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Northern Star (1837-1852), 10th December 1842, Edition 1 of 5, Page 4, THE NORTHERN STAR. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1842.

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    • TO THE PEOPLE. '
    • THE NORTHERN STAR. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1842.
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      To The People. '

      TO THE PEOPLE . '

      1 . —Mt Dbak Fbirjds , —I regret to address yen cm any subject -which has not a direct connection vnth Chartism , and , atffl more , to allude to matters which wneern myself , and which may cause any difference of opinion in onr body ; but when I am asswted fa « o jaany ways , both by the Ctorennnent and the Editors •^¦ LS newspapers , I think I should be destatute -3 tbe epirit of a man , if I did not appeal to those ^ rhom I have &Ktfnlly served , the working men of England , Scotland , and Wales . S- _ iirst . —Iniregard to the Government S—I am prepared , acting on the adviee of my friends , and having a dne regard for the safety of my colleagues -and my bail , to appear in court , and there defend on principle , and I hope , like a man and a Chartist , the part 1 hare taken , sot only in the movement generally , bit during the strike in particular .

      4—Secondly , I hare answered Mr . O'Brien , and his ingJnnations , in a letter which I expert he will publish intns paper . 5—Thirdly , Inow ait down to meet the open and covert ciarges of Mr . Hill , the editor ot the Northern Star % hare read , I beBeve , every Star issued since my « xEe {; and I have not overlooked the ominous meaning of the editorial remarks is the Star . I knew , from private information , from letters directed to the Executive , and from general observation , that I would sooner or later have to pass through an or € eal of desusclation , therefore , I was in a measure prepared for an attack ; but , I must confess , I did not believe that the bitterest enemy , or the falsest friend , -would have cboKB the present moment for an attack upon my character , or to destroy my political existence ; far less

      could I betters that a Christian minister , a fellowlabourer in the cause , and once a real or professed friend , would have mouthed me on the one side , whilst I bad the Government on the other , and around about -and upon me , difficulties which require my whole energies t » meet and subdue . However , experience has taught me to feel surprise at no event , boweTer improbable and unjust , or unbecoming to tbe character of man : it has taught me to expect opposition erren from my fellows with whom I have ¦ erred , and certainly it is true that when you can succeed in attaching anything to a man's character , the accused will be Tery ignorant of humanity , if he expects consolation or aid from bis companions . Fortunately , I neither need it nor seek it , because I have an honest and upright jury in the working-men , and a perfect xelianee in the justice of 07 canse .

      6—1 need bo abaaive language , to aid me s I will make use of no base Insinuationi agafnst the character of any ™ im . 1 -will s * ek to destroy no fellow-• worker with cowardly blows , because I neither envy the position , nor hate the character of any man with whom I have toiled . No , my friends , I need not the aids of injustice and calumny , because 1 can find far better weapons in the facts I stall state , and in the uprightness and consistency of my political « osauct , from the first moment I declared myself a Chartist , down to the present time . I will not shield myself under a counter-accusation , nor trouble myself mith searching the records of the lives of my opponents ; the first I leave to the really guilty . ; the second to the conscience of every man , and the discriminating judgment of the people , who are the only true judges of meo . I take np the -weapon of reason and enter the arena as firmly to defend my character from the attacks of my own party as I shall do in a court of justice to struggle with the Government .

      7—In the outset I might avail myself of the plea of absence and claim exemption from attack : but since the sense of justice » f my opponents has not suggested to them a little patience and further nursing of their hate , I will not cry mercy though I am on my back . I Ud defiiTiria to them , and if I said it . with my last tn-eath , I would waste it in defying them under every circumstance . Why am I thus fearless of assault and abanny ? Because I know that my services have not gone unnoticed ; though working silently , the working men have seen what I have done , aud it will require able advocates and weighty charges to make the work * ing da » s -wheel about like a weathercock , at the puff of © rery-writer in a newspaper . .

      8—1 might likewise avail myself of another argument against entering the lists with Mr . Hill . It ia that the contest is unfair , in as far as my present letter has to pass through his hands , and will have an answer appended to it before It meets the publie eye ; thtu affording him attack and reply , or two blows for my one . That evident and serious disadvantage I will nol complain of . It is Mr . Hill ' s fortone to have the high side of the field , and mine to have the opposite . If he inserts my letter , it is all I want

      S—Let me begin then with a declaration of prindple , u far as regards the Ster and Mr . HilL Should any one suppose that in this letter I am answering Mr . BUI , or Tnnfcing my appearance as if In s court at the summons of the Editor of the Star , he must disabuse Ids mind of that belief as speedily as possible . I sever have , nor ever win , admit for a moment that I am ressponslblfi to Mr HQ 1 , or to the Star , for my opinions or actions ; neither will I be tried by the Editor , nor yet will I pay any attention to his sentence upon me , or any of my colleague I will not give any account of » y conduct as a member of the £ xecutive ~ to the Editor of the Siar , or in any public paper , and I deny is to to fi > e right of Mr . Hill to aaiume . to himself the censorship of the Nafional Charter Association , or of the

      { ftiET < j « f . body . ; jero az « my ttuons—10—Firstly . lRacknowlBdge my responsibility to the Editor of the Star , or any other paper whatever , I would deliver into the keeping of another man that which is always best in my own custody , via ., the freedom of speech , thought , and action . I weald submit myself to the judgment , and be bound by the decision of a man , whom I never elected , proposed , or dreamed af appointing to the office of judge over my actions ; futber , I would be submitting myself to one who is the servant of another ; who is again the sole propri . star of the Siar , the Siar itself being a private , and not a public speculation , over which I have no control , no check , and no kind of influence whatever . If I voted for Mr . HilL as Editor of the Siar , or if I had a vote

