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Northern Star (1837-1852), 11th November 1843, Edition 1 of 3, Page 7, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      MR . O'CONNOR IN CARLISLE . —GRE ^ T _ , _ . -PUBLIC MEETING . On Saturday , the 284 of Ostober , large placards ^ ere issued by the Conndl of the Chartist Association , amKrancdng that Mr . O'Connor wonld deliver a lecture in ttie large hall of the Athenaam , on Wednesday evBning , on general politics . " On . the day announced lor the meeting a letter was received -from Dumfries Bfeting that Mr . O'Connor had been taken seriously ill , and " would not be able to attend at the time appointed , Iwt iironld be in Carlisle on the following 4 ay . This V » felt u a great dliappolnfcment , for it was then impossible to seed lnfonnation to thei country districts , bo that many reached Carlisle ; from a considerable disfanWjOnly to be disappointed and retnm home again A dnnn wsa sent through the town announcing the postponement ; of the lecture . It appeared , however , Jfcat Mr . O'Connor had somewhat recovered up to one

      t feloek on that day , and iras determined the people oICsrHsls should not be disappointed , * o he accordingly lured a conveyance , Enough Mb fire bad been previously paid to tome \> j fite mail , bnt » Meh h » a left 3 * nBfrie » esSy in tha morning . Mi . O'Connor arrived in Carlisle about six o ' clock in the craning , to the great Surprise of his friends , - who immediately announced his arrival , by sending a band of mule and a numhet of b&TfflPira about the town . Is consequence of ttose mtowafd circumstances , it was feared that the meeting would be a complete -failure ; but snch was the enthusiasm of the people , on learning of Mr . O'Connor ' s arrival , that they flocied to "the plaef of meeting from all parts of the town in hundreds ; and before the time announced for commencing file lecture , the large Hall , which Is capable of holding 2 , 500 persons , was most densely crowded in every part , and many hundreds had to retire who could Tiot possibly ^ r&iTfr Ttf ^ Y nifciJiTIGfl *

      On Hz . O'Connor making his appearance on the plat lornij he was loudly cheered by the audience ; and commenced his address immediately after Mr . James Arthur bad been called to the chair / Mr . O'Connor spoke for neatly two hours with great ease asd fluency . On the whele , we never heard Mr . O'Connor make so Bblea argumentative , and humourous an address . ; and Which , we feel confident , had a good effect on the minds of all who beard him . We are indebted to the Carlisle ; Journal for the following abstract of Mr O'Concora speech : —

      Hr . -O'GOJfJfOR commenced his address by stating the pleasure he felt , after an absence of more than four years , in again meeting the working classes of Carlisle . Be said he had got on well for the last three weeks in his present tear of agitation ; but , being in Edinburgh on Saturday night , he had been requested by a number of his countrymen to address them on the Repeal of the Union , and the excitement consequent upon it Bad caused himsevere indisposition . He looked cpon a Repeal of the "Union to be indispeisable , if the peaoa of the thres countries "was to be maintained . She question was of as much importance to Englishmen snd Scotchmen as to the Irish themselves , as , if the Bepeal were obtained by Ireland , it must communicate sn electric feeling all over the world , which must

      advance tha cause ef democracy- 33 at there -were certain principles required to be adopted b&fors tke Repeal coulfl t » nefil , the working classes . He trusted he would be able to explain to them what the Charter would Ho , snd how it was to be carried ; and he was quite ready to answer questions that might be put to him , aa discussion was the very main-spring of legislation . Those only denied discussion , who live on the labour of the working classes , and whose principles Were not based Jon truth . He should be Berry to go about the country telling the people they were misgoverned , unless be ¦ would clearly point out to them the cause of their distress and the remedy for it There were three parties contending for power in this country —tb . 6 Tories , the Whigs , and the whole of the people .

      He "would analyse their respective principles , and i > egin by dissecting Toryism . The Tories were loath to acknowledge the grievances of the people , but when compelled to do bo by such outbreaks as had occurred in Wales ; the only nostrum they lad to propose was to build more ehurchss—( laughter ) . The Whigs weie flrrided into two parties—political and social . They Bought for the sseendancy of manufacturers over the Other interests of the nation ; they now clamoured for a repeal of the Cora laws ; and they told the people if they ware not satisfied with their legislation , they must emigrate to other countries . To this last proposal , he { Mr . O'Connor } would give the answer of the landlady to the Bailor , who , on complaining of his bed Jieing infested by bngB , was requested by her to leave

      It ; but he said " No , ha would shake them off , remake his bed , and eiijoyrepose . " There were the bugs who Urea in idleness on the produce of the working classes ; snd , in God ' s name , if a necessity existed for emigration , let them go out of the country . There was a great difference between legitimate Toryism and legitimate Whiggery , Up to the passing of the Reform 331 , Whiggery meant the principles of the revolution of 168 S , to prevent the prerogatives of the Crown infringing on ~ &ie rigtis of tiie people ; but since lhat time tbe question of cheap production , and the oSber dogmas of political economy , had ] become the principles of Whiggery . The Befarm Bill . had nol even ^ nswersd tb . 9 expectations of its promoters . The jbst thing the working classes must do , should be to

      settle on a principle which would satisfy all classes of the community ; snd be ( Mr . O'Connor ) could discover it only in the principles of the Peopled Charter—{ cheers } . It soasbt to take from no man ;> but was lotmded en the Christian precept of " do unto others as yen would they should unto you ; ' * and he questioned Whether those were practical Christians wbo refused Ute people tbe franchise which they ought to eBjoy . She law inihe hands of the Tories was like a dog in a leash , ready to be let loose upon all who dissented from fiieir ' political principles . The Tories would not prosecute-a Tory ; the Whigs would not prosecute a Whig , lor the expression of his opinions ; while both united heart and soul to prosecute a Chartist , who Bought only to establish right principles . The Chartists were called

      smpracHcibles , who would come to no compromise , and bad refused to join in the agitation for the principles of PrBeTrada . Ifow they had no objections to the principles of ; Pr 8 « Trade ; they-were the only Free Traders ; Irat they were too good workmen to start work without proper tools . They wanted free trade in legislation before everyanng else . The Free Trade agitators were , like Pagamni , playing all on one string—Free Trade , Free Trade . It was nothing but the crotchet of capital to make the working classes the slaves of tbe capitalists . They would never be able to tarry this measure without admitting the people to a share ot the Constitution . " They { the Chartists ) "had been called lory Chartists ; bnt let the working classes have twenty men in the House of Commons , and they would

