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    MB , DTJSCOMBE'S MOTION . CVontinued from our Sixth Page . ) fliem sD to the Xonghboiongh police station iot safety said in the middle of lbs Bigjrt called them out of bed , and took them before Edward Dawson , Esq ., 'who was waiting at the Governor ' a house- He aeied the jraperintendent if hB saw them "begging ? He Baid , * No , bat they ( the prisoners ) had said they-were begging . ' His worship said , * Dhat wonld do / and asked their names . TTben J- Slee told iim ins usEje , the "Worthy MftJJlBbate ' s reply was , Oh , I shall Benfl yon for three months to hard labour , saA I am very sorry I cannot send jos tor longer . ' And is your name Green ? " to another . The answer being Yea . * * Then yon may go . * ^ Without any reason whatever beinf expressed , the otbera -were sent for one month each ; and when

    they arrived at Leicester ptisan , the Governor questioned them . He told them 'it was a very mean case , for I beliere yon are innoeentj * and the chaplain questioned them-very closely , and Baid , I . believe you are innocent , "because yon are all in one mind , and one tale ; but God was visiting them for Borne of their former sins . * "Now , £ ir > ^ b ® ^ actB ° * ^ caae aTe theses—There is a , monastery about a mile from Sheepahe&d , 'where sonp ia given * -way eTery day to all the T > OOr feat go ; and they "were in the soup-room , and Father Edwards tali them to 'wait a minute or tvro , and ha 'would bring them something to eat ; and before they had time to bring them any , the police force entered and dragged them away . Before the police reached this Wispitable balMing , they met tTTO men On business ,

    whom they sdzoA , and asked the inmates -whether these two men had not been thsre begging , and they said , ' No . ' * What , not a little water ? ' And the reply was again * No , * but the police themselves then had lbs daring impudence to beg some pears , ¦ which they sawv tE&ey a » en m&ed trbetter the ooitag eis bag seen many persons go up to the monastery ; and they said , there "were persons eon&iually going -up , so they could not tell who went * All this was done without the knowledge of the inmates of the monastery ; and Father Edwards Bays that he will give his oath they never asied for anytMB * . * " He had always * md * rstoo < l " that it Tna a privilege of the poor to go and obtain soup , or other charitable donations , from an institution like the present , without their being interfered with . Was

    it not monstrous , then , that men under such circum-BtaBces should be committed for three months , or one month , at the discretion of a magistrate , merely because they were known to be Chartists ? He then came to a case of a most diBsr&eeful character which had occurred sx Msntheitar , be mtant that of the Bev . J . Scholeffeld irtio had been kept seven days in prison -without any charge bang made against him . The fact of the Kev . JtcScholeSeld beisif arrested in the manner in which he was and the treatment which he was exposed ia , : reSoeted the greatest disgraco on the magistrates who treated a most respectable dissenting minister in tttis way . This gentleman was arrested at six o ' clock in the morning , on tfce-30 £ h of August , -with his son , » lad about sx-ean years of age , and he described the

    treatjnent which he then met with in a letter -which he had addressed to Mm « Mr . 3 > ancoiifbe ) . He said : —** On Jiidsy , thB 3 lfll of September , 1842 , as soon as the servant opened the gates to my house , a little before six ± M-, three of our police constables , Messrs : Beawick , Irwin , and ^ Jreen , came into * my house and sent the servant up stairs to say that 1 yfsg -wanted immediately . I case dcrvrn , half dressed ., to inOW QlB pttrporl of their -early visit . SIt Beswictraia , * I iwe a warrant against yon : " 3 said . * Yery well ; -3 will dress and come down again directly . ' 1 returned and said , * What is the nature of your warrant ? " Hereadthfr substance of it , being for riot , conspiracy ,-&C . * I said , Yery well , I am your pr * soner . ' I was giving instructions to » y son . a yo-atb

    in his twentieth year , as to what he muit do . 'Tbs , ' saysMz . £ eswick , 'but 2 have a warrant against him also , for publishing & seditious placard . * 1 asked him if he had'any more ? He said , ' If o ; but befoi e I go I must look over your papers , letters , drawers , if I said , ' Tery well ;* and ordered my daughter to open any place he might wish . He accordingly commenced his search ( without legal authority , as I hate since learnedi . He emptied Oi-e drawer of the -whole of its contents ; "very diligently examined the surgery ; then , into my private room , -where "was opened fa him my secretaire , portable -writing-desk , drawers , * c He was very curious in prying into things that could not really concern Mm , snebaa my deeds , banking book , ic 1 Sid to inn , Snrely there i * no treason there . ' Then ,

    to the drawers and work-boxes of my daughters , in the Httang room and bed-room , and into all the rooms in the house . They took a large parcel away -with them , and which 1 have net as yet got back ; but it is remarkable that not one document was prodocsd , either in Mancbes&erar Tjwnraster , against me . We vrere taken in- a coich to the police-office ; after a "whOe vae sent for by Sir Charles Shaw , cMef commissioner of police , " whose term expired that very day , and ho told -us to go to the Borough Court , and ordered an officer to follow at & respectful distance . -There we found many others . We were not there long before we were sent from -ffo ° T »«> to the Se » Bailey , the County Court , and , imtilit opened , - we -were , -with sbont a desen others , crammed up in a small cell abost three yards wide and six or « ighi yards long , with a disgusting and offensive plage ai one end sufficient to make any one sick . About oaa-&clock we Appeared in court before Jlr . Maude , the stipendiary magistrate ; and Hi . -Gregory , not hzrnig

    any * Zxaxgeagainstoaready fora hearing , ire ware xe- j maBdad until the Tuesday following . 2 offered bail for j myself and son ' s appearance ; bst bo , my ease was 20 j serious that nothing "but my person could be taken ; as ] a favour my son was out on baiL I was thus at once ' cut off from all my professional and Important duties , pecuniary transactions , ice , and my own son could-not , see me without a magistrate ' s order . Tuesday cams , i and after ths axaxoisasions my bob was to find bail in j £ 280 himself , and two others of jglO © each , and myself in ' £ S 06 , and two sureties of £ 400 each , -with forty-eight ; hours * notice . My bail was tendered thBn , bnt refused 1 ] at the expiration -td farty-elght boors again offered &i I the Borough Court , before Mr . Maude . He was about \ to receive it , bat ona of the poBoe o@cers put Mm a j slip of paper on the bench , and he then said they must '• mate fiirthst inquiry . On this they < the ball ) -went to , Sir Thomas Potter and told him their case . He said j he would take the werd of any of them for £ 1 , 008 .. and promised to meet them at Kew Bailey at rive j o ' clock , ' and well have him oat , yon shell Bee . * I Tee ^ tiise came , audit was done . Thus was I at liberty !

    again , after a "week ' s imprisonment ; and since , at ! Lancaster , a complete acquittal , and my son not ! prosecuted at all i The expense , Inconvenience , ' sad annoyance has been great . " The policesen then took the papers of this gentleman away , and tad nerer returned them to the R * 7 . Ml . ScholefieM , although he had repeatedly applied for ! them , and not one of these document * had been used t en tie trial by the Attorney-General which had been so Illegally taien-from Mr . Scholerleld . The result of the ] trial was , as was to be expected , that the Bev . Mr . i Scholr ' field was honourably acquitted . Thus , then , ] this genttem&n was remanded to the New Bailey pri- ; tsm , from day to dayfor the purpose of seeing whether !