      in displacing him , I then would be bound by his acts , to a greater or less degree ; but even then the responsi bility would be from the elected to the elector , from Mi . Hill to me , and not from me to Mr . HilL As we are now situated Mr . Httj did not appoint me as a member of the Executive , therefore I am not responsible to him exeept in as far as be is a member of the National Charter Association , and then Mr . Hill , the member of an association , is not the Mr . Hill the Editor of the Star . I did not appoint Mi . Hill Editor of tee Siar , therefore I Claim HO responsibility from him , on account of any thing he may say or do . He is solely responsible to the ewner af the paper , in no way ean he be influenced by others , and in no way ought others to be influenced by him ,

      unless they consent to be so , against which concession I enter my protest as an individual whom he has attempted to call to account I acknowledge that the press does and ought to exercise a public influence , but that can and ought only to pTtpxid as far &a the reason and justice of its articles , and at all times we should recollect that the freedom of the press is in . fact a species of despotism which gives to one man when be chooses to exercise it the power of doing great good or boundless evil . I for one have no great faith in the fourth estate , and I shall always take the " we" for what it is worth , and no more , viz , the opinion of ONE man ixjiuex&d by CAUSES ickick « ts can neither see mr eontroL Finally , I will not be the slave of the press , and I shall acknowledge no allegiance te it ; at the same time I will not interfere with it

      11—Secondly , I refuse to account to Mr . Hill , Editor , for my acts , or the Executive , and also to acknowledge his right of censorship over the Charter Association , because no such office WH contemplated hy the hsmer of the rules and regulations ; and if so , I demand a voice in electing ftnv lS—Again , I have always qalstioned the propriety of bringing every matter connected with forty thousand associated men before millions , and subjecting the associated Chartists to the influence and votes of men who have no more right to interfere with the Association than the Emperor of Morocco , as well as the surveillance of the Government . No man , or set of men , ought to interfere with the National Charter Associa tion , unless they belong to it ; and I have yet to learn that it is , or was , a part of my duty to bow to a censor . Others may do so ; bat I am a Chartist , and willhav * my vote for or against the manbefareIjtdmit Mr . Hill to the watch-tower over ma .

      IS—I have stated -what I -will not do : I abaVj now atata what I shall do . For every siet of mine , as a public man , I shall appear and answer before a fairly called and open public meeting of my fellow-countrymen , then and there to answer any charge preferred by Mr . Hill , or any question put by any of my fellow men . A public meeting is the juttice hall for me . If I am to be accused by my own party , then let all my acts be car , Tassed , my motives searched into , and a magnifying glass applied to every trivial act and word , and when it ia over , 1 believe I shall neither be found to be an agent of the Government , of the landlords , or cotton lords- After the scrutiny ia concluded I shall borrow the lees , and probably find the old adage realised , Vj ' z , V that those who live in glass houses should not throw

      stones . " Far every act of miae , aa a member of the Executive , I shall appear and answer before the member * of any locality , then and there to have all acts , accounts , and deeds fairly blixoned before the meeting , where , at least , the weakness of our association will not be published to our enemies , nor our divisions by our friends . I will answer any question personally or in writing , put to me » J any member of the National Charter Associa tion . I have always declared , my readiness to resign , even if one locality called upon me to do so , andfat all tinea I have treated with respect and attention the requisitions of localities , or the wishes of my brother

      officers . My nomination and election were the acts of the people , and as to the present salary paid to my wife it ib dearly sot doe to me , as I cannot perform the duties of the office . J shall repay , whenever it is in my power , the sum already advanced doling my absence , and I assure the members of the Association , that the unprotected condition of my family alone hats induced me to receive it . If it will be any immediate advantage to the Association , I hereby resign all claim to the office or the salary , and I do it with the most perfect belief that the blabt will still be tempered for me , in * pite of the savage pursuit of my enemies -, at all events I stall . bear up like a man , without a mannar , against every blow of tyraon tftreschery , or of Jorfroe . ]

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      14-1 haveilr eady said that I will not afford a precedent for introducing explanations connected with the Association in the Star , because the proper course is for the members of the Na £ onal Charter Association to meet and deliberate on any sit of the Executive , and through their sub-Becretaries communicate their decision to the Rxecutive , taking care that the charge and defence are heard by them as a jury ; or a committee of enqmiry , as one sensible ¦ num proposed , can be empannelled and proceed to consider the matter at issue . The most fatal step it to make the public and the Government parties to you quarrels . The lookers-on rub tbeir hands with glee , and they will find agents to hunt the Siar on the game they rejoice to see started .

      15—Mr . Hill has preferred a very lame and miserable charge against me concerning the turn ef ten hillings a week having been paid me in addition to the thirty shillings , and wMdi seems to be the head and front of my offending aslPawmber of the Executive . He even proceeds so far as to denounce us as thieves—a charge which no man of any sense of honour or pride could for a moment endure . That is an old card in Mr . Hill ' s hanis , and I think he played it first at HulL Any one who knows me , will never charge me with a selfish love of money , and surely every one must know that if I had Bought gain , I would not , in the first instance , have been a member of the National Charter Association . If I Bought money in the National Charter Association , I would have remained a lecturer , and if I want money know , I have ODly to renounce Chartist

      principles . During the time I have been on the Executive , I have been ready to lecture , agitate , or work night and day whenever required . I have opened new localities ,- and in London , Manchester , or any partcf the ki gdom , I have kept my appointments regardless of expense , and equally so whether I was remunerated or not One month I travelled so incessantly that my coach fare alone cost me fifteen pounds . Did I charge the com try with that ? Look at all the balance sheets since I was allowed ten shillings additional Ten say that was contrary to rule . So it was ; but was it not also contrary to rule for any locality to expect a member of the Executive to lecture for it , when they were toe poor to pa ; either coach hire , or any part of the incidental expenses J If the localities had looked as much to rule as the Executive , Mr . Hill

      would not have been so loud 1 b bis abuse . 16—Now let me ask Mr . Hill what incidental expenses mean ? What limit there ia to the half ? and whether would there net be room there for heavy charges ? Let me ask the people if it was not more democratic for me to accept of is . 63-pex day fox incidental expences , than to charge the country perhaps five or ton shillings ? Let me ask them if it is not cheaper on the whole to adopt that plan , and then let me inform them that I found such an allowance on the average a very great loss ; and let me also aay that had it been a very great gain , every penny would have gone to Bene them as it hitherto has done .

