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Northern Star (1837-1852), 21st August 1841, Edition 1 of 3, Page 4, Untitled Article

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    • THE NORTHERN STAR. SATURDAY. AUGUST 21, 1841.
    • THE O'CONiNOR LIBERATION MEDAL.
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      Untitled Article

      TO THE CHABTISTS AM ) WORKING MEN OF LANCASHIRE . FELLOW CorXTfiYHiS , —The tirae being nearly OOIH 3 whea your friend and the ¦ untiring champion of Jour right * , Feargus O'Connor , Esq . ¦ will be liberated from . & felon ' s ceil , -we , the Demonstration Committee , now address you on tendering that gentleman sonib public token of respect for his arduous labours in behalf of our common humanity and the cause ef . universal and © goal justice . To offer inducements in order to stimulate you to discharge this debt of public gratitude , it will be only necessary t ? ezanzine his career in and out of parliament . Possessed of fortune and influence , fre discover him identifying himself with the indnstrious poor in tkeii straggle for political enfranchisement , casting -wealth and influence npon the altar of oar common humanity , and devoting his time , health , and purse , to the emancipation of hia country from the miseries of rf »* s legislation .

      Educated for the bii . his profession might hare enabled him to realise & fortune , but the callous indifference to toman Buffering peooli&z to the profession never entered into the ardent temperament of O'Connor ; possessing an unbounded beaevolenee , united with the greatest Et-efK i'n"ps lis laid out his talents for the elevation ef our race ; for years he continued to agitate the doctrines contained in » nr Charter , and it is nor saying too much when we assert , that to him more than to - the labours of saj man the cause of UniTe 2-sal Suffrage owes its present proud and invulnerable position . His devofcisa to your cause was not the artificial excitement of a public meeting , but it was the calm evenness of purpose which carried him onward in the face of obstacles ; the solitude of an unmerited confinement was suable to daunt his bold and indomitable spirit ; but he meets his friends as be left them , the advocate of Universal Suffrage , and no surrender .

      we are w 4 going to recommend him to your admirat i on , because lie has wealthy friends and powerful connecti o ns , but because he used these advantages in advancing the temporal well-Veing of those "who had thfcm not . Wealth without public virtue h 3 s failed to command the reverence and esteem of the working men of this country . Had this not been tke ease , such men as Lord Brougham , Grey , Russell , Eobbouse , Hume , as d o t hers , whose names were at one time considered sacred to the cause of huroas liberty , ¦ would ¦ till have been the objects of the working man ' s adulation , but their can has for ever set , their i' 4 lutBce for erer goas , and they are only remembered as illustrating their apestacy of former principle * and abandonment of former friends ; O'Connor has stood true to his friends and principles , ard you will , we donbt not , make it appear that your feelings and attachment remain , so far as he is concerned , unchanged .

      What is then required of you in welcoming him from Prison ? we ask you to unite with your ftilow labourers n giving him a marked expression of public respect , and we expect you will unite in overwhelming thousands to give turn a demonstration of attachment , ab out wh i ch there ean be neither mystery hot mistake . We appeal to the trades with feelings of perfect confidence . Have you forgot , ye working men of England , bis labours in defence of the Dorchester labourers and Glasgow Cotton Spinners ? At hia own expence he defended their cause , and their restoration to home was the consequence of his Herculean exertions . Girs hoaonr to whom honour is due , and show yon can appreciate the labours of tkose men who defend the lights of labour .

      To the friends of Chartism we can scarcely otter any inducements , but what have been already noticed by you- Hi 3 labours in print , and in person , to spread Chartism , you know already-, his labours for your friends you still remember . When John Frost , Z ^ phaniah Williams , and William Jones , were committed ¦ b y Whig treachery , and had to take their trials for high treason , O'Connor flsw to the rescue ; his puise and talents were employed for his chosen friends , and to him , almost exclusively , we owe the preservation of the Welsh patriots from tie horrors of a public execution .

      Xor will the females be behind in this work , and we expect the Female Association of Manchester to take up this business . Look at his protest against the New Poor Law Amendment Bill , when a set of Commissioners were invested with a power which set all the charities of our common nature aside ; be denounced the impious and unchristian measure , and exhibited its hideonsness in all its deformity . Ye wsmen o f En gl an d , and of Manchester , do your duty on thi « occasion , and show yon love your finiiii . es , by the manner in which you receive ths ; advocate of your families' political rights .

      All the duties arising out of the relations in Which yon stan d * , show the propriety of honouring your friends so far as taey advocate your principles . We ask you as men to do your duty—the title of jnan eclipses all the other titles that a mortal can confer ; it implies , a capability of reasoning and t > iTi > ing , it involvea iht possession of an immortal nature susceptible cf the most Teined pleasures , and capable of the loftiest acquirements—it i 3 the charter by which you c ' . altn tu txereise the immunities oi freemen—unite your thoughts , combine youi stBtbnents , and your trfcil directed mental power will soften down public opposition aid multiply the number of your advocatesanci friend * .

      We solicit you as men seeking the immunities of freemen and citizenship . Who taught you first to feel that you had ttis mark of humiliation upon yc-ui foreheads , sod that you possessed pjwers , the extrclse of ¦ which tyrannical rulers bad kept in abeyance ? it Was Ills tcngue and pen -which were alike consecrated to this high and hallo-wed olject— -with him ani each otheT , let us renew our plighted faith on the day uf bis coming among you , and afresh pledge ourselves in one another ' * presence to carry cut the principles of political equality and universal liperty .