    , this superintendent of police ( Berwick ) coald not sue- j ceed _ in getting op some feasible charge before the I magistrates . The next petition to -which be should j eaD the attention of the house was that of George > Wiite , new * -3 g £ Bfe sf BrwznBgrcrre-Btreet , Binningham , j ¦ who complained jimngly of having been committed to gaol on the evidence of hired and acknowledged spies . ¦ Kow , if anything could be more disgraceful to a Government , or a jaagiatracy , it was the employment ef , spies . iHeir , heat ) He did not believe 'hat the * Bight HononraWe Baronet , fhe Secretary of State for ) the "Borne DeparbneEt was at all eogn ' zmt of , or a '

    psrty to , the employment of spies on this occasion , bwsuse he did not beHeve that he could have anything todowith such a proceeding . With respect to what cad occurred to George White , against whom there was nothing but police evidence addneed , trhen he was taken betee-tie magistrate , tte first WitaftM produced agamst him was police Sergeant Daly . On his being ° ^« aamed , thiswitnesaid that he was acquainted Vilf V 0 * 31 ** ttBDame of Brown and the petitioner , ana tt » t he was accustomed to walk about with them , ^ at he ahrayi did so in coloured clothes , and that he oa not thiak that they knew that he was in the i 100 * - fleTTO asked ^ rfietlier he -was iuBtraeted by *^ « wtoio Sris , indie replied by bis superior offl- , ,

    ~ , j ^ " »; Mag rurther asked "whether he had ** ceirea any mien to insinuate himself into the confl-??* 5 t Y ^ te Kid the other person , his answer was ™^ by Mr . Griffith , the magistrate , who said « w the witn ^ a -iras uoi bound to answer the jP ^ n- On White expressinj a strong wish to ask ^^ f 111 - * Spooner , another of the magistrates , fo vT * Uhs&& ** && to P ^ t the question , but it was ^ km aiseretion of the witness toanswer it or net On s ^ JS ^ ***** S P ° t » ^ e witness declined rr *™* it . Could there be the least doubt , afur ^ . Tft "f * py system was practised and sanctioned

    ™^ sm ? George White , in his potion , stotedaWJh 1 J *^ 01361 » as arrested < m the 26 th day of fBSMTiast , npon a charge of sedirion , and was brought ^^ aessrs . Spooner , Beale , Moorsome , and other frfr * ' * . then assembled in the public office atBir-™^» a . and -jraa committed to Warwick county ga » i ^ neendenee ^ f bired and acknowledged spies , * nd kTZ "^ tonously bad character , to take his trial at to , i ^ T g * e 8 doni 3 *** y 0 BT pefifioner thereupon ^ sa -rorleave-topnt in baU , which was agreed to by « a na guiates , who demanded * ax sureties in £ 100 ^ " ^ Wnwaf m £ 600 , -With forty-eight hona ? £ **¦ -Chat yonr petitioner had good and suffiictent a * r * 3 ^ aent ^ CDnrt »^ " ^ " W 8 re we U ^ o ^ 1 ««> ** ^ 07 as magUtratea , That Biehard Spooner , ££ » wa of bar MyestyH justices of the peace , j T ™ " » 70 i » pelitionerin open Court , * That he could "CKpt any neisoii iioMTn ^ nimflu nolitf Mil nrinci . your

    ^^ j ^ JMitaa of petitioner , w bafl on Mb bow " »* * ^ e < Mr « I > nn 6 ombe ) should like to pggL ^ iiw a person in the situation of tfee wmer , eatertaMng the opinions which be ^ -was likely to get either a Tory , or a j" * 01 a member of" the Anti-Corn Law fj ^ T * to come forward and < ra « rbail for the peti-^^ » at U did so happen that Mr . George White fire Z ~ ^ J ^ * . who were not men who entertained -ijj ^ political opinions . On his offering these 2 ?* fs » he wag told that lie must give notice of bail , tfob . ^ ptirioaer complained strongly of the treatment ^™ he experisneed in gaol , which he stated was " * - uiai of a common felon , and lie Clir- Ihifioombe }

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    bad no doubt that if the House -would give him a committee , that he should be fully able to prove this . All kindB of intimidation was practised by the police towards tnoae who signified their Willingness to become bail for the petifioner . In one instance one of the authorities of the town went to a most respectable man , who happened to be a licensed victualler , and who had offered to become hail for the petitioner , and said to bim , " Your licence -will be in danger on the next licensing day if you become bail for George While . *' In constquenee of these proceedinga , notwithstanding goo A bail was effered for the liberation of the petitioner , he " was confined in solitude and cold for the space of eleven weeks , during which time your petitioner ' s wife rave birth to a child , and was thereby

    incapacitated from attending to your petitioner ' s business , thereby subjecting him to serious loss , independent of the agony of mind ¦ which he had to endure . " The whole of his papers , the petitioner stated , were taken from him , and when , on his bail being at length perfected , he applied for his letters and papers to be given to him , in order to that be might prepare bis defenee , they , as well as Ms other property that had bees taken , were detained by order of the Rev . J . Boudier , one of the visiting magistrates of Warwick County Gaol . He ( Mr . Duncombe ) was utterly at a loss to understand by what authority this reverened magistrate had kept back from the unfortunate prisoner the letters and papers which were necessary for him in the preparatien of his coming defence—( bear ,

    hear , hear ) . ilr . White went OU to State— " XOUI petitioner has since applied to the magistrates of Birmingham to have his property restored . They expressed a wish that it should be delivered up , and wrote to the visiting magistrates of Warwick to that effect . That your petitioner was referred to Sir James Graham , and vsT » ie to him on the subject , requesting that his property might be restored , or a sufficient reason given for its detention ; and that her Majesty ' s Secretary for the Home Department refused to give it up , or state the grounds on which he withheld it . " Now Mr . White was a working man with a family depending upon his exertions , yet in this manner bad he , for a period of many weeks—months , indeed—been prevented from attending to that business by which he had

    maintained himself and those who were so dear to himihear , hear , hear ) . Then there was the < ase of Mr . Kobcrt Brook , schoolmaster , which had also been printed with the votes that morning . This petitioner complained " That your petitioner -was arrested at bis owu bouaa , Back Brook-street , Todmorden , on the 5 ih of September last , upon a charge of sedition , conspiracy , and riot , &c-, and -was brought before John Crossl 6 y , £ * q ., »{ Seaitcliffa , Todmorden , and James Taylor , Eeq , Todmorden Hall , when your petitioner was grossly insulted by the said John CrossJey . Esq ., and atsongrt the language used was the following : — ' I hava got vou at last , and I am glad nt it , and I will

    take care to punish you ; you have given me a deal of trouble with writing to that rascally Northern Star . ' That your petitioner was required to find bail in the sum of—himself two hundred pounds , and two sureties one hundred penads each ; and when two persons of good and unblemished character , and both men of property , and both connty voters in the West Riding of Yorkshire , presented themselves as bail , the said John Crossley . Esq ., told them , * be would not take their bail because they were Chartists , and said he woald not take 3 Chartist as a bondsman , for ha was determined to put down the Chartists in Todmorden , ' and the constable was ordered to take ma away , tint through the interference ot the solicitor sent down to loek into the