      17—The subject is , however , so mean , so despicable , and withal so exceedingly like the petty but annoyicg bite of a bug , that I loathe and detest the abject spirit which could enable any man to cry aloud , thief—rebber—on such Blender grounds . The subject is suggested by malice , and no doubt will be fanned by those who expect to stand in the shoes of the present Executive . They are welcome to do so , but they may depend upon it they will never prosper by such deceitful work , their own edifice will tumble on their heads , and , liko the piercing undermining mole , they will be crushed in their fragile den by the heel of an exasperated people .

      18—Mr . Hill , in his article on the Executive balance aheet , says , "The excuse of Mr . Campbell , and all the talk of the talent , the honesty , (!) and the judgment (?) of the party , " &c Mark the petty spirit which rules the writer here ; see the printer ' s mark of exclamation when Campbell , in his warmth of heart , attributed honesty to xn » , and then mark a second time the printer's mark of question ; question when my friend applies the term judgment to my character . Mark altogether the animus which guides Hill in his charge , and then tell me if the Attorney-General Vim ever been more subtile , mean , o « bitter towards a Chartiflt prisoner . Then read further , and mark how he smoothly and adroitly asserts , that " We have no irish to depredate the worth , or to underrate the services of Dr . H-DoualL" Ah ! he would wish you to believe that , as one combatant would wish to convince the onlookers , he has no wish to strangle him he has thrown down , no wish in tbe world , only time to grasp him more securely by the throat

      19—Believe me , wetting men , Mr . Hill has been iong training his small arms and great gun on the Executive . He watches always his time , and he said at Manchester , he would ; but as certainly as there is honesty on earth , he will be defeated . He may press upon a persecuted and absent man , be may serve up a bill ef denunciation against me ; at the same time , tbe Government prepare one to outlaw me ; but the native lore of fair- play which siti in the heart of an Englishman , and glorifies bis character amongst nations , will cry shame upon him , and force him to sneak away amidst the hootings of society .

      20—Mr . Hill says : — " We happen to know that the Executive have been written to privately on these subjects again and again . " So they have , no doubt , but they were written to on other subjects , of which I have now to speak , and to which I beg attention , as they will prove that that watchfulness is not for the mere love of democracy , which , Mr . Hill would lead us to suppose , only actuates him on the watch-tower he h * a placed , unbidden , in tbo Chartist -vineyard . Recollect , I speak of facts which I know ; and in two of which the Executive had documentary and personal evidence , ready at the Manchester meeting , but which

      were rendered unnecessary at that time ; first , because a charge was preferred against us by Mr . Hill , and others ; secondly , on accomnt of a vote of thanks , instead of condemnation , being proposed by O'Connor , and seconded by Cooper , of Leicester . I may also Bay , that I informed &ra » by , of Hull , publicly , that his complaint against tbe Executive , as far as I was concerned , should no longer exist . Now , mind that fact , because Mr . Hill knew it , and now he raises the old objection , although a consenting party to a vote of thanks , and one who called on the nation for a tribute to the robbers .

      21—The Executive received letters from various parts , informing us that a conspiracy was being formed against them , and particularly a letter from Leeds , which stated that Mr . Hill and others agreed there in a certain house , to pursue a certain course of eondnct against the Executive , the basis of which was—thai ike diarader of tke Executive teas to be sufficiently shaken first in private , and then by a simultaneous public assault Nay , the language was reperted , and the names of the neW Executive actually pub npon a list . I need not mention that neither Leach , Campbell nor myself w « re on that list . The plot was very cleverly got up , but it

      exploded too soon , and the people happened to be very rusty on tbe matter . Where are the letters ? I know that will be the cry . I had three of them which I gave to Mr . O'Connor to read whilst in Nottingham , and I must record a fact in that gentleman's favour ; he not only expressed bis indignation , but he wrote privately to parties ( who know the truth of what I write ) , and publicly to the people , declaring that he would oppose and put down all cabals of such a character . Where are the men ? oh ! both men and letters can easily be forthcoming , and my respected colleagues ean have no difficulty in producing them if they are wanted , an event which certain parties will not demand

      to t > e realised . ^ 2—What does all this shew ? Nothing more than that the present Executive are very unpalatable to Mr . Hill , and many others who have leagued with him for their destructien , and who have nibbled away with great energy for some time at myself and my brother officers . Time will unfold the success of their labours , and , in tbe mean time , I have pointed out the fact that there has been a little more than pore democracy concerned with the discharge of the secend and largest gun against the Executive . I pass on to another subject , which concerns myself ; and , aa Mr . Hill has announced his intention of removing the mantle of his protection from those he loves , I hope be will take it entirely away from those whom he hates , and in a bold and open manner write down their names in fall with the aime and sentence in ruled columns . Mr . Hill says in the same Star , of Nov . 19 th , in his appropriately named article "The Last Shift , " when

      speaking of tbe Executive address—I will pass over the cries which are mere echoes of Abinger and the Press , such as mad , mischievous , and criminal document , and boldly confess that I am prepared to defend every sentence of that address , together with the propriety and justiee of issuing it ; and I only refrain from naming the author on the ground that it would be giving information to the Government , which others may do , and get paid for if they like . I despise that mean and grovelling cowardice which would crawl and cringe at tbe feet of persecution , and whine ott miserably . I did not write it , it is criminal , and the author ought to be pnnished for it Out upon such pitiful poltroons . So help me God , I am so utterly disgusted with the general and abject renunciation of that address , that if the people will secure my five years * bail from all harm , and prepare me new bail , I will return and defend that address , acknowledge Diy-Belf the author , and meet Ms . Hill in public meeting , at Leeds .