      We ask your influence on that flay , in the name of vour country ; and , as countrymen , you are uniting to assert year right of subsistence en the soil of the land that gave yon birth—yon claim cf the oligarchy , who have inoncpoUsed oil the go&d things your hands produced , ir . d who have assumed the exclusive power of making laws into the bargain—you claim 6 f both Whig ami Tory , alite heartless and unfetlin ^ , a fair distribution of yonr nation ' s wealth and political influence—your demand , in order to be powerful , muEi

      be united—your claisis , in order to be effective , in ^ st be asserted simultaneously . Let the day of his liberation be the marked epoch from which you can date your ccastry ' s emancipation . Let Manchester and i : s masses be the centre from which will eniinats a feeling which will force its way into the wide circumference of your nition , until the barriers that stand between you and your liberties , too weak for a united nation , skal ! give way before tiiB force of public information , and flee , like straws before a whirlwind , when met by the uncomoroznifiing demand of a united nstion .

      Let us on that day s . vo . d all improprieties ; keep from cny s : ep which would jrcpara : z = yjur csu ; i >; ana your peaceful , Ettrn , unyielding uevovioa to yc-ur carte , will shew what a people csndo when they are prepared to will . ^ is ; tyranny and injustice will hide in iheir murky den fn .-m the face of an intelligent people , and that God , in whose name yea houted your banners , will smils upon the efforts you ere making , and crown your labours with complete Euccess . Already our prospects are beginning to brighten . The ¦ WTi ; C £ s of centuries are besinnir ? to be too weak to

      chain the human spirit ; those unnatural antipathies whiea separated man from m 3 n ere giving Tray , to better feelings , eo tras our own order is concerned . L « t us demonstrate ourselves worthy of the principles ire have been advocating—let us venerate , and as far as t » can emulate the act 3 of such men as Hunt , Cubbett , Beaumont , Zmm e n , Cartwri ^ ht , O'Brien , and last , thou ^ hnot least , the gentleman , who coming amozi ? you , you will assemble to welcome , we mean O Uonnoi ; unfl the salvation cf our common country , and the politics ! freedom of its citizens , will be the noble prize of ycui devotion to the cause of eternal riEht .

      Tiia : happiness acd prosperity may be the poraen of our country , and that our countrymen day seen trjoy the rights cf freedom , is the sincere wish , fsa shall be the cjnsrazlendeavour of yours in the cause cf equal JEsriee , The DzyioysjRxrioy Cohjiittee .-Sign ^ d in behalf of the Committee , JjLliZS H-iSElSO >" . Joseph Lissey . TlIQSIAS DaVIES . James Wood . ch . e . 1 st 0 vbe& doyle . Thomas MvBii'i . W . GaiF ? i > i .

      Untitled Article

      FEOM OUB LONDON C 023 XS ? OXBS > "T . TTedriesday Evenu . o , Auj . ISA . LOXBOX DELEGATE ilEETI ^ G . This bc : lT m-t on Sunday last , August ISth at the room , 3 d , Old BjHty . ilr . A . Wilson was ealisrd to tie chair . The misutes were read and confined . It vrzs rwelTed . - — " Thst its names of the members not present at the CommenccEent of business be titen down , to remind them o * tceir delinquency . '" The rani of 1 Ss . id . yns received for lie use of the CcnnciL

      The Observation CoEuaittce reported : — " They ha d unaniiEous : y elected 21 r . ^ Iseeler as permanent chairman to the committee . " They also laid before the Council "A plan for visiting the Metropolitan Districts . " The f lin after some slight ali-cnticns had been made therein was adouted for one month . The committee also reported " That st tho ensuing meeting they should irius cp an adOress to the Charti ^ ta of Great Britain for tbedfrltg-atts' adoption or lfjectlon . " The iii . na § ing aid Finacci Coramittee were not pTe-,. ired , a - , this early ptrioc of their sittings , with ft report

      iir . Mspson , en the resignation cf Mr . Watkins , - ^ aseltcted a member of ihe Finaiics Conmiiitee . il& Walking was then added as a member of the OfetenratiakConnniuee . ' . ^ ia . n « Eies of Messrs . Ridley , Wheeler , Stallwoou , I Towell and Watkins -n-eie given in , za permantat lee-1 toreSwr the London district . ] -WjB' -s * ni « of ilr . CulTertoust b « u . g givtn in , &j iJUhmuaioa ensued , wLenit was decided oca motion j ju&EfJb , J . Watki&i , secoadfed by Sir . £ japsoa , j

      Untitled Article

      " That the services of no person should be a-joepted , as a lecturer , who is not a member of ihe . National Charter Association . '' The localities are requested to send in th . e names of persons , feeing members , wbo are qualified far this important office-The Sscretary was instructed to ^ rrite to the Executive for five hundred of the new issue of cards . A deputation , consisting of Messrs . Ridley and Wattins , was appointed to assUt the masons on their visit to the coppersmiths . Mt . Worthington gave notiee of motion , — " That for the more readily and punctually transnutting the funds to the Executive , each locality shall send its quota to the Daieg&te meeting once per month , to be immediately forwarded to the Executive . "

      Mr . Hogg rendered an account of his office of treasurer to the late eottneil , stating the amount of fends in his hands . His coadoct was highly approved of , and be was ordered to retain tbe amount of money in his hands , until the accounts of the late council be fully settled . The meeting then adjourned .

      Untitled Article

      THE " PEOPLE'S HOUSE . " Suppose , for a moment , that we snspend all centre versy with Reformers about principles and details , and endeavour to discover by the only remaining means , whether or not the Reform Bill has in reali ty made the Lower Heuse more the " People ' s Kocso" than it was under the old borough system . Reformers tell us , that in every measure of theirs is to be lound the spirit of the Bill , if the dull people

      could only discover it ; while "we assert that each Parliament , from 1832 to the moment cf the last monster ' s dissolution , was a banditti of common plunderers—a gang of self-constituted placemen , pensioners , tcx-eaters , and idle panpers , having n o interest in cemmon -with ihe peop le ; a n d , therefore , not the " People ' s House . " Indeed , England has never ret had even a Reformed Parliament : each successive House has been returned upon the spur of the moment , and upon Eome clap-trap .

