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Northern Star (1837-1852), 17th August 1839, Edition 2 of 5, Page 4, Untitled Article

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    • THE SOUTHERN STAR. SATURDAY, AUGUST \f. ^^^^B^H^H^M^MMM^HSSi^iiiiiiiSiii^Hiit^t^iii^iii^iii^iiiViMi^iii^
    • TO READERS & CORRESPONDENTS.
    • BAB1TSLBY.
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      Untitled Article

      AGREEMENT OF OPINION , Is the coarse aad di « h * i »«* " 7 Oar owm duty as . jablie aonitar * ~ " ? 1 J little deference te tbe > - ^> i * »^ j or example * of . any when contrary to ow on conviction * of right : we pin oar fkitfa to tite ¦ feeve of no man or tet of men . Bat we are aevertfeelew always glad to fiad honestly and fearlesslyacpreseed sentimenti borne © at by the corresponding •* eatiment » of honestj bold , and good men . For tiui rctwi re nave -great plearare is directing the at-- ^ fentioB of onr readers to the following spirited Oracle from the Wetter * Vindicator , a talented psper , edited , we believe , by Vikcekt : — " THE COMING STRUGGLE .

      ** Pb « pu 5 , —The tbae for talking is put ; the . ame for ectiut is come ; and » is now the duty of « very maa , woman , and child to refleet , in secret , enoa the power po « e *» ed by the people to carry out tke princi ple * of Democratic Government ; th # time 4 u come lor deeply reflecting on the power posarag-iij by tho dimm to carry oat the recaau&endacioos of the CoaToaUon ; the dine aas come when , bj & bold and energetic display on the part of the p-oples the power of toe ariicocrwy may be des-01

      -itnwad for ever . Toe nrst < inry me peopie u k > cznj out the MANIFESTO of the Convention . It ie in vain to make * jnpty profesnosu ; it it in rain to 'tbetteQ , ' or ' talk ; tke peopie must DO . The Contention has so £ S « toda NATIONAL STRIKE , to commence on the 13 th of Augnet ; but unles * the m » tie prow , by their general conduct , to carry eut ILeORDErlSof the CONVENTION , that strike nut f « aL Before awitioniit * the " Saered Month , " let n * ask tha following qoejtjoni : — -ARE ALL THE CHARTISTS ORCANIZED ?

      "DO ALL THE CHARTISTS ABSTAIN FROM THE USE OF EXCISEABLE ARTICLES ? " HAVE ALL THE CHARTISTS WITHDRAW * THEIR . M 0 * E ^ FROM THE SAVINGS' BANKS ? « HAVE THE CHARTISTS CONVERTED ALL THEIR PAPER MONEY INTO GOLD : " These questions suit be answered honestly by € be people ; hence ilie practicability of the * Sacred . Month" < tepead / s ia * grjat measure , npon the . answer . We are in faronr of the M Soared Month , " il the people are " ready . " The Convention has nobl / discharged its duty to the people ; it has ex--prewed its readiness to p \ M » itaeJI at tbe head of xhe people , and at the post of danger ; therefore it i « now the duty of the people to tell the Convention xc&at they are prepared to carry out .

      The best mode of convincing the Contention of the readinfas of the people to carry out their wishes i * the immediate and universal adeptio * of the Manifesto i it is useless for the people to talk abont what th «? y will do on the 12 & Aufrwt with regard to the *• Holiday ; " we fearlessly tell the people , thai -abstaining from exciseaUt article *; taking their money out qf Saving * ' Banks ; and providing thej * * elass tcit / i constitutional arms , are lest sacrifices tLan tAe holiday ; therefore let the people make the Lester sacrifice as an earnest of their determination to make tke greater one . Prove yo ^ welves , people ! The man who" is now degraded enough to be , a ^ rankard auut beco me eoberiz-d ; otherwise he will be a . broken reed in the hoar of necessity . The nun who will not throw down hi * pipe , and rip hii

      artaxe . 1 milk aud water , gires bat poor pndence o ; hii sincerity a * a Coartuu We iuMit that it it rune the dunr of the people to act ; and we call npon all reader / of this paper ; npon all who \ on freedom ; apo 3 all who respect Mr . Vincent , and hare go olten 2 kte _ ed to hi * thrilling eloquence ; we call-npon every pitriotic man . woman and child to rigidly * dojt the CONVESTIOS'S MANIFESTO . ' People , if you ar

      " People , —Cease to talk , act , become sober—do all in vonr power to band yoarwlve * indissolubly toother " ; think deeply about the 'Sacred Month . ' " Jf yon resolTr- to adopt it , tell the Cosvextion ! if you cannot adopt it , still tbll mi Cojjte . ntio . n JDjnotlet n * i . ceive one another . The " 5 icr « d Mcnt ' u , ' if solemnly adopted , will free you for evw ! Think about it . The rQJt ^ i' now in your h * nd * , " * ~> -- ^ " T > cV y ariw ^ TOBVRT . ES ; PEOPLE , STRIKE TH ? MORAL BLOW !" Tiii * nerrons and well-written article reiterates the * entiiaeiit * w * have again and again expieg » sd oq ths same subjects . Unless the people do shew thenuekfes able and williDg to perform tbe lesser 4 abonr , it is madness to talk about the greater .

      Untitled Article

      STAMP EETUBTS

      A return has been published of the number of Stamps famished to the several Newspaper * within the months of April , May , and June . We have selected from the List the moit extensively ¦ circulated of the London Daily and "Weekly Pnas , and the Leeds Papers , as affording to ocr readers an opportmuity of ascertaining with certainty tbe exact poritiom in which their favour and the force of bonest political eoHsirtency has plieed tbe people ' * paper , tbe Xorthtrn Star .

