Current:

Northern Star (1837-1852), 11th June 1842, Edition 1 of 5, Page 4, Untitled Article

Page 4
Page 4
4 of 8

On this page

  • Departments (3)
    • s : %qc& antr Otencral SnteUtcpiKe.
    • THE NORTHERN STAR. SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 1842.
    • 3Ta Mt&Uev& mtf Ctrrej*portttcntsfi
  • Text (9)
  • 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.

      S : %Qc& Antr Otencral Snteutcpike.

      s : % qc& antr Otencral SnteUtcpiKe .

      Untitled Article

      . MANCHESTES . —Oa Wednesday evening , about sine o'doek , a child was killed under the following circumstances : —Ayonng lad was comiBg up Butl-Jt-street with a cars load of coals , upon which heiid * jonnger brother riding , a child of foor or jive years of age . Thechild fell asleep , asd ua&rtunfttely fell off the cart ; and before the horse could be stopped , the wheel of the cart passed over his head , and killed him upon the Bpot . FxsB- —On Wednesday morning , the large factory at Pin Mill Brow , the property of Mr . Thompson , was dieeovered to be on fire ; and notwithstanding the exertions of the fire brigade and the police , the building was buried to the ground . It is supposed that this misfortune will throw nearly 400 persons out of employment .

      BEJLDFOBD . —Hxmbubgh v . the Stabtikg Operatives op Bbadfobd . —During ' the last fortnight , nearly £ 2 , 000 has been sent to Hamburgh from Bradford , to relieve those who have been Blade de titnte by the late lamentable fire . There axe hundreds in the Boroush of Bradford , who are a 3 destitute of food and cloihing as any of those whose all have been thus destroyed , yet net a single pound has b&en subscribed to relieve the wants of those who have , by thtrir industry , been the instruments of creating so much wealth for the rich and the great , to riot in luxury and extravagance .

      Infamous CoxDrci of a Whi g Millccrat . —On Weciresday week , a case was brought before the magistrates , at the Court House , in Bradford , which shows the demoralizing , filthy , and disgnsting practices of certain "liberal" miliocrais . ' £ te case was that of an assault which was alleged to hare been committed by William and Jabez Atkinson upon their sister Margaret . Mr . Charles Itees , solicitor , appeared to conduct the case of the complainant , who stated that the defendants had Xone to Mr . Isaac Shackleton ' 8 mill , in Thornton Bo&d , and seized their Eister by the arms , and dragged her out of the room . Sarah Normington ,

      who also works for Shackleton , was called to corroborate the statement . Upon the two brothers being called npon for their defence , William , the elder , delivered an address to the bench which was listened to with the deepest attention by the whole court , the purport of which is as follows : — " I need not inform yoor Worships that the complainant is my sister . She was left an orphan at the age of thirteen years ; she was the youngest in the family , and at the death of our parents I took her under my care and protection , and not being able to maintain her myself , I sent her to the factory , where Isaac Shackleton was then an overlooker . He had two

      daughters , one of whom became the intimate companion of my sister , and used frequently to Tisit her at my house . After a while my sister , through much persuasion , was induced to ask to leave my house and go to live with Shackleton-, -to this I felt strongly opposed , but being assured by Shackleton that he wculd bshave well to her and treat her a 3 one of the family , I reluctantly consented , and consequently she treat . In course of time Shackleton's eondsct towards my sister was such as to canse jealousy to arise in the breast of his wife , and my sister left his hcuse and took lodgings , but still continual to work under him , and in a short time she was furnished with mean 3 to take a house and furnish it . She acKnowledged to me thai Shackleton

      had given her the money . Thehonse sha tool was inGoodmausend , anc to this house Shackleton was frequently seen to go at a time when he ought to have been in bed at home . When my sister was questioned by any of the neighbours a ? to who he was , she always said he was her brother . "The ? e visits were kepi us til last week , when aptrson happened to be in that neighbourhood , who knew hiin to be her mister ( Shackleton being now in business for himself as a spinner ) . After he had locked himself inside , several women went to inform Shackleton ' s wife , who came and in the presence of % crowd of people , forced open the door with a poker , and he was obliged to come away amidst jhe Lootings and groans of the crowd , ODe of whom in

      aiming a blow at his head , knocked off his hat , and he was obliged to get off as be ± t he could without it . Information of these proceedings having been communicated to me aad my brother , by Mr . Slack minister of ih& Assosiatjon chapel ,-we went to the spot in order to be satisfied of the truth cf the report , and after hearing the statements cf many eye-witnesses , we returned home overwhelmed with grief , and i ; r . ! sediaiely went to Shackielon ' s mill , where my sister was still working , and asked her quietly to cwne to my house , and I would again take her under my protection . We told her of the importance of a good character , and showed her the dangerous situation in which she was placed , promisin ? to overlook all that had passed if she would

      leave Shaekleton ' s employ . Although these , entreaties ttets made with tears , yet they produced" eo effect . Sae refused to leaver and consequently 1 asdiny brother-agreed to take her out of the mill by fdree . We took her to my house ;; bus she has gome again to Shacklfiton , and I am told that he ha ^ grrec her money to take ont the warrant by which ¦ we are- brought here , sad to engage' an attorney , Jt ' ow , your worships , my sister is . only eighteen years old , and before she went to Shackleton she was as mode ? tas any girl in Bradford , and was a professor of religion . She always had good advice and a good example ; but now she is a wicked , impudent young

      woman , and does not blush to use language unfit for me to repeat here . I do not blame her so much as I do Shackleton , who is a married man between forty and fifty year 3 of age , and I am told that his conduct towards her has been suspicious for the last twelve months . " The bench , afier hearing this address , concurred in the opinion that the young mea had only done Jtheir duty to their sister , and she was admonished to go home with her brothers , and endeavour to redeem her now lost character . Instead of taking this advice , she persisted in her attachment to Shackleton in open court , stating that he had been her best friend .