      Join in destroying Toryism for ever . If any man in tbe world ought to seek satisfaction and revenge of tbe TTory party , he ( Mr . O'Connor } was that man : and if Jhere was one individual on the earth who despised Ihe Tory party in name and nature , and would join tomorrow in destroying them , ha was that man . Why he bated 2 ie Whigs -was , that they did not destroy " the Tories . And now let them look at Chartism . In all agitations there were three great stages necessarythe first to create public opinion ; the second to organize It ; and the third to direct that organization to a successful issue . While creating public opinion , it was necessary to use exciting language ; to depict wrongs in the most forcible manner ; to call murder , murder ; and a spade , a spade : and whether it took place in a

      prison , on a gallows , or In a cold Basffie , it was equally the same . Tie Chartists had suffered mucii from using ETgifiog 1 ingn ? ge ; bat he < Mr . O'Connor ) declared that if is were next Jay proceeding to organlza a new party he wsuld endeavour to arouse them to a Bense of their degradation , and then show them how the evils they groaned nnder could be destroyed . The Reform Bill was carried without these necessary stages of agitation —it was carried by brute force and invimidation , and bad failed to benefit the working classes because they bad not given i » the requisite consideration , or gained such information of it as they had now done of tbe Charter . The House of Commons should , as it were , be ihe great heart of the nation , from which should flow itreams of vitality and prosperity , so as to prevent

      every man from starving who was willing to work ; and the people now sought to cleanse -the Augean stable , that they T"ffi » fc establish principles and pass measures Which would turn the improvements to machinery to the benefit of all , instead of aggrandizing and enriching a class , as at present He was not opposed to machinery—nor was any one in that room—if it had been mads man ' s holiday , instead of man's curse . Though he ( Mr . O'Connor ) opposed the Free Traders / it was boI tacanse he objected to the principles of Free TwJa . bcl because , -while agitating for tfclB CTOtChet , ibsy -wonld sot touch irpon the general grievances of the country —{ applause ) , They reminded him of the story of the Highland bid who accompanied a gentleman on his shooting excursions . Tbe gentleman was pleased with the lad ' s activity , and would have taken

      frim into his service , anet for that purpose enquired of his father his character . The old man replied his character was well enongh , only for an -unlncky knack he tad of lying , and swearing , and cursing , and thieving—( much laughter ); and so hs ( Mr . O'Connor ) said of the Free Traders . They were well enough , ocly they bad got an unluckly knack of robbing tbe working man of . his wages . Tfaere trasa true saying that labour was the sourca of all wealth ; acd it was equally true that land Was the source of legislation in the House of Commons . "Unless labour was protected , all classes between the labourer and aristocrat must be injured . Supposing machinery to do ihe work of 3000 men , of what use Would Hie small traffic consequent ob that machinery be to the shopkeeper , in comparison with that of the labourers formerly employed . There was a difference

      ietwaen equal and equitable . The Chartists had often been charged with eeekicg an equal distribution of property ; but it was a calumny ; tfaey wanted it only to be equitable . Supposing the master of the machinery he had spoken of before , which fuparseded the wo * k of 2600 men , wanted wine , sugar , or ought dse , he did not buy it in the neighbourbeoa , bnt sent to Landon for it . It did not replenish the tills of the shopkeepers ; > nt if ihe 2000 men were employed , they would yield -a large profit to the shopkeepers of the neighbourhood 23 ds showed the necessity , he said , cf the middle classes joining f oi ihe attainment of the Charter . The lory government protected the interests of the Whig middle c&esss ; the Wbig government protected "the Interest of the Terns -, but they both refused to grant ibe privileges the Chartists looked f er , well kno-sriijp . if laej did so , they "would Lave to disgorge Vbeix ill-gotten

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      gains . The Charter meant nothing more than an improved system of applying the national resources , and a more equitable distribution of the same . Whenever 'unjust laws existed , they caused social discomfort , which was ever tbe cause of political discontent 16 was the poverty of the mass which upheld tbe Chartist and other agitations ; and he ( Mr . O'Connor ) believed , if the working classes : were comfortable in their circumstances , they would think very little of the Charter—( hear ) . There were no party in EDgland satisfied , except those wbo lived upon corruption—both Scotland , Wales , and Ireland wen equally dissatisfied . They were in the same state in Ireland as they had been for the last fifty yean—the same grievances existed . Every

      Government , from tbe time of Pitt , had acknowledged them , but declared themselves incompetent to find a remedy ; but when thus acknowledging their Incapacity , why hold the reins of power , and keep ont tboce who would remedy their grievances ? If , with a revenue of fifty-four millions a-year , they could cot govern the CftOBtry , better abandon that Government , and give it into the hands of the people , who knew their grievances , their c&Bse , and remedy . In Ireland the Reform Bill had limited , instead of extending , tbe representation The Tory landlords saw that as leng as they kept their lands clear of Catholic tenantry , so long would the Chureh . be out of danger ; and thus had the Beform Bill erased a greater emigration to England and Scotland than would otherwise have taken place : and

      this increased competition la the labour market , had no doubt tended to reduce wages ; and thus it was that the English and Scotch , were interested in the Repeal of the Union , and the establishment of a right state of things —( applause ) . Ireland would never be bens fitted by Repeal , unless the poor Catholics were enfranchised , as well as the Tory landlord ; and , if the Irish gained the Repeal , the Charter would not be long in following it After dwelling same time on Irish affairs , and ,. with a compliment to Father Mathew , expressing his conviction , that sober Ireland would carry the Repeal of the Union , Mr . O'Connor said their enemies had asserted that Chartism was dead ; but it was not so . Mr . DoBcombe , MJ ., who hacLbeen with him at several meetings in Scotland , bad

      not only declared himself for the Six Pouts , name and all , but had become a member of the National Charter Association . He ( Mr . O'Connor ) had enrolled a great many names during his present tour ; and , though it was denied that the Chartists had any power , they , might point to the tomb of Wblggery , and say , behold | it there ! There was a space left over tb « dead j body of Whiggery to entomb- Toryism , when the i people were prepared for it . The very policy pursued I by the Tory Government in Ireland and Wales would [ drive Peel and the iron Duke from the head of affairs . jit had been asserted by a nobleman in the House of ., CommouB , that it was Feargus O'Connor who had j brought back the Tories to power . This was when he I was as a felon ia York Castle ; bnt now surely , that

      i he had liberty , he wonld be able to beat both factions ; and he pledged himself to that meeting , that he would never join in any namby-pamby , shuttlecock movement , I to shift power from one party to another . ( Cheers . ) ¦ There was no difference between a Whig and Tory I government ; put them In & bag and shake them , and you may take the first that comes up . He would lay them down a rule in political economy . Suppose there were ten thousand men required to do the whole work in Carlisle : and to meet the exact demand of the market ; and suppose that two thousand idlers came to town , their presence in the competitive market would in a short time cause tbe masters to pay less wages to the twelve thousand men than they had done to the ten thousand before ; and it would have been better for

      tbe ten thousand employed to subscribe to keep in idleness the two thousand , than allow them to enter into competition with them . As land was the source of legislation , and of all true power , he ( Mr . O'Connor ) wished to see the people get hold of it . Although France had s population of about forty millions , it had only two hundred thousand voters ; but the people live , with this lack of the franchise , as they were comparatively comfortable , and almost every one had a portion of land . The French had destroyed the law of primogeniture and this bad caused ihe land to be better divided . He ( Mr . O'Connor ) had seen a French peasant in the domain of a French proprietor , cutting his vegetables or whatever he required ; on expressing his surprise to the landlord , be told him that twenty

