On this page
-
Text (9)
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Untitled Article
PUBLIC MEETING OF THE XATlOJiAL COMPLETE SUFFRAGE UNION . ( From the Evening Star . ) Bristol , Oct . 19 . Tha Chainnin Olx . Evans ) opened the meeting bj reading the ctgeets of the Nations ! Complete Suffice "Union , alter which be called upon Mr . Johnston to propose the first resolution . Mr . Johnston , on rising to address the meeting , complained of tbe sma'Jness of their numbers on an occision like the present , -when a , meeting is called to appeal to the sympathies of oar felloe-men , on behalf of those men who had stood se oohly np for oar rights , bat p 3 rhaps I condemn them « sh \ y , as the meeting was originally intended to ha « % een held last nigbt . It < ns , perhaps , owing to this that the meeting w « a bo
small . Other r .-rangemeats ty the parties belonging to the Hall had : ¦ : ¦ . vented them holding the meeting last night Hy Uifeu read the -Jollowmg resection V ) the . mettsg : — " That tai 3 inciting consider itteba their duty , and the duty of -ofl friends of tree-liberty , to : coBtribate to the Nation *! Defence F * nd , thereby en-1 ftMing the advoesu ** of the people ' s rights to provide assistance at the forthcoming trials . ' He ( ths speaker } , ¦ was not in connection with that body , wbo had suT fered , yet ho agreed -with the bold manser they had advocated the right of free discussion- ; « ad in order to alleviate tbetr siflfeinss he s » w but one course , vii , to ccme forward -with the . smallest mite .. JPat the case to yourselves : —it might come "to their tarn . Their very act of meeting there ttsit night might bring them under tfce ban cf the law . If this were the case
if they tfcto tora from their families , from their homes , and subjeet to like treatment , we would wish that some fritnds would come forward with their pecuniary _ dstaaee , with what = tbey < could afford . He did not struggle 'for the nsma of the Charter , 4 iut for Its principles . 'It aiattered not to him what emit he Tm / i to flad with any man ; he crme forward now on principle . The can who remained silent on The pre-8 ent occasion was an enemy to his -cause . The assistance of every maa is wanted now . Some might object and say that the money -was given to parties who were interested in . fc 3 prosecution ef the individuals ; but he would ask , whore Frost would have been had he not employed counsel ? He would i * tber see a Cnartist come bo . dly forward and defend himself—he admired the snirit of-soch a man . At the same time there
might be a le ^ tl point , that would be defined by those who made tbe law their study , and tbe prisoner would in all cases to-tbe better cf engaging a legal person . It ¦ would not 3 c to lose one single friend at present—not the bumbles , individual . There could not ba a more melancholy-scene , than a man dragged froai the bosom of his ftmUy , end immured within the walls of a dungeon for teaching the truth , and spreading its principles thronthout tie land , and then to be deserted by his friends . Let me Esk ycu to look at trial by jury . Is the weaver tried by his peers—hi equals—when placed in the dock before a middle class jary of yeomanry and middie-ei&ss shopkeepers , . who have never once ¦ witnessed the scenes that the poor weaver at the bar h * s been -f cTniiir-r -with ? I Eik , does he not require the assistance of those whose principles are identical
" with his own ? Compare his case with that of the amtocrat—a peer on arriving at twe :. ty-ooe years of ageby an accident of birth , he will be tried by his peers , by those who feave lived acd moved in the same scenes as hinistif . He appealed to the sympathies , and , after pointiig oat tho * treatment cf the prisoners , and of John Frost , who was kept an txile , for f » ar that he would be a rallying point for the Chartists . By a re-Tiew of those trials that had already taken place , he found that the prisoners were much beneflttsd by the employment of counsel , and he implored the people not to desert the leaders now , bat rally around with re newed "vigour , and by subscribing the smallest niito , show that persecution rouses the spirit that is within you , and that you still are the friends of the persecuted , but jast patriots of the people ' s cause .
Mr . Johnston was repeatedly applauded throughout his Epeech , of which the above is but an outline . He resumed his seat by proposing the above resolution . Mr . Chard , boot End shoemaker , on rising to Eecond the resolntioE , £ 3 id , that he never in his life seconded a resolution with more ardour than tha present oce ; it ¦ was true whsi had been stated by Mr . Johnson—men ¦ were brought np before jnriss of yeomanry fer advocating your rights ; aye , brought before men who were as ignorant of the crime that the prisoner was to be tried for , and . knew as much about what was and what was not sedition , as tha horses in tha ploughs they drive ; he wished he had the Etrength cf a legion to crush the
tyrants for ever ; it nuies co difference what association the men belonged to , whether they were members of the Compltit ^ SaffrEge Union or members of tbe National Charter Association , thay were Chartists , they were his friends , and they are ycur friends . Frost had been mentioned , lat for what was he banished , for what was he condemned ? Simply because he was the opponent of Lord John -BusselL Mr . Johnson had so fully , so ably , and so mnch belter than him , laid the subject before thsm , that be shcald not take up their time any longer , but call upon them not to flag , not to be disheartened , but to put thiir shoulders to the wheel , and let them see that we are men trying to regain our rights ; let us show a bold lront , and let every man assist . It was with crest pleasure he seconded the resolution .
Mr . Hsmments , master tailor , Redcliff-bill , Bristol , wished to knew if this was a meeting of the Complete Suffrage Union , or of a few individuals for the purpose of subscribing funds for a certain
purpose . The Chairman slated , that it was a meeting for the purpose of raising funds ftr the defence of the Chartist prisoners , aad to be forwarded to the General Defence Fund , to the Evening or Xorihern Stars effiees for that purpose . Mr . Hamments— Do I understand that this meeting emanates from the Council of the Complete Suffrage " Union ? Mr . Jehnston stated it did ; -that Mr . Newman , baker had met Mr . Griffiths , and asked him if they , the Sturgites , were not going to do anything for the defence of Chartist prisoners , and the Council had at their meeting agreed to that effect . Mr . Hamments did not know that the Cc-mplete Suf&age Union had but one Cecncil , and that sat in "R irf mTi gha-m . Mr . Johnston—The name Cocncil is given to the general committee , sb it is illegal to have more than one Council .
Mr . Hamment 3 did not think that the object of this meeting had anything to do with the Complete Suffrage Union , of which he was a member ; he did not agree with the plan cf raising mosey for such purposes ; he had seen money collected in Bristol before for such objects , and as he did not agree with the manner in which this money was expended , he would inove an amendment ; he condemned the conduct cf the men who had burned and destroyed property in the north , and had they attained their object by physical revolution , a counter revolution would have to be got up before a
twelvemonth was over oar heads , for the purpose of upsetting the tyranny they bxd established ; they did not require to go far for a precedent , only to a . neighbourine conntry , France . He totally disagreed with the late scenes of riot and plunder that had takes place , and thought the parties richly deserved punishment ; he protested against the body having any thing to do with it as council or committee ; let it be done by parties apart from the association business . Mr . H . was met by frequent marks of disapprobation , aEd Bat -down by proposing a counter reselution .
