On this page
- Departments (1)
-
Text (8)
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Spirit oi tf>£ a9m$.
-
Untitled Article
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Untitled Article
«< 50 X > 'OB . I > " CONTINUATION , UPON TEE £ r ^^ TlOXS OF EXPEDIENCY—TRANSFER—^ jjPBOMISE-POrariCAX TBAFFfC , AXD gOiffESSAttQS . ., « r FBDQfnC 1—* cose ft ** 1 * to **» eoasiderattoo el jjj ^ e last terms . To compromise means , literally , * » djurt a compact opon »« & *«* oooetaaaass , to ^ ggi , to agree ; sad compact mom a contract , or -weBjec * " . this
^ j oonsideing term , firstly , U a verb , to com-- ^ aiae . letus see how we have been dealt witti by oar ^^ alars , who -were appointed i * 1832 , to adjust our 0 ^ ateording to com pact Here , th en , I must use rtjjvord in * ba * enie J ? , wiidl ** conveys a charge , iiacTi —* i foul play , and deceit . If yon wiih to ifo the fullest passible notion of tto deceit or betrayal ! f jpason . or parties , In whom yon hare reposed cony ^ ee , and to whom you have submitted yonr case , — arbitrate ** * , yon ay they haT 8 compromised you , aat jg , kM , deceived , betrayed you . If a member ^ ^ p tnd «*»** *« amst his party , yoo say he has LjuwoBriseS £ ** P * ^ - I * " attorney sells his client ,
tr oi « i * ^ deceiTe 8 mm tfle "i 60 * *» ys » « is attorney KSB tg 0 B > oi him . 2 fow , then , such is precisely our m 3 t ye entered into a compact with the Whigs in 1 S 3 S ; we returned our arbitrators to adjust our contract ^ & them ; and , instead of acting openly , fairly , and L ^ axtHj , they frightened the nation out of its pro « ietr , and even oat of its wits , by commencing with gg Irish Coercion Bill , instead of defining our compact ; pd » hen they hid thus , by a grand stroke of policy , grcried public attention from s consideration of the jjform Bill , they compromised us , by entering into j fr « h contract with our inveterate enemies , ^ io all the dirty work , which tbe Tories dare net « g » pt , feat would like to see done . They said , " well for well for
^ jrre the poor you ; coerce Ireland yon ; » j 11 stop repeal lor yon ; well give you rural police fgk , and ill other force yoa want ; we'll give your gxBdi compensation to doable the amount of every pad we take from them under the mask of reform ; ¦ rfU allow all your friends to remain in office ; in short , « are satisfied to rnle spaa ultra Tory principles , aad inm togolartber , lor , besides preserving the balance if power abroad , we wijh save yon from your poor at loae . " Well , * fi * y bave been *» food as their word ; Ibeyhive eitebliBhed precedents in eight years , which , jf vnoppoted , would justify the veriest dtspotism jjju tbsj hare , instead of compromising according totftpact , compromised us according to their definition
f exjwSency . Uinr see what latitude individuals claim for the exerce « f that rerj power , the right of which they deny to &n . They say that Sir James Graham comproavd Ms party ; that Lord Stanley compromised his p §; ind , more recently , they tell you that Lord £ b& and Charles Wood compromised their party ; tt yon never hear of the whole bunch of Whi gs £ hf compromised the whole cause of the people . (•! sfi ; that ' s not for them to tell ; that ' s left for me i fc&at the expenee of seventy-eight weeks solitary g *
"mfint-J » t , suppose the Convention had compromised the pfct ; suppose I had compromised them , epos any oi j ^ Ti we trials , for my personal safety ; whit word ¦ mijm Save used to convey the strongest political ¦¦ a ani moral turpitude ? Would you not say that a tad compromised yoa ? Well , suppose I was to ¦ nyjiiirrn sow , and tell the people that they have ¦ posted every poor fellow who is spending his ¦ mfixma in Wakeneld and other hells , for having
j * 4 bjkjd the ten thousand and one resolutions which us pasad , of standing by the leaden—suppose Stf I « at to tell you that—what would you say ? Sfpa » I was to point to the miserable subscripte , eonmg in for the support of wives and families , te to ft *! " as yours are to you , when a hundred fold fruaant ihoaid pocrin—what would yon say to gtf ! Wife , I dont know what you would say , for bet vn , ^ izSament is within twelve dsys of meeting ; jiidMrttimsmoet of the poor fellows will have been
acianibed tat tvelve months , and many of them more , sail dart ted that all those hands which were so f » lyb « H «» at pabBe meetings , have been as freely pU to Mtitisa * for their release , wnile I tell youth&t os dij devoted Vt the wodang cla&Wft , nay , o&ehoux , to the BgBstsre < i petitions , would procure , all over tbe cokbJtj , omtvo aiQions , which must make such asc&M as bo iliofetoy cwid resist Bat for petitions of this Mtere , ^« e ij no nse in them if merely MWr the
•^^ MWipa < B at m ^ tiBg ; ^ 9 *«^ d be Mgaed kr mdt person . Addreaaes to tbe 9 m , asybe tf £ ied by dairmeo of the meetings , as fiMi ^ ct k to Jaj a » thought * of the people bsfbre ^^^ , b * i petiSons should be signed individnm& * totiiaf bat jBunbers has any effect upon the Beat ttCasmom . Indeed , ttiey ahould drop ia « nf «« te ; ths whole tine allowed fer presenting TffBm . &edd betaten upwitt those on behalf of fiKfUBal TpsKsxea—the Charter—and against the toil ** . '
* * ich for compramise , and now for political fa * . hr Eeftaa Bill professed to destroy all political ** , ]«* J&niters finding it impossible to uphold ao 1 * P « tf eonqjt a system , without an equally cor-* S *
"Kty tis , tis true . " ^» 1 SS 3 to 1833 we knoeked ap the Gre yadminis-*^ . the Melbourne administration , and the Peel ** " *** &ffi . In 1835 the Whigs began to get tired ««• uncertain quarter-dajs , and they began to * w » L 0-ConneH had given them a taste of -what * WM do with his supporters . Lord >*^ rmanby was *^ i to the government ef Ireland , aad Lord f ** aon » M Home Secretary . Mr . OConnell adj ^ 4 » aries of letten to Lord l > sncaimon , in which ^^ in words &s p lib aa A-TTjesrjr would admit of , <| i 8 « lor s ^ e , bat our conditions are places sad ?*¦* - " vril » what was the resnlt ? Why , we f ™ ! = * bsnisten returned for Irish boronghs , who & dtTO one days service , and , like hacks in " ®» JuA trotted out to qualify for situations .
