oppose them to a man ; but the incipient sweets of unpolluting , because not openly avowed , patronage , stepped in , and the fabric of hope , built by the

    j j | j i j j . ; ; Irish Liberals on Monday , was blown down on Tne * j day , and , headed by Mr . O'Connell , they accepted the { Lords' instalments . I Upon the evening of the following day , I saw Mr . i O'Connell at the Westminster Club , and said to him , j » You have sold us at last ; I have done with you . " I then saw that Whigs in office were hungry Tories , i and resolved that only two political parties should ¦ exist , till the struggle should terminate in the ascen-! d&ncy of the people ; and with this view I established the great Radical Association of Marylebone , on the 18 th of September , and which was followed by the ; establishment of fourteen others in the Metropolis ; and Greenwich ; the first fruita of which were , the

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    return of the Dorchester Labourers , and the reduction in newspaper stamps . Never was London bo » rg&nised as during the winters of 1835 and 1836 . These two questions we never lost sight of ; we petitioned and memorialised , held public meetings and agitated , until we finally accomplished our aim and end . In the autumn of 1855 , when I could no longer defend myself in the House , and hariog no portion of the press at my command , Mr . O'Connell denounced me to his creatures in Dublin—said I was unworthy the confidence of the Irish people , and made me a present to the English Radicals .

    I wrote two letters to know it he had been misre ported , thus opening the old back-door for him ; but conscious strength , and ignorance of my resolutions , induced him to withhold a reply . So I addressed to him a series of letters in a ' pamphlet , exposing his policy and defending myself ; and from that hour to the present , he has never attended a single public meeting of the people in England or Scotland , while I was at large to meet him .

    In December , 1835 , in the depth of winter , I received a commission from the Parent Radical Association , upon parchment , and under hand and seal of the officers , by order of a public meeting , to establish braneh'Associations throughout the country . They , like Englishmen , offered to pay all my expences : I declined , determined to pay my own way , and avoid the suspicion of wishing to prolong a profitable trade . I was received every wkere with open arms . I established numerous Associations , returned , and was honoured with the thanks of my fellow-labourers . I then wrote gratuitously for many London papers . In 1 S 36 , I made another

    tour , and extended my mission to Scotland , where I waa received with open arms . I found that between the Durham and the O'Connell humbug , public opinion was at sea . 1 resolved to right it I established associations in Edinburgh , Glasgow , Paisley , Kilmarnock , Leith , Dunferruline , Dundee , and other places , which shortly afterwards threw out their branches , as in Eng " land , and covered the land with the foliage of Radical " ism . I was honoured with a splendid pnblic entry into Glasgow , in Dec 1836 , and addressed an in-door meeting computed at 7 , 000 . The whole of the curious for miles around were present , and every newspaper proprietor

    and editor in Glasgow . They came to see the play damned ; but it so far succeeded that at the close I waa presented with a flattering address , which awaited my desert ; and I waa by acclamation voted the President of the National Association of Scotland , which was that night formed . I then became the national gazette . In 1837 , I visited Yorkshire and the North again ; but the first blush of curiosity having faded , I found that the press was entirely mute , while I was working myself to death , and that a meeting in one town did nothing for another . I ordered numbers of different papers , and offered to pay for reports ; but , no , my principles were heterodox , and tbe press was closed against me , and thus were my expences doubled aud my toil increased . In June , 1837 , I wrote to Leeds .

    to &dvettise a public meeting . I followed in expectation of finding all the arrangements perfected , but no notice was taken , and I had my labour and expence for my pains . Still awaro of the danger to the man , bat the success to the cause which must follow the establishment of a dissent paptr , I called a meeting on Woodhouse Moor , by placard , with loss of time and much money which a single advertisement would have spared , an 1 I there announced my determination to establish a paper if our meetings were disregarded . That threat was not sufficient ; our proceedings were passed over with a sneer , and I ordered my publisher , Mr . Hobson , to start for Sheffield , and to arm me with millions of little tongues , whose multiplied voices would speak to all nations . Ha went , and the type was ordered .