Mr . Johnston explained , and pointed out Use atv surdity of coupling the names of the Chartists with the outbreak- They hail been seized while promulgating the truth , and he was not aware that the Defence Fund went to defend aay bat Chartists . The eatbretk was a strike for -wages , and tbe men were driven to do what they did . He was not an advocate cf ph ; sicai violence , bnt he considered that the men that had done what the leade-. s of Chartism had done ought to be sappoited . He alluded to such men as M'BoinU and others—men who were to be tried for sedition , and be was anxious that the fund should prosper . He did cot care whether it was a Council or not ; the meeting was decidedly a meeting of the Complete Suffrage Union , and emanated from them .
Mr . Hamments wished to enter his protest in justice . He thought the men to which Mr . Johnston had alluded were to blame ; they , the Chartists were the ringleaders ; they were the promoters of the bloodshed , rapine , and plunder that had ensued , ' and had the time that had been lost , and the money that had been thrown away , been devotad to the moral and intellectual improvement of the people , thit would be . the means of obtaining our rights . He would ¦ withdraw bis amendment , and simply ask for his protest to be entered . He considered the leaders aiders and abettors . Mr . Dutton , President cf the Complete Suffrage Union —Mr . Chairman , I should like to see a meeting got up something lite a meeting ; none of your hole and comei affairs . Who is to collect the money ? I think that it is strange that no notice of this meeting should have adpeared . The Chairman of the meeting stated that the meeting was advertised in the Bristol Mercury , and large bills had been printed and posttd .
Mr . Dutton—Was the object stated ? I hate tnch doings ; let a good meeting be called . ' Mr . Johnston—The object was stated in the notice sent to the Mercury ; but he could not be answerable for the editor ' s curtailing of it , and Mr . Dutton had not been present as he ought to have been . He had been absent for five or six nights , or lie would have been aware . Mr . Chard—Mr . Dutton had not attended , and he was surprised that Mr . Hamments had not expressed his dissent , as he was present on the committee , and heard it passed that this meeting should be held .
Mr . Dntton never liked two-faced people ; let tbe public know what they were doing ; let a meeting be called in a proper way . He was not opposed to the object , if it was a good meeting , and he believed Ms friend , Mr . Hamments , was of the same opinion . I cannot bear to Bee such things—such npitarta . I bate such d—d sneaking ways . What , right had they to forge his name . I do not like such things . I am desirous that a fund should be got up ; bat I cannot agree with such conduct . Who . is to collect the money 1 I can hear my friend Mr . Simeon ' s Toice . ( The speaker then came , to where Mr . Simeon was seated , and handed him one shilling towards the Defence Fund , which Mr . Simeon immediately put in hjs pocisfc , which highly
Untitled Article
amused the meeting . ) I hate each d—d doings . Is it fair to maks use of my name ? Wbo gave yoa leave to forge my name ? ( The spf > a > jst bate stepped forward to the table , and showing som t letters , he accused Mr . Johnston , we understood , of . forgery . ) Mr . Doyle here whispe n& to the chairman that he had a right to the letters , ' Jatthey were the property of the Union . The Chairm . ' m demanded the letters from Mr . Dutton . Mr . Dutton—Wfeo ar e job , you d—d rascal , to demand my letters T ( The uproar was inch that we were not able to follow the speakers , for three or four were speaking at once . ) Me . Chard ooved that this day week Mr . Dutton produce these letters , : ind retract bis expressions , and apologfca . Mr . Dattea was -wilting to meet and defend hia « on d « ct . and wove ffie charge of forgery .
TTntil now the members < rf the National Charter Association wcio were present bad net interfered , all tbe foregoing ^ speaVirs beieg members cf the Complete Suffrage 37 &ion . Mr . BJraeen regretted , that on as ooca&ioa like the pres-ant , parties should have tetrodnced matters perfectly : irrelevant to tfce business before the chair . He had kcown the time when bad he done less than that , partiec were ready to pitch him head foremost from tbe platfenu , for introducing subjects for which the meetina- ^ ras not called ; tbe meeting being called for a speciflc-object . Though he had been termed violent , he had-never made use of the language that had been made nse * of that evening . Mr . Copp here recommended the propriety of caliiog aso £ her meeting , or adjourn this one till this night week .
The Chairman accordingly adjerarned the meeting till that night week ( the meeting at no time amounted to more than seventy persons . ) Several lef : the room quite satisfied with the dish set before them . The case of forgery , we understand to be as follows : —At the meeting of the Complete Suffrage Union , an address was passed by the meeting ( Mr . Dutton , president , in tha chair , ) to the Whig member for Bristol , Mr . Berkeley , to ba presented at the Agricultural Show . Mr . Berkeley did not come to tbe show . Mr . Johnson , as secretary , drew up the address , and attached the name of Mr . Dutton , as chdrman , without allowing him to sign his own name . The address was forwarded to Mr . Berkeley , and he wrote a reply to Mr . Datton , with whom he is personally acquainted , he being the chairman of trades meetings , and ether meetings for the return of that gentleman .
Untitled Article
MR . VINCENT'S LECTURES . ( From the Evening Star . ) ABERDEEN . The Complete Suffrage Association of Aberdeen having invited Mr . H . Vincent to visit this city , determined to give the occasion all the pomp and circumstance imaginable , and accordingly preparations were made for a splendid eoiie ' a to come off in the Temperance HalL Admission one shilling . It was to take place on the evening of . his arrival , and all their energies were at work to get up a good attendance ; but notwithstanding all their exertions the number who attended did not amount to 300 , and proved to the party that any mavement cot supported by the working men is completely powerless , as they are not ? tha only party
capabls of wielding public opinion . There were several local speakers at the soire ' s , but all the dependence of the evening was upon Mr . Vincent His friends were highly satisfied with the manner in which he acquitted himself , but impartial auditors said he had failed to support the high character , as a public speaker ) which had been assigned him . It had been understood , although not mentioned , that Mr Vincent would lecture on the Tue 8 d 3 y , and there was a considerable struggle betwixt the irquisitiveness and the ambition of the party ; the money-lovers contending for sixpence of admission , and thosa who were anxiona for a full attendance for oae penny . After a good deal of cogitation it was settled by a sort of compromise , the price being struck at twopence .