    ca * e , your petitioner was recalled , asd the same individuals taken as bondsmen . Tour petitioner was again arrested and brought before the Magistrates at Manch&ster , whose names your petitioner does not know , and regnested to find other bail to tlie amount of— himself in . £ 400 , and two sureties of j £ 200 each , bnt not being able to do bo , your petitioner was sent to Kirkdale , along with many more in the same situation . Your petitioner waB eventually brought up at Liverpool , before Lord Afeinger , to take his trial , when the first case was given up , and your petitioner traversed the other , and bud to find bail , himself in £ 200 , and two sureties of £ a 0 each . Your petitioner complains that he was kept in prison , on account of such excessive bail being required , until the trials came on

    at Liverpool , when the Judge ( Lord Abinger ) reduced his bail as follows : —from himself £ 600 and sureties to the amount ~ f £ 600 . to bixn&elf , £ 200 and sureties to the amount of , £ 100 . Your petitioner , therefore , prays that your honourable House will be pleased to institute an Immediate inquiry into your petitioner's case . " And well he might pray for an inquiry into the case . It was perfectly clear to bim { Mr . Duncombfc ) , that there had been a regular conspiracy on the part of . the magistrates throughout this part of the country on this occasion—( hear . hew ) . He was borne out in this assertion by the disgraceful conduct of two magistrates of Staffordshire , in the case of Arthur George O'Neil , whose proffered bsfl were refused by these two gentlemen for precisely the same reasons . When Mr . O'Neil was brought before these magistrates , two good and sufficitnt bail presented themselves—men perfectly

    solvent , and in respectable circumstances , town-couucillers ef Birmingham , for which office they muatpoBsess a qualification of XI , 000 over and above what would pay sheir debts . On these gentlemen presenting themselves , the magistrates , Mr . Badger and the Rev . Mr . Cartwright , asked one of them whether lie hsd sot taken the chair at a C&artist meeting some six months before ; and the other asked , whether he had not signed tfee requisition calling that meeting . On their answering in the affirmative , the magistrates said at once they would not accept ths bail of peisons holding such opinions , and Mr . O'Neil was accordingly committed to prison , where he remained a considerable rime . Mr . O'Neil ' s cue was taken up by & benevolent individual , and a criminal information was filed against Messrs . Badger and Cartwright . who , be ( Mr . Doncombe ) believed , were defended on that occasion by the honourable and learned Solieitor-GeneraL And

    what was the justification they set up ? They admitted the whole facts as stated by Mr . O'Neill and they justified on the groand that the sureties preferred were Cnartists . One other very extraordinary reason which was given was a conversation which was stated to have taken place betweea Mr . O'Neill and one of th& constables who took him to prison , or rather a conversation between the constable and a person of the name of Lancefield , who addressed him while Mr . O'Neill was vita him ; for ail that it would seem Mr . O'Neill did was , " while eating a pork pie , " as the opponent stated -ia laugh ) , to cry , 'hear , heari" to some remark one ofthe other parties made with reference to the Chartista giving the magistrates a good deal of trouble . If Hon . Members of that House , whose custom it was to cry

    ' bear , hear , '' to sentiments cnpleasing to the ears of Tory magistrates , were to find themselves brought up before Messrs . Cartwright and Badger ,, and have their proffered bail refused , because they and their bail differed with the worthy justices in political opinions , they wonld find how very inconvenient such a principle of administering ths law 'was , though their case wonld be far lighter tten that of men not so well able to help themselves , a na tbe case with the various petitioners to the House on this occasion —( hear , and laughter . ) What * justification was this of Messrs . Cartwright and Badger' —{ Hear , hear . ) Had be not seen the fact sworn to , asd well attssted in the proceedings of a court of justice , be coald not bare believed such a statement in reference to gentlemen , named as , aod calling them '

    selves , administrators of the lawa—( hear , hear , near , ) Another JMtiflcatiwi pat forward by these individuals was , that the Lord Lieutenant , and the Magistrates generally of Staffordshire and Worcestershire , when these disturbances in Staffordahire began , met together and agreed that any persons holding a particular description of political opinions , shonld not be received as bail ia any case which might be brought before them—[ hear , hear . ) Now , hare was a direct conspiracy on the part of the Lord Lieutenant and Magistrates genetaliy of theaecountiesto infringe , to violate , that -which had alw&ya been held to be the clear liberty , to be Dne of the most sacred rights of the subject , that of jiving b * U—ihear , bear ) . And what -was the opinion , upon tbis matter , of Lord Denman ? What was the

    I judgment of the Court on that occasion ? Lord Dan-I man said , " The law is clear , » nd is as old as the statute i of Westminster , 13 Edw . J , c 16 . Lord Coke in his j commentary npon that statute ( 2 Just 191 ) aaya , that ; to deny a man plevin , wqo 18 pleviB&ble , and thereby to j obtain him in prison , is a great offence and grievously ! to be punished—( hear , hear ); and Lord Hale { 0 . 17 . ) 1 adopts the same remark ; and Hawkins ( Book 2 , c 15 ) ! speaks of a refusal of bail , as an indictable offence . j Blsckstone , referring to the ancient statute , ( Book 4 , ' « . 22 ) the Habeas Corpns , and the Bill of Bights , calls I it an offence against the liberty of the Bttbject . "—( hear , ! htar . i Lord Denman further on told the magistrates of

    ; St&ffordihire : " Almost the first page of then most } ordinary text boeks , would have convinced these geni tltmra th » t their refusal on such a ground to receive the ; bau offered , was not a legitimate exercise of their office , i or a proper performance of their duty as magistrates , ; but quite the contrary "—( bear ) . This was the opinion I of the Lord Chief Justice of England with reference [ to the lord-lieutenant and magistrates of Staffordshire . I They pleaded ignorance of the laws , forsooth , as an j -excuse ; bow wonld such a plea be received from a 1 poor working man , who might far more justifiably ! offer it ? < Hear , hear . ) What effect would his saying he did not know that what he had done was contrary to

    law have upon the magistrates ? Why , none st all ; I they would read him an additional lecture , and &end : him to prison for several months , thereto work bard , and turn the tread-mill . ( Hear , hear . ) It Was a very different thing with lord-lieutenants and magistrates of counties ; let them behave ever so grossly , let them violate the liberty of the subject in however flagrant a manner , and not the slightest notice was taken of them . At all events , he bad not yet heatd , though lie should be most delighted to hear it , that herMujeatyhad been advised to strike these magistrates from the commission of the paiea . { Hear , hear . ) He trusted , however ,

    that the Government would not faQ to take into their consideration whether such persons onght any longer to be entrusted with the administration of the laws of this country . ( Hear , hear . ) When he saw the lord-1- lieutenant and magistrates doing this bot * of thing In Staffordshire , it was not to be wondered at that the ) same conduct should be observed in other cases which I bad been brought before the Honss , anch as those of Whits , Brook , and the rest There irere other petitions from Messrs . Robinson , Arthur , and AUanson . He would not detain the House by going through tie -RhoJe of thes » petitions . They complained of a very gre 3 t jjriev-nee , and he ( Mr . Duncombe ) was sore that