Jt f !* 3 * ' fijere ii 7 e been n 1 ^* from Irish ii&eroJ j ^«»~ Sr Michael CLonghlin , Master of the Bolls ; ^ JTwil fe , chief Baron rf y ^ E ^ j ^ sie ,. Mr > ^^• e Judge ; Mr . Ball , ditto ; Mr . Fitoimon , T ^ W ' to Mt OXkmnell , M . P . for tbe connty of ^> ippoiBted to a pa tent place ; Mr . Morgan ^^» ditto ; Mt Fimi , brother-in-law to Mr . ^¦* 8 » M . P . for the county of Kilkenny , I know Aiv * * ° My p 1 * ' * better ^^ ^^ d , ^ Bsoied ; Mr . ODwf ? r , and several others , ^•¦ iwe kft , while in lie House we find Mr . Hito *" 0 Tena : n ' - Wyse ' BDd Mr - LyDch ; H > { QOe Pa ? li * Eieiltarv TW » n « arm # r » « tn imnmnu
^^^* ajA banisters , police-officers , magistrates , j ^**«» , and God knows what However , in & » years , that is pretty good picking . At > d j ^*^ "b » « ked if I object to the men appointed ? jj ^^ m , decidedly not ; but I do object to the W ^ Pwitioi traffic , ia virtue of which they have ^ "W » to see men , who were returned in 1832 ^^ fcwt Radical and extreme principles , now ^ . "ery bid law , for every act of oppression , O ^^ aoney j 0 b ; irhUe beK aot a breafll rf a ^| »« necessary measures which they pledged a ^ ish ** * BPPOrt ' and -which they pledged them-Iaj ^ j r * 65 ^ eTen to the death . I do say that ^^» P 6 d too dear for her wMstle , by being , ^^ w » ad made a mere substitute for retail eB waoiesaie
^* &aart « t ^ l ! ^ ™ c * " * UT support » 5 teZ ^* 50011 5 ttd ' iatiiii onef » ct , the country ^^ r * eginto find tbe simple truth of our J V ^ aed * impoTeri * coaditioXL >**^ t ^ banH * b ° Pe to d 0 "" ^ Ktt conld ? % alI » L mUCh Iea ^ PM ^ Te debt ? Pit * * * £ W ? * * « *»« y WW be too ^ fiJTJfr P * Wot < m *• House of Commons 5 "«* SU * ate&ble b ^ ^^ P «^ ta i * ^ n T ^ e Mld b ' *• « miPtion of C 11 *??^ 8 !? 1 noirz ^ " **«* «« t * irr ^ * 7 «» leaven of tli « rsfn ^ ,, ^ »
J ^ '^^ T ^ S S" Hou « ^ nc * the ^^ Mr / j £ ^^ * Wfort ' ° " Crawfwd and Km have been
Untitled Article
go t n d of , and Col . Bntler is complained of , and will be got rid of , because he asked for a bit of the hash when it was going , — -and " emsil bl&me to him , " as we ray in Ireliad . Tfeere sre many honourable , honest , eonsctentibns , Irish membea in the House , bat they were ' not forward enough for public opinion in 18 S 3 ; sow they are almost too Radical They are-Mr . Bvaas , MJ » . forooanty of T > nblia , CoL Bntfer , M . P . for eouaty KilkenDJ , Sis Montagu Chapman , M . P . for county ofWettmeafii ; SirB . O'Norreys . M . P . for Mallow ; Lord dements , M . P . fox the County of Leitrim ; Mr . Walker , M . P . for Wexford ; Mr . Wyse , M . P . for Waterford : Mr . Stuart , M . P . for County of Waterfbrd :
Mz . Callaghao , M . P . for Cork ; and I fear toe tide is told ; but let it be observed , th » t instead » f those gentlemen who support Mr . CCosnell having been won over to his principles , he has left the Radical principle aad gone over to them . In fact , bis history is this : he found that the electors would not have bis humbugging nonsense any longer , and , instead of making a party , he actually pot himself at the head of a party already formed , and , by degrees , compromised the ultra principle wherever he could , in order to persuade the people that he had no snppert now to carry those extreme measures—the fact being , that he kicked mil independent support from under himself , lest it should expose him .
Is it not jardeal to hear the English people daily abused , and their manly resolution not to join in political traffic made a jest for a aet of place-hunting scamp * , whe meet at the Cera Exchange , to share the remnant of poor , poor Iceland's liberty among them f Acommon observer must be at a loss to know what Mr . O'Connell means by eternally telling the Irish people that the English people are their bitterest enemies . The legitimate inference must be that he wishes to spirit Ireland up to a vast amount of selfreliance , fox self-action , but the real meaning is this : — He finds that he cannot much longer withhold the fact from the Irish people , that those
on the spot , and who have well watched him , have denounced him , and despise him , and he wishes to palm the effect for the cause upon the poor Irish who never " Bee a newspaper , and are in the habit of taking his word for everything . But , presently the note will be changed thus : — " 0 ! yes they hate me , and why do they hate me ? They hate because I love Ireland . They hate my religion—they hate mj country . " While the fact is , the English people lore Ireland just as well , and much better , than the liberal Irish members love her ; and as to his religion , the English people wonld ' nt care three straws if he was a conscientious Mnasetaan , provided he was an honest
Tnftn . Again , as regards reciprocity , what is the real bet f Why that O'Connell and his tail have , upon every occasion , voted against the interests of the English people . But thanks to that great Omnipotent and aS-wise Bein ^ who makes the poor and unprotected the especial objects of his grace , He has raised up a host of strength upon the side of the widow , the orphan , the * desolate , the destitute and oppressed , which neither the devil , nor bold bad man can intimidate or subdue , Tes , thanks fee to
God , ui sincerity and not in mockery , he has raised unto na a host of knowledge , as a rampart round the rights of the poor , at which cannon in vain may be fired , and which neither sword nor sharp instrument can pierce . When the rich robbed the poor of God's bequest , and when they transferred their guardianship to the protection of the cruel and the heartless , then did he in his wisdom , increase mani power of redemption , by flooding the land with an verwhelming stream of knowledge , before which the banks of ignorance must fall as leaves before the storm .
