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Northern Star (1837-1852), 11th April 1846, Edition 1 of 3, Page unpag, Untitled Article

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  • Departments (3)
    • THE POLISH INSURRECTION.
    • TO THE IMPERIAL CHARTISTS.
    • ; Koiui.. MtiiHSBiME TiisiiRK.—Vr'» visited, this.
  • Text (9)
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      Mt Tint Deah Fmbsds . -Mj engagements in furtherance of the Land project , last week , compelled me to neglect a large portion of my weekly duty io the Norton Star , and the preparation of accounts , and other arrangements , as necessary preliminaries to the ballot on Monday nest , has occupied so much of my time tliis week that I have not been able to furnish you with the usual summary of the week ' s news , or to reply to several correspondents . I know that you would not receive my apology gracefully if my excuse was idleness , bnt I think you will accept It cheerfully -when you understand that my undivided time has been devoted to yonr business .

      I shall now proceed to address you at considerable length , as it will be impossible , or rather it would be imprudent , to condense my observatioiw upon the many important subjects on which I am about to address you . Although a considerable portion of my letter will bejdevoted to the Land FJar ., you will , nevertheless , observe , that I address you by the'title of Imperial Chartists . I do so because I conscieniionsly believe , and confidently assert , that ninetynine in every hundred of the Chartists of England , have at length persuaded themselves tliat the

      land plan , so far from injuring , has been the life of the Chartist cause . Since I last addressed you I inspected a farm of 164 acrra , within G miles of Carlisle , and a very superficial -view of situation and comp lexion of the soil convinced me of its unfitness far our purpose ; I therefore abandoned the notion of buying it , although the circumstances of the proprie tor , a very poor old man , of 77 years of age , would have induced him to sell it a great bargain . He gave 4500 L for the estate twenty-four years ago , and expended some hundreds of pounds upon building aud other works , and would now take 32002 . for it .

      It is just such an estate as a trade-society should purchase , with a view to its improvement In three yean it would pay them S percent , and more , upon the money expended , besides theadvantage of relieving the labour market , by applying the surplus hands to the cultivation and improvement of their own land , and at the same . time augmenting their own -funds . This is one of the great additions that' I wish to see made to the Land plan . 1 wish to see all the money belonging to trade-societies , now lying idle in banks , applied to the purchase of landed property , with the view to expending a large amount of labour upon it . I know not what rate of interest the trades receive for their monies , but I know there is no such security as the land , and at whatever rate they purchase I will undertake to hare them well secured in

      four per cent , for theirmoney : —that is—if any trade will purchase , say 5000 ? . worth of land , I will undertake to secure them in a rent of 2001 . a year upon the purchase money . And as the working classes are but too fatally ignerant upon the subject of the land , I must here observe , that land so purchased by a trade-society would of itself , withont any additional improvement , be good security for the interest , while , bythe continuous improvement going on under our system , their property would be daily more valu able . For instance , if a trade purchased 5000 Z .

      worth of land , and leased it for ever to our society at 2001 . a year , in the coarse of two years their charge of 2002 . a year , made more secure and valuable by our buildings , improvements , and labour , would sell for CCOOZ ., or thirty-three years' purchase of the 200 Z . 3-year reserved rent . Oh ! what would I give to be able to make you all understand me familiarly upon this subject . IK the trades would co-operate with me for their own advantage , and the improvement of their class , we should very speedily have such a New England as never was seen .

      I now turn to the consideration of one of the most important points connected with our society . I mean the greedy desire manifested for the purchase of every estate that is offered for sale , whether in parts of the country where we have many members , or in parts where we have not got a single member . I like this anxiety , because it shows a longing after the land , while a certain degree of prudence must be used to control and repress it , as a single false step , or one unluckv purchase , might do our society

      irreparable damage . The frequency of those notices of estates to be sold does , however , answer one of the principal fallacies of our opponents , who stoutly contended that we never should be able to purchase land . WhilelneverwHltakeasingleimportantstep without the un divided concurrence of my brother directors , nevertheless , I now state , most unequivocally , that no individual , or local predilection , no invitation , no dread of blame or anger , shall induce me to make a purchase for the society which I would not make for myself .

      The failure of every plan which promised nationality has arisen from the foolish desire of the managers to satisfy the wishes of influential parties , withont consulting the interest of the body . In this Land movement I recognise nosuperiority , not even of the man who would advance £ 10 , 000 , over the member who pays Ms threepence per week . Person not belonging to our society would vainly hope to push us by headlong action into imprudent speculation , but against that folly we have set our face . I shall now apply myself to some points upon which it will be necessary , indeed indispensable , to take the opinion of our Manchester friends during our sojourn in the district .

      The first in importance stands Education , and , in order that a perfect system of education may go hand in hand with free labour , it is my intention to propose , that wherever the society locates 100 members , that five acres of land shall be kept distinct and apart for the purposes of education . Tiiat a school-house , with a school-room for boys , aud one for girls , shall be erected upon those five acres , and that the two school-rooms shall be so divided that at any time the partition may be removed in order to afford accommodation for lectures on agriculture , chemistry , geology , and such other subjects , a knowledge of which may be thought necessary fur the occupants and their children . I propose that one acre

      of those five shall be reserved as play-greund for the children , and that the ether four acres , with the house , shall be the salary of the school-master and school-mistress , and that , in proper season , the children able to perform any work shall work two Lours a day upon those four acres for the schoolmaster , and that this shall constitute the salary of the school-master and the school-mistress—that 13 , the house and the four acres of land cultivated t « the highest state of perfectionby the labourof the children who are able to work , and all will do more or less—( of course , Imean the boys ) , the girls , I presume , will be en " aged In learning to knit , and sew , and bake , and otherwise assist the school-mistress , who will have their d 6 mestic labour also free .