      The Lesds Ihpbovkme . 'tt Coannssio . fEas , asd THETIS CXLAWFCL £ XP £ > DirUB £ OF THE PsOPLk ' s Mossy . —Is will be in the recollection of our readers , that a Vestry meeting of such of the inhabitants of Leeds as are made chargeable wi . h- or towards the rates or assessments authorised to be raised by the Leeds Improvement Act , was convened inthemonth of March last . for thepnrpose of auditing and passingiheacoountsof the Improvement C / onirais sioners . When the accounts were laid before . the Vestry , one uem of £ 64 9-. lid ., was objected to , on the ground that it was an illegal appropriation of the rates , it having be ^ n spe nt , not in cleansing , lighting , or improving the streets and town of Leeo > , but in ths personal jatots of some of the

      Commissioners to London and Derby ! Eventually the sum waa disallowed by the Vestry , and the present Board of Commissioners instructed to take the needful steps to recover back from the . parties who hid so grossly betrayed their trua ^ j the money they had unlawfully expended : and the oseihyj adjourned to that day two months , to receive' a report from iha Commissioners , as to what ihey hau done in the matter . At the appointed time , the Vestry again assembled ; and . aa the Laiv CIc-rk to the Commissioners reported tnar no steps had been teken to csttj iiita effect the instructions of the Vestry , another resolution , asain cailiQg- . the attention of the Commissioners ' to the matter waj passed ; and the Vestry again adjourned to Mondaj

      evening next , June 13 ; h , to be then holden in the Cour : House , at seven o ' clock ia the evening . The course pursued by the Commissioners towards the Vestry in this matter , has been insulting and disgr&c-tfui in the extreme . When the subject was regularly brought before them , at their next meeting , after the disallowing of the illegal payment , the consideration of the question was defsrr&d " till the next . general meeting . " When the nest general meeting cams round , it was again deferred ; aud so on , continually : the object of Eome of iha Commissioners apparently being to prevent a vote on the subject from being taken . At the last general meeting of the Commissioners , holden on Saturday last , the matter woa'd have been

      allowed to pass over entirely without noiice , had not one of the body dragged it upon the carpet . At thattime there was just a quorum of Commissioners present . While a resolution was being penned to submit to the meeting , one of the five present ( by the-way , one of the old Board who spent the money ; » nd indeed one who "figured" at London at the ratepayers' expence !) was in the act of leavir > g the room , when his attention wasdirected to the fact that ifhedidso , bu 3 inesswouldbeatanend , andth ' 3 t though such a ruse might get rid of a difficult and distasteful question , it was but a serebby . way . oi dealing with those ¦ who had placed them in offi . ee to guard their interests and execute their commands . After openly avowing that his object was to thwart

      the Vestry—whom he described as being unwortny of the least notice—( though they elected Mm to a post which enabled him to put hi 3 fingers in the public purse , and go to London not at his ows cost !) he left the room , and thus , for a time stifled the question ! Upon this , a special meeting of the Commissioners was convened for Thursday Ia 3 t , at three o ' clock . It is usual at nearly all the meetings of the Commissioners for the chair not to be taken till Borne half honr after the time fixed , to give an opportunity for those likely to come to assemble before the commencement of business . ¦ In this instance the party who expended the

      aoney mustered in pretty good number , elected a ihabrnian , moved , seconded , and carried are solution . postponing the consideration of the resolutions of the Vestry to that day six monvhs . within-a very few minutes of three o'clock i When the rest of the Conunifieionars were wending their way to the meeting , to nphold the rights of the rate-payers , they met Jhe © theirs Tefcorniflg tft their homes , and had the gratification to hear thai aU was over I Aro thds HATE THOSE WHO SEEK ! THE KOSSY played Vf itfa ths Vestfj- ' . nJO-Vestry nesting is to be holdea again -wi M&idsT efeninf Bexf , in the Court HiBse , at Sereo o'cloclrrfl the erening ; perhaps it will tell those who hare fte poWie icotsj in tkei ? pocket-

      Untitled Article

      what it thinks cf them , and of their attempts to foil the rate-payers in getting it back again . The matter cannot be allowed to rest where it is . " It is bad getting butter ont of a dog ' 3 throat ; " and it is equally , bad to make a publis-fund leech disgorge ; but the attempt must be tried . Let the raie-payera see to it .

      Untitled Article

      SirrciDB of Lord Co ^ gleton . —Ikqdbst on thb body . —On Wednesday morning , between nine and ten o ' clock , Lord Congleton committed a most determined act of suicide by hanging himself with a pocket handkerchief , at his residence in Cadoganplace , Chelsea . —On Thursday afternoon an inquest was held on the body before Mr . Wakley and a respectable jury , when a verdict of " temporary insanity ' s was returned . Various rumours are assigned for the rash act .

      Untitled Article

      CHKDDINGTON . —Bpcks . —Mr . E . Stallwood from London , having accepted the invitation of some of the friends here , attended and lectured to a numerous audience on the village green , on Tuesday , at seven o ' clock . Notwithstanding the threats of the farmers of " sacking" any one that should attend , a number of well dressed females graced the meeting with their presence . At a quarter-past seven , Mr . Stall wood commenced his address on the principles of the Charter , alternately producing applause and bursts of laughter , and continued in a fervent and impassioned strain of eloquence , highly

      gratifying to the astonished villagers , who for the first time listened to a Chartist lecturer . Many of the fair sex had the straw plait in their hands ( the staple trade of this part of Bucks . ) Mr . S . ' s address lasted upwards of an hour and a half . At the conclusion , a vote approbatory of ths principles was unanimously passed , and Mr . S . was pressingly solicited to pay them another visit , with which request he complied . Onr principles are now fairly introduced into Buckinghamshire , and with exertion and perseverance , the voice of Chartism will resound from end to end of our Torv-ridden county .