      23 . Mr . Hill says , whoever the author is , he must be cast from the people . Mr . Hill knows perfectly well who is the author . He was at the Conference ; he heard what Gregory said ; he knew then , now , always the man he was stabbing under tbe convenient name of Mr . Whoever . He also insinuates , knowing whose character he ia destroying , that the author may b * an agent of the Corn Law Repealers , or of the Government , but not of the landlords . He even takes advantage of the bonds of the law , and knowing that it was neitherwise nor just of the author to give the government the required

      information , he stabs away , satUfied that his man is fast , and legs and arm , bound together as well , as seas rolling between them ; and all the time he cries out , j the abience ofevidaice , nothing could , be more base than to charge the address upon any one . ilerdfal God ! GiTe me Tory malignity and Whig cruelty , but spare me from the tender mercies of my friends . Never mind , l et him go on -Jet him shako his man private ! ]/ first , and then destroy him publicly afttneards . Let him get ^ p a public opinion against the address , and then out comes the name of the author .

      24 . Lei him go on ; the people will awaie , aye , and Boon too ; they will watch the trials ; they will find out the cloven foot ; and I shall live to see that man yet no : only despised but repentant ; aye , bitterly ieptntlng bis njijuBt assaults upon a mas whose greatest crime has

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      been devotion to and enthusiasm In the cause of Chavtism . He has done his wont against me , and hand in hand he has kept pace with my persecutors . , 25—He denounced the address in the . Star suoce- adlng tbe Conference , and tbe Government followed up with their arrests . He declared it to be the cause of the mischief , and the Government commenced theic pursuit , He denounced me as a dangerous man , and my letters as mad and mischievous ; the Government toofc him at bis word , and set a pries on my bead . Ha declares tbe author ia an enemy to th « cause : the Government , that be is an enemy to bis country . He declares tbe author ' s sentence to be . banishment from tha country . He destroys tbe author ' s character amongst the Chartists ;

      the Government his chance among tbe jury class . And to finish the measure of persecution , Mr . Hill introduces a bill of denunciation at the yerj moment tbe Government file one of outlawry . Working-men , Englishmen , Scotchmen , and [ Welshmen , where have Ia chance afforded me ; pursued , persecuted and prejudged , is it not true I made an appeal to my countrymen , and demanded tbeir protection ? I do demand it as an set of justice , not one of mercy ; as a right , not as a favour . To whom do I appeal ? to the Trades and Chartists of Manchester . Fellow-men speak , out , speak the troth if It should kill me , and as your acts were my acts , say at once whether you approve or condemn . Your decision will influence me much , and I await it with tranquillity and courage .

      26—In the meantime let me remind tbe readers of forgotten facts . The Conference met in Manchester after the strike . When the address was issued , there were none to strike in Manchester . The address appeared only in these places where thestribe was general , and only for one day ; above all , the Trades' address appeared first and the other second . How then could that address cause tbe strike ? 27—There are bat two ways to blame the addrens ! first , because It did continue the strike ; and second , because it did not . Mr . Hill is one who blames it for the first cause , and I am anxious to know how many Manchester men , and especially of the trades , agree

      with Mr . Hill in condemning that addreBS because it continued the strike . -The next charge would be , that the address did not do what it promised , which , certainly , to my mind , ought to be the charge brought forward by the honest Chartists . Now why did it not do what it promised ? Simply because Mr . Hill and others would not take any put in the strike , and consequently the machinery spoken of broke down . Mr . Hill came to Manchester , determined to oppose the Btrike ; and in reporting from places which he said were resolved to take no part in the strike ; news arrived to contradict him , and to state that those places represented as being so obstinate had been the first to move .

      18—I repeat it that the Blackburn and Preston murder called for the address and even revolution , but caution or cowardice , mastered folly and mischief . God knows I woold have been fool enough to risk my life to avenge the nourdered men , and if that is Mr . Hills charge , I plead guilty . In his own language I Bay that the people will in time distinguish their friends , and I can , in the mean time , live down his persecution . 29—I have stated that some person took away a copy of the address from the printer , and read it in Carpenters'Hall previous to airy decision on the port of the Conference , or any alteration in the document itself . As it now stands , I am ready to defend it . If the chief charge against the author is that of attempting to continue the strike , will tbe trades , who proclaimed that resolution , first defend their position or desert it ? True , they issued another , and so might the author , had the law not been quicker than tbe printer .

      30—As the address stands , every one denies having anything to do with it , because it happens to be obnoxious to Government , and every one wouldhave fathered it had its fate been different 31—Some speak of my flight Let those gentlemen beware of using tbe word with my name . I neither fled nor hid myself , but remained in and near Manchester until all danger and disturbance had ceased . I was the last man to fly , not the first I was . quite at my ease , except for my bail , one of whom is a working man .

      32—Now , my friends , I believe I can give you the true reasons for these assaults on me and the author of the address . First , tbe timid think such a course wil recommend them to a lenient sentence ; and , eeojndly , think they will prevent my return to England , —and I do not know whether Mr . Hill or tbe Government ard taking the best steps to c fleet it The first course might be secured by a simple no ; and the second cannot be secured by any such method as that pursued by Mr . Hill , who seems to think that the best check is to destroy my character , which be most religiously believes be can do . He shoots with a wooden arrow ; the people are not at his beck ; and it will be difficult for a man who did his best to make the movement fall , to convince tbe people tbat that failure is a crime . Let him remember the high gallows made for Haman , and let him know I fear him not , if I bad a good ° ld meeting , a free stage , and no favour , which I will have sooner than he dreams of .