The Chartist body did not wish to create or'foster any ill feeling betwixt themselves and the Complete Suffragists , by any reference to the past condnct of Mr . Vincent , and therefore determined to view him only as tbe accredited advocate of their principles , and to deal with him only in that capacity . The attendance at the Tuesday ' s lecture was very full , being from nine to ten hundred . Mr . Vincent commenced by an account of his own political life , and the persecutions he had suffered ; he also showed the tempting offers that bad been made to him by the Tories and others , to obtain his infiiseuce and assistance in rapport of their cause ; he also gave an account of the Sturge Conference , held at Birmingham , and the reasons which influenced their decisions in adopting the six points . Mr . Vincent then showed that he had laboured hard in that conference to have
adopted the name and all , but this he did not carry . He thea adverted to the Nottingham and Ipswich elections , and dwelt particularly on the success which had attended his addresses in the latter place , and the opposition he bad met with from a clergyman of the Established Chnrch , whom he ( Mr . V . ) mimicked most BncceEsfully to the great amusement of the audience . He ( Mr . V . ) then referred to the Leeds Mercury , regarding some articl es -which it contained against the principles of complete Suffrage , and more particularly an argument therein nse d . that it would benDJust to give the working classes the fote , as they were the majority . Mr . Y . condemned this in the strongest and most unmeasured terms . Mr . V . then . concluded by statiag thas he was willing to answer J questions or meet any objections that might be asked or brought forward on the subject of his lecture and sat down amidst considerable approbation
Mr- JameB Macpherson then rose and said that he did not stand up for the purpose of opposing or finding fault with anything that had fallen from the speaker during the coarse of his lecture , nay , he highly approved of the greater portion of it ; but while he approved ef what had fallen from the speaker , he wished to draw the attention of this meeting to some of the ac's of that body , of which Mr . Vincent was the accredited organ , namely , the Birmingham Council . in the address issued by whom , there were several paragraphs iiametricalJy opposed to the sentiments which had fallen ficm Mr . V . during his lecture . Mr . M . then read the fallowing passage from the address : «» Bat in the election of representatives to meet in such conference , all party spirit must be excluded ; all efforts for forcing individual opinions through the power of numbers must be avoided . " Mr . Macpherson said , the portion of the address he had just read was in
direct opposition to tha opinions promulgated by the speaker that evening , and were in perfect unison with the articles in the Leeds Mercury , to which the lecturer kad so strongly and so justly objected . Mr . M . then drew their attention to the mode of election in that address , and condemned it strongly as arbitrary a :: d unjust , and in direct violation of the principles they sought to establish . He further observed , that the individual who crew op this absurd and contradictory document , might be honest ; and , God forbid , that he should charge him frith dishonesty , if his intentions were pure ; for be would rather that two knaves shocld esespe with the character of hocest men , than that one honest mun Ebould , through his instrumentality , be branded as a rogue . Bnt if he was honest , it was plaia that he had allowed his feelings and wishes for a union between the middle and ¦ working classes to run away with his better judgment . be for
Bat while an excuse rni ^ ht offered an . individual , no such excuse could hold good for the Council who had adopted that address ; they had shewn themselves utterly incapable of conducting any great and comprehensive movement by the adoption of such a contradictory and inconsistent address . He ( Mr . M . j had no intention of oppesia ? the complete suffrage movement if confined to its proper sphere ; on the contrary , he considered snch a movement as in some iiieaeore necessary to meet tbe prcjaoices of the middle classes , whose class-pride prevented them from receiving the truth . 3 ut while he would ( Mr . M . continued / so far give way to thsir prejudices as to lay aside the name of the Charter , by those who were willine to do
so , he could by no means consent to sacrifice one iota of the principles therein contained . He would never allow them to diverge off at an angle from the paths of rectitude , frittering a * wsy one principle after another . No ; he wished them , after having given up the nacis , to be kept by the force of a powerful and well-directed public opinion—to be kept moving in a direction parallel with the great Chartist movement . Mr . Macpher : on then conduced by asking Mr . Vincent if the > lan for electing the proposed Conference , contained in the Address of the Complete Suffrage Council cf Birmingham , was in accordance with the principles of Complete Suffrage ! and sat down amidst immense
eheerinc-Mr . Vincent , who hsd been noddiDg asstnt and approbation during the speech of Mr . Macpherson , teen rose to reply . He snid he had not been present whtn the address was sabmhted to the Council , and bad noc therefore , en opportunity of expressing his sentiments on its merits , and although he was satisfied that the Council had adopted it from the best ef motives , and had considered that in almost all instances the electors and non-electors vrould agree and elect their representatives at the same meetings , j et as the question had been put in a fair spirit by Mr . Macpherson , he would just give as fair an answer , and that would be just what hsd already been given to a similar question by Mr . Stuige , which was , that he disapproved of the mode , and would try and get it brought before the Council for their reconsideration .
Mr . Mupherson expressed himself perfectly satisfied wiUi the candid manner in which his question had been answered by Mr . Vincent , as Mr . Vincent had joined with him ( Mr . Maephersoo ) in his unhesitating condemnation of the mode of election proposed in the Address , and trusted that the Birmingham Council would take this as a warning for the future , and never presume to tamper with the glorious principles of justice laid down in the People ' s Charter . Mr . Adam , of the Aberdeen Herald , then rose , and proceeded to defend the proposed plan and the Birmingham Council in adopting that plan , but found it impossible to proceed , so great was the disapprobation of the meeting ; and , after an ineffectual attempt to be beard at greater length , sat down amidst a shower ef hjfses from all parts of the bftJL
Untitled Article
Mr . Vincent replied , 'And censored Mr . A . very freely for his injudicious remarks . He was followed tjy Mr . Legge , who defended the working classes from the imputation of illiberality and intolerance , « harg&d upon them by Mr . Adam , and cited , jm ¦ » proof , that they had agreed to allow a delegate ' 4 om the Complete Suffrage party along with one fram them , the working classes , to attend tha Contocnce proposed some time ago at Birmingham . Mr . "Maepberson also spoke a few words in answer to what had-fallen from M * . Adam , and showed that the
working < classt-s were beitber tyrannical , illiberal , nor intolerant , and had they not been anxious for conciliation , and averse to cavilling and fault-finding ? that there was much more contained in the address , to which he had not before adverted , that would afford good ground for the most strenuous opposition ; and further -contended that the greatest fault of the working classes was too much gratitude for any little service rendered them , wbicb they bad often cause to repent of , but nev er either of their illiberality or intolerance . A voteof thanks was then given to Mr . Vincent , and the meeting dismissed .