      Of course , I presume , that in all cases the school-master and school-mistress will be man and wife . Now , those four acres of land , cultivated as they would be , with the house , would be werth more than £ 150 a-year , and I shall suppose 200 children to be educated—their education would cost their parents but 3 s . for the whole family per annum—that is . I presume , that the schoolrooms and house would cost £ 250 , which , at four per cent ., is £ 10 . a-year , and that the five acres of land wonld be worth £ 1 per year , making £ 15 a-year , and a hundred families at 3 s . each would be just the £ 1-5 a-year . I presume that each , family would average two requiring education , that is at the rate

      of Is . 6 d . per annum for each . 2 fow , here we find one of the great advantages of co-operation with individuality of possession , while I unhesitatingly assert that the system could not be carried out upon the principle of Communism . This 13 a branch of the plan to which I attach paramount importance . This is what governments and religious societies have for years been attempting to accomplish , but lave never yetsucceeded in ; the blighting influence . of sectarianism always stepping in to mar the project . Beside receiving education , the four acre 3 become a model farm for the agricultural improvement of youths who afterwards may benefit by the instruction , and live independent upon it .

      . My friends , the advocates of the large farm system are already beginning to bring the word " SQUATTING" into m ore fashionable use , with the evident intention of usin ; , ' it offensively towards our project . Sow , it never will apply to us until Britain has a population of two hundred millions , and when she lias , let them deal with the emergencies , thenecctsities , and grievances of their day , 1 will deal only Kith these that present themselves in our day .

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      Xow , ^ I will show you why we shall not have " squattert . " The males would assist the fathers , and be at school till fifteen years of Bge : at fifteen they would devote their labour with their father to tho allotment—at fourteen , society would compel each father to pay threepence a week to the Land Fund for each male child , till at the age of eighteen—in four years , from fourteen to eighteen—he would have paid up his full share at threepence per week—for four acres , at sixpence per week ; add as each male arrived at the

      age of eighteen , he would have his own allotment to go to , and by that time the same number of girls would be provided for , as I hope that a country life , and the charms of domestic comfort , will induce young men to marry at the earliest possible period , so that parental affection , the warm love of a young conple for children , who will be a pleasure and a pride to them in youth , and NOT A BURTHEN TO THEM IN OLD AGE , may once more constitute a portion of the English character .

      On Friday night , at the tea party , and again en Saturday , in the Ilall of Science , I shall bring all these subjects so clearly before my audience , as to leave no room for misunderstanding , and on Monday we go to ballot—a proud operation , and a proud day for me—a day for which 1 have longed for many years—a day , to postpone which , tyranny , oppression , and misrepresentation have laboured hard , but which , in spite of all , is now within a few hours . But what will be my pride when I go in company with the first

      section of iree labourers to take possession of their own habitations , from which no tyrant can eject them , in which , no foe would dare to invade them ? I ask you , will not one man ' s work have been then accomplished , as it will be impossible longer to resist the growing desire for freedom , or to arrest the progress of agricultural prosperity ? "Up to this hour , and it 13 now but twelve o ' elock on Wednesday , we have received between £ 300 and £ 400 , so that I did not make a miscalculation when I ventured to assert

      that our funds would reach £ 5 , 000 within the year . Our plan will not have been in operation ten months on Monday next , and we shall be in possession of £ 7 , 000 , if not more . I trust that the clear and lucid manner in which my account appears in this week ' s Star of all monies received to the end of March , will give satisfaction totheSociety , anda"nEAVYBLOWANDGREAT DISCOURAGEMENT" to our opponents . I cannot conclude this portion of my letter without strongly reprobating the negligence of several of the secretaries . While I am making up the accounts to the

      end of March , there are in my possession nearly £ 200 worth of Post-office orders wrongly advised , and for which I cannot get cash , while orders are still made made payable at every Post-office in London . I have besought the secretaries to make their orders payable at Chariug-cros 3 , to William Frouting Roberts , whether they transmit them to Mr . "W heeler or to me . In many instances they have violated this rule , and now I will make a rule for myself . 1 hereby solemnly declare , that I will neither acknowledge or receive , on behalf of the Land Fund , any Post-office order that is notmadepavabie to WILLIAM PROUTIXG

      ROBERTS UPON THE LONDON POSTOFFICE , ST . MARTIN'S-LE-GKAND . It is very tiresome , as well as unjust , to take up Mr . Roberts' time signing Post-office orders , and very unjust and hard upon my nephew to receive back 20 per cent , of them , with the intimation that they are not payable to Mr . Roberts , and without any information as to whom they are payable . -I have now one payable at the Manchester Post-office , and others payable at every Post-office in London . This makes all the Post-offices most uncivil and unaccommodating , while it entails useless trouble . Some of

      the secretaries , Mr . Sweet , of Nottingham , for instance , and many others , give us scarcely any trouble , their accounts are so clear , plain , and regular . Why cannot all others do likewise I And if there is any desire upon the part of the country Post-office to give a preference to any London office , that is no reason why I should be inconvenienced . Every person sending a Post-office order can have it made payable where he pleases , aad I insist upon it being made payable at the London office , to William Prouting Roberts , with the name of tue ^ pereon sending it nlainly written at full length .

      I now take leave of thi 3 portion of my subject , and turn to a consideration of our political relations . I commence , as is natural , with , the state and prospects of mv own country ,

      IRELAND . When the Queen's speech announced the Ministers' intention of coercing Ireland , the Nortliern Star newspaper was the only journal that selected the " base , bloody , and brutal" threat , for comment and denunciation ; and from that period to the present , I have laboured arduously every week to bring the true state of Ireland home to the understanding of the English , mind ; while I have endeavoured , and I

      think successfully , to refute the malicious and blasted fabrications , misrepresentations , and denunciations of the Times newspaper , and the Tory press of England . In the first article after the speech was delivered , I pointed out the course which the Irish members and the English people were bound to pursue , in the event of the Minister carrying his threat into execution . The policy of the Times was to convince Englishmen that Irishmen had not a single grievance to complain of . That journal asserted that