      33 . —Now , my friends , in conclusion , let me state that all the Hills in England will never make me change my principles , —no , if all the people were to condemn me , L repeat now tbat which I stated in the court at Chester ; I will stand undismayed , between the frowns of a people on the oue hand , and the terrors of persecution on the other . I have done nought which will make me fear the face of man , and armed with the panoply of truth and principle , I take up my position on the justice of my cause , whore I am superior to tbe dart of treachery on the one side , or tbe arms of a Government on tbe other . , 34 . —Like the Roman who could traverse the known

      globe , repeating in pride and in safety , lam a Roman , so in passing through the shower of shots aimed at my heart , I cry aloud , uuhurt and exulting , I am a Chartist . If I am defended bv the people I shall glory in their confidence , which has borne me hitherto , above every trial and trouble , and which has been a shield and a sword in my hands , as well as an honour en my breast , which as it has been dearly bought , shall be dearly taken away . 35 . —If I am forsaken by tbe people , I shall still possess my principle , and I shall find consolation ia looking back on tbe fate of tbe noblo Athenian , who was banished from his country by the votes of his fellow citizens , for no other reason than that assigned by one of the voters , '' I hated him for his justice , therefore I voted for his banishment . " 36 . —I have done ; my case is now before you , and in its justice I anchor my confidence .

      37 . —1 am , as I ever will be , sincerely devoted to my cause and my country , though An Exile .

      The Northern Star. Saturday, December 10, 1842.

      THE NORTHERN STAR . SATURDAY , DECEMBER 10 , 1842 .

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      Nevee did paddle storm more awfully than the one which we have stirred : and right thankful may we have cause to be , if the dirt throwing do not choke us before we have . " cleaned out the quarry I ' If ever our readers hare seen a batch of light-fingered lightermen on board their craft , doing battle with the constables , to preclude an acquaintance with the "beaks , " they have seen no bad correspondence of the present conduct of the Executive . As an individual portion of the people to whom they are responsible , we have required tbat they should perform the duties they are paid for ,

      and that they should themselves conform to the rules which it is their duty to enforce ; we have hinted a suspicion that they have in many things not done so , and we have desired to bring them . to explain or answer for tbeir conduct to the people , the only legitimate authority . Instead of answering onr just requirements , and those of the Metropolitan delegates , the Leicestershire delegates , the Hull Councillors , tbe Birmingham Chartists , and very many others of their constituents , they get aboard

      their mud barges , and throw dirt with both hand ? , in the hope of making farther effort to bring them to a reckoning so disagreeable a business that tbeir accusers may be sickened and suffocated with the nastinesB , and so they may escape . They mistake greatly : we are not thus to be beaten off . The filth and Btench of their native Billingsgate and ready falsehood may be a little annoying , but it lies only on tne surface , and caa be easily washed off with the clean water of truth .

      We think the preserving of the fair escutcheon of onr cause from rust and filth , a matter of too high consequence to mind the soiling of oar fingers a little by its cleansing ; and hence we manage to preserve a marvellous equanimity under all the scurrilloas abuse , artful misrepresentations , and unblushing falsehoods , that are had recourse to aa a means of diverting the people ' s attention from the information we have given them . It will not succeed , and simply because we shall not permit it . I t may be sufficiently disgusting , and not a little

      painful , to reply to tbe sort of stuff which these men vent in their maddened writhings , but we shall perform the duty , though not the most , pleasant one . The people have a right to have the whole matter laid before them , and so far as our time and space affords opportunity , they shall have it . They : shall have the means of forming their own judgment how far their own principles have been recognized in the very citadel of their owa movement . " We last week not only permitted Leach and Campbell to bespatter us pretty liberally with the LUtU of their joint letter , but we gave free vent also to the

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      belohingB of Leach ' s sour stomach , at the Carponters ' s Hall , and the South Lancashire Delegate Meeting . We passed these without note or comment , expecting them to be taken up by other parties . It will be seeD , from the communications from Hull , Birmingham , Sheffield , and Loughborough , that they have been so taken up . We bare now to deal with ths long "denunciation " of M DoualIi , which appeared in the Evening Star of last Wednesday and Thursday , and which ought to hare appeared in the Northern Star of last Saturday ; but some reason , best known to himself , induced the denunciator" not to send it here . No man ever had or ever shall have any right to complain of injustice or a want of fair play at our hands ,

      and hence , though we are by no means bounden to it , we give the Doctor ' s whole dooument in juxtaposition with onr own observations , and as it is a matter of most unweildly length , we have broken it into paragraphs , and numbered them for convenience of reference . We shall do that which , though it is our own invariable custom , no disputant had ever yet , the fairness to do by us , abide strictly by the matters and things to be replied to , and keep in view the question . Had the Doctor and his mates done this , instead of raising such a pother in the mud , we might have had much less trouble , our readers much less annoyance , and themselves a much better chance of " getting out of the mess " than they now have .

      Conscious delinquency is always inconsistent , and Dr . M'DooAtL forms no exception to the rule ; the head and tail and body of his letter fit so badly together , and form so strange a contrast and diversity , that they make the whole to look like a sad abortion . With the first four paragraphs we have little concern . The fifth contains nothing upon which we think it necessary to observe beyond the passing remark , that a " Christian Miuieter , and a fellow labourer in the cause" Would have ill discharged his duty , perceiving dangers and abuses , not to point them out .

      The sixth paragraph ia on 3 that we wish the Doctor had verified in the remaining portion of his letter : it would have saved us much trouble . We give it entire : — " I need no abusive language to aid me ; I will make use of no base insinuation against the character of any man . I will seek to destroy no fellow-worker with cowardly blows ; because I neither envy the position , nor hate the character of any man with whom I have toiled . No , my friends . I need not the aids of Injustice and calumny , because I can find far better weapons in the facts I shall state , and in the uprightness and

      consistency « f my political conduct from the first moment I declared myself a Chartist , down to the present time I will not shield myself under a cou nter-accusation , no trouble myself with searching the records of the live of my opponents ; the first I leave to the really guilty ; the second to the conscience of every man , and the discriminating judgment of the people , who are the only true judges of men . I take up the weapon of reason , and : enter the arena aa firmly to defend my character from the attacks of my own party as I shall do in a court of justice to struggle with the Government . "