    Upon the 18 th of November , the Star was announced to come out Government threw every obstacle in my way , and , in the meantime , came the attack upon tbe Glasgow Cotton Spinners . I forgot the paper I attended two and three meetings every night I never mentioned the Sorlhern Star , but roused , without any journal to assist me , the whole of English feeling for those poor men . I went myself to the trial I took some money , the fruits of my labour—much ra <» re was subsequently sent As soon as I arrived , the carda were dealt ; I saw every hand , and that my profession had all the trumps , but that they would not play them . I

    all but went do wn on ray knees to persuade the committee , Hugh Alexander and others , to play the game outand they wt-re most willing ; but still the vultures saw the prey , and they would not Jet go their hold I told them that postponing tbe trial wouH but furnish , by delay , an opportunity to amend tbe hand ; whereas tho men must be acquitted , as at present indicted . I could not stop them . They postponed tbe trial— the indictment was amended—the prisoners were acquitted on all the counts contained in the old and preserved in tbe fresh indictment , and were convicted upon the new coudU , which delay had given them time to furnish . I left Scotland ; travelled the whole of two nights ; arrived at Manchester on Wednesday eveniDg , saw 3000 sheets stamped for the first number , and started by

    the mail carrying the paper with me ; arrived at Leeds at th . rte o ' clock on Wednesday morning , when the first side should have been printed ; roused up the men , set to work , wrote , bungled , put together , and got out the paper ; ( never having tried the printing machine before ; - I saw it printed and posUd , and went to bed on Friday night , for tbe first time that week , thanking God that my 3000 friends w « re upon the watch while I slept Every one knows how I worked for the cotton spinners . I attended their second trial in January—They came home the other day with an injunction from Brougham , Wakley , and others , to take no notice of me , They were within an hour ' s journey of my dungeon , and they turned their backs upon me . I forgive them . If they are ever prosecuted again I will defend them again .

    On the lath of November , 1837 , I established tbe XorUtern Star , the first paper ever eatabiished in England exclusively for the people ; a paper which has given a completely new tone to the whole press of the empire ; a paper which may be truly called the mental link which binds the industrious classes together ; a paper which has , for the first time , concentrated the national min * l into one body , now become irresistible . In 1838 , I established the great Northern Union , another powerful body . In 1839 , I became a member of the National Convention . In July , 1839 , I was tried at York for a Jibei , consisting of four lines taken

    from another paper . There never waa such a farce as that triil . Crown prosecutor , Judge , Jury , and all , were moved to laughter by its absurdity ; but , as I have before informed you , one Patrick Ryall was hung in Ireland for laughing ; and , where the oppressor prowls , what is law in Ireland soon becomes law in England . The laughing hysenas laughed me out of my liberty . Yea , the lying scoundrels , they found me " guilty ; " and one ol them said that he did bo because I bullied the jury . In March , 1840 , I was tried for another libel that I never saw . The principal charge against me was for the

    publication of a raving rhapsody , delivered at Manchester by a fanatical wretch called William Taylor , of whom no one ever heard before or since . I am not here for any thing O'Brien said , or that I said ; I am here for what " Bible Chartist" Taylor raid . I was found " guilty" at York , in part to lay the foundation for O'Brien ' s being found " ruilty" at LiverpooL Tke Attorney-General laid most stress on the speech of Taylor ; s « did Mr . Justice Coleridge , at York ; again , in aggravation of punishment , he laid most stress upon it ; eo did tie court . I never * aw this saint , nor his wall of Jericho . I never knew a grain of good come of " Bible Chartism : " I

    never knew a sound principle hatched under the wing of fanaticism . They will leave you when they get quiet sisters to , pay better than the poor Chartists . I tell you , the question of civil rights should never be mixed np with fanaticism . Instead of forwarding , it will retard the end . See Ireland " O glory be to God , I gained emancipation without bloodshed , " U a palliati ve for civil restrictions and a cloak for political Inquity ; while the whole people are " emancipated" from the one-pound parson to the , ,