      THE TRAVELLER , WHETHER HE WENT NORTH , SOUTH , EAST , OR WEST ; AND HOWEVER HE DIVERGED , COULD NOT MEET WITH A SINGLE INDIVIDUAL WHO HAD A SINGLE GRIEVANCE TO COMPLAIN OF . All their complaints , upon investigation , were admitted to be ideal ; and the blighting influence of the national religion was assigned as the prolific cause of national inquietude and discontent . This course was adopted to stamp the heaviest reprobation upon those who sought that justice which the law denied , and who were unfairly compelled to that vengeance on their oppressors which the law

      refused . Now , however , that resistance to coercion may thwart the Minister , the Times newspaper sees no justice in coercion—which itself has mainly produced—unless accompanied with remedial measures . The Times has dealt in the grossest slanders of the Irish people and their priesthood , and would now fain wipe off the stain of its own creation , by a hostile blow at a hostile Minister . On Saturday , the 23 th of March , there was an article in the Northern Star , which the limes of the following Tuesday was obliged to reprint , with the mere change of simple truths , plainly told , into mysterious editorial phraseology . In the Star of Saturday last , I

      addressed you upon a point which to me appeared , and still appears , of the most vital importance—I mean as to what is now the duty of the English people to themselves and their Irish brethren . The enemies of a real union between the people of the two countries have laboured hard to dissever and disunite them . They have attributed to the English people a voluntary participation in all the acts of oppression committed by the English government towards Ireland . They have never had a single opportunity of fostering a horrible enmity , well knowing that a thorough union between the people of both countries would give the death-blow to interested , factious , one-sided , POT-WOLLOPIXG AGITATION .

      The Irish press must be compelled to force a correct knowledge of English feeling upon the Irish mind . It cannot be forced by a mere sectional movement ; it must be COERCED by a great national display . Let me , firstly , inform you of a few of the provisions of this bill , and the circumstances which render them more oppressive . Firstly , —It makes a Saxon Viceroy the autocrat of Ireland ; it gives him the power to outlaw any portion of Ireland upon the mere caprice , whim , aad representation of a set of tyrant landlords , bigotted parsons , oppressive magistrates—who have becu preserved for the purpose-aud a . spy police . I

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      do not condescend to enter npon the question of unjust taxation to which he may submit the proclaimed district . Secondly , —It offers a premium for arson , perjury , robbery , rapine , murder , plunder , and every description of lawless violence as ' well as whim , cunning , deception , and treachery . It allows the viceroy to quarter idle freebooters upon those whose peacelias been disturbed by the contrivance of those very freebooters themselves .

      Thirdly , —The provisions of this harsh and bloody law are . to be administered by the RESERVED JUSTICES—by the justices in whose- corruption a Saxon Lord Cha ncellor can confide ; all who struggle for Irish nationality , amounting to neariy fonr score , being previously struck out of the commission of the peace . ^ Fourthly , —It enables ANY ONE of those reserved justices , not acting in petty sessions , no * subject to any eontrol , wholly irresponsible , no appeal against his judgment , to TRANSPORT FOR'S-EVEN YEARS any person who may be found out of bis house FROM AN HOUR BEFORE SOTSE . T

      TO AN HOUR BEFORE SUNRISE * This bloody-minded decree- admits of no comment ,, and will admit of no palliation , if the English people tamely sanction its enactment . Fifthly , —It enables the tyrants- to violate the trial by jury by sending a poar peasant from the county where he ought to be tried by his peers , to Dublin , to be tried by a jury , whose fears will be operated aponv and whose minds will be corrupted by the landlords , who have fled the disturbed districts in consequence of their own murderous tyranny ; and where the perjured policeman , the liked government spy , or the informer , may give their evidence in safety , and receive their blood-money in security .

      Sixthly , —Because the bill is aimed at the wrong parties and not at the wrong doers ; for the PROTECTION OF THE MURDERERS and the entrapment of the innocent . If the bill bad for its object the transportation of Mr . and Mrs . Gerrard and such ruffians , who look upon the power to extract rent , and the most violent enforcement of it , as the only duty they have to perform , the law would be good and I would support it . If it was a bill to transport those who murder the unprotected poor by slow and lingering torture and cold-blooded oppression , it

      would be good and I would support it . If it was a bill to enable the oppressed to bring the oppressor to speedyjustice , if it was a bill to force the tyrant landlord from his defended castle to be tried by a tri * bunal of the Irish people , it would be good and 1 would support it . If it was a bill to allow the people to proclaim a district where tyrant landlords hold uninterrupted sway and use their power to degrade the people ; if it was a bill to levy taxes , poor rates , legal expenses , and supplies for an army and police , from the lands of the rich for the maintenance of

      the poor , it would be good and I would support it . If it was a bill to coerce the TYRANT LANDLORDS WHO OUST THEIR TENANTS it would be a good , a wise , and a just measure , and I would support it . But it is a bill to give unbridled licence to an alien in language , an alien in religion , AND AN ALIEN IN BLOOD . It is a bill to give uncontrol . able sway to the Orange faction and to enable them to

      spring once more from their ashes to crush the Catholics of Ireland , and , therefore , for all these reasons it is our bounden duty to oppose it to the death . And how much more pleasing will be the performance of that duty when we reflect that we not only throw the shield of English protection over Ireland , but that welCOERCK the Irish people to think favourably , and to unite with their English brethren .

      Is not this what we have been struggling for ? Is not this worth struggling for ? and are we so degenerate , base , or even impolitic as to lose the opportunity that now presents itself of establishing a firm union between the English and Irish people ? Englishmen , —As an Irishman , I have some claim upon you . My poor services have been otherwise unrequited , and by your gratitude I have laboured for you for now thirteen years and a quarter , and if you would make me grateful hear me when I plead upon behalf of Ireland . Hear me when I lift my

      voice against her oppressors . Hear me when I point out a simple duty that will rescue her from the fangs of her tyrants . Will you more than repay me for any service that I have rendered to you ? Wil ' you make me your debtor ? Will you , if possible , bind me more firmly to you for ever ? If-you will , petition against the bloody atrocity ; and , my friends , only for a moment imagine what the feelings of my countrymen must be , when they are compelled to hear , to read , and to believe that the English people stepped in and saved their country from such rank