What , then , will be the end of the Irish juggle ! my readers may * sk . Why , upon our part we seek for the Charter tu end it , and all other juggles at once ; but upon the part of the spirited of all classes of English , Scotch , and-Cisb , the attempt which they will make , will be to get rid of this insatiable maw ; this all-devouring crew of gormandizing patriots , by associating themselves together for tkat purpose . " £ on will mirk my words , that whether it comes before ox after dissolution , a union will come which will stop these marauding politicians . You will see Whigs and Tories laying aside all their dinsrences , major and minor , to get rii of the pestilence ; and who caa blame them ? Is it not top preposterous and
ridiculous to see a fine country made mere debateaUe ; « K > und a « to who ahall be iodgQ » and wh * abtil be " ¦^ "t- iazristen ?— who shall be thief-eateher aad who shall be Shief-magistr&te . ' who shall be this , who shall be that , and who shall be the other thing ? while nearly all these things are new snuggeries made out of the taxes to uphold the system of wholesale political traffic ; and yet we find it sufficiently efficacious to keep an administration in office , who are in a glorious minority in the Lards—playing sway-pole in the Commons—detested by the whole people , and despised by their former adherents , -while they keep never minding bo long as they are then on the quarter-day . Their tune
is—Here we are , " no , " " no , " " no ;" Here we are , " aye , " " aye , " " aye ;" And here we go backwards and forwards , And into Joan Bali's treasury . I th ' infc I -have sow shown you that wholesale profligacy has been substituted for retail political traffic , and , no doubt , you have often marvelled at Mr . O'Oonnell ' s patriotism , and his great anxiety to keep the Irish members united , honest , and up to the scratch ; but you must bear in mind , that he works the poor devils to death for his own especial benefit , and then , if one of them asks fer a share of the mess , he is denounced as a traitor .
Again , I ask any man to show me one liberal act for which O'Connell and the Irish liberal members have voted ,- or show me a job in which the whole party have not been mustered upoa the treasury side . These are facts , stubborn things , and licts which the absurd balderdash of " 0 , glory b © to God : I carried emancipation without bloodshed , " and "Ireland is my client , " and " 1 dream of her broad land and her rippling
streams , her cloud capped hills and fertile valleys , and my heart bounds as I see the wave that comes unbroken from the coast of Labrador , till it breaks at the foot of my native mountains , " cannot conceal . All this is humbug . ; and the greater , because with all these blessings , and with such a force as from forty to fifty Irish members called li b era l , her inhabitants axe the veriest slaves , the most oppressed people , and the greatest seita , upon the face of the earth .
It I had twenty Members in the House of Conns 0 D 5 at my haek , I would snap administration after administration , till justice were done , not only to my native land but to all society , over which Parliament had controuL " Hurrah * fot the Queen , three cheers for Lord Waterford as a goed sportsman , and God bless Profassor Butt , " may do for a bit , but not much longer . I do not tfrfaic that it would require much logic , or many
words to prove , to any child of twelve years of age and sound mind , that every Chartist prisoner is a victim to this wholesale political traffic , and for this reason—ths object was to crush and destroy every agitation , save that which gave strength to the rnling faction , and had for its object , " Keep the Tories out" But thanks , eternal fhpiitg , to tbe well-marshalled Chartis t * ; they have kept the Whigs at bay , and have put an extinguisher npon all humbag agitation . Our day will soon co » e , and it «>?»» not be marked by blood or vengeance .
So much for political traffic ; and now I come to the question of compensation . [ Here we must break Mr . O'Connor ' s letter in two , as the whole would " be more than our space would legitimately admit of . —Ed . ]
Untitled Article
TO HER MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY THE QUEEN . Madak , —The " last function which devolves upon a Government , which exists not for the persenal sdvantage or aggrandisement of its members , but for the rea } interests of society , it that of providing for the important work of individual and national reformation . This , perhap * the . most deeply important of all the functions of tao « e invested with authority , in the body social and politic , naturally divides itself into two branches , namely , those efforts which should be directed to individual , and those which should extend to national , reforms . It ia to the former of these branches that I shall confine my present attention . We have teea that two pwlifie sources of crime are constitutional defects and imperfect education ; and we will consider the part of our subject now immediately
Untitled Article
before as , in reference * " to JfheBe t » o subjects . The duty of the Government is ' clearly two-fold ; to reform , as far as possible , the already criminal population , and to prevent the accession of newvicttnu to its tasks . For . the first q ^ these ends , two things aw requireda vigilant system of police , to ensure the detection and conviction d offenders . —and which , with all our pretejidei improvements , i submit we have not—and such a system of criminal jurisprudence , as shall inflict merited punishment , duly and strictly
appropriated to « very crime , and at the same time so framed , and administered as to gonvjinca the poor deluded wanderer from the p » UU of ^ rectitude , that he i * still regarded as a man ; and " that « viT 3 tprivation to which he is subjected , as the consequence of bis ofience , is designed , if he will but co-operate with that design , to enable him to regain- his forfeited place and character in society . T » this ' end , the whole system of prison discipline , aad the laws on which that discipline is founded , must be changed , and a classification of crime , yery different from any which " we possess at piesent , must be introduced .
" The law must be satisfied ; " "tbe vengeance of the injured law ; " "the vigorous demands of offimcierf justice ; " * c , 4 c , maybe very fine expressions fph « y may serve to tickle the ear , and to give an elegant sound to a well-turned period , but they breathe little of tbe spirit of our holy religion , and are but ill calculated to lead to proper feelings towards those who , be they what they may , are still the children of Him who respects not persons , and who is " long-saffering , " even to the most rebellious . It will be my principal duty to demonstrate that our present system of prison discipline is not possessed of one single ingredient calculated to reform and restore the criminal ; that , on the contrary , it is of a character only to deaden the feelings , and to brutalise the soul . We have , Madam ,
( and I gnbve to gay it , under the rule of a female Sovereign , in the nineteenth century , ) a system of penal discipline more in accordance with the spirit of a Draco or a Koro , than that of the benevolent faith to which , tntrord , we pretend so much attachment . We find men with their reason perverted , aad we smA them from our prison-houses with the moral aesae entirely destroyed ; in fact , it seems as if we had a mind to make our prisons as much like the infernal regions as possible , and their unfortunate inmates like demons , that they may come forth to blast and destroy , with their pestilential influence , all that is in itself peaceable , praiseworthy , and excellent ; and spread a moral death and desolation throughout the length and breadth of the land .
