Northern Star (1837-1852), 24th July 1841, Edition 2 of 5, Page unpag, TO THE LANDLORDS OF IRELANDLSTTEB HI.

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- TO THE LANDLORDS OF IRELANDLSTTEB HI.
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  SIT lOKBS asb Gextlekeb , —As it is my intention to devote this letter exclusively to a consideration <* tt » labourers ' eaie ; I feel myself compslied to refer to the argument ! now in w , and relied- upoa by {^ e antagonist politick parties . In order u Buidi » s poaalWe to * T « d the introdnetton of poKtte , I tfa ll merely state tbe professed object of the parties , and the aaeeea which , by tbeir neeadaBey , they bold oat m aw political thinf to bo contended for by the people .
  
  yon az « both agreed then upon the principle , or rjtiner span toe object * which it to better the condition at the mxkiEg classes ; the roannracrnring class dedartsg that yon are the impediments in the way of social tapp ioam ; -while you charge year opponent * with false pretences , a desire to plunder yoa and to usurp political power , -without offering to the people ss the mariufutsrers do , even a pleasing fiction , such as " cheap food , " to feed the imagination of the starring . Your position being good , yem « y » : ws are Tery Trail ; w veil enoogb . aloae . *
  
  How , my Lords and Gentlemen , it is my intention . tt assessor , faithfully to discharge my duty between jtn as riralB tss power . In the first place then , the naaofaetorerB bold eut something to the people , jltboB ^ i it is a delusion ; while you , sturdy and obstinate ia your newty-aequired power hare not even yet in the eJerenih hoar , offered anything substantial as a set-off against the manufacturers * shadow . You hope to ward eg their eoeroaohmeats by Parliamentary majorities , wcOe they expect to assail your granaries with a legion
  
  d starring besiegers , whose passions , by the stoppage < tf their mills , they hope to inflame to aa extent unassailaote by the voice of reason , uncontroulable by the fcflneDeeof tfceir leaders , and inTindble , from their numerical ¦ teengta and their master * ' implied consent , ( o see all law set at aoa « ht to »•«*•*« point , that point ba » g the exact one where their own object shall haTe been achieved . To these inducements for revenge add the hope of impunity and the heavy state of life or death , and weigh them against your political majority , sadywa Bale will kick the beam !
  
  My LokJs and Gentleman , thus I prepare you for a state of public mind over -which reason argument and Influence can have no control , even for a moment , when jndgemeai and common sense shall be overcome by necessity and want I tell you that your social abuses hare led to the anticipation of such a moment . I loot to first causes rather than to results , and inasmuch as I wofild altogether acquit a drunken man of the crime d wilful murder , who in the moment of intoxication had deprived his fellow man of life , while the act
  
  would nevertheless increase my aversion to a vice the indul gence in which had led to the result ; so with yon ; wfcBe 1 sincerely deplore the shocking results to which the uncontrolled po-wtr of manufactures bu led , nevertheless , I cannot b-inish from mj- mind the fact , that roor monopoly has been the cause of those results . Ead you gives to natural labour wholesome labour and beiLhfal labour , the full reward of i ts real value , the Bi&auf&etorerers never would have been able to drug the markets of the world with the produce of cheap iabosr , made cheap by expulsion from the land . h ' oir , this is my position . No labour to the indi-TidoAl labourer is so beneficial as that which he can expend upon the land , and no labour to the labourer is so imremucerating as that over the produce of which he jus so controul , and of the value of which he has not the entire , —aye , the entire . I ever have , and ever will contend for the freeman ' s right to the untouched whole of the produce of his labour . Of . course , I admit tint in t&ose instances where men of less specalanre , and more indolent habits than their neigh * boos are satisfied t » work for masters , that in such
  
  cuss , the capitalist is fully , justly , and honourably entitled to remuneratitn far risk and speculation ; while my object is to take care that the remuneration is not made too exorbitantly profitable by the destitution of the working man , who has but the alternative of Taking at the existence point or of starving ; this I would regulate by the establishment of a wholesome labourstart , where all who are willing might expend their labour and enjoy ii * fullprcfis ; and by that general ftmflsTd , the labour of those working for others would also be regulated .
  
  Iks great question , indeed the only question , for the hbomer to consider then is , whether or not those who e £ sr " e&e&p bread" ta a means of al ' s-nating the distress of the people , are sl&cere ; and if sincere in their otjjcci , then to con&iier whether in point of feet the pr . Ject , if successful , would operate . as a permanent fiopple to periodical want , would establish a 2 xed « od B& £ « factory standard , would lessen the dependency of the labourer , and would make his " chief pride to consist in the modest comforts of his condition . " I letve yen out cf the question , as you offer no apology fcr your monopoly , and hold out no remedy for iUeortecuon .
  
  Xow , if I can proTe that the total abolition of all reKrietionj upoa foreign com , " tender existing cir-« 2 B * tzsa » - - would but create a greater dependency of the labourer upon his employer , and remove him , ¦ a * possible , a step further from &U control over his jxo&ate ; and if I can prove that our own country posseaes more than ample means for effectually and speedily accomp li shing that which the manufacturers sad landlords both profess to be their object , namely ,
  
  to increase the comforts of the people ; I say if 1 can prove this , and that you are the impediments to the ajamipliBtsieiit ef gush a -wholesome state of things ; lay if I ean prove this , even to yourselves , -Kill you Doi , after noaee and perseverance , justly merit any pBEisisient -which may result from an assault cf the Oibridled passions of the starving multitude , to whvse Eoal patient con-riceing and just sipeals yen have so long remained deaf ?
  
  Hy Lords and Gentlemen , with bo mnch of a preface to tai » my third letter , I sha'l now proceed to open the ¦ cue cf my clients , sad my only fee or reTrard shall be * &e nope of seeing yoa , aad them , ana an those who * R & >«¦ si variance , living as the members of the kzuJy of one great Father of all , each distinguished * COTii £ g to his real merit , and honoured accerding to fcaaesena . Abs : what a task I have UB-Iertak ? n , when in the ° 2 iset the great dificoliy of reconciling to my views Qs ciaaS-Legifclator -who employs two thousand persona .
  