      oppression . What a lesson for Europe '; what a proud day for Chartism ; what a triumph for Englishmen ; what a humiliation to their revilers , if Mr . O'Connell was to present a petition signed by even three millions of English against the Irish Coercion Bill . What a moral effect it would produce upon Ireland ; what a proof of Chartist organisation ; what a proof of Chartist virtue . The press must report that ; it cannot conceal our passage through the metropolis ; it oannotconcealthe " monster " arrivalatthedoorof the Senate House ; it cannot conceal its importance

      within its walls . Where is the base blabbing fool , where is the narrow minded babbler , where is THE CONSCIENTIOUS HYPOCRITE , where is the consistent knave , who will stop to enquire into Mr . O'ConnelFs former revilings of Chartism while the liberty of a nation is Jeopardised . Is it not the material and valuable part of tha policy to compel Air . O'Connell with his own lips to retract his former misrepresentation ? And why should we , what right have we , to withhold justice from the people , because one individual may have reviled us ? Every man to whom I have spoken upon this subject approves

      the policy , and this morning I have received a letter from a man wko ' riclily deserves the name of leader—I mean Patrick O'Higgins—and I assert , without fear of contradiction , that there breathes not a more wise , more sensible , more prudent , and more courageous or more devoted patriot than O'Biggins . He is a man upon whose judgment , if at fault myself , I would confidently rely . He is a man in whose integrity the English Chartists have the most unbounded confidence . He is the one man of our ranks who has suffered the largest amount of misrepresentation , and when he approves the policy and is prepared to forget individual oppression , when his country calls for aid , it emboldens me to enforce my policy with the more

      confidence . He says , " Petitions against the Coercion Act in the way yo u propose will open tbe eyes of my purblind or hoodwinked countrymen . Let those petitions pour in from every quarter of Great Britain . I enclose a copy of one in progress of Signature here , perhaps it may answer as a model for some places . " Now can language be more forcible , can appeal be more just , and shall we not as one man unite in answering it . When you asked O'Higgins to eome and represent you , he came . When you wero struggling O'Higgins was foremost in his endeavour to establish your principles in Ireland . He now asserts that the proposed policy will have that effect , and shall we look for co-operation and refuso it when it is asked in return ?

      My friends , I think 1 have said enough , and if 1 should have induced you to take this necessary step to right yourselves , and do justice to Ireland , I shall be more than yeur < lebtor . Let the petitions be very one directed to Thomas S . Duncomuu . Esq .,

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      M . P ., F $ , Albany , London . This is ; '' necessary ' ' to enable you to send them free ; I will take care to have them safely delivered to Mr . O'Connell . Let a memorandum of the number of signatures from each town be sent to the Stab office , and we will take care to chronicle the numbers , Remember it is not a quarter of a minute ' s work for each man , and I shall cxpeet the petition sheets to lie at Carpenter ' s Hall during every lecture for the Easter week ; at the Hall of Science on Saturday night ; Oldbani Sunday morning and afternoon , and I shal ' expect to leave Manchester with half a million next week . Bow this would be easily done . Let every town- b the neighbourhood send in their petition

      sheets-, and let every man , woman , and child sig n then * , and I will bring them with me to London . I am wire the lecturers and executive will aid in this cause , and 1 am sure the colliers will not be behind , The following is a copy of the Petition to which the signatures are to be attached , and as it is to be a national petition nothing more is- necessary than to transmit the signatures , we will see that they nre properly attached to the petition . There is not time to get uaifona sheets of paper , and therefore each locality will proeure the best that circumstances will permit of , ¦ . To the Honorable the Comn » n » of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in Parliament assembled . ' ' ' '

      The Petition off the People of England , Scotland * and Wales ,, and of the Msh resident in England . Showeth , That after more thin 45 years of what is called a legislative union * between Sreut Britain , and Ireland , jour petitioners are shocked to learn tlint no butter effect has resulted from this mvasuro of promise than the impoverishment of the sistsr kingdom , and . periodical demands upon ibo English Exchequer for the support ot » people remarisable for their frugality , industry , and hospitality .

      Tour petitioners cannst find language sufficiently strong to reprobate the coarse of policy that has been invariably pursued toward * the Irish nation . A policy based upon the expediency necessary to ensuse the cooperation of the respective factions in Ireland in aid of the ruling power for the time being :. a policy which was sure to result iu general dissatisfaction , and a policy which has now led to-the insecurity of life and property . Your petitioners have never failed to express their

      lively interest in every thing , connected with the well , being of their Irish brethren ' ,, and they take this opportunity of indignantly repudiating the assertion that they have in anywise been parties to any single act of injustice towards the Irish people f but , upon the contrary , jour petitioners are daily contending against similar acts- ot' oppression in their own country , which however , thanks to a better system of otganisation , are cheeked and resisted by tho tree expretsion of the notionalnaind .

      Your petitioners contend that your honourable Hum has no right to raako a law suspending the constitution in Ireland , or in any way abridging tlie legitimate rights of the Irish people without first having ; remedied the several long standing grievances which naturally lend to that national irritation and universal demand for justice which the proposed measure setks to am » t , Youv petitioners call upon your honourable IIouso to remove the manifold causes which lead to Irish tlissa . tisfaction before you hazard the dangerous experiment « l setting a viceroy above the law , and making trial by jury " a mockery , " a delusion , " and " a snare . "

      Your Petitioners aver that as long as a' union exists between the two countries the law should be eq . uiil and eijuaUy administered in both , while yeuv petitioners respectfully remind your honourable House that the proposed measure would be a dangerous experiment upon English liberty , English law , and English feeling . " Your petitioners call upon your honourable ¦ House forthwith to act upon the evidence furnished to your honourable House in the report of Lord Devon ' s commission , issued by the command of her Majesty ' s Minis . tcr 3 . Tour petitioners ask your honourable House to secure perpetuity of tenure to Irish tenants ; to aboli&h the power of distress ; to establish cheap Courts of Equity , and to pass such laws as will compel the Irish landlords to perform those duties which society requires at their hands .

