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Northern Star (1837-1852), 31st July 1841, Edition 2 of 5, Page unpag, yO THE LANDLORDS OF IRELAND. tETTEB IV.

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    • yO THE LANDLORDS OF IRELAND. tETTEB IV.
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      wt Loss's a > -d Gestlembx , —I hare now shown rt ^ t an Irish f * n ° « occupying 100 acres of land for ^ vty-flTe joa , ui requiring , at the Tery lowest l ^ al&tios , a capital of & 09 to at » rt -with , has , at the -ration of that period , if all goes very well , no ^ Ttban five « t , e * ^» 0 , a . tt » aoaanlated topfe interest upon his capital ; « d that he , his wife , ! ad five children , bare laboured for io many yean for " scanty subsistence , with had lodging and clothing ; -here ** compound interest , at six percent , whichia ? Ke iepl interest of the country , woald haTe left him ^ reen £ « 0 and £ 560 in the same time . Such in hit option ; wmle few labourers in Ireland can command Expounds after a life of toil , starration , uncertainty ,

      md sorrow . I jure shown that farraCTg hare heavy responaibllitieS j BabiHttes , and calamities to contend against jtey hare all the responsibilities attendant npon the ^ pnent of a settled rent , keeping the stock together , •^ porting their families , and paying their way ; they fcTe to contend against the liabilities to which you , „ legislators and autocrats , chose to subject them . They have the ealamitWB , eagualitiea , and fluctuations and thft them and in

      ^ , a « h nature markst * expose ; jot one of those responwfeilhies , liabilities , or calamiges , are you participators . You drag the rent in fed ' fcarvests from the capital , and thus set them strugriin « far years to hold possession by loans , for which ^ pay in many instances aa high as 30 or 40 per -Hi ., rather than quit the spot npsn which they hare yO& md "to which they haTO become attached . While joa , thus , free yourselves from all chances and changes -jjkli may operate unfavourably , you take adrantage by the

      ^ eTery turn which improvement farmer * skill , g-fai , asd attention yield ; and you raise his rent as tfi reirsrd for industry . Tfcus do you become not only pggjcson of the soil , but regulators and disposers of it , produce and its occupiers . jhe farmer cannot so easily rid himself of rcsponrfjgnty , inasmuch as he must employ labourers , aud 1 interest of

      ! upon that point ; when I discovered that Repeal was bat Intended to be a drawn sword held ! ore * the heads of a party which it no longer frightened ; ) when I found that it had lost its buggabooism , I then ¦ turned my attention to the immediate correction of i many abuses . Now pray understand me . In fact , I I was so ardent in the cause of Repeal , and being

      conjob blighting influence operates against the , fee labourers al » o , because the bad remuneration and \ jjscsrfcainty of tenure preTent the farmer from em- j rioying more than one-half the number of hands j be would do , if freed from your eternal pulling , dragging , watching , and screwing . My Lords and Gsnilemen , having tans inverted aa j the rules of Providence , having stinted and limited . ifizmre to the standard of poVidcal power , suited to ;

      T « zr own interests , yon have created a ' surplus popu- j htion" which your friends , the political economists , now tell us " presses hardly upon the means of subjisteaca . " Thos have yw * made paupers ; while the aaaoHUjts hive msde slaves of the bees npon whose honey tbe drones lire ; and in exact proportion to the i icibility of the bees to produce does your billet of idle J drones increase : and this is the whole , the sole , the j only au » e of distress , dissatisfaction , and discontent , j ¦ jbka ho power on earth can remedy so long as ! thenrtem which creates and upholds it is allowed to j

      eontmne . 1 Sow , my