      Daily Pavers . \ Sinnpi fnrniihad in I DiUy th « three montKi . Ave- »* e TIm Times .. l . OW . OCX ) 13 , 97 * MonaM Cbronkle 53-l , C > 00 6 , 79 ) M » mifig Mer » ia + W , 000 S . KJ 3 The S ^ 321 , 000 4 , 115 Tk- s » nd * Ta 264 . S . a ^ Homing Post 255 . 009 3 . T ^ G . ube 23 t , 0 » J 3 . 000

      WEEKLY PAPERS . 8 timp « firnisiiei in WeeVly tin ttree month * . Arer » ge . W « k ! y Dispiteh 650 . 000 59 , 000 h ' OBTBERS 3 TAK W 7 , - O 0 .. .. .. .. 42 , 0 ,, VFeeklr Chronicie 2 b 3 , 0 O 0 21 . 7 £ 9 L ^ . MCTCtrrr 12 « . 5 O 0 9 .-31 . L *» d » iBt ^ lligencer 44 000 3 , 3 * 5 Leeds Times ... UfiX 1 . Frsm tbe above taWe , it will Ve 8 BCB that tae Jfurthern Star n « t only maintains its position at the head of the Provincial Preia , but that , with nne single exception , it is tbe leading organ of tie empire . It issues a greater number at each period of publication than all the above Daily Papers pat togetksr . lti respective iMQea are

      nearly seven-fold greater ths . n those of the Mornlag Chronicle , * nd moTe tnaa fourteen-fold greater than thwe of tie Globe , the two official organs ¦ of the Government ! Its circulation greatly exceeds the wfeole circu-Udon of a'ay Daily Paper btsides The , Tone * . Among Weekly Papers , it is- second only to tke IVetkly D spatch . It has nearly donble the cir-• euiarion of tke Weekly Chmnicle , and considerably more tha . n four time * that ef the Leeds ifereury . It circulates about thirteen times the number of the Leeds Intelligencer , afld almost three-« . nd-nrenty times the amoant of the Leeds Times . This is a . position which may well mike the Horihern Star an object of fear and trembling to all the enemies of righteousness .

      To aim who looks attentively at this position , axuiaed in a . u incredibly sbert period , and ste&diW -kept up , without any artifice or sacrifice , by tbe -bo'dest and most Democratic paper ever known in this country , it will be no matter of surprise that a -Canine : Minister should be required , as a portion of tig official duty , to read the Northern Star care--faDv through every week , and report its content * to iiis eolleagmes ; cor that the minions ef Gevern-« ent , accag no doubt ia accordance with the cue

      -arhicafnad been given them , should point Pflt go obaoxieasly powerful an enemy to the whoi * race of « £ 7 il-dofcf * * s a fit object an wkick , t *^ eo *« trate their p % r « rs of tnnihilttmg wnt )\ mi < pjeelwbase ^ ettroewn woald be eheaply purchased at any < "ost—e ^* n liongh new laws should require to be ¦« nac % d for the purpose . The power of tie Northern Scar to concentrate and give effect to the opinioci « f tbe mawe—to assert their rights , and to deal with the oppressor i * tbe grand secret of the vecj - " ¦ liberal" speech of Mt . Ceisi . es Btjliib a few js % qu age ia tbe Hesse ef Common ,

      Untitled Article

      M afteei witV Mr . ' Has * , ta * t huHamsnt uoukt km dim but m smalt part tf Ha duty r&sn it hod prficX ** " ^ Wh « of th * Curtiifc ^ . pp ^ b ^ oM * o laxinf wm-<***/** + ¦* 'Zrvnt * it ¦• iiw ££ lod an « iU- *« 4 Sed a * **^« nL Bmi th « jtuir . »««* he < Ua » ot wmkni tiw Chartum , be tidapprehefta from Uu caoari kf Chanitia , whiek aeenea *• him «• be pcrmaneat , aai tolM iabereae i » taekK « r » d » t » te •? aoaetr , m < character of the XmglMh fc&pkt . Thtr atast aot attttburcrai to the bet , that tb « r b » d bow to de » l with a paopk iu otharwiae AtMoatestM , sod bretftarwiw c « p » aU of aiaaiiestiBg that diteoatent , Oim pnviou O ^ venusmM bar * erer had to cop * with . Th * y wcr * saw bet t * &e « widi tbe fint gMer » tkm of workiaa cm * ia KMtorc « wbom tdne » t » B iuA Ufno . to tell

      pratte fftaenilT . --.- » w IB * first effect . * f Uua tiuaf * ugtt b « oUerred in tbe ri » e of » prtm » Ainnei to »»< 3 mppottwi by Ut working daaaM . Formerly CobkMt wrote woekl y o « ay « , and other •>»» - gogan wrote otcMvmil pMBfbleU , which bad % lug * , bat tenpormrr dreulitioB * mi effect Bat aow , tber * u ett * bltthed * a irontr— weekly ynm , eoBUiai&x tb * ume attraetiona of gtmtnX a « wi m tber newspaper * , wbi ^ 4 iff « HeiU rifw of niiig ecmrreBce * from one « d of tbe UUad to tbe other . Tab it a pra * , not oeeniontl , bat perm * aent—not aepmdsat on tbe p Vpalvity of » partuvlcr writer , or tbe »• M&iitare bj wbWa the M » tbmi »» n > of a partiealv ii £ niul Zrioiy of ait kit— itm pnd-rt jtimtmto ^ ew « toti «» , > ot a tbe MMrior lo « rativ « MM of that atrtie&Ur kind of prt * t , wd ob Ae reiMnl appetite for newt . Tbu is the largert , aad it it , with two er three cxeeptioae , tke mint Jnerative mcm ia Kafiaod . * In tbw preee , tbtu » dro « atiaf thcae feetruM * , ia fltf ( oewsiM « of ibeat aostriaea U tb » spirit » r ut age , aad w tbe lOSering of tbe miieni is tbe pereimal eooree of Cbartiata . "