      " -Yotc petitioners manfully confess to your , honourable House , that they cannot stamp as a cold , blooded murderertheman who , driven to despair , and goaded tovengeanceby a denial of justice , is lured to the criino by the tyranny and cold blooded acts of oppression to which the tenants-of Ur . Gerrard , Sir Francis Hopkins , and those of other Irish landlords have been subjected , by being ruthlessly dragged from their miserable huts , and with their weeping and dot ' eneeless families , sent destitute upon the wide world , as a prey to every evil passion , and the victim of every evil tempter .

      Your petitioners respectfully remind your honourable House that it has been the practice of both Whigs aud Tories , while in power , to conciliate their respective parties in Ireland , by conferring patronage upon their respective partisans , while we defy your honourable House to point out one single measure calculated to ameliorate tho condition of the Irish people . Your petitioners remind your honourable House that the Irish Coercion Bill , now undergoing discussion , pro . fesses to be a measure for the protection of the lives of the peaceable inhabitants of the country , while your pe . titioners cannot otherwise recognise it , than as an oncouragement to the rich oppressor to persevere in his tyranny of the poor oppressed . Your petitioners therefore pray your honourable House to reject the " base , bloody , and brutal bill , " and tu

      pass measures without delay which will enuble the Irish people to lite upon their own resources , with , out being beggars at Britain's door ; to pass measures that will be equally protective of the lives , the liberties , nnd th » properties of the poor as of th * rich , who appear to be the especial and only caro of your honourable House ; to pass measures which will make every man look upon murder as a crime , and will prevent sympathy from being exteudud to the criminal ; to pass measures that will develops the resources of Ireland , and afford to Irishmen a happy asylum in the land of their birth , and thereby make Ireland what she ought to be—tho right arm of England—instead of being a drag-chain upon British industry , and her people just haters of British connection , British oppression and misrule , Aud your petitioner ) will ever pray .

      There , my friends , is tho petition that I most respectfully and earnestly ask you to attach your signatures to , so that when the monster makes its next appearance ( ho Irish people shall learn that the English Chartists are not , and never have been , their enemies . Your faithful Friend and Servant , Fkabgus O'Coxnor .

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      MOST IMPORTANT MA NIFESTO OF THE REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENT . The National says , — "We hastea to publish , the following letter , which has been , addressed by tho Polish insurgents who have arrived at Strasbu ?* to the editor ot the ( burner du Bas-Khin : — " Sir , —At tho moment when ,, after a jpuwaey not unattended by perils , we enter upon th * hospitable soil oiFrance-ugoa that free soil which , now sutlers the Pohs 1 insurgents to raise their voice , which lm been too long stifel-our first care is to protest ia the&ce ot the world against the calumnies by who

      the oppressor , off our country havo tsic . il to dishonour the cause of ouv dear PokvwL If in the absence of documents whivh we shall shortly receive we cannot yet publish a faithful yoJation of the tvents which aave transpired in Pobnd , we owe it to tlu > cause to which we arc devoted , we owe it to tho public character with which we were for a , moment invested , to establish forthwith : in theu- truo light the facts which throughout this Germany , which we have just traversed as fugitives , a press paid by the Austrian and Russian tiovernnvsnts has grossly perverted . We will not attempt to explain the causes of the late insurrection , or to explain the motives of the insurgents . Is it necessary to justify a nation which ,

      impatient to throw off a foreign yoke , attached to the religion of its fathers , struggles by untiring efforts to regain its national independence , its liberty of conscience , shamefully violated ? If in IS 31 1 he desperate struggle which a portion of the Polish nation sustained created such deep sympathy throughout the whole- of the civilised world , why should not the s ; mie sentiments lie extended to the insurgents of IS-lli , who havo ibucht for the same cause and for the same principles ? For let us not mistake the case ; it is not in the purely isolated attempts niiidu without due reflection by some madbraincd young men that wo must luok for the causes ot the late events . No , it is the entire of the kingdem of Poland , without distinction of religious opi-

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      nions or proyinetfc-. it is the peasantry , confident of ^ mnre ausmcious future ( that is to sav , they feel confident that they will be freed Iron all unjust burdens ) -itis Christians and Israelites-it is le children of Iathnama of Wawaw . of Posen , as well as of Cracow and Galhca-it is nil these scattere elements of onr former nationality which by a simul taneouB effort resolved to bunt their chains , and od . pose their life , their liberty , to the slow tortures of their executioner * . If the insurrection of last February was not general-if the attempts of the insurgents failed in certain provinces , whilst in others they wore suppressed in the first onset-we shall at a later period be enabled to show the causes and circumstances which paralyzed a movement which might have proved so baneful to our oppressors It is sufficient for us to stato at present that

      denunciauons , tne source ol which wilroncday be unmasked placed the three Powers which have divided our unhappy country upon their suard ; that our countiv"en , who left F . rance in the greatest secrecy to assist in the national cause , were , from the very hour . ot their departur e , subjected to the vigilance of the Austrian and Prussian police ; and tliat the three Governments , thus pnt upon their guard we " e enabled to adopt such measures that not a sincle Pole who left trance w enabled to reaeh Poland and that the arrest 0 several ot the most importan t personages connected with the conspiracy producod the complete failure of the insurrection . Notwithstanding the events so fatal to the success of our projects , and although the provinces where the arrests took place were at that . time not in a ftnmi ; .

      tion to contribute to the common cause , the insurrection bursts out in different parts of Poland J Gal - licia . despairing of the arrival of the detachments ol insurgents intended to occupy certain important points ot that province , was unable to restrain the patriotic ardour of the people , and she set the example of a general devotion to the cause by assumiiz { he revolutionary initiative three days before tlte 21 st of February , tho period which had been fixed for n gen eral rising throughout the kingdom . Cmwr hastened to follow that noble example ;• on the 21 st the inhabitants flew to arms , and on the following day the Austrian garrison evacuated the town . Tlte events of Cracow are already known ; we will not , therefore , at the present period touch upon them . But the journals id the pay of Austria W- » . w . o .