      In 1832 , the electors returned " a trial" House ; in 1 G 34 , they returned a " pat-out-the-Tories" House ; in 1837 , they returned our " beautiful-young-Qaeenand-Reform" House ; and in 1841 , they have returned a " holy-agricnlmr&l-church-and-state House . " ¦ Never , since the passing of the Bill to the present moment , haTe we had a House returned upon any defined political principle . The moat which was tested by the last , or that could have been tested

      even in the event of a Wkig majority , and that majority beiDg sincere was a ¦ willingness to try exper i ments as to the easiest means of procuring a ready penny , hy raising the wind outside . But the Whigs having failed , what , we should be glad to knotr , is to be discovered of ths principle of Reform in the constitution of the present House , or the >{ Pariiamentum indoctum" or " lack-learning Par-UaEenV , " vrho , we suppose , would make education the test of electoral fitness ?

      But to the constiiuiion of the Honse—for to that TTfi appeal from all consideration of principles and details ; and what do we find ? Why , the curious fact and extraordinary anomaly , that out of 658 of ( hi p eop le ' s representatives , 200 , or nearly one-third of the whole , is composed of Lords , Rt . Honouratks , HoBQurablesj and Sirs ; the numbers beiDg

      Untitled Article

      65 Lords , 55 Rt . Honourables and Honourable ? , and 80 Sirs . Now , rarely , the 120 Lords and Honourables , at all events , should not belong to the House of Commons , and for these reasons : firstly , they are , for the most part , represented in the Upper House by fathers or brothers , or " heads o families : " and , secondly , the Lower House , beiDg but a preparatory seminary , they cannot be considered as being under the control even of the constituent body , which ia some instances may be righteously need by the electors over their representatives . Indeed , bo far otherwise , we have had

      frequent instances of late of the fact , that loss of popular confidence by a pure time-serving Whig , is the best title to the peerage . We have within this week Been an augmentation of some half dozen Whig Peers to aid the opposition in the Lords ; and we find that most of them , ( Sir H . Pahnell , Sir Hussky Vivian , and Earl Belfast , to wit , ) were out-cast Commoners ; and we are informed upon authority which we have every reason to credit , that in the event of Lord Worsley ' s being defeated ia the County of Lincoln , his name would

      have swelled the augmentation list . We do not stop to enquire whether the majority of the two hundred Lords , Honourablea , and Sirs , are Whigs or Tories ; that is upon the event of a Whig or a Tory administration , which would belong to -and be quartered upon the idle pauper ' s fond ; but we unhesitatingly assert that all , one and ail , will ever be found marshalled against the interest of the working classes upon whose sweat they live , when any question of labour is submitted to them for legislation .

      What can such men know of the wants of the people ? How can they be judges of those matters about which they would not condescend to trouble their heads , further than to give a vote with their party , whether consonant or not with any little notion which they may have formed upon the subject \ and then , if we add to the above list eighty gallant naval and military officers , and to them

      about three score barristers and attorneys , of whom our great Northern Circuit alone was blessed with nine , ( now reduced to eight , by the melancholy death of Mr . Lister , M . P . for Bradford . ) Upon this circuit vre have Mr . CRBSSWELL , M . P . ; Mr . Dt 7 Ndas , M . P . ; Mr . Watson , M . P . ; Mr . Hardy , M . P . ; Mr . Aldam , M . P . ; Mr . Ghakgeb , M . P . ; Mr . Murphy M . P . ; and Mr . Roebuck , M . P . Thu 3 we find that more than one-half of the whole House is

      composed of Lords , Honourables , Sirs , Officers , and Barristers ! and wo ask if labour has anything to expect from them ? Next we turn to Ministers on both Bides , the Ins and the Outs , with their immediate dependanta for office or provision , aye , or even for the small loaf , many of them ; and these we find amount to no fewer than from sixty to seventy a-side ; or at an average of sisty-five a-side , making a total of 130 . Then the account stands thus : —Lords , Honourables , Sirs , fkhtingmen , men who live by feud and dissension

      and family quarrels and treason and violation of the laws , and men who live on place or in expectation of place , 470 ; added to which , we have of Country Gentlemen , Bankers , Merchants , Fundowners , Manufacturers , Aldermen , Shipowners , Foreign Slaveowners , Ironmongers , Coroners , " Coal Huggers , " and Pans for Infant Honourable , Fools and Squires , 188—making a total of 658 ; and We ask , in the name of common sense , what the millions have to expect from a House so constituted , or from a constituent body which has allowed it to be thus constituted 1

      Is it not quite clear to every man of common sense , that the wealthy portion of the electcrs overpower the poorer portion , and that the latter must , in selfdefence , join our ranks , in order to free themselves from the trammels of the privileged of their own order 1 If after the grand banquet there were any broken meat to be divided , it would be given to the ta ^ -rag and bob-tail of the electoral body , i n p ref ere nc e t o t he unrepresen t ed ; but there is now no residue after supplying the craving appetite of the hungry and the powerful ; and the poor

      electors must henceforth be satisfied with the distinguished honour of being represented by prozy at the great national banquet , while they take " pot luck" with those " below the salt , " whose ranks they must now join , and with whose society and homely fare they must henceforth rest satisfied , their only consolation being that they were left for destruction to ihe last , and then instead of beisg transported or entombed , were disposed oisecundum arlem , ccording to the rules prescribed by their representatives , which they opposed not SO long as others enly suffered from them .

      In this state of things , is it begging the question to ask what the odds in favour of labour , whether the the Honcurables , the Sirs , the Officers , the Barristers , the Merchants , Bankers , Traders , Manufacturers , are Whigs or Tories ? Wo say it matters not a straw ! The comforts of the people , iheir rights and privileges , will certainl y be the straw kept floating by their breath , while in pursuit of their own ends . Every battle is fought in the people ' s came ; and , however decided , is gained by the people ' s enemies . Let us just see .