      thousand acres belonged to him , while thirty thousand acres belonged to the peasantry ; and he could not purchase it , as they would not ssll one particle of it Those who had land were always the most independent ; and one great reason why Ireland could stand out more for her rights than this country was that almost every man bad at least five or six months provision on hand . The working classes of England live frem hand to mouth Their ancestors never would have wrested Magna Charta from Kmg John if they had not lived an agricultural life , had tb « y not bad their pig on the crook , their meal in the cheat , and their granaries well stored . The Charter meant the voluntary system of religion—it meant full liberty of conscience , and that every one should enter the sanctuary of his God , and pay what

      he liked for the benefit he received . [ Mr . O'Connor here dw ° lt on tbe distress of tbe country , and pointed out in a clear and forcible manner the various causes which lead to it ] He continued ;—The Malthoslaus told tbe working classes that over-population was the cause of their distress , and to be entirely provident they sbonld not woo or marry til ! they were ninety or ninety-five years of age . If Lord John married at twenty , there were no remarks made , bat what a sweet and amiable domestic creature he was ; and this man was allowed to bring a family into the world , to be saddled upon the country . They weuld be all paupers ; for the aristocracy knew that their children would be supported by the labour of others . Although 5 s . 6 d . a-week was enonehfor a handloom-weaver , £ 500 , 066 was

      too little for an aristocrat Harry Brougham had said ef the working classes— " throw them on their own resources . " So said he ( Mr . O'Connor ) , He was a Malthusian—he neld the principles of Malthas ; bnt drew fair deductions and conclusions from them ; and it was not fair in Brougham to cry out thus with one si £ e of his mouth , while with the other he said , give me £ 5 , 000 instead of £ 4 , 000 a-year as ex-chancellor He ( Mr . O'Connor ) would have do poor in the land ; tho ' an unwilling pauper had every right to support . Throw tbe bishops , parsons , civil-list gentry , and such as these on their own resources , and there would then be plenty for the people . ( Cheers . ) It was said the country was over-populated ; he admitted it ; but five millions would be an over population in a misgoverned country .

      It was said it was the intention of God there should be poor is the land ; tbe parsons told the people this was but a probationary state—a living purgatory to prepare for a happier hereafter . God had said the husbandman should be first partaker of the fruits of the soil ; but supposing that suffering was necessary , be thought in all conscience , the labourers had had their share , and he weuld say to those bishops , parsons , and idlers : — Ton must , of conrse , Btrain every nerve to get into heaves—throw away your lawn sleeves , and labour with your hands ; live on porridge , go to the prison and the cold bastiles , or labour at the spinning jenny , and the weaver's loom ; " but they would soon cry ont , they had quite enough to prepare them for heaven ; and they would get to heaven if tkey went on that way

      sooner than they expected—( load laughter ) . They would be like the chaplain of the vessel in a Btorm , who asked the mate if it had in any degree snbsided . The mate said it had sot , and if it continued bail an hour longei they wonld all be in heaven . " God forbid ! " exclaimed the chaplain ^{ loud laughter ) . It bad been said that God sent mouths to one house and meat to another ; that he gave as land but the devil gave us landlords—God gave meat , bnt the devil sent us cooks . The upper classes had absorbed all themselves , and thtn thrown tbe people on their own resources . Iu the olden time the whole taxes of tbe Government were drawn from the Crown lands , and the poor were supported from tbe lands held by the abbeys and monasteries , and there were also schools for

      the gratuitous education of the poor , while every Bishop was bonnd to keep a pack of honnds for the use of the people in hunting . But Henry VIII . wanted to become an adulterer , wished to divoice his wife , and marry a common prostitute : the Pope would not allow Mm , and so he thought he would have a Reformation ; be robbed the monasteries , snd destroyed the abbeys -, and what was done next ? A few years after , in the reign of his daughter , such was tbe increase of poverty and crime , that it became necessary to pass the Poor Law , known as the 43 rd of Elizabeth . Every source of innocent recreation was now taken from the people , and they were called rude and uncivilised : they -were reduced to wretchedness , and were then told they were ignorant : but ( Mi . OConnor aaid ) if they would rive

      him the Charter , in two years they would be the besteducated people in the world . Crime was on the increase ; but he was astonished there was not more cr ime : if the aristocracy bad to bear the sufferings borne by the poor , he was sure the increase would be frightful Talking of loyalty , he did not see how the working classes could be loyal to any of our present institutions ; but give every man au inheritance in the soil—let him sit under the same tree as his fither had done before him , and where the matrons of the family oft milked the cows—let him be within the sound of the bells of that cbnrch where his father and mother were married , and where he himself received the baptismal rites ; let him see his own cews in the pasture , -and his crops growing round him , and he would fly with more alacrity to defend it , than an hireling army would now do to the cry that the Irish Church was in danger— { spplanse > Take away the " outward and visible signs" in the shape

      of the enormous salaries of our clergy , and the " inward and spiritual grace , " would vanish soon after ; take away frcm the Judge his £ 8 , 000 a-year , and , instead of gravely prosecuting his friend Arthur for asying nothing , he would be vexed at him for not crying out loud enough . Let every man who wished for temperance join for the Charter—every man who wished for character , as character would be valuable under the Charter —( hear , hear )—every friend of education , as education would be promoted from tfee comfortable circumstances in which the Charter would place the population—every lover of peace , and if they wanted the people to be religions , give them the Charter . He took credit to himself for creating and organizing the Chartist movement He bad spent more money in agitating , than any man who had gone before him , or any that might come after him . Xbe free-trade agitators spent the money of the poor , wtalst be spent only his own . Be had frequently acted

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      as treasurer ; and in 1839 they bad left him in debtt& the amount of £ 282 ; he had suffered nine criminal prosecutions la seven years ; yet his exertions bad been unwearied in the cause . He mimicked to the great amusement of his auditors , a Dissenting Clergyman whom he said he knew , who , although a bad moral character , had spoken at a Free Trade meeting , affecting great sympathy for tbe distress of the poor . He trusted be had given them the worth of their pennies ( the price of admission ) , and concluded by calling upon them to take out cards of the National Charter Association , which he had brought with him , and which were twopence each . Mi . O'Connor ' s speech , of which the foregoing is little more than an abstract , occupied nearly two hoars in the delivery . An address to Mr . O'Connor was read amidst the rapturous cheers of the meeting , and after being adopted was presented to that gentleman .

      Mr . O'Cowhob returned thanks , and proposed a vote of thanks to the Chairman . The meeting then quietly dispersed .

