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Northern Star (1837-1852), 17th August 1839, Edition 2 of 5, Page 6, MR. STEPHENS'S LAST SER11OS. "

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    • MR. STEPHENS'S LAST SER11OS. "
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      "We this week present our readers with the person * f the He * . J . H . Stephens wiieh was omitted last week « account of an extraordinary inflax of more important matter . ¦ Ur . STEPHENS said—1 havemticb . to ray to too tins afternoon ; more , 1 aai a ' raid , than the weather , jour patieEce , and my o ^ -n strength mjl allow me to say . If , therefore , my words be fefl-, I hope yon ¦ will find them to be -well chotta , to be the o&tward and tisibla body of the ia . war , l and spiritual mind , to eomrey to your understanding , and to carry down into jonr hearts the meaning of those thinf s which I bow , for the last rime asocgst you , have it in my ttiItk ? to communicate at all . 1 come hero to bid

      y > Q all farewell—to takemjWvecfYou—not , I hope , for ever . ( No , no ; we hope cot . ) Not perhaps for long—{ not above a w&ek , God grant it)—bot still , whether for long or for short , I ^ eera it right to Bet ay hcBse—xad yoH are my building , which I hare tarilded—( Aye , and hear , hear)—1 deem it right to vet my own house in order , whether I may hare to lire amongst you , as you and I hare fondly hoped , xx whether your lot is to be cast where it has ihfcerto been , whilst my lot stiil rests in the purposes vtd counsels of Heaven . I wish , before 1 say any tiring furtker this afternoon , to set right taat rhics some hare mads to b . s understood wrongJy amonext you- ( Hear , hear . ) It has been represented in this tows , that , last Send * -, I h » d taken a Jfcal farewell

      cf you . If any understood it so , 1 did not say it so . < No , do . ) All that I said at that time was , &ad ail tiat I sail ray is , tist if it be the will of < iod that » yo « tice and oppreirioa , vni . grieyoMi wrong -shosld bear rule in our courts of law , as th ? y bear rule in © orii ^ h conrt of Parliament , ani if through fhatin-Justice , and oppression , and wrong , I ba carriod from the dock to the don . feon , my sina and my body are b » & prepared for what in tha £ case ga&n ' &wsat me , even that career of suffering would not take ma at tmawares . I told my Ashian friend . * , isst ^ Sicday , that it ssi ^ ht so happen , es it s ? ems to be the order « f the day , ju * t now to hang men first , and to try & « b afterwards—it may « o happen that I may have been doomed by a powerful , for the presmt moment

      8 a OHiniporeEt , government , as for m eartn and hell iarelent taem their united power *—that governxoeotBivrb * strong enough to doom my body to jests cf ksprisoffieat aad bondage . ( Loud cries « I - No , no . " ; if so 1 bid you farawell , and wa shall sot in that case s- ? e each other ' s faces perhaps for a loag season . If however justice is to be had in the koly of holiea of her own saactRsrr—if , ho ^ erer , xiglit and truth , and ? oodnes ?» and fair dealing , and g wagacded law are to be nrsrded between an infidel Government and a permeated poor person—I ay nothing of mercy—I want it not from my fellow a * n . —I ask it , I seek it alone of God before whom we are ail alike guilty —( aye , that is mercy , *—bat if light is to be had . tien ai I told tbemlast Sundav

      K > I teU you it will be needful for me as yon hear the sormd , the -weak tone of a once powerful Toice , -a wice that could shaka the earth , and make tbe Jaavens rir > jr , but which now can only be heard a few yards cS , but weak as it is it can make hell to tremisk still—It will be needful * or me tLen for the jtsks of Ely health , which in this rr ^ pect is Tery muck brakes—to lea-re yon fcr a -while , p * rhap . « ss loaf as twelve months— but 1 did set saj , nor did I m ?« n when I to , & tiisra on Sunday la ^ t , that . it night take at least twelvemonths to get my strength back again—that 1 dhtuld never , durir-g ' ti-it tim ? came over and « ea you , coma amosg ? t you to talk with you and to talk to vou . My purpose , as yon well know , always has been to abide tnd remain

      wiih and amongst you , so long as it should , to rsy tnin ^ xui to jour * , appear to be the will of Go ' i that we ihoald have our connexion together . My purpose , rherafore . r ? iaair : s what it always bs * s Deal , aui -1 h ~ pe that some means may be provided to enable -me at one and the sauae time , if it be your good pl ~ a « sre , as i ; i& , . n that cs « e , my wish trt eststhine to officiate amongst von occa-icnally , and to regain mj health , which you are aware has be ? a Yffrymach weakened—almost destroyed—and then if Gad should see fit to give me back that strength which I have lost . I hope not only to remain y mongst ~ cu , bnt to coins more Tii . 1 t and more ¦ broadl y forward tban ever among * : tha ' peopl ? , and carry te ijs end—to its great acd God-like

      termination , that cause what our Heavenly Father ha « « iable-i me to be-zin . ( H -ar , hear , hear . ) 1 look upon it that ike work which God has for the people of England to do , is hirdly yet begun—can scarcely b * said as jet to baTe tiken Bny deflaire and t * nf ible siape—any visible and jvrcepriDle form . Up to this honr all , mo e or le » s , ka « b ? en prepar&tcrr work , preparing tbe way cf the Lord—making some ef his patfiii straight . Vou and I acd our Mio * - eonntrynien who arc going ever a thousand hill . * , in tlioasand raliie * Ja ej ' -rj co"cry , almost of the fiira ^ kingdonis of EazlaEd- ' Sco ^ an-j , acd Ireland , oar fallow cosntryiiwii -up to this hour have been trying by the help of tbe Lord to mike the crocked paths su-aigkt—to ms . ke tbe rcugh places smooifeit

      to puli do ^ u the kf . y Lil ! top and tumble dow 3 . its sloping siie into" the depths beneath , that tbe Tallies mijfhtbe filled up , aud that the * a higbw ? . y of troth asdrighteon- > E ? ss . and l ^ ve mizbt be mj defer tbe Lord our God—for tao leader of m-n , for the Iseajpr of men , for tbe helper of men , for the deliverer of men , for the saviour of men—for the Imraanne ? , God with , ns , whose word is a gospel « f glad tidinzs of great joy , wh-eh s ' aall be to aS people . ( Hear , he ^ T , hear . ) Ail the nadoss < jf tbe earth , it says in o ^ e place , and all families of tie earth , it says in another place . ah-A ] be bieised by tie -woman' . * se ? d—br Abrahan's son , by re babe of Beihlrirm . by G > i ma-ie fie # h corr . irig asioE ? men to unfold and make krso "n

      tfee will of the Fath-r , acd to set up an everlasting . kingdom—a kingdom of righteousness of which there shall be no eud , sad in ths iir . d 5 i of ¦ which t 2 « re shall be nothirg tkat mairth z He . If you wBl rea-3 some of tbe lasr 7 ajsae ? s in the four Ev ' anceiistsin which our Lord is foretelling the corning ooom that was to befel and overtake the JewisS people , and through which , as divines tell y « n , he likewise foreshadowed end wiybei to draw oat to joureya the day of final rvribation and judgmenr , ^ ou wulmeet with ti . i « , st ih ? prf seat m : > ment , highly xmoortant and characteriitic feature ^ L . ich our Lord said vraa to be one of the tokens of these times ; o COTtte , and which I tate to be a steading tok-n , an xxachacjriag and uuchtnzeabls * ign of evarv rimiUr

      timo of retribution and of jndgaent which is fr : B ¦ fee presence of tae Lord . I wi < h to correct a mistake into » hich divines writing aad preickin ^ on this subject have almost , without excepdoa , . fallen . They tell you that our Lord meant t ' s ' e destruction of Jerusalem , and the dispersion of the Jews ; aaa that he likewlsft mrant to prefigure the day of ju-ig-^ ieat , when all shall hive to appear before the jadgmeat-sea : of God , and receive according to their ^ eeds , whedier ticy be good or whether they be eni . I wish to impress upon ycur miuds anoihpr meaning which these passages not only will b- ? ar , but which they are intended to convey—a meaning ¦ which . I hold te be the nost important , because the mo * t practical , mianins that can be a-tached to