The second point to be attended to by a good and patriotic government , is the prevention of accession to the ranks of the criminal population . And the great and only efficient means for accomplishing this , { in conjunction with such an arrangement of the state of society as shall bring all its institutions into an accordance with tbe genuine spirit of Christianity , of which we shall speak by and by , ) is the assiduous and careful training of the young , in such habits and principles as shall lead them duly to appreciate , and constantly to practice , the golden rule , " Whatever you would that men should do to you , do you even so to them . " I do not mean that the young
should be instructed in points of faith , and maxims of discipline ; this would not , in mj opinion , be worth the name of a Christian education . No , Madam , what I mean is , that the whole population , from the Princess Royal down to the little one born , the other day , at tbe door of a parish workhouse , dnto which the inhuman wretch , miscalled a relieving officer , refused the mother a d m itta n ce , in that hour of nature ' s keenest anguish , ) should be taught their reciprocal rights and duties ; based upoa the only sure foundation , universal equality and mutual dependance . I know this may be strange doctrine to a royal ear ; but the question is
not about its being strange , but about its being true . I do not mean by universal equality , the reducing ef all persons to one level , in reference to property , wealth , rank , er station ; in the present state of society , that is nbither possible , nor desirable . A time will come when even this will be the case ; yes , when the pur « and benevolent religion of the Lord Jesns shall be found enshrined in every heart , and actuating every life : then the world will be what the primitive Church was—a community of loving and human beings , tbe highest ambition among whom will be , who can do the moat service—who caa produce the greaVett aaount of happiness , to be diffused among the whole . . * .
In such ajiUtecrf ^ c ^ e ^ W 5 n ^>» a <^ for industry ~ mu » t exeat * property ; but it woald ao £ be private , but common . There might be stores Of wealth , but they would be at the disposal of all : there would be subordination of station , but each would be for the general advantage ; and degrees ot rank would exist oaly to point at superior worth , which , in such a state , would be an infallible badge of superior use and service . 0-We have not got to this pofnfc yet , however , though like Moses , from the top of the mount , we may gain a glimpse of the promised land ; and ages- will , I fear , roll on before this happy " consummation , so devoutly to be wished , " will arrive .
I do say , notwithstanding this , that the rising generation ought to be , and must be taught , even now , the doctrine of universal equality ; that is , that all men are equal before God , and that all ought to be so before the law ; they should be taught that it is a moral crime to take property which is not their own , whether by an act which the law calls felony , or in the salaries , pensions , or sinecures , taken from the general purse , by those who have received no legal
authority from the people so to dispose of their hardearned property . They should be instructed , that an act which would be considered disreputable when transacted towards a friend , does not become respectable because done in cempliance with the usages of trade ; and that to take away the life of man is criminal , not only when done by an individual , but when done by the orders of a judge , on the Fcaffold , or in a ¦ wholesale way upon the battle-field , by the orders of a KiDg , or by an Act of Parliament
These are some of tbe lessons respecting equality , which ought to be generally inculcated . I will only mention one or two more which app-ear to be of vast importance . Oar rising race should be most carefully taught that the child of a pauper is as dear to its parents as the child of a prince ; that so man , be his rank or station what it may , has a right to the serviee of another , without giving him an ample recompense for his labour ; and that nothing can be considered an ample recompense which fails to procure him the necessaries , the comforts , and ike conveniences of life ; and that it is unjust and unchristian to make a workhouse a prison , or to punish poverty as a crime . These things must be understood and acted upon by all , or we shall never be a virtuous and a happy people .
We must also have our mutual dependence upc > s each other . That we are mutually dependent upon each other , and that without this mutual dependence , society could not exist , are truths so plain , that he who runs may read them . I am , Madam , Your Majesty ' s faithful and obedient subject and servant , London , February 4 th , 1841 . NUMA .
Untitled Article
. THE COMFORTS OF THE POOR . ^ < 4 p THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN STAR . Sir , —I beg to direct yoar aUaqMon to the following articlfin that dirty Whig ; toady , ycleped the Hampshire Telegraph : — . - " A travelling vagrant died in tbe station-house of our Portsmouth police , early on Monday morning last ; he was 73 years of age , and had passed tbe previous night in the same room , on account , it subsequently appeared , of his being so filthy that no lodging-house
w # uld take him in ; he bad money in his pocket , bnt was quite tipsy ; be bad abundance of straw to lie on , and was heard to eing out at two and four o'clock in the morning ; bat , at daylight , when the door was opened for him to go away , he was found dead , and quite naked ; he had token all his clothes off , shoved the straw up Into & corner , and laid « n the bare atones . The cold must , from the . position in which his head was thrown back , have produced » fit Every enquiry has bees made , and clearly no blame can be attributable to the police . ; A coroner ' s jury returned a verdict of < Death from : natural causes . '
Tnte is anptber specimen of the boasted wisdom of our middle elasae * moA their fitness as jurors—another instance ot the damnable working of the Whig Poor Law and Polio * Acts . The poor old . man with the frost of 73 winters on bis brow , would , no doubt , rather trust to chance charity than , after years of unrequited toil , linger out bis few remaining days In a Whig Poor L » w Baatile on pork water soup and brown « Tommy ' " Th » poor old man sought shelter from the Inclemency * f the weather at the station-house ; he was not & * ettd there for being drunk and disorderly ; he had inosey in bis pocket , says the report . How
much think yra , Sir ? ¦ One shilling and fourpenoe was all . I have heard bat ( ourpence , but we will give them credit tor the larger amount . Tbe poor , feeble old man would naturally keep that if he could for his next day ' s support , but that conld not . be thought of by the " intelleetuals ; ' \ so , of . course , tbe story , of his having filthy habits was belisted ^ and for having filthy habits he was placed in-ra . cell . ttf ft abundmnce of straw ( abundance io tba Whig meaning of the term ) , and left onseen , uapittad , ; to perish . Had he been a drunken , filthy aristocrat * a bullying soldier officer , which we , tbe inhabitant /} of this place too often witness , be
Untitled Article
would have bean placed before the fire of the atationhouse and his every want attended to ; but , the old man , after being thrust into the cell , was left alone ; and ; although he * a * beard to strig out at * two and four o ' clock , no one went to bis assistance ; yet a policeman is alw *?* ^ opposed to be in attendance in the adjoining room . When the "bine devil" was questioned ob this point ; be said he thought the old man was singing . The old man , being tipsy , might have taken off his clothes , thinking he was going to bed , and afterwards , In his agony or fit , bare shoved hit abundance , of ttr ' aw
Into the corner , and thus was found at daylight with his bead thrown back , naked ' and dead . ' 7 Good Qod ! are we in a Christian country ? or ia reason and humanity fled to brutish beasts , that thus , after the oft-repeated charge of Ignorance amongst the working classes , unfitting them for the elective franchise , we find a middle class jnry , composed from the intelligent and intellectual electors of what Frank Baring calls " the Independent borough of Portsmouth , " return a verdict , in a case like this , of "Death from natural cause * . " Tptm , With much respect , A Wokkikg Mam .
