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Northern Star (1837-1852), 27th January 1849, Edition 1 of 3, Page 3, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      : ;¦; Monday next , the 29 th of January , being the anfiiversary of the birth ofTnoMAS Paixe , we suspend our extracts from Byron-, to make room for the fols- . " ¦' " lowing appropriate poetical compositions—each some ¦ - ' ¦ -fifty years old , but , like good wine , none the worse i ^ Jor age .

      •;¦* THOMAS PAKE . In these disastrous , dismal days of " riot , " "law , " and "libel , " ~ . IFhen men almost suspect the right , —they have to ' , read the bible ; 1 Til venture still to tell the truth , —may you approve ' * the strain , ( - And as the way to please you moat , —I'll striTe to give you Paine ! •; There was a man whose name w * 3 Paine , a man of r Common Saw , j " " Who came from Philadelphia , here , his knowledge •>" ¦ - ' to dispense ;—\ " ¦ He taught that men had equal rights , as equal sons ¦ : ' of nature , S . © eriv'd by universal grant , from Heaven ' s

      legislature . — ; He taught that on the people ' s will all lawful power ; depended , ¦ That governors were for the good of the governed intended;—And many other wholesome truths , —all form'd on Jieason ' t p lan , Sir , He wrote within a little hook , —and call'd it Mighti of Man , Sir ! The Nation soon approv'd the book , they read and understood it , But certain rogues ( whom I name not ) , with jealous aspect view'd it;—And many a courtly sycophant , its page with terror traces—Por , if each man had but his right , —the rogues

      would lose their places ! Then , Billy Pitt , he rais'd a cry , —a cry of consternation , "Which rous'd the roguish and the duped , throughout the British nation ;—That Church and State were tumbling down!—and ruin hover'd o ' er us !—The lords and parsons stretch'd their throats , —and join'd the horrid chorus !—Like Quixote , that renowned knight , —so fam'd in Spanish tale , And full as mad , stepp'd Edmundf forth , —equipp d in courtlv mail ;—He , from the ' treasury , took a spear , — 'twas tipp'd with gold , and pointed , And on his arm he bore a shield , —giv ' n by the Lord * 3 anointed 1—

      Thu 3 arm'd with power , he thought dmne , — he rush'd into the battle . And on the little staymakcr , X most furiouBly did rattle , — He threw his darts * allime , \ about , —and ray'd of " plots" and " treason ; — But Freedom ' s champion stood unhurt !—for he was clad in Reason . — When courtiere found his arguments eould not be overturned , Ttey cunningly concluded , he by Proxy should be burned !—

      fa erery town , through this good realm , poor Paine was executed ! And what their wisdom could not reach , —the faggot has confuted!—Tho' buried with the dcad , l \ he is , —by loyal undertakers , . Bi spirit stiU pervades tin land , —and never wiUjorsake us ;—"We'll drink a bumper o ' er Ha tomb , —a tribute of affection ! And wish the sleeping Rights of Man , —k spkdx resurrection !!

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      THE LIFE OP THOMAS PAINE , Author of "Common Sense , " "Rights of Man , " &c , &c . London : J . Watson , 3 , Queen ' s Head Passage , Paternoster-row . Wo are perfectly aware that to mention the name of Thomas Paine , unless for the purpose of coupling it with abuse—rancorous , orthodox abuse—of the man and his works , is neither fashionable nor prudent . But our mission is to speak and write the truth without fear of man , not excepting the self-appointed censor of this journal—the prophet-member for IVest-Surrey .

      Love of the truth hids us notiee and recommend this publication , in -which is narrated the principal events in the life of the worldfamed " rebellious needleman . " There hare been several biographies of Pai > -e published , some by friends , some by foes , all at a comparatirely high price . The work before us , "bv the editor of the

      National" [ not the French journal of that name , ] is a sketch rather than a biography , but , regarded as an abridgment , perfect of its kind , and exceedingly well written . The author though an admirer , is not a blind worshipper of the author ofthe "Rights of Man . " "Kcthing extenuate nor set down aught in malice , " might have been Tery appropriately selected aa the motto of this work .

      Thomas Paixb was born at Thetford , in iie county of Norfolk , on the 29 th of January , When little more than sixteen years of age , " raw and adventurous , and heated with false Iwobm , " he entered the privateer serviee . Subsequently he worked at his trade—that of staymaker—both in London and Kent . In the year 1764 he obtained a place in the Excise . Curious enough , both Thomas Paixb aad Robert Bubxs we Exciseman \

      " Searching smld wives barrels , Och-hon ! the day !" But , like Burxs , Paixe was too independent for that odious service . Those conversant ¦ with the life of Scotland ' s bard , will remember * Alluding to his pamphlet , published under that title , in the Amer ican war . t Edmund Burke , the author of " Xeiections on we French devolution , « , entitle 3 , " The Sublime and BtavXiM . " % » ittTwvmtS ? 5 ta TaW l teins esited

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      that on one occasion that mighty son of song was told by the Commissioners of Excise , that he was to act , no # to think ! Thereupon Buitxs took out his pencil and wrote : — " In politics if thou -would ' st mis , And mean thy fortunes be ; Bear this in mind—be deafand blind ; Let great folks hear and see !" Pai > "B turned pamphleteer , and of course became unpopular with Iii 3 " superiors . " A pretext was found for dismissing him , and once asrain

      " The world waa all before him where to choose . " He selected America . Ho had acquired great proficiency in mechanics , mathematics , and astronomy , and these acquirements sufficed to obtain him the friendship of Franklix , at that time in England . Furnished with letters of introduction from that celebrated man , Paine proceeded to America . He arrived at Philadelphia in the winter of 1774 , " a few months previous to the commencement of hostilities between Great Britain and her colonies . " The American Revolution called forth his powers . The hour struck , and the man was not wanting . " ' Common Sense' was written at the close ofthe year 1775 , and published on the 1 st of January , 1776 . "