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    if honourable gentlemen would carefully read these various petitions , and inquire into the subject , they would be satisfied that there was ample ground for these complaints , and that it was essential an inqatry should be made into the conduct of the magistrates ; and that it was full tiuio to provide some security that bucq outrages upon the liberty of the subject should not again occur—( bear , hear . ) - There was another case to which he would now call the attention of the Honse , and this was a petition presented some time ago , in reference to certain proceedings at Nottingham ., and in the house of correction at Southwell ; , and certainly he could not compliment the Honourable and Gallant Gentleman opposite , the member for South Nottinghamshire , for the views of justice upon which

    he had conducted the administration of the law on that occasion , on the beDch of the Quarter Sessions at Nottingham . What did Jonathan Brown , Harney , and the eight other . petitioners complain of ? It would appear that that district , at the time of the general excitement , partook of the prevalent agitation ; bat there was this marked difference in respect to what took place at Nottingham and its neighbourhood , that there was not one single act of violence committed , not a single stick or stone flourished or used , not a single pane of glass broken . Oa one occasion , however , some persons did colleot at a place in tne neighbourhood of Nottingham , at the distance of two mike from that town , to the number of between 400 and 500 ; they assembled in consequence of a notice which had been

    publicly issued , that on that day several cart-loads of provisions , which bad been subscribed lor among certain benevolent persons , would there be distributed to the poor . One or two parties had visited the same place two days before , and no damage whatever had been done . ; but , on the occasion of these poor persons going to the place to receive the promised provisions , of which they stood so greatly in need , they were surrounded by a body of police , and the whole 400 or 500 persons , without any rhyme or reason assigned , were marched off to the House of Correction , at Southwell , no Riot Act having been read , no act of violence whatever even attempted —( hear , hear . ) When they were lodged in prison , before they were brought up for examination , they were visited by a sergeant of the 45 th

    regiment , and by an officer of the 60 th B flss , by whom they were asked if they -would not enlist ; the officer saying , — " If you do , you will get plenty of meat and drink , and get out of your troubles ; if yon do not , you have Rot into U terrible scrape , and you will smart for it .- ' This was the first time that he ( Mr . Duncombe ) had heard of a House of Correction being turned into a crimping house for her Majesty ' s service —( bear , bear ) . The men , however , one and all refused , saying they bad been doing nothing wrong . Some of the magistrates and police--were present at the time . Having this immense number of , men in the House of Correction , the officers there were puzzled to know what to do with them . They were accordingly desired to class themselves out , according to their townships .

    They were then called over , oue after another , and as the policemen said , " No , " or •• Yes , " to A or B and so on , A or B was sent away or kept , and of the 500 who had been arrested , but twenty-nine were detained . When these twenty-nine were taken before the magistrates , the Hon . and Gallant Gentleman opposite , when they were committed , told them in so many words that the Magistrates were determined to make severe examples of some of them . The petitioners , in conaeqaence of this observation , and of the undue prejudices which they not unnaturally considered they should have to contend against , when they found the Magistrate who committed them , telling them beforehand that he would make severe examples of some * of them —( hear , bear , )—applied to the Secretary of State for the Home

    Department that they might be tried before an impartial jury at the As&lzea , and cot at the Quarter Sessions ; but the Sight Hon . Baronet sent no answer to this application . The consequence was , that these twenty-nine persons were brought before the Quarter Sessions in October . They were presecuted on three indictments ; the trials lasted for three a ays ; but although there was evidence that there vere twenty jurymen waiting ia Court , after the first fonr prisoners had been convicted , and although the remaining prisoners asked that fnah jurors should try them , this was refused them , and they were tried , the whole twenty-nine of them , upon all the three indictments , by the same jury ; the result was , that they were all sentenced , some to six month ' s imprisontQunt , some to shorter periods of confinement , when they

    were once more lodged in prison , in order to undergo their sentences . The Hon . and Gallant gentleman visited them , and sa-: d . ' Now , if you will express your contrition for the off « nces which you have committed , I will interest myself with the Secretary of State for the Home Department to obtain yeur pardSOl ; ' bat they all declined the offer , saying , ' No , we have done nothing wrong , and we shall not , therefore , do what you propose ; but we shall take a different course as to the matter , at a future time . ' That course they had taken was to bring the matter before the House of Commons . Now all this might be justices ' justice ; bat he very much doubted . Whether , if these men had been tried before a Judge of Assize , they would hava been found guilty upon such evidence

    as was brought against them . ( Hear , hear . ) At all events , there was the evidence of the first day , which no judge would have allowed to be used against them on the third day on a separate indictment , as bad been done at the quarter sessioM—tfiear , hear ) . He had now done with the I * w portion of the case ; and he wonld beg next to call the attention of the House to the gross outrages which had been committed on both the lives and liberties of the people at Halifax , Preston , and Blackburn—( hear , hear ) . At Halifax a very strong and general feeling prevailed that the military had been called up * n to act without the slightest necessity—( hear , hear ) . Parties were ready to come forward and prove that tbe military , before the ; were called out at Halifax , in August last ,

    were made drunk , and that whilst thus > ntoxicated , were ordered by the magistrates to clear the streets—( bear , hear ) . Indeed , both there and at Blaofcburn the authorities , apprehending that the military might feel some companction as to acting against their starving countrymen , pursued the coarse of previously exciting the soldiers by drink . Before they ( started , the militaTy , it appeased , -were collected together al the Northgate Hotel , at Halifax , and there had money given them by gentlemen of the town to spend in intoxicating liquors , and make them , as it was said , " up to the mark "—( hear , hear ) . Under the influence of the military all sorbs of illegal arrest * were made ; and many ofthe persons so arrested remained in prison for several days , and were then dismissed , without being taken

    before the magistrates , or having had from that time to this the remotest idea of the grounds on Which they were arrested—( Hear , hear , hear ) . Preston was the only place at which there bad actually been loss of life ; and there , too , it would be found on enquiry , that it was the general opinion of the inhabitants that the interference of the military was totally uncalled for and unnecessary . Of course the military were not to blame , for they acted entirely under the authority of the magistrates . At the time the solders fired , the people were certainly much exasperated at the conduct of the police ; but the few stonus that had been thrown were thrown principally by boys , and it was altogether to the astonishment of all well-diBposed persons whe were standing in the street when

    they saw the soldiers fire in sections upon the people . The consequence was , that a number of persons were wounded , four of whom had died ; and be certainly thought the Government ought to satisfy themselves as to how far this loss of life was necessitated by the urgency of the case , or otherwise . —( hear , bear . ) In a letter which had been sent him oa the subject , the writer distinctly stated , that at the time the magistrates sent for the intoxicated soldiers , horse and foot , to clear the streets , and spare neither man , woman , nor child , there was not the slightest breach of the peace apprehended by any one but tbe authorities ; and the writer went onto remark : " If SQchproceedtngS as these are not calculated to goad on a peaceable people to acts of violence , I do not know what is . To see

    the soldiers cutting and bayonetting , in all directions , at peaceable and inoffensive people . Persons passing along the streets , no matter what business they were upon , were driven before the soldiers at tbe point at the bayonet or sabre , from one street , to another , till opportunity of escape offered ; scores were cut with swordB , and pricked with bayonets , and some of them very severely . "—( hear , bear . ) After the Manchester massacre , when inquiry was asked for repeatedly , but refused , the Bight Hon . Secretary opposite declared that the loss of life which had taken place was utterly unauthorized by the circumstances of the occasion ; and most assuredly the circumstances of the case at Halifax much less authorized the employment of the military ; the entire mob at Halifax did nor consist of more than