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      DUMFRIES . VISIT OF FEARGUS O'CONNOR , ESQ . TUESDjJT , OCT . 31 . So sson aa it became certain that Mr . O'Connor would visit Dumfries , tbe greatest enthusiasm was apparent ; and a public meeting was summoned immediately to make arrangements for his reception . A deputation was appointed to receive him on bis arrival , and a committee named to secure a room for a public meeting and arrange an entertainment iu the evening . The Old Assembly Rooms are at present occupied by a aon intrusionlst congregation , and being tbe largest public room in town , appeared to be the best Accordingly tbu Committee put themselves in communication - with the managers of the church to obtain it At a meeting of the managers called for the

      special purpose , the use of tbe room was granted ; and two ef the Committee signed a paper , binding them to pay the usual fees , and guarantee that no damage should be done to the building . Things bad gone this far , when the shepherd , returning from tbe Free Church Assembly , where he had been protesting against tbe refusal of Bites for churches by tbe Duke of Sutherland and others , heard that in his absence the principal sheep had let the fold for a Chartist meeting . Acordingly the little Dutch-built waspish man of God called a prayer meeting . This , of conrse , was attended almost solely by the female part of his congregation—the ewes of the flock . After hurrying through tbe devotional part of the business , " and tbe doors being shut , for fear of the Jews , " the prayer meeting , by tbe magic wand of the Rev . John Robertson Mackensie , was con verted there and then into a congregational one . By all accounts the affair was a rich one . The managers attempted to reason ; to show that the place had been

      legally let , and that as honest men they rouse implement a bargain fairly made ; besides that , there would , in the event of a refusal , lie an action for damages . But all would not do . The parson , with a keen perception , like the most of his cloth , of the sort of arguments most likely to tell Upon the ladies , declared that be cared sot for the civil power—his master was God , whose law alonB he would obeyi 11 After a stroni ? discussion , in which the ewes spoke loudest , and at the end of which they out-voted the rougher eex , tbe . parson was empowered to keep the key , and do with it as the Lord might direct However , as no intimation of these new arrangements had been made to the Caurtiat Committee , no notice was taken of the circumstance , the majority looking on the affair as a piece of bravado on the part of the parson . In this they were mistaken ; for on the Tuesday tbe creature took the key from the beadle , and positively refused to deliver it up ; and matters continued in that state until four o ' clock .

      At half-past four Mr . O'Connor arrived , and was welcomed enthusiastically by tbe people , wbo crowded the Higb-streef , many of whom had been anxiously waiting more than an hour and a-balf . On bsing informed of the circumstances , and that the people were ready , ^ y authority of tbe managers , to take forcible possession of the building , Mr . O'Connor positively refused to speak in such s case . All was therefore gloom and despondency . Groups were collected , or moving about the streets , muttering curses loud and deep on those wbo had caused their disappointment , and matters were rapidly assuming a threatening aspect , when the Messrs . Beck , extensive coach builders , kindly granted tbe use of their large bqow room . Although half-an-hour after the advertised hour of meeting , the town drummer paraded the streets , and , beating with a will , booh collected a numerous audience .

      Mr . Waedbop was called to tbe chair ; and , after stating the circumstances which had led to tbe change in the place of meeting , and Mackenzie ' s reasons for refusing the church , administered , in his own caustic manner , a sound flaggellation to the '" nee Hielandman , " and introduced Mr . O'Connor , whose rising was the signal for bursts of applause , load and prolonged . ' After the cheering had subsided , Mr . O'Connor commenced his address , which occupied about aa hour and a half in the delivery , and was received with the most soul-inspiring enthusiasm on the part of the audience , among whom were not a few of our civio noblesse .

      The meeting then , after three hearty cheers for O'Connor and tbe Charter , and three for the Messrs . Beck , for their hospitality , broke up—those wbo wished to join the National Association alone remaining . A brisk trade then commenced iu eards , aod a great many enrolled themselves . Some one , on the recommendation of Mr . O'Connor , took out a card for his reverence , Mackenzie , to whom the { audience owed the valnable address they bad just listened to ; and it was filled up , atd duly forwarded next day . At the close of the meeting Mr . O'Connor was entertained at supper in the great room of the George Temperance Hotel , from tbe oaken walls of which bang banners bearing patriotic mottoes , interspersed with the portraits of Cobbett , Hunt , and ethers of that patriot baud , who , thank Gad , have sever been utterly extinct in the land .

      Mr . George Lewis did the honour of the chair , supported ou the right by the guest of tbe evening ; and Mr . Wasdrop discharged the duties of croupier in a way which did him credit The cloth removed , the Chairman rose , and instead of the preliminary toasts , termed " loyal and constitutional , " proposed in a homely but pleasing manner , " The People , the source of all political power . " Mr . Wabdkop , as a representation of the people , having been carried at the hustings last election , replied in a clever speech . The Chaib then gave— " The Paople ' a Charter—may it soon become the law of the land . " ( Drank standing with three times three , and one cheer more . ) Mr . Jebemiah Knight , a veteran Chartist , and one of the founders of the Dumfries Working Men ' s Association , responded .

      The Chair—The toast which I have now to propose needs no preface to commend it to the hearts of ail" Oar respected guest , Feargus O'Connor , Esq . " ( Drunk standing , with vociferous cheering . ) Mr . O'Connor returned thankB in an able speech , in which he expressed his belief that the time was not far distant when democracy would triumph , and reiterated his determination to persevere in the cause in which be had embarked . At its conclusion , Mr . Pbteb Hobsel , a fine looking old man , who had grown grey In the good cause , and to whom Mr . O'Conner had alluded in bis speech , lose and gave ^ an account of tbe manner in which he bad been persecuted while struggling againBt the iniquities of the Scottish Poor Law system .

      Mr . Wii . M'Dowall , in a very neat speech , gave " Thomas Duncombe , the man of the people . " ( Drunk with all the honours ) . Mr . WaRDROP gave— " The Exiles . " Mr . Thomas Tat ? lob . aBd others , in the course of the evening , enlivened the company with many excellent songs , lilting as though " their throats with fiddlestrings were lined . " Thus the evening passed away" Care mad to see puir . men sae happy , E ' en drowned hersel amang the coffee !"

      But the advent of the " wee short honr ayont the twal " warned all that he , in honour of whom all had assembled was weary and travel-worn in their serviee ; and accordingly , with three cheers for " O Connor , " three fir " the Strangers , " and a vote of thanks to' the Chairman , the harmonious assembly reluctantly broke op . ^

      Federalism , —Mr . Ross , M . P . for Belfast , has declared himBelf a Federalist . Loud Mobpeth goes into Parliament for the Borough town of Morp 8 th . —Limerick Chronicle . Rent . —Lord Dunally made an abatement of 15 per cent on the rents of bis estate , commencing in May last Reverse ot Fortune . —Amongst the prisoners lately brought to the Bagne of Toulon , is the ex-Bey of Tlemcen , condemned by tbe Court of Algiers to hard labour for life , for murder . Having surprised one of his wives with an aide-de-major , he took vengeance on the latter , and deprived him of life .

      Males versus Females . —In the following counties of England tbe number of males exceeds that of the females : —Hereford , 78 ; Lincoln , 914 ; Monmontb , 6 , 857 ; Rutland , 140 ; Stafford , 7 , 224 ; and in WaleBBrecon , 545 ; Fliut , 697 ; Glamorgan , 4 , 550 ; Radnor , 296 . The greatest excess of females occurs in the county of Middlesex , where there are 1 , 333 females to every 1 , 000 males , no doubt arising from the great number of female servants in the metropolis and its suburbs . Statistics of Mabbiagb . —In the county of Bedford , 91 in 100 women marry under age ; in Huntingdon , 25 ; in Cambridge , 2 » j In Essex , 2 & ; in Northampton , 22 ; in Hertford , 22 ; in the Weat Riding of York , 21 ; in the East R'ding of York , 11 ; Cumberland , 10 ; Westmoreland , 13 ; Devon , 9 ; Salop , 9 ; Hereford , 2 .