    one-pound-five landlord , and from the civil power to a standing army of spy police ; from a Proteatant judge to an over cautious Catholic one ; over cautious , ltst by even doing justice to a poor Catholic , he should be suspected of partiality , and who , therefore , makes him the scape-goat of bis accusing conscience . And ttiia is " emancipation ' without blood ! " while the murders of Wallstown , Rathcormac , and a thousand other spots , crimsoned with Catholic gore , are yet unavenged ! Howbeit , a time will come !! —we must bide it , ,

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    In April , 1840 , 1 pleaded not guilty at Liverpool to aa indictment for riot , conspiracy , sedition , tumult , and God only knows what ; never having seen the riot , heard the conspiracy , or witnessed the sedition or tumult In May , I was called up to receive a receipt in full for my taany delinquencies , when Nottingham-Denman , the Chartist of 1819 , sent me to a felen ' s prison , which Phipps has turned into an inquisition ; and , thank God , here I am , a proof of my power , of the strength of my cause , and the affection which the people bear me .

    In another letter I shall show you that I was not fairly convicted ; that I kept within tho precincts « f the law ; within the sanctuary of the constitution ; and that , not being able to trap me into indiscretion , they assailed me within the very sanctuary which should have been held inviolate . I mention this to establish myself in your judgment as a prudent general . I mention it to prove to you that , for eight years , I have kept within the law ; while I have gone as far , or farther , than any other man in bringing bad laws into disrepute .

    You would not have thought me sincere if I had not been victimised . This is an error of publio judgment ; however , we must sometimes respect even prejudices ; and , if anything was wanting to perfect your confidence , I rejoice at the fact of your prejudice supplying this requisite . Now , attend to me , while I state simple facts . From September , 1 R 35 , to February , 1839 , 1 led you single , banded and alone . For fifteon months of that time I

    had the most extensively circulated journal in the kingdom ; and , during that whole period , while excitement was at its height , no man waa ever brought before a magistrate , charged with a single violation of the peace arising out of political agitation . I never saw a riot , disorder , or even a drunken man , at one of the thousands of meetings I attended throughout the empire . We heard of no provocations , while I waa quietly undermining the Whig citadel , and forming the nation into one body .

    During that time , not one single farthing was levied on the people for agitation . I paid all myself , out of my own pocket ; wh , He the Birmingham wealthy Unionists were Spending the poor man ' s money in Bulling him , and have never yet accounted for it ; but they shall , *> r I will sue them for my sixpence which I paid for my ticket I never travelled one mile at your expence . I would accept of no fee , favour , or reward , beyond your cheering approbation . And , in 1839 , when the nation was taxed againat my consent , —and when I was compelled to join baukers , merchants , brokers , manufacturers , barristers , lawyers , parsons , Members of Parliament , and , in short , the whole nest

    of vermin , —from that moment the country has been in hot water . " You said this , " and " I said that , " and "but for you it would have been s * and so , " " we only did so and so , " and " you advised arming , " and "I waa for one pound notes , " and " you got the people into scrapes of which I warned tlwm , " and so nothing but prosecutions , incarcerations , transportations , heartbreakings , weeping , wailing , and gnashing of teeth . Not one single leader who abandoned us having given a shilling to defend the people from the vengeance which they brought upon them , while it has cost me thousands ; and , guiltless myself , every slippery saint and

    trafficking sinner who has slipped out of the noose , has left his share of the rope round my neck : but of this in its proper place . Always bear in mind that the Star has been over throe years in the front of the battle ; that the leading articles , which are the index of the proprietor ' s feelings and opinions , have been well watched , and not one single line has been seized hold of , even by the most anxious prosecutor . Mind that Original matter i 3 that which alone should be prosecuted ; all else is matter of news ; but that is matter of opinion . Bear in mind , that far eight years I have been in the very

    vortex of politics ; friend aud foe alike trying to ruin me ; obliged to bear the desertion of the betrayer , and the disappointment of the -betrayed ; and I havo never yet gut a shake , thank God : and why ? Because I stand like a rock in the midst of ocean , against which the angry wave may dash , but parts in foam-Because , for eight years , prying fame lias dogged my every step ; and even scandal has not been able to say "he is a profligate , a gambler , a diunkard , a tale-bearer , an evil speaker ; he leaves his bills unpaid , and dishonours our cause . "