      Suppose it possible , then , that an anti-church party was strong enough to wrench all church property from the present holders ; and suppose hat church-lands and other church property amounted to £ 10 , 000 , 000 a year ; what would be the working man ' s share ? Not tho fraction of a farthing the spoil would be divided , and appropriation made to the officers in the good fight beforo the battle was won ; and as is the invariable practice , the officers would get all the gold chains , while the soldiers whose foolish agitation alono could insure triumph , would get all the wooden legs !

      Sup p ose , agai n , that every pensioner , state-pauper , and half-pay officer , from pauper Lsopsld to the junior ensign of the establishment , were deprived of their state provision to-morrow ; would a fraction of a farthing be remitted , or a fraction less of new burdens be imposed 2 No , not a fraction ! Suppose , again , that the value of laud was reduced , and thereby bronght nearer the reach of working men , would they be nearer getting it ? No , not a bit . Suppose the Corn Laws were repealed , would they , while unrepresented , have any more control over the thing cheapened , or any means of knowing how the machinery for its new arrangement was worked , and upon which their very lives depended ? " In ' o , no ; a thousand times No . "

      Suppose the whole army was disbanded , and that some new physical force steam power was found sufficient to control the mighty millions , in such case would the taxes be reduced , or if collected , would the people have any bhare in their distribution ? Not a fraction . Is it wonderful , then , that the ins should declare tbiEgs as they are to be very well , and their

      determination to let well enough aloue ; or is it wonderful that the otis should declare the wholo system which excludes them , to be erroneous and fraught with errors which the popular voice alone can rectify ? No , by no means ; but it is wonderful that the oft-burned people do not yet dread the fire by which they have been so often scorched , and to put their finger 3 into which they are now once more invited .

      For these , and sundry other reasons , we quite agree in the opinion that the united force of the unrepresented could neither effect the dismissal of a guilty policeman nor the discharge of an obnoxious palace menial ; thai looking for administrative improvements and instalments of justice but tends to weaken our ranks , to strengthen the hands of jugglers , to disgust those who were wont to tremble before the stamp of the mighty millions , and to make them look upon the sovereign people as so many puppets , moved at will by wily managers pulling the wires of popular feeling .

      Ad organic change mnst take place ! and that organio change must be to give the millions command , at least , over one of the three great cBtateB ,

      Untitled Article

      all of which are said to exist only for their good and to derive power from their suffrage . We most no longer have a House of hereditary tyrants , and a preparatory school for their juvenile successors . We have now a Queen of an oligarchy—a House of he r edi t a r y fools , and a preparatory school for tools * We want a House of Commons sent by the people to do the people ' s work ! and a House of Commons we must , and shall , and will hayb ! in spite ' of all the powors of Earth and Hell . Britons , rouse yourselves ! the British Lion slumbers ; awake him , and as the king of beasts proclaims his sovereignty over the forest , proclaim you your sovereignty over your own House !

      Ere we again appear before yon , the ; clod-pok Stale Church Parliament" will have assembled ; let it be met by single petitions , sent from each town to our tried friend , Mr . Buncombe , that we may try his mettle in the new furnace . Threeor four hundred can be sent in single sheets for one penny each . Let them be a protest against the constitution of the House of Commons , and requiring the instant dissolution of tho body , and that the Royal writs be issued to the several returning officers to elect a people ' s Houseby Universal Suffrage . Say you have no House of Commons .

      We must meet Peel on the very threshold of the new building : it will not do to slumber . The work is but the work of a day : it is at present tho only means of keeping our cause warm inside for the winter . The hedge fire of Chartism must be kept up . Tbe House meets for business on the 24 th , and will then , we presume , sit no longer than the necessary time for receiving petitions against some sitting members—fourteen days .

      See how timely and how serviceable to our cause the last silent monitor , that stood ia close column at the bar of the House , pleading in dumb eloquence for the sons of toil ! Who would now wish thai undone ! and who will now refuse to make that ground good by backing it , and covering it with a heavy fire of Chartist artillery ? Let your shot pour in from all quarters . Give the preparatories not a moment ' s breathing time . Let them know that we have willed our freedom , and our freedom we will have . You have plenty ot time . Class-leaders fill your sheets J men and women sign your protest ! Mr . Duncombe' 3 address is , Thomas Duncombe , Esq ., No . 6 , Albany Court Yard , London .

      We had a nine mouths' offspiug in 1839 ; a fortnight ' s child in 1841 , still larger ; and with God ' s blessing , Chartism will deliver herself of a one day ' s monster in the same year . To it 1 in good earnest . Scotland , to it ! Ireland , to it 1 smalj though your aumbera be as yet , nevertheless register them in time . This surely must meet the entire approbation of the moral force patriots , while it will convince the sceptical that Chartism still lives , and in spite of all opposition gains strength by opposition j—in fact , that it , and it alone , constitutes the pressure from without . Bo this and we shall have stolen a march upon all sections of bitand-bit reformers , aud will have put our house in order before the campaign of 1841 has closed the tenth Reform battle of might against right .

      Every leader of your cause has signified approval of this course . People , up then , and do it ! Beat your last . Glasgow , you have but two days ; enough for the spirits ever foremost in the good work of regeneration . Manchester , you are within ten hours of the presenting place . Birmingham , you are within four . Bath , Bristol , Nottingham , Sheffield , Huddersfield , andBarnsley , though last , not least j when were you behind in the good fight ? Dewsbury , the first of towns ; Bradford , that returned Martin ; and Halifax , that but for treachery would have returned Gully ; every man and woman to your pene

      once more ! let your sacred names stand in the muster-roll of England ' s strength . York , do your duty , and Leeds will follow . Carlisle , Newcastle , and Sunderland , will vio for pre-eminence ; while Dundee , Edinburgh , Aberdeen , and Perth , with little Alloa , Cumnook , Kilmaruock , and the Vale of Leven , will prove that their martyrs did not die in vain , and that the school-master has been abroad . Let Chartism be heard on every passing breeze ; and Cooper the glorious Cooper , will not allow Leicester to be extinguished . Again , we say , protest against the second House of Lo r d s , and demand a House of Commons .