      them . Our L ^ rd , then , means that it will again be tbe case in after ages ; and we are one of the after * gea—we lire in one cf the eras or periods of time in which the great purposes of Heaven are in the process of evoladoa , coming- sat of tbe dark c ] oa < i . in which they are wrapped , into ths blaza and the « 1 « 7 ol opea day , making known tho intentions of Providence to us . Christ in these passages wishes So * hew us that as Jerusalem was destroyed , so Paris thali be destroyed—so Madrid shall bs ' destroyod—• o London shall be destroyed—so Edinburgh " , and &aagow , and Manchester , and Stalybridge , and A » h . ton shad be df s ' . royei , if and when Ashton , and Stajybridge , and Manchester , and Glasgow , and Xdinbnrgk , and London , and Paris , and Madrid

      shall fall into tho same sins , and do the same d » edi which the people of Jcdea . committed . ( Hear , liear . ) Jesus Christ means to shew us that in other times , in aJ ag-s , ani to the end of time , tnat the same Eins are seen in tbe sime Hght by the all-• eeing eye of God ; that whatever we may think cf tkeai , or however we may Look upeu them , he judges r ighteous judgment , and isfiicu that which is ju-t ptmislmiea : -npDn erll doer * . J brlieTe that Go ! i ? jaov lissdbg , bj iLs Prcrid-nce . sntTia tea ta-jn-Baad tokens of tae liraa * , precisely ia the attituda- ^ is matainujg acd exbibidng exactly the character , which Jesus Christ fuscained and m&nifejred , when te atcoi before the congregated myriads of Judea , aad said to them , from th * bro ^ - of yonder hili , ** Oh Jerusalem ! Jerusalem ! thou that tilleds ^ th *

      prophets , an-I stonest thesi that are seat unto thee , bow often—how often wosl . i I have gathered thv children together , as a hen gaiher ^ th her brood aaaer hrr viegg , but ye would nor . 1 would , but yewoaldnot ; and , therefore , behold nowyourhouse xi let unto you desolate r England stands to-day « « ^ d ea stood 1 . 800 yero e . go . Laadon is to-dav , aad every city , and towa , aad hamVt of our countfv likewise , what Jer ^ salein was LS 03 jesr ^ ago—a Und o , aho 3 iiaation ; cities , to was . houses , and isads that are full of Mood . What was it for which J udaa was destroyed , and : hat one stcna was not te : t riding upon another ? The Roman ploughr fsare clava tbe esrtti b ? : wee =, tumbled down and

      » cj * ped up vhsvery foandatioa-stcnes of the citv and au wtu waste and a . J was a wilderness , ani the p eople were slua with the sword , and the ' rsridue of teem wer » Bcattare , a r-muant that nero- cosld " v i ^ n ?> and - thst neTer co ^ 1 ( i be aito-Mthsr dispersed aad dssrroyed ; and I a > k whv was all this : It wn because the priesw , and the ' prin . «« ! the elders of the people , the shepherd * of tbe flock , utae stead of tracking them right told them wrong ; in tte stead of leading them in the right , lead tham ia the wron ? , and ou : of the right way ' < Hear , hear . ) They kept the key of knowledg- ; ' thej would neither go in themselves , nor would they let rhB peopb go in that wanted to eo ia . Christ

      sjits so hvnaeu ol them ; and yea wid say k > of vour eil ^ n cf England to-day . ( Hear , tear . ) They Itsr © the key ; they keep the key ; they hare tarn- > d the key in the lock ; they have bolted ssd barred the door ; thej Lava set the

      Untitled Article

      . * 8 Q !* sirif » tu keep ^ ard "i £ ihe 36 o " r ; bludgeons with blue , and « pears with r .-d stand on each « de and in front of the door of the house of knowledge , the house of -wisdom , the house of truth , tbe horse of righteousness , the house of God ' s law , and fair play and evenuAn / ed dealing—the house of domestic heppinegs , of social comfort—they neither go in themselves , nor will they suffer other * te go in that hAte a mind to go in ( hear hear , and "tfae "/ j Rnd ai God destroyed the Jets , so will he destroy the English , ml-si we repent and do works meet for repentance . The Jews were scatter *^ and their capital was destroyed , because oppre * sion prevailed tbrongh the land . So striking was Ibis the case , that when Christ came to speak of the day of judgment , and so to represent it to tho people t > 5 to

      enable tbrsnto understand tae principles that would stride the debberation * of th * t day , he told them that , when ail should stand before that bar—when the Jadge should pmid « and the books should be opened , that every ( me would ba judged according to these p rinci p le *—what principles ?—in theology ? in dinnity ? in ecclesiastic science ? in polirical economy ? Yes , political economy , ecclesiastical science , dmmty and theologr . Bat wherein do all these coasfst ? of what is their true nature made up ? in what way do they make themselves known to men ia such wise as to be approred of God ? Why in this way—in this wise only -. —Jesus Christ says thatGoi , after he had sundered the BUtep from the goats—putting the sheep , that is the good men , on the right hand , and the goats , that is tke bad meo

      on ths left hand—he will say to tboaa on the right ba ^ d , " come in : tome up higher and higher , nearer and nearer to tee footstool of the throne of God ;" and -when they ask " what have we dene that the honours of thy kingdom should be conferred upon us V Christ will say unto them , ** when I was hungry ye gaye me meat ; when I was iisrrfy ye gave me " drink ; wk-en I was sick y » Tisited me ; when I was naked and without covering yo tfcthed ma ; when 1 was a stranger , lonosome , wandering , and heart-broken , ye took me in , made me a brother , cheered my heart , and lifted up say drcoping head ; and when 1 was in prwoo , cast off , condemned , suffering an unj' ^ t , ot eveo , perhaps , a just seateace—when I was in pri « dn ye broke erery &ar of opinion and prejudice , sad -cast away , yen

      leaped ever erery store that fashion and the ways of man had thrown in tho way—yon beret the bars of my dungeon , thus morally , and cxme and ywited me in prison , and comforted sae in prison—come ye blessed of my father ; take the kingdom ; it is yours ; it is prepared for you from before the foundation of tho world . " Ana when these pen shall ask " Lord , when did we do all this ? " it shall be answered * ' inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the leas ! of these "little ozes "—what little ones ? Open your era ? , apd see ths ^ gbe * tis the spirits of babes drowned in your canals—of broken-hearted women , •• hose lovers bsv » been untrue , whose husbands have died aud i *\\ ' u « m with a lead too heavy to carry—these ri » i" * up tboje epirits of thos ^ babes and those motl-ers : open your eyes and see these

      bastile doors fly oppi at the sound of the trump of God . Londoi : Police ' . isake way . ' yoa catnot stand before that sonud : i '~ i * one will endte your devilmaster trfmlle . ( "He will , he will . "; Oat of yon . br house of blood—oh , how the earth cracks and op « ns -wide her month—yonder grave yard ^ of Poor Law Union honsrs—for they die so tkick , tfcey die so last , and they 0-io so broken up before they are deai , that th > -y dare not allow their friends to lx > k at them—they dare not allow their neighbours to lock at them—they dare not alluw lie leypayers to look at the coffins of many that are six fret in height , ard that only need to be about .- ? b ? half of the breadth of vo ^ r .- —they dare

      not allow it , they dare not suffer tluin to be bunei ia tie charch yard for fe ^ r of breeding a plague and a pesiilence throHiboat the ) aud—yonder crave yards crack and open wid- their mouth * , and tbe spirits of the slaughtered p » or , and the spirits ol tho murdered fatherless and widows , aud the helpless ones and the nesdy , ri-e and wing their way to heaven and stand at God ' s r itnt hand . _ ( Aye , aye . ) And when the gocd man asks his Saviour in what way he ever fed and elothed , and visltc-d and defended the Lord of earth and ski-s , Jesns pcints to yonder once unhappy , knt n-n redeemed , children of men , and he sa y * " ina . « m : ; ch as ye have done is unto one of tha les '« t of these tuv servants , the members of my

      family , the subjects of my government , tee objects of my especial providence , yon have don » it unto me ; come up ye biessad of ' iay father , inherit th » - itngdom prepare 1 for you . " I need not run through t > ie " par » llr-l on the other side ; it is enough that religion , Christianity , the failh and practice of the gospel eon > i « ta in rsiting the widow and the fatherless , and in kee p ing onrs ^ hes UEspctted from the world . If , therefore , th ? re be apy truth , any wor ; h , any power in these rc-prdsentarioc ? of religion , it is evident , my friends , that when Je * u < Christ , iu theite p 3 . * ia < es to which 1 havp directed your attention , as showing to you the priucipltfS on which the government of God Is conducted upon the earth , he intends us to understand that , if Wt * Jike « i * e sin . we shall like ^ -ie be s ' ain ; and I believe , as I said to yon beforf , that we are now arrived at tLe period when