Untitled Article
NORTHLEACH PRISON . (' From the . Cheltenham Free Press . ) Adjourned Inquest cn Charles Beale . — The adjourned investigation into tbe cause of the death of Chirles Beale took place at tbe board-room of the Union Workhouse , at eleven o ' clock on Friday . Mr . Rowland J . Ticehurst , clerk to the Board of Guardians , attended officially by order of the Board . Mr . Curtis , head-turnkey of Northleach , and several of the Cheltenham Board of Guardians were also present John Nowton—I em a Bhoemaker . I am now residing at the Cheltenham Union workh » usa . I was sent te Northleach House of Correction on the 14 th of April , and left on the 7 th of July . I was sentenced to hard labour . I frequently saw Charles Beale there . I first saw Beale there on the 15 th of April . He looked
very i ! l . He was then working on the wheel , he waa doing full work then . We were not allowed to Bpeak to one another . He appeared very weak and poorly I think he continued at full work on the wheel for six weeks after that . He gradually get worse . He complained of beiDg ill . He was tak 6 n nndor the doctor ' s chargt , and did no work for about a fortnight or three weeks . I saw him passing through tha yard several times . He looked very ill . I never spoke to him . He went towards the mill bouse . I have seen him frequently . He had no particular heavy loads . T « fo people were carrying them in a basket that would contain about SOlbs . He was on one side and a man assisted him . It was only occasionally I saw it . We are not allowed to look round . At the end of three weeks he was put on the wheel and did balf work . He was taking pills at the time . They wore given to
him by the under turnkey just before wo got off the wheel , between five and six o ' clock . I heatd him complain of being ill . He worked his whole turn when he got up . When it was my turn to follow him on the wheel ha told me he was ill , and unable to . go on with his work . I never heard him tell the ui ^ der turnkey ( who was always present ) , the surgeon , tho governor , or the head turnkey . He never complained to the under turnkey when he waa carrying potatoes ; it -vras no use . If it had been Mr . Curtis , it might have been of some use . As to the under turnkey . I n-jver saw such a heart-hearted man in my life . He continued at half work and taking pills for about a fortnight He was then put upon whole work . Before that I thought he looked better He complained of weakness . He continued much the same until I left . I did not communicate complaints to anybody .
The Coroner Baid those complaints were not evidence . The potatoa bury is under the house , about half a dczsn steps below the level of the lower cells . He brought the potatoes apparently from the petatoe bury . The way to it is through one of the ¦ women ' s day cells I am sure be was several days at work in tho carrying potatoes . Deceased ' s day ceil was nearly on a level , or a little higher than my day cell . Wo hsd both two cells . Our night cells were over . My day cell was very damp , particularly in wet weather . It was never heated with hot , air while I was there . The stones on
the ground were damp . The side walls wtre not . There was no glass in my call , the roof over my day cell door overhung two or three feet That was Eomo height above the door , having a tier of night cells between . Both the day and night cells open into the outer air . Above the door of my day cell , there is a wa king way of stone , by which vre got to our night cell . It protected the door of my day cell from rain . Notwithstanding this , the rain water would run ioto the cell . The water lay in puddles . I have known a gallon there at a time . I have been shut in tbe cell with the water .
Charles Curtis deposed—I knew the two cells occupied by Newton and the deceased Beale . The floors , and the walls , and the meanB of ventilation were alike . Newton ' s examination continued—I have complained about there being water in the ceil . There waa a balfround opening over the door -which I could shut with a shutter . It was not gbzed . There was a wooden shutter to the opening , but I never Eaw it shut . I believe we were not allowed to shut it . There was another opening at the back . There was a shutter for this opening also . I never tried to close a shutter . If vre made any noise in the cell , we should bo punished . There was no glass to this opening , We left the night cells at six o ' clock in the morning , aDd went to chapel . We remaiced a quarter of an hour or
twenty minntes there , and about half-past six went to work on the wheel until eight o'clock . We then went to our day cells to breakfast , and were locked in there for half an hour . We then went to work until one . We returned to our day cells , and were locked in there for balf an hour while we had our dinners . We returned to the wheel , and worked until six . We stopped until eight We had not much supper . That we ate at dinner . It was given out to us in the morniog . A hungry man might eat all bis bread at breakfast , but we were not allowed to do so . Each was obliged to put half his leaf outside the cell to show he had not eaten it . We were very hot when we came off the wheel at six . We never came off without a good sweating . My shirt was very wet from perspiration , especially when I first went to prison . I never Lad a
dry shirt to put on , either to go into my day cell , or at bed time , except on Saturday evening , except when I had any clein one given to me . I never complained to asy one there of my shirt being so wet I know one young man whose shirt was very wet frem perspiration complained to the turnkey and he had a dry shirt given to him twice every day for about a fortnight . The under turnkey did not abuse him for it . The young man was only in for a month . The shirt was brought by the under-turnkey without grumbling , and appeared as an act of duty , at dinner time and at night . It was some time in May he came in and left in June . 1 had been there a mouth before he came in . I never knew
Beale apply for a clean shirt , although he was on the wheel and knew of the indulgence granted to the above . 1 did not apply , as I did not perspire so much as I did the first fortnight The wheel was hard to work . I shouJd have preferred being locked up in a cell , for , although it was cold , I should not have worked all the flesh off my boneB . It is not having food enough to keep ourselves up that ia the great thing there . 1 Lave seen BkeIb ' s hands dirty , as though he had been picking potatoes , I have never been at Northleach or any prison before , and should not like to go again . I was never charged before any magistrates before . The charge was leaving my wife r . nd children chargeable to the parish . I was sent for three mouths . I had three email children
in the workhouse . I was short of work , and they would not allow mo anything uut ; so I went in search of some . I wastcken up at Gloucester , and committed oa a charge of leaving my children chargeable to the parish of Cheltenham . Mr . Curtis said the evidence was , so far as he could judge , pretty correct . By the Foreman—I was very ill when I came out , scarcely able to walk . The Coroner said that his state of health could have nothing to do with tbe rieath of Beale . Mr . CurtiE—The complement cf men is eight on and sixteen off . The wheel goes forty-eight paces , or twice round in a minute . By the Coroner—I have no reason to suppose that if I bad applied for a dry shirt I should cot have had one . I know if I had applied to Mr . Curtis I should have had one . I don't thick he would injure any body .
Newton—I do not say this because Mr . Curtis is present . One man was very ill , and they corded him cp to the wheel , and beat his heart against it as long as they liked , r . nd let him drop through . They might have broken his neck . The Coroner said that was not evidence in reference to the deceased Charles Beale . By the Coroner—I have known the visiting magistrates to come reund , and the governor has asked the prisoners if they had any complaints to make : but they were afraid . If anything was said very little attention was paid to it , and they made it out to be a pack of lies . They came round about once a fortnight . I never heard Beale complain to the visiting justices . I have seen plenty of them eat potato rinds , but not Beale .