      Untitled Article

      Does he not know that ~ knowledge is power , " and that little knowledge can be acquired after a continuous day of toil t Are not all the means that ingenuity can devise resorted to by the idle merchant to invigorate himself by wholesome exercise , and excite him by amusemeat , after six hours of a monotonous poring over his ledger 1 and will the people lose sight of the fact that by their toil the merchant lives and partakes of excitement , luxury , and amusement , while his hours of labour are devoted to the balancing the profit * upon the workman ' s toil 1

      Are the rich to have a country , and are its laws to be only palatable and obeyed when they square with their taste and pander to their appetite , and are the poor who furnish all the means to have a country in which they are out-laws , and from which they are asked to transport themselves as a relief from tyranny , oppression , and want ? No ; forbid it " COURAGE ; " forbid it" sense ; " forbid it justice , forbid it patriotism .

      The struggle that has been long raging and which must terminate in the triumph of labour , has been a contest as to the best means of monopolising all the benefits of the great improvements of the day , by which the labour of the people at work has baen increased ; while their employment wholly depends Upon the caprice of the speculator . To get possession of those improvements , for national instead of

      class interest , is now the people ' s object : and to that object they will adhere , as they have hitherto done , in spite of all opposing powers : therefore Mr . Cobden , and the lice upon the beetle , may reat assured that tbe next " sacred day" shall be a day sacred to the poor man's entire comforts ; to the elevation of himself and his order ; to the attainment of more rights than the generous one of having " plentt to do . "

      His hours of ease must be increased proportionately with the powers of machinery to do his work . His amusements must be all , one and all , restored . If the Commander-in-Chief considers Cricket a . necessary amusement and exercise for the soldier , it is also necessary for him who supports the soldier . If the ¦ merchant requires Amusement after the monotony and ennui of calculating his profits , the workman requires Amusement after making the profit for him . If the sons of the wealthy distinguish themselves by literature , and hold pre-eminence by knowledge , the poor must have like advantages . In short , the people must now have a full share in every improvement of tbe age : and the day for reconciling slaves to toil by a promise of " plenty to do , " is gone , and for ever !

      For freedom we contend : and freedom means more than a loaf of bread for a day ' s toil , and cold bastile as the refuge of man after a life devoted to the sustainment of idle paupers in affluence and luxury . Freedom means rational enjoyment ; the liberty of doing that which does not interfere with the rights of others ; and , above all , the means of producing , by his own industry , a sufficiency to make him independent of man ' s caprice and foreign speculation . To that purpose the next sacred day shall be directed ! . AAjuuu- ^^^^^ MinJLfa-iin i- ^ r !* ¦ < " J ' jr ^ 'V ' ^

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      MR . MEDHURST . ' BRITONS DEFEND YOUR QUEEN , AND

      REFORM THE PEERAGE . " Do not start ! gentle reader , do sot start !! the above ia not our motto , neither do we assume it , or attach to it more value than the Athenians of old attached to the drunkenness of a slave , whose intoxication was to serve as a warning , not as an example , to the rising generation . Reader , the above is the frontispiece to the last letter of Anti-Royalty " Publicola , " to himself , as Editor . It appeared in the last number of the Weekly Dispatch .

      "We shall firstly lay before you all that is material of this nondescript ' s conversion to Monarchy , and then offer a few observations , not upon the document , whioh speaks for itself , but upon the conduct of heb whom Britons are to " defend , " we presume in like manner as she defends them , and their rights , and their Libebtt . The letter runs thus : — " BRITONS DEFEND YOUR QUEEN , AND REFORM THE PEERAGE . "

      "• Mr . Editor , —The singular position occupied by our Queen provokes some serious reflections upon Royalty , in its nature and in its present state , tb . rougb . eut Europe . Our English Queen is the only European Sovereign that is not either tho contempt or the abhorrence of his or her subjects and allies , and , unquestionably , she is the only female Sovereign in existence who i s not , thoroughly , a disgrace to her sex . I may go further than this , and even assert that tbe English throne is tbe ouly one likely to last through this , and one more generation . But my present object is more conanad to our own country , and to comparisons between her present Majesty and her predecessors or

      ancestors . From the death of Queen Elizabeth to the present hour , England has been absolutely cursed by the worthlessnes 8 or vices of its Sovereigns , if we except the present Queen , an d the short p recar io us reign of the very weak man that lately occupied the throne , au d who , in all probability , would , e ' er this , have produced a revolution , had he not bo fortunately died . Under the atject influence of his wife , the present Queen Dowager , he was about to reverse the few good actions of hia short Royal life , w i th t h e i nev i tab l e effect of d estr o y ing bis small popularity , and of keeping a vivid impression on the public mind of the absolute necessity of getting rid of regal

      government altogether , and of adapting our institutions to the intelligence and conditions of society . The public , however , are not likely to lose sight of this object , now that tbe Tories are coming into power ; for tUeir excessive bad government and enormous tyranny and corruptions will bring the people to a conclusion that bo abominable is the nature of Regalism , that wh « n g oo d fortune does bestow on us a sovereign of merit , a faction can set her power aside and reduce the nation to the dilemma of always having a bigot and a tyrant , like George III ., on tue t b r o n o , or of having the Royal power usurped by the aristocracy , when the sceptre is held by virtue and talent This a fact amply proved

      by experience . No tyrant that ever cursed mankind was ever inure vicious or absolute than Georg * the Third and his successor , and consequently they were both supported through thick aud thin by the Peerage ; but no it , our Queen is as completely set aside in England as Christina is set aside in Spain , with this immense difference , that the Spaniards got rid of their Sovereign on the ground of her being a coufluent muss of all vices and impurities , -whilst Sir Robert Peel and his faction dispose * f our Queen and trample her in the dust on no ground ¦ whatever , but tbat of her possessing talents and having a fine spirit , which induces her to use those talents to the public advantage .