      Untitled Article

      THE EDITOR OF THE "NORTHERN STAR TO HIS READERS . Mr Tsjesbs , —I step , for once , out of the ordinary course of things—from behind the curtain of Editorial seclusion—to speak familiarly and freely to you , in my own proper person , upon subjects of vast import to your own interest ? , and those of our common country .

      I seek not to " dictate" nor to " denounoe , " but , as one of yourselves , I claim the right of speech on what may affect our common interests ; as one whose peculiar position and circumstances have given him thebenefit of more experience and better opportunities for observation of the many subterfuges , the deep cunning , and the reckless wickedness of faction than most of you , I may advise upon the course of action which , in my judgment , given circumstances cause to be right and necessary , or wrong and inexpedient ; and I ask not for my opinions and advice thus

      tendered any greater amount of deference or respectful consideration than is due to them on their own merits . I seek not " to earn a reputation , " but to b 9 useful . I have spent in active exertions for our common good , according to the best knowledge I possess , nearly a full half of the whole term of my natural existence . I have been a public man well known to macy of you for many years before the rising of the Star ; I have siuce that time held the most serious and important station of any in our whole movement ; you have to some extent evinced

      your sense and judgment of the manner in which I have there acquitted myself by making the A or < forn Stary ender my government , what a national organ of democracy should be , —a terror to enemies of right , whether avowed or concealed , and a rallying point of nnion for yourselves . For so much of your favourable estimation as I have thus received I feel grateful ; regarding it not as a boon of grace and favour , bDt as the due appreciation of exertions

      which were seen to have been honeat and consistent , however feeble or impotent they may have been . I ask only from yon that my advice acd counsel may have dispassionate and calm attention ; that you will read and weigh it carefully ; remembering that it comes from one wLora you know to have served you faithfully and fearlessly , and whom the bitterest tongue of caJumny has never yet charged with political delinquency .

      The matter to which I think it necessary to call your serious attention , in the first instance , is the condition of the country and the position of the ChartiEt cause . The condition of the country is , at this present time such as it never was before ; at all events , in my time . The fearful fruits of the fell Upas Tree , Class Legislation , are being gathered in an awfal harvest-Ruin ranges over the entire surface of the land ; famine fellows in its foot-steps j and death , the consequence of destitution , clears out many a cottage Under such circumstance it is net surprising that the wasting life should lose its patience , and that

      hungry bellies should incite angry speeches and threatenings of vengeance . I can readily conceive the mockery of preaching patience and forbearance to a starring man . 1 can readiJy conoeiro the loathing of contempt , if not of rage , with which the smirking , smooth , wait-a-while doctrines of the . man whose " cake is buttered" must fall upon th 9 ear of him who sees his children perishing before him and has no means of helping them . Yet even to these , in their worst state of excitement and distress , I would address the language of friendly remonstrance , of kindly entreaty and of brotherl y affection . I would bid them to

      remember that thsy know the cause whence all their sufferings flow—they know the means whereby alone a remedy may be afforded ; and I would entreat them by the very sense of woe and suifering —by their love of life , of honour , of children and cf country , and cur cause , not to rrtsh into the lion ' s moa : h of despotism ; not to throw back for an indefinite period , the chance of that amelioration which the growing greatness of our cause brings every dayi and after every prudent tffort , nearer to us ; but which one false , fatal , step may do much to render unattainable for many years .

      1 entreat , especially , the Chartist body to be careful , that while they preclude the possibility of any desperate acts , to which starvation and oppression may drivo men , in some localities , from being fixed , by the injurious casuistry of faction , upon them , they to this end be careful to repress the unwise rage for declamation , vrhieh ia but too apt to amuse itself by raising a storm , before which those who have striven to produce it we usually the first to flinch and seek a hiding-place . I think it is especially necessary to give this oautien to you now ;

      because I learn that , in Borne portions of the country , big talkers are abroad , and that in other parts , active marks of discontent axe manifested ; not to be wondered at certainly , bnt much to be deplored . This is a state of things the factions are delighted with ; they have striven hard to produce it ; they will try every means for * nursing" it , until it shall have served the purpose of more firmly rivetting the chains of slavery , which they thus make their victims to forge for themselves . The free traders , the Corn Law Repeal crew , the merciful middle-class converts to half Chartism at half-past

      the eleventh hour , have been long setkiasj so to work up « o . the passions of the suffering people as to " cause thffl § - to forget their prudence and to risk \ collision with the trained bands of power . Their incendiary plaoarda , pamphlets , and lecturers have been scattered through the country ; wherever suffering was most severe , the " pedlars" have been busy with their knives ; every effort has been made to ^ lacerate the feelings and to introduce the foul virus ' of physioal resistance through the wounds . Hitherto ' they have failed ; yon have laughed alike at their ^ hypocrisy and mslice until now ; let them not now i raise over you the fiendish laugh of exultation !