      How there i « ne difficulty in aeeisg that the drift of thi * portion of Mr . Bcluh'i rpeech U intinded , under pretence of directiog tttcntio * to " tbe altered xtata and condition of Society , " to point oat th « Northern , Stir as game that must be ran down at all hazards . The good will of &oTtr * ment to break it up npon any , the tlighteet pretext that could be laid hold of ba « been ai amply manifested tt coald be wished ia tbe two precioai Government prosecution * which

      in the persons of it * proprietor and publisher it hai already ecdared . The truth is they are " dead beat , "—their limb * tremble and their mouths water with anxiety and vexation , and they know not how to acoompliah the object of their desire . Miny as an tbe devices of the law—UMcrupalous , aa are Whig funetionariea in its ' oe&struction aad application , and rampant as they evidently are to " hug •» in the dene embrace" of powerful m » d eucceesful villany , we smile at their ingenuity and deride their

      impotence . Hence the conoerted hint of their gub-fubaltern , mat " Parliamtnt would have dont but a small part of itt duty" until it had provided the means not now in existence of potting down the Northern Star , Let Pari » a » exi accomplish that " duty " whenever it please * . "We nefy it ? power . The spirit of liberty has gone forth , and , like the dove let loose th « third time from tbe ark , it will re ^ rn no more to its prU » n house . If the Northern Star were ruined by prosecutions , and its conductors immolated to the madners of political revenge tomorrow , from its ruins would spring up an organ , or mayhap a hundred , more talented , more powerful , aud more annovipg te the harpies than the one they

      had succeeded in destroying . Tbere is one senttace in Buller ' s speech worth all the rest , which s that the Democratic press , of which the bead and front \ e the Northern Star , does not now depend on the talent or popularity of any particular writer . It is the legitimate offspring of the working classes , who , knowing their own want * , feeling their oven bardeni > , and Wing aware of the grievances under which they laboar , minister support only to that press which maintains their cause . Their cause is the cause ef righteousness —the cause of God . That cau £ e we have ever yet maintained with such power u we possess , and with a reil eaual to that of any who Jose no : sight of prudence . Hence tbe secret of the soccew which has crowned our enterprisewhich has made the establishment of the Northern

      Stur an epoch in the history of newspaper Literature . " The battle is not to the swift ; nor the race to the strong . " 'Tib not because of any peculiar adr&nt&ges either of talent or circumstances to which w » can lay claim individually , that we owe t&e unequalled political influence of our paper ; it is simply because we have faithfaUy " held up the mirror to the times , " and

      given ut-. erance to the truth . "We have not sought tbe advancement ef either personal or party interests ; but we have laboured for tbe do * Df « l of tyranny , tie uprooting of injustice , and tbe establishment of right . Pursuing this , we have met with the reward which we had aright to look for—the reward which , if snatched frem us , by tbe j *» nd of public injustice a » 4 legal robbery , to-morrow , will be awarded in > till further tale to some Dew

      adveaturer wbo shall dare , despite of viilany , to speak the truth . Let not , then , eichsr Government or Parliament , or both , reckon on the issue of putting down the Northern Star . "We see the drawn dagger in their hand , bat we defy its point To them and their wapportern of both faction * , who persist in denying to the people the redre »* al of tbeir wrongs and rwftitntion of their rights , we owe nothing but that which , by God ' s help , we will pay , to the full extent of onr ability , an hostility which * hall never cease but with our lives , er with the

      destruction of the system which has enabled them to teeosae the -villains that they * re . To the people , by whom we have been placed in the proud position which we occupy , we owe just u much as they owe us , and no more . We have done our duty in the asfertion af their rights—they h * ve dome their duty in giving effrct to that assertion . By God ' s help , and theirs , we eball go forward— till oppression shill yet learn to hide its bead for shame , and the glorious sua of freedom shall warm and animate , enliven and illuminate , tae whole land .

      Untitled Article

      THE LEEDS . MERCURY AND MR . JAME 5 1 BBETSON . VTe tad prepared an article on the rigmarole sophistry of our neighbour Mercury addressed to Ma . Ibbetso . x , bat are obliged to displace k fur other matter . Vfe are not much concerned , as it may afford us an opportunity of seeing whether there is yet another " letter" in the editorial candle .

      Untitled Article

      WILFUL MISTAKES . It is an old proverb that " none are so Wind as those wbo vron ' c see . " In tbe true spirit of this proverb , none are so apt at misunderstanding anything as tho ? e who wiah to do so . We are not less amused than astoHished to learn that an article ia our last week ' s Paper has been made the means of trying to persuade those who don ' t know us that we advocate the Ballot .

      In our article of last week , headed The Punch and Jndy Session , we arnigned Lord John Russell upoa his reasons assigned at Bristol for opposing the Ballot , namely , tLat the non-elector * would fee thereby deprived of their legitimate influence over the electors , we then went on to show that the same Lord John had , when the people were , in the

      exercise of that legitimate right , imprisoned , - bindgeoned , cat down , and trampled upon them . This we charged , and still charge , upon the Noble Lord as an inoensUtency , disentitling him to any amount of popular oenfidenee ; and for thus arraigning little Lord John , we are asked why we sapi « rt tie Bal-Ut ? and inasmuch as Mr . O'Cokkos must , of ooura aaiwer for all tae tini of the St « r , whether

      Untitled Article

      he «•»»** t ^« « T net , a few well-informed cleartutuledrmteaU" would endeavour to penuad * the people , and eipeoially thote of Birmingham , that O'Connor ha * declared in favour of tbe Ballot . The ftolB 1 "Where are their spectacle * P In what single line of the article do tiwy find any reoogniti « a of tbe Ballot principle coupled with a restricted franchise ? Ob what tingle line of the Northern Star , or ob what tingle sentence of Mr . O'Con nob's numerous speeches oaa such a charge be founded f We defy then t » point out one . The article of last week had no reference whatever to our opinion * , but to the consistency or inconsistency of Lord John Russell ' s practical , with his theoretical , policy . The enemy must be put to ud shifts when be stoops to a device like this !