¦ — . ?¦ ..-PAWNBROKERS'EXACTrON 8 . TO 1 HE SUITOR OF THE NORTHERN STAB . Sir , —Ton ate considered to be the " poor man's friend" and advocate , and your deservedly valued S t ar has discovered and brought to light many hidden things of darkness . While you thus pursue you grand design , by exposing bad laws , and grinding taxation , under which the people suffer wrong , and fearlessly assert tbe rights of man , permit me , through the medium of your paper , to expose the illegal exactions of the pawnbrokers of this town .
I choose this the rather to the enlightenment of the poor victims of their rapacity , and as a caution to the pawnbrokers themselves , than all at once to embroil them in the informations and penalties , which the law directs . That twenty per cent profit ( in most instances eighty per cent profit ) is realised , and this , too , according U law , should not be considered by the most grinding of inhuman beings , a sufficient equivalent for lending a half-starved family a few shillings , on good security , is a more impudent assertion than the devil himself could offer . But so it is ; and that among persons making pretensions to piety . Take an
example . The pawnbrokers' act states the rate of interest thus : viz . that for every pledge not exceeding 2 a . 6 d ., the pawnbroker shall be entitled to charge one halfpenny for every calender month ; for 5 a . one penny , aad one halfpenny for the duplicate ; for 7 s . 6 d . three halfpence per month , and one halfpenny for the duplicate j for 10 a . twopence per month , and one penny for the duplicate ; for one pound , fourpence per month , and twopence for the duplicate ; and so on in proportion for any sum , not exceeding forty-two shillings ; above forty-tw * shillings to £ 10 , threepence per month for every pound advanced .
Thus , « panon borrowing fifty shillings would be legally chargeable with twopence for the duplicate , and sevenpence halfpenny for one month ' s interest ; and so in proportion . If tbe sum lent was £ 5 , or upwards , the duplicate ia toarpeace . The pawnbroker ia also entitled to charge half-a-month , if seven days of the current month have expired ; if fourteen days have expired , then he is entitled to charge as for a whole month . As , for instance , a person borrows 2 s . 6 d . from a pawnbroker , on the 10 th day of February , and redeems the pledge on or before the 17 th day of March ( the following month ) , tbe pawnbroker could legally charge one halfpenny , and no mere . If , after the 17 th of March , and prior to the 24 th , the pawnbroke r m i g h t legally charge three-farthings , and no more ; and pawnbroken ore required to give farthings in change . Hence we see that the weekly customers pay eighty per cent ,
or two shillings and'twopence yearly , for tbe loan of 2 s . 6 d . ; and this shameful interest the pawnbroker is justified in charging , according to act of Parliament . I shudder at the covetoasnesa of these Jews ; they are like the grave , never satisfied . Bat they have lately been toying ( and are now practisiBg } to steal s day ' s march on their very liberal usury act , by accommodating the customers ( obliged by poverty to call at their offices ) by lending them Ss . 9 d ., providing only 2 a . 6 d . ia wanted , and charging them one penny , instead of one halfpenny per week , ot 4 s . 4 d . per year , for the use « f 2 ft 9 < L ThiM is liberal , indeed ! and these sapient pawnbrokers , unaccustomed to thinking , no doubt suppose that their" Act of Parliament will protect them in this ( rinding oppression . This is not the ease . An application to the magistrates will put the matter right
Let tbe Overseen of tbe Poor lay the informations , and , by way of making them disgorge some of their ill-gotten pelf , cause the pawnbrokers to pay the next rate for the relief of the poor , as would be easily done ; the informer being entitled to one half of the penaltie s , and the poor of the parish to the other . This could not be considered unfair ; or else , let every poor person thus abused inform In his own case , and make the law respected . Tbe penalty in each case is £ io ; and , be it remembered , that by Act of Parliament pawnbrokert are required to mark the Interest they received on the duplicate , and to file them , that they may be forthcoming on the order « f a magistrate , to bear testimony against them when they act illegally . I am , Sin Yours , respectfully , Scrutator . —9 fMetBsfeM ^ M > : *© th ; -i « 41 , ^ - ~ '— ¦ - - ' ¦ - ¦ " * •"'
Untitled Article
A SAMPLE OF THE HONESTY OF THE ' HIGHER ORDERS . " In commenting upon the late trial of Lord Cardigan , the Spectator observes : — " And now as to the Court itself . Notwithstanding the care of the prosecution to withhold evidence , and of the defence to divert attention from what could not be withheld , * the following facts were established . Mrs . Dann saw two gentlemen kneel and load pistols , then rise , stand back to back , walk asunder some paces each , place other two at the points thus fixed , pat pistols in their bands , stand aside till they fired at each other , give them fresh pistols , and stand aside till they fired again . Mr . Dann saw the combatants stationed ; saw them fire bath times ; never lost Bight of them till he
reached the ground ; when he saw one gentleman wounded , and took the pistol from the hand of another , that other being one of those who fired , and also Lord Cardigan , the prisoner at the bar . Sebastian Dann , saw the kneeling of the seconds , the firing of the principals , and the wounded gentleman with a great dtalef blood on the ground . There cannot exist a doubt that Lord Cardigan discharged two pistols at some individual , and wounded him the second time ; it having been also proved that he said to the Inspector of Police— 'I have been fighting a duel , and have hit my man . ' Then as to the identity ol the wounded antagonist of Lord Cardigan . Dann allowed him to go home with hia surgeon , upon giving his address j that address was , Captain Harvey Tuckett , 13 ,
Hamiltonplftce , New-road . ' Dann called three times ; and each time , on asking for Captain Tuckett , was ushered in to the wounded gentleman who gave him the address ; and on one occasion that gentleman sent a note by Dann to the magistrates , which he signed with the name ' Tuckett . ' Mr . Waithen gave evidence to the effect that a gentleman of the name of Harvey Tuckett had rented business chambers from him for upwards of a year , who gave his card of reference Captain Harvey Tuckett , 13 , Hamilton Place ; ' and that he had sent a hamper to the gentleman by that address . It was proved that the Earl ot Cardigan deliberately discharged two pistols . at a person of the name Of' Captain Harvey Tuckett , ' and wounded him . This was the . charge against the Earl—a charge wbicb , as Btated-by the prosecution , admitted by the Court , and : not questioned by the defence , if proved , rendered him liable to punishment The counsel for the accused