      Let us for Heaven ' s sake have no more Newport , : Sheffield , and Bradford exhibitions ; no more Shells , Fhosts , Claytons , and Peddies , to be victimized , without service to the cause . In last week's Northern Star , you had the report , sent here by some ' person , of % camp meeting at Clithero , held on j Sunday , at which laagiiage h £ < J been holden of a

      Untitled Article

      character most daagerous to the caua& and most .. discreditable to the speakers , some of whom at least are men from whom better things might hare been expected . See the use that is made of this meeting by the factious press . The following is the brief notice of it given by the Manchester Guardian ^ M Chartist Cam p Meetings . —On Sunday last , there was another very large meeting held on Enfield Moor , near Blackburn , to consider the

      next steps to betaken , in order to obtain the People ' s Charter . Many personB present are said to have had nre-arniB . A person named Marsden , from Bolton , one named Tattersall , aad others , addressed the people in extremely violent language . Marsden declared ( hat they all meant to obtain arms , march up to Buckingham Palace ^ and demand the Charter , If the Queen granted it , well ; but if not , they would fcrvoto how to use their arms ; and he

      HOPED EVEBT MAN WOULD GET BZADV BY THEIB next meeting . TATTERSALL WAS EVEN MORE VIOLENT THAN THE ABOVE . Now , friends , I do not quote this as taking the statements of the Guardian for gospel , but to show you the necessity of taking care that those who , at a juncture like the present , are admitted to the position of leaders and guides among you ; made public speakers , and thus enabled , if unchecked , to compromise your whole body by their folly , Bhould be men of prudence and discretion , as well as men who hare a sincere attachment to our principles , and who are able to make a-speech .: ' As I last week counselled you , so I now implore you ,

      cast from you the big talkers , or cause them to become sensible that you are not reckless fools , if they be . I do not know that this language was used by Maksden , or that Tattbbsall was " even more violent than this ;' ¦ ' I know only that the Manchester Guardian says so , and that the honest Chartist who Bent the report of the meeting to last week ' s Star , says also that much violent language was used , and that many speeches were made and heard , which would have been much better repressed , and which he therefore very properly suppressed in his report .

      Let not , therefore , Messrs . Marsden and Tattersall , consider themselves " denounced" by these representations . They best know whether the Guardian has belied them . I hope it has . But in any case I use the allegations of the Guardian , not as adopting'them for the purpose of " denouncing " these individual men , but in illustration and support of the general position that all such foolish and mischievous vagaries should be discountenanced and promptly put an end to by tha people . As a further illustration of the mischief of such conduct , see the use the Guardian makes of it in its very next words : —

      "On the same day ther * was also a camp held near Failsworth ; about 1 , 500 persons attended . Leach , and another man from Manchester , with several persons from Oldham , addressed the audience ; but the language was mild compared with fat of the speakers near Blackburn ; some of the speakers contended that they had as good a right to hold political camp meetings on a Sunday as other parties had to hold religious meetings . " Now , I know , and you all knowj enough of Leach to feel satisfied that wherever he was thera would be no such folly ; yet the insinuation of the Guardian is that the language of this meeting , though not quite so violent as the other was still most violent and

      unbearable . It was " mild compared with that of the speakers near Blackburn . " Thus are we all liable to be compromised , and our cause endangered by the freaks of every mad fool whom the people permit to amuse them with " ihetale of an idiot , full of sound and fury , " instead of Beeking to bend their sober , earnest , and unremitting efforts , to the establishment of our principles where they are not known , and the enforcement of them ou the rational attention of all .

      From letters and rumours which have reached me , I hare thought it necessary thns gravely and seriously to point to your attention the precipice , which , if you approach it , will inevitably destroy you . I am but one man . I have but oae voice . But whilst I have power to lift that voice , or the means of at all communicating with my fellow-men , I never will see them sacrificed without warning . I will , so far as my admonitions may be heeded , guard them alike , to the best of my judgment , from the dangers which might arise from an excess of zeal , an excess of apathy , or an

      ill-directed movement on their own part , as well as from the open attacks of faction , or the more disguised and insidious ones of those among their own ranks , who geek personal distinction at tho hazard of the public safety . Again , then , I implore you , do not sacrifice yourselves , end sell the cause , by any mad freak of violence or indiscreet use of language , such as that intimated to have been used mar Blackburn . You will , of course , do as you " please but let the issue be as it may be , I shall knoirt-hat I have done my duty in thus faithfully admonishing aud emphatically warning you .

      And now for a word on another subject . With tho lessons of experience , and of the most ordinary common sense before you , it would be an iusult to attempt a demonstration that our objoct , the ostablishmcnt of civiRfiberty and honest policy , can be effected by violence . Peacefulness and unanimity is that alone by which we can hope to succeed . By unanimity , I do not mean that we should ail think perfectly alike on every subject , or indeed on any subject , for that is a moral impossibility ; but that we should be disposed heartily and seriously to lend our united energies towards the great poiutof carrying the Charter ; that to this all other matters should

      be made subservient , and that for this purpose we should , in tho excellent words of the address of the Executive , given in this day ' s Star , " cultivate the best feelings of democratic friendship . " Our political Association should be a United Brotherhood , among whom , quarrels , dissensions , strife , ' or malice , should be unknown . In their conduct , tho most strict sobriety should be observed , and it ought to be the most pleasing duty of Chartists to aid each other in distress , to rally round and protect each other from persecution and injury , and an insult or wrong inflicted on one , should be regarded aa a deep injustice to all .

      u To their advocates , those who are foremost in danger , and whose patriotic exertions are the mainstay of the movement ; the people should extend the be 3 t feelings of favour and affection , and at all times Chartists should be slow to condemn men whose lives have been devoted to the cause , and who have given in many g&od and virtuous actions , patriotic and positive proofs of their political integrity . "

      i I never read words with which I more hearJily i concurred than I do with every one of these . I [ lay before you the whole tenoar of my public life , more especially since I became Editor of the Northern Star ; and I challenge any of you to point ! ont any instance in which this has not been my I practice ; doing me the justice only to view things I in whole and not to separate a single ex' presfion or transaction from the circumstances to which it immediately relatid , and with which it was > of necessity connected . I seek only , without assuming any undue importance to myself , that the

      like conduct should be manifested towards mo . Tho Executive truly state it to be the duty of the people to " protect all their advocates from persecution , misrepresentation , and wrong . " I fully accede to the truth of this position ; and as it is'laid down with the purpose of claiming the protection of the people against me , I shall so far retort it ae to presume upon my right to rank amongst those who have to the best of their judgment and ability , advoeated" the people ' s cause . I seek not protection against persecution , for I am able

      to protect myself ; and the only protection against misrepresentation aud wrong , that I require is that the people will look at tho whole facts of the case stated in complaint , and give upon these facts their honest judgment . Thai , as a public servaut , I have a right to demand at their hands ; aud that I do demand . I demand that they should look at the whole oirenmstances of my position ; that they should consider fairly the treatment I have received , and the spirit I have evinced , and then teli me honestly and like men whether they thiuk I have