Alice Beale—I am the mother of the deceased . He was in good health before ho went to Northleach . In consequence of some information I had from a discharged prisoner about my sons health , about two months after bis committal , I , in company with the wife of Joseph Rowley , went to Northleach . We had a magistrate ' s order . We walked there and got to the prison about twelve o ' clock . We were with my son about ten minutes . Rowley and tbe governor were present ; I thought he was at the point of death . H e told me he was in good health , But he has told me since , he said
that to cheer my spirits up . He looked exceedingly ill . The governor seemed to push us on as though he did not wish us to stop any longer . He made no complaint All he said was overheard by the governor . I should have liked to have remained longer , but tbe governor did not appear to wish us to stay longer . Three weeks before he left , I received a letter as from the governor , stating that my son was very ill and wished to see us all , me in particular . I started at two o'clock , and was with him one hour and a quarter . The governor was not present , nor the Eurgton , nor the turnkey . He bad
Untitled Article
a quantity of toast and water , of which he drank a good deal whilo I was there . He had about half a threepenny or fovpenny loaf toasted , to make the toast and water . One of the turnkeys brought him a box of pills . He was in bed in the hospital . I did not see him afterwards until he cams homo . I aaw him three days after he came home . Ho was as bad as he could be and alive . The first time I went with deceased to the dispensary was Thursday , the 22 d of September . On the Thursday before he died he despaired for the first time of his recovery . On the following evening ( Friday ) , Mr . Hollis called . My son asked me if I knew where that gentleman lived . I told him I did not He said he was fearful that Mr . Hollis had misunderstood him as to the hours he was in the potatoe bury , which was very shortly after the first
time I went to see him . He said it was wrong that he told Mr . Hollis . He was not down ten hours in the potatoe bury in one day . He wished to correct this , as he wished to put ull straight before he died . His head wandered at times . On the Saturday before he died , when he was quite sensible , he said— " Mother , when I was in the potatoe bury , I found my blood run cold . My hair steod on end on my head . I pulled off my cap and kneetad upon it I think that caused me my death . Tbe starvation of the prison that I suffered , mother , ho tongue can tell . I did not hear my son say , in tho presence of the governor and turnkey ; that ho was perfectly satisfied . He said , " Dont make yourself uneasy , mother , the turnkey baa been very kind to me . " His satisfaction was confined to Curtis . He was always of a delicate constitution until he was grown up a man , when be became strong and healthy .
By the foreman—He was at work as a sawyer the day he was taken to prison . He waa iu perfect health and had been for a twelvemonth 1 « fore . : Nathaniel Beale—I am father of the deceased . He was twenty-three last birth-day . He told me on the Saturday evening before his death , that he was down in the bury " chitting pot&tees" with Cnurin , when he ato some raw potatoes . He did not eat so many as Churin . It was hunger that induced him to eat them . He said tbe prison caused his death , his being put in the potatoe bury caused his illness . He said he made no complaint because he was afraid of been served worsa . i My son said he would seoner saw for seven years thunr J ? ork at the mill for a month .
It being now half-past four o ' clock , and one of the Jury having to attend the funeral of his mother at Caraden , the Coronor ar-journed i the inquiry until Monday . . .. j
Untitled Article
^ t MIDPLSEX SESSIONS . —Wednesday . CASE OF CRUELTY TO A CHILD IN MARYLEBONE . ( Before Mr . Sergeant Adams , Chairman , and a Bench of Magistrates . ) Barnard Gavsn , aged 39 . and Mary Goran , aged 35 , were indicted for assaulting and beating Eliza Givan their child . The male prisoner was first arraigned , and pleaded not guilty . Mr . Claukson , who was assisted by Mr . Payne , conducted the prosecution ; and Mr . Prendergast defended the prisoner . Mr . Cla . rk . sqn stated that this prosecution had been instituted at the instance cf the parish authorities of St . Marylebone for assaulting a child of the tender age of nine years . Upon perusing the depositions he observed that the child spoke of a series of brutal assaults and ill-usage , yet it so . hr . opaned ttut the present indictment referred to only one charge , although it
should have contained at least i / wenty counts , setting forth as many instances of in oat aggravated assaults . He should therefore be compelled to confine himself to the isolated charge in the indictment . Tne object of the prisoner ' s ferocity was the chiid of a former wife , and livvd with him at No . 2 , Htnry-street , Portland Town . The prisoner was in the receipt of goed wages , and earned , as & tobacco-pipa maker , from thirty-five shillings to fifty shillings per week . He had six children besides tho one in question . The jury were aware that the prisoner , in point of law , was justified in administering mild and wholesome correction to his child , but it was not to be endured that it should be traiitsd so barbarously as it had been :.- ' It would appear that , on the 26 tU of September , vrbile a policeman was going his rounds , the little girl was brought to him as a lost child . She was taken to the station house , and it transpired that her father had turned her out of doors , and had been in the habit of exercising the most extreme
cruelty towards her . The policbmansubsequentlywentto the prisoner ' s residence , and took poesr _ ssion of a leathern strap ,-vvith which he was in tae habit of beating the child about the head until the blood flowed . The learned gentleman than gave an outline of the evidence he proposed to lay before the jury , and expressed his regret tbat , by reason of the form of the indictment , he could not go into the whole circumstances of the case . After the jury had heard the child's statement , corroborated as it would be by other witnesses , it would ho for them to say if the prisoner was justified in inflicting such punisbment upon a child of hir . e years of age , or not The parish authorities considered it a case in which they should not have discharged their duty unless they bad brought the prisoner there to answer for bis conduct . He was happy to inform them that the parish officers had not only taken the child that had been illused into the workhouse , bnt had likewi-e received under their protection all the other children of th
prisoner . Eliza G . ivan , a poor , attenuated-looking child , was placed near the bench and sworn . She said—The prisoner is my father . My mother is dead . I came from Ireland with my father a good while ago . The woman sitting down with the baby in her arms is my motherin-law . On the 26 th of September , I saw the policiman , Hobbs , in High-street , Purtland-town . I bad been turned out of doors by my father . I remember that , a few evenings before , ho beat me about the head with the leather strap produced ( a thick strap , about two feet in length , was here exhibited to the Court . ) I ran into the privy , and he followed mo , and again " welted '' me . The blood ran from my head . He also took up my clothes , and beat me with a strap about the body . The reaRon I was punished was for blowing my nose behind the door . He beat me about the back , and every where e'so . .
Cross-examined—He kept the strap to beat me with . He did not use it to punish the other children with . I had been living , until wiVhin some months , with my grandmother , at Bitllymena , in Ireland . She died , and my father fetch&d me home . My mother was Nancy Quin . I bad sores upoa ray bead , and was begging about when my father fetched me home . Re-examined—I never saw the female prisoner until I came to England . William Webb examined—I live at No . 2 , Henrystreet , Portland-town . The prisoner and his family lived there . I saw the child run out of the house , followed by the prisoner . I afterwards saw blood on the flooring . I also saw blood on the hands of the child . The blood appeared to have dripped about tbe place , and the stains covered about a square foot of the boards .
Cross-examined—I was never on bad terms with the prisoner . A son of mine worked at the same shop with him , and he made an objection to his doing bo , as he bad not served his apprenticeship , but I bore no malicu towards him on that account I never threatened to punish the prisoner in the hearing of Mr . Cunningham , his master . Police-constable Hobbs , 174 S ., said—I remember tbe child beieg brought to me on the 26 th of September , in H- 'gh-street , Portland Town . I took it to the stationhouse , and I met the mother afterwards , and told her the child had been terribly ill-used . I went to the prisoner ' s house , and obtained tho strap produced . Mr . Robert B 9 ys , the parish surgeon of Morylebone , sworn—I exarninod tho child , and found blue and yellow marks upon its body of long standing . There were superficial scabs ou the head , and bruises areund them . I do not think the sores were the result of disease , but of violence .