    No ! Where is the man who has ever beam a bad principle , a moan expression , or even a doubtful word , escapo my lips ? Where is the man who has been so watched , and yet so free from slander ? Where is the man who has sustained one character in the great political drama , ns I have d > ne , for eight years , acting it all myself ? Where is the trafficking politician who can say , or who ever could say , to the nation , " I am in bonds for you ; and by account , stated and settled by your own auditors at Manchester , you owe me between

    £ 200 and £ 300 , not counting the thousands not taken into account ? " Where is the man who has stood by you in tho senate-house of the nation , at the table of the aristocrat , in the presence of inaolent magistrates , and before the awful tribunal of a merciless Bench , as I have done ? If these things , then , be true , read my appeal in a shorter letter , and s : iy whether or no my prayer shall be granted . I am . Your faithful friend , FEARGUS O'CONNOR , , _ , _ , jynji ^ # ^ t i L- . rij . T . i , - - . -

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    TO HER MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY THE QUEEN . Madam , —Having ascertained wk . it are the ends for which aociety exists , and the bonds by which it ia holdtn together , we are , in the next place , to inquire what line i <> f conduct is required , on the part ot the Government , in order to secure the attainment of these ends . Tina is , beyond all question , a subject of the greatest moment ' and importance , both to those who govern , and those whose every interest is , not only remotely but directly , involved in the due administration of public affairs . It is not to the theory of

    government that I refer . That may vary in different ttges , in different places , and under different circumstances . But the practical application of the principles of what is called government ate fixed ; and . cannot be departed from without manifest injustice and iujury to the parties concerned . We have seen that , in this mixed state ef society , men are congregated together for a threefold purpose , and are acted upon by a twofold agency . The proper line of conduct , therefore ' , which thoae invested with authority ought to pursue , is one which will , in the moat efficient manner , secure the accomplishment of their purposes , by the

    judicious employment of this double agency . This is , in fact , the line of conduct professedly pursued by all governments , however diversified in their form and character . But I must take leave , from long and close observation , to conclude , that in no single case , hitherto , has the means accomplished the contemplated end ; and because of this , we find the world involved in confusion and disorder , and sociuty , the true prosperity of which depends upon the calm and undisturbed tenor of its course , tossed to and fro like the restless wave of the troubled ocean , and the elements of which it is composed appearing destitute of every principle of

    coherency , and threatening to return to their original disorder . Wrapt up in the sycophancy which , fills your palace , and lulled into security by the golden glitter and the apparent prosperity which are alone permitted to meet yenr observance , it is more than probable that you are totally unacquainted with tbe indications of a gathering storm , which are every where so apparent to the eye of those , who , undazzled by the glare of courtly lunacy , are accustomed to see things as they really are . Yet be assured , Madam , that if by the imbecility , recklessness , or selfishness of those whom you have called , or may call , to your councils , the

    bonds of society become loosened , and the just authority of the law superseded by a system of arrant despotism , which shall place life and property In jeopardy—then , and In this case , the old constitutional axiom , the King can do no wrong , will be of no avail . It will be found that the King must suffer and drink of the cup of calamity , as well as the veriest outcast of the people . There ia nothing pleasing in such a scene as this ; but it is the truth ; and the knowledge of it , is , I conceive , alike necessary to the security of your Majesty ' s throne , and the peace and happiness of this great empire . The line of condnct to be pursued by the rulers of a great people , divided into various classes , and embracing a vast variety of conflicting interests , must , to be really beneficial , be in atriot accordance with the

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    fundamental principle of truth and justice . To secure the ends for which society exists , the legislative and executive powers must be bo exercised , aa to afford ample protection to the honest and well-disposed portions of the community ; it must also be so far restrictive as may be necessary to prevent one man from unfairly trenching upon the rights of another ; it must , in the next place , adopt such a system of criminal jurisprudence , as shall be of an efficiently corrective character ; and it must , lastly , bo sedulously engaged in promoting the work of individual and national reformation .