      The popularity of " Common Sense , " " terrible in its consequences to the parent country , was unexampled in the history of the press . " Within a few months the sale ran to one hundred thousand copie 3 ! "On the 1 st of January a word was spoken by a poor staymaker by the 4 th of July it had been repeated from Vermont even to Georgia ; on that day tho Independence of thirteen States was proclaimed ; a home and rallying place was established for Freedom ; and from that day to this , far-throned monarchy has not ceased to quail , in sad presentiment of its assured doom . "

      On the 19 th of December , 1776 , Paine published the first number ofthe " Crisis , " which commenced with the thunder-toned and memorable sentences : — " These are the times tiiattry Men ' s Souls 1 The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will , in thi 3 crisis , shrink from the service of their country , but he that stands it now , deserves the thanks of man and woman . Tyranny , like hell , is not easily conquered ; yet we have this consolation with us , that the harder the conflict the more glorious the triumph ! " Tho " Crisis" was continued , a 9 occasion demanded , until the consummation of the Revolution .

      In 1 777 , Paine , who had been serving with the patriot army , Avas appointed by Congress Secretary to the Committee for Foreign Aflairs , which office he resigned in January , 1779 . About this tune the degree of Master of Arts ¦ was conferred on Tiiyn by the University of Philadelphia . A small landed estate , and votes of money granted by New York , Pennsylvania , and the General Congress , testified the public sense of the important services he had rendered to the cause of American

      Liberty . After thirteen years' absence from his native country , Paine returned to England . Within twoyears after his return , the French Revolution commenced . In November , 1790 , the pensioned apostate Burke publishedhia " » ublime and beautiful" (?) " Reflections" and earl y in 1791 , Paine published his celebrated reply . It will interest our London readers to know that the First Part of the " Rights of Mun" was written " partly at the Angel , Islington , partly in Harding-street , Fetterlane , and finished at Versailles . " The sale was immense ; indeed , to an extent unprecedented , unless we except " Common Sense . "

      Both threats and preferred bribery , on the part of the Government , having failed to prevent the publication ofthe Second Part of tho " Rights of Man " prosecutions were commenced against both publisher and author . Hazlitx testifies to the sensation excited by this masterly work : — " Paine's 'Rights of Man' was the only really powerful reply ( to Burke ' s ' Reflections' ) , and indeed so powerful and explicit , that the Government undertook to crush it by an ex officio information , and by a declaration of war against France to still the ferment , and excite odium against its admirers ; as taking part with a foreign enemy against their prince and country . "

      His "Rights of Man" gave to Paine an European popularity , and in the autumn of 1792 , he wa 3 elected to the French National Convention , by the department of Calais . A popular ovation welcomed him to Calais , where he was received with shouts of "Long live Thomas Paine ! " For an account and explanation of his conduct in the Convention , we must refer the reader to the work under notice , We quote the following anecdote , g iven in this work , on the authority of Clio

      RlCKmax :- — ?' BONAPARTE AXD PAI . VE . " TVhen Bonaparte returned from Italy , he called on Mr . Paine , and invited him to dinner : in the course of his rapturous ecstasies , he declared that a statue of gold ought to be erected to him in every city in the universe ; he also assured him that he always slept with his "Kights of Man" under his pillow , and conjured him to honour him with his correspondence and advice . "

      In 1802 , after an absence of fifteen years , Paixe returned to America , where he passed the remainder of his days . He died at Greenwich , near New York , on the 8 th of June , 1809 , aged seventy-two years and five months . The widely-circulated fables concerning the manner of Paine's death , are investigated and confuted in this work . 'Tis a pity that those who have mouthed so zealously against Paixe ' s "infidelity , " had not bethought them of the lines of Pope : — " Let not this weak and erring hand Presume thy bolts to throw ; 2 sor deal damnation round the land On each I judge thy foe . "

      The judgments of men are , indeed , ridiculous . They canonise Charles I ., a hypocrite and blood-shedder ; they have no doubt ofthe salvation of " Fun tjie Fourth ; " yet they have no scruple in condemning to perdition a man who devoted his lifo to the glorious task of promoting the political freedom and social happiness of his fellow-creatures ! Ah ! but Charles I ., and "Fum the Fourth " were orthodox , and Paine was heterodox . Listen , ye self-righteous and uncharitable traducers , to the sublime wordB of the man ye condemn : —

      " Who art thou , vain dost and ashea ! by whatever name thou art called , whether a King , a Bishop , a Church , or a State , a Parliament , or anything else , that obtrudest thine insignificance between the soul of man and its Maker ? Mind thixb own co . vcbris . If hh believes noi as thou bsubvbst , it i » a proof that ihou bkijetksr not a 3 he bxlietbth , and tderb is so eabthlt power cas determine between TOU . " As regards Pain'e ' s political principles and writings , there can be but one opinion entertained by all who sincerely desire to do unto their fellow-men as they would be done unto . For the long-oppressed , long-cheated millions , Pune demanded Justice—nothing more .

      The objection sometimes urged against PaINE" , that he set too hig h a value on mere political changes , to the neglect of social reforms , is hardly put with fairness . Paine , though he said little about social reform , laboured to arm the masses with the power to effect any « ha ° S ® they might think fit , however sweeping . With Universal Suffrage , it is clear that tho working classes might accomplish any reform they pleased . The misuse ofthe suffrage in France and America is no proof of its inutility . A man , instead of shaving his beard , may cut his nose off , but such a misuse ofthe razor- — whether caused by ignorance or madness—is no argument against the utility of that very useful article .