      very careful to conceal theatrocities committed- during the 24 hours that the town , evacuated by the insurgents , was at the mercy of an infuriate soldiery excited , moreover , br drink , which the Austrian ,, ' al thorttieg were careful to -distribute in profnumi . lhat which the official journal * of the paternal Government of Vienna has been most careful t 8 > p : >* s over in si enco , is the- barbarous order issued by S 9 . neral Collui by which unarmed , aiioffiinsive persons , feeble women and innocent children , were shot without pity in theslreeis-of Crneow . The insurgent * , however to-the number of 400 at the most , " mud themselves masters of Cracow ; a National Government composed of M . M . Tj-ssowski . Giraegovwwi . ki , Urzgowski , and Rogawski . was Stalled . Its fi-.-st dispositions were taken with wisdom , and no casess marked the short reign , of the Gov-eiinment . In order to . shape their acts to the spirit that had dictated their pnebunatmD to the Polbit neoole . a « d to

      impart more force and unity to the revolutionary power , the members of the Provisional Government spontaneously and voluntarily resigned their functions , ami unanimously appointed ! as dictator M . fyssowgki an energetic and upright man , enjoying general confidence in Poland , and who preserved that post until'the very last moment . Faithful te their system of calumny towards the Pblish cause ,, the German journals have described that change of authority as the result of intestine feuds between- the directors of the revolutionary government . The spontaneous retirement of the National Government sufficiently refutes that calumny , and if any difference of opinion existed among the different aiembers ot the first Government , they could not be injunous to the interest of Poland ; for the power usurped a moment by M . Wiwniewslii was soon committed to the hands ot M . Tyssowski , who possessed the good wishes and sympathy of the nationand this

      in-, cident did not endure more than four hours . We are new coming to the most frightful episode offthose la-1 events , to scenes of cruelty which a barbarous andperfidi . ras . Go vwnment had dared to impute to tt « defenders of the Polish cause , and the responsibiltty ot which should injustice fall upon thair real authora—upon those who have derived from them an advantage so profitable to their cause . "A detachment of the insurgents of Cracow had been sentinto GaJlicia to favour the insurrection of that province . Having reached Gdow on the 25 th February , instead of meeting * ith support from the insurgents of Bochnia and Tarnow , they were treated as enemies , and most of them , were mercilessly massacred by the peasant ? . Those who escaped , returned to Cracow , bringing with them some-of those

      peasants . Hie latter declansd , with team , in their eyes . tlmtin committing those acts of atrocity towards their countrymen , they bad merely obeyed the instigations of the Austrian authorities , and the chiefs of the Oacovian insurgents learnedi from the mouth of those deluded men . b ? what infamous means they had been induced to make common oause with their oppressors against bhe insurrection . Those peasants were for the most part serfs of She Crown ; they had all been in the military service of Austria ; but the authorities , in order to gain their end with , greater certainty , took th * precaution of incorporating with them soldiers of a regiment of light horse and other corps , disguised as peasants whom they , dirt not blush to incite to . that execrablb butchery .

      We can here affirm , and we have authentic docut menta t » prove , that the- civil chief off the circle of Bochma , named Berndi , and that of Tarnow , M . Breindt , sent emissaries into the villages of Gallieia to gam over the peasantry to the cause of Austria , by persuading them that the Polish . aobility had no other object in view than to reduce tile peasants-Jo a state ol the most cruel slavery , amlthatthe paternal government of Austria would protest them against the tyrannical project * of the nobility . Those amissanes of Austria promised to pay ten florins for every Polish gentleman wh 0 shouldibe delivered into their hands , dead or alive . Those atrocious means succeeded to their full satisfaction ,. and the peasants , encouraged to commit murder bythe lust of eain .

      excited , moreover , fty spirituous liquors , with which they were abundantl y supplied , sooh perpetrated sucL cruelties against the Polish nobility that the agents of Austria , surprised at the unexpected success of their schemes , wcue obliged to seduce by on& . half the press mm promised io the highway murdersjrs . That premium , added t ! j « prisoners , was exactly paid to the suppliers of dead bodiis . Tho peasants , oaoe , habituated to those sanguianvy c-xcessKSv gave no quarter to anybody , and all dlosc who foil into tboir hands perished ^ victims of tiie lustful ra-o of the assassins . Entire families—men , women , and children — were thus exterminated £ and their Iiouses and castles ,- deli vend up to plunder , affordi overwhelming evidence aggiinst the promoters of

      those scenes- of carnage-.. The Cracovian insurgents , < m tlie-ir passage through the * lesol . ite& country , witnessed that heart-rending sgeotaclo , aud tho .-instruments , of those acts of crualty camp , with , tears of duspair , to confess to thsai tliein- sorrow at the abominable part . the government of Aiistnia had made them act on ( site occasion * But tjiis is- not all : tho Polish clergy ,, ia presence of all these atrocities , and wishing to gut aperiodi to theta , marcSed out oif SltechurchL-s in procession ,. ivith all Jhe insignia of th « -Catholic worship , inthe : jiope tha t this-ielijjiousaeremuny would allay tb . 3- murderous rage of the peasants and restore theniito more humana sen . tuaents . But that . pwceeding did noi suit tie proiwts . oi' Austria , aad those noble clergymen , either killed the bultets

      - by of tb * Awstriai ; soWiers , or transported to Moravia , psu < Jt > with thoiv blood and libi-ny for their generous intervention . One word more , to vindicate the national gowmnncat against a charge as calumnious as all ths- others adduced against it . The only public chests soizsd by the insurgents were those of ftiacow , Wijeliczka , and Podgorze . They contained abeut 45 ft 000 . tr ., the gueater part of winch was employed in puieliasmg arass abroad . Very little remained when ihe detachment of insurgents crossed the Pmissiaa fromier . We have just exposed the-principal causes of the failure of the last Polish insurrection .. Under thoso circumstances the national government , faithful to its plan , which had jujever beaa to maintain itself at Cracow , an open city , and deprived of evorv means of defence , resolved to cassy the war into Gallieia , where it would have been joined bv other liodirs ot

      insurgents now fighting ia the Carpathian mountains , and might havo prolonged ihe hostilities ; but the m ^ A , ! YistuIa ' thc Presence of a corps of 12 , 000 Austmns , prevented the execution of that project . We accordingly determined to re-enter Poland , and our small detachment -succeeded in forciixa passage through a far superior Russian force ata " . tioncd on the frontier . " Ultimately we became convinced of thciniitility ot our endeavours , and not wishing fo auymeKt the number ot victims without advantage to bur cause , we resolved to proceed to France , and there await ; i more propitious moment to re-comwcncc the struggle Notwithstanding this recent chock , and the defeat of 1 S 31 , Poland still contains the elements necessary toattempt a new effort , ami achieve at la * t the triumph of our holy cause . However powerful and numerous our opponents may be , we trust in tinsanctity of that cause , and arc confident that Uyil

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      has not for ever abandor . ad the Polish nation to tha mercy of its executioners . "C 1 UR 1 . R 8 RosAif ski . ' Secretary of the National Government . " Kicuous Tyshowski , Civil arid Military Prefect of . Cracow .-" Matthew Paberynski , Military Chief of the Insurgents . Joseph Chlaoik , Private Secretary of the Dictator !