      Gsd is saying to us for the last rime , " How often—Iiot of ! ea would 1 have gathered you as a nation , t-ken yen under roy especial protection , as a h ^ n gathe-s her brocd unier her wings , but ye would not ! " Go ^ , in my judgment , is now giving to England ier last " opportunity —( hear , bear ); we are now at the eleventh hour of the dav ofcursalvation —( h ? ar , hear);—re are now favoured with an Opportunity of lighting onr lam ?» , of following tho bn If groom , o * entering in to the marriage supper . But yet a littl * wbi )<\ and if -we will neither hear hi * word nor forbear our o ^ n wirkednes . s it wil l be sai d of us as it was said of the foolish vi-gin ? " The daor was shut ; " and eur door of mevy from God , and the hape of salvation will likewise be shn ?; and we skill be le ' t as a people in outward aud in utter

      darkness . ( Hear , fear , hear . ) My brethren , pray God to allow his spirit to linger , and to strive yet a little while logger amongst us . There is a very remarkable tok « a ^ iven t » us by Jesus Christ to which it would be well that we p hould take heed . He says that whenever the Sob of Man is aboct to com *—and by the coining of the s : > n of man I understand any and every great ch&ngo which the providence of Go " d according to the purpose * of his dvvine wisdom is about to make to happen in the world—that whenever my Bcch change is about to take place , then it maybe said that the son of man isa-bontto appear , and Chriit says that when thas" 5 chacg-. H are about to come ; when they are near at the door and at our very feet—that one of the sigrs of hvs coming , of the coining of these changes will be that many false

      Christs will aris « . ( Aye . ) Tiiink a moment what the word of ChrUt means , and who the maj * Christ Jesti * wa » . '" His name xhali be calltd Jesus because he shall save bis people from their sins . " That it the meaning of the word ' Jessa '; that is the character of the missien to which be was appointed—to save iis people from their sin 3 ; in other words to heal as a physician doe ?; to bind up every wound ; to heal every sickBess and disease to which onr heans and our earth , the social state in which we li * e may , for the time being happen to be subject . Now Christ say ? , that , whenever he is about thus to come to heal the wounded , that many false Christs will arise . One will gay , " Lo . ' here is Christ ; " in other words , one will say . " Do this and all will be well . " Others will say , "Lo ! nere ii

      Christ ; " that i ? , " Adopt this plan , and all will be right . " Others will anse again , and make promises of a different description ; and by this means the minds of the people will be distracted , the attention of the people will be drawn off , and the end of God will appear to be frustrated , by the want , among ths people , of that unity of thought and siEultaneousne ^ s of action , without which it would seem God , throngh any people , cotdd not act . That is precisely the case just now . All men are agreed in oeh'ericg that we are en the ere of a change , and a very great change , a very awful change , and perbaps a very suddan change . No two men are agreed u to the way in which we ought to be ready to abide that chacgA , and meet that change , and to encounter all th * se things which that change may send

      amongst us as forerunners of its coming , i on may tfll me that you are well aware of this . state of the public mind , and that you are equally well a * are of tbi * character of tbe public c-unsela—if th&tmay be ca'l ^ d counsel in which there is no unariiaity of thooght , no unity of purpose , no nnammity of action . Yon m&j ask me whether amongst all these schemers , I do not incUde mya-. Tf , and whether , amongstall those plans I have not another to add to the number ? I tell you , without fear of being challenged as one who does aot speak the troth , that i am no schemer , and I tell you further , as one who heeds not whether he be call-d a fool for it ornoN ** I have no scheme for you;—I am not a false Christ ; 1 havs never set myst-lf up , nor raised air voiceerring to tbe people , " Lo ! here is Christ ;

      , or , Lo ! there i * Chriit / ' If 1 hare , tell me where . ( ' Aye , aye . " ) If I ha-ve , teil me wherein . If I have " , tell me in what way . I know there are whisperers who whiz it out , aud buz it amongst you that Stephens is changed —( hear , h ^ ar , hear , )—that he said a great deal last Sunday that was very unlike anything h-i ever said bafore . Will those srnall Meads of yours , but right down good friends of mi-. e—for they give me another chance of talking — -irill those small friends of yours s&y openly anil tt once wherein is Stephens changed ? In what has Stephens ever said one word that upset any one » ..-rd that he ever said before ? { Hear , hear . ) U

      it any news to th » people at Stalybridge to hear Stephens te ' . l them ho is no Radical ? ( " No . " ) Is that news ? Is there one man in A . * hton or Stalybr idge , or Lancashire , or England , that ever heard Stephens say he was a Radical ? Is there ODe man in Ctalybriige , or Asaton , or Hyde , or Lancashire , or England , that has ever heard Stephens talt , whfea he came at all f > speak on that subject , thit ha ? tot htard Stephens say , again and again , thu ie n ? ver was a Radical , and by the help of God n « rer would be a Radical . I never quarrelled with yon for being Radicals , did I ? Nor did I ever try to put you out of conceit with your Radicalism , did I ? Kor did I ever try to win OTer one mau from th «

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      rants 61 ftttdic * U « n ? 1 alwsT » -told you iu < it i believed , if there were in the ranks of any party more honest men , go- ^ d brothers- ^ sound and true to God and their neighbour , than in tbe ranks of any other party , it was in the Radical ranks . I always ^ j 1 ( j you that . Ths majority of the £ ecp !« of Jiglan-a are Radicals by ttelr own profession ; and by - my own experience I had found the majority \) f the people of England to be honest mea , and -disposed to be tru ^ -heatted brothers . But I "was no ^ going t © be a Radical go that account . Ia it pty news to anybody kereaway to be told that Stephen fcever tras & Brickler—much less that Stephens ever meant to be a fi < hter about tha fire point *? Why , when your brethren at A&hton chouo ine to ba their representative in the Convention of th . e > mdeatriouaclasocn .

      did not I tell you then , again , and again , that I did not care two straw * ubimt &e five points ; that if I went to London , 1 vould not present a petition which I had nofc « gued , and which I would rather my tongue clsave to tfee roof of my month than I would say awotd to induce anybody to sign . ( Great astoniatoieat . ) I never asked you to sign it : aever . I told yo « to please youreehres about signing ; and to do what you thought to be right . As for me , 1 would ratker walk to Load on oa my bare knees , on pharp flint stones , to attend an Anti-Poor Law meeting , than be carried to London in a coach and six , pillowed with dewn , to present that petitionthe *? National Petition" —to the House-of Commons . ( Hear , hear . ) Stephens changed ! ( Laughter . ) No ; not vet . And what if he had changed ?