      Untitled Article

      ? — GRi . TULi . TIOM AND CON € rBATULATION . 4 ** Thb Wtekly Chronicle , poor thing 1 in its agony of spiteful envy , induced by tbe Stamp Returns , catches at tbe small ray of comfort contained in the faet that , en the face of the Returns , tbe number * f Stamp * furnished to us ia the two latter months of tbe Quarter aewn to hare be * n less than in the preceding month ; and this he argues to b « " eonsolatory" proof that onr Circulation is declining . Poor fellow , how we pity him ! It always gives us pain to be obliged to pull the mask from an ugly face ; but where the featares sit under it so uncomfortably , it ia aa met of cbaritr .

      If monthly iupplies from tae Stamp Office b « held to demonstrate th » Monthly Circulation , we suspect the CAnniefe , to near the Stamp Depot , thought it better to let out tbe secret in reference to us , than to allow the public to discover it in reference to himself . Let ui try the Weekly Chronicle by hi * own rule . Ia May , \' a a four weeks' month—he seems te have had 104 , 000 Stamps , but in June , a five weeks' month ; that it , a month in which there are five Sundays , and in which , therefore , five Weekly Chronicle * would

      appear he seems only to bare had 90 , 000 which would give an average of 26 , 000 weekly for May but of only 18 , 000 weekly for Jane . "Will the Chronicle like this mode of measurement ? We fancy not ; nor have we any wish to confine bin to it . He knows a * well as we do that the Stamps are issued from the Depot—not to us , but to the paper manufacturer , wbo get * them in quantities to suit his own convenience ; to that though the

      Stamp Return does exhibit the actual number of stamps issued to each paper during a given period , it does not always correctly show tbe monthly proportions of tbe gross amount , and he will probably find it aemewhat " consolatory " to learn , which he may , on application to Meure . Hilton and Co ., our paper mak « rs , that our supply for the two last months of this declining quarter , has beea nearly equal to the whole of the last quarter .

      Untitled Article

      THE DEVIL GOVERNMENT . " Tue worst we know ef the Devil is that he first prompts to crime , and thea betrays to pasiah * meet . " Thin observation was applied , by aa excellent writer , to a character which concentered in itself no small amount of bareness . Strong , bowever , as tbe expression is , it is inadequate fully to pourtray the bareness of the wretchee by whom the more thoughtless and inconsiderate among the suffering people are goaded to distraction , and bludgeoned into crime ; and wbo then , with truly Devil-Jite atrocity , not merely betray to

      punishment , but themselves inflict the panishment upon their hapless victims ; gloating with hideous satisfaction upon their murderous pastime . Such is precisely tbe position in which we contemplate them at present in reference to the three unfortsnate men lefc for execution at Warwick , for tbe crime ot suffering themselves to be made tbe dupes of a malignant and blood-thirsty faction , who hope , by the pouring out of their blood , and that of a few other like simple innocent * , to quench the mighty fire , which , flaming through the land , threaten * the stubble of oppression and iajustiee with irretrievable destruction .

      All inflection upon cbe subject , and every incident which has since transpired , confirms us more strongly in the conviction , which at the time forced itself upon ui , that the riots and fires of Birmiegham were no accidental oatbreak , but a deliberately concocted conspiracy again * t the people , planned and executed for the purpose of making a pretext on which to call into exeraiee brute force aad shameless

      viilany under tbe sacred garb and colouring of l ^ gal and constitutional procedure . The villains knew that the Charter , which is the day-star of hope to the millions , would be tbe death-warrant of their multifarious modes of plunder . The struggle was perceived to be for life , and hence the Charter and its supporters were relentlessly doomed to immolation , even though blood , aad that too of the innocent , should deluge the whole country .

      Tha plot has so far succeeded as that three unfortuaates are within their toils ; and tae merciless "Whi g press is exulting over the approaching execution as if it were a thing for which the bell * of tbe several charches should be set ringing , and the thanks of the congregatioEs isside officially offered by the priente . And why this rejoicing at the thought of three fellow-mortals being prematurely hurried out of time ? Because we are told that the whining hypocrites

      " trust that their awful fate will be a warning to others . " So says the villanous fool wbo has beeD stupid enough to perpetuate an article upoa the gubject in the Liverpool Times of the current week ; in oae seHtence of which the men are describtd as " unstained by crime , " and another sentence of which say p , " the execution of these unfortunate and guilty men will , we trust , act as a warning . " The scoundrel goes on to say : —

      " Tbeir de » th lies ftt tbe door of tbe National ConvanutB , by -wbicb boay voey h& »« t » ea lur « d to destruction , and u mnch murdered u if they had fallen under the dagg «« of the wretches who compose it . They were ia tbe verjr flWer ot their « re , unstained by crime , and might in * 11 probability h * v » na » aed long and useful live * , b » 4 it aot been for the mitigaaon of the villains wbo goaded them on to outrage , and then abandoned them to destruction . " Now what proof does this villain adduce of tbe grave crime of murder which he here charges upon the

      Convention ? "What evidence doei be offer to substantiate this horrible accusation ? Notonejot . Like his whole tribe of brother rascals , he contenls himself with asseverating what he knows to be a lie , in the hope that be may cause " more murders yet to follow after this . " This has been the conduct of the whole press , both Vfhig and Tory , during the whole period that ba « elapsed rince these villaneus riots were effected . The rieters have never been otherwise spoken of