      Untitled Article

      done my duty , or have deserved the abuse which has reoehtly been heaped upon me . I ask them , 1 siy , to look at the whole facts of the case . The Executivo complain and say that they " allude with considerable pain to the hostility which the Editor of the Northern Star has shown to one bif their members . " Now this obliges me again , and for the last time , to adduce the whole facts of this matter . That member of the Executive and Mr . O'Bbibn are the only two men who during » i tety long public life have succeeded in fastening upon me a public quarrel ^ t ^ ' / m oQ :-: ' 'Ar-. like / princi ^ lds ' 'to :.. m 7 . * - ' . ' owa ^ And how has thiB been done ! I have a right now to

      demand that the people should look at the whole case . The Executive admit that they are " fairly open to fair criticism " -4 hat their " public docnments , recommendations , and actions are fair game for public approval , discussion , or condemnation ;" while at the same time they complain of the hostility which the Editor ^ of the Northern Star ha 3 shewn to one of their members . Now when and where did this hostility begin f and how has it been manifested 1 The Executive ought to have stated ibjs ; they do not state it ; and , therefore , I must . Up to the 12 th of last March , I had seen nothing in the public documents , recsmmendations , or actions of the

      Executive , either as a public body , or in their separate and individual capacity , which , in my judgment , waa likely to do anything for the damage or retarding of our cause . Whatever " criticism , " therefore , had been exercised by me , had been , up to that period , commendatory . I received , during that week , reports of the Bath conferences , at which one member of the Executive had taken a position which I believed , and do still believe , to be an unwise position ^ -a position calculated to do damage to the cause ; and

      believing this , I said so . I said it , not in such language as that member of the Executive has used towards me ; bat in mild and respectful terms , in terms which no man can say were not those of fair criticism . Surely it will not be contended that the conduot of the parties to the Bath conferences was not a fair subject for the expression of opinion ; and surely it will not be contended , that what I said upon it was any thing more than the expression of opinion , and that , too , in very modest terms . Here is every word which r did say : —•

      "We ; refer with great pain to the proceedings of the Conference at Bath , between the Sturge Declaration men and some leading Chartists of that city . : . We respeot Vincent for his sseal , his talent , and his suffering in tho cause , as highly as we respect any man ; we believe him to be thoroughly honest and woll-intentioned , but we cannot bat regret the position he has taken in this business . Still more do we regret to see joined with him Mr . Philp . a member of the

      People ' s Exeoutivei Doubtless these gentlemen give the new converts to Completei Suffrage credit for a large amount Of honesty and sincerity . We cannot Ao bo ; and we fear , if the people should be led into any general countenance of the steps taken by these gentlemen , that the error will not be found to be less fatal for having been an amiable one . Once more we tell the people they must keep right on , swerving neither to the right hand nor to the left , or they will be * used , 'left , and laughed at . "

      Here , in this little extract , is the whole root and foundation of all the raving that we have had ever since about" diotation" ! and denunciation" ! The next week , resolutions of the . people strongly condemning that member of the Executive , and calling upon him to resign his seat forthwith , were poured in from almost all quarters . I gave one of them as a sample , and kept out all the rest ; merely naming the places from which I had received them . I then , in returning to a consideration of the subject , made these remarks :

      We repeat , as we Baid last week , that we respect these men for the talent and the zeal they have hitherto manifested in the people ' s cause : ; we re ? pect : some of them for the sufferings they have endured ib the cause ; but we cannot in this case compliment i heir judgineat . We doubt not that they err from the excess of their anxiety to seize every opportunity of making converts to the Charter , and from their readiness to estimate the motives of others by their own ; and eo U > give the middle-class Sturge men full credit for sincerity in their profession of Universal Suffrage principles : they suppose them to be sincere in wishing for Universal Suffrage , and that , therefore , lhey can easily persuade them into the adoption ofthe other points of the Charter . We

      think them much mistaken ; and we still opine that their error will not bo found much less fatal for being amiable . We feel some little difficulty in finding out the plane upon which the amiable principles of our friends operate . We are at a loss to know how they discoyer , in this . 'Declaration ' - any distinct and unequivocal recognition of the princi p le of Universal Suffrage ; and if that recognition were even palpable , we are astonished that i-uey , some of whom have suffered so much from middle-class treachery to principle heretofore , can hayo bo simple a dependency on their adherence to principle now . We find iu Mr . Philp ' s speech , at the Conference , as reported by himself , the following sentiment : —

      "' But suppose the worst—that the middle-classes were not honest ;—that they signed this declaration aa a false pretence ' . j—could they ever again sit in jury boxes and convict us as traitors and conspirators tor contending for that principle which they themselves had declared in black and white to be the right of the people ?' " Now , surely , Mr . Philp must have forgotten , in the goodness of his heart , the experiejace of all the last five years . Who have been the most forward in the Jury boxes , and on thehenchv to convict and sen ^ tence Chartists ? Have they not been the very parties who have , over and over again , in the Reform Bill agitation , testified to , and contended for , the very samo principle—tho principle that representation should be co-extensive with taxation . "

      Now , I ask of every reader of the Northern Star , to read these two paragraphs , quoted from the Star of the 12 t , h and the 19 : ii of March , and say whether they contain anything wore than fair criticismwhether they contain a single word at which any man ought to be offended—whether there is anything ia them of " abuse " --ansthing of "declamation "—anything of " dictatorship "—anything of " assailing the characters of others to elevate " myself by their downfall " 1 Yet these were the paragraphs which constituted my " hostility" . ' to