      We regret much , for the Doctor ' s own sake , that the major portion of his letter proves that this epecioua seeming is assumed merely for purposes of tact ; as he deals very largely in all the matters of abusive language and counter accusation which he here promises to eschew . r In the Bevonth paragraph , under pretence of disclaiming it , he makes very dexterous use of the string so muoh fiddled on by his co-mates to divert attention from themselves and the matters with which they s * and charged . He sets up the plea of absence . He is " an absent man "; a nd , therefore ,

      ought not to be attacked 1 Not a word should be « aid about his delinquencies , because he is not there to defend himself J His coadjutors have all sung this song in chorus ; and the Doctor pops in a very convenient chord by declaring that he won't sing it . Now , supposing that 'M'Dotmia . really was absent ; this ia not a matter oa which the plea of absence could , with the slightest plausibility , be offered for him . He was not absent when , for months together , he was every week appropriating public rcooey under false pretences , and trampling under foot the Rules of the Organization

      which he had been appointed to enforce . He was not absent when , in July last , his attention , and that of his coadjutors , was called to the matter by the kindly and friendly letters of the Hull councillors , and by the very propar and spirited resolutions of the Leicestershire delegates—when he wrote to the Hull secretary that if the Hull councillors were not satisfied about the ten shillings awoek it should be given up , and was answered that , " of course they were not satisfied" to see the money of the public illegally appropriated . He was not absent when at Manchester , he publicly stated that

      the complaints of tbe Hull councillors had been consider ed , and that there should be no more cause for them . He must have known , during all this time , that the balance-sheet would appear again in due course , and would certainly exhibit the evidence of his falsehood and ill faith . The cry of " absence " opposed to these clear matters of fact , is contemptible . He was not absent while all this was going on ; he is not absent now ! Of his particular location we know nothing . Whether he may be in England or out of it is a matter of no consequence ; he is sufficiently present for all matters of defence .

      The press is open to him . He has access to it , and as ready a communication with it aa any other man . In the Northern Star of Saturday beforelast , we made some comments on the conduct of the Executive . In the Evening Star of Wednesday appear two columns from M'Douall in reply ;; on Thursday two columns more ; aid in the Statesman of Saturday almost two columns more . Here is a man who , in a paper war , returns three blows for one ; and crys out that he can't defend himself , because he ' s not there ! I The very

      letter upon which we are now commenting , states , that he has seen every Star issued since his * : exile . " Nothing can be more clear than that th « cry of '' absence" under such ciroumstanoes , is a mere " artfui dodge" to avoid accounting for misconduot by excitingthe commisseration of the people and appealing to their prejudices against those by whom his misoOhdudt is pointed out . The "dodge" shall not serve him . He is no more absent than we are ; and the endeavour to escape censure upon such a plea is in no way creditable , though it may evince a little tact .: ¦ ••¦ : > .: " - . ; - '¦'¦ ''¦¦ ¦ : : ' ¦ ' ¦ ¦ ¦•¦ ¦ ¦ :

      In the eighth paragraph he talks of " entering the lists with , Mr . Hill . " We beg to assure him he here labours under a small mistake ; when Mr , Hill " enters the lists"it will not be with him . His ninth , tenth , eleventh , and twelfth paragraphs are occupied with denying his responsibility toMr . Hux , or the right of Mr . Hill " to try him , " or " pass sentence upon him "; and he assigns as reasons , therefore , that" he did not vote for Mr . Hill as Editor of the Star , " and that" he has no vote in displacing him " , and that" no such office as public censor , with power to try , and pass sentence upon

      men , exists in the Chartist Organization " , and that " the freedom of the press is , in itself , a speoies of despotism . " Had he been inclined to realize the specious seeming of his sixth paragraph , which we have quoted , he would have saved himself the trouble of writing all this nonsense . He knows perfectly well that Mr . Hill never assumed any su \» h tight of censorship ; that Mr . Hill never attempted to make the Executive responsible to him as Editor of the Star , ot to try" and pass sentence ? upon them . As Editor of the Star , Mr . Hill

      always has exercised , and always will exercise , that censorship which legitimately belongs to a free press—the right of canvassing the acts of public men , and of pronouncing an opinion upon those acts . To this he has always added the practice , which is perhaps less common among journalists than it should be , of giving his reasons for his opinions , and of trying to . make those reasons and opinions clear to the apprehension of the people ; and this we fancy i 9 just the " species of despotism" which the Doctor fears . Ho dosa admit , however , that Mr . Hill " . as . a member of the Association" has a right to an opinion ;

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      and we presume that no one , unless it be himself will dispute that he has a right to express that opinion . Now what has Mr . Hill done in this very case 1 Has he presumed to decide , and M to pass sentence" on the Executive ! Ia the very article " Executive Balance Sheet" commented on in this letter are the words—** we trustuoe have said enough to show the people that itis time they took up ' the matter in earnest ; " and in the next paper , to which allusion is made in the same letter , the Doctor had before him , in plain print , the following words : —

      , •" ' To our mind it is of much more consequence to prevent these things in future than to trouble ourselves about the past . That which te past cannot be recalled ; but the people may make past errors a beacon for the future . We recommend therefore , that the whole matter be taken up by all the localities , at once ; that the members and councillors meet together and deliberate upon the subject ; that they endeavour to keep in mind the whole question , and to keep out of mind everything but the question—the duties of the Executive and the manner in which they have been performed ; that they lay the balance sheet—not the last merely , but the last three

      balance sheets and the organization both before them , and examine them together ; . that they read in connection therewith , the letters .. of the Hull Councillors to the Executive—the articles in the Northern Star of this and the last two weeks , and especially all that the Executive have said for themselves in explanation and defence ; that they weigh all these carefully and dispassionately , using their own clear sense of right and wrong , and their own appreciation of principle ; not suffering themselves to be led or biassed , either by us or by the Executive , but judging fairly from ? the evidence which lies before them , and recording their opinions in firm , clear , and temperate language .