      Unfortunate Death of a Veteran . — . An inqsest was held at the King ' s Arms , Greenwich , on the body of James Bradley , aged fifty-six , an in- pensioner of Greenwich , HoBpltal , and one of the sf allaot veterans of Trafalgar , who was accidentally drov / ne ^ On the evening of the anniversary of " Trafalgar -day , " at Trafalgar-stairs , having just left the Trafalgar Tav « n in all his glory , with his Trafalgar medal er , his breast . Verdict" -accidental death .

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      EXTRA ORDIARY CORRESPONDENCE . ; CATCHING A TARTAR . 0 > C ° S ' HEAD frACIFJCATOB-THE BENO 0 NED TOM STEEI . E , AND PATRICK O ' HIGGINS . Trrflfl nlfw n 5 ° f the Lo * Bl ^ P * 1 * 1 Association of SJ % mi WednMda y « « w 27 * September , the case of Sir Z £ J ? " bt < mBht £ oewaTd - Mr . O'CenneU KXtL ^ at Mr Gonno *' fc ^ S * the ^ m erifcy to have given notice of a motion in the absence ? L * eD i ^ H » * the effects" ThaV the ople of

      * »» pe S L ° ld *•* *»¦ ptf-iwit , tithe rent charge , C ^ ££ ?* '¦ ¦ T * - oeM ' ** . *«• . and that no man SXSL t ? , ' £ F * - of wy . ' -dirtfeM- for any of those tK& *' m . ?* Union 8 hoaI ( i *• ^ pealed . " The Dictator said that "If there were nothing else against S' . SET m / £ ! briDging ' ° ™ ° ** ^ po * - EVfw « ? ( m O'Coweirs ) absence it ought to be a sufficient reason for expelling him with contempt " Mr . O Connell concluded by moving that Mr . Connet s name be expunges from their book * . " ThU motion bavins ; been carried ,

      Mr ^ STEELEsaid" that Mr . Conner ' s name should not only be expunged from their books , but that we ought also , as we did in the case of that Patrick O Biggins when ^ w . expelled him , to return him his money , that our funda shonld not be eontaminated by any such vitlanous subscriptions . " These observations of Mr . Steele ' a gave rise to the fid . lowing interesting correspondence : — MB . 6 H 1 GGINS S LETTER TO THE EDITOR OF THE FREEMAN ' S JOURNAL . Sib , ; . — It appears by the report of the proceedings of the : Loyal National Repeal Association of Ireland , published in this day ' s Freeman , that my name was unnecessarily and insidiously brought forward by Mr . Thomas Steels

      MrJ Steele said that Mr . Conner ' s name should not only be expunged from their books , but that we ought also , as we did in tbe case of that Patrick O Hi * gins .,, when we expelled him , return him his money , that our funds should not be contaminated by any such viilanoua subscriptions . ' : This , is not true . The money was not returned . But , Sir , the money was banded by the late Mr . Edwil Dwyer , the Secretary , to Mr . Thomas Steele , to be by him handed to Mr . O'Higgins , which he never did . I have been constrained to mention this circumstance upon a farmer occasion ; and I have since taken the trouble to examine Mr . Thomas Steele ' a schedule in the Insolvent Debtors' Goutt , where I find he has not returned me aa a creditor . I hopa that he will therefore see the propriety of discharging his trust by honeslly handing me the money , even now at tbe end of ten years .

      It is necessary to state , in justice to my own character , anri for the information of those who know nothing of the circumstance to which Mr . Steele has alluded , that I was expelled from the society of Irish Volunteers in January , 1833 , because I refused to aot on tba Committee of that body with a friend of Mr . Thomas Steele ' s , —a man xvho was mainJy instrumental in swindling me ont of a buhl of £ 750 , and who acted in the capacity of common informer ; whose informations are filed in the Head Office of Police , and dated the 5 th of January , 1831 .

      1 now , in conclusion , utterly deny that a charge of soy nature or kind was ever brought against me either in tbe Volunteer Association , or in any other Association

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      English Houses . 4- The Grand Dufce Michel is buying np a number of the best English horses for exportation to Russia . ] Rent William Plelche * . Esq ., has Riven an abatement ( through his agent , William P . Fletcher , Esq ., Foster-place , ) of twenty-five per cent , on the last " three half year's reni" to his tenants on his estate at Clane , county Kildare . | Mr . Fletcher is son of the late Judge Fletcher . j Awful ! There are now living in Axminster sixtytwo unmarried ladies , and , awful to relate , only seventeen gentlemen to be divided amengst them . Salamanders . —The Revue deO'tuest says : — " Several person were witnesses a few days ago of an extraordinary circumstance . ! Tho road from Niort to St . Lignaire was covered with thousands of little salamanders ; it presented one black mass , and it was impossible to move a step without treading upoa several of these reptiles . " I

      Degrading Superstition—On Friday last a young woman named Wineflel < l , who had been , on a visit to Derby , returned home to Redborae , taking a little dog with her in a string ; and on arriving there , she informed her friends Ulat she had seen a gipsy woman on the road , who told her that if aha led the dog by . the string into the boose , she would ^ e a corpse within twelve hours . Singular to relate , the young woman died on the following morning ! It is supposed sbe died froai the effecta of imaginatioB , aided by a debilitated constitution . }

      Atrocious Murder—An atrocious crime has just filled with dismay the town of Braine-le-Chateau . On Thursday last a small farming man , named Godeau ,, seventy years of age , and almost blind , was left at home wliilb tbe rest of the persons of the house were in the fields getting in their i potatoes . Whea these people returned horns in Ihe evening a frightful spectacle presented itself to their )? iew , the unfortunate old man lying on the floor horribly murdered , hia head cat , or rather sawn off . Three boxes had been broken open , and the niusderevs—for more than one must have been concerned in the foul deed—had carried off the wtutfeof tbe contents , consistinji of money , aittcles of wearing apparel , aoi , otbe $ property ,

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      TRIAL BY JURY . On Monday evening the friends of Parliamentary Be ' . jrm dined together at Radley ' a Hotel , Bridge-street , Bl * obfriars , to celebrate the 49 > . h anniversary of the acquittal of Thomas Hardy , John Home Tooke , and Thoa . Th 9 t * all , from the charge of high treason . W . J * Fox , Esq . in the chair . About 150 gentlemen aat down to dinner . Among ? those around the chair were Richard Taylor , Alexander Galloway , Colonel Perronet Thompson , P . A . Taylor , J . Coppock , J . P . Barnard , W . Pritchard , W . Hodgson , W . Patten , Dr . Simpson , D . Ince , J . Gurney , A . B . Garey , C . Horsley , E-: qrs .. Ac . &c . When the doth was tern wed .