objected to the production of tbe card ; it was proved , without the card , that the woandad man gave the name and place of residence above mentioned , that he was ^ repeatedly seen there during bis coirValescescw , and that * a person of that name and title resided there . If there were any thiqg extenuating in the circumstances but of which tbe duel arose , that was a portion of the defence . The criminal act was proved , and brought home to the Earl of Cardigan . And yet the members of the House of Peers , the conservators of tlie piety , morality , and law of the empire , after commencing their proceeding with a solemn appeal to . the Deity , raw up one by oa « when called upon , and each in succession , placing his right baud upon uia breast , said , Not guilty , upon my honour . ' Alas for the honour of the British nobility ! it is much upon a par with the veracity of the fiery knights , who , in the First Part of Shakspere ' s Richard the Second thrust the lie down each other ' s
throats . " tfpon the same subject the Examiner adds . — "A duellist ' s chances of impunity are now these ; he must be a Peer of Parliament , aad b » must fight a man with a long string of Christian names . In the old duela with swords , the length of the sword ; used to be seat with the challenge , to ensure equal terms . In duels , henceforth the length of the names should be sent , or the parties cannot ba on evea terms as to C « nsequeuoes , even if they are not Pewa . A . Harvey Tuckett might not have been shot at with impunity , but evidence breaks down under a Harvey Garnett Phipps Tuckett The case was too much for the grasp of justice exactly by the Garnett Phipps . Had he been murdered , his godfathers . and godmothers would have had to answer for the impunity of hia assassin . This most important consideration should have occurred to Mr . Shandy , in hia appreciation of tb * importance of Christian names . "
THE QUEEN IN AN «• INTERESTING Sim&TION . " " It is stated In circles likely to be aeqwainted with the fact , that her Majesty is again in an interesting situation , ' atonooexciting tfce hopes and sympathies « ' Thus saTth " the Globe ; and a » the Globe is , par erceltenoe , the Ministerial paper , we suppose it faas such Information as to wtot passe- in the 'fdrclar like £ to be acquainted with the fart , " as to be able to speak quite positively upon this subject ; bo thatjwe may take it for granted that another piece of Royalty in now in a state of incipient creation .
Untitled Article
We believe Queen Victoria was married to his Royal Highness of Saxe Coburg in the month of February , 18 l * . This is Fabnuiry , 1841 , anS already has she bestowed upon the happy nation one UttW pledge oC their Royal affections , and already does : she Royally promise , to bertow npon ui another . Of eobrse , as tbe new mowel of Royalty is already announced to be " on the road , " it is to be expected in the ooarte of six di seven months ; so ' -that he or ahe will probably come upon us about the latter end of August or the beginning of September . * '
If this matter comes off all right , it will be just two Princesses—or a Prince and a Princess , which fa much tbe same—in nineteen months . Quean Victoria is now something more than two-and-twenty . Waeit the new scion of tbis noble house shall be born ahe will be about tureo-and-twenty . She will then have at leas * seventeen good years left to give birth to young Princea and Princesses . Now , seventeen yeara contain 208 months , and reckoning the births at a little under tea months each , they will amount to just twenty-one . Add the two already born , or on the stocks , and we have a total of twenty-three . Twenty-three young Princes and Princesses i—all to be in existence by the year 1858 , and all to be kept in great state—large houses , fine carriages , and long retinues of servants—oat of tttt taxes of this ga » pin « country 1
This is a happy prospect » f domestic felicity and of public prosperity . If we could only sell our Princes and Princesses at the pries they are valued at in tb » parish of § t James's , what a happy future we should have to look forward to , and what a rich country England would become ! . Unfortunately , however , tbis ia not the case . We know of nobody that would buy them , even at the price we estimate them at , for we know of no one that , would take them off our hands gratis . What , then , shall we d « with out Princes and Princesses ? If we have twenty-three in twenty yean , there it no reason wby ws should not have tbe squaw of twenty-three in forty yeara more , and that , as tbe rules of multiplication and addition tell as , wonld make in the aggregate five hundred and fifty-two Princes and Princesses—a specimen of Royal fecundity that would be very entertaining to Europe , but which is not at all impossible to be exhibited if all tbe offspring of bar Gracious Majesty are born with the attributes of their august parent—Satirist . - '
Untitled Article
BIVAL TRACES' UNIONS . —IMPORTANT CASE . GUILDHALL POLICE COURT , LONDON , FEB . 20 . ( From our own Corfespondent . J This day , William Hawley , George "Woldridge , John Hawley , William Ltndriff , and William Hickling , stonemasons , employed in . repairing the Temple Church , off Fleet-street , \ vrno had been summoned on a former day , when the matter was adjourned to give the respective parties an opportunity of arranging the affair , ) reappeared to answer the charge et Joseph Buchan and others , in " having forced them to depart from their hiring to one Barney Barrett . " The Court was densely crowded with members of the Builders' Union , a deputation fr « m whom civilly waited on our correspondent to apprise him of the re-hearing of the case , the terms with the complainants not having been adjusted . -
Mr . Clarkson , who attended for the prosecution , in a long and bitter address invoked the vengeance of the law on the defendants , for having violated what the Learned Counsel denominated the " rights of civilised society , in compelling . the complainants to abandon their hiring , and refining te permit them to earn their bread on terms satisfactory to themselves . " The very well-being of society ( hie said ) depended upon the enforcing of the law in this instance , which tb « accused parties bad deliberately broken . The complainants were members of a club , but not of that to which tbe defendants belonged . On the 16 Ui of January , they applied to Mr . Barrett , who ia foreman to Mr . Bumell , an extensive builder , to be employed oa the repairs at the Temple ; he took down their names'on hia list , and told them to come to work on Monday morning ,
but when they went , ' the defendants , and the rest of the men who belonged to the Birmingham Union , withdrew into a corner , consulted , blew out their caudles , and told the clerk ef the works ( the foreman not having then arrived ) that if the complainants were set to work , they ( defendants ) would leave . As the master could not complete his contract if fifty of bis men left him in this way , he was , obliged to abandon the hiring of the complainants , as he -bad frankly told them be must do if the Birmingham Union men refused to work with them . The master was unable to retain tbe complainants on account of the conduct pursued by tha defendants , and for that they must now answer • Trades' Unions utere the abomination of all good men , and were as much the bane ot the workmen , as of tbe masters .