      Mr , Philp , and to which that gentleman replied in his next Vindicator by a long tissue of declamation about the " dictatorship of the Editor of the Northern Star" by declaring for " independence of thought and of action" ! The whole paragraph was given in last week ' s Slary and may be referred to again . But I beg that , even now , my readers will read all that I said about this gentleman , ( I have given it every word above , ) and then read with it the following sentenoes from Mr . Phiw ' s reply , and say , ( if it was worth my while to complain , ) who Bhould be the man to call out for M fair

      criticism . " - . ' .. ' - " But there are some mixed up with Chartism , to its prejudice and injury , big in Bblf-esteem ; who , having imperfectly ltarnod the alphabet of politics , presume to speak its language . Such ^^ men are but drajja upon the wheel of human progression ; their adoration is of bkn , not of principles ; their disceurHes ABUSE AND DECLAMATION , not ARGUMENT . They seek to cam a reputation ' and not having the ability to gain a People ' s esteem for tnem&elves , they assail the characters of others , that they may ba elevated by their downfall . * ' ** 1 Jab \> ur zoaloufly to advance the cause , of Chartism . 6 « 7 / am not to be turned from my path by every mushroom thai starts up inmyteay . " * *

      u Let me not be viewed through the darkened medium of other men's thick heads and black hearis " ^ I have not even added to this the italics and capital letters ; they arc all Mr . Philp ' s own , just as he printed them in the Vindicator . ThiB , and tho aitiele of last week , is all the editorial notice I have ever taken of this gent'eman . To that artiole I now refer my readers ; it is too long to be given over again , but I beg that , in justice to me , it may be read over again ; that along with it Mr ^ Philp ' s letter may be read , aud see whether the letter does not justify the article , and whether after all these things are fairly looked atj the Executive have any right , admitting their own acts to be fit subjects for " fair critcism , '' to Sad fault with my '' hoatility towards one of their body . "

      Now for tho other matter of " denunciation" and " liosvility . " Ou the second of April , the . Birmingham Conference began , and on the following Saturday I announced my intehtioa of waiting for the official report of its proceedings upon whion to found my oomm * atary , I received that official

      Untitled Article

      report the week following , and on it I founded an article , which stands in the Star of the 16 th of that month . I found from the report that Mr . O'Brien had been somewhat prominent in the Conferernce ; things were set down for him which I thought unwise aad inconsistent in Mr . Q'Brien . I was very careful in every place where I quoted any thing from the report about Mr . O'Bbien , to give everything about him—every word set down for him . In no case did I alter V word , 'in m case did I leave out a word of any speech of Mr . P'Beibn ' s in that report upon which I commented . I did

      not in any one case take simply the words that I objected to , but in every : instance gave the whole speech as it appeared in the report . ( And after all the bluster abont that report being an incorrect ohe , I have since seen a pamphlet containing the official report of that Conference , and which report I have reason Jo know had- been sent to Mr . O'Brien with a request that he would make any alterations or corrections he might deem necessary , in his own speeches . It was verbatim with the one upon which my article was founded !) The proceedings of this conference were most important to our cause . I had a strong opinion

      upon them , as I have upon the whole Stubge movement ; Having that opinion , I should have been dishonest in the extreme to withhold it from you . I should have deserved your execration , if I had seen you led into what I believed to be a trap deliberately laidfor you , without telling you my thoughts about it . I did bo ; and in doing it I found my 3 elf icompelled to disagree with the opinions and policy of Mr . O'Brien . I expressed that disagreement in the most guarded and respectful terms—terms which I imagined could not be construed as offensive by any man . Here is what I said on the matter :-

      —" The Conference has been held ; and though Mr . O'Brien is Teprosented as having expressed . Jbimself highly delighted with its proceedings , and as having said that " when he entered that Conference he expected to meet with men who would admit their principle in wholesale , and fritter it away in detail ; but bis Buspicions had proved groundless —( oheers ) . He had > never been in any society—composed even exclusively of working men—in whioh he had found the democratic spirit more thoroughly developed '—a careful reading of the whole report compels us ,

      notwithstanding our deference to Mr . O Brien ' e judgment , to adhere still to that which wo had previously formed of this whole movement ; and to regard the very circumstances to which we have no doubt Mr . O'B . referred , as theground of his satisfaction , as so much additional evidence that the whole thing is a device of the enemy , and that inbincerity is stamped upon its every feature . We repeat that we are able to discover in the whole movement , of which this Conference is the most prominent and distinguishing feature , and in the conclusions and resolutions come to by the Conference itself , no purpose save one , —

      which is the exact converse of the one avowed ; no evidence but that of deeply-concealed hostility and well-covered treaohery , to the great cause of demooratio rule , for the success of which so much appearance of anxiety is manifested . We Of course intend not that these strictures shall apply personally to each , or any , member of the oonferencei That there were there those to whom they aremost strictly applicable , and who will feel their truth , we verily believe ; and that there were there those who , like O'Bbien and Others recognised as Chartist leaders , " hoped all things" out of fervent charity , and were therefore indisposed ° . .