      Those who , as Reformers , look upon themselves as more advanced than Paine , would do well to remember that the people are not yet eren up to Pake ' s mark ,

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      ¦ ^« ^———Doubtless the people may be taught much valuable knowledge not to be found in the " Rights of Man , " but vast masses have yet to learn " Why thoy bear bondage when they might be free , " and for such Paixe is an invaluable first teacher . May the day speedily arrive whon Englishmen will have the " Common Sense" to establish the "Right of Man , " and thereby pay the most fitting homage to the genius and virtues of Thomas Paine .

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      THE LAND . THE REMARKABLE TRIAL OP THOMAS SPENCE , THE AGRARIAN REFORMER . [ Conclude *} . ] After having read tb . fr whole ofthe " Letters ' ' constituting the- * Restorer of Society to its Natural State , " Mr . Spence proceeded to address the jury as follows : — Gentlemen , though doubtless you are now sufficiently convinced of my upright intentions in writing , and publishing this obnoxious book , yet , as it is a very serious thing to be convicted of a libel , and , of course , to go to prison , I hope you will indulge me a little further in defence of my philanthropic

      intentions . ; My father used to make my brothers and me rea < the Bible to him while working at his business , and at the end of every chapter encouraged us to give our opinions on what we had just read . By these means , I acquired an early habit of reflecting or every occurrence which passed before me , as well _ as on what I read . Advancing in years , and finding myiielf and father ' s family involved in continual difficulties and embarrassments , notwithstanding all

      our economy and industry , I could not help imputing til our privations and hardships to the bad Bystem ofthe world . I had admired that certain degree of justice and equality to bo seen in the institutions of Moses , which , nevertheless , not coming up to my notions of justice , I framed a system that I liked better . A generous system that should suit a 1 the nations of the earth . A system unhampered with the childish narrow-minded divisions of tribes and families , and other nurses of hereditary Pride . . .. ......

      I was confirmed in my proceedings by the delectable description of earthly felicity , figuratively set forth by the Prophets and Apostles , as coming on the earth in the latter days . And I found also aa I proceeded , that the hopes of a future blessed state arising from pure justice , was congenial to the ideas of all men . For religious people _ look for such a state under the notion of a millenium , philosophers in an age of reason , and poets in a future golden age . Wherefore , I was certain the ground work ot such blessed society must be quite different from anything I had hitherto heard of . For , as I had found of the Jewish , so also I find of every other celebrated

      establishment , ancient or modern , that they had . been but transitory , and soon shrunk away before encroaching monopoly . I also perceived this was all owing to one and the same cause , a mixture of injustice in their original composition , which , by empowering rich men to purchase , and hold their fellow creatures as slaves , and also by depriving many others , even freemen , of all property in the soil , such fabrics were only deceitful , and with respect to liberty , were mere castles in the air . Thus was I more and more confirmed in tho necessity of a plan that should through impartial justice , claim perma . nence , and , in every respect , be becoming such a state as the millenium .

      Thus , gentlemen , you see there is a concatenation of ideas which we cannot prerent , and which leads us on from one thing to another . Besides , we often find notions dart into our minds in a manner so unexpectedly , that , if not allowed to be by inspiration , is very like it . Wherefore , though thoughts , wicked and maliciously , aiming at the detriment of mankind , may , if you will , he said to be instigated by the Devil , yet surely apian , arising from the contemplation of Scripture , and constructed on the purest principles of justice , so as in truth to be the constitution ofthe future golden age , ought to be imputed to a different source .

      Now , gentlemen , is it my fault that any class of Men should be at variance with every picture of human happiness ? Would it not be better to suppress the Bible than to suffer poor wretched creatures to delude themselves at the hazard of imprisonment , with hopes of milleniums and new Jerusalems , wherein there is to be no more sorrow nor crying ; of a new Heaven and a new earth , wherein dwelleth righte ousness-that is , justice . When men shall beat their swords into ploughshares , and their spears into prunin * hooks ; when nation shall not lift up sword against nation , neither shall they learn war any more ; when they shall sit every man under his and shall ke

      vine , and under his fig tree , none ma them afraid ; when governors and people shall live in peace and amity ; when the Yf olf shall lie dovtn Yrith the lamb , and the leopard shall lie down with the kid . and the calf and the young lion , and the fatling together , and a little child ( in politics ) shall lead them ; when the earth shall yield her increase , and God , even our God , shall bless us ; yea , when thgre shall be showers of blessings ; when the people snail not labour in vain , nor bring forth children for trouble ; for they are the seed of the blessed Jehovah , and their offspring with them ? I say again , would it not be better to suppress the Bible , than suffer us thus to be deluded by golden dreams only to

      our hurt ? . ~ But , gentlemen , the suppression of the Bible will not be sufficient to reduce us again to a state of stupid contentment , under bad systems . For every history and novel present hardly anything else to our imaginations , but deplorable pictures of crimes and woe , flowing from the bad systems of society . Who , then , can wonder at people of good hearts endeavouring to find out a remedy ? , This bad system makes the good bad , and the bad worse . Perhaps , even Jndas would have been nei ther thief nor traitor , if there had been no land to purchase , nor other means to fix his property . But , that being the case , he knew how to dispose of his acquisiionslet them be ever so much . Ills mere

      , daily bread was , therefore , by no means satisfactory . He was atreasurer , and had it in his power to filch from the public stock , and did not neglect the opportunity . This made Mm zealous to increase the supplies , for well he knew that the more that was put into the public purse , he could take the more out . Therefore he made a great clamour about the waste of ointment . " It might have been sold , ( said he ) for three hundred pence and given to the poor . Not that he cared for the poor , but because he was a thief , and had the bag , and bare what was put therein . So we find that , what with his filchinga while he was treasurer , and selling his master at last into the bargain , he was enabled to purchase an estatejustly entitled the field of blood !