  * ad who m ?> tes £ 7 , 800 per aynnro of every threepence , Sei&d from the labour of each , stares me in the fsce . ^ Tut fears would haunt me if 1 tras a timid man , ¦» hen 1 reflect upon the political power of those parties viose monopoly of man ' s rights I hope to destroy . What mast be my fate vhen I feel convinced that that ** t « of things , at which I hive previously tinted , will k rere to come , and wh ^ n , in the bustle and turmoil , * B thai I liaTS ions ox esdeaToarei to do , Trill by Va to appear to tka BtarTing people , by their hard ¦ & 1 eomnjandiog tsak-mastea , as the immediate cause * their pressing -rants .
  
  ¦* J Lords and Gentlemen , lamnoteitfcer unmindful of yWEr po ^ ej . ^ or of the manner in which it has erer been •* d , fr « B the time of Tiberius Gracchus down to the pre-• ecttae ^ te oppress and destroyall who would make your ^ iss a-rallable to yom own and the nation ' s wants . _ -wt ay safe guard is in the better state of public opinion ~ -a lae simplicity &f my project—in the facility of ^^ 5 il into practical operation , and in the diain-^ ftstedmotiv es whieb . 1 have in proj-oundiug it I do ** beJiere that you could now , as the Boman Senate ^ of old , set up a Drosus , as a falsa landmark to f * 3 tihsj > 3 opl 8- s attention from wba *» is justly iheir ~ n bj effesujg ttejn mars t j ^ 0 ^ ^^^ much more **» rwc pnppet -would inUBd you U perform . Yon n the-same interest in disposing of me that
  
  ^^ gsreby had in disposing of the Graccbii ; and for ™» rau on—they led a blind flock , while I am but <* nuiiy shepherds , with whose voice , whose TJ ^ iZLee , and whose every movement , a flock , ob-WT Ji tod themidVEJ keenly upon the w * bd » . weU T ?^* - The Grudui were both brutally mw-^« d their reaaias insulted but yet were their T * " *"! » part , subseqnent ] y carried . And now , j **» m dispose of me , I should bnt make room for j ^ 4 * 4 * ol Dtherj who , without a like knowledge of , *****» ' oold direct public opinion to the attain-^* of that whi ch , after possession , the people ^^ aot so w ell know how to turn to the best ad-^" SBj sad they would consequently look for more . T ^' eet thronih life has teen to mate mv readers
  
  j ^ aaS every word I irrlie , and see the feasibility of k sj * ^ ^^ ^^ ati * :- erea at the hazard of ^ . r 'oagkt t 6 di- -as- I am not a mere birtd -ivriter , ° * e the t ^ sd L ^ te 2 i =, bys the nigh-iafettifcd pack
  
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  upon the scent , and then allows them to run down the game according to their fancy ; I follow the pack , ride wall op to them , so as to mike my bit before a long check has destroyed the went , and compelled me to ran a-head upon a mere chance of recovering the game . I watch your every double and traverse , and go the whole ground after you , and thus make my followers acquainted with your every tarn-My Lords and Gentlemen , I shall now consider what a hundred acres of ground subdivided into ten farms of ten acres each , is capable of doing : now many it would iniLint ^ , the description of maintainance , and the surplus , after having supplied the family , which it would leave for traffic in the manufacturing and commercial market I shall , according to promise , take the rudest calculations ; and , firstly , as to the gross prodoea .
  
  One and half acres of potatoes , half an acre of fallow , one acre of lay ( swazd ) oats , two acres of wheat , h an acre of meadow , quarter of an acre of fiax with clover , one rood ol kitchen garden , one ditto of vetches , spring and summer ; and four acres of pasture . Produce for family ' s consumption , for one year ; ( family consisting of a man , his wire , and his children }; sixty stones at wheat ; fifty stones cf oatmeal ; five hundred stones of potatoes -, twenty stones of bacon ; vegetables ; half the milk of a cow ; with poultry , eggs , and honey .
  
  Let us now take it per wsek . ilore than a stone of wheat flour ; & stone of oatmeal ; ten stones Of potatoes . For forty-five weeks deducting seven for Lent , { a time when Catholics abstain from meat ) two pound of bacon en Sundays , Mondays and Tuesdays , every week in the year ; three quarts of new milk per day , . twenty-one quarts per week , thus estimating a cow * b mQk at twelve quarts a day for the summer season , and allowing one quarter of her milk in summer and the other quarter to be used in butter during winter ; but I take all as milk . Value of produce after the above amount for consumption shall have been deducted : —
  
  £ s . d . Nine bags of wheat , at twenty stone the bag , at £ 1 5 s . the b&g 11 5 0 Produce of a cow and naif , valued at £ 8 per cow 12 o o Five barrels of oata , at fourteen stone the barrel , at IGs . the barrel , or less than Sd . j ^ r stone ...... 2 10 0 Profit on four bacon pigs , fed from May to March , and bought at nine months old £ ¦ 2 . 10 s . each 1 « 0 Profit on four sheep , fatted after shearing , l » s . a head 2 0 0 Eggs , poultry , linen ( or spun flax ) 5 0 0
  
  Let us see what it does besides . It gives the family four fleeces , at five pounds of wool par fleecetwenty pounds of wool -, acd the produce of two roods of flax for winter employment and clothing . JTow tate the one hundred acres held by one tenant and you have the-following produce for sale , after the scanty existence of forty-two persons : —Wheat fifty bags ; instead of -ninety bags ; butter sixteen hundred weight , instead of thirty hundred weigkt ; oats twenty barrels , instead of fifty barrels ; bacon twenty hundred weight , instead of one hundred hundred weight ; flax , or linen , eggs , and poultry , nothing , instead of £ 50 worth ,-sheep none , instead of forty .
  