      "The matteris one fraught with as much importance as any that has occupied the public mind for a long time . We ask not , therefore , that the people should take us for a guide ; but that they should divest themselves of prejudice , and view the whole subject in the clear light of common sense and Chartist principle . " Now with these paragraphs staring them in the face , we ask any man ' s common sense , if the blash about Mr . Hill ' s " censorship , " and about his assuming a right to " try " and " pass sentence " upon parties , and to make " slaves" of them be not ,

      maugre all the Doctor ' s specious seeming , an impudent " counter accusation " got up without a shadow of proof to rest it on , for the purpose of shielding and covering himself ; the course which the Doctor says he will " leave to the reall y guiUy . " We shall not permit his " counter accusation " to avail him . He is not indicted at the bar of Mr . Hill , but at that of the Chartist public . Mr . Hill assumes no right of judgment or sentence ; he states facts and leaves the country to judge of them . If M'Douall can rebut these facts ; if he can prove that , as an Executive councillor , he has been guided , in his own conduct by

      Chartist principles , aad has acted in accordance with the organization ; if he can prove to the public that he has not violated the rules he was appointed to enforce ; if he can show that as an Executive councillor he has not forfeited his trust , and broken faith with the people , let him do so , and no man will more readily acquit him of these charges than Mr . Hill . But it is not this swagger about not being responsible to Mr . Hill personally , and about not being a slave to the press , the freedom of which he regards as a species of despotism , that can hoodwink the p « ople to the plain matters of fact in question . He

      either has or has not been a party to a systematic and long-continued process of fraud , deliberately concocted , and at first ingeniously cloaked over with false pretences , and afterwards openly and impudently perpetrated without any pretence at all , in open defiance both of the spirit and the laws of the Association . That is the matter with which he stands charged not before Mr . Hill , but before the people ; not by Mr . Hill alone , but by many other members and officers of the Association as well . The proofs are that he accepted office , knowing himself to be entitled to a certain amount of salary

      and no more ; that after some time he agreed with the other members of the Executive to increase that salary fully one-third ; that this was done accordingly and paid to him regularly ; that as there was no colourable pretext for this , it was put down in the Bal&soe Sheet under the false and disguised entry of " agitating expences , " in hope that it might thus escape detection ; that in July last the Hull Councillors detected it , and wrote about it , and he promised that it should be done no more ; that at Manchester he afterwards publicly stated that the

      complaints of the Hull Councillors ( this being one of their complaints ) bad been considered and remedied ; and that when the next Balance Sheet was published it appeared that the disguise » f the" agitating expences" had been dropped , and the whole sum was , without aay pretence of authority , put down as " wages . " Now what M'Douall has . to do is not to bluster about Mr . Hill ' s " censorship , " but to meet these facts , and either show that the facts are not so or that they accord with the rules and duties of the office he holds .

      But he has another reason also why he refuses to answer to Mr . Hill . He denies that the matter is a matter for the public at all . It ia a matter exclusively appertaining to the members of the National Charter Association ; and he " questions the propriety of bringing every matter connected with forty thousand associated men before millions , and subjecting the associated Chartists to the influence and votes of men who have no more right to interfere with the Association than the Emperor of Morocco . " And yet in the very next paragraph , the fourteenth , he refuses to acknowledge any tribunal or answer for hia acts to any other party than a public meeting . He says : —

      "Tor every act of name , as a public man , I shall appear and answer before a fairly called and open public meeting of my fellow-countrymen , then and there to answer any charge preferred by Mr . Hill , or any question put by any of my fellow men . a PUBLIC MEKTINO IS THE JCSTICB HALL FOB ME . " How very consistent this is I The referring to M'Docall's coBduct , as a public man , in the Star is reprehensible , because it brings it before millions ,

      whereas none but members of tbe Charter Association have anything at all to do with it ; while yet a public meeting where evidently many , perhaps even a majority , might neither'be members , nor in reality know anything of the merits of the question , is the only " juBtioe hall" for him . There ia little difficulty in understanding this ; and ia perceiving that it bespeaks muoh less confidence in " the uprightness and consistency of hia political conduct * than he ia inclined to take credit for .

      Again , who does not see that if it be wron f per se ' to introduce into a newspaper the matters o { the Association , the same argument would exclude the balance-sheet from the Star , and would also prevent any member of the Association from giving public expression to his opinions through a news paper . And we rather think this is the point really aimed at by M'Douall , Leach , and Campbell . It is the " species of despotism , " the freedom of the press , that " bothers" them . Take from the

      localities this mode of communicating with each otherthe law prevents them from corresponding—and there is then the chance that a little peculation might be got much more snugly over . If one locality were quick enough to perceive it , perhaps all might not ; and the one might be bullied—aa was attempted with Hull . But the rascally Star tells all of them all about it , and makes every one as Wise as the rest . We feel no surprise at all that M'DOUALI should have no great affection for the " fourth estate" !

      In the fifteenth paragraph , he comes for the first time to a grappling With the matter really at issue ; of which a plain acknowledgement , or explanation , was all that wae ever asked ; or wanted ; and which might have beeea afforded in two lines Indeed the one single line tfiat we quoted last week settles the whole matter : —

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      " You say that was contrary to rule . So it was , * Here then is a clear acknowledgement of tfa whole matter charged ; and all af&r this is Mi , extenuation and mere talk for diversion ' s Bake . The excuse that the localities did not pay the expenses we have already met , in answering Lbach auj Campbell . It islTHK duty of the Executive to see that the localities do comply with the terms of the Organization . There is in this paragraph mud * display of disinterestedness , much talk of hia own labours and generosity , and a most virtuonj disclaimer of sll selfish love of money . " W »

      should have liked all this better had we not kno ^ the fact that either his "selfish love of money" $ something else did certainly induce him for manj months to receive ten shillings every week to which he had no right—first under the false pretence oi * agitating expences , " and afterwards , when driven from that position , openly and nakedly in defiance ef all pretence whatever . Plain facts speak to ^ much more forcibly than professions , however loud , The sixteenth paragraph is an attempt to " get

      away" by a bold dash . He raves about "Incidental expences , " and the manner in which they might bt run up to large sums , as if he had either never read the Organization at all , or , at all events , though nobody else had . He has no right by the Organizt tion to charge to the country one farthing fot incidental expences , save when employed in breakup up new ground , ^ and he does not attempt to shot that during the time in question he was thus employed for even a Bingle week .