      , Now , gentlemen , can I be blamed for attempting to put an end to such work ? It is purposely for Hie sake of putting an end to such Judasism , and the temptations that lead thereto , that I wrote my book , and all my books these six and twenty years . For well I know that we can have no millenium nor reign of justice while every villain can thus consoli date and fix his ill-gotten wealth . If , therefore , we do not wish such characters to become our legislators , our magistrates , our landlords , and , in short , our masters , we must shut the door against them , in the manner I have shown in this same book . damned

      Gentlemen , it is said that the state of the is doubly Miserable by being within sight of the blessednw of Heaven , as instanced in Dives . Jtt » t so the wretchedness of our condition mcreaseB , in proportion to the P ro resS of common sense , whieh shows so much happines » to be within our reach . What , then , shaU be done with this dangerous incendiary commo . sense ? How shall we banish him from the world , that both the oppressors and the oppressed may live in peace ? But I need not ask such questions , if we consider for what I am brought here . For this is nothing but the trial of common i l ^^ Fv ^ S bsatsaSiflS iS ^ aS r ; i u „„ n , o whnip . concerns intended , somuui

      ¦ MM sc fe . i * - -asas tbssss aassKgs ^^ a-rs SSSStftfS ^ - ^ rtfi •^ . ^ . ^^ sSteiisyu *"'

      TfS rSSrcth ™ oy MiAtalM in this my ¦»* ItiSlESi

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      their preservation , and , consequently , to m « at and drink , and such other things as nature affords for their subsistence , or revelation , which gives an account of those grants God made ofthe world to Adam and tp Noah and his sons , it is very clear that God , M lnS David sayg . - i-. 15 . 16 , has given the earth to the children of men—given it to mankind in COMMON . " This , gentlemen , is therights of man , and upon-this roek of nature have I built my commonwealth , and the gates of Hell shall not prevail agnnst it . I am serious , gentlemen , and always waa upon this business . And . moreover , I solemnly avow , that what I have written and published has been done with as good a conscience and as much philanthropy

      as ever possessed the heart of any Prophet , Apostle , or Philosopher that ever existed . And , indeed , I ould neither have lived or died in peace , hating such important truths in my bosom unpublished . My works will sufficiently justify themselves . Then what ought I to be considered in this business , but the unfeed advocate of the disinherited seed of Adam ? For this trial is , in fact , not my trial , but the trial of the ri ghts of the whele species that are alive now , or ever shall live on the face of the earth , to the end of time—the trial of the rights of the widow ard fatherless , the infant and the hoary head , the blind and the lame , the dumb , and all those who hare no helper . Therefore , gentlemen , there never was since the creation of the world a trial of such magnitude .

      I would have written to the sama effect in any other age or nation . 1 have no such narrow views as an eye to one country only . My politics are for the world at large . And , had I been laarned , I would , perhaps , have wrote in Latin , which is an universal language . But . knowing but one language , I sm obliged , like the prophets and great men of antiquity , to write in my mother tongue . I formed ray plan , gentlemen , out of charity to the rich , as well as the poor . If we believe the best of writers , the rich are in the more pitiable case of the two ; and far deeper in crimes , and much more in danger of eternal damnation . I could cite thousands of passages to that purpose from the Scriptures and other works . They are depicted in almost every

      book and drama as exceedingly unhappy in every respect , as if in all things a curse hung over them ; nay , in their very courtships and marriages , by the arbitrary interference of their hard-hearted ambitious parents and guardians . And where can there be greater injustice than in their treating all the children but one in a family as illegitimate ? Neither will any say that such custom ? are at all favourable to virtue . Therefore , since the present system of things renders both extremes unhappy , and affects even the middling classes with ambition and avarice , as well as it afflicts them with the fesrs of falling into the ever yawning gulf of poverty , I bring my friendly constitution as a day ' s man to lay his benevolent hands upon them all , Baying peace be unto

      you ; be happy . Be not , gentlemen , abettors of oppression . Remember the fate of Joseph's house . He neglected the opportunity which God gave him of being the friend of human nature , and of paying the debt of gratitude , which he owed to the good-hearted Egyptians , for all the benefits they had so liberally bestowed on himself and his kindred . Ye 3 , if God sent him to save life , he certainly did not send him to return evil for good , through partiality to the insatiable views of tyranny , and to reduce » whole people to the most abject bondage . However , this he did .

      But Providence punished his and his father ' s home , though he vainly thought Ii 9 had exalted them for ever . The very pit that he had dug for the poor Egyptians , his own posterity fell into ; and when another King arose who knew not Joseph , the whole family of Jacob was trodden down by means of that very power which this heaven-born minister bad given to the crown . Therefore , let no man think of aggrandising his family at the expense of the public welfare . Let them think of the Israelitish brickmakers , and learn to promote the happiness of their fellow-creatures , if they re » lly wish well to their own posterity .

      Gentlemen , the consequence of a verdict against me this day , will be that no man must any more propose aught for the public gcod . No , not even a new tax ! It is really a curious trial , gentlemen . What is this plan of mine but a law unpassed 1 Etery bill brought into Parliament is only a theory till assented to by the legislature . But , perhaps , it may be said , that such as I , a labourer , have no right to think of , or propose new laws . Then let it be so . Let us know the full extent of our debasement . We know that all persons are now accounted of only according to the property they are

      connected with : and so are servants and dogs . We know likewise that property is the nation , as Burke says—which is saying that property is tke public , and thatthepublieis property , and all thing 3 are ordered accordingly . For the laws are made by property , and for property . Men , then , are out of the question except aa appendages to this same property . For , if even a legislator loses his property , he immediately loses his power of legislating , and descends to the insignificant class that I am of , while all his former consequence is transferred to his successors along with the said property .