  Cash saved and left for expenditure , after payment cf rent , rates , and expencas of one hundred acres , £ 10 1 0 s . od . ; instead of £ 317 15 i . Od . My Lords and Gentlemen , is this rough draft of profit and loss , you will , "Firstly , look to the fact that I get rid of forty useless horses , and for them substitute only twenty-eight individuals , the difference between the forty-two " kept alive" upon the lares farm and the
  
  seventy kept fat and well npon the small farms _ Secondly , that instead of having by the small farms seventy acres of bad grass land sacrificed to thirty acres of bad tillage , there is a sacrifice of only forty acres ; there being sixty , instead of thirty , in full producing tilt , by-the substitution of spade culture for the plough and this sacrifice of forty acres is owing to a want of sufficient population to cultivate all to the highest sUte of perfectioc
  
  You will requirefrom me proof as to the capability of produc ' jjg what I have stated from the ten acres . In tbe first place , then , let ma just tell you tfeat 1 have Str ictly kept to plain digging ; that according to cul " tare I have taktn the very lo-west average ; while according to prices , I have taken much below the average for every thing , according to any seven years of the last forty . I allow six bags of wheat to the acre . I allow 180 « stones of potatoes to one and a half acres , or 1200 stones per acre . I allow four acres of grass , two rood * of vetches , half an acre of mea low , half an acre after grass , with
  
  what the house afford * , for t wo cows and four sheep ; I allow bran , garden stuff , sooie milk , and 1 . 3 * 0 stone oj potatoes , for five pigs for nine months . I allow only what I am now receiving myself for dairy cows , £$ a-head , while-the labourer would make much more of tbsm . I do not take too much ont of tbe ground , but on the c . nttiry , I keep it in proper heart ; wnile the manr without mentioning any of his family who might b * capable xif helping him , woaM not be on » half of his ttm 9 employed in the task I have set him ; and yet I leave Mm £ 31 15 s . per annum , after the best of good living , clothing , and lodging , iostead of £ 8 , as a . t
  
  present , eut of which he most eke a subsistence ; and right lacky and well pleased is he if he can even get the chance . As to the manart , which is the principal thing , I firstly bring his arms , which is the real essence of manure , —the oxygen , —into operation ; and , besides that , I leave Mm three acres of , straw , half an acre of me « idow , two cows , four sheep , five pig 3 , poultry , and garden-rubbish to minors one and a half acres of potatoe ground , which you will surely think enough , having cheered Mr . Shaman Crawford when he allotted to two unfortunate little pigs the herculean task of manuring aa acre . '
  
  Ai I do not w » u so mnch wita taa hope of con . ¦ r incing you , as for the purpose of convincing my own clients , I purpose in my next letter to take a more extensive view of this subject ; while , for the present , I shall answer some of the most recent absurdities of hired writers . I have read , and I assure you I forget just now in what paper , the assinine remarks * f some Bctti&a , who I * ogbs at the aotiom of all tbe Wheat-producing laad
  
  in tbe united empire , } which he estimates at twenty millions , ) being capable of supplying twenty six millions with bread ; while I have shewn that ten millions of acres would support seven milliens in affluenoe , and leave a sufficiency of bread , butter , bacon , oatmeal , poultry , efgs , honey , flax , with four millions of sheep annually , for more than twenty millions more fed at the same nte ; that is , more than a sufficiency of all these things for more than twenty-seven milliona of people .
  
  My Lords and Gentlemen , ig it i . ot now plain that tbe bad state of things is preserved by the political patronage which the usurpation of political power by tie misapplication of land has given to you and your
  
  Those amounts , added , make . .. £ 18 15 0 From which deduct : — Bentand rates 11 0 Laid by for girls' portion and casualities perannum . - . 7 15 0 Total 23 15 0 which deducted from the £ 42 13 s . leaves £ 24 to be annually expended in the manufacturing and commercial market . Let us now take the aggregate of what ten farms , thus managed , can do as compared with the same ten { urns in the occupation of one tenant . By the subdivision , they support in affluence , comfort , and abundance , seventy persons . They produce for sale , after consumption , ninety bags of wheat ; one hundred hundred weight of bacon ; thirty hundred weight of butter ; forty fat sheep ; fifty barrels of oats , at fourteen stones to the barrel ; eggs , poultry , flax , or linen , £ 50 worth .
  
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  order , and which has been acquiesced in by the new order of political economists , who , aa I have shown , derive an income of nearly £ 4 , 000 a year from the employment of every 1 , # 00 slaves ? and however yon and the steam lords may affect a humane object , ( which , by the way , I repudiate , as I look for full and complete justice , and every particle of their jost rights , fat my clients ;; bat however you may attempt to convince the people that jostles and their good is your object , and however yoa may shove the saddle from back to back , believe me that those who bear the burden new know , and know full well , that the object of each is to plunder as much as they can from the unrepresented . My Lords and Gentlemen , it is a hard word , bat think of the provocation .
  
  My Lords and Gentlemen , while we find the three great parties in the state thus struggling aa deadly foes , just think of trying to lock up the treasures of Providence , . in order that you may preserve a mere artificial state of pre-eminence over your fellow man , and think of the foolish manufacturers , who hare gambled so long in blood , now hoping to persuade % people made miserable by their recklessness , that their struggle is all for the said people ' s benefit .
  
  But do we not observe the striking anomaly all through ear system , of never looking to home , while the eyes of all are eternally directed to other countries for what we could better , more freshly , more conveniently , more profitably , more abundantly , and more comfortably supply from under our own noses ? Hence , injyour House of clerks and ' powder monkeys , " you have ministers of war , of colonies and of trade , but no minister of agriculture . You have a minister of allspice , nutmegs , mace , ginger , pepper , raisins , almonds .
  
  dried currants , cinnamon , oranges and Naple biscuits ; but no minister of wheat and pork , and beef and butter ; and , in truth , I venture to say that Mr . Labouchere would turn up his nose most disdainfully if asked how many stall-fed beasts would make a sufficiency of manure for an acre of potatoe ground , or if asked how many men it would require to cut the seed and plant and dig the potatoes ; but , believe me , that a knowledge ot these things is the knowledge which , ere long , will be most prized .
  