      Other people will change before him . Aye , many a one ; and men that made a ^ reat deal more to do about themselves than Stephens has done . But never mind it : it ' t » no news to yoa that I never was a "five-point man . " I told you that I only was a one-point man ; and that point was a good prayer and along sp ? ar . 1 told yoa that the prayer wouJd open keaven ; and I told you that the spears' points and musketry would keep tba gates of hell closed , and the devila at home . That is the only point I ever was for . That is the only point I have ever bothered you about ; and thank God it has done more good than all the rest pttt together . ( Hear . ) That is why they gay Stephens is changed , because

      his ; points break in ; they hit tbe bull ' s eye ; they utrike treason , and despotism , and tyranny , to their fall . Is it any news to you to be toid that Stephens does not recommend a National Holiday ? Is there any man alite here , or anywhere else , that everheerd me recommend a national holiday either at the chimney cornar , in the committee-rcom , at a public meetiug , from the pulpit , or through the press ? 1 hare a great deal of nonsense to answer for but I havr » not that rubbish on my hnnds . That 18 Attwood * humbug , not mine . I tell you openly to-day , because it is the last day , perhaps , for some time at Ipasr , that I shall sraad before yon ; and therefore , if I am to be lamed for it , or if 1 am to have my hrain * blown ont for it . make hxste . I know it has

      been talked about . (" It has . ) Aye , it has ; and it ha » been laughed at . I know that great talkers iiro very seldom great doers . ( Hear , hear . ) Make haste , then , to that work , if it is to be done . The reason why I spoke of this las : Sunday , and why ( speak of ii to-day i » , because this may be the last nae , for a season , at least , that I shall eppear among you ; and whether I leava Dukinti-.-ld in tha midst of solemn giJence , oi loud hurra ? , or of yells of execratior , or whether 1 full in my passage by tbe bludgeon or the bullet of tho assassin , I am resolved to stand between you and the danger that op _ « ii 8 before you , and to teil you what I think about it . ( Hear , Lear . ) So lung as the National Conventioa was only talking , it was not my b ' -inness to say anything at all about it ; but when the Convention , or ratht-r a

      sraal ! section of the Couvt-. iiUon , purposes to lead you upon the wild goose chase of Uiiiver *» a . l SuiYrage , by means of the delusion of a National Holiday , I have a r ght , ifl am willin $ r , tohavrtmy head broken for it , and 1 amwilliag , I have aright to say it to you" think twice befor-a \ ou ntart once npon that race . Look before vou leap , or try to l ^ ap , over that ditch , or it may h&ppm that you will plump into the middle of it , it you don ' t . A National Holiday means universal anarchy and confusion , and the insurrection of one portion of the nation , the weakest , thi most divided , against other portions of the nation that are as one body , guided and directed by odc head . Can you fight ngainst that odds ? If yon can , you aro st . 'ffer chaps than I thought you were . A National Holiday means anaiional ii ^ ht . Are you going to fight ?

      Have tod made up your minds to tk-at , wilta shalta , '' helter skelur , against barracks or windmill * , jutft a * the c&s ! 4 may h * , the ono as soon as the other ? Have you made up voar minds to run your heads into t , h « lien ' s luouth , before you havu drawn his t * eth ? You have mada him wag his tail ; and it won ' t bo long before your head ia off if you put it into that mouth ; it is r > eep as the pit of heU . 1 have al < rayi told yon that Universil Suffrage , Annual Par . iamentj ! , Vote by Ballot , and all the rest of the rigmarole , was not worth fighting for . You Hiay please yourselves * betb . er y-u think it is worth fighting for or not : in my mind it is cot . But whether it bo or not , c . ne thinit 1 know is , that you can t get it by fighting for . I know you can't fii ? fl t and vriu ; and were 1 therefore ; i fiv- ' -points man

      which I am not , I shiuld say still as strongly as say not being a five-points man , * ljok beiore you leap . " There ' s all the difference between the masters stopping the mills , and y <* nr stopping them . When tbe masters etop them , it is dooe all at ouce , like ck-ckwork . All are shut out alik *; the Methodist , and the iufviel , and the O ^ enite—" all maks o ' folk . " ( Hear , hear ) They are all ont alike—man , woman , and child , and yr > u will then mike common caa « e together . Tue Me' . ' scdists don't damn the infidels to bell in a '' christian spirit ; " iufidel * don ' t damn " God Almighty men" in a spirit of ficndlike vengeance . There is nothing of that kind when the masters step the mills : you are all sailing ia one b > oa % and yen know that if you fali out you will likely all sink in ono boat ; who will

      au ^ . therefors you try can pull best . You not even havs public sympathy in yoar favour , because , if it were not your own faul ' , many of the shopkeepers would say , " These people are much to be pitied ; the misters are wrong ; tbe men would work day and eight , but th < -y won ' t tet them work . " Well , you try to make a tnrn OEt ; " and whathnppens then ? Sanaa of the hand- , don ' t want to go out . Some of them are Methodists , and some of them are Church people : and you are told that this won ' , rnd that that wou ' t do ? they 8 fty , " It is an infid-I stap , aud they won ' t hnv « anything to do with it : tbey will work . " Or the infidels begin to sar , It is » Methodist trick , and we will resist it on the outset . " " Oh . ' but if they won ' t coma our . say you , we will fetxh them ba

      out . " Very well . B ; it if t ^ at your game , stop a bit ; only see what sort of game you are going to play , I thoagkt y < u were going to destroy tyranny : why , it seems that yon art * going to fight with the working men . ( " No , no . ") Then you won ' t fetch them out ? ( "Ye * , y < s . " ) Because if ona half are out , and the other half are in , yon must either fetch tht-m outornot . If not , it is ao holid .-vy . It is only a few foals that are not working , atd a good m % ny wise men that are working . It you do fetch them out , or try to fetch them out , you ars fighting yonr o rn brothers ; you are fighting your own sisters ; you are fighting your own frienJs ; yon are contending against yoar own n « ighbours . Acd if you offer to fetch yonr brother workman ont against their will do yoH call that liberty ? Now you know I am

      not a Radical . ( " Would to God yen were , from several voice *) . ) Not that sort of a Radical . You don ' t call that liberty to make men keep holiday whether they will or not ? Is that the Charter , to make a man vole as he thiaks beat ? It is a queer catechinn that : a queer Bible that . My notion of liberty is , that every man should be allowed to think for hiinself , and to act for himself , so long as bis conduct is obvioasly such as not to injure his fellow creatures . ( Hear , hear . ) I don ' t like liberty all on one side . Then yen would have the public sympathy against yen . The shopkeepers woulrl gay , " These men might have work if they would . " You would have the » hopk # epers against you to a man . And do yon think that you hb . ve a single friend amongst the shopkeepers ? ( H- * ar , hear . ) 1 know some of

      them are ; but ask any one of them who has got plenty of gfcoif behind his counter , and see whether he will let you go and fetch it . Thero would not be a shopkeeper who would hare * more in his shop tban he wanted for himself . Is that the sort of revolution you want ? ('' Plenty f snmmut to eat . ") I know it ; and it is because I want you to have enough and to spare that 1 warn yon mo * t affectionately , most soleranly , against throwing away the very little that you have . For seven years I have given you aivica the very opposite of this . I have always said to you , and say so still to every grown man acd every husband amongst you , that you are to work as men ought to work . Do your duty to your masters honestly and conscientiously . 1 have told yon over and over again never to fritter away a

      moment of your masters' ti mp , nor pilfpr away a particle of your masters' property . Give your masters your time , and the skill cud the strength and the care which you have covenanted to give them ; and when that is done , get all the wages that your masters can be brought by fairness to give you . That ha * been my advice for seven years , and ltismyadvica to-day . If yoar masters don ' t work six days out of the seven , be thankful if they woik no less than four ; and if they don ' t work foar day * , bat only three , bu thankful mat they are not working two ; and if yon have no work at all , be thankful that yon have here acd there a friend that will

      speak kiadly , that will look affectionately , and that wiil act a brother ' s and a neighbour's part by you ( Two or three voices : " That will not do . " ) Yes , it will do . ( Nay it won ' t do . ) Yes , it shall do . ( ft will not do . ) Stephens : It will do ; it shall do . ( A voice : I will fight blood up to the eyes before that shall do . " ) Stephens : So will I fight blood up to the eyes ; but I wiil not shed a drop of blood , nor will 1 see a sirgle drop of blood shed , unless I know that in shedding my own blood , and in the shedding of my neighbour ' s blood , I am likely to get that which I want either for myself or for my children tt » t » re to come after me . Let not that good Mend b-etis-d me be angry . They are