    400 or 500 persons , and these were chiefly boys and women . At Blackburn there was even less reason , if possible , for tile soldiers acting , and tbe conduct of the magistrates there , and the conduct of the respectable and sober-minded inhabitants , had been most discreditable—most unjustifiable . On 15 th August an attack h&ving been made on Eccless mill , the populace were fired at by persons in the mill , who were subsequently taken from the mill , and conveyed away in a carriage , escorted by the police and soldiery . The populace followed , assailing—not the police or the military , or the authorities—but the persons in the coach , who had fired at them , with ahonts of execration . The magistrates , however , told the crowd that if they did not desist from shouting , they would be fired upon . Upon this a few stones were thrown , not st the magistrates , or police , or Boldiers , bnt at the coach , and the soldiers forthwith fired . He did not blame the soldiers here either , for they were bound to

    obey the magistrate ' s order ; but certainly tbe magistrates were not justified in ordering tbe military to fire merely because a few stones had been thrown ; and , at all events , it would have been far more humane , when the people were pressing so near , to have threatened them only with the bayonet It further appeared that the soldiers here , t # o , had been treated with ale and other intoxicating liquors , at a time when more especially they should have been kept cool and unexcited . It was also stated that the magistrates had paraded about the streets , armed with pistols and cutlasses , flourishing up and down , at the head « of the soldiery ; a course peculiarly calculated to create diBcontent and dissatisfaction among the working classes —{ bear , hear . ) Then there was the case of Samuel Crowther , at Halifax , which he considered a most outrageous affair . The case was thus stated to him in the letter of a correspondent : — "In going ( on their return to the barracks ) by the Smicby-stake , the sol-

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    diers passed through a . narrow causeway , which leads to the barrnoks , Samuel Ctowther , a natl-nuker by trade , who resides in King-street , when the soldiers had passed , went to look for one of h \ 8 cbUdren that was out of the house—he was within a few yards of his ho \ ue when he was shot ! Feather , the constable , was With the soldiers or standing by at the time be fired ; there were not half-a-dozen peraohs in the street at the time . Crowther Was in the army ten years prior to 1816 , belonged to the Artillery , was at the battle of Waterloo and many other engagements prior to that , was then discharged with 54 . per pay pension , in addition to which he could work at bis trade before the misfortune happened , but has never been able to work since ; he had 2 s par week

    from the pariah for six weeks , they would then relieve him no longer ; he is now obliged to live onhia pension , or be a ; burthen upon some one else ; he is fifty four years of age ; he is a married man , and has a wife and email family . " ( Hear , hear . ) The above is strictly correct ; I have it from Crowther himself , he says he tbinka tie shall never be able to work any more . ( Hear , hear . ) Now it was to be observed that in the particular part of the town where this poor old man lived , there had not b&en the slightest disturbance , and therefore the act in question appeared to be au instance of mere wanton outrage . Mr . Bingley , the reporter for tbe Leeds Times , and Mr . Hall , of the Leeds Mercury , were eye-witnesses of tae circumstances , being within two yards of the victim at tbe time of the occurrence , and

    -were prepared to prove the facts as they appeared in the newspapers at the time . That account io the Leeds Times ran thus ;— " The afliiir took place in Kingstreet , Which is in the vicinity of the barracks and police-office . A small number of the Hussars , who had been clearing the streets , turned up the bottom of Kingstreet , and , after proceeding a few yards , were filing into a street called Nelson-street , which runs out of it At' the time that Messrs . Bingley and Hail , were approaching the top of King-street , an old mau , named Samuel Crowther , a naiJmaker , was coming towards them , apparently to go to bis own residence , whioh was only two or three yards distant At this period there was not the slightest disturbance in the atreets , and , indeed , there were not , it is b&lieved ,

    twenty persons in the space betwixt the top of the street and tbe soldiery towards tbe bottom , a distance of probably near one hundred yardB . AU tne BOldiery had disappeared along Nelson , street , except one man who paused and looked in the direction of tbe persons above-mentioned , and then levelled his musket , and appeared to take a deliberate aim at them . Not the slightest alarm was felt by either Mr . BingSey or Mr . Hall , who , seeing no cause for violence , apprehended none , and regarded the action of the soldier simply as a piece of bravado , and looked at him with perfect unconcern . The soldier , however , fired , and immediately the old man staggered and reeled in the direction of bis own door , but made no outcry . Mr . Bingloy exclaimed— ' The man

    is shot ! ' or some such expression , but Mr . Hall , wbo had previously seen him in a fit , replied that he was only in a fit . In a few moments , however , a number of women rushed out of the house , exclaimiug that the man had been shot , and on entering the house , which was crowded with women uttering loud screams , the old man was found lying on his back on a bed up stairs , with a wound in bis abdomen , hia shirt was saturated with blood , and he was writhing with agony . Messrs . Bingley and Hall immediately went to procure the attendance of a surgeon . On calling afterwards , it was understood that there was but little chance of recovery . At the time the shot , was fired , Mr . Bingley and Mr . Hail were only about a yard from the man who received it . A more deliberate piece of butchery

    was never witnessed . " The poor man was carried to the infirmary where he remained for eighteen weeks . He was now incapable of work , yet from the time of tbe outrage up to the present niemont not the slightest inquiry had been made into the the matter . No comrui&tee of tbe town ' a-people had investigated the matter . No witnesses had been examined ; nor was any thing done to elucidate the transaction . Some London newspapers referred the matter to L « eds , which might be one reason why no inquiry took place ; but there could be no doubt or mistake about it ; for wkat said tho Bradford Observer 1 That paper said : — " Murder , or What?—On Tuesday afternoon , whilst Mr . Samuel Crcwther , a respectable

    nail-maber , and aged pensioner , wag -standing at his own house door , in K ' m £ -8 treet , watching the Lancers pass by , one of tbe advanced guard having passed him forty yards , at the corner of Nelson-street , turned round , and shot the brave disciple ot Wellington through tbe body . " He took that front tbe Bradford paper . There was bo doubt , then , that it was true—no doubt ; tbe House coald not doubt that the man had been wantonly shot—that he h&i been seriously wounded—that he was even now in a sinking state—that it was impossible tuat he should ever resume work . It ojuld not be supposed that these facts , and such fact * as these , did not mate a profound impression on tbt > minds of the working classes . It could not be supposed that they did not excite heart-burnings and