      £ Here Mr . Spence read several extracts from the writings of Dr . Priestly . ]] My opinions , gentlemen , on Ihis subject have not been taken up lightly or lately . I first of all formed them into a lecture , which I read in the Philosophical Society of Newcastle-upon-Tyne , in the year 1775 ) vrhich I immediately printed , ani have been continually publishing them in one shape or other ever since , and I do not perceive yet , notwithstanding the parliamentary report , any harm they have done to mankind to merit this U 8 age . _ I have likewise been in the constant habit of discussing them with all degrees of people , from Members of Parliament and Dignitaries of the Church down to the Labouring Classes , and however interest might

      make us appear of different opinions , yet no man ever imputed to me any evil intention . Indeed he must be wilfully blind that does nqj perceive my plan to be the most favourable to every virtue , and the best preventative against every species of vice , and , of course , would be productive of the greatest portion of happiness . AU the objectionserer made to it , after due investigation , are , that it is impracticable ; but that I have nothing to do with . It is enough for an individual that he proposes the public good , and it the public will not practise it afterwards he is guiltless . But I think , gentlemen , instead of prosecuting people for proposing plans of human happiness , those rather should be prosecuted that keep such things back , after being persuaded of their utility . But that is a crime never was imputable to

      me . [ Here Mr . Spence quoted certain passages from Harrington ' s works . ] I Bhall now conclude with the opinion of Lord Loughborough on the Liberty of the Press . " Every man , " says he , " pay publish at his discretion his opinions concerning forms and systems of government . If they be wise and enlightening the world will gain by them ; if they be weak and absurd they will be laughed at and forgotten ; and if they be bokiftde , they cannot be criminal , however erroneous . " This , gentlemen , is my defence . When the defendant had concluded , Lord Kenyon observed , that if any honest man could entertain a doubt in this case all , the arguments he could use would not make it more clear . The jury immediately found the defendant guilty . The Attorney General then moved that he should be ordered into

      custody till brought up for judgment , and he was committed to Newgate . On the 13 th of June he was brought to Westminster Hall for judgment , when he made a second defence as follows , the four judges being present : — My Lords—If I did not conceive your lordships who preside in this court , to b » by your situations the most independent raen in the nation , I should be discouraged from making any further attempt at a defence . For what I have already said has been fo misconstrued , misrepresented , and disguised , both by the Attorney-General , and the news writer * , that except from your lordships , I despair of any chance to candour or fair dealing . I am held up to the public as a fool or a madman ,

      representing private property , both real and personal , as intolerable grievances , and which , in every parish throughout the kingdom , I would have belong to the inhabitants of the parish . 'Whereas I am giving only the land to the parishes . And again , that I likened myself to Moses , the Prophete , Apostles , Ac , than which nothing can be more foolish and libellous , if such , a person as I can bo libelled . For your lordships know that I only said , that I wrote that I did with as good a conscience , and as much philanthropy as any prophet , apostle , or philosopher that ever existed , and which I make no doubt your lordships believe to be true . I know the public opinion differs greatly concerning how thay would have me treated . Th » greater part think it would be beBt to treat me and my opinions with contempt , a * has been hitherto done

      with so much success , and this manner has been particularly practised by the moat professed Champions of Liberty . And it is only the inconsiderate and hotheaded that thirst attcrvengeance and violent modes of dealing . I think your lordships must find yonrjelrca in no small dilemma in this affair . For by your decision you have the timorous people of property to satisfy , and at the same time the honour of yourselves and the nation , and even of the age , to take care of . For you know , my lords , there is such a thing as history , and , consequently , posterity , that take cognisance of such matters as these , which violent people pay no regard te . So , my lords , though I do not love imprisonmen 1 ' , nor indeed ought , especially in the poor friendlcBB state I am . in , ytt I reckon myself entirely out ofthe question .

      My lords , if 1 am punished that no more tbeoriei of government may be written , I belierait will be without cause , for there does not seem room for another . The onlj ? vacuum , that remained . I have filled

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      up . But as original and radical legislators have arisen so verj se'dom to disturb the world , and , as I observed before , there does not seem any more room , let no pusillanimous fears be n spur to any decision that will not be readily justified by impartial posterity . Perhaps , my lords , I hare entertained too high an epinion of human nature , for I do not find mankind very grateful clitnts . I have very small encouragement indeed to rush into ft prison , on various accounts . For , in the first place , the people without treat me with the ounfrrmptdue to a lunatrc , i ' or it is

      only the government wish » sto make me appear as of consequence , and the people within treat me as bad , or worse , than the most notorious felon among them . And what with redeeming and ransoming ray toes from beini ? pulled off with a string while in bed , and paying heavy and manifold fe . 'S , there is no getting through the various impraitions . Indeed , before a poor man is sent to prison , he , or somebody for him , ou lit to h » ve a few nights' licence on the highway , to fur « iah him with money for the multifarious occasions he will bare . Honesty cannot be expected to do it , especially in these times .

      [ Uere he made an apology for Mr . Kirby , as these things were unknown to him because it was dangerous to complain , for nobody could conceire what dreadful work went on among such ruffians but those who have had the misfortune to be locked up with them . ] 'lhus , my lords , one robbery cal ' s loudly for another , and this being too much the case through the whole system of society , no wonder mankind are so much depraved . Now , my lords , it is the only hope I entertain of a good system working reformation in the manners of the human race that reconciles me to my thankless task , even though it has brought me before this tribunal .