      Untitled Article

      than u Chartists / when « ¦ & ** -known to all the world that the Chuti ** bad n » mere to clo with t *» e riots than had the man in the owd , and that the only part taken by them , in tb » disturbances of Birmingham , was the exerting of themselves to the uttermost to still the outrage * which the magistrate * and the infamous middle class factioa bad begun . Not a ptrtiole of evidence , direct or by Induction , has any one of them adduced to « how that the Convention aa a body , or any of its members individually , er any Chartist whatever , took a » y part in the

      riots of tbe 14 th ef July ; aad yet the wretched scamp who writes " tha Liverpotl Times charges the outrage , for which these men are unjustly condemned to suffer , upon tbe Convention t VTe say unjustlj cendemaed to suffer , because it u as clear a maxim of British law as it ia an axiom of common honesty that a man ought not to be accosed of one crime in order te his beingpuaisted fer another ; muob less ought any man to be pusi * hed , not for his own crimes specifically , but for thoM of others , or lest others should became guilty . Yet this is the ground upon wkiek the

      execution of tbeae men is justified b y the press . It ie necessary forsooth that * warning should be given ! Whom would the wretches warn by this legal murder P the Chartists f They need no such warning , for they had nothing to do with the offence into which these unfortunate saw were decoyed ; vor with the horrible treachery by which they are sacrificed . Would they warn the victima ' of their ow » infernal viilany ? If sincere , why not reader tbe warning unnecessary P why not cease to practice ob tbe unwary and to lead innocent men to death P Would they warn the working clauses generally P Tbe

      working classes laugh at their simplicity . The ; have uo desire for tbe destruction of property , — property which they themselves have brought into existence . They will never lift the torch , Is defence or ia despair , unit s * driven to it by tho insanity of the executive , exhibited in a succession of such " wamnga" as this threatened execution and the circumstances out of which it arose . So far then as the warning is concerned , no practically useful purpose could be accomplished thereby ; if that , therefere be tbe object for which the men were condemned , they were not merely unjustly but foolishly condemned .

      Bat they were unjustly condemned , because they had no fair chance nor opportunity of defence afforded them . They were committed not for a feloay but fur a misdemeanour , and had no idea of the nature of tha charge to be brought against them until tbe moment of tbeir appearance ia the dock . Tbe prosecution , of course , knew the course of proceeding they intended to adopt , bat they gave bo intimation of that course to their victim ?; they were allowed to solace themselves with the idea

      that should tbe vront come to tbe worst , being only charged with s mi * demeauour , a few months' imprisonment wag all they had to look to . This wa « , of coarse , calculated to make them and their friends more remiss in preparing for their defence than they might have been , bad they been aware that tbeir lives were aimed at . Gracious Heavens 1 bow noble a triumph did a powerful Government achieve ! bow gratifying mut it have been to the ingenuity and legal tact of tbe Attornby-Gbneral to have

      witnessed the amazement and the horror of three simple , uneducated , and very poor mea at finding themselves standing with a baiter round their u eks and unable , from the address with which they had been surrounded by the murderous toils to make eves tbat small effort for escape which the servieea of a legal adviser might have afforded , and with which the humanity of the country would doubt lew * have provided ( hem , had not the assassin-like caution of tbe fell prosecutors : oflcealed their purpose until the fatal spring was

      made ! Poor , they had so means of defending themselves ; the charge against them being trivial compared with many who bad to be defended by the public , their case bad been partially overlooked ; abundance of witnesses were in readiness to prove tbsir innooence , but being of their own order , they were all too poor to lose their expenses and tbeir time , while the prisoners were too poor to pay the

      expenses . Yet these were tbe circumstances under which the Attornkv-Gknkral of a mighty Government thought proper to astonish these paor men , ia a moment , with tbe information that the charge of miadkmeanor was transmuted into a charge of capital felony ; that they were instantly te answer for their lives to the allegations of witnesses with whose depositions they were unacquainted .

      Having been committed within tbe period of twenty days from tht * asgiz ?? , they had a right to traverse , tbat U , to postpone thmr trials till another year , when it might be expected tbat the excitement of public feeling would have , in some measure , subsided , eo an to afford a better hope of tbeir being tried by a dispassionate and clear-headed Jury , the poor men seem to have been ignorant of this , to them , favourable circumstance ; they had no counsel to advise with j and , for anything that appearn from onr report , the ' liberal" Attorney-General put them on their ttial , the Judge permitting him to do so , without informing them of the privilege to which they were entitled .

      They were convicted en evidence upon which no respectable man would bang a dog . One of the prinoipal witnesses against them is a ruffian , a prize-fighter of notoriously bad character , whose evidence in another case wtn discredited by the Jury . And yet , though this wub the sort of evidence on which bis case Tested ; though he knew tbat the unfortunate prisoners were taken by surprise , and were undefended : though he had heard the

      heartrending dsolaration of Roberts , tbat be had plenty of witnesses wbo could prove his absence from the scene ef riot , but was too poar to bring them to Warwick ; the Attorney-Gknkral , infullkeeping with his " Liberal" character , and that of the despicable Government winse vile tool he is , meanly condescended to use bis privilege of reply , in order that a last effort might not be wanting to bias the Jury against the selected victims of his master ? .

      It i » a most unusual thing in Criminal CourU , when a felon is undefended , for tke prosecuting Counsel to reply ; but tbe ATTOKNEY-GENERaL of a Whig Government , in a crusade against popular liberty , can afford to lose no advantage . These men were doomed to be exhibited as scarecrows to the country . They might be innocen ^ Tbat was a matter of small consequence . They were poor amd friendless , and therefore fit to furnish what the fiend of the Liverpool Times ca . Ha " a terrible proof of the power of tbe laws . "

      Had these men being guilty of tbe riot charged againBt them , and of mach greater orimeB in connection therewith , the punishment of these orimes would hate been eminently due , not to them , but to the fiends by whom they hai been entrapped , urged en , and sacrificed ; tbe very fiends by whom , in reality if not in name and appearance , at whese instigation , and for whose benefit , they were

      prosecuted—the fiends wbo planned the not , who have p lanned an abundance of other riota , and whe in divers parts of the country , are now leaving no stone unturned to goad on the people to like ill-considered acts of violence , in order that their thirst for blood may be satiated , and the throne of their domination established upon tbe continued plunder and increased sla very of tbe people .