      The Chairman rose to propose the first toasfc Ha said they were met there for tbe forty-ninth time to commemorate tbe very remarkable circumstance that parties whoosaerted sound and just principles With a view to their practical application were not banged ; and he rejoiced to find around him not a few of those who he felt confident would have acted jast the same , even bad the result which they now met to commemorate been different . The principles which brought the > names of twelve acquitted felons , as they were decently termed in the House of Commons , into jeopardy , and in which those who now beard him no doubt agreed , were tbe principles which formed the foundation of social existence—which distinguished a nation from a mob—which characterised a people as distinct from a herd of slaves—the sovereignty of the people—{ tremendous cheers ^ . The sovereignty of tbe people he

      understood to be tho exercise of real power by the people , what bad been called virtual representation , wMch was pretty muck what had been , humorously described as the condition of the deer in Sherwood forest , whicU were looked upon as made for Robin Hood to feast upon . ( Cheers . ) Representation , to bo real , must be co-extensive with the community—( hear )—in other worda , ha meant ; what was expressed by tbe plain terms Universal Suffrage —( hear , hear )—the principles of the " Corresponding Society "—( cheers )—the sound and intelligent principles of all political freedom . If sovereignty were not in the people he should like to know were it was . Was it in tha aristocracy ? Could they reckon on higher genealogy than that of tbe people ? No ; not in their genealogies could they claim a higher origin . They might quote as their text the epitaph which had been written for himself by the

      poet" Noble and gentle , by your leave , Here lie tbe bones of Matthew Prior ; A son ef Adam ant ! of Eve—Can Bourbon or Nassau go higher ?" After some further observations , the Chairman gavs the " Sovereignty of the People . *'—Received with three times three . The Chairman then proceeded to spoil what he bad just said by some nonsensical talk about tha " illustrious individual who now occupied the throne , " ending -with the nsnal bit of hnrnbug . Tbe Chairman , next gave— " Trial by Ju * y » and tt © tbree Juries which acquitted Thomas Hardy , John Home Tooke , and John Thelwall . " Tbe toast was received with enthusiastic applause .

      Tbe Chairman , after apsaking at some length on the principles of the Corresponding Society , proceeded to its persecuted members : What were the men who were thus persecuted ? They could not know a man of higher principles , of simpler mind , and of more straightforward character—whose private life was more pure , or whose public life was more honest , than that of John Hardy—( cheers ) , Iu the ranks of literary men , who bad endeavoured to develops the truth , to trace the various appearances of physical phenomena , and to study the literary institutions of byegone ages , with an scuter mind than John Home Tooke ? or who bo clearly had displayed the beauty , the variety , and the real utility of the English language , and had led bo many to sound and lucid thoughts , wbo would otherwise have

      been lost in tbe interminable desert of verbiage ? Among those who delighted the imagination and painted truth in those vivid colours which seizsd the attention of the reader , and whose works still produced in the dramatic scene still rivalled his contemporaries , who was more eminent at the time , and who had left more enduring claims upon us , than Thomas Holcroft , the author of the Road to Ruin ?—( cheers ) . There was amongst them Thelwall , whom many had listened to as the expounder of ancient and modern history , and who was the teacher of oratory and locution , and was afterwards employed to teach the clergy to read with impressiveness that burial service , which would too willingly have been denied to him . Jeremy Joyce escaped the gallows , to carry his conquests into the French Institute . If the lawyer and tbe Minister of tbat day bad been triumphant , history would have backed tbe remarkable fact , tbat at a tiiie when the power of France sought to

      overwhelm Europe , Jeremiah Joyce waa teaching the students of the Polytechnic School under tht > direction of Napoleon , training thought there , and winning a nobler triumph , than his students afterwards a < 3-qaired in arms— . ( toad cheere ) , Those men were chosen by William Pitt as the first sacrifices , because they advocated the principles from which be had apostatised—( loud cheers * . A jury decidtd between them ; posterity will ' decide between them ; nature and fact have decided between them ; for those objects of bis persecution have led peaceful , and some of them long lives . They saw the opinions they advocated advancing in public opinion ; some remained to witness tbe success of some of thoir opinions , and to feel tha joyful and certain presage of the advancing victory . It had been usual to drink this toast in solemn silence ; be would not bo propose it , for whatever mourning might have been over a grave which had recently closed , be would say with Byron in his " Hebrew Melodies , " when celebrating the bero

      Maccabeus" Taeir name our charging hosts along Shall be oar battle word , We will not do their memories wrong , They shall not be deplored "—( cheers ) . Their memory was not to be deplored—they rather rejoiced tbat they bad lived . The Chairman concluded by proposing—" The Members of the Corresponding Society . " Mr . Galloway said they bad present that evening , he was proud to say , an individual who was ninetyseven years old ( Mr . W . Hodgson ) , who had been ever the steady friend of liberty , and who , fifty-one years ago , bad been confined in Newgate for sedition—( hear , hear ) . He bad now the same spirit and courage In tbe cause of freedom that he bad fifty-one years ago .

      Mr . Hodgson , who , though he stooped , appeared remarkably bale and strong for a man of ninety-seven years , said that he held the same opinions now that he did fifty-one years ago . Laws ought to be made for the benefit of the many ; but , at the present day , they were made to complicated that they could not be understood . Tbe venerable speaker next adverted to the necessity of tbe people who cdntributed to the expense of the Government having a voice in its management The aged speaker sat down amidst enthusiastic applause . Several other toasts were given , and the company separated at an early hour .

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      "Young Dutch Sam , " tbe well-known pugilist , died a few days since at bis residence , the 3 > rury Tavern Bridges-street , Covent Garden . Mobsters . —Anthony Grimes and Patt Kilroy arecommitted to Castlebar gaol , on a charge of having broken into the house of Honor Gitroy , fn the barony of Erris , by night , forciby taken her daughter away a distance of twelve miles , and violated her person . , Calamitous Occurrence—Tbe Pnblio Works a * Banagher under the Shannon Commissioners are nearly suspended in consequence of the dams being swept away by a high flood , and three hundred men axe thrown out of employ . Their Fortunes Told . —At Longford Quarter Sessions , a gaDg of itinerant fortuae tellers was « entenced to transportation for seven years . While predicting fortunes it appeared they wore realising fortune * at the expence of taeir credulous dupes .

      Assault , &c Seven countrymen were tried atB&ndsn Quarter Sessions for riot and assault upon the Rev . Charles H . Seymour , -whett returning from Divine Service at Ardgroon Church on the Sabbath ; and he only escaped death by the fleefcness of bis hoise . On conviction of the outrage , foot were sentenced , by asaistant-Barrister Moo / Jy , to two yeara imprisonment each , and the others ,, to nine nwmtQ 5 « " i-m KtLT . "—In the attack on the fort of Goyain , by General Nott . during the last campaign tst the Affgban war , an Irish sergeant of hex Majesty ' s 40 th bad bis- head gra zed by a spent ball . It confused him for the moment , and he exclaimed , " Och ! somebody take my piece ? I ' m kilt—I ' m kilt—i'm kilt . " Aa they were leadr ag him . off , he looked over bis shoulder , and cried out , F litb , boys , and I dout think I ' m kilt entirety yet r * His second thought called forth shouts of laughter—Ai ' en ' s Diary .