      Wherefore , I hope your lordships will deign to look upon me rather as a follow-labourer than a ° P i i . For while you are em P loyed in only striking off the heads of this monstrous hjdra of corruption as fast aa they sprout , I strike at the body , with the y iew of wholly destroying it . So to whatever your lordshipg shall doom me to in so laudable a cause , 1 shall eh « erfully submit . The Judges , after hearing this second defence , consulted together , and remanded him back to prison till that day week , when he was again brought up and sentenced to suffer ONE YEAR'S IMPRISONMENT in the jail of Shrewsbury , and to pay A FINE OF

      TWENTY POUNDS TO THE KING ! Here conclude' our extracts from the repert of this remarkable trial . We add a few words explanatory of the after life of this persecuted Reformer . The fine was paid by Mr . Spence ' s disciples , and on his liberation , after twelve months' imprisonment , he recommenced business as a bookseller . He published the report of his trial , the book from which we have gleaned the information contained in this and the two preceding numbers of the Northern Slar .

      His last publication was entitled the "Giant Killer , " a weekly periodical ^ of which oniy three numbers appeared , as he died suddenly at his lodgings in Castle-street , Oxford-street . He died of what is now commonly termed English Cholera . His age was " somewhat more than sixty years , " "forty of which he had devoted to the cause of justice and humanity . " Thomas Spence waa buried in the burial ground , Tottenham Court-road . " A funeral oration was pronounced over the body by a disciple , Mr . William Snow . As yet no stone or other memorial marks the spot where this persecuted friend of mankind at length found rest . When will the gratitude of the working classes raise a fitting monument to commemorate the virtues , and martyr-like sacrifices of this model-man of their " order "—Thomas Spence ?

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      MARTLEBONE . A new play by Mrs . Mowatt , entitled ' Aimand ; or , the Peer and the Peasant , ' was produced here last week , and announced for repetition every evening until further notice with the apparently unanimous sanction of a crowded audience . The action of 'Armand ; or , the Peer and the Peasant , ' us it is called , is laid in the time of Louis XV . The profligate Due de Riche'ieu has a daughter by a secret marriage , whom he takes the greatest pains to conceal froni his Sovereign , fearing that she may suffer from tho corrupt influence of tho Court . She is brought up in a humble cottage , and forms an attachment to a young peasant named Armand . The King discovers her retreat and becomes enamoured of her , and Richelieu , learning this fact , givis her a sleepingxdraught , intending to remove her when she is apparently dead . She swallows this unconsciously ,

      and it takes effect while she is dancing as Queen of a May festival with her lover Armand . She is supposed to be dead , and is laid out in rural state in the cottage . The King pays a visit to the corpse , nnd finding Armand is mourning over it , takes a liking to the young man , and invites him to join the army . Richelieu , who comes to remove his daughter when the effect of the c ' rug shall bare passed , is annoyed at finding the King in the cottage , and with difficulty contrivts to , get rid of him by the time Blanche awakfis , when he places her in a convent , and forbids her to think any more of Armand . The r

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      ( Wives . —An American locturer on wires says —> ' As well mi ght the farmer have tho Venus de Medicis placed in his kitchen for a wife , as some of : > ur fashionable wome n . Indeed , it WOllld be much better to have Lot a wife standing there ; she might salt his bacon . " Not Orthodox . — The New York Evtning Port states that the monument to the memory of a gentleman , formerly of the Park Theatre , has been refused a place in the burying-ground up town , because it bears a metto from Horace , not of aa Orthodox character .

      Political Economy . — " Will you never learn , my dear , the difference between real and exchangeable value ? " The question was put to a husband who had been lucky enough to be tied to a political economist in petticoats . " Oh , yea , my dear , I think I begin to see it . " " Indeed ! " responded the lady . " Yes , " replied the husband . "For instance , my dear , I know your deep learning , anil all your other virtues . That ' s your real value . But I know , also , that none of mv married friends would swap wives with me . That ' s your crcAa » yeaWe value !"

      THE LAND . '' With equal right might the atmosphere be bott ' ed , or the sunshine barrelled up , and sold out in ' lots to suit purchasers , ' as the earth to be hacked in pieces and withheld from its rightful owners . "E . ( I Bufwn . " Go back to the first period of man ' s existence . What shall we find there ? Nothing but one wide common , a wilderness , on which man , for the first time , has imprinted his footsteps . Ofcourse . it belongs to all equally . "—Thomai Skiiimn . " Capital is man ' s product— he made it ; but land is the Creator ' s product — he made it , and gave it not to a part , but to all the human race . " - J . K . Fisher . The Butchhr and the Sailor . — A butcher at Hull , let a eailor have a shoulder of mutton on

      trust ; and hearing , a few days after , that he had gone to America , he said , "My word , if I had known that he never intended to pay , I would have charged him a halfpenny a pound more than I did . " Kosciusko . ~ Kosciusko , the noble Polish patriot , who fought for American Liberty in 1773 , revisited the United States in 1798 , leaving a certain sum of money in the hands of his frieiul Thomas Jefferson . In Oetober 1817 , Kosciuski died at Soieure , in Switzerland ; since then the property left in America his accumulated to a sum over 6 l » , 000 dols . His heirs at-law ( tho children and grandchildren of his sisters ) , hare applied to Congress to recover his property .