    I would most respectfully crave yonr Majesty ' s serious attention to each of these points of consideration . First , I say , the line of conduct required from the Government , in the present state of society , must be such as will afford ample protection to the honest and well-dispoiied portions of the community . And here before proceeding further , let me premise that , by the honest and well-disposed portions of the community , I mean persons of every class and grade of society . All are , according to the theory of that Constitution which you , Lady , are sworn to uphold , equal before the law , consequently , all are entitled to the same degree as

    well as kind , of protection , from the state of which they are tho common children , and which is supported and sanctioned by their common contributions . In this view of the matter , it appears plain , beyond reasonable question , that not only every class , but every man , woman , and child in the nation , has a claim upon the Government for the protection of all natural and acquired rights ; and thig involves in it , not only the protection of life and property , in the conventional uae of these terms , but the protection from aggresaion upon all and singular the things which a man can call his own , including , of course , the means by which he acquires those things .

    Thus , it is the duty of the Legislature to provide that no class of the community shall combine together to the manifest injury of other classes , or of individuals ; and it is also its duty to prevent or controul the introduction of such means and powers as shall have a certain tendency , direct or Indirect , to increase the wealth and comfort of one or a few , at the expence of the comfort , morality , and life of tens of thousands of the industrious population . Under this head , alao , it is the duty of the public authorities to provide for such a remuneration of labour , as shall enable the able-bodied workman to procure good and

    ample food and clothing , together with a comfortable habitation , aud the means of a sound , practical education for himself and his family ; to which I will add , that no Government does or can afford the amount of protection which can justly be expected from it , till it provides that all this shall be within the reach of every man who engages in the pursuit of business , industry , or labour , eight hours in the day , for the six working days . I am aware that it has been calculated that four hours of labour , each working day would produce enough for the comfortable and respectable maintenance of every individual in tbe empire ; in

    allowing , therefore , double that amount of time to be thus employed , there would be ample means provided for those who , by infancy , sickness , and old age , were rendered incapable of working at all . If your Majesty should think that eight hours of tho day spent in toil ia too small a portion , I would refer you to an authority which should have some weight with royalty . Your glorious predecessor , Alfred , divided his time into three portions , devoting eight hours to sleep and the exercise of devotion ; eight hours to business ; and eight to study and recreation . I think this royal apportionment of time cannot be too closely copied both by

    the court and the country . Included in this duty of providing for the protection of all , is the provision for tho poor , which must be made by law , and which every state , by the recognition of what is called the right to possess landed property , binds itself to provide . Nothing can be clearer than the right , which every one born ia the oountry possesses , to live by the produce of the land of his birth , and it is therefore obvious that any one who should cUim a right to appropriate more land to himself , than is sufficient for his own wants , including , of course , those of hia family , or who should set up a

    claim to the soil after hia crops were removed , without , at the same time , taking upon himself , in some way or other , the burden of providing for those whom he had deprived of their natural means of support , would be guilty of an act of usurpation and robbery , which it i 8 the bounden duty of the Government to prevent . Ia the present state of society , the land is not common right ; it lias be come the ' property of individuals ; but to use a legal term , the whole people are in law seizud of the laud , by virtue of the original grant , and have therefore » right to demand a maintenance from it , which demand must be complied with in one or all of the following ways : —

    Firat , one portion of the community must be fed directly from the soil , by being located upon it , and receiving a given portion of the produce , ( or an equivalent for it , in money , ) aa tbe wages of labour . Second , another portion of the social family must be indirectly maintained by the land , while engaged iu the pursuits of trade , manufactures , and commerce . That is , the landlord spends his rents , and the farmer the profits of his stuit , in some shape or other , amon the trading , commercial , and manufacturing classes , who , ia their turn , become , as they prosper in their several pursuits , better tenants to the landlord and butter customers to the farmer ; and thus tend directly to increase the value of the land , which otherwise would soon cease to pay the cost of cultivation .