  My Lerda and Gentlemen , there is another anomaly which never strikes you . It is , that agricultura l Ireland should have for its governor , a general , a kind of military chieftizn—a kind of Don Qnixotte , with his squire Sancho Panu in tbe Cabinet , who knows nothing about agriculture , the country , the people , their manners or their customs ; who cares nothing about agriculture ; whose whole time is taken up in the adjustment of party squabbles , political disagreements , consideration of military , police , and magisterial affairs ; and changed too with each administration . He is a mere political tool
  
  and in nine cases out of ten , a most egregious fool 1 either a military fop , flying about the country la peacock ' s feathers courting his party , or a quiet-going old gen . tleman , fearful of doing right lest he may be suspected of doing wrong ; and in his endeavour to please every body , pleasing no body , and losing his character into the bargain . Such is your political chieftain : while tbe greatest recommendation which your agents can have , is a steeled heart That man only isfittidfer the collection of rack-rents who can look npon the legal act of taking the bed from under the * iok woman and the last cow from the little children , as divested of all moral turpitude .
  
  You will , no doubt , ray that I am dealing with the exceptions . I say that I am not ; that on the contrary , good landlords are the exceptions , and they ore comparatively few ; and when they are to be found , where is the man more honoured , beloved , and respected In the world ? My Lords and Gentlemen , being connected with , and Bometimes m&juiging large estates ; having farmed a large quantity of ground ; being a barrister , in very extensive practice , and much consulted by tenants , labourers , and landlords ; having been a Member of
  
  Parliament for three years for the great county of Cork , and having , through life , given tbe most serious attention to the state of Ireland , I have no hesitation in stating , that the whole of Ireland ' s wrongs , her poverty , her degradation , the insecurity of property , the hatred of the aristocracy , and contempt for the laws , are consequences more of your saisrule , than of any political or religious animosity whieh the people entertain towards Tories or Protestants . The Tories are Protestants , and tbe landlords are , for the most fart , Protestants , and therefore is all crime , and juBtly , charged npon Toryiim and Protestantism .
  
  ily Lords and Gentlemen , you may consider it a " great bore" to be compelled to make any such arrange ments as will suit tbe present times , but the question is , whether you will put up with a choice of evilswhether you will undertake the '' bore ' of collecting more rent from a greater number , oi be " bcred"by going without acy rent . You complain that the people are dirty , while you deprive them of the means of being cleanly . You complain that they are ignorant , while you withhold from them the means of educating themselves . You complain that they are vicious , while you oblige them to have recourse to deception and invention to defend themselves against yaur oppression .
  
  My Lords and Gentlemen , once more I caution you against the foolish notion that an English political question cannot affect Irish property . I tell you that poverty , like water , will find its level ; and I also tell you that the most rising and powerful political interest is that of the English manufacturers , whom you will find to your cost , to be excellent engineers , and which you will admit when they have reduced you , after pajment of debts and mortgagees , to the very same condition that the hand-loom -weavers are now in .
  
  My Lords and Gentlemen , I further caution you against the vain hope of preserving monopoly by your political majority ; that , believe me , will be your greatest weakness ; it will , I fear , but add to your difficulties , by emboldening you in your misrule . Pray don't split on that rock ' . for believe me , that tbe day in gone never more to return , when the minds of Englishmen , irishmen , and Scotchmen , can be held in aubjec tlan by Parliamentary majorities , standing armies , police , and a proflignte presg .
  
  I hay * dona one man ' s share in producing the present state of things . I have accomplished two grand objecis , which through life I have kept in view . I have tangbt the poor not to be afraid of the rich , and not to be ashamed of themselves . I have , in my own person , given to the whole of Bociety a completely new turn ; so much so that I have accomplished that which I believe vanity , self-interest , and pride prevented all my predecessors from attempting . I have taught the people to do without me ; and in this I witness my great protection .
  
  My Lords and Gentlemen , it is not only necessary , but it is a duty to for warn yoa of the present state of political feeling . Yoa are in greater ignorance than the English hand-loom weavers . Toureadnewspapers which p&nder to your prejudices , and live upon your gullibility . Don't rely upon them ; they are rotten to the core . Do not take it for granted , because the Tory prints assert it , that there is any re-action in the public mind in favour of Toryism- Its Tery resudtaiion from the
  
  grove has TOQSftd the slumbering hatred of all good men against it . It must bold power by the musket ; it must preserve your monopoly by the sword and the gibbet . If we are allowed to meet by day , we can beat it is day-light ; and if ire an driven to the old alternative for meeting Whig oppression , why we must needs have recourse , once more , to torchlight meetings ; and I presume the Whig proclamation has died a natural death . However , be assured , that meet ws will , and , it attacked , fight we will according to the very best of our abilities .
  
  My-Lords and Gentlemen , I have now pointed out the social change which alone can effect that which you and your rivals profess to be your object , the bettering of the people's condition ; but do not
  
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  suppose that I am foolish enough to imagine that either would surrender their hold , the one of political patronage and the other cf lafeour-plander , to » ave the world from flames . No , you would not ? Ask yon , then , why I take ao much trouble . I take it to open oat a question to the people of England , aa regards Iceland , of which they are in atte ? and complete Ignorance , and in which ignoranoe the press , as ignorant as themselves , would ,
  
  from necessity , allow them to remain . I take It to prove that the interest * of the Irish and the English peasant are inseparable an * identical , I take it for the purpose of letting you understand that while I oppose a repeal of the Corn Lawa > from a conviction , that the change would greatly damage my clients , that I do not do so , by any means , -with an intention of allowing you to starve the people as landlords , or to shoot the labourers at pleasure as politicians .
  