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      There it , however , every reason , tb ^ believe , tbat these individual men , or at least tiro of them , are as perfectly innocent as , to reader perfect a Whig sacrifice to Liberalism , it is requisite they should be . The Birmingham correspondent of the Tiwm toll us that" A eaM has boen Mat « p to Lord Jobs Ruse )! which provM beyond all doubt , if the affidavits of th « deponents are to be believed , that ao far from taking any part in the riots on the nipbtefthe 15 th , b »( U * vr » ll ) wuu tfaetitteaeotnidemble distant * from tb » spot . Tbere are eight witnesses bow forthcoming who awear , is tbe flrtt place , tbat Hotrell « ra » not in the poll Riuc on tbe nigbt ia question ; and , in th » second , tbat thn man with oae leg , who actually took part in the riots , wa « a different person . Ten witaeate * bare also bow come forward to establish an aiiii en tbe part of Roberta . " Tbe Correspondent of the Morning Chronicle confirms tbe statement .

      ; The TitnesCorrespondent say»— - "It is strange , that out of these eighteen witnesses on bshalf of the prisoners , not on * tendered his evidence at tbe trial at Warwick . " The strangeness vanishes at once when it is known that , tbree of the witnesses for Howbll , two of them bis brothers , were actually in Warwick at the beginning of the Assizes , bat thai being poor men , withomt th « means of subsistence in a » trange place , and he havisg no means of sust lining them , they were compelled , by sheer poverty , on his trial txing postponed for two or three days , to leave biifl to his fate . Eobebt * obriated this surprise by telling the Ceurt , — " Where Justice , not unmixed with Merer "

      ever should preside , that be had plenty of witnesses but ieas toopsor to bring them . A Court ot savages would hai e been moved with pity at such a declaration , n . ord « we believe it could have beea made vainly to any but an English Whig Tribunal bee t up » a wresting incidental matters to tbe furtherance of political ends . It was wade vainly :- < he men are condemned ; and tjbeir livesare now at tbe mercy ef the Crown , the Crown being held ia leading strings by tbe political villains who procured their condemnation .

      If any thing cau exceed tbe atrocity ef Government in this most despicable of all their despicable and moat ferocious of all their ferocious exhibitions , it is the meanness , tbe truckling servility , and tbe disgusting bypoerisy of the Judge , before whom this ca 0 e waa tried . Well indeed does a talented contemporary observe that tbe following passage reported from his speech seems incredible from its absurdity : —

      •?• The Learned Judge having pat on his head the black cap , Mid—• You , Jeremiah Howell , Hraocii Roberto , aud John Joue » , have been convicted of a etpital felony . An Act was paued about two year * ago abolubing tbe capital pnnbhment ia many caies , but this , I regret , did not form one of the exMptioiu . It still remains a capital offence . I tee no around * upon whici 1 can recommend yoa to mercy , and 1 knps tke example I am about to make will produce beueticial affects . ' " The glaring hypoerisy and conspicuous meanness cf ibis sentence of Judge Littlkdale ' s are fully equal to its absurdity . The ' Learned Judge regretted forsooth that the offence of which the prisoners had been convicted was still capital . His

      gentle heart o ' erwam with feeling tbat Englishmen should be yet liable to be hanged for beginning to pull down a dwelling-house or stable ; but so it was ; and he couldn ' t help it . The Jury bad said that these' men had begun to pull down Messrs . Bournes' shop , and the law said they must be hanged for it . But there was yet a power above the law , by whose merciful intervention the execution of the law might be averted . In cases where palliating circumstances could be found , it was his duty , as a Judge , to recommend to that high power the tempering of the law ' s severity by mercy ; but he saw no ^ ground upon which to recommend these prisoners to mercy !

      What ! was tbere no ground for mercy , in the fact of the poor men ' s having been cajoled , outwitted , and betrayed—tricked out of their lives , committed for a misdemeanor—and then tried for a capital offence ? Was there no ground for mercy in the sorrowful appeal of Roberts to the mercy of Court ; he haviDg plenty of witnesses , but being too poor to bring them ? Was there no ground of recommendation to mercy in tbe fact of their being convicted under an act which he regretted was in existence . Bab ! The

      varlet ! Why thus gratuitously insult bis victims ? Why not cast aside tbe flimsy garb of coarse hypocrisy , and , putting on the proper front , have said , "You , jEREMrAH Howbll , Frances Roberts , and John Jones , having been committed at the instigation and suit of a faction for a misdemeanor , and having been by the artful wiies of that faction prevented of the due means of mating your defence , have been by the further manoeuvres and contrivances of that faction convicted of a

      capital offence , whereby your Jives are forfeited to the operation of a law which ought to h we been long since swept from our statute book , but which has been permitted to remain thereon , in order that itn aid might be sought upon occasions like tbe present one . I think your case a very hard ene . I think that you are cruelly and unfairly dealt with . I could save you by a word speak iag to the Sovereign ; but the Go-vernment need a few scarecrow * at th ' m time , and you being poor and frieadlesi man will suit admirably for tbat purpose ; therefore , as I owe them some gratitude for having made me a judge , and as the pickings of the privileged orders , to which I belong , can only be

      upheld by tbe suppression of popular liberty , to tbe effecting of which your immolation is thought necessary , I shall certainly net recommend you to mercy . You are doomed victims , and must prepare yourselves accordingly . ' This would have been a proceeding infinitely more manly , to aay the least of it , than the odious whine of regret coupled with a wilful blindness to the ground on which mercy might be extended . What , however , is the duty of the people ? Will they suffer the " example" to be made without making an effort to prevent it ? Will they crouch while the truncheon of oppressive despotism ' cleaves the air and lights with fatal energy upon their brethren in successive order ?

      We feel assured tbat we kuow the people of England too well ; they will not suffer this Whig gibbet to be erected without putting forth tbeir energies to despoil it of its trappings . The men must be saved , if human power aud energy can save them . We are sorry to © bserve too much disposition to put trust in Whig lenity . There seems to be a general opinion that the Government will of itself mitigate the sentence . Let not our friends believe it . It will be the fi » t time that a Whig

      Government ever spared its own victims . Let them remember tbe Whig riots and the fires at Bristol , the executions for which were not expected , yet they came . And these will come unless prevented by the people . But how to prevent them ? Do we recommend , as Home are mad enough to do , physical violence for that purpose ? Would we have tbe gaol fired and the prisoners rescued—the law defied aad society disorganised ? Certainly not ; for tbat would merely pave the way for the repetition of like scenes upon a larger scale .