    A third portion of the people , those who are destitute and incapable of labour , have an equal claim for a subsistence out of the land of their nativity , and which ought to be furnished to them not as a boon but as a right ; for it is to them an equivalent for the fee simple of the land , of which the arrangements of society have deprived them . The provision tor the poor , of which I have been speaking , should not , I conceive , be made by a tax falling directly upon the litnd , nor do I think that the trading or commercial portions of the nation should be charged with any considerable share of this impost ft does appear reasouuble that the burden should be borne principally by those who caused it , and however

    the taking up the land as private property tended originally to give birth to pauperism , it is plain that the increase of untaxed machinery has given to it its gigantic stature , and that , while it remains unchecked , pauperism must of necessity go on and increase . The protection of a good Government will , therefore , be employed in securing the honest and industrious from the ravages of hopeless desperation , ( driven to madness by the pressure of distress , ) by a judicial system of parochial relief , the means for which it will derive from those sources wbich are most clearly pointed out by the dictates of eqnity and justice . It will be necessary again to revert to this subject as we prasecute our inquiry .

    These and a thousand other matters are intimately and necessarily connected with the protective funcflona of civil government Upon tbe due discharge of this important branch of its high duties depsnd the prosperity of arts , science , and literature . It is that by which the weak is to be defended from the attack of tbe strong j it is to be the watcher over public health , the guardian f public morals , and the slumberless superintendent of publio liberty . Without this , public interests would

    be neglected , anarchy and confusion would supersede social order and domestic quiet ; that confidence , which results from a sense of security , would give place to fears and jealousies of an undefinable character ; and while every man would feel himself compelled to stand with a defensive weapon in bis hand , the bad and vicious passions of men would obtain a fearful predominance , and rapine and disorder would soon be the order of the day .

    Intimately connected with this subject , is the second point necessary to be attended to in the line of conduct to be pursued by the persons that rule , I mean those acts of the public functionaries which are distinguished as restrictive . By these , I mean those wise and salutary provisions , by which one man ii forbidden to invade the rights , destroy or misappropriate the property , impede the industry , destroy the character , injure the good name , or take away , by force or fraud , the life fo

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    his fellow-man . Man , in his present fallen and degraded condition , is a being of selfish , avaricious , revengeful , and tyrannical propensities . Hia selfishness leads him to place ilia . own interests as supreme , and those of all others as subordinate ; his avarice is ever on the watch to obtain possession ef what he deems desirable , no matter how , or at whose expence , he can obtain it ; for avarice . is by no means confined to the inordinate desire of getting money . His revengeful posaion * incite him to be , on all occasions , his own avenger s and hia love of power impels him on to act the tyrant , whenever he can find a helpless

    victim and » favourable opportunity . True , it is , that those baneful and noxious weeds , which di * figure and deform the face of God ' s moral creation , may be eradicated by the influence of a pure and genuine re > - ligion ; and-plonta of a far nobler nature introduced into their places . By religion , here , I do not mean the external profession and reception of the creeds and dogniaa of this , that , or the ether sect or party , calling itself Christian . I mean that principle of natural good whicb is of the divine mercy inseminated from birth into th « heart of every man , be be externally Christian , Jew ,