      Physigi / > g-j . —It is an admitted axiom among physioloftists , ¦ that to the peculiar formation of the cerebral orgar is , the mental faculties owe their character . Nor is is less confidently asserted , that the influence of these peculiarities is iu » striking degree hereditary , as shown in the descendants of snob , as have exhibit' < » d any peculiar property in connection with these i nghly important functions . These truths are ittfc . t tx more obvious character , mamfeatinvh © physical structure of the human race , and exhibit themselw ; 3 to the world daily ; for , aa in . vegetable , so in an */ nal life , the shoot iQTariably partakes of tha * if our or delicacy « of jthe parent stem . To sustain cr re -invigorate the physical powers of the body , pj & to

      aabling the natural streams of vitality floyr pa ? Jieir course without obstacle , must be ian object of great importance , aa it is lobvious that any interference therewith , must to such an extent divert them from their legitimate purpose , and so deprive thd system of a portion of its natural support , thus enfeebling if not prostrating its energies , and s » rendering it unable to fulfil its wonted duties . That both physical and mental vigour may be maintained for an extraordinary duration of time , we haveniany evidences on record , and that the means of accomplishing this object are now within our reaon . tne many mucular proofs of the power of the prescription , £ made Up by Old Thomas Parr , is * JSf" «« 2 *^ f suoh value as should not be lost si&ht of without mature re&eotion .

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      TO THE EDITOR OP THE FREEMAN ' S JOURNAL . Sir , —1 perceive , by your paper of this day , that Mr . Thomas . Steele , instead of answering any of the questions in my letter of Saturday last , or handing me tho money which be said on tbe previous Wednesday was returned to me , but which he now saya was ordered to be returned , he has had recourse to his usual low Billinsgate . This Head Pacificator says , in reply to my demand upon him for tbe money : — " 1 st That Patrick O'Higgins' letter contains a highly characteristic and infamous lie . " 2 ndly . That we expelled Patrick O'Higgins for infamous lying and calumny . " srdly . That he ia in tbe habit of publishing lies and calumnies in the Northern Star .

      " 4 thly . That he ( hunest Tom Steele ) could hold no communication with such a branded scoundrel aa Patrick O'Higgins ; that the late Mr . Edward Dwyer would not insult him , by making him the medium oC any communication with such a wretch ; and that Mr Frank Dwyer , the son of Mr . Edward Dwyer , told him ( Mr . Tom Steele } tbat he has as great a contempt for Patrick O'Higgin * as he has for a convicted felon . " Sthly Tbat the Committee , some years ago , when Patrick O'Higgins was expelled , ordered his money to be returned . "

      The " Head Pacificator , " Mr . Thomas Steele , has , through the columns of tbe Dublin Evening . Post , published tbe foregoing libel upon nay ebaractar , by way of answer to a demand which I made upon him , in . the Freeman ' s Journal of Saturday ' -lost , for a sum of money which he said , at a public meeting , on the previous Wednesday , was returned to me . No one but Tom Steele ever said , or presumed to say , that this money was returned to me . ; In reply to my demand upon Mr . Tom Steele for the money , be answers that demand by calling me a calumniator , an habitual liar , and a slanderer ; and says that I was expelled for lying—that I am a branded scoundrel and a wretch ; and he gets Mr . Frank Dwyer to confirm all this , by declaring that he has as great a contempt for me as he has for a convicted felon .

      This is no unusual mode for Mr . Thomas Steele , the Bead Pacificator , to adopt towards those who- demand tbeir money of him—money which he knows more abont than the owner of it , but no more than the possessor . I was not meddling with Tom Steele when he wantonly and wickedly dragged my name forward at tbe Corn Exchange , on Wednesday lust , in a debate with which 1 bad no connection whatever . He said , upon that occasion , that "the subscription should be returned to Mr . Connor , as they did to that Patrick O'Higgins , when he expelled him and returned him his money , that out funds should not be contaminated pj sucb a ViUanomJ subscription . " When this lie about returning the money was flatly and indignantly contradicted , Mr . Thomas Steele bad recourse , in tbe flit instance , to the columns of tbe Dublin Evening Post to publish a gross libel upon my character instead of paying me tbe money .

      ISjow , Mr . Tom Steele , Ireland ' s Head Pacificator , at a salary of four pounds a week out of the Repeal Rent , you aaici at the Corn-Ezcbange , when you thought it might pasa unnoiiced by me , " that the money was returned to me ; " but when you found tbat I did not allow this falsehood to pass , you then shifted your ground and said that the money was ordered to bo returned . Here , on your Own showing , you stand a self-convicted Ifar . Finding that you put your head into a mortar , and gave me a pestle to pound It , you have had recourse to calumny and falsehood in order to wriggle out of it

      I called upon yon er any one etee , in my letter 'n the Freeman of Saturday last , to state distinctly the charges which you allege were brought against me at the time of my expulsion from the Volunteer Association in January , 1833 , and to publish the names , occupations , and residences of the parties concerned in that disgraceful transaction—jnstead of which , or of handing me tb-e money which you said was returned to me , and whip ' a you undertook to return notwithstanding your aud aclous denial , you say that I was expelled " For Ii ' . famoI's Lying ahd CAMJjiNTf . " Now , you barefaced , cowardly calumniator—you mean , filthy , " foul-moutbed , fawning sycophant ; you knew , when you were penning the foregoing words , tbat there never was a charge of any nature or klad brought against me , either in tbe Volunteer Association or in any other Association or Society ; but tbat I was

      expelled—1 st Because I knew the exact nature and extent of rtio transactions between you and your friends , Wigly , Dixon , and Co ., and your dupe * O'Gorman Mahon ; and because I had the imprudence to mention some of the circumstances connected wltb those transactions j and i

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      TO THE EDITOR OF THE FREEMAN . Loyal National Repeal Association , Coin Exchange Rooms , Sapt . 30 , 1843 . Mi dear Sir , —A letter appeared . in the Freeman ' s Journal of this morning , signed " Patrick O'Higgins , " containing au infamous and highly characteristic lie . He says that when be was some years ago expelled in these rooms by a vote of your committee , and his money ordered to be returned to him , it was given to me by our then secretary , my lamented friend , the late Edward Dtryer , and that I did not return it . We expelled Patrick O'Higgina for infamous lying and calumny ; and therefore his invention of this lie and of the series of lies and calumnies he is in tbe habit of publishing in tho Northern Star , is of course in him quite natural .

      If Mr . D * yer had proposed to make me tbe medium of his official communication with that branded scoundrel , I would have deemed it a personal Insult , which I would have indignantly resented ; but Mr . Dwyer respected roe too highly to try to make me tbe medium of a communication with such a wretch . The opinion expressed this morning to me by my friend Mr . Frank Dwyer , the son of our late secretary , and who knows all tbe transactions , is " that he has tbe same contempt for Patrick O'Higgins that he has for ' * * I have the honour to be , my dear Sir , Most truly yours , Thomas Steele . P S . —I , of course will not condescend to notice anything further from this degraded person .