      Dkclinixo Life . — Declining life begins from about forty and extends to about fifty-two , in women ; in men , it commences at about fifty and extend * to sixty . Advanced age , or incipient old age , ra-ngeg from about fifty-three to about sixtyfive , in women ; in men . from sixty to seventy . Ripe old age ranges from siitj-fiye to about seventyfive in the fema e , and from seventy to eighty in the male . A Reason fok Marrying . —The friends of a wit expressed some surprise that , with his age and his fondness for the bottle , he should have thought it worth while to marry . " A wife was necessary , " he said ; " they began to say of me that I drank too much for a tingle man . "

      War . —Voltaire thus expresses himself on the subject of war : — "A hundred thousand mad animals , whose heads are covered with hats , advance to kill or be killed by their fellow-mortals covered with turbans . By this strange procedure , they want to know whether a tract of land , to which none of them has any claim , should belong- to a certain man whom they call Sultan , or another whom they call Czarneither of whom ever saw , or ever will see , the spot so furiously contended for : and very few of those creatures who thus mutually batcher each other ever beheld the animal for whom they cut each other ' s throats ! From time immemorial this has been the way of mankind almost all over the earth . What an excess of madness is this ! and how deservedly

      might a superior Being cruxh to atoms this earthly ball—the bloody nest of such ridiculous murderers !" Wklsh . —The following lines on a silk-worm are an instance of a complete stanza where the letters are all rowels , evin the consonant v > beiug equivai lent to oo in the English tongue : — " O'i wiw wy i wau e a , —o'i aa Ei wyau e weua ; E wywa ei we ana ' , A'i weaau , i ' w ieuau ia . " In English thus : - "From his own eggs the busy worm Attempts his hasty webs to form , Like rings on ice they seem to view , Beauteous like those , and brittle ton . "

      Scotch Pronunciation . —Going into a shop to buy gloves , Thomas Campbell made trial of many pairs , but none would fit him . '"No , " lie said , turning away from the counter , " those won't shoot ( suit ) me . " "They won't shoot you ? no , but I think they might suit you , " observed the glover , rather sharply . "Why , sir , " said Campbell , you should live at the sign of Thi Pronouncing IHc - lionary ! " " And you , he replied , ' should be my first purchaser ! " The poet was deliirhted with the man ' s ready wit , and told it with much glee to Miss

      iwayow . —Life and Letters of Mr . T . Campbell . A well-known penurious character , residing some years in Bath , invited a friend to dinner , and provided two mutton chops . On removing the cover , he said , "My friend , you see your dinner ; " which his friend immediately ( with his knife and fork ) took to himself , remarking , "I do ; I wish I could see yours . " A Native Indian EniTOR . —The Choctaw Telegraph has made its appearance at the West—a now paper , issued at Doaksville , in the Choctaw nation . It is edited by Daniel Folsom , a native Indian .

      Aristocratic Robbkry . —Athol forest measures 100 , 000 English acres , and ia aolelj occupied by red deer . Why ig the letter T best suited to Grenadier companies ?—liecanse it makes all men Tall men . Mr . Dickens ' s Haunted Man ought to be persecuted by sereral ghosts , instead of one , for ho is many shades worse than bis predecessors . Mr . Ethan' Spike ' s Spkech for General Taylor .- " Who ' s Gineral Taler , " says I . ' He ' s one of che people , " says I . He haint a loky foky , " says I , " nor a Whig , nor a free syler , nor notiiin else , " says I . "He can lick Mexicans faster ' n you

      can say Jack Robinson , " says I ; " an hates niggers more ' n he does pison . I go for him , " eays I , " neck or nothin , now , and if there ' s one individaol in the saound of my voice as isn't a Taler man , an darst to own it , " says I , " I'll lick him , darn him 1 " say 3 I . When I got this off , cheerin an stamping was dredful , an father—who was a leetle groggy—sung aout as laoud as he could ball , " Them ' s um ! Go it , Ethan , give it to ' em ! Hooray ! Hooray ! An then , he throwed off his hat an stomped on it , and kicked raound , an screech't an squalled in eieh a onairthly way , that they had to tic him an carry him hum . — Boston Chrimotvpe .

      Boz ' s new Work!—On the 16 th instant , in Devonshire Terrace , Mrs . Charles Dickens was safely delivered of a son . What a House should be . —A house should bear witness in all its economy , that human culture is the god to which it is built and garnished . It stands under the sun and tftOon to enda Mialagnus , but not less noble than theirs . It is not for festivity . for sleep ; but to be a shelter always open to the good and to the true . Let a man say , "My house is here in the country { for the culture of the country , an . eating-house and s ' eeping-house for travellers it shaU be ; but it shall be much more . I pray you , O exto

      cellent wife , cumber not yourself and me get a curiously rich dinner for . this ' . man [ or woman , who has alighted at our gates , nor » bed-chamber made ready at too great a cost ; these things , if they are curious in thorn , they can get for a few shillings in any villago ; rather let this stranger see , if he will , in your looks , accents and behaviour , your heart and earnestness , your thoughts and will , which he cannot buy at any price in any city , and which he may well travel twenty miles and dine sparely and sleep hardly to behold . Let not the emphasis of hospitality lie in bed and board ; but let truth , and love , and honour , and courtesy , flow in all thy deeds . —Jbnenou's Lecture on Domestic Life .

      Cages for Larks . — A few days ago , a man was brought before the magistrates of Newcastle ( Staffordshire ) , charged with having committed a breach ofthe peace while intoxicated . Magistrate : " Well , my good man , what have you to say for your aelf ? " Prisoser : " Your worship , I only did it for a lark . " Magistrate : " Well , my good fellow , we have gi > t cages for larka at Stafford Gaol . "—He was committed .