    Mohammedan , or Pagan , and by which selfishness cm be superseded by a neble spirit of benevolence ; the coldest avarice give plnce to a glowing flame of generosity ; revenge retire before compassion and forgiveness ; and tyranny resign bis throne to the generous rule of patriotism and philanthropy . This , Madam , 1 * genuine religion , wherever found , aJike honourable to God , and safe for man ; it is that , which , did all possess , rulers would be , indeed , nura ' wg fathers , and subjects would bo obedient children . " Earth would by angels' feet be trod , One great garden of her God . "

    It is a melancholy fact , however , that this ia not the case . In every social state there are some in whom those detestable passions are entirely destroyed by the prevalence of the opposite virtues ; they are , however , but few , but it is impossible to overrate them . They are the salt of the earth , the light of the world , and with or without law , they are a law unto them . * - * fve * . Besides these , the mass of tbe population consists of persons of a mixed and varied character . In sucb , the better principles of their nature struggle to rejret the bad , and , aided by surrounding circumstances , they generally succeed . To such , the restrictive laws which public wisdom and virtue have established , are of the most essential importance . They confirm them in their

    desires \ , o , purroe the path of reeVitude , and by exciting their salutary feara , they restrain them wheu , from some supposed advantage , they are tempted to act wrong . Aa to those bad spirits , who can neither be allured into the paths of virtne by the prospect of protection and security , nor restrained by the enactments made for the good ! f society—to them tbe rod must be applied ; and for this purpose the other two functions of tbe executive must bo brought into operation . These must , however , form the Bulject of a future essay . I am , Madam , Your Majesty ' s faithful and obedient - - subject and servant . London , December 31 , 114 * . NUilA .

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    " MOTHER GOOSE . " TO THE KDIXOB OF TIIE NORTHERN STABDear Sir , — Lying ia a necessary attribute in the defence , of a bad cause : her . ee has Mother Goose stolen , away the wreath from the browa of " Neddy . " Iu a leader of last week , headed " The approaching Refonn . DemonBtrations , " the " Goose" labours hard to criminate the Star , or , r . » ther , to nullify tho efJkns of your advice , evidently alarmed for the consequences . But mark the mode he takes : first , he breaks the heads of Chartists ,, and then , with " soft sawder , " tries his beat to plaster them up again . This dust won't blind a real Chartist ; , though ; coaxing is too late , and gammon is only laughed at .

    How the shifty rogues change their tactics ! " There will be no opportunity for proposing an amendment for Universal Suffrage , as no resolutions whatever will be put to the meeting , " says " Goose . " Indeed , who believes this ? But , whether or not , some business is t& be done ; and 1 fancy Chartists knew bow " to give an impulse to opinion on tbe great question of farther organic changes , " as well as the geese , with all their gabbling . But , oh fie ! you ungrateful wretches ! Yes , Cbartists , to attempt it < Mother Goose further says , " The Chartists cannot be ignorant of the fact that , almost without exception , the strangers who are announced to

    be present are friendly to their cause . " Friendly , indeed ! There ia our very excellent "friend , " Joe Hume ; what do we think of Joseph ? Why , he must be ground over again before he is our '' friend "—he smells too much like a part of Dan ' s " tail / ' Now , Sii William may be our - ' friend , " and so may Roebuck , Duncombe , Bowring , Ewart , Gisborne , Langdale , Thompson' , and Crawford ; but not just pet . Whether we look pfoapectively or retrospectively , the lynx eye of a Chartist can detect tne black speck on the disks o ! those luminaries , while travelling in their orbit ; and will never acknowledge them as "friends , " until the Charter becomes their grand centre of attraction .