Cross-examined— I will swear the sores did not come of themselves . Mr . Prendergast said he never heard of a more trivial an < l disgusting case being brought before a court of justice by any parish officers . Let the jury examine the facts without prejudice , and they would at once perceive the barrenness of the case , notwithstanding a ! l the garnish and misrepresentation tbat had been brought in aid . Several witnesses were called to prove that the present wife of the prisoner was the child ' s own mother ; and Mr . Peter Cunningham , a tobacco-pipe maker , gave tbo prisoner a good character during six years that be had been in his employment . The witness added , that , the day after the prisoner was examined before Mr . Rawlinson , the man Webb said the prisoner had been severe with him , and he should be equally severe with the prisoner , for God paid all debts without money . Mr . Pavne replied .
The Chairman , in sumn ; ing up , told the jury they had to decide whether the punisbment inflicted by the prisoner was justified by the offence committed by the littie girl , and whether it was a mild and proper correctioD , or an excess of violence hai been exercised . They were to say , as men of good sense , vrhether be bad or had not substantially exceeded tbe laws of nature and humanity . The strap appears to him to have been used over the child ' s head , as there were stains of blood upon it . The strap was then handed to the jury for their inspection , and , after a short consultation , a verdict of Guilty was returned .
Mary Qavsn was n « xt indicted for a similar offence . E Gwm . thechild . proved that the prisoner had frequently dragged her about by the hair of the head , kn « ck her head against the mantel shelf , and threw her o » the ground , la consequence of a discrepancy between " \ he evidence and indictment , the prisoner was acquitted , under the direction of the Chairman , who remarked that the parish authorities ought to have employed a competent person to draw up the indictments . If it turned out that the blame rested with tke officer of that court , he mmld bear of it again . . Mr . Pxendergast said he believed the parish officers were willing to recommend the man Gavan to mercy . Mr . Payne said they would do no Buch thing .
The Chairmau , in passing sentence , observed , that if the indictment had bet n properly framed , so that all the circumstances should have been laid before ( he
Untitled Article
Court , both as regarded the prisoner and his wife , a very severe sentence would have been passed upon them . Tha depositions contained a series of cruelties wbicb would make every humane man shudder upon reading them . The hands of the Court were , however , tied , and , although their better feelings spontaneously rose up against such conduct , they must not allow themselves to depart from a strict administration o ! the law . The Learned Gentleman then sentenced tbe prisoner to six weeks' imprisonment in tha Houbb of Correction .
Untitled Article
EXTRAORDINARY CASE OF SWINDLING . On Friday afternoon , at the Police-court , Liverpool , after the usual business of the day had been brought newly to a close , a young man , appwently belonging to ' tbe swell mob , " and who bad just been apprehended , was brought before Mr . Ruehton on a charge of having , with the assistance of a coin-rogue ( who has escaped ) , tricked a stranger , who bad arrived in town only an hour before , of a sum of upwards of £ 60 . The prisoner gave bis name as Thomas Rule , but his real name is said to be Davies . The circumstances of the case are so extraordinary , showing the cunning of the delinquents as contrasted with tbe apparent simplicity of their dupe , that we supply the evidence at length . The complainant , a slender and unintelligent-locking man , in a long top coat , and who stat < d that be was
thirtytwo years of age , said , 1 am a joiner and builder m Cbeetham-hill , near Manchester . This morning I arrived in Liverpool by the railway , a few minutes before twelve o ' clock , to buy timber . As I came along Manchester-street , the prisoner , Thomns Rule , overtook me , and asked me the way to the docks . I said , " I am a stranger , I cannot tell . " He said , " I am a stranger too , from Rcchdale , and am going to do business at the docks ; it is a cold morning , will you step in and bave a glass ? " adding , " Perhaps you . have not time . " I agreed , and we went into Whiteley ' 3 publichouse , in Manchester-street , into the second room on the right side of the lobby . Rule said , " I will have half a glass of brandy . '' I said I would take the same . The waiter came into tbe room , and orders were Riven for the glasses . We each paid for
our own . Before we bad tasted , another man came into the room , and placed himself in a earner near the fire . He said , " What bustling places these large towns are ; these big streets contain nothing but shops and public-houseB . " I said" Yes ; " and the prisoner said , " The back streets are very dirty . " The other man then took up his rIsbs , and said , " Here is our good healths , gentlemen ! " We returned him the compliment . The other man then said , '" I am a stranger ; I oame from Bollingtoh to sep a lawyer . " Prisoner said , " It is not a very pleasant job * " Tha oth « r man said , 'fit is not so with me ; I have come to draw seme money which an old uncle of mine has lett me . I bave been to my attorney , who says I shall have to wait a week or ten days , and he wanted to know if I wanted any money . I wanted none , but he handed me
£ 30 , and said , " It is customary to have a glass on paying money . " We -went into a puhUc-houae , and the lawyer and hia clerks had glass after filass ; and when I came . to pay the bill , it amounted to more than £ 2 . I then went into that big street ( Dale-street ) , and lnoke'l through a shop window . A Tiny came up who had a feather hanging in her bonnet , which rt > nch&d nearly to her feet She said to me , " Well , John ! will you go with me and have a glass ? ' I wi-nt -with her . She told me sha was a l&dy ' s-maid out of place , but resided with her aunt in Wiliiarason-Eqaure . We went there , and found a number of ladies sitling in the house . I threw down a sovereign for soius fiin , and whilst we were drinking some officers came in . The prisoner said , " What kind of officers ? ' Tha other man said , they had gold lace on their caps and coats .
The prisoner said , they must have been captains . The other man then said , " I went to bed with one ' of the ladies , and in the morning , on counting my money , I found that I had spent between 3 £ . and 41 . The lady of the house was very kind to me , and inviteii me to dine there , which I intend to do , and she said tbat the woman who was so very handsome would bo there . " I said to all this , " If you would be advised by me , you will never go near the place again . " I endeavoured to dissuade him , saying that he would repent it if he did . He Baid , " I will , " and took out his money , and showed a number of sovereigns and some notes , saying , " I will go there and spend the remainder . We hid been playing the other night . ¦ with something that counted very many , but I do not know what it was . 'I said perhaps they were dominoes . Tha prisoner said ,
they must be cards . The other man then put hia hand into his pocket , and took out a pack of cards , saying , " These are them : I brought them away with me . I played with them the night before , and tbe young lady would instruct me in'something which I did not understand : We p . ' ayed a considerable time . "' The prisoner said , "I won , " and laid the cards on the table , and showed us how he had done it , by cutting tho cards and guessing black or red ; and be placed a crown down , spying that he would beat either Hie or the prisoner . The prisoner betted half-a-crown , and \ i ; on The other man went out , leaving the cards on the table , 83 ying he was going to the lady . I then said to the prisoner , " What a pity it was that the man should losa his money : our best way would be to # fcS Iuri to deposit it in some bank . " Tho prisoner oaid , we had better
try to get it from him , and give it to tho poor , r . nd he took hold of tha cards and said , " will take out all the black ones , " He took out about two-thirds of tbe black ones , and put them into his poc ); et The other man came in again , and I endeavoured to p . ranade him to put hia money in a bank . Ho said , "I wiil not ; I will spend it all . When I draw the fall amount it will be £ 800 , and I will thwn return home . " The prisoner said , " Will you give it to the poor ?" The othor said , " Tha poor shall never bavo a farts . ing of my money , " and pretended to be very tipsy . Prisoner than sai 4 , " Let us get it from him , and give it to the poor . " I sail , " It will not be right to do so , as hn has objected , but we ought to get his address , and send it to him . '' The other man then produced the cards , and said , " I know nothing about you ; you are a stranger to me . I will bet you any thing you like , '' and he
laid down two sovereigns . I laid dowa two sovereigns also . The prisoner then cut the cards , and the other man won . The other man proposed a bet of five sovereigns , which were placed on the table . The prisoner again cut the cards and the other man won . I believe I proposed to bat ten sovereigns , and we placed cui' money on the table . Prisoner cut again , and the other man won . Prisoner kept sayinsj to tbe other , " What a lucky man you are . " We carried on betting till I lost one £ 5 Bank of England note , one £ 10 Bank of England note , and forty six sovereigns . The other man then said , " Wait a bit till I go to the back-door . " He went out , and I followed him , but lost him . I returned into tbe heuse , and found the prisoner had thrown the cards into the fire . I tdeu suspected I had been cheated , A constable came in and took the prsoner into custody .