      THE POPE ' S MANIFESTO AGAINST •' POLAND . "Pope Gregory XVI . to Jhe Venerable Brother lf t iy M Pll < Blsh ° P ' Tarnow . In the midst of the very . - grave solicitude and ' afflictions with which we are overwhelmed in this ' great perturbation of the civili and Christian ' rei' ' public , we have learned with much pain that in the ' ' "f countries subjected to our very dear son , the 'EriV ' peror of Austria , apostolic King of Hungary and ; illustrious King of Bohemia , a detestable conspiracy ' has been undertaken against the-sovercignty of that most aerene prince—a conspiracy clandestinely carried on by the machinations of those men who , in these sad times , only listen to their passiomt ,. and , ¦

      always agitated like waves of the sea , despise all rule , ami blaspheme the ninjesty' of the throne ; of these insidious inventors of lies , wlto abuse iu an impious manner the pretext of public good and religion , and endeavour to deceive the inexperienced minds of the multitude in order to lead them into error , and who excite sedition in order to overturn , if possible , the rights and established order of all authority , lliis grave and afflicting intelligence , venerable bro- 1 ther , has extremely grieved us , for we are aware how great is the piety of this most serene prince , who has merited well from the Holy See , wb » upholds the Catholic religion in his states —defends with care those who . profess it , and provides with , all his power tor the happiness of his people . AVe are the more

      afflicted , that we understand that sevesnl ecclesiastics have been wretchedly ifceeivoil by bml counsels and ' intrigues , and that even several cun&bwe dared , in an anair ot such great importance , tu fail in their ' duty . We are persuaded , venerable brother " iHat by your pastonal vigilance you will haw endeavoured to preserve your flock from seductions and snares and to mate them persevere in tlw observance of the precept * of the Catholic reli gion ami in fidelity to their sovereign , by remaining subjeet to him not only through , tear , but also by eonseienei&us motives . We , however , addres . 1 to you this letter in order that you may lneuJeate with the utmoat zeal the doctrine , , - " » . » . wu « .. VW 4 VIIU Ul / UVIIllV

      , ot obedience , which all subjects owu- absolutely to the supreme authorities , according to- the precepts ot the apostle Paul , and even of tho : divine Prince of lustora liuubelf . Do not forget tu-nuca' to their duty those ecclesiastics who , ' fongettin" their obligations aad their dignity , dare pake part ia t ! ic « e seditious- movements ; never- itvase to exhort your clergy , in order that , calling to mind their vocation ,, and thinking seriously . yii ike ministry which they hiiYo received from the Lord , they may make every effort , boJh by words and example , to Jeep Christians away from tho perfidious . conspiracies of . seditious men , and to infoim . them that all

      power comes ironi God , and that , const'oueirtiy , this ilivme precept cannot be violated without tsiiiimuting a sin , except wnen anything contrary to the laws of b wlandthftckircli should hattpsu to be coiniimnded . We do not doubt , venerable brother , ihe ze . il with which you will second our desires and our counsels , and that you will so act t . uu the ftiek commuted to your caru may hold in lmrror and utterly avoid the mad schetaas of unsettled minds , the impious movements- of turbulent me ,.,, and . that they may , according to the Catholic doctrni'i ; pay nil honour and obedience to their . mo > t sereins prince . Meanwhile , wc attest to you , by this letter , the strong teding . of luivk-. m which we experience towards yon and we "ivcyoH thu apostolic benediction with all the effusion of our i . oart , and with a desire that you and . your faithful believers may enjoy a veritable felicity . Kj ' i' ^ lr " . ^ Rome ' a ? ar Sfc - Petei > > 8 > on Eeb . 27 th , lbio , the lGtb year et-our pontificate .-.

      Gregory XVI . " The Pbasant , Was in GALicn . —Accounts from baliwa state , that the peasants , far from obeyin * the order to retire to their homes ^ havo attacked tlie Austrian troops at various places , . and are commanded by men of great military , tactics . The number ofi troops in . Galicia does not exceed 32 , 000 men . it is said that there is an ill-feeling between , the Russian and Austrian officers . The Gazette , de Von of the 1 st inst . publishes the following letter , dated Cracow , 23 dsult . : * - "During the last four days we have constantlr heard the sound , of distant cannon from , the- side of l * aliciak and on the evening of the 20 th the horizon was rea \ m several . pkces , as if from the effect of ad extensmj fire . On the same night an . Austriaa corps ot , infantry , with eight pieces-of cannon ' , took

      tne road to Galioia . Other detachments of in . iantry marched towards Bohemia and Wieliczka . All . those movements prove that , the disturbances amongst the eaasantry have not yet been sup . pressed . c _ A letter from . Bromberg , of the 20 th ult ., says—Potocki , one ot the leaders of the Jate rewlt in Po-Jand ,. has been condemned to death , and executed at oiedlea .-