  X feel assured that the press cannot answer me . Just allow me to put you in possession of one fact I certainly understand ntore about Irish agriculture than alt tbe Editors of English newspapers pat together ;' and yet will you not find one single extract taken from one of my letters , if I write a hundred ; while if some fool of a half-witted political economist began to write a series of letters to yoa upon free trade , geology , chemistry , hydrostatics , navigation , application of steam to hatching goose eggs , Ireland's capabilities of rivalling England in » anufaotures , if she would only allow Poland or Russia to send her her supper ,
  
  and moke clothes for the foreigners ; all these things would be noticed , and commented upon , and why ? Because they answer the political end of a political party ,-while my letters only answer the people's end , and are therefore sure not to answer your parpose or the purpose of the manufacturer . The manufacturers waut to get hold of your estates , in fact , to eat them off from production ; yoa want to preserve them , while you hope to resist the manufacfurera politically ; and I want to step in between both , and raise the value of land , of produce , and of labour , at one and the same time .
  
  Now , then , I hare Shown you a vary simple process by Which you may accomplish all these objects . You most make the workman , to a certain extent , his own producer , consumer , and manufacturer . You thereby relieve tbe manufacturing market of a large portion of its surplus population , while you create for the remainder aa increased consuming community for the manufacturer's goods . Why do yoa bake your own bread , kill your own beasts , and brew your own beer ? Because , by so doing , yoa have it best and cheapest . Why , then , not allow every poor man to do likewise ?
  
  I have shown you that ao far from twenty million acres not producing wheat enough toi twenty millions of people , tlut ten millions would produce wheat , and pork or bacon , butter , oatmeal , mutton , honey , , eggs , and poultry enonghfor more than thirty millions of people ; and I am prepared to go further , and to prove that five millions of acres held by one million heads of families , at the rate of five acres each instead of tea , is capable of producing nearly as much as tbe ten
  
  millions held by the same heads of families . Now , what does that prove ? Why , Blmply the great value of labour as compared tosnrface , and the capabilities of the soil ; and that the less yoa allow to remain in grass the better . Just think that for four acres of grass , half an acre of meadow , and half an acre of vetches , I can . allow bat £ 12 a-year in the beep of two cows ; white for the remaining flV 9 acres , I allow the whole support of seven persons , and a surplus of £ 30 15 s . annually . ;
  
  This then is my position . I assert that fire millions of acres of land is capable of maintaining one million families at the rate of seven to each family ; and bear in mind , that I allow six millions out of tho BOTen to remain completely idle . I have not taken a day ' s work of any of the sons or daughters into ray calculation ; and I further assert that the process required would not occupy each man one-half of the year , while at the 1 » west average the land would produce a sufficiency of bread , oatmeal , butter , bacon , eggv , poultry , and
  
  several other things , far more than twenty-five millions of inhabitants . You know little or nothing of spade culture . I do ; I have tried it extensively , and I have shown its effects upon bad land to the Professor of Political Economy , Dr . Longfleld , and to many Tery excellent gentlemen farmers , and they were astounded at the produce . In speaking of Dr . Longfield , late Professor of Political Economy , and now Law Professor of Trinity College , I must say that he is the only one of the art I ever met in my life who could apply what may be btneficial of the theory to practice .
  
  My Lords and Qentiemen , having embarked in a subject which I find requires more space than I had imagined for doing it and myself and my clients justice , and being , therefore , compelled to leave much unexplained -which might be beneficially communicated , I have come to the resolution of dedicating to you a book , in which shall be set forth the " Rights of the Agriculturist . " My Lords aad Gentlemen , the more I consider this great , this mighty , and all-important subject , the more convinced am I of the value of the acquirement of a
  
  landed provision for the people . Now don't mistake me , as Mr . Justice Littledale did , or affected to do , when he infamously , falsely , and illegally told the Grand Jury , at Warwick , that tho Chartists desired to t * fce the land from the present occupants and appropriate it to their own uses . Once for all , I tell you that I do not intend any such thing ; that the Chartists do not intend any such thiog ; while , at the same time , I am free to confess , that a pertinacious resistance to a just claim not unfrequently terminates in a demand for more than would have been graciously accepted , if granted courteously , wisely , and In time .
  
  I have weighed my subject and looked cautiously into It , before I introduced to public notice , for the people ' s serious consideration , one of tha gravest questions ever submitted to them . It is a subject npon whieh few , very few , are informed ; and upon which the manufacturers of sews are jgnorantas Bcetians . They make tbe same use of land that they make of churches , tithes , taxes , \ f&&e , commerce , and manufactures ; that is to say , they UB 9 it each for their respective party purposes , just as it politically suits them .
  
  I should have been mad had I laid this subject before a manufacturing and commercial people , while living in comfort upon forced trade and fictitious money , and before I had prepared their minds for its entertainment . I have , in this letter , informed you of what , for many years , has been my object in giving up peace , happiness , fortune , and liberty , for turmoil , uneasiness , discomfort , loss , and a dungeon . My object is to obviate the dependance of the labourer npon his employer ; and my means , indeed the only means ef effecting that , is by establishing some certain market for labour , wherein the fall value may be ascertained ; for the working ont of which , land Is tbe only means , inasmuch as every man has for that trade both labour and capital in his mw , which he has not for any other .
  
  Herein , then , lay my greatest difficulty . I was well aware that a housed , emaciated , -worn-out people , accustomed to a heated atmosphere and a manufacturing life , and wholly ign « ront of the land its blessings and its capabilities , could not be brought all at once to entertain a question which appeared uninteresting and foreign to thett interest i have now , however , shewn to those who would still remain in the hell-holes , that although they nsver taw a green field , yet , that the landed market , if it were opened for those who would
  
  avail themaelvesof it , would have the effect of establishing a standard whereby « very labourer's wsgea would be regulated . For instance : suppose that A , an agricultural labourer , can support a wife and five children in comfort , by one-half of bis Own labour , and lay up £ 32 a-year , or spend it in tho fancy market ; in such a case , the market being also psen for B , ( who may prefer remaining at his own business , ) will prevent a master from being able to get his ( B . ' s ) labour under the value established in the market : thus is B , the operative , who never sees a field , served equally as well aa A who cultivates tte fields .
  