Mr . Owen , who attended for the prisoner , cross-examined the witness , with considerable severity , as to hia entering into gambling with strangers , and endeavoured to elicit an acknowledgment that ho would have pocketed the £ 30 , of the mau svho had escaped , or any part of it , which he might have won . The witness , however , strongly denied all euch intent , alleging that he was solely actuated by a humane desire that tbe man ( though a stranger to him ) tihouid not squander his money at the places be had mentioned : End that he should receive it " when he came to his senses . " James Berwick Whiteley , landlord of the
publichouse , said , tbat about one o ' clock this day ( Friday ) he was called down stairs from his dinner , and saw the prisoner Rule in the lobby , and he ( prisoner ) said to him , " Landlord , if yon will corne into the parlour all in a . hurry , and say you will futcti a policeman , and tbat you will not allow card playing , I will give you £ 5 in an hour's time . " Witness made some inquiries respecting tha prisoner and his cutnpany , and then went for a constable , He returned with police-officer Charnley ; and went into the parlour along with tbe prosecutor . The latter charged the prisoner with having defrauded him of £ 61 at cards . Tho prisoner made no repiy , and Charnley took him into custody .
Jane Whitely , wife of tho last witness , said , she served the glasses called for between twelve and one o ' clock . About ten minntes after , the ether man ( who has escaped with the money ) came in and called for a glass of gin . Tbat man and tbe prisoner she bad both seen together in the house several times , and generally with strangers . Her husband mentioned to her tbe propesition rasde to him by the prisoner , and she stated her supicions , upon which tho constable was called , and tbe charge vua made against him by Foggetfc , as stated . The police-offlcsr Charnley corroborated the facts stated as regarded bimsslf by the two last witn 683 es . He found on tbe prisoner the turn of 5 s . 6 d . only . The prisoner , on being cautioned , said that the complainant had never accused him of having cheated him out of anything , or of having betted with him at all , until the landlady came into the room with the con-Btable , and said that sho had seen him there before .
The prisoner wa 3 committed for trial . He inquired whether he could be admitted to bail . As the case as it stood resolved itself into ( we believe ) a misdemeanour , Mr . Rushton said he would be so admitted , by finding sureties , himself in £ 100 , and two others in £ 50 each , with forty-eight hours' notice of bail .
Untitled Article
WELLINGTON , SALOP . ( Correspondence of the Evening Star . ) A few friends of the common cause , in this town , beg t * forward their mite to you for the Defence Fp . u > 3 . There is at present no organized locality here , and the enclosed trifle baa . been collected by calling on the well-disposed at their homes . Those who have began the work will continue their exertions so long as they shall be needful or productive ; and they beg , at the same time , most earnestly to call your attention to tne isolated and hitherto unnoticed case of Thomas Halford ,
a most active and useful volunteer Chartist lecturer , now a prisoner in Shrewsbury gaol fox using exciting language at a meeting in the neighbourhood of Iron Bridge . He is known to Llnney and Mason , having been , as a member of the Coalbrookdale locality , mainly instrumental in the introduction of Chartism into this Tory-ridden county , and in the getting up of the Demonstration on the Wrekin , where he spoke . He afterwards took a house at Ketley , among the coal and iron works , chiefly In orler to spread the light of truth among the colliers and others of tbat district ;
Untitled Article
and at bis own door , once a week , delivered a sound , reasonable , and temperate lecture , besides attending twoor three other places . He soon became a marked man , and , consequently , had his body-guard of gre « n dragons conatantly at his heels ; and as cool and biting sarcasm is his forte , he treated them occasionally in a . way that excited their ire , and that . of their employers , in no common degree . Aware of this , he has particularly guarded himself against giving them a ebance , bu ^ determined not to be foiled , they have broken through , every barrier of law and justice , and be is now , unfriended and alone , In their power ; and being the only Chartist prisoner in tbe county , and unable , from the alarm excited by the late disturbances , to procure the heavy bail required , viz ., himself in two hnndred
pounds , and two sureties in one hundred pounds each , besides extra . bail , himself in fifty pounds , and two sureties in twenty-five pounds each , for good behaviour until his trial ; he is , to use an old Irish saying , " At law with the devil , and tbe court h 6 ld in hell . " Mark what follows-. —When taken he was committed for trial at Wenlock Sessions , an obscure Tory borough , where the " jolterheads" would bang , draw , and quartersuch a man if they could ; but for fear that even they could not for shame convict him , we are now informed on good authority , that they intend his trial shall take place at the Assizes in March , thus making sure work of his incarceration for the six winter months . His friends , the colliers , are beginning to do something for him and his poor wife , who is in a destitute condition .
N . B . The charge against Half ord is wholly , and solely a quotation from Blackstone with regard to the right of the- starving man to take rather than perish , which bos been pat down as Halford ' s own words I
Untitled Article
NATURAL RIGHTS . Much has been said and written upon the great and practical advantages t » be derived from co-operative communities . But tbe advocates of those societies aeem to overlook the fact that tbe system now established by common consent among all nations is In truth one vast system of co-operation . Is not the farmer raising pork and wheat for the wea . ver , and the weaver in return fabricating coat and pantaloona for the farmer , co-operating with each other , as literally as if they domiciled under the same roof-tree ? Let the Measure of value be uniform and ncfluctnating— .
let the farmer sell his produce at the price put upon it by an open market With the proceeds he can purchase the proceeds of the weaver ' s skill ; and not only that , but tbe labour and ingenuity of ten thousand art inns are at his feet , soliciting him to take them in exchange , at prices regulated by public opinion , for the produce of his farm . This is indeed co-operation in its most comprehensive sense , and , if freed from the Anti-human 'influences that are at work upon it , it would present a system as much superior to the little hole-and-corner communities that have been proposed , as the sun ' ght is superior to the dim and drowsy twinklings of a midnight taper .