      " To pry too nicely ' neath a Bpecioiis seeming , " we can have no doubt . " . ' .--. . I then proceeded to examine into the acts and sayings of the Conference , aa given in the report before me , and concluded my survey of those acts and sayings with the following paragraph : — - " What then is the conclusionforced upon the mind by all these proceedings taken as a Whole ! The avowed object of these inen is the uniting of the whole energies of the whole people , arid particularly

      the uniting of the middle and working classes ; and they prosecute this object by , a means which can have no other effect than that of breaking up , as far as it may be snecessful , the union of the workingg classes already established . This may be BufBcient to prove to Mr . O'Brien that his Buepicions of the Sturgeite ' s were groundless ; we acknowledge , however much we may regret to dissent from his opinion , that upon our mind it has Worked a conclusion exaotly the reverse of this . "

      Here , then , yon have , the whole sum , substanco , and amount , of my '' denunciation '' of Messrs ., Philp and O'Brien , about which thoBO two men have been permitted , ever since , 16 keep the whole country in a ferment ; for which , from tfiem and their friends , every epithet of opprobrium the language can afford has been unsparingly applied to me in all sorts of ways : — " liar , '" wilful liar /' " villain , " " assassin , ^ "hypocrite , " " slanderer , " * trickster , " and a string of such like epithets as long as would fill a column of

      this paper , might I believe be picked but ofthe ravings of these parties and their friends on account of the " denunciation" (!) contained in the paragraphs whioh I have here laid fairly before you . And to crown all , the Executive now think it necessaryj in their valedictory address , to join , the crusade against the ' * denunciations " and " unfair criticisms '' of the Northern Star , and to claim the protection of the people for Mr . Philp as one of their body . It does not aeem to occur to the Executive that the " denunciation" of Mr .

      Philp , in the last week ' s < S / ar , was a necessary consequence of hia own conduct ; they seem to think that Mr . Philp , or Mr . O'Brien , or Mr . Everybody-else should have a right to use every sort Of coarse indecency of language in reference to the Northern Slai-y arid to heap upon its conductor every possible amount of indignity and falsehood , while he should do nothing but praise them in return ! The great card , however , of the Executive ' s complaint of ill-treatment as a body is , the inforn ) a fcion contained in last week ' s Star , that I have frequently altered the phraseology of their official

      documents to prevent their liability to prosecutiou . The Executive are most virtuously and valorously indignant about this ; arid demand the right of correcting their own documents , and answering for their own ignorance arid criminal omissions , to the people and not to me . I should certainly like it much better if they would take the trouble oi reading the plan of organization , so that their dooumenta should not need correction . As to their being answerable to the people for their

      incorrectness , they might perhaps get over that a little easier than the Proprietor of the Northern Star might chance to get over answering to the Government for making hia paper the official organ of an illegal association . While the interests of the Northern Star ate in my hands , I shall consider then ) identical with those of the cause , and I shall not suffer them to be jeopardized by the ignorance or carelessness of any man or body of men whatever . '¦¦'¦ - ¦ ¦¦ . '¦' : '¦ ' ¦[ ' ¦ '¦" : ¦ ¦ "¦ ' ¦ ' ¦ ¦ ' ¦ -. '' ¦

      A few words will , I think , set this sufficiently at rest , and show the people that the big talk of the Executive about my taking libertiea with their documents , is very innocent big talk after all . ; I never made an alteration which could have the slightest effect upon the sense of any document from the Executive ; that they know very well . I never but once had occasion to dissent from the apparent sense or pMtpori of any of their documents ; and I then did what thoy say is my duty to do . I printed it entire , with my own respectful suggestions concerning it . But it has frequently happened * as * it

      does this week , that I receive from the Executive a long and important document by the last post before going to press ; there is . no tinie to send it back for correction , and to point out the alterations necessary to be made . It is necessary for the public cause that the document should be printed that week , and yet , upon examining it , I have found perhaps a word here and there which , if seized upon by the Axroa NEY- General , would bring both the Executive and the Northern Star within the operation of the

      Correspondmg Societies' Act ; and in these cases I have made BUch necessary verbal alterations as I knew would keep us safe . I shall always do it , whatever Executive may be in office . I have done it this very week . In their address which appears in this paper , the same address in which they so determinedly kick against inj interference , they stylo themsalves ia several places of the original oopy which came here , the Exeoutive H Council" of tha National Char-

      Untitled Article

      ter Association . There is no such body as the Exectttive " Council" in the National Chartor ABS 8 Ooiation ; and I am amazed that Messrs . JLeach and Campbell , who were members of the delegate -meeting , to the expence of which the country was put for the purpose of having the organization legalized , should have forgotten the long discussion upon this very point , on which it was thought most difficult to steer clear of the meshes of the law ; The plan of organization , if they had read it , must- have

      shown them that we Executive m not a Council . It is a Committee , selected' frojn , and appointed by , the General Council for transacting the executive businessi of the '"" ¦ - - ¦ iV ^ sooia--tion . Now in the ^^ case of this address then , I had no alternative but to " alter" this expiessiori , or to omit its insertion . Which do the Executive , and which do th © people consider to be the preferable course ;! : Arid yet this is the whole matter about which the Executive protest so very indignantly against my "presumption" [ and appeal to the people whether they are to be responsible to them or to me 1 All I can say on the

      matter is , that I hope the next Exeoutive will give me less trouble in this respect , by reading the plau of organisation , before they sit dowa to the duties of their office , and thus enabling themselves to produce their documents in accordance with it . At all events , and in any ^ case , I caa assure the present ; and every future Executive , that to whomsoever they may hold themselves to be responsible , I shall hold myself responsible for the legal accuracy of whatever appears in the Northern Star , so long as the estate and person of its proprietor are left without any other protection than my watehfulness . V ;