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  My Lords and Gentlemen , believe me that no human being has a more thorough contempt for a mere politician than I have , whether he be Whig , Tory , Radical , or Chartist , except be his some great social objaet in view . Lock up the land to-morrow , and I would not give yoa twopence for tbe Charter the next day . beynse yoa would have deprived it of its jewel . The Charter can never give the people any control over the land of those countries to which their attention is directed ; neither should it ; bat it con give them control over it at home , so for as to relieve them from a hand-tomouth dependanoe upon all who make unjust profit by their labour .
  
  i have no doubt that in my progress I snail make many enemies ; but all who know me are aware of the hopelessness of an attempt to turn me from any course that I once undertake . I may be before the public mind ; and if so , I shall wait till It comes up to me : bat a single backward step I will not take . I am moderate in my demand , because it lessens ab man ' s store , while it gives plenty to all . I am sincere in my undertaking , and I am resolved to procure tbo greatest amount of happiness for all , < n if needs be to perish nobly in the attempt
  
  My Lords and Gentlemen , I have now told y « a how to build a wall of hearts around your persons , and of bone around year estates . Ton most make the people part and parcel ot the nation , or they will cease to have any interest in the well-being of the country . And now , in order to show you the critical applicability of the state of Rome in the days of Tiberius Gracchus , to the present Btate of this country , arising out of precisely the same causes ( the monopoly of the land by a wealthy oligarchy ) , I shall conclud « with the following extract from a speech of Tiue&ics Gracchus . Read It , my Lords and Gentlemen , and study it , rather than the airy ' metaphysical nothings of Sir Robert Peel / os delivered to his constituents , and which are called clever by a political press . Tiberius
  
  said : " The wild beasts of Italy have their caves to retire to ; but the brave men who spill their blood in her cause nave nothing left but air and light Without houses , without any settled habitation , they wander from place to placj with their wives and children ; and their Generals do bat mock them , when , at the head of their armies , thoy exhort them to fight for their sepulchres and domestic Gods ; for , among such numbers , perhaps there is not a Roman who has an altar that belonged to his ancestors , or a sepulchre in which their ashes rest . The private soldiers fight and die to advance the wealth and luxury of the great ; and they are called masters of tbe -world , while they have not a foot of ground in their possession . "
  
  Now , my Lords and Gentlemen , barring the "light and air " which the English slaves do not enjoy , do yoa not recognise tbe strict analogy between the Romans in tho days of Tiberius , and the English in the days of your misrule ? I am , my Lords and Gentlemen , Your obedient And very humble servant , Fkargus O'Connor . July 26 th , 1811 .
  
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  BIIrSTON —The Bilston Chartists held their usuax meeting in the open air , at the Ball Court . Though the evening was showery and unfavourable , yet it was numerously attended , and the greatest attention was paid to Mr . Candy ' s lecture , who , in a most able manner , expounded the principles « f democracy and tho science of Government to the great satisfaction of his hearers . Our Association is now one hundred and . twenty-seven in membership . DAnLASTO ?? . —A Public Meeting was held , on Monday evening , at the Bull Stakes , Mr . Dudley in the chair , who , after a few brief remarks , introduced Mr . H . Candy , Chartist lecturer for tbe mining districts . His address was upon monopolies , and their evils ; labour , and ita rights . He began by showing the evils
  
  that had arisen in society through the effects of class legislation and an irresponsible Government , who had enacted laws beneficial to the few , but destructve to the many ; that the effects of monopoly , with all ila baneful influences , may be traced ttrough all the departments of the Government , from the highest aristocrat in power to the lowest jack in office ; their aim , their study , and sole object was to plunder aud rob Use productive classes , and to coerce and keep them down by an overbearing power of soldiery , police , yeomanry , hired spies , the minions , and tools , and despicable agents of a treacherous and deceitful Government , plundering aristocratic idlers , an over-gorged ,
  
  hypocritical , avaricious , cormorant State Church , the trio of which was so united in their villany , whether Whig or Tory it was immaterial to the working man , him and his interests was crucified between the two , so that they may attain their unholy desires at the expenco of the people's weal . Ha folly exposed their monopolies ; and then beautifully entered into the detail of labour , its rights , and its legitimate reward . He was heard with great attention by a vast assemblage of some thousands . The immense area , right in the centre of the town , was literally crammed ; and no doubt tho seeds sown by Mr . Candy will bring forth fruit au hundred fold to the good cause .
  
  11 R . Candy is engaged for six weeks longer ; and we earnestly hope that all true Chartists will use every exertion to contribute , in the various localities of Wolverhampton , Bilston , Darlaston . and Wednesbury , to tbe Committee , and persons appointed to receive monies on behalf of the lecturers'fund . CITY OF ZiONDON . —A special general meeting of the shareholders of the Scientific aad Political Institute , 55 , Old Bailey , was held on Sunday morning last , July 18 th , when rules for their future guidance was agreed upon , and a managing committee for the succeeding quarter was elected . It was announced by tbe former committee that out of fifty shareholders twenty-four regularly took tho N » rihern Star weekly , besides a good sale of the National Vindicator t and
  
  ether invaluable vehicles of sound political principles , and the profits arising from which go towards defraying the general expences of the above Institute . The public can obtain them also from ten to twelve o ' clock every Sunday morning at the above place : and when free of expence the Hall will be opened to them for political information . In the evening of the same day , Mr . Watkins preached ( the above room being licensed for the same ) a very excellent Chartist sermon , which gave general satisfaction to a most numerous and respectable congregation . Next Sunday evening , the 25 th inst , Mr . James Savage , another known Chartist , is expected to preach ; and on the Monday evening'following , a social concert will take place to defray tho expences of tho London general eUction committee in the above Institute .
  