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      VZ 1 £ ™ T ° *'>«« l Ui&t are all pluc * : 1 wish there ? : * ., -- « f that pluck . If every man were ready M "U man says , " to fijht blood up to the eyes , " fO £ Would not be in the situation you aro at present , and you would be outof it before to-morrow morning . I am W « t \ » wtk * 5 * n » t 1 can look my friend behind me in tbe face > and « sk hiia whether thaw u a mmn in England h « dorre more to bring up the courage of the people * f England than I hive dona ? ( Hew , and "it ' s true . " ) Bat past ier-? icesjoa donotwint ; you wtnt them now . And if « uch baro bion pay pant services , my present sh . « U be ia shedding my blood , if it ts wanted , in keeping say own best friends , my own deareat brethren , from running into any nnne « e | i « ary danger . IsecfaUweli there ' * a- darker cloud coaiisg over Kngl&nd than the one that is now going to break over onr beads , letting down a few drops of enriching win which is to jaak * the f » rlhyieia bai-rerta by and br . Bat r » a talk » hont a . Nrtlowl Holiday ! W ell , then , are all those harvests to b j

      leit to rot mp $ n we ground ? If you ar » to iitnke work , the hnabandmm ia the country moat xtrike work . Why should you step out of tha mills to leare th » harrett which ie already waiting to be gathered in ? In the-harvest , is the hnsbandman ' s way of working , and tb » factory is yonr place of working . If you are to stop working , the shopkeeper * must stop working . Are they going to do it ? No . I slight to stop working , aad am I going to do it ? No , I am aot . Will tho men that recammend a , Natinsal Holiday live upon hair a loaf , or upen brevrnbread , a » yottwillbe « blige 4 todo ? . Will tbey live on " tato pilling , " or boiled aca-weed and grass , as yoa will bare to do ? Not a bit of it , not a man ef them ; it ii all a deloaioB from beginuing to end , from the first to the last . Let tho ** men tall into th « t soars that choose to fail into that snare ! but after I hare loft yon , whether it be for a dnagcou or for a temporary retirement , I shall have the satisfaction of recollecting thatl gave you ths best counsel ! bb < 1 to giva yen , — I washed my hands * f yo \ ir blood , and left it uuon your own

      heads , and upon the head * of you * dear children , whom I am now p leading for bevond my strength . That man talks BBont shedding blood . 1 have shed wore blood than here and th-r * one already . I kavc shed , M yott can see , a dosen years of my blood ; but in deing that I have sought for nctbing but to savn the shedding of the blood ofyour innooent children , and of year wives , and » f those very men that have been talking in the factories this week about blowing my brains out before I go to Liverpool . I want to save you , and I will try to save you lflcaa . I want touare your mantora ; and , if nothing can care you , I shall at least have the satisfaction of having done one man ' i » share by giving warning—one man ' a share by crying out" holloa , the thiel iacnmiag '" Ani these good men behind will think better of it before taey sleep ; I know they will . 1 have had a good many on the very tip-toe of opposition with me about this ; bnt 1 never talked nVeminutes with one of them , even the hottest , before he was far more ol a coward than myself . ( Hear . hear . 1 But it is not a nnn ^ tion

      of cowardite . There is another thing . I don't want and I don't wean the brave men of the 20 th ever to be ordered to level their pieces at your heads , or to ran their bayonet * into your breasts . I don ' t mean you ever to run against the inen ol the 20 th . ( Hear , hear , hear . ) I know that I have been blamed ; I knavr that I have had all manner of svil spoken against me for trying to make friends between " the bo js in fustian" and "tho bojs ia ted . "' But they shall be friends ; they shall be friends yet- They shall brt friends , in spite of all national leads ™ . I know tho right of a British soldier ; and they have brought another bill into tbe Bonse of Commons—the Soldier * . ' PenKioa Bill ; th « y ate bribing the soldiers now—they are bidding very high for them . Tbe soldiera knew already that afUr thirty years' servica , aroU the snows of Nova Scotia , or the burning sand * of Africa , that after thirty years' service , if they come to need Oil ., or if always over and above their pension , they must go into a bastile , and have their pension taken from them by tae Poor

      Lair Commissioners . The soldiers know that already ; and that is one nason why they have no great lovo f « r the Poor Law . Bat now the uovuramunt i » trying to bribe them , for they have brought in a " Soldiers' Pension Bill , " aud there is a clause in ic to tbe effect that not onl y if a soldier wants any relief he it to have his pension taken from him , but thatif auy chili ? belonging to a soldier , if any child , or other per * on , thos belonging to a HilJier , wants parish relief , the Puor Lavr Uuardbnii aro to find ont tht > regiment that hm father nerve * in , or her father , if it be a young woman , whom one of the Ganrdiaus himself may fcave Reduced , and who needt sustenance for hergeif an « l uor child , the law Uiaps over the head « f tha xeducvr , and tails down upon the head ef the poor i . lther ; an 4 by that act of Parliament , if it pass into an act , the iioldicr is to be robbed of his pension , to support even a child of hi « daughter ' s , or hi « wiVs Btducer , ii that child wants parochial relief . Will tbe soldier light for that ? Oh no . Well . then , is there a man *—breathes there a man with

      mind so dnil , or with heart so black , that would wish to make ( h » soldier sad tbe civilian enemies one against the other ? No ; I hope there dee * not breathe such a nun . If there be , 1 am nat that msn ; nur will 1 be a parly to any plan , nor will 1 be n party t » any scheme that tihall « ppn tho barrack gates , and let out the troops of the line , bqundroBs of hirse , or parks of artillery , upon a defenceless , a deceirtd , a betrayed , and yuu will perhaps find out thvn , afor « ak « n ar . d an abundonad people . They talk aboat being ready to lead \ ou on ; ah , my g « nd friends , I wuh I could now tell you all 1 know about lending on . I can only teH you on « tiling , that I do know oae man tnat has talkad a vvry great deal about that National Holiday , wl » o has said that in a very snort timeho means to be in the bark woods of America . I know it . ( Oriesof "Nirue , " and Wboishe ?") I will not toll yon l > £ ay ; I will tell you before you and 1 bavu ( in-. lly dono with paehtuher . ( Hear , hear . ) I will ; 1 amii . itfh » rtofhinname . Ho in a ma « y * u havu goen ; a man ycxi have beard : let that

      bo enough lor to-day . ( A vcicc , "Qaite enough . " ) U it not strangt' , my f / itlidi , that when jin ai A I come to m-ct together , as we may say , far tke lmt time , that so many ol yon nViiuld lanncb . li ghtning at jno from yPBX eye , Olii gf . a . ch upon me with yonr teeth ; but this dors not take me at unawares . You may go from this ground to-day ; } on uiayuny that th « Government has bought me ; you may nay that I have gotten thousjndj and tons of thoasandu , and hundreds of thousand * for what I am telling you to-dny ; jou mav nay whatever you like , you ma / think wbattrer you like ; I have told yon often snd again , an once raoru for the last tinii it may bo , that whether 1 am elevated , lifted up npon the loud hesannas of the people , who cry " HurTkh : Stephens , our champion , for ever !'' or whether f am hooted and pelted at , and bludgeunod , ayfl even dentroyed upon the ip , ( , it is not the nrst time 1 have faced an angry multitude . ( A voice , •' Not so ar ^ ry . ") Thank God , I am not speaking to an angry multitude to-day ; bnt were I speaking to a multitude

      ever no angry , H would not bo tha first time . Recollect 1 have had to tacti all the Irish in thU dutrict , who have been told that Steph « n * wan an agent iroia the On lie of Cumberland , and who believed it , too , and that 1 wanted to p » U the cross from Dukinlk'id Chapel . I have had to face them , and 1 did fico them . I hare told them to go ! o yonder hill , and carry me away , aud not a pnliccnian within gun-sbot , atttl me by myself , and 1 told iberu 1 would cieettKcm there ; snd if th ^ y could prove airy ono of tliosn assertions , tbey should take their ahilflahj , laj my head upon a stone on ( he top of yonder hill , snd beat' my brains out upon the spot ; and I 83 y the same to any misguided Englkhmcn . Tell » U the " Nutinnal Holiday" raea , all thrt men that ars going to fight bloedup to th « eyes for the live piiiutu , to have a meeting at Heugh Hill , and 1 wjll do wy beat to Veep er * iy frieni of mine away , and 1 will go alou" ; I will meet them th' ; ro it -hpy wish it ; and if i > . ey C 4 U s > iow that they are rifjbt and that I am wrong , then I will come and be tbe aooxtle of the