    Let them talk as they liko , and let the " Goose" talk for them if ahe choose , " words are bnt wind , " so long as they seek ( or others seek for them ) to tail themselves upon the big political swindler , Dan-Out upon ihem ! they are our enemies , and the Chartists , therefore , will find something to do at the " Demonstration . " But how , are these gentlemen the " friends" of the Chartists ? Because , forsooth , " Sir William Molesworth helped Lovett and Collins iu their time of nee «!; no man has so fearlessly exposed the cruel prison

    treatment of the Chartists as honest Tom Duncombe ; Roebuck has gratuitously defended Chartist prisoners whenever called upon to do so ; Colonel Thompson has stood by them through good report and through bad report ; Shannon Crawford and Dr . Bowring defend their principles ; and , in short , almoat every one of the guests invited , have befriended , on one , or more occasions , tho prosecuted of the Chartist party . " He then goes on to ss ^ y , " Hew mad , how irrational , how ungrateful , therefore , would it be , were they to take measures which could only disgust their friends i ?) without advancing their principles one single step . "

    Here , then , are private reasons for the regulation oi public actions ; more villanous reasoning , than this , I never met with ; and yet , Sir , I can give you a parallel case . After we had given John Ayrey his discharge , as a candidate for the office of Councilman , for the North East Ward , on account of his " Household Suffrage " notions , he told a neighbour of mine that he and his friends had it in contemplation ( as I was at that time very ill off ) to send me a leg of mutton ; and tbat it waa actually ordered , and a person appointed to deliver it ; and that something very handsome was intended to be done for mo after the election ; but now , that I had ceased to-exert myself to ensure his return , rather than help , he would do me all the harm he could ; which has been , fulfilled to the very letter . At this time ,

    another of his friends having given me , one evening , a piece of bacon and bread , value about sixpence , which favour I neither asked nor hinted at , is any way , but for which I certainly expressed myself grateful;—yet , Sir , when in faithfulness to my principles , the Charter , I felt conscientiously called upon to render nugatory this new attempt at Whiggery , by upsetting the whole clique of ' , ' shams , " the little-minded , charitable (?) individual , boasted at tbe very ntxt public meeting , what great things he had done for me ; and , like this humbug Editor , denounced me as " mad , irrational , and ungrateful , " because I would not ( considering all that he bad done for me ) sacrifice the right of thinking and acting in bahalf of my own principles , and assist in carrying tbe destructive measure of Household Suffrage .

    What , then , is to be inferred when a Sham-Radical doea a small kindness to au individual ? I answer , we may be certain the viper is only baiting with a sprat to catch a salmon—tbat in serving another , he is only striving more effectually to serve himself . And this base editor would have us suppose that those gentlemen he meniioni , because they have assisted a fellow mortal in difficult circumstances , expect , nay claim , eternal submission in all tbings-r-that henceforth the free expression of opinion by Lovett and Collins , and others , must be bounded by the principles entertained by them , or they are " mad , irrational , and ungrateful . "

    Will tho gentlemen thank " Mother Goose" for this ? I beg to say that Messrs . Daocombe , Thompson , and others / entertain no such feelings , much less such a gentleman as Sharman Crawford : and that this crawling sycophant , yclept a Doctor , toot drives the Geese , in thus maligning tbe character of honourable men , by bringing them to the level of his own discreditable and lowbred baseness , is fitter far to hold the whip of slavery than the office be fllla—ia a real apologist for political plunder and oppression , and had he lived in the days of tbe rack and inquisition , would have made an excellent heretic-burning Bishop , or bull-thundering Pops . ' - ¦ - .

    What are we to think of the present state of things , when every " poor working man ii expected to sell bis " birthright for a mesa of porridge ? " When be must do this , or , as " the man" said of me , at one of bis hole and corne ' r meetings , «» he ought not to be tolerated to society . " Things muit be altered , Sir , or man will never know how to perform a real act of kindness . Our slavery is complete , -when a gracious look , or » favour done by a great man , is expected to padlock the mouth , and direct the actions of others . Freedom is but a name , until we get ritl of this obligatory position . This shall be done 1 Hurrah for the Start Hurrah for O'Connor ! Hurrah for the Charter I Hurrah for ourselves * Voxjpopuli , voaDei , I am , dear Sir , A real Chartist , Wm . Hick .

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    THE NORTHERN STAR . _______ 7

• Citation
  • Northern Star (1837-1852), Jan. 16, 1841, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1092/page/7/