      We would have the peopl » act boldl y , &&ergetic «]] r butns leefolly » nd constitutionally . Let them address the Queen . Let memorials , couched iu the strongest but most respectful language , be poured upon fcer from all parts of the coantry . Let all the circumstances of the case ; the poverty of themes , and tieir cmwequeiK inability to rebut the legal talent , cumniHg , and subtlety , employed against them ; tbeir being committed for the minor offence and tried for themsjoroue ; and , above all , tbeir innocence , as attested by th * witnesses who could have proved it at the trial if permit % d ;—let all these be laid respectfully before tor Majesty , in memorials signed by hundreds of thousands from all parts of tbe

      Untitled Article

      couatry , and let . th « Mimrtry , if tfcey dare , oppose their dictum to the ia&jenee of Ae « e memorials . Xhe responsibility will then rest with them , and a fearful responsibility will it be ; for if they de bat once succeed in convinringthe incredulous people of this whele . country that the reign of terror bat indeed begun ; that there is indeed no security—no protection—for labour , liberty , or life , they will certainl y find that this insecurity tends not to enhance tbe security of property , and that their experimental precedents upon a small scale may be followed ia most fearful earnest . i

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      NATIONAL DBFBNOS FUND . We have received from tke Nottiaghaai Treasurer the following sams : — £ . s . a . Qainton'sCloM , Old Buford , by Win . Hemingway OS » No . U , B * ead Marsh factory .. .. . ~ ° .: 0 4 , 0 I « ob Grees , by John Stoke * .. .. .. .. i ll Robinson '* Factory , New Biifotd .. .. .. 1 0 Mr . Keely's black ajers , by Norman .. .. 088 Artificen resident in Nottingham , employed sot 100 mile * from Blngbam .. ... " .. 0 18 1 Ni , wL . ntom , b 7 Mr . BottOck 1 7 11 W flreen , bj Mr . PIatt « .. .. .. .. 0 10 1 | Mr . AUtirWiahop .. .. 012 , Mr . / owobSimnoM o 8 6 , NewBaaford . Br . l . Be . rdaai .. 0 10 ?| Ison Green , byLerv . tt .. .. 0 8 8 ' _ . !>•¦ do . .. .. .. .. .. 0 18 9

      Calvertoa ... .. .. . i q $ Hiddle and Birkin ' s Factory , New Baaford .. .. 1 0 61 Charles Roberts .. .. .. „ .. o 2 10 i Mr . J . Swvet .. .. .. .. .. .. 0 7 . * 10 i j Baoks , pest , peneUt , fte ., 0 6 lv ' '

      Jt . 9 U 9 From tb » Radical Aastdatioa Darby £ l 10 0 . From DaBformli « e Uairenal Stffnge Association 2 0 From ta » Kinross Radical Aa *> ei » tion .......... 1 0 9 A few Boot-makersat'Livetpool ........ 0 18 0 Liverpool Working Men ' s Association .. ... 10 12 e From tbe folUwing places in Perthshire : — Tuiioeh . iy :... ;^ ...................... " o ' i % ¦ County or AugtW . ^ « . i .. ' .... 1 0 0 ' ! Dunblane 2 10 e ' C * llander .. i . » „¦• 1 -1 . 0 Metbrea ....,.. * ,.......,.. 0 W © Doune 10 0 NewScone 10 0 Radical * in th * Can » of Oowrie .......... 2 o 0 Collected at a Fkbias Lodge , by Archibald Pome , Dike of Manie

      098-jtlG 8 O From Manchester , per i . Heywood 0 » « „ do . by aa Operative Tailor ...... 0 1 0 ,, da . by % Friend to the Defence Fund ... ; .. o 1 0 From Halbeath , Crocs Gates , Fordell , and Dembieatle Associations .. .. ,. ........ 6 8 0 . je % . \ % . Od . ef tbe abere ano is tor the National Defence Fund aad 15 s . for tbe Conrentioa Fund from Halbeath . Will the parties pletae to gay what the other amounts from Cress Gates , Fordell , and Dembrestle are for . Mr . Heorn , Suffolk , would get tbe work * he writes iboull itber from Mr Cltare , London , ot Mr . Darken Norwich . ¦ .,,. -. ' Milton , Kent . —W . Nuraaca . knot supplied from onr office : be most apply to the Agent wbo tends bis Paper . D . Ecott . —Tbe Papers were seat by p « at , » nd , if chawed * it wm a defraud of tbe Poatmaatcn . A . HEVWOOD— His papera wen the last that were posted ; therefore Cook ' i oaght to hare been delivered aa soon aa Hey wood ' s at the leatt .

      Specimens have this week been forwarded for Metcalf , Houghton LeeSpring , and Williams and Binns , to frame : Newcastle , for Mrs . White , to R . Csrruther * . ABHBURTON , DEVON —We will send Portrai ts for Samnet Mann and tbe otber . * , in a few weeks . . Henry Sherwood —He cannot bare them at any price Leamington Wqrking Men most excuse a * . We < aa < not waste time and space on tbe contemptible drirelle to whose ia * U « » b * y hwe pointed oar attention . Let tbe poor wretch die of hi * own notbingsew : why * honld we gtv ^ bim importance ? The Huddersfield And Bradford news Parcels were both received aft r n > . n on Thursday : not a word from eitoer of them can appear , par friends if they intend their tbeir communications to be inantad Bau . t attend to ibe rales we bare * o often pnbt Iwbed , and which we are compelled to attend to . rVe cannot take budget * of news , extending ovei tbe whole week , on Tbnr * day . We can take nothinc on that day bnt sneb matter as may bare occurred on Wednesday .