      National Holiday ; an 4 if they can » how that what I am mow saying does aot spring from the kindest , thu warmest gushing cut of love aud di-votedness to your cause , they ehunld servti mo as I told the irUhme . i lo servo me , if thry tin ! out that I was au fnemy to them . My triendg , never put your trtiH . in , and nev ^ r follew after , m * n who prateud to be able tj mauufjcturea revolution . A revolution , a rolling away of the whole from evil to good , from wrcsg to right , from iijus ' . icu aud oppr-MioH to righteooHin'SS and equul ruin , n > .-vor ytt was manufactured , anan >; ver will be manufactured . Gad , who teaches you what your righti are , what the bk's ^ iDgH He h'ax endowed you withal are , will , in His ewn ifood time , if that time should come—God will teach your hands to war , and your lingers to fight . If anv budy * a hs me whether I have not talked about righting , I answer , " Yes , I have , very vt ' tca ; » nd I hr . pfi to livu t <> calk much oftunur about lighting thaa evnr 1 have done . 1 mean to talk a good deal about fighting in the duck at Liv « r » uol . if Lord John

      RiiA-ell dare take me thure . I am afraid he will funk after all . ( Laaghter . ) He has only sent me notice of two trials ; and even in tho two for which I have notice , there ' s a screw or two loose . I can ' t get them to do the thing Tight and airtight , and fair , and n ! ap u ;> to tbe mark like men ; and they are already beginning to tiud out that " vrould-bc wise men" may look vory foolish when they corns to have to face their great God , and a great nation , in a solemn and sscrej court of Janice . I now and then hear little bita of whisper * from London , as w « ll as other people , and without much secret-service money . Now I havo heard from LenJon , that the ComuiHBionera of the Home Secretary find themselves to be in a fu » k ;—( laughter)— they are in a meei , and they don ' t know how to get out of it . It is true they can get Boardman and Riplcy to swear anything , it ia trHe they can get Manby and UibbeTt , and Cowaro , and Dean , and Jotmsione , and such like men to swear what they will what * soerer , for they receive full " value recoived far their «

      wearing : "' it is true they may obtain at the hands of a special jury a verdict upon the evidence of such tnen so foresworn j bat J ^ ordJ . Roisb ] » rd the ommiittiancra « ccordinj ( to my ioteHignnee from the Home-oflice , huvo at last , after all this put oB , all tbis llonrish of traiopet * through the mouths et three iudictmenU for riat and utisdemeanour , —they have at laat found out that whether they get a verdict or not at tbe lips of Coward , Johnstone , Dean , and all the . rest of them that it won ' t do for the country ; that the country will never stand it ( no , no ) : sever stand by and sse a man s » nt to gaol fcr one , two , or three years , or any length « f time for having , as those witnesses say , said such and sack things , three or four random unconnected words out of a speech ot two hours and a half length , that never was taken dawn by any reporter . Lord J . Russell has found that out ; and b y iaf-rmati I have received some time ago—I don ' t always tell the moment 1 get it ; there ' s a time to Keep in and a time to let out , and I hope my friends b « hind will find that out . < Lauahter . }

      But Lord John and the Commissioners have ascertained that tbi-i sort of work won't do ; and now instead of sending Shack el and Goddard up and down thu country to see whether they can ' t fasten the burning of Hig ^ inboitom ' s mill against Stephens , they are sending megwngera up and dewn tho country , and offering I know not what , for tny man that can come forward and give thmn anytkiag like a full , and a trueish , and a rather more particular account of my upeeeheu than Johnstone , and Coward , ani Manby , and tha rest . They find out that they havo mistaken thevr man ; that the man who all these years has beon openly proclaiming himself no Radical any more than a Whig « r a Tory , and vrho had opposed some of tho five paints , and who only holds the \ > umtof Universal Saflrsge in a certain sense , and with certain liwiitatiens—that the man who has always dona what ha

      could to keep the people out of the reach of theoretic deceivers and lead them up to practical improvements—thaf that man who has always done what he could to teach tho people to revere and honour and respect all that aro in authority , from the Queen upon the throne down to the petty constable—that that man U hardly tho man that it will do to charge upon tuu oath of Boardman and Ripley wUh having saidthathc intends towtabliaha republic ; and therefore Lord John an 1 the Commissioners aro E ? nding up and down the country—the Queen ' s arms at tbe head of itl suppose—whether virtue ia to ba its ewn reward ot not I have not bean told from the Home-eQice—but this is the mission Lord John Ru ; g < -. ll h « s sent his rnnners upon and I hope they may only get the rig At man . Whether hsniay liiiS the right msn or not , I can only tell him that he will find a man at thn trial . Th' -raUamm

      that knows every word he ev . r said in hi ) life as to its gcuerul import , and . ia moot instances an to its special sigaibcation and application ; and before 1 am convinced th « ju # must have a long speech . —und it was twj hour * aud a Half in the a ! t'jrnoon and the eight gpuecli was about two hours ; and they must have the Ashtun-n ^ der-Lyne swmon , and that was two or three hoar * more , and the Hyde speech , in which f contrived to create » riot and misdemeanour in npeaVing- not five minutes ; they niu . tt bave the * e gpnechrs , aud they shall have these speeches , and so will I be judge J , and zo will you be judged beforo QoJ and oar eoantry . f Hear , hear J An&non my friends it is tirao we bfoke ofl for the afternoon . I hope to meet you here again to-night ; and if I have any vruh to

      make jt is that tho » e friends—lor yon are sot tbe less friends —not tho les * my friends b « eauso some of you think different iv from what I do—H I have any wish to make it M that those of my friends tbat think differently with me , and tkat tiunk othfirwi <> e than I do on these suljucts will £ o all they can to bring as many with them in the evenings as they con of those who are of the same way of thinfcing at * thera « elve » i . I with to have all in Slatybridge that think otherwise than I do if I could get them , and then let us compare notes together . I istsnd this evening to ran over one or two of the points aad lo illustrate one or two of the principles that Lave gojdad and dwacted my public career amongst yoa for ths ls « jeyczi jesnti . e * f « cuDj fbrtlw live yearalaet past ; and at

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      tuecioj « oi um > adilTt ** ( his evening , i eliaU strive « r auc « r-Uin , and lead you l : k « wi * e to ascertain whether toof « principles are as strong , as mighty , a * powerful to night as they w .-re seven years ago ; whether those principle * are not drawn fro-n the word of the Lord , to that word of whichitis said that although all flesh be as gr&as , end all the glory of them as the flower of the field which withered and faoeth away , yet the word of the Lord shall never , n « ver , jierer fail , because it is founded upon a rock , and that is tha word which by the gospel is preached unto you . The Doxology was then sang , and after the usual blessing had been proneun « id tha assemblage separated . It may be worth y ot remark that among the a « dienco our reporter recognisad several soldiers who paid the greatest attention to the address of the preacher .

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      DESPERATE AND MERCILESS CONDUCT OF THE MANCHESTER WHIG MAGISTRATES . Nothing can baa greater proof of tho evident wish of the Whig " serpents" of Manchester to drive the people to tho commission of acts of violence than the numerous , unprovoked , unnecessary , and unlawful arrests that are daily being made in this town . Oppressed aa the people of this great mnnnfacturiiig town have long been—half starved , half naked , aa themselves and their children are—enduring the greatest possible privations of every . kind , it is hardly to bo wondered at by any reflecting mmd , if they should Lave reconrs j to any measmvn , however wild and visionary , or however impracticable , to obtain

      relief from the misery in which they are involved . How much , then , must it excite tbe astonishment of every reflecting man when , in addition to the most gqnalid wretchedness , the worse pass ' rons of human nature , revenge and despair , are trifled with , and unnecessarily excited b y the moBt tyrannical proceedings , which cannot be sanctioned for a moment either by justice or by law , or by the most remote resemblance of either the one or tha other . Though its sfr-ps may be tardy , the day of retribution will came : the eye of Heaven looks with companion and sympathy ou the sufferings of the oppressed ; and wo ! wo ! WO ! to the miserable deluded fools who expect to escape the vengeance of that power which waits only till the cup of theii iniquity in

      lull . It has been onr lot for tho last two or three weeks to record gome of the basest transactions . which have erer been perpetrated under the section of law : that duty again devolved upon hs ; and we only ptey that our readers , while they read with abhorrence the following tyrannical proceedings , will eadeavour to restrain their acger , and look forward to the end which " speedily draweth nigh . "

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      APPREHENSION OF MR . WILLIAM BENBOW .