      The seventeenth paragraph shows the " honest ' Doctor very uneasy and uncomfortable under i \ circumstances of his own seeking . He is " annoyef thereat . We do not wonder ; nor need he . Had k "loathed" the" rneau , despioable subject" at t \ proper time , he might have missed the " annoj anoe . " Had he not made the "bug , " he could n < have been bitten by it . The " bug" is the conscious ness of "the mean , petty , despicable" fraud whia he first took so much pains to conceal , and now tri « so vainly to brazen out . We do not wonder at hi being angry with Mr . Hill .

      He asserts that we are actuated by malice agai ' m him . He knows tha i ; to be a lie . He knows m everybody who has read the Star knows that then "has never yet been one man in the movement whoij we have not supported to the utmost extent of obi ability , soleng as we could possibly . do so without b > tray ing the people . Why should we have any mali « against him 1 We have never known him Baveasi Chartist : and even were we capable of being act * ated by the motives of petty jealousy and personil animosity , what is there in him to call forth ther » qualities in us ! He has never crossed our pati in any way , Kor ever can do so . Bat we shall neve sit and see the people bamboozled without telling them .

      In the eighteenth paragraph , be almost poetizji because we admire his honesty and question hi judgment I We cannot help it . It seems plain it us that either one or both of these qualities may te fairly considered as beyond all question . The nineteenth paragraph is another small piea of froth about the " absence" cry . That we han already disposed of . The twentieth paragraph affirms that Mr . Hm was a consenting party to a certain vote of thaob

      moved by O'Connor arid seconded by Cooper , * Leicester . The writer knows this to be false . B knows that so far from " consenting , " Mr . Hill dii not even assent to that vote of thanks . There w witnesses enough of that . Mr . Hill did not voti against it : he knew that there was no use in doitj so ; he did not vote upon it .. ' at all . ; but he had p » viously spoken , distinctly disclaiming all connectia with anything which expressed approbation either of the Strike or of the conduct of the Executive .

      Mr . Hill is taunted with having " called on the nation for a tribute to the robbers" ! Why did Ik do so V Because he had a month before seen a letter from M'Douall promising that the robbery should b < discontinued ; be had then the word of il'Douiu publicly pledged to the ' same effect ; and he to fool enough to believe M'Douall . He was desirca to give the Executive credit for honesty of purpose ; and , therefore , he not only called on the nation for a tribute , but from bis own scanty purse contribute ! more to their funds than any other man in tin kingdom—save one . He is now quite willing M acknowledge that the folly of the act deserved tl « sneering taunt by whioh it ib repaid . The twenty-first paragraph affirms that . —

      "The Executive received letters from vanoa parts , informing us that a conspiracy was being formed against them , and particularly a letter froa Leeds , which stated that Mr , Hill and others agreed there in a certain house , to pursue a certain count of conduct against the Executive , the basis of whith was—that the character of the Executive was to it sufficiently shaken first in private , and then by t simultaneous public assault . Itgoeson : — " Where are the meu 1 oh ! both menandlettei can easily be forthcoming , and my respected colleagues can have no difficulty in producing them if they are wanted , an event which certain parties VfiB not demand to be realised . "

      If the writer thinks us to be one of these " certan parties , " he mistakes . We do demand the produc tion both of the letters and the men . Wr demaio THE PUBLICATION OF THOSE LETTEHS . And , ifthej be not produced and published , and if they do not bear oat this statement , we brand M'Douall as t liar and a scoundrel . If they be produced and pub ' lished , and if they do bear out thia statement , it will be for the writers to substantiate them .

      Meantime we give the people Mr . Hill's assurance on the honour of a man , that he never saw or heard anything of this alleged mooting , save from thit letter and from Leach ' s speech , reported in last week ' s Star ; that no man ever named or « ven hinted any such thing to him , nor anything at all resembling it , Or Which could possibly fee distorted into anything like it ; nor can he think that any mtf would dare to do so .

      The rest of this long letter consists entirely « mouthing about the unfortunately famous addrea which has been so often called "the Executive '! Address . " He is " utterly disgusted with tin general and abject renunciation of that address , " and he is valorously angry with us because *' will neither praise it nor father it ; and because vt repelled the calumny of the foul-mouthed ruffiu who oharged its authorship upon O'Connor . Well we caanot help it . Our opinion of ti \ at addrtii has never altered from the first time we saw ft

      What wa thought then , We think still . "We never did and never shall defend it . Whoever was it * author , we regard him . as a most mischievous iadi » vidual , and oue whom the people , if they have heretofore trusted him , should trust no longer , but cast from them the moment he is discovered . " We don't say who was the author of it ; nor shall we bi taunted or " scolded" by M'Douall into any adoi * sion of whether we know the author or riot . We

      leave him to give the Government that information if he pleases ; he seems vastly inclined that ml We are quite content , on the part of Mr . Hill , to borrow his own words : ;*• I only refrain fr « s naming the author on the ground that it would be giving information to the Government ; which othefl may do , and get paid for , if they like . " M'DojJiii knows this very well ; and so do those who bully * bravely upon velvet about M coward thrusts" * si and ** deadly stabs "&o .

      We are very sorry , for the sake not only « M'Douall but of many whom we think bet # men , that ho has lugged in this JBJaohievo ? document at ail . We have regretted nothing more ? the unhappy business of the last few months tin * that knaves and fools would not Jet that addre * alone . We have never once named J i sav « *^ compelled . And yet , in the next paragraph fo writer , still speaking of it says : —

      * ' He denounced the address in the Star sucoeedw * the Conference , and the Government folio ived n ? with their arrests . Hodeclaredit to be the cause £ the mischief , and the Government commenced tlie » pursuit . ''

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      j THE NORTHERN STAR .

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Dec. 10, 1842, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1190/page/4/