      And now to bring this long letter to a close . It ib my turn to demand , not protection , but an expression of opinion from the people . It seems to have become the fashion to " to run-a-muck" against the Northern Star . 1 desire .- ' . to know'whether this be in accordance with the people ' s wish . The Northern Star has been now under my management for nearly five years . During all that time the people know whether it has ever shrunk from its post ; whether it has ever shrunk from principle ; or veered a pin ' s point from the first

      direction of its compass . I demand that the people shall 2 ook over the colamns of the Northern Star , and tell me whether they approve ( of the bluster about the u dictation" and the * denunciatipn" of ; the ' Northern Star , which is now so fashionable ? I desire them to look at the plain facts of the case ; to examine the specimens of " dictation " and of " denunciation" which I have given them in this letter i ( and I defy any man living to produce from the columns of the Northern Star an allusion to any Chartist leader less

      respectful in its terms than those I have adduced ; unless it may have been in reply to some tissue of abuse ); to remember that these fair and kindly criticisms , instead of being received in the spirit bo eloquently recommended by the ExecutivB , " with the best feelings of democratio friendBhip , have called forth hot , waspish replies ; full of rancour and misrepresentation ; and sometimes full of offensive ribaldry ; that these replies have invariably represented me as an overbearing " dictator ; " as " a man with a thick head and a black hearty as " a mushroom springing up in the path" of the giants of Chartism , against whom my criticisms have been fulminated : as " a liar : " " an assassia f

      " a villain f u a ruffian ; " a" cowardly Bypoonte !" If I refuse insertion to these violent replies , to fair criticism and friendly remaTk , I am then "denounced" as-taking an unfair advantage of my position to destroy men ' s characters , without giving them an oppportunity for reply . If I insert them , arid point out , and prove , ^ tbeir falsehoods , and misrepresentations , I am then accused 6 t denunciation ? ' the whole matter which called forth my reply for my own defence is conveniently kept out of sight , and at the next meeting to which an orator presents himself , you are told how shamefully the Northern Star has been '' denouncing'' the good men and true of the movement ! . : . .. ' . ¦ - ¦ ¦ ' -. .. ¦ .: : . . ' .. ' . ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ - ' -. . ' . ' -.- -. ¦ , .

      Now I have no opportunity of attending public meetings in various places to make Bpeeches to you , ' arid work upon your passions . My time is fully occupied in attending to youi interests here . I am told that an orator in Manchester , oh Sunday , threatened , in the ardoor of his zeal , that "if he were denounced , he would travel through the world and to the- gates of hell , but he would drag the acouser forth . " I have no such fiery inclination ; and if I had , I have no opportunity of

      indu ' ging it ; and that , the braggers about public meetings know very well . I am anxious to do what service I can for the people ; and , in spite of all these little breezes , I always shall do bo . I think I am in that position in which I can do it more effectually than I could in any other . So long as I continue to hold that position , I shall do my duty to the people , honestly , fearlessly , and consistently as I always have done . I shall neither flatter their prejudices , nor allow them to be led into danger without raising an alarm . But , though like Mr . P hilp , I declare for "independence , " I should yet be glad to know , positively , and by their

      own statement , from the people , whether , in the almost Eve years that I hvre served them in my present National capacity , I have deserved to be made the butt of universal attack , and of so much " misrepresentation and . wrong" as has latterly fallen to my share . Idemand , a 3 an aot of ju 9 t ice and of right , that the whole of the Chartist body wherever the Northern Star is known , shall register arid transmit to me by resolution , their opiniori , honestly and fairly given , of its merits ; and that they shall state distinctly whether they consider it and me worthy of their confidence , and will support me in putting an end , now and for ever , to this system of "denunciatioa and abuse . "

      With the same fervour of attachment to the cause of liberty arid truth which has always actuated me , ¦ " - . ; - , lam , ¦ . - - ¦¦¦ '¦ ' . '¦ .. ¦ : ;¦ ¦ ¦ ¦'¦ ¦ . -:: ¦ Frierid 3 , ; Yours faithfully , William Hill .

      Untitled Article

      William Clark suggests that an explication and justification of Chartist policy at the last general election , was a J it subject [ for the pen of Mr . O'Connor ^ or some other talented writer . We think the subject has been expatiated on quite sufficient for all parties to understand it ; those who are determined to misrepresent it , willdoso whatever may be said . David Wright . —to his first question we can only answer , that scores of letters for Mr . O'ConrUff have been received here arid forwarded ; tohether his may be among them or not we do not knots To the ^ second question we say , that the story is a milidous and wicked lie , originate with whom it may . But Mr . O'C . would certainty not ^

      prosecute" the parties . His letter in comment upm \ . a paragraph from an A berdeen Correspondent ty 1 our last , could do him no good if printed , as if merely repeatstehat the paragraph states him ig have said at the meeting in question . We cannot therefore occupy space with it . Y A . Vvvih . Leeds , must read his ninth lesson , in $ 4 "Fifteen Lessons "&j-o . ; ; -., ;¦ ¦ ., EccLks ^ Chartists . —We are at a loss to tfnow hov they can have read any article in last weVi Star , so astaconstrueit into an attack en the Executive . Certainly nothing teas further from our intention than ro attack the Executive , < tf

      whom as a body we have always spoken highly andiee ^ dd not now need or purpose to withdraw .- one- iota of the many commendations we havt thought it-our duly to accord them ; because we never do thus speak of any man or body of in&Hr without knowing that it is well deserved . We believe none but our Eccles friends will suspect us of having had any purpose ¦ t » " lower w » Executiveiyithe estimationof thei people ?' -wj u cancel their fitness fair office ; " and we / # » guile sure that tf they read the last week ' s SW * aqainythiy will me thatthey favs' dont ' . us ¦ tny ¦ justice , . ' .. /•' . : ¦ " ¦ -. '¦¦ ¦" : ; ¦ " :. . ¦ ¦ ¦ . / . ¦ ¦ : ' ' ' .. '" '' ^ . ¦ ' -

      The Northern Star. Saturday, June 11, 1842.

      THE NORTHERN STAR . SATURDAY , JUNE 11 , 1842 .

      3ta Mt&Uev& Mtf Ctrrej*Portttcntsfi

      3 Ta Mt&Uev& mtf Ctrrej * portttcntsfi

      Untitled Article

      — . THE NORTHERN STAR , . .. .. ;; . ¦' , .. . .. ¦ . ; . ' ; . . ; ... . * , V- /; .. V- :

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), June 11, 1842, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1165/page/4/