      A few dayi ago , Beswick , having learned that the magistrates of Come had issued s warrant for the apprehension of William Bcnbow , the author of the address to the working classes on tho subject of tha National Holiday , had some- communication with the authorities , tho result <> f which was , that a police officer was sent from Coin * with the war * rant , and he arrived here yesterday week ; Ben wick , having procured the counter-signatura to the warrant of one oriaore of the borough-magistrates , placed it in the bands of in-door constable

      Williamson and the officer from Colne , and sent them to a hoase iu Lower Moslsy-streetj when * they found and apprehended Mr . Benbow , about live o ' clock , and immediately conveyed him to tOO police-offioe , and lodged him in the lock-up . Th © Stockport borough magistrates had also iimed warrant for his appreheuaon on a charge of sedition « fcc , on the 13 th Jbly last , in that borough , and on other days . Under this warrant he was brought up for examination this day week , before some » agiatrate acting for the county of Chester , on this latter charge . ,

      EXAMINATION OF WILLIAM BENBOW . Shortly after the opening of the borough Court , the prisoner , fVilliam Beumv , whose apprehension we nave above noticed , wan brought up ; and Mr . Henry Cop pock , town-clerk of Stockport , said the prisoner was charged with conspiracy , an overt act of which had been committed in the borough of Stockport , in the county of Chester—for entering , with a great number of other persons , into a conspiracy to supply with arms her Majesty ' s Bubjecte of this part of the kingdom . He should b © able to prove an overt act in tha city of Chester ; and the magistrates were aware that all parties who had concpired , in whatever county they might be found or resident , would be tried u that county where the offence was committed . He applied that the prisoner should be handed over to the authorities

      at the New Bailey , for examination before some Cheshire magistrate , and where witneweB would be ready , with evidence , to fix the prisoner , with other parties , in a charge for conspiracy ; the principal conspirator being George Thompson , a gun-maker , at Birmingham , who had already been committed to take his trial at Chester assizes for that offence , Mr . Maude—How comes the prisoner into the costody of the Manchest er borough police ? JB-. 'SWicK explained , that a warrant , nigoed by .-a magistrate at Colne , had been backed by Alexander Bannerman , E * q ., a magistrate of thu borough . Mr . Maude said , that as thero was a warrant against tho prisoner , issued bj the Stockport autho * rules , no opposition would bo offered , on the part of the police of this buroogb , to his being apprehended under the Stockport warrant ; . and Berwick would lodge his warrant with the Stock pert police officere , as a detainer against the prisoner who way taken to the New Bailey , Salford .

      EXAMINATION OF JOHN LIVSEY , THE DEALER IN ARMS . At the Borosgh Court , on Saturday last , ths prt ^ soner , John Livsey ( whose former examination will be found in another column ) was again brought up j and Mr . Henry Coppock . Tewn Clerk of Stockport , made a similar application to the Court to that made by him as to tno prisoner Banbow , and for a similar charge cf conspiracy to supply arms . In conneqnence of a letter which was seized at the shop of Mr . George Thompson , a gun-maker at Birmingham , in reference to the sale and purchase of arms ,, to be supplied xa parties in . this district , tt . « prisoner Livsey had been apprehended here . He ( Mr . Coppock ) should be able to prove against Thompson »

      number oi overt acts of conspiracy , id reference to the scle of arms in Stockport ; aud he should be able clearly to show , that Livsey was connected in that conspiracy to supply arms , which , he was sorry to say , did appear to ever-ride the whole of this distr ict . He should sh » w by Thompson ' s books the orders given for arms by Livgey , and by Livgey ' a letters , that these orders were executed by Thompson ; and other parties would be clearly proved to have acted in concert with these two parties ; and it was a singular circumstance , and one that was necessary to the making out of this ca ? e , that none of these parties had been grin-sellers or gun-maker * before these recent occurrences—that was , till within the last three months . He could show that a great number of persons in this town and districthad been in communication with Thompson , and had joined in a general conspiracy with him end the leaders of

      the Chartists to obtain arms , and to place them in the hands of tha people . He applied that Livsey bo handed over to the authorities at the Salford NcW Bailey , in ordsr that be might bo charged before ft magistrate of both counties ( Cheshire and Lanca shire ) with thi * offence . It appeared that Mr . Coppock had bo warrant against Livkey ; and the prisoner was accordingly remanded'for half an hour ; and , in the meantime ,. Mr . Coppock laid aa information against the priso ner before J . F . Foster , Esq ., who is a magistrate of Cheshire , as-well as this county ; and , having obtained a warrant frqm that gentleman , returned , and the prisoner Livsey was delivered into the custody of the Cheshire police ; and the Manchester borough warrant was lodged in their hands as a detainer against the prisoner , who was then taken to the New Bniiey , Salford . [ Fellow-countrymen , read this r and blush at the name of " British justice . " !

      EXAMINATION AT THE NEW BAILEY . About a quarter-past two , Mr . Foster came upon the Bench ; and Mr . Coppock , addressing the Court * said , that fleeing Mr . Fester on tbe Beach , he wished to mention two cases , —one in which a man named Livsey , who had been selliog arms in Manchester , and in commanication with Thompson ( who had been already committed ) ; and the other a man named Benootv , who had attended a meeting at Stockport , at , which he had excited the people t » arm , and had spoken in very seditious language . He applied to Mr . Foster as a Cheshire magistrate , because other parties were committed to Chester . Mr . Foster said , as the cases arose out of this distr ict , it was not usual to hear such matters unless

      some extraordinary reason for doing go could be urged . —Mr . Coppock ssnid , he should have to leave this evening for Chester , and it wa 3 necessary that some documents , which he must take with himshould be given in evidence before the committing magistrate . —Mr . Foster said , that if it was import ' ant , and on the understanding that it was the request of the Cheshire magistrates , he would take the case in the small-Court ( to which the prisoners were accordingly removed ) . The prisoner , John Livsey , was first placed at tbe bar , and the statements of the witneeisws were reduced to writing at once . Wm . Hough , a sergeant in the Stockport police , sworn—On the 3 Jst of July , I was present with

      the superintendent of police , at the seizure of some amis at the house of a man named Mitchell , in Stockport I afterwards , -the same evening , searched the honse of a man named - > avies , » ue of the Chartists leaders , in Heaton s orris district , in the borough of Stockport . I found this piece of written paper at his hou * e . He is a speaker and collector ; I have heard him speak , and seen him go round collecting money of dif-Jerent shopkeepers , for the Chartist cause . I > . * w Been him act ns chairman at many of their meetyga , I found tha letter ( marked Mj , now produced , inDavieshousa „ - —« - --

      ' a . Joseph Sadler , superintendent of tfce Stockport boroogh police . —On the night of the 30 th July , I made a Beizure of arms at the house of James Mitchell , in . Stockport . There were three muskets , three bayonets , two pistols , five guns , two pikes , and wenry pike-statf . -, eight feetlong and about one and a lalf an inch or nearly two inches inches in diameter . , received ^ this paper ( marked N ) from Mitchell as his authority for selling arms ; and it acd the other are in the handwriting of George Thompson , of Birmingham . [ Mr . Coppock read the two letters as follows : ]—

      [ M-J " Birmingham , July 23 , 1839 . M I shall be in Liverpool by the Rover coach , to-morrow evening . If you can meet me at tho coach I think I can explain matters to you . Yours respectfully ,

      " GEO . THOMPSON , " 3 J , Whittal-street , Birmingham . " Mr . Coppock said , there was no direction oa this letter , it having been torn off . The c < xt was was addressed to Mr . Mitchell , becrseller , King-street , Stockport , and was datad Birmingham , July 24 , 1839 : — [ N ] "Mr . James Mitchell—Sir , I hereby five you authority to act for me ag agent , at Stackport , for the sale of guns , musket * , pistois , < fec . " There was no post-mark on this letter . On the 6 th August , in consequence of thrie letters , and other information , 1 went to Birmingham , having a warrant for tie apprehension of George Thompson . I got to Birmingham abeot half-past seven in the morning , and met Thompson in VThittal Street , Birrofngham , aboot half-past ten . He was cosning towarJs hss house-1 asizsd three book * , which were on a table in w » ( Continued in our seventh page . )