    discontent , and give rise to an opinion that no justice could be obtained for the working classes . They felt these things keenly , and they woald continue to feel them . What munt be their feelings , be put it to tbe House , with regard to Crowther ? Let them test the feelings of the working classes by their own . What happened in this town only a short time ago , when an amiable and confiding gentleman wis shot in the streets , the victim of assassination ? The whole town was thrown into confusion , and the people called aloud for the blood of the maniac . —He was confident that more doubts still would be thrown by the public on the administration of justice , that the wording classes would feel still more mistrust ; if the events of Halifax whioh he had brought before the House were not

    strictly investigated , and were sot the whole transaction rigidly inquired into . The House would neglect its daty if it did not bring the offenders in this case to justice . He ; hoped thtt the House wonld concede tbe inquiry demanded , and bo lessen the strong feeling which now prevailed amongst the working classes that no JHStice could ever be obtained ) by working men . They eaicl that there was one law for tbe rich and another for the poor , and if the House wished to disabuse their minds of this impression it would grant the committee he asked for . The petitions be had presented were not , indeed , publio petitionsthey were the petitions of individuals ; but they were members , and not unimportant ones , of the body politic They had a claim to consideration if wronged —they had a right to demand redress when aggrieved ; and these individuals looked with anxiety to the decision of the House on this night ; and on this occasion he would go farther and say that , amidst all the

    hardship and privations to which , unfortunately , tbe working classes had been subjected during the last six months , they had looked forward with , hope—indftfid , he might say ! that it was their only h » pe—that they should obtain justioe from the legislature—that a day of retribution woald come , that inquiries would be made into their grievances , and that their wrongs would be considered and redressed . He would say , in eonclnsion , tkat be believed he had made out bis case ; and if the House believed be had , it was the duty of Members , as honest men and as wise legislators , not to withhold the investigation demanded . He thanked tbe House for its indulgence ; he thanked the Right Hon . Baronet ( Sir James Graham ) and the Hon . and Learned Attorney-Goneral for the attention they had paid to bit ? statement . It bad been necessarily long ; it bad been , he was afraid , wearying ^ and painful ; and , with these acknowledgments , he would conclude by making his motion . .

    General Johnson seconded the motion . The Hon . Member complained of the exoessive bail which was demanded in these cases , particularly at Dudley ; and the excess was proved by the circumstances that the Lord Chief Baron had reduced the bail to one * third . In his opinion the demand for excessive bail was contrary to all justioe . Was that tbe way , he would ask , to put down Chartism ? He remembered that a late Attoraey-General , now a Noble Lord , after a petition had been presented to this House , signed by 1 , 500 , 000 persons , by Mr . Att wood , had boasted , in a speech at Edinburgh , that he bad pat down Chartism . But was that done by making tho masses discontented } He believed that the only way to put down Chartism was to give the people their rights , and do them justice : and that there

    was no other way to put it down . He thought it was impossible for the House to refuse the inquiry . Tnere was no other alternative , except the Ministers of the Crown chose to dismiss all the magistrates . Either they must grant the inquiry , or they must dismiss all the magistrates involved in the transactions . It was most unjust and improper in them to refuse bail to men on account of their political opinions , or to make them find excessive bail . Yet this was what the magistrates had done . From working men they bad demanded so large a sum as £ 600 , and to produce six sureties . If thty were not dismissed there : must be an inquiry , and he had great pleasure in seconding the motion of his honourable friend . The motion was then put from th 6 chair .

    The ATxoRNBY-GENBHAi would Btate to the House why it must not grant tba Honourable Gentleman ' s motion for a committee , why it never granted such committees , and he would state reasons why the House should not vote with the Honourable Member . The House had no means of giving any redress whatever . The Honourable and Gallant Gentleman wbo seconded the motion complained of the excessive heavy bail taken . But if exoessive bail had been taken—if the parties held to bail had suffered any illegal or unconstitutional treatmentr-their proper means of obtaining redress was to apply to the law of the land . They should go hefoxe courtB where the evidence and examination could be taken on oath

    where the men accused could vindicate their conduct ; where a jury , if they were criminally indicted , would find them guilty if they deserved it , and the judge eould sentence them to punishment ; or , if civilly prosecuted , thei jury could return a verdict of large damages if they had illegally been exposed to the smallest inconvenience . But if they had a committee , that committee could give them no redress ; it could examine no witnesses on oath , and was not competent to correct any errors . When the Hon . Gentleman made his statement , and said that the ease called loudly for inquiry , he should like to ask , as the Bon . Gentleman had brought many individuals before the House . * which of the score ot ' eases did he mean ? which of the individual cases did the Hon .

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    Member select , as worthy of the consideration of the House 1 If he might judg « of the individual cases , he would give his word to the Houre that there was not the slightest pretence to justify an inquiry . There were none of the individuals brought before the House by the Hoh . Gentleman whose oase woald jnstify the statement that had been made . He should compare the observations he should subrah to the consideration of ' the House wi ' -h the authentic information in his possession , and he believed thit he should satisfy the Houso that there were no circumstances to justify ; the motion . He would first say of the motion that it was somewhat ill-timed . Nor did be think that the persons in whise behalf inquiry was prayed were judiciously selected . He

    would mention their names as he found them in the notice of the Hon . Gentleman ' s motion , and in the exact order in which ihey are put down . There was George White , of Bjrainsham ; ho did not state with entire certainty , but be believed that this man was lately convicted before Mr . Baron Gurney The next was Robert Brook , of Todmorden , an individual who had been convicted in Lancashire . The next was James Leach , aud he had been oon - victed in the same county ; there was J . G . Harney , and he also had been convicted in Lancashire ; Jonathan Brown and some-other persona had all been convicted , though they complained of their treatment , he believed , since their trial— f Mr . T . Buncombe' Prior to their trial . 'fl—The next was R . T . Mor .

    rison , of whom he knew nothing ; and then came John Skevington , of Loughborough , who was also convicted . As he had stated , he was prepared , judging from the authentic information whioh he possessed , and of which he did not doubt the correctness , to show that none of these transactions were proper for the investigation of a committee . He would shew the House , without going into a committee , on evidence taken on oath—he would satisfy the House , from the nature of the cases to which the Hon . Gentleman referred , and from the evidence brought before the Court in Laneaahire—that the statements in the petitions were not true . It was said , as one means of throwing blame on the authorities , that there was no necessity for calling oat the

    military . In common * he was sure , with thq great majority of his countrymen , and in common with the government , he lamented the circumstances which made that step necessary . For those who had suffered he felt the deepest sympathy ; but there was no occasion for a committee to ascertain those facts ; nor was it necessary ib ensure the sympathy of the House . If he were to ! judge from the statement of the Hon . Member with reference to the transaction at Halifax , he hhould ; say that the circumstances eould hardly take place as described . The feelings of the people of this country were not obtuse—they were acutely sensible ; and if the case as described were true , it was not a case for a committee , it was a case for a grand and p- tty jury—it was a case to

    bring the man to trial who had fired at the individual in question , and had committed a great crime . Refer that oase to a committee of the House 1 Why there could be no difficulty in finding ont the individual who had fired the piece , and in having him arrested and brought to trial . He asked the Hon . Member why he would refer such a case to a committee \ [ Mr . Duncombe said it was not taken up by the competent authorities ] . If so , if the magistrates would not acti the graud jury was sitting , and a bill , if there were any bill , if there were any foundation for it , might he obtained . Let the parties go before the grand jury and prove the facts , and no doubt the man would be put on his trial . That he was a soldier , &ave him no exemption . He was amenable to the law though a soldier , and to tho law recourse should be had . If half what had been Baid were true , the man was not the proper