  DKBBY . —Mr . Bairstow delivered two lectures in the Market Place on Sunday night . The lecturer occupied about three auarters of an hour in depicting the condition of tfie working millions , and the so-styled higher classes of eoeiety . He was listened to with the deepest attention , and at tho conclusion stated that on the next evening he would point out the coarse the people ought to take now that the Tories are in power . On Monday evening , Mr . Bairstow spoke for two hours and a quarter , and his arguments were clear and convincing . At the conclusion , a vote of thanks was passed unanimously to the lecturer , and the meeting broke up , a groat many persona declaring ii was the best lecture ever delivered in the Market Place . The Whigs and sham- Radicals are going to hold a private meeting , for tho purpose of IorraiDg a Society , having for its objects Household Sufi ' rage and the Ballot . Let them beware ; the teal Chartists of Derby are not to be duped with their clap-trap measures .
  
  CHSSTSBFZEU ) ANP BROIttPTON . —At the weekly meeting of the Chartiste , held on Monday evening last , toe following member * were chosen to serre on the General Council foe the next three months : —Messrs . J . Kycrofj ; , A ^ Beresford , W . Barkes , J . Wigley , Jl M 'Lallan , E , Broomhead , J . Williams , sub-Treasurer . W . Martin , sub-Secretary . The resolution of Mr . O'Connor in hU letter t » Mr . Sinclair of Gateshead , was carried unanimously , after which the meeting separated . HECKMOKDW 1 KB . — -At a meeting held on
  
  Monday last , a vote of thanks was proposed and carried to the electors for their prudence .-and decision in remaining at horn ? with their wivea and families , and keeping away from tbe polling booths of both Whig and Tory . A beart-stirrlng and animating address was given by one of our own body . The Radicals were much commended for their consistency in going to the nomination unpaid , and , in some coses , at the risk of ) osiDg their employment , while the slaves of the factions went urtder the influence of their roasters for one shilling each and a wajgon ride , to rivet the chains of stovery .
  
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  ^^^ mi ^ - BUBUrf . —Tbe TTmrenal Suffrage Anpmtfon of this place held their usual weekly meeting on Sunday evening last , Mr . Woodward in the chair , who , in a neat speech , replete with argument and good sense , showed very clearly the evils of the present defective system of election ; and said that nothing short of the principles contained in the People ' s Charter could really benefit the prodncers of wea . 'tb . Mr . Brophy ntxt addressed the meeting on the importance of the principle of Universal Saffragej he showed what the people had to expect from the faction about to come into power , and What they hsA received from the base , treacherous Whig faction , who preached up liberality . at the time they were prosecuting the producers of ' wealth : and reform and retrenchment when they
  
  were forging new fetter ? for the people , and wasting in profligacy the public money on spies and policemen to stifle the voice of the people . Mr . Wood , in a very comprehensive speech , urged the necessity of union among the working classes ot Ireland ; he said the words "No Popery and Orangeism " ought to ' . be buried , and that the man who woold endeavour to agitate these opinions was an enemy to the peace and prosperity 6 f Ireland , patiick O'HiggiM , Esq .. next addressed the meeting . He said he would be glad , at all times , to have an opportunity of addressing « o orderly a meeting as that before him , which was * credit to those who conducted it . He drew a vivid picture of the manner in which the . people , of Ireland have been deceived by the paid and place-hunting " patriots , " and showed the impracticability of the
  
  present Repeal scheme , which was a mere clap-trap to answer the ends of a party . He declared himself to be v Chartist and Repealer , and pledged himself that the Chartists of England were more earnest in the Repeal cause than any of the brawlers at the Corn Exchange . He gave some very striking proofs of the perfidy of some of those wonld-be-thought " patriots , ^ which called forth the disapprobation of a person present , but Mr . O'Higgtns told him that be was not now obliged to keep secrets , aad that he eoold prove what he had then asserted . Mr . O'Higgins was aoch applauded during bis speech , anil strong marks of astonishment were given by the meeting at the exposure hegave the supporters of liberality . A vote of thanks was given to the chairman , and the meeting separated , all highly delighted with the prospects now before them in Ireland .
  
  BBTJPAST . —The Chartists of this place held theie usual weekly meeting on the 13 th instant , when there was a good muster . A committee of five persons were appointed to look after a larger rooro , as the one they meet in at present is too small . They intend , as soon as they can procure a large room , to admit the public , and invite discussion upon the principles of the Charter . Letters were read from . several individuals in England and Scotland , which elicited the approbation of all present Several new members were enrolled . Chartism is making a steady advance in the North of Ireland , and the spate papers of English and Scotch friends are solicited .
  
  HALIFAX . —Mr . J . Watson , of Keighley , dolivered a very animated address in the Charter Institution of this place , on the evening of Monday last The room was crowded to excess , and the home truths which he delivered told well upon his audience , and caused many to respond to the truth of his statements . He was rapturously cheered throughout the whole of his discourse , at the conclusion of which several rounds of applause were given for the " caged lion , " the Northern Star , tha other Chartist victims , and to the lecturer ; after which several persons came forward and enrolled themselves in the association . A very spirited subscription has been entered into for a new banner to honour tho liberation of our great champion , F . O'Connor , Esq ., on which a splendid whole length likeness of that gentleman will appear . . The females are / ieing with and emulating the men in this patriotic undertaking
  
  NEWCASTLE . —The Newcastle Chartists held their weekly meeting on Monday night , Mr . Crothen in the chair . The Secretary read the minutes of last meeting whic h were adopted ; he likewise read several letters , including one which he received from Colonel Thompson , in which' he states it to be the firm belief of an eminent Parliamentary council that Mr . Bronterre O'Brien was legally elected for Newcastle , Ac&c The following resolutions were then carried unanimously : — Mr . Fraser moved and Mr . Bruce seconded , "That thi » committee return hearty thanka to Col . Thompson , of Blackheath , near London , ' for bis kind off « r to render us assistance in establishing the point of Mr . O'Brien ' s election , and that the Secretary be , instructed to reply to CoL Thompson ' s letter . " Moved by Mr . Bruea , seconded by Mr . Fairilouen , " That aa address be
  
  issued by the friends of justice throughout the empire , through the Star , requesting their co-operation in rait * ing the necessary funds for claiming that seat for Janes Bronterre O'Brien , Esq ., in the Commons' House of Parliament , to which he was duly and truly elected by the suffrages of the borough of Newcastle-upon-Tyne , aud that Messrs . John Mason and James Sinclair be appointed to draw out that address . " Mr . Mcfiatt moved , and Mr . Fainlough seconded , " That James Sinclair be appointed sub-treasurer for Mr . O'Uriea ' a Petition Fund . " Mr . Bruce moved , and Mr . Hall seconded , " That a committee be appointed to audit tbe Election Fund accounts , previous to the balancesheet being made out , and that Messrs . Frazer and Bruce , 'with Maugham and Sinclair , form that committee , ami that the balance-sheet be sent to the North ' em Star for insertion . "
  