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      Foresters' Cotjbt . —On Sundaj week , at Barnalej , two very impressive eermoaa were preaebed by Mr . Jobn Attbd , of Bradford , in aid of the National Defence Fond , wben collections were made amounting to £ 2 8 s . The money will be forwarded to tbe West-Biding Fond . Gx , obiotj 6 Demonstration . —Never in tbe annals of our town has there been such a moral disJ play of noble-minded men , determined to burst the nuholy chains of tyranny which fetter them , as there have been on that ^ ver-to-be-recoried day , the National Holiday . Eafly in the meniiug , though

      apparently dull and gloomy , the people were seen moving to and fro , and all impatient for the ap « pointed time—eleven o ' clock ; which was to pre ^ sent to tbeir taskmasters tbeir moral display . Aa soon as the time arrived tbe people , amounting in number to twelve thousand or upwards a * gemblec [ on May-day Green , when Mr . P . Hoey waa called to the chair amid loud acclamations . He britfly stated the objeete of the meeting , and requested of the friends assembled to return to tfaeir homea . peaceably . The meeting waa addressed by Mr ^ Joseph Wilkinson , who proposed the fallowing reso . Intion , which was seconded by Mr . Win . Donvil : —

      "That this meeting do memorialize her Majesty to dismiss her ministers , and call to her connoilf ministers who will make the Peeple ' a Charter and a Repeal of the Union between Greit Britain ani Ireland ' Cabinet measures . " Carried unanimously . The memorial recommended by tbe Council of tht Convention was adopted . Tbe attention of tbe meeting was called to another memorial , which was to addreaa the Queen t ( mitigate the punishment of the Birmingham cri < rainals , wben the following resolution was moved b ] Mr . Amos Maudsley , and seeoaded by Mr . Jamet Murphy ; -

      " That we , the inhabitants of Barnsley and ib environs view with Borrow the late convictions ii Warwick , and do hereby petition her Majesty t < grant those 'poor mea a mitigation of capita punishment , " The memorial of the Council was then adoptei as in the former case , and tables were placed in th ? various parts of the town with petition sheet )! which are signing with cheerfulness . Tbe chair man then commented on Lord John Russell ' , assertion in the Commons' House of Parliament that the Chartists only wanted to change the * place with them on account of their property , and pro tested that if be thought any such idea existed , h

      would not be a Chartist one moment longer . H then asked the meeting if suob were their ideai and if not , to deny the assertion by a sbow c hands , which was unanimous . Notice was tbe ; given to the people that a proceseien would tak place at four o ' clock , which took place accordingly but to give any account of the numbers woald b impossible . Suffice it to say that the processioi wag upwards of a mile long , eight deep ; afte which the people assembled on the Green , forminj themselves in a solid ring ronnd the Green . The then closed together , and beard a portion of th debates in Parliament read . The chairman the ) dissolved the meeting , requesting of the people , ( wh were perfectly ; sqber throughout the day , for not on drunken person « told be seen . ) to return to thei

      homes peaceably , and by no means to disturb th . peace of the town , which was accordingly done Tbe Barnsky band , who have attended on all occa sios 8 , gratuitously made their appearance early i the morning , and enlivened the cheerfulness of th day by patriotic airs . When their meeting dii pereed the cavalry made their appearance on tb Kama ground which was previously occupied by th meeting , headed by Mr . Thorneley , one of ia magistrates . Tbe army and specials were a ' - i attendance ; after which they patrolled tbe U t cleared the public-bouses , and all passed over a if nothing bad occurred . —We have received pe Railway Labourers £ 1 10 s . ; and also from Dods w « tb , 15 i . 43 ., which please to acknowledge a received by the Barnsley Union .

      BIBMZNGrHAM . DkpbnckTvnd . —YTe have bees reqeested , b a few friends at Birmingham , to SOtiee the followiD sums received for tbe defence of Messrs . Brow and Fussell : — £ s . d . Our Walsall Friends 1 2 5 The Socialists of Birmingham .. 2 13 10 Friends of Dudley ...... 0 13 9 Received from Stourbridge .... 2 0 0 Paid to Mr . Brown , at Stourbridge Ol ° _^ . Received , including the above sums , at various times 19 15 & Expended ia promoting their Case 2 M _ 1 _ I Balance in hand 1 10 3

      The Southern Star. Saturday, August \F. ^^^^B^H^H^M^Mmm^Hssi^Iiiiiiisiii^Hiit^T^Iii^Iii^Iii^Iiivimi^Iii^

      THE SOUTHERN STAR . SATURDAY , AUGUST \ f . ^^^^ B ^ H ^ H ^ M ^ MMM ^ HSSi ^ iiiiiiiSiii ^ Hiit ^ t ^ iii ^ iii ^ iii ^ iiiViMi ^ iii ^

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      MR . STEPHENS'S TRIAL . " vVb nave waited till tbe la * t moment af going to press , bnt have received no intelligence , except that tbe day of trial has been altered to this daj ( Thursday ) or Friday—we know not which . We » h&ll , therefore , give tbe report at fnll length in oar next .

      To Readers & Correspondents.

      TO READERS & CORRESPONDENTS .

      Bab1tslby.

      BAB 1 TSLBY .

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      THE IRISH MISSION . Oar readers are aware tbat , in consequence of a communication from our brethren in Dublin , the Council of the Convention sent Mr . Lowry and another Delegate as Missionaries to Ireland , to endeavour to establish a union of sentiment and action between the Chartists of both countries ; and we are hsppy to state that letter * have been received from Mr . Lowet , containing the mos :

      cheering account of their reception in the Irish capital , and a well-founde i hope that by perseverance the oppressed , insulted , and legraded serf of the Absentees and Arixtocracy of tbat unfortunate oountry wiil ye brought to a sense ot their true interest , and join hand and heart wi ; h their brethren on this side the channel in tbe grand effort to recover tbe long Jose rights of both .

      Untitled Article

      4 THE KORTHEay fTAl ; Aroirsf \ 1 , 1333 , Hi ^ Hi ^ ivS i ^ iMH

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Aug. 17, 1839, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct357/page/4/