    subject for an inquiry before a committee of thai House , but he should b ^ triod before a jury , and be made to answer with his life to his country for this atrocious act . < Whether the case were so bad , be should probably enable the House to judge by the evidence , on oath , given in Lancashire , which would show that similar charges relating to Preston were destitute of foundation . The Hon . Member for Finsbury spoke of the fury of tbe soldiers at Preston , and accused them of much unnecessary cruelty . Their conduct had been spoken of in language which had been most improperly used—( hear , hear . ] At the trial , at which not ] a defendant complained of the facts brought forward by the Crown , not a single defendant out oft « n or ; twelve who spoke for themselves or by their coursel—he was speaking from his general recollection , having recently cast his eye over the report of the trial—not one of the defendants on his trial denied that the wit

    nesses for the prosecution gave a correct account of the transaction . The leading counsel for several of the prisoners was bis Hon . and Learned friend , the Member for Sutherlandshire ; and he did not state to the court and the jury that the evidence given was such as they could not tely on ; but he stated , not only that the -evidence he had heard was correct , but the language was appropriate ( The Hon . Member read the passage ) . It would be recollected that tbe Executive Council of the Char ustB had issued a large placard , on which they said , " Englishmen , the blood of your brothers reddens the streets of Preston , Blaokburn , and { Halifax , and the murderers thirst for more !—be firm , be courageous , be men . " In speaking of the transaction at Preston , in the

    address of the Chartists to : the Chartist public , they were peacefully and lawfully assembled , and they had been fired upon while peacefully ** agitating for the Charter . " That was their expression : now let him state the facts on the deposition of tbe commanding officer . He had under him about seventy policemen , and about the same number of troops , and these forces were hemmed in , in front and rear , by the orowd in the streets , while two parallel streets , with " houses , were ou each side . Tne mob consisted of many thousand persons , and they aseailed the soldiers and the police both in the front and rear , by throwing stones over the houses . The commanding officer on his oath , stated that it was necessary , for the safety and protection of the police force and of hia

    own men , to fire ; that the multitude continued to press upon them , and hem them in more and more , and would noc tcive way ; under such circumstances , the officer , for the safety of his men , considered that the order to fire was necessary . All the evidence brought forward by the government , and it was not impugned by the Chartists , justified the officer . jThe united council were of the same opinion ; and it was difficult to admit that there was tbe smallest ; opening for the language of tbe placard , and the publio notice which was taken of the event at Preston in the address of the delegates to the Chartist body . Toe Hon . and Learned Gentleman quoted another placard , in which the Chartists asserted that their " brethren ' s

    blood had been shed while peaceably agitating for their rights . " Let the House see what was meant by this peaceful agitation . \ That peaceful agitation consisted of an assembly of 10 , 000 people , hemming in the military and police , and having great facility for attacking them by the two parallel streets . It was clear that the officer refrained as long as he could , and abstained from } adopting the course he had at length adopted . Helhad called the attention of the House to this particular case , established in a court of law . But the House might infer that the Statement of the Honourable Member in the other transaction he had referred to was no better founded . The House coulij , in the exercise of a candid judgment , form its own opinion of the other

    transaction referred to by \ % h < i Hon . Member for Finsbury . With reference ljo the motion , he would say that the House must find it impossible to concede it . The motion was entirely wrong as to the individuals selected ; but as to the time of bringing it forward , on principle the House could not concede to it ; and if he adverted to some facts conneoted with it he should make the impropriety of now bringing it forward apparent . He mast Btate to the House , with reference to the time , that there were some of the persons connected with these cases about to be brought up for judgment . He was averse from alluding to them in any way that might seem to aggravate their offence—it was indeed with great reluctance he did

    so , but his publio duty compelled him . He should have been extremely glad to have escaped from the task , but the performance of his duty to the Government and the magistrates , his respect for tMftpeace and the institutions of the country , obliged him to make remarks that he would have willingly postponed till after the sentence . There was , too , another trial now going on , implicating other individuals connected with the outbreak in Staffordshire last year . That trial had how reached the sixth day , and by the last accounts the speeches for the defence were only about to begin . It was impossible to speak of the delegates and to speak of these transactions , impossible to discuss the question which the Honourable Member had brought before the

    House , without adverting to what took place at Manchester on the 17 lh of August last year . Th « Honourable Member had called attention to the case of Leaoh , Turner , SchoJefield , Harney , Ssddons , and others . Some of them bad not petitioned , and some petitions came from others who had no connection with the trials . He would refer to the circumstance of Turner , who had been brought forward as the printer of the } placard . The Hon . Gentleman stated that Turner had committed no offence ; bnt he would lay the facts of the case before the House as they were deposed to in evidence . Turner admitted thai he , was the printer of the placard , at the assizes » t Liverpool , bathe represented that it came to I him in the way of

    business , that it came in a hurry , that he did not trace its contents , that he never read ft , that he exceedingly regretted ever having printed it , and in that merciful consideration whioh the public prosecutor , not alonn , ho weuld eftf , in this oase , but whioh the public prosecutor generally took , on the representation of these circumstances , and on Turaer consenting to plead guilty , he was allowed to plead guilty , but was not brought up -tor judgment . Turner did plead guilty , and enterjed into bis own recognizances . He expressed himself obliged to the judge , to the counsel for the Crown , and to the prosecutor . Tnat was tho termination of Turner ' s case . Now , if he understood the Hon . Member for Finsbury correctly , the Hon . Member said that Turner was guilty ot no offence , Hew was the case ot a

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    man who was described to the House aa a guiltless person , who had publicly pleaded guilty , who had submitted to the law ; and thiB man , who-had acknowleged his offence , the Hon . Member said had committed no offence at all . Was it to be said that Turner now declared that he had published the placard , but that ho also affirmed that he had been guilty of ao offence \ Was that , indeed , the mode in which , when the mercy of the Crown was exercised , it was afterwards to be taunted ? Wag that , indeed , the mode in whioh any one in that House , or out of cha : House , could conceive was the proper feeling to be manifested under such circumstances by those who Were brought before the tribunals of their

    country , and who thus proved how worthy they were of the leniency with which they had been treated—( loud cheers )? But , so far as he was concerned , such couduot should have no influence upon him . It would not , in the least decree induce him to call Turner up for judgment Tho Hon . Gentleman presented petitions—these petitions he had read , and he came there prepared to answer them , the Hon . Member pulled out of his pocket a variety of papers , the accuracy of wnich was not confirmed on oath , and for the truth of which it was impossible that the Hon . Member himself could be responsible ( hear , hear . ) It was , he ; -dia , a new proceeding in that House for any Honourable Member thus to be collecting letters from individuals

    scattered over five or six counties , and wao it was evident were not well disposed to the peace of the comoiuuity , and certainly not well disposed to the established law ( hear , hear ) ; it was not , he said , usual , under such circumstances , and with such statements , to seek from that House that inquiry should be granted against magistrates . H 8 aow passed to the oase of Leaoh . Leach was the chairman of the executive council of the Chartist body , and Leac& was connected immediately and directly with the preparation and printing of this address , which originated with one of the defendants , and concerning whom he could not be silentthat was a man of the name of M'Douall , if he mistook not an orator at Deptford on some occasion