      Will "Publicola" have the kindness to read that once again , and then take up his letter to George IV . and read it ? But perhaps , t he letter to Geobge was but upon general royally , -while t ' ne presen t is upon royalty particular ! We have omitted nothing material from the royal ebulition of the old Republican , for whom " Chartism does not go Jar enough , as it does not destroy royally ; " the rest of the letter is mere filling stuff in solid type , and is nothing more than a clamsy piece of criticism upon the foolish mode of electing Scotch Reproseutative Peers , but . which , bad as it is , is nevertheless preferable to the royal sample which the last ' ' pitch-forking" of some half-dozen affords .

      Let us just for one moment glance at ths principle involved in the recent elevation of three of those Noble Lords . The Queen appeals to her people , and those of Dundee , Belfast and East Cornwall , of course among the rest . Very well ; her people of those p laces answer either negatively or positively ; that is , as at Belfast , by rejecting the Royal nominee to the preparatory school ; or at Dundee , by putting success beyond the hope of the Royal nominee . In this ease , what is the position of her whom we are to " defend" ! Why , just this : She says , " What ! you won ' t have my three nominees in the lower House , -won ' t you 1 then yon shall have them in the hospital I "

      But surely , if any defence is to be made for the Sovereign , it should be made by an attack npon that House to which there is an immense majority returned against her appeal aud her free trade principles ; and not upon tha House , which she may at command mould to her supreme royal will and pleasure .

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      So much for Royalty m general , and for ow " talented young Queen" in particular ; and jog one word as to the interest whioh Britons have in defendingthe " Queen of mercy , " for in that capacit y alone can we ever condescend to consider the h « ad of our English oligarchy * Well , then , we have placed the name of Medhor * at the head ct our article ; and , without feeling anj disposition to add to the " nervods excitement" of that young gentleman , let ua just plainly state hjj case , and his title to that Royal sympathy which h » has recently received . Master Mebhuhst murdered

      his schoolfellow with a kind of butcher's knife , which , as was proved upon his trial , he had vowed he would use if at any time a quarrel arose between him' and his schoolfellow . A quarrel did occur , and Medhubst was as good as his word ; he killed his companion . Bat as good fortune would have it , and as fortune ever favoura the bravt Master Medhuest belonged to that class in life who are in general able to procure the mild spirit of the law ; and with the assistance of her Majesty's first law officer of the Crown , the Attorney-General as counsel , ( who could not be retained by a misde ^

      meanant Chartist at any price , ) Medhpbsi was . upon payment of perhaps some five hundred guineas special bribe , ( fee we mean , ) enabled to get a verdict of manslaughter ! and was therefore sentenced , we believe , to three years' imprisonment , instead of transportation for life ; another good effect of employing plain John during his confinement . This ill-used young gentleman was scarcely under the restriction of prison rules ; he had a suite of apart * ments , and was allowed the use of a turning-lathe for his amusoment . However , time hang heavy , and " ennui" overtook the young recluse ; whereupon onj Mr . Dyer , a kind of police magistrate , having found

      out the game , undertook to procure Medhursi ' s liberation upon payment of £ 3 , 000 , " say £ 3 , 000 " to some charity ; and although far be it from us to insinuate such a thing , yet that spirited little dog who writes for thb . Satirist , and who does not appear to have the fear of tht . Attorney General before hia eyes , assures us that is * . Dyer ' s charity wa 3 intended to begin at hornet H ^ beit , the thing came to the Lord Chancellor ' s ears , l iving been badly done ; and Dyer was removed from iaecwqmis . sion of the Peace . But then the thing did not em there ; other parties , over whom his Lordshi p h ad no control , were implicated by Dyer , and those parties were the Maiujuis or Nobmanby and his

      Marchioness . We only give facts , and the world knows that Phipfs is a poor devil , who would go as far fot £ 3 , 000 as any other Noble Lord . To proceed how . ever : Medhurst was in the secret ; and although the dismissal of Dtek , and the non-interference on his behalf by the Noblo Home Secretary , may have put Dyer out of court , and have rendered his evidence suspicious , yet the attorney of Medhurst , who doubtless was also in the secret , turned the whole thing to the account of hi » client . We don't by any means say , or even

      hint , that Mr . Quill hinted anything to the Noble Secretary about blabbing ; but certain it is , that tho liberation of Master Medhurst immediately sueceeded the expose ! and npon what grounds does tho reader suppose ! Why , upon the certificatemind the certificate—of a Doctor , who declared that tho excitement produced by the disgusting controversy between Dyer and the press had so worked upon the " sensibility" of Mr . Medhurst , and had so affected his " nervous system , " that his health might suffer serious damage by longer

      confinement ; and upon that the release was sent ! and Master Medhubst was ' set * at libert y ! w hil e Holberry , Peddie , Ashton , Cabbier , and others , have suffered torture , compared to Mr . Medhubst ,, and not for a transportable offence : and yet has the certificate of their sufferings , setting forth the effect likely to be produced upon their health , and signed by two millions of petitioners for their release , failed to produce any effect upon the syni ' pathy of that talented Lady whom Britons are now called upon to defend ! !

      O ! but there was no certificate from a regular practitioner in their case . True ; neither was there in Clayton's case , or in Hoey ' s case , and why Because they were poor working men . But let us go to the professional question . Ia O'Connor ' s case there were not only-a certificate , but , swora affidavits ! very unusual things . One was made by Anthony Todd Thompson , M . IX , tha very head of the medical profession ; and ihe other by Mr .- Jagoe , who had attended Mr . O'Connor for more than five years ; and they merely set forth the propriety of incarcerating Mr . O'Connor in the Quee n ' s Bench , instead of a felon's dungeon : yet were the affidavits of those gentlemen laughed at by the Noble Home Secretary and his understrappers !