      A MODERN D 1 NXBR PARTY . I tell you what , philosopher , if all the longest heads That ever knocked their sinciputs in stretching OH their beds , , Were round one great mahogany , I d be « t those find old folks With twenty dishes , twenty foola , and twenty clever jokes ! Why , if Oolumbas should be there , the company would beg , He'd show that little trick of his of balancing the egg ; Milton to Stilton would give in , and Solomon to salmon , And Roger Bacon be a bore , and Francis Bacon gammon 1 —Dr . Holme ' s Poems ( American . )

      " Grace before meat , " as the young lady remarked when she laoed herself so tight that she could nt swallow . Bunk t . Jbxnt Lind . —The long contested suit of " Bunn t . Lind" has at last been settled , it is said , for the sum offered before litigation comu . encea , namely , £ 2 , 00

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      THE SIGHTS OF MAIf . Tuse , " God save the Sing . " God save the rights of man ! Give him a heart to scan Blessings so dear ! Let them be spread around , "Wherever man is found , And with the welcome sound Ravish his ear ! See from the universe , Darkness and clouds disperse ; Mankind , awake ! Keason and truth appear , Freedom advances near , Monarchs with terror hear—See how they quake ! Long have we felt the stroke ; Long have we borne the yoke , Sluggish and tame : But a new era shines , Enlight'ning all darken'd minds ; Spreading to distant climes . Liberty's flame ! Let us with Prance agree , And bid the world lie free , Leading the way . Should tryants all conspire , Fearless of sword and fire , Freedom shall ne ' er retire , Freedom shall sway ! Godlike and great the strife , life will indeed be life , When we prevail : Pcath in so just a cause , Crowns us with loud applause , And from tyrannic laws , Bids us all hail ! O'er the tyrannie pow ' rs , Big indignation low ' rs , Ready to fall ! Let therude gavage host , In their vast numbers boast , Freedom our mighty trust . Spite of them all . Fame ! let thy trumpet sound , Tell to the world around , Frenchmen are free . Tell ribands , crowns , and stars , Eings , traitors , troops , and wars , Plans , councils , plot 3 , and jars , We will be free . God save the rights of man , Give him a heart to scan Blessings so dear ; Let them be spread around , "Wherever man is found , And with the welcome sound Bavish Ms ear !

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      A Slavonic Thaobdt . —Four Montenegrins and their sister , aged 21 , going on a pilgrimage to the shrine of St . Sasilio , were waylaid by seven Turks in a rocky defile , so narrow that they could onlythread it one by one ; and hardly had they ontored , between the precipices that bordered it on either side , when an unexpected discharge of fire-arms killed one brother , and desperately wounded another . To retrace their steps was impossible , without meeting certain and shameful death , sine * to turn their backs would give their enemy the opportunity of destroying them at pleasure . Tho two men who wero unhurt , therefore , adyanoed , and returned the fire , killing two Turks , while the wounded one supporting himself against the rock ,

      fired also , and mortally injured two others , but was killed himself in the act . His sister , taking his gun , loaded and fired again simultaneously with her two brothers , but at the same instant one of them dropped down dead . The two surviving Turks then rushed furiously at the only remaining Montenegrin , who , however , laid open the skull of one of them with his yatagan beloro roceiving his own deathblow . The hapless sister , who Sad all the time kept up a constant fire , stood for an instant irresolute , when suddenly assuming an air of terror and supplication , sho entreated for mercy ; but the Turk , enraged at tho death of his comrades , was hruta ' l cnouah to take adTantage of the unhappy

      girl ' s seeming agony , and only promisou her life at the price of her honour . Hesitating at first she pretended to listen to the villain ' s proposal , but no Booner did she see him thrown off his guard than « ha buried in his body the knife she carried at her girdle . Although mortally wounded , the Turk endeavoured to make the most of his failing strength , and plucking the dagger from his side , staggered towards the courageous girl , who , driven to despair , thr ew herself on her relentless f » e , and with superhuman encrgv hurled him down the neighbouring precipice , at the moment when some shepherds , atracted by the continued firing , arrived just too late br the re ' scue . —Sir J , G . Wilkinson ' s Dalmatia and

      Montenegro . yoniKOHAM . — Operative Library . —The con > mittee of the No . 1 , Operative Library have just published their fourteenth annual report , by which it appears that the number of volumes in circulatio n are 1 , 734 of moral , entertaining , and scientific knowledge . The expenditure of the past year was £ 53 9 s . 2 d . ; the income £ 34 Is . 3 a ., leaving a bftlun . ee due to the treasurer of £ 18 7 s . Ud .

      Iftmrtif!*'

      iftmrtif !*'

      Styt&Tjoittw.

      Styt&tjoittw .

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      STANDARD . On Tuesday evening a new drama , entitled " The Mirror of Death , " was performed at this theatre . The plot ia Italian , and is full of striking incidents . That excellent piece , " The Waits , " and the Pantomime ( which we noticed in our last number ) followed ; and we are happy to see that they deservedly continue to draw overflowing houses .

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      ASTLEY'S . The ' Wars of the Jews , ' and the Pantomime , ' Robin Hood , or the Pretty White Horse , ' continue to attract crowded audiences to this popular place of amusement . The play is aversion of Josephus , and abounds with the divisions and sanguinary feuds of Eleazar , John of Ghischala , and their partisans , and the horrors of famine consequent upon the siege of Jerusalem by the Romans . We think a much better drama might have been founded on tuch materials . Ananias , the high priest , and Jos phus , the historian , were respectably represented by Messrs . Fredericks and Crowther , and we were amused by some humorous passages by Mr . Attwood , as Barnabas , whose courage , like Acres , always vanishes on the approach of danger . The Pantomime is on the usual scale of magnitude and grandeur of previous ones at this theatre , and elicited the hearty laughs and applause of the juvenile portion ofthe audience .

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      Januaby 27 , 1849 . THE NORTHERN Sf AR , ' * ' * 3 _

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Jan. 27, 1849, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1507/page/3/