    This mau , aot M'Dougall , but M'Douall , had beea convicted at Lancaster , of tfee highest offence charged in the indictment . It was M Douall who had prepared the placard ; it was proved to be in his hand-writing ; and it appeared from the evidence to have been concocted before the 17 th , probably it was on the 15 th ; he thought that it was in the hands of the printer on the morning of the 16 th of August . And here he felt very great regret in being compelled to mention the name of another person ; but , as far as he could , he would not do that person any injury . Mr . Feargus O'Connor . M'Doual ! , and several other Chartists , met at Mr , Scholeneld ' s chapel , on the night of the Ib ' th of Augnst . It appeared that the address of the Executive Cbartists

    had been previously prepared and finished . It had been settled ; but a suggestion was made by Mr . Feargus O'Connor to alter it . He was , however , then too late to make the alteration , and therefore it was allowed to be printed in the shape in which ifc had been originally agreed upon . But Leaoh was the person at whose hease M'Douall was , and had corrected the press . He did r » ot know but that he had shown the very copy of the placard which had been in front of Leach's house , and there waa another copy of it found within , his shop—( hear , hear . ) The ether person named by the Honourable Member was Mr . Scholefield ; he was the gentleman ia whose chapel the meeting had taken place , and the question was , whether Mr .

    Scholefield was aware of the objeot of tae meeting for which he had lent his chapai . On the 16 th ifc was proved by the son of Mr . Scholefield that the persons met at that chapel . It had been publicly announced , but then there was no meeting for that purpose which had been the avowed object of the parties coming to Manchester , which was something with respect to a commemoration or a monument relative to Mr . Hunt . On the 17 th . August the placard came out . At that meeting there was also Harney , Allison- Brooke , Arthur , and several others , to the amount of forty . They assembled , aud made speeches , the character of which might be known from the speech of the man named Cooper , who waa now under trial at Stafford . The resolution of the

    me ' etieg of delegates he had them before him . They put forth their Executive address , aud that , with their address , was published to the world . The object of the prosecution at Lancaster was to satisfy the public that where persons met in private conclave , that when they arranged at private meetings documents the object of which was to inflame tho mob , then they would be mixed up with the violence which they had themselves produced , and would not be permitted to escape , on the ground that they hod published a , libel , from tho mischief which they had occasioned . He might now be allowed to point out the state in which Lancashire , Cheshire , and Staffordshire were at the moment these publications took place . If ever there was a moment at which

    this country was on the eve of a civil war , and whon it happened that it had avoided , although not entirely escaped , all the horrors of such a warif ever there was a moment of such imminent danger , but from which it had pleased Providence to preserve them , it was at that very time when outrages were constantly being committed . Let them , he said , look to the ei idence of Pilling , who boasted of hia going about from place to place , and having addressed three hundred thousand persons , and when ISO mills were stopped . It was at that moment that persons , whose motto was " peace , law , and order , " went about stopping mills—they said with the owners' consent ; but iu some cases it was proved that there was resistance to the

    command , even to the shedding of blood . In other Cuees there was the exhibition of physical fore ? , and in other cases the direction was complied with after the greatest reluctance . But here the Chartists made a great mistake : they thought that by the absence of physical force there would be no breaking df the law . They supposed that any demonstration of physical power was moral force ; than persons marching with weapons , calculated to intimidate others , was moral force ; that provided they did not break a man ' s head , that they did him no personal harm ; that there was an absence of personal violence , there was merely moral force —( hoar , hear , bear ) . He could show this to be their opinion from the language of one of the defendants .

    In one case it was proved that a mob assembled , they called to a bricklayer , who was employed , to cease work—that they would not permit him to work . The man replied , he wsb determined to go on with his labour , and they then said they would bring more with them , and see if he wonld do it . They dld » then , come again ; they brought more with them ; and , when the maa saw a large mob collected , he felt obliged to obey their bidding , and he ceased working . The defendant ia that case thus crossexamined the witness . " You gay that I told the man not to work . 1 Yes , you did do so . Bid I do any injury to any man , or was any property destroyed ? So far no man waa injured no : property destroyed . " Thus , then , they conceived that

    men could assemble in great numbers , and dictate to others , that they should not work until the Charter became the law of land . Now , it was his opinion , and he expressed it in that House without disguise—it was not onty his right , but he was bound to do it . In his opinion every man who moved about from place to place , joining mobs , for the purpost of stopping labour , or by intimidation to bring about a change in the laws of the country , was guilty of high treason—( hear , bear ) . He defied any member on either side of the House to contradict it . There was a question as to the fit mode of proceeding . When they made an in juiry , there could be no doubt as to the facts ; but then there was a doubt as to the way in which questions ought

    to be dealt with . There could be no doubt but at the time that Leach was first taken up , and when he was carried before the magistrates , that the charge was expected to be one of high treason . In Stafford , he believed , these cases were so regarded , and a bill was sent np to the grand jury for high treason . He was not positive as to the faot ; but it was in his recollection that an indictment had been found there for high treason , but the Government thought it better not to proo 88 d for high treason . The judge at Liverpool had distinctly stated , that in his judgment , on the point of law , the case was one of high treason ; and what was more , he commended the lenity ofthe Government for adopting the mode of prosecution which they had pursued in these cases —( hear , hear ) .

    The parties then met in Manchester , haviug for their object originally a procession , or something in connection with Mr . Hunt ' s monument , and having also met , as it was stated , and as he believed it to be the truth , for the purpose of making some alteration in the constitution of their society , and the correction of some illegality belonging to it ; bat then , in Manchester , they abandoned the intention of having any meeting at all , they publicly gave notice of their abandonment of that intention ; but then they met in Mr . Sohoiefidd ' s chapel , on the night of the I 6 th and the morning ofthe 17 th , for the purpose of concocting an address to the public . He might now be allowed to state the nature of the address . There were five members ofthe Executive Council : Leaoh , the chairman ; Archer , the secretary ; M'Douall was another , ao was Campbell , and there was another name that did not occur to him . This address then was vnt forth on the 17 th nf An < mot at & >;»<>

    when thousands upon thousands were meeting together ; when a hundred thousand persons were goingabont different parta of Lancashire , Cheshire , and Staffordshire , compelling those who were desirous to work to abstain from labour in order that the Charter might become the law of the land * Tlie address ttus commenced : — "Brother Chartista , —Tbe great political tratha which have been agitated during th « last half century have at length aroused the degraded and insulted white slates of England to a sense of their dutv to themselves , their . children and their conntry . Tens of thousands have flung down their implements of labour . Your taskmastera tremble at your energy , acd expecting masses eagerly watching this the great crisis of our cause . " He did not feel that he could be justified in taking up the time of the House in reading the whole of this document . He should , therefore , call thtir attention but to parts of it . It proceeded : ' Nature , (( knimutiinmr Eijhih v « s < :, j

    Untitled Article

    THE NORTHERN STAR . ^ ' L-

• Citation
  • Northern Star (1837-1852), April 8, 1843, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1207/page/7/