Joseph Buchan was then called , and examined by Mr . Clarkson ; he detailed the circumstance * of his " hiring "by Barney Barrett , at a public-house in Chancery-lane , and the conduct of the defendants and the other men when they went to work . Hawley , tbe elder , who is also a foreman , said they must haves " b—y good cheek to come there to work ; " and another said he never saw men with such ' ¦ cheeks" in hi * life . "¦ :-.-In a cross-examination by Mr . Charles Phillips , t *^ 9 J « ft ^ edf (^ Jbe ^ de { epdaiitB , ) Jiewiti ^ B 8 . fltated , that the society to which" he belonged consisted of about 300 ; he did not offer Mr . Barrett 100 or 150 men
if the defendants objected to work with them ; and Mr . Barrett did not say he would hire them provided they could arrange uiith the men already in his employ . Th « name of the complainant ' s club was the " Operative Masons'Trade of London . " [ The witness hesitated at this and several other questions pat to him , repeating the words of Mr . Phillips , and drawing upon himself some sharp rebukes from the Learned Counsel ] The entrance money to this , society was only 3 s ., and they did refuse to work with inen who were not members of it ; their object was to protect themselves from tbe coercion of the other society ; he diU not know the amount of the funds , and declined to say what use was to be made of it
Mr . Clakkson . —You could not take a better way of getting rid of it than in " going to law with each other . ilr . C . Phillips—( loeking round the Court )—Hear that , now . The Learned "Counsel says , you cannot adopt a better mode of spending your funds than in going to law . I say , that you cannot possibly take a
worse . Mr . Clabkson explained that he meant " a more effectual" instead of a better way— he agreed with hia learned friend , that morally they could not take a tvorae course than going to law . This evidence having closed the case on the part of the prosecution , Mr . Phillips said he should show that the complainants had not been hired , and that would put an end to the charge that they had been driven from their hiring . A great many men had been employed for two months past in repairing the Temple Church , and they wouid ' uke toKnow why a deputation from the other society had applied there for work , except for the purpose of making a disturbance , and annoying them , by completing the job sooner , and
shortening the time of their employment ; while plenty of work might be got elsewhere in the metropolis . What Mr . Barrett had said to them was , that he had no objection to hire the complainants if they could arrange with the men already employed at the job ; he could not have any dispute with his men ; upon which the complainants offered to supply Mr . Barrett with 100 or 150 men if he wanted them . Why had not the complainants put Mr . Barrett in the witness-box to prove the feet of their having been hired , if they really belierM they had been ? As , however , they bad not do n e so , he would do that service for them ; he , accordingly , called Mr . Barrett , who , on getting into tbe box , and being aworn , upon being asked bis name , replied that it was Barnabas Barrett .
Mr . Phillips objected , that as the summons was the only document upon which the defendants were tried , and was like an indictment , it ought to be accurate , and not describe an individual whose Christian or baptismal name was " Barnabas" by the nickname of Barney . . ¦ Mr . Clahkson contended that , though it might be a nickname , it was one by which the witness was well and commonly known , and Mr . Phillips ;; therefore , had sufficient notice of the party ; besides , tlie magistrates had the power of amending the summons . Mr . PHiltiPS—What ! amend a penal documentamend an indictment ?
Mr . Clarkson contended that the-power lay with the Aldermen to decide on all the points brought before them . He designated the objection taken , by Mr . Phillips as a miserable objection j and hoped that two Aldermen of the city of London would not ao far digcredit the Corporation as to follow the recent example of the first assembly of the realm , assisted by the fifteen Judges—an . assembly , however , for whom all had , becaase all oughtto have , the highest veneration , Mr . Phillips said , he was not in the habit of applying the term " miserable" to anything emanatin from his Learned Friend ; as that term only ahowed thetasteof those who used it ; but he most sayjhat he was always deeply indebted to Ws tearned Friend for his assistance , particularly when engaged «« km »* him ; and in tbis case , be waa happily saved the tronbla of combatting toe Learned Gentleman ' B argtmient , because be bad so effectually over-argued Wnu «« - it required " tome check , " though-, as the witness described it , to call this objection a " miserable" one .
A napbie scene here ensued ; the Aldermen were engaged in deep consultation , when Mr . Clarksoa began to exhort them , at the top of bisTOice ,. to convictthe defendants , and allow , them a right of appeal Mr . Phillips , in an equally high key . ntged the di » - missal of the case j and , for a few ntfnutes , tbe three Aldermen might be seen consulting , wvQi . ft « Learned Counsel on either side , jabbering away , bm together , like a couple of washerwomen whose " inonSeya" baa been put up , or still more like a brace of Petticoatlane Israelites , endeavouring respectively , & * securei * green-horn " cushtomer . " The patter-clatte ^ of tba " Learned" Gentlemen was finally terminated By tbe Aldermen dismissing the case , when Mr . Phillips , in the " turning of a handspike , " clapped on isis tile , and saying , " Of course—good morning , " made Ma exit through the Aldermen ' s ante-chamber ; while Mr . Clarkson , with evident chagrin , pulled out his purse , and paid for fresh summonses against the same defen danta , on a similar , bnt not ifusam charge .
Untitled Article
BRONTERRE ON THE UNION WITH THE MIDDLE CLASSES . TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN STAR . Edinburgh , 8 th Feb . 1841 . SiE , —As it is necesBary that the Radical body should be made acquainted with the sentiments of their real friends in bondage , when so many pretended ones are at large , I deem it my duty ( albeit it may be in disobedience U " the powers that be" )—to send you for publication , Mr . O'Brien ' s opinion on the proposed ¦ ' onion
with the middle classes" for " further reform . " I say " io disobedience to the powers that be , " becanse , as you are aware , Mr . O'Brien u expressly prohibited from communicating with any Chartist paper whatever , and though the letter in question was examined by the Governor , it was allowed to pass solely from being sent to a private friend . The public importance of the subject , and the necessity for preventing any of the " lambs" from being led astray either by the " wolves " or other " lambs , " induces me to send it to the press .