      Again ' : on Sunday , the 17 th of May , 1840 , Mr . Coopeb , " the Noble Lord ' s own surgeon to the Queen ' s Bench Prison , attended Mr . O'CosNoa , and at five o ' clock on that evening Bent a certificate to the Noble Lord , declaring that Mr . O'Coxkob was not iu a fit state to be removed , and that his life might be the forfeit ; but in fourteen hours from tbat very time was O'Cownos conveyed a distance of 200 miles ; dragged , like a dog , from a sick bed on Monday morning , after a serious ill-ness of three

      weeks , and thrown into a cold damp felon's cell , upon an iron bedstead , without sheets or pillow , at ten o ' clock on the following night ; and the consequence is , that , as our publisher informs us , Mr , O'Connor is not now able to stand from the rery effects anticipated by his medical advisers—a state of health produced by the very causes which Dr . Thompson pointed out in his affidavit , namely , the " cold and inhospitable treatment of a common prison . "

      So much for political offenders and aristocratic felons . And now let us , for a moment , direct attention to ° the difference between Royal sympathy for low felons and Chartists of all grades . It will be found in the following scrap , which we extract from the Times of last week , and which runs thus : — " Liberation op Convicts- at Wooi-wjch . — Twelve convicts will obtain their liberty this week from theWarwick , convict-snip , stationed opposite the dock-yard , Woolwich . This extension of her Majesty's Royal prerogative is in commemoration of the visit of the Queen to -witness the launch of the Trafalgar . Mr .

      Armstrong , who has the charge of the convicts in this vessel , wy judiciously liberates the men by two or three at a time , and ascertains that they have left Woolwich , tbat they might not meet with each other and spend the money given to them to carry them home It is not generally known that the convicts who behave well are entitled to Is . 6 d . per week in money , 9 d- of which is paid to them weekly , to be applied in tlie purchase of fine wheaten bread , or any other unobjectionable way they may approve of , an d the ot h er per week is set apart as a reserve fund , for their use ivhen they obtain their discharge . One out of the three discharged to-day bad been three years on board the Warrior , and consequently was paid £ 5 . 10 s . 6 d . "

      It would be an insult to the understanding of a half fool to offer a word of comment on the above proof of Royal impudence , iusolence , ignorance , cruelty , barbarity , and treason , which mooks princi ple by thus encouraging vice ; and we believe the whole thing is meant as a Royal invitation to the starving millions to work in the dock yards , rather than starve . Who will not repeat " Bbiioks defend your Queen ?" .

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      On the i 3 th of November , the first Saturday after O'Connor ' s Liberation , each subscriber to the Northern Star from Saturday the 4 th of September , will receive a splendid medal , upon one si d e of which will be a correct representation of York Castle * -with tbs date of O'Connor ' s admission and liberation ; and upon the othor side , a likeness of F . O . C . with tb . 8 six points of the Charter . This medal will be much larger than either the Northern Union or tbe Birdringham tXhion medals ; and a 3 the parcels for distant agents will be heavy , we have to request all friends , from those paits , who i&all visit Leeds , between the middle of October and first of November , to call at our office fur them .

      Untitled Article

      JocRjfErxENs" Trades" Hall . —A most nameroaa public meeting -was holden , on Tuesday evening , at th * Social Hall , ( Joswell-Jtreet Road , for tho purpose of assisting in carrying out the above object Mr . William Taylor , gold-beater , -wcb called to the chair . Mt . Elf moved and Mr . Rae seconded— " That this meeting , referring to the Dumber and importance of tbe various trades' associations and societies of working

      men ic London , is oi opinion that the establishment of a Trades' Hall in tbe Metropolis vrould be most econom i ca l an d conven i ent , and calculated to elevate the moral character , and secure the welfare of the working classes . " The resolution was carried unanimously . A Gentleman , whose name we did not catch , moved" That this meeting is of opinion that the proposed London Jouraeymena' Trades' Hall , as now enrolled by act of Parliament , is deserving the united support of all parties : it would be accessible for trades' meetings , for public meetings , lectures , &c ; and , therefore , we earnestly rt-comrnend the London trades and mechanics to take up the subject with their mual determination , as the only means of erecting so desirable & building . " He entered into a detail of the rules and regulations coder

      which the society was enrolled . There was no chance ef being defranded ; the act took especial care of that , for speedy justice would be attainable . He considered that by the trades meeting under one roof , if any act of injustice was attempt * . d , tie trades could iaore promptly act than as now , having to send all round London , and , therefore , if a strike was necessary , it would be made much more effectually . The Londen Trades , he thought , thould come out and take this subject into their most serious consideration . The proposition was made in a place where the mechanics could afford the small trifle they asked from them , it was not made in a manufacturing place where their brethren were starving , an d where it wou l d be m er e derision to ask them to carry it oat There were 15 , 000

      of them , and surely in two years they eould erect the building-. After alluding to the great advantages which were likely to arise from carrying out the project ; the gentleman concluded by calling on those present to aid the association . Mr . Farren , jun . said , in secondingtbe resolution , he had little left to Bay , for his friends who had preceded him had nearly exhausted the subject ; they bad , however , overlooked the public advantages likely to accrue ; for example , the people were now prevented from meetiDg , as their forefathers used u n d er the c ano py of the heav e n , ' to pray for a redress of grievances ; if they did so , they were immediately branded '•' torch-light rebels . " There were other occasions -, fox example , the e l ect i on o f m e m b er s , when the public mind ought to be concentrated . Perhaps a

      time might arrive when another Reform Bill would be obliged to be passed ; and , then would it not be necessary for the woTking classes to mt « t—md where bo well as under their own roof ? ( Hear and cheers . | Again , be would say immediately take up the question , for he faund a gentleman belonging to the legislature who was in favour cf a trades' hall , w a n t e d h er M ajesty to patronise them . He would say for himself that he wanted no Parliamentary assistance in this work . He did not like tbe idea , with the vast means which the trades possessed , they should be beholden to any for assistance ; let them erect it themselves . In the year 1834 , the carpenters could and did afford , for a str i ke , the sum of £ 20 , 000 , and the batters , more recently , the sum of £ 17 , 000 ; and , r arely , the trades