All human life , then , is one vaBt eo-operative society Their capital ia the soil and minerals of this whole earth , and all the mechanical forces th ;; t are in existence , or may he called forth by human ingenuity . ¦ Why has tho great co-partnership—instituted by God himself , and extending through all time and over all nations—why , I ask , has it been productive of so little advantage to the great mass of the human family t The answer is—sitnp ! y because a few directors se : a 2 d -upon the whole capital—marie it their own individual property—and reduced the miss of the people , from their natural position of working shareholders , to be mere drudges in the establishment .
Search the entire pige of past history and you will find tbat thus it baa ever been . Look at tbe picture , destitution and woe , which is at this moment presented over Europe and " the East . " Contemplate the causes tbat are in active operation among ourselves , and see if there is anything in them to save us from the universal lot of . ill past and present nations . No ! Society hasno escape—posterity has no escape—from servitude until bc : iie boundary is put to tbe individual accumulation of that capital stock which belongs , and inalienably belongs , to the whole human family . We may , if we please , adhere to the blind prejudices of the barbarous apes—we may in the plentitude of our ignorance and infatuation set aside tbo well defined laws of nature , and tna no leas explicit injunctions of God ' s Word—we may permit individuals to monopolise tho soul , and shut out starving man from tho fruitfulnoss of Nature , we may say to the grasping and the rapacious , " Go on |; dutch-all ; you have full liberty 1 " but if we do so wear « aure to pay the deep , deep , penalty of our unutterable folly .
I do not propose a disruption of society—I urge no interference , present or prospective , with the ownership of personal property—I desire not to limit individual accumulation of artificial wealth produced by man ' s labour . I fix no bound to the possession of houses , er anything created by man ' s hands or reared by his indestry—I do not approach , to disturb it , the present ownership of land—let all existing deeds and titles remain in full force , no matter bow unjust or unreasonable such titles may bo . What I propose to prohibit is , nil FUiURE Monopoly of the Soil—to para a lawiieclarine tbat no deed executed or transferred
for the time to come , shall be valid in law if granting , or conveying , to any individual more land titan ; s necessary for such individual's rational requirfiin-mta ; 8 : iy a quantity nob above the appraised value of 20 , 000 dollars , ami in no case to exceed 500 acres . L « t this law be passed—let it become a provision of the federal Constitution—let it bo preserved inta / . -t as a sacred principle of our institutions , and in return it Will preserve thoEe institutions from change or decay , as long as a rr-spsct for freedom lives in ths henrts ol our descendants , even to the remotest ages of the world .
But , on tbe other side , if you permit unprincipled an . i ambitious men to monopolfz 3 the soil , they will become masters of the country in tbe certain order of cause and effect . Huldiug in their hands the Storehouse of food , they will make men ' n physical necessities subdue thtir lore of freedom . They will flood tha halls of legislation , sent there by tbe votes of their dependant tenants Then rapacity and wrong will assume all the due forms of " law and order "— then our unhappy descendants will be coerced , enslaved , famished to death by Acts of Parliament— THEN resistance to the oppression will be stigmatized as a " crime" against " lawful authority '—THEN our country will career down the steeps of
V Wealth , Vice , Corruption , Barbarism at last' 'our fate will be the cemmou fate , with this difference , that we will run cur vessel on the rocks wiiii a full chart of the destruction spread out before us—we will madly dash upon the ke shore while ten thousand beacon lights flame r . bove . to warn ns off the danger . Reader ! You are & rational and accountable being . You are accountable , both te posterity and to ycur Gjd . Examine this question with that serious attention which is due to its great and far-reacking imp . rtanco . If on a cartful examination you are satisfied that there is no danger ahead , then of course you are at libert f to " pass over on the other side of the way" and offer no help , where , in your opinion , no htlp is required . But if , oa a deliberate examination , you come to the conclusion tbat there is danger to onr institutions und to our
posterity from the unbounded accumulation of wealth : then I call upon you not to lay down tkis book , and with it dismiss tbe subject from your thoughts . If you do so . you are n » l doin # your duty—you are not acting either a just or a manly purl towards those couutl-sa millions ¦ whose boncuiga or freedom , whose weal or woe , is staked upon tbe momentous issue . Meet tho necessity like a man . Come to tne rescue of our ii . s . iu'tions while it is yet time . Put a stop to the accumulation of enormous wealth . Why should it be suffered ? Wfcafc good can accrue from it even to tbe rich men themselves ? Whether squandered in riot and exctss , or hoarded up with the iron-grasp of covetouaneM , ih it net alike subversive of moiality and religion—alike productive of guilt and criiatj ? Look into tlie simple and harmonious laws of nature , and eee how little man ' s rational enjjyments are dependent upon vast accumulations of wealth . Search tfce Scripture , and there see the doom denounced against those who " lay up for themselves treasures on cart '! . " In
pity even to those men themselves , limit their iiold of sordid- accumulation . Bat Etill more prohibit it , in compassion to the countless myriads of coming posterity . Look to the example already furnished en our own " free" hills . See bow thirty thousand freemen moat be degraded into serfs , in order to manufacture , and support oce " Lord of the Soil ! " And , sucin ? these things , will you permit the soil—tbe source of man ' s sustenance—to become the prey of the monopolist ? No ! Let him take all else be pleases ; let him a ; ld bouse to house—let his storerooms groan with accumulated merchandise—let him heap all the gold and ( silver he can scrape together with hia clutching and palsied hand—but , oh , preserve THE SOIL from hifl pollution . Let the cultivators of the soil be ths prop , rietora of the soil . Do this , and wbate-ver corruption , may be engendered in cities by the baneful ionueiice of wealth , will be purified and dissipated by . tfco unpurchaseable virtue of an independent and rural population . — Williamsburgh Democrat .
Untitled Article
Extraordinary Ff . condity . —Mr . Musty , milkman , at Horfield , has in his possessioa a sow , two years and three months old , which has farrowed , in the short space of eighteen months , the extraordinary number of fifty-one pigs , and with the exception of one , they hare all been reared . Alice Lowe , a girl charged by Lord Frankfoit with stealing tho trinkets with which she was lavishly adorned by his Lordship , while under his " protection , " has been committed for trial . Oa being asked by the magistrate what she had to say
for herself , her reply wac , " Oh , sir ! I have only to say that the whole of the things produced Lord Frankfort gave me . They were given , to me to induce ma to go and live with him . " ( At the conclusion of thiB brief statement the prisoner covered her face with her har . ds . and applied her handkerchief to her face . ) His Lordship , who appeared not a little ashamed of himself , was glad to make his exit from the court privately , but was recognised by the mob , and mosfc cordially hooted . The girl is described a 3 very handsome , with" an expression of cheerfulness blended with innocence in her countenance whiob ba 3 > very winning effect . "
Untitled Article
fi rHE * NORTHERN STAR . ^ ________
-
-
Citation
-
Northern Star (1837-1852), Oct. 29, 1842, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1184/page/6/
-