  SUNDERLANO . —On Sunday afternoon , at the Life Boat House , Mr . Geo . Binns delivered an excellent address to a large audience . Lectore by Mb . Harney . —On Friday last , this indefatigable , honest , and talented missionary in the cause of freedom , visited Sunderland , after an absence of nearly two years . This long absence , together with the talent and manifest zeal of Mr . Harney , excited a strong and general desire to hare a lecture from him ; accordingly , the Arcade Room , the largest in the town , was engaged for him , and on Friday evening , by the hour appointed for the lecture , it was craamed from end to end . On the appearance ef Mr . Harney he was greeted with most enthusiastic cheering . He was accompanied by Mr .
  
  Williams , who briefly introduced Mr . H . to the meeting , when Mr . Harney rose , and was received by loud and continued cheering , which having subsided , Mr . Harney appropriately thanked the meeting for the reception they had given him aud complimented the Chartists of Sunderiand npon the noble position they had maintained at the late borough election . Mr . H . then dashed into the subject of his lecture , beginning by exhibiting a rapid , clear , slashing apd destructive review of the career of the Whigs , since their acceptance of office in 1832 , to th a period of their ignominious defeat in 1841 ; proving that they had been one of the most , if not the most treacherous , profligate , and tyranaical admiuii-trations . that had ever affected this
  
  unfortunate country . He then searchingly analysed the pretences upon which they had dissolved Parliament and exposed the utter inefficiency of the ministerial scheme of Commercial Reform , ' to remove the evils thatnoW afflict us . With reference ' -to-the means by which the national expenditure might be brought down to the national income , or the tax receipts of the exchequer , be squared- with the Ministerial expenditure , he gave some valuable instructions to Lord Morpeth and the Whigs . He a ^ ked how it was that , accepting office with a surplus revenue , they had left it with an annual and increasing deficiency , and by coutinually increasing the debt ; and showed that it wa 3 by their system of foreign , and domestic policy ; by their intermeddling and
  
  peddling interference In Spain , and Egypt , and Turkey ; by their tyranny and plunder in India ; their robbery of the Canadian exchequer , and despotic rule in Canada ; and , lastly , by their opium war in China ; while at home they squandered the public treasure , in establishing a town and rural police force ; in the erection of gaol 3 , station-houses , and model prisons ; the employment of spies , traitors , and informers ; the prosecution , imprisonment , and tyrannous treatment of their country ' s patriots , &C . He said , if they were honest , they would retrace their stepe , and begin the work of retrenchment by reducing their own salaries to aa extent corresponding with the reduction whioh the
  
  working men have had to sustain . Mr . H . then passed on to examine what the Tories , who declaimed these things , would do to remedy the evil , and proved , from the history of that bloody aud brutal faction , that they were no better thaa the Whigs . He advised the people to take their affairs into their own hauds , to 6 tand by their own principles , aad advance their own . cause—encouraging them , by exhibiting the rapid progress which Chartism had made ; its present important position , and cheering prospects . He then concluded a long , interesting , and useful address , amidst great applause . Mr . Binha briefly proposed the thanks of the meeting to Mr . Harney , which was carried by acclamation , and , Mr . H . having acknowledged the honour , the meeting concluded . . ' , ... .
  
  Chartist Discossion Class . —On Saturday evening iast , the members of the Chartist Dlscasaion Class , meetiDg at Mr . OrwiB ' s , New Hopper-street , Bishopwearmouth , discussed the following question : — " Are the principles of the Charter based upon truth ! " At the commencement of business , Mr . Slater was nDaniraosslj «» lled to tne ch 5 , He called upon Mr . Anderson , the proposer , to introduce the question , which Mr . A . did in . a neat and appropriaw speech . He wu followed by Messrs . DobWe , Taylor , and others , who . by the talent displayed , proved the utility of such discussion . - After an
  
  animated and instructive debate , the discussion was closed by Mr . Anderson . We would most strongly recommend our brother Chartists living in that neighbourhood to avail themselves of the advantage of this class ; fer not only is tbe system of discuising political subjects calculated to deepen their knowledge otthem , but the geoara } condnct ot this class , the spirit of unity that has ever distinguished them , their liberal aid to the cause , and their untiring zeal , entitles the members of it to . honourable notice . We gay this without disparaging the services rendered by other classes in the town .
  
  KEXGKLBT . —On Monday evening , Mr . Jackson gava a lecture on the principles of Chartism , and another on Tuesday evening on the benefits of teetotalism , both of . which were numerously attended , and were listened to with the greatest satisfaction .
  
  To The Landlords Of Irelandlstteb Hi.
  
  TO THE LANDLORDS OF IRELANDLSTTEB HI .
  
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  —^ C ^ y C ^ —^ . ^ -. . '" :. v "; : /; ¦ . ¦ - - : . :.- , J . -. / -. VV . ' T AND LEEDS GENERAL ADVERTISER .
  
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  YOL . IT . NO . 193 . SATUEDAY , JULY 24 , 1841 . ' ¦ T % g 5 g > ya ± * - «
Citation
- Northern Star (1837-1852), July 24, 1841, page unpag, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct389/page/1/

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To The Landlords Of Irelandlstteb Hi.

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