      could ra ! s « tie mm of £ 15 , 000 . It only wanted to be taken up . There were no less than 152 meetings of trades held in OEe week in a central position of the metropolis ; and he would ask how much they had taken from the pockets of the working man , who perhaps had not paid for the use of the rooms in money , bat had had to pay in drink , for their accommodation ? and what acconiinod&feion ' . He could assure them he had lately , with a friend er two , called at a dub-house at the West end of town , and for the accommodation of 400 persons there was just room for eighty . What tras the result of this drinking ?—poverty . Wbtt at

      home ?— quarrelling . Then it was time to end vhese scenes , and by social parties , give their wives a chance of recreation , instead of moodily sitting at home . Yes , he would invite those present to see how rationally the patrons of Trades' Halls enjoyed themselves on that day fortnight at Highbury Barn , when they would enjoy themselves at a tea-party ; and , in conclusion , he would beg to state tbat the rules were founded on these principles which every mechanic held in secret , if not in pnblic—tbe principlesr-ontained in the Charter tCheerso The resolution was put and carried . The meeting , after a vote of thinks to the Chairman , then separated .

      THK Beaziers and Coppeesjiiths . — We have received another address which has been issued by these trades , and which we have not room to insart ; in it they return thanks for the subscriptions already received ., but implore for further and more- ( fficlent aid —ihe sums which have hitherto been subscribed not being near sufficient to mefet the peculiar exigencies of their case . Repeal Meeii ;> g . —A glorious Repeal meeting took place on Sunday evening , at Mr . Thomas Rjche ' Maze , Tooley-street , Borough . Several excellent speeches were delivered by Messrs . iiurphy , Crowly , Keen , and others . Upwards of forty good men and woru ? n became fel' . ow-iabonrers in this god-like work . It is a fact that 350 men , W 6 men and children , have paid their subscriptions of one shilling within a few weeks , thereby showing their attachment to their God and their country ' s good .

      The Northern Star. Saturday. August 21, 1841.

      THE NORTHERN STAR . SATURDAY . AUGUST 21 , 1841 .

      Untitled Article

      " The Chap . tists have provhd themselves mobe accurate caj-culatoits than thk middle classes , whetheb their soitrum "would have mended matteiss is > ot now the question ; but the kesult has shewn- that they were correct is thejr opinion—that is ihe present state ot the representation , it was vain to thl-vk of a repeal of the cor-v mg-vopolt . ******* Political poweh i . v this country , though it resides is a comparatively small class , can only be exercised bv the sufferance of the masses . "Morning Chronicle Corcan of the Whig Minister /) , Friday , Jwy 1 C / A , 18-11 .

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      THE SACRED DAY . At a recent Whig feed , devoured at Warrington , in honour of a defeated Whig candidate , Mr . " Stevenson-square" Cobden , in one of those exuberant pieces of rant by which he has made himself quite remarkable , said among other extravagancies , that there should be a day devoted to popular exhibitions in favour of u Repeal of the Corn Laws ) and that the said day should be called the " Sacred Holiday . " Now , to that wo say " good , very good "; but Mr . Cobden may rest assured that the " Sacred Holidav" shall be devoted to some

      better purpose than the mere echoing of Whig clap-trap by an insulted people . We quite agree in the principle . We objected to the last , because a month's starvation was too long a period ; but we agree to tho one day : and , therefore , let every Chartist in the laud be prepared for the sacred day ! and let it bo a day sacred to Chartism , and not to a transfer of monopoly from tyrant landlords to tyrant masters and speculators in grain ! but , above all , let every Chartist , who attends at such meetings , go p repared . to 3 ieet both mr . cobden and his God !! !

      The treachery of this gentleman , manifested at the receut Stevenson-square meeting , re n ders suc h a precaution absolutely necessary ; and having said so much upon the " sacred holiday" let us now direct the attention of our readers , for one moment , to the great advantages which they are promised , even by the best of friends , from t he contemplated changes to bo produced by the great commercial reforms . And first oi the promised blessings , we find " plenty of work , " as if the people who are uow fortunate enough to be allowed to exist , have not more than a belly full of that commodity every day

      iu the week ! Wo have mill upon mill standing still , while thousands upon thousands are obliged to starve ; and contemporaneously we have Lord Ashley , asking that children shall only be allowed to work and eat , and walk to their food , which is not the least of their toil , during twelve hours of the day ! In the midst of all this exuberant humanity of Whig feeders and Tory relievers , we would just ask , is there another nation upon earth where a people vrould be satisfied with no greater privilege and no more comfort than that which proceeds from " plenty to do V

      Are Englishmen , now deprived of tho free air , with their every amusement cut off by law , their rights abridged year after year to have their tyrauts for enforcing obedience to restrictions increased at the people ' s expence 1 Are Englishmen , against whose very lives and liberties all who live upon their industry have conspired , to lose sight of all advancement in the nineteenth century , in the midst of tho marc h of intellect ; and are they still to give twelve hours " artificial , " loathsome , slavish toil that they may insure enough of bread !

      Are Englishmen to be so dead to their own interests as to work the cold jennies by their incessant labour for the live long day , while the slave owners amass millions and live in luxury , and the siaveg but allowed " the crumbs from the rich man ' s table V Are they to make £ 200 profit a-head per annum for their masters , and is their share to be but " A PLENTY TO DO J " Has au Englishman no rights to seek , no object to achieve , beyoad the mere means of a slavish existence J

      Is he not auxious to hold pace with the intellectual improvements going on in oil the nations of the earth , and to gain time from labour to place himself npon an intellectual equality with his neighbours !

      The O'Coninor Liberation Medal.

      THE O'CONiNOR LIBERATION MEDAL .

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      4 THE NORTHERN STAB .

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Aug. 21, 1841, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1123/page/4/