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      TO TI 10 MAS STEELE , ; ESQ ., HEAD PACIFICATOR OF ( IRELAND . Sir , —You shall not escape from me bo easily as you imagine . You struck a cowardly biow behind my back , and you tun away when you find tbat thai blow can be returned with interest . Your letter in this day ' s Freeman proves you to be one of thd basest scoundrels that evet disgraced society . Your attempt to intimidate , bully , corrupt , and cajole the respectable gentlemen whose names are signed to the documents in my possession , surpasses by far the most iniquitous act of even the worst of Shakespeare ' s bloodiest and most cowardly villains . But you have one consolation ; you are a fair sample of tbe gang who in the teeth , of those documents , pronpunced the charges , which were sustained by their testimony , to be false and calumnious . To be suva your friend , whose name I have forborne to mention out of a feeling of delicacy which neither Tom nor he can appreciate , is just a fit and proper companion for yourself and your associates in calumny , lying , and delusion .

      The question between us in not as to whether I had tbe authority of those gentlemen to publish their names now ; but the question is whether tbe names to the documents in my possession are genuine or forgeries ; and whether you and ; tbu other calumniatora , whose names are affixed to the public calumny upon my character , pronounced and signed by you and them in tbs teeth of tbat evidence , has given , to their own act , the brand , of infamy and degradation which they sought to fix upon me . There ia no man of common sense who is aware of their atrocious conduct upon that occasion could any more trust one of them than he could trust

      the basest perjurer that ever disgraced the earth . I tell you now , aa I told you and them , then , that in my opinion there is not a man of you who signed tbat document against me , which you have so audaciously paraded , who would not , if it promoted his own interest , if it gained one ] political step for him , stab to the heart the priest that administered the sacrament to him . I called upon you to publish the names , residences , and occupations of those parties . I called upon yon to pay me the money which you said at first was paid ; second , that it was ordered to bs paid , and now you say that you are sure it was paid by Mr . Dwyer . j

      The money was not paid to me by Mr . Dwyer or any . one else . The sum is ] not one pound , but ten pounds . Mr , D < ryer , in the first instance , offered me one pound , which I refused to accept witbeut tbe other nine . I call upon you now , again , to pay me the mon » y You are the only man tbat ever Baid it was paid . Let there be no more shuffling about it Screw yourself up , for the first time in your life , to one act of moral courage ; acknowledge yoiir error , or mistake , or whatever else you please to eall it , and pay me the money . Yob have the Repeal funds at your back , and can therefore afford to bribe tbe Lirekal Press to publish your abusive and lying tirades against my character , and reject my answero , unless I pair down and mutilate them to a mere ' dear and good Sir , sure I don't deserve all these blows . " \ \ Patrick O'Higgins . No . 14 , North-Anne-Street , October 5 , 1813 ;

      PS . I met Mr . John Hudson , one of those respectable gentlemen whose names I published , and whom Mr . Thomas Steele calls upon to disown their own act ; and he desired me to say that his address is No . 54 , York-street When Mr . Steele is on his perambulation amongst these gentlemen , let him not pass Mr . Hudson by . \ Since sending the above rejected letter to the Freeman ' s Journal , I havej received a most interesting accsunt of Mr . Steele ' s conduct towards a fair friend in Ennia , j P . OH . [ This " correspondence" we have had waiting insertion for several weeks j ] but tbe urgent claims upon our space , by the exciting occurrences in Ireland and Wales , prevented its appearance before the present . ]

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      because it was not deemed prudent to have a man upen the Committee of the Irish Volunteers , who , It was apprehended from the case he had made out against you , sympathised with OXJorman Mahon , wbo was got rid of by a most dexterous trick a few days before . 2 ndly . Because byj a role of the Association , which made it imperative upon every member to sate anything he knew derogatory to tbe character of another , on pain of being expelled himself , and by a resolution of tbe committee , catling upon me to state the charges forthwith , I was forced to proceed with them against your friend , which , ] when found to be true , were declared to be false and calumnious , in order to screen your friend , a sycophant like yourself , from the consequences of them . I

      You and the other patties kn 9 W full well , and you now know , tbat the charges which you pronounced . to be " false and calumnious , " did not depend for their truth or falsehood upon any testimony of mine , but depended entirely and ( exclusively upon the written testimony of the following respectable gentlemen : — Mr . Robert Cully , Accountant-General of the Bank of Ireland ; Mr . Michael Roach , Secretary to the Hibernian Banking Company ; Messrs . Obadiah Willans and Sons , Lower Bridge-street ; Robert Byrne and Co ., Lower Bridge-street ;¦] Armstrong and Byrne , Merchant ' s . Quay ; Blood , Not , land Co ., Trinity street ; William Lock , Linen Hall ; Greenough and Robinson , Manchester ; William Boltonand Co , Manchester ; Long worth and Co ., Manchester ;| and the oral testimony of Messrs . John Robinson , of Dalgany ; William Russell , of Lower Bridge-street ; John Hudson , of Mecklinburgh-atreet ; and Alexander Reynolds , of Lower Bridge-street

      -Now , you cowardly , runaway slanderer—you strolling , houseless vagabond—you and the rest of the gang must prove that all these names are forged to the documents in my possession before you can prove that I brought false charges against any man . I now , in conclusion , burl defiance , and court the hatred of you and the other cowardly calumniators who , in the teeth ef the foregoing testimony , signed a public document against me , pronouncing the charges false and calumnious . i Patrick O'Higgins . No . 14 , North Anne-street , Oct . 3 , 1843 . To Robert Ctjllv , Esq ., Accountant-general of the Bank of Ireland . Michael Roach , Esq ., Secretary ! to the Hibernian Banking Company , and the other several Gentlemen named in the Letter signed Patrick O'Higgins , PUBLISHED \ THIS MORNING IN THE FREEMAN'S Journal .

      ; Wednesday , October 4 , 1843 . Gentlemen , —A letter , signed Patrick O'Higgins , having appeared in the Freeman ' s Journal of this morning , in which he has ! introduced your names , as if his witnesses in sustainment of his false allegations , as I cannot , of course , deign to take notice of that person myself , I address myself to you . In tbe spirit , therefore , and ia terms of tbe most perffiCS personal respect , < I pray you * permission to submit to your consideration , whether you do not owe it to your own characters , ' as well as to tbe cause ot moral justice , publicly to disavow your having given him your sanction and authority to use your names as his Witnesses on this occasion , to substantiate bis false statements . ;

      Our Committee , of which there was a very full attendance , sat for several days in solemn investigation of charges brought by this Patrick O'Higgins against another of our members , and those charges , in that solemn investigation , iwere found to be falsehoods and calumnies bo nefarious that we unanimously passed a vote for his immediate expulsion , and for returning him his pound subscription . < I have no doubt whatever that it was punctually and immediately returned to him by our then Secretary , Mr . Edward Dwyer , whose regularity was ever perfect in the performance of his official duties .

      I , of course , utterly disclaim all right to requite from you a reply to : this letter : I only make my appeal to your courtesy and sense of justice as Irish gentlemen . \ I have the honour to be , Gentlemen , With great respect , Your moatobedienfc , humble servant , i Thomas Steele .

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      ====== ^^ THE NORTHERN STAR' J [_

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Nov. 11, 1843, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1238/page/7/