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      BURGLARY BY THE MANCHESTER POLICE . FORCIBLE ENTRANCE INTO THE HOUSE OF JOHN HV 8 F . V , BY BREAKING OPEN THE DOOtt , AND SBIZUKB OF HIS PROPERTY . B ? s * ict , the head constable of Manchester , having received inlormBtioii that a man named John Livsey , living in a cellar un-3 er the hoane No 43 , Haaover-slreet , Shade-hill , had commenced tho sale cf gunp , p'stol ? , daggers , and ammturiUon to the Chartists of chi 8 town and neighbourhood , he applied on Thersdav last , to the borough m-igiatrates , tor a warrant , and the same evening , accompanied by Daviea and several of the borough police , proceeded to the place . Livsey was not in at the

      time ; bat the etHccN fouad and took away with them two fowliag-pieces , one apparently new , and bearing on tbe lock , aa the name cf the maker , " Thompson ; " the other a very old piece , and of very little value ; two steel bows , strao £ with catgut ; and a lonjf and pond ^ -roDS two-handed battlo-axe , evidently an ancient weapon ; it is mora than a yard in length , the handle covered with faded crimson velvet , and Ftuddod with brass nail * , ho as to give iucreas d power of grasp ; tbe head having a semicircular biade , "omewhat like a largo cheeje-cutcer , and also a strni x ht Hharp psinted and two- ^ dged blade , for thrusting . This instrument of warfare was suspended by a strmg ov <> r the chimney-piece , and there

      were aUo displayed in th ^ same place , aa old straight two-edged and pointed sword ; with the ancient cro : "S-guard , aud n pommel of curved bone or ivory ; and a matchcte ^ or machete ; ( a ( sort of long dagger with » cross-gnard aud without hiit ) end » D ordinary musket-bayonet . In other parts of the cdlnr were found a rxm-Toi for a gun , s ' : x bullet-mould * , ( for guns ) a box of patent *• Ami-convtrive percussion cap ? , No . 4 , " and a tin flask full of tiae gunpowder . These articles they took with them to thn Police Office , and Howick dev-med it advisable to require the attendance there ot L . vst > j's wife . Shortly aiter tht « seizare , and while his wife was at the Police Office , Livsey himself went to the office of the

      Indoor Superintendent , and gave information to Davies that rs robbery had beea committed on bis premises . Beswick detained him ; and after putting cartain questions to him , which Livsey answered , he was placed in the Lock-up , and his wife was allowed to depart . On Friday morxiinp , John Liwey , who is a young man of sallow complexion , dressed aa a mechanic , wa ^ brought up at the- i > orouj { h Court , b » lore the aittiug Magistrates , Thymas Potter , Mayor , ( who presided ) J times Ker . « haw , and Daniel Lee . The various articles found in the prisoner's cellar wore placed on the table of tho Conrt , and appeared to excite considerable curiOffitf .

      Bewick having b > eu sworn , stated tho charge against the prisoner in the following terms : —I h » ve received information for some time past that the prisoner , who i * living in a cellar , No . 43 , H ^ nover-< ttree ' , Shudehill , has be ^ n in the habit of furniebing the Chartiuts of tbii borough , and the surrounding ueighboarhood v » ic ' a a quantity of arms . In consequence of this , I made application yesterday to the Magistrates for a warrant , for the parpose of Bearching his house , and npprehending him if necessary . I went yesterday , with Davies and some other oflicara , to his cellar , hut he was not in . We found in the place the * rticlt s now produced—two fowling piece * , two steel bows , a battle-axe , a bayonet , a Bword , a ramrod , a dagger , six bullet moulds , a box

      of caps . for gnne , xni a quantity of poTdc-r . We brooght his wife and the articles to the Police Office ; and very shortly afterwardn , tae man him elf catae to the Police Office , and K aVfl information to Mr . Davies of r robbery having been committed upon his premises . I detained him in custody , and I asked him if he chose to give any account of the poi ^ eesuin of those articles . He said he was ageut ( or Mr . Thompson , the manufacturer of these guns , who resided at Birmingham , and that he was in the habit of selling them . The guns and bullet-moulds , he said , he had for sala ; and the other articles , that wera hanging over the mantel-piece , were articles which , ke said , he had for the purpose of protecting himself . Ou searching him I Ibund t * o receipts of

      packages from tke Graud Junction Railway Company ; and he stated that he had received a ca * e of eleven guns and oae fowlina-piece , on the 18 th July , and another case en the 20 th of Jul y , two days afterwards , containing twelve guns , all of which had been disposed of . I think I shall have some further evidence in the casa in three or four davs more ; and my application now is , that you will be pleased to remand him to Monday . —The Mayor : Prisoner , is them anything yon have got to say why you should not be remanded to Monday ? Prisoner : [ have not heard anything yet said against me . -Mr . Beswick repeated the substance of . hu statement : and when he came to that pnrt of it which contained the pr isoner ' s account of himself , that he was an

      agent , employed by George Thompson of Birmingham , a manufacturer of guns aud other articles , and that some of the thing * found were for the purpose of protecting himself , the prisoner exclaimed — " I said no such thing . " When Mr . Beswick eaid he had found upon him the two ordera or delivery notes of the Grand Junction Railway Company , the pjiaoner aaid , " I gara those up , in fact , for the purpose of establishing my agency . "—The Mayor : What have you to say why you should not bn remanded to Monday?— The Prisoner : No more than this , your Worship , that it a very strange way of proceeding . My house is broken into , and th ^ ig'j atticles are taken away . I have circulated cards , and had a public sign up for a leneta of time :

      I never shunned the place ; 1 always laid them in the window bottom ; they were there with the window open ; I exposed th-.-m to public inspection , to tha view of auy one that might pass and repass , since I have established an agency for the sale of them . If it is an unlawful practice , it is very strange that I should have escaped , and should not have had any notice at all , » o that I could have supprefiflsd it . —The Mayor : Well , you will have an opportunity of bringing forward any evidence between aud Monday . —The prisoner : Of what description ? The Mayor : Ob , that is for yon to look after . —The Prisoner : To prove that I have established an agency for the saie of them . Beswick : Ths prisoner has bann a journeyman printer with Mr . Wheeler , in Whittle-street , and he has only brten in th > habit of selling guns for the last month

      The Prisoner : J have been in the habit of selling paper for the last eighteen months . Tho Mayor Well , you are remanded to Monday next . —A man in the gallery uhouted "Mr . Chairman , " on which he was desired , if he had anything to say , to come / orward , acd go into the witness box . With this invitation he did not comply ; for , instead of him , the prisoner s wife came iorward , and siid she wanted to know if the muwtratpfi would take bail for him : Tke Mayor said " Ye *; " and , after consulting hia brother Magistrates as to the amount , the prisoner was again placed at the bar ; and the Mayor asked him it he applied to hava bail given for hi * apaearunce on Monday . Tho prisoner said he did .- ~ The Mayor : Then I have consulted with ay brother Magistrates as to the amount ; and we have decided ( hat you must nnd two sureties in £ 75 , andciitei into your own recognizances in £ l& ) , to appear on Monday , and giva twentv-fonr hours' iir > rf *« . _ K « .

      veral ol the brave fellows ia tbe gallery hissed on Heanrg the amount of bail retired , on wfcich th > Major directed that any individual disturbing the proceeding * should be taken into custody , - « ic

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      asked if any honest working man could suppose that an operative had any right to have such things in his house , and for gale . —The prisoner was then re » moved . ¦ The prisoner referred to cards which he said be had circulated . The following it a copy of them "J . Livsay , 43 , Hanover-street , Shudebiii , Man Chester , agent to G . Thompson " , gun and pistol manufacturer , Birmingham . " It will be seen else , where , that Thompson has been apprehended at Birmingham , under a warrant issued by the Stock , port Magistrates ; that he was examined at Stockport on Thursday week , and waa fully committed foe trial at tke present Chester assizes .

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      fi ^ THE NORTHERN STAR , August 17 , 1839 .

      Mr. Stephens's Last Ser11os. "

      MR . STEPHENS'S LAST SER 11 OS .

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Aug. 17, 1839, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct357/page/6/