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      SYMPATHY EOR POLAND-PUBLIiS MEET * IA'G AT BRIGHTON . A public meeting ( convened by placards ) was held at the Artichoke Inn , William-street , on Tuesday ewuing , April , 7 , th , to take into consideration the aifairs of Eoknd ,. &c ., Mr . Joha Good in the chair , ine chairnian ,. in a very feeling manner , opened the business oi the evening , and concluded , by calling upon Mr .- . Bage to move the first resolution . Mr . l . age , in a . lucid manner , depicted the orimea of ths three despots , aad the sufterinss of Poland » nH nrni

      posed tha following resolution : .. ; "That this-meeting , having heardiwith disgusfe . ; and horror the cruelties inflicted on the natives of | Eoland by , the united powers of Russiaj . Austria ; and . Trussia > deem . it the duty of democrats of all natiena to sympathise with , and assist by ftV « ry means ia their power , that unhappy and oppres 8 < sl people ia their present struggle against their / united tyrants . ' * Ihe resolution having bean abl . y .. seooiided by Mr . Flowers ,, was unanimotisJy . adopted .. Mr . Mitchell , in a short , buft pithy address , moved tlie next resolu tion : * -- ¦ ¦¦

      that a , subscription , be opened ia the town of Bnghton ,. aad remain open one month s the proceeds to be transmitted to theigeneral . fund , for the assistanaa of , £ olMid in her struggle against despotism , " Seconded by Mr . Lsjsis , and , auDported by Mr . rag 6 ,. was > carried unanimously ... Mn Elopers proposed , . and Mrf . Uaatard seconded the following resolution : — " Thai twelve persons be appointed as collectors , nrowdediwitli books ( duly signed an « i sealed ) for the said . purpose , and the proceed ^ sent tu , and inserted m the J&r ^ crn ( Stair .- ' * Carried .

      ike following persons wer&app . ouited collectors : — Mft Bowers , Sillwoad-street . ;;" Ma . Mitcheli , Woodstreet ; Mr . Lewis * Spring strfietj Mr . Good , Bark . " »!}}* . Sussex ; Ma . Uavey ^ . Grosvener-sti-set ; Mcx iWalljams , king-street ; . Mr .. Goodeve , Springstrest ; Mr . Roseiv Gardner-street ; Mr . Eose , Tra * talgsr-street ; ) fc . Gilev'ftctoria-street ; , Mr . Ramsay . .,, ThomasW-ueet ; aud , M » . Page , Camelt ' ordsts * et . A vote of Utjiaks was- unanimousl y given to . the ckiirnmu , and the meetLnu dissulveu .

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      ielegant establishment on , Saturday- hst , to witness ; the perlorjuance of " -Qthe-llo , " -Jjhe Two . Gregories , " aad " Susan ilopley . " A . Mr . F . 1 ' awcetU made his first appearance as tho Mosr , and we-would advise tkh . gentleman : to . restudjt the character , taking nature for his . guido , before he e-s * . ys again . Rayner made a very good , Samo , said Mrs . Campbell an excellent Mta .. In the favee Mr :. T , Lee as-Gregory , the Second , ai&d by JMiss L . Pcarce as ie ) < cAette ,, kej ) t the houso in one continued roar of laughtoi ! dujring ths wJialetimo they were upon the a stage The domestic drama « £ jSim « ii Uoylm was " * put on , thft stage iaa manner that reRscts the highest credit oa Ihe macajer { Mr . Neville ) . The characters

      were all well sus&uned , Mrs . Neville playing Susau in an , luisurpassjiljle' laanner ,. eliciting the loud ' and frequent plaudits of ilic whole house . Rayner -with , his usual ability personated William Ve * n , and . Mr . T .. Lee that ef his comic costermonger brother -Wci-e . Vi . and M * . Harrington that of the villian Gateston , with ' ah-evenness ' and judgment that redounds to his lame . At the close of the piece , Mrs .- Neville and Rayner , at the unanimous call of the house crossed the stage , greeted with the loudest and most hearty shouts ol approbation . During tho short recess ( Passion week ) . . the indefatigable lessee ( Mr . John J ) ouglass ) has with his usual zeal and abilitv

      been catering tor the amuaement of his patrons ; and on bastcr Monday the house will re-open with & new drama , entitled " The Mvsteriesof London , "fouhdod on tho celebrated and popular work of that name . A new farce , 1 I 10 idea of which is taken from ono ' -of Lovers Songs , entitled " WidowMachree , " written to display the peculiar talents of that laughter , moving genius—Tom Lee , and a New Pantomimein which Paul Herring and Ambrook from- the Surrey will make their first appearance—the former as clown , the latter as harlequin . Suck attractions cannot lail to give the worthy lessee ! his deserts-viz . lull houses and the approbation of a delighted-and grateful public ,

      1 he " Daily News . "—Mr . Dickens is said to have resigned the active political editorship of the Daily News , but continues 11 literary contributor . There , has been a split , we are told , between him a"iJtai ^ Shis Jerrold—the latter , with , perhap ^ jusWS ^* ftf 7 \ of its merits , wishing the papprto- ^ s / ml ] a ^? Jid \ 5 # -A \ ihu former indignantly protesting agiiia » 'l ? e'Sng « j 9 n- - ^ J sii'cted with any two-peiuiy-half' -pen ^ pju ^ Hc ' n jiTOS' ^^' . i , An opposition is consequently tlireatia ^ ite ^ fj ^ f C' ^ vij Journal . Jl * I' -- •' ' ••¦^ s » y , "> H - -J £ lj §! ? iS tf ^^ K" : < - ¦< £ ! Wu ,::, w ¦ ^ . ^ - ,

      The Polish Insurrection.

      THE POLISH INSURRECTION .

      To The Imperial Chartists.

      TO THE IMPERIAL CHARTISTS .

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      f r / isx ^'^ 't . t / v ^ i ^ ANDJATIONAL TBAfES' JOURNAL ,

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      VOL . X . NO . 439 . LONDON , SATURDAY , APRIltil , 1846 * v ^™™* V ^ - —~~ o : T :..- .. .... . .. . * . r ; .. " . ¦ .. * }?* Shillings uikI Sixpmict ; per <| uni-t « r

      ; Koiui.. Mtiihsbime Tiisiirk.—Vr'» Visited, This.

      ; Koiui .. MtiiHSBiME TiisiiRK . —Vr '» visited , this .

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), April 11, 1846, page unpag, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1362/page/1/