Would you permit me , at the same time , to make a single remark , upon an " address to the middle classes' * issued by Messrs . Collins and O'Neil . In alluding to the split between the working and middle classes , they term it" a deep chasm produced by mutual pride , prejudice , and ignorance . " " Mutual" you will please observe—j . e ., " pride , prejudice , and ignorance" on both sides ; In whatever light Mr . O'Neil may view this subj e ct , surely if Collins had not , for the moment , forgotten the comforts of Warwick Gaol , not to speak of every other gaol in England , teeming as they are with the victims of middle class legislation and a middle-class government ; if be bad not , I say , forgotten all this , with
Untitled Article
i i \ , yt n i / j-.-n ,- . r . - ..... many other thing * whioh he well knew , when in Scotland , he wo bid never have characterised the dislike entertained by tiu > worktog classes to ike proflt-mon gers , as the remit of' ' : " pride ; prejudice ; and ignorance . " > : ... . . ¦ . v-. . . ¦ ¦¦ ¦¦¦ ¦ :- .. ¦ ... ;¦¦
¦ '¦ ¦ • • ¦; * /*«^ i- * a >» Sir , \ - Tour very obedient servant , : ' . - . " . - ¦ ¦ /) - ; - ¦ ;¦ ' ' ¦ a . m . " Lancaster Castle , Feb , 4 th , 1841 . As to the Leeds affair , aMd tbe projected onion between the middle and working classes , ft is ail moonshine ; or rather the offspring of an old agreement between certain false J ? Chartists" and their secret friends , the profitmongers , to which " respectable" ofcus the false fellows either belong themselves , or aspire to belong . Sofaraaftfce honest workles are concerned , It
will be a union of hawks and , sparrows , or of wolves and lambs—the understood terms of which " union " will be , that the hawks and wolves shall spare a few particular sparrows and Iambs , on condition that the said favonred' individuals shall aid * and assist the aforesaid hawks and wolves in getting more easy access to , and a more complete mastery over , all the other fiparrowa and lambs , that is to say , the whole of their respective " orders , " save and except the few favoured conspirators . Even these will find themselves outwitted , and immolated in the long run ; for the moment tbe hawks and wolves find they can dispense with
their services , they will pay them Polyphemus * compliment—that is , "eaV them last of all ! " The only conspirators who will , escape are the few who may have , meanwhile , emerged from their " order , " and got snugly incorporated among the " respectable " «• orders" of cats and wolves . This , my dear M——• , is the history of all pretended " unions" between the middle and working classes , and I entertain little respect for the understanding of any man who expects any other result from the present *' . union . " . There were » nchunions . established between the middle and working classes dnrlng the first French Revolution , but ttky ¦ att ended in the like result—via , the utter
destruction of the people ' s honest leaders—the making t ^ $ rtunfi * f «« * , Jsw traitors—the complete subjugation of the workles , who were fools enough to tro ^ t in them , And an accession of fierce power and exemption from responsibility to the middle-class murderers of French society . The same will be the result here , if the " union"goes oa . The false leaders of the Chaifr tists will be made use of to destroy the honest onesthe peopfo win get more devoted than ever—then will follow disappointment and disgust—then apathy and despair , and then comes thejfaato—increased power for the oppressor—increased misery ( if that be possible ) for tbe oppressed !
" A union between the middle and working classes , " indeed 1 What an impudent cheat 1 How are the five or six hundred poor fellows who have been eonsigned to felon ' s cells for asking a real union—the union of equal rights and equal laws with their oppressorshow are these to unite with the villains who have so treated them , and nearly starved their poor families to death ? How are the thousands of honest Chartists wbo have been persecuted out of house and home , or who are now walking the street * in rags , and without
a morsel of bread to pat into their mouths , —bow are they to " unite" with tbe conspiring murderers who have turned or kept them out of employment , for simply asking their rights ? Tis all stuff and nonsense to talk of a union with these villains , until Universal Suffrage has been carried—till both parties are on an equal footing . Then , but not till then , ought the words " union with the middle classes" to be pronounced by Chartists ; for then , and then only , could such a union be founded in reciprocal respect and confidence to be guided bylfautuality of interests .
"A onion between the middle and working classes , " ^ adeed ; Pshaw ! It is rank , disgusting humbug ! How ia it that those patriots , Marshall , Stansfeld . and Company , have been so silent for the last nine years ? Where were they in the days of the Coercion Bill f of the New Poor Law Bill ? of the twenty million-West-Indian-Negro-Slavery-job ? of the New Police Act f Where were , they when poor Courtenay or Thorn and his followers were so cruelly and barbarously murdered near Canterbury f Where wtte they at the time of the Trades Unions , when the Dorchester Labourers and the Glasgow-Cotton Spinners
. were ,-transported f Where were they whe the late agitation comninoed , or during ! its progress ? Why did . they not Of me ont even with the Birmingham people ?" 1 Whatjirere they doing all the time ? _ What frwnwtn *^ fijfe' whea the London Polic * were breakp $ the beads of the lieges in Birmingham , paying domiciliary visits , robbing men ef their arms and even of their private letters , and filling the gaols with better and more legal men than themselves . * What were they doing all this time ?• Did they petition , remonstrate with , or rebuke their government for
any of these acts ? Have they presented a single petition on behalf of the' expatriated " ' - or the dungeoned Chartists , since the beginning of the ^ perscutions ? Do they appear likely to do so now ? or if they did , woald it not be a . mere " tub to the whale , " and accompanied with a silent prayer that the petitions might have no effect ? If they were honest men they would have shown themselves such long ago . If their present purposes were honest ones , their conduct and language would be thus : —they would say to their Parliament , " It is not in our power to do justice to working men under the existing state of commerce . It is not in
human nature that they can have comfort or justice under existing institutions , which are made exclusively by those who have an interest in oppressing them . These institutions will never be amended by law makers , chosen only by these parties , to which , we grieve to say , we unavoidably belong . We wish to do justice to the poor men , without sacrificing eurselves or our own juBt rights , but we 'cannot do so under existing institutions ; and as these institutions will never be altered until these who suffer by them ore placed on a level with ourselves and with you ( the Parliament )
in respect ef political rights , we demand of you , as an act of justice towards them , and of consideration , towards us , ( who in part have elected you , ) that you suspend all future legislation , save what is required by the immediate business on hand , till you have passed an act similar in substance and effect to the People's Charter . ' ! There is no " union " required for all this . Will they do it ? But why waste words on such a crew ? for does not their every act and speech , as well as what they have not done , bear palpable evidence in the face of it that they are intriguers and impostors {
( Signed ) 5 ' - . James B . O'Brien . * Echo answers , " ' Keeping out the Tories , ' ; and looking after the main chance . " —Printer ' s Devtfr ¦¦
Spirit Oi Tf≫£ A9m$.
Spirit oi tf > £ a 9 m $ .
Untitled Article
THE NOBTHERN STAR . , 7
-
-
Citation
-
Northern Star (1837-1852), Feb. 27, 1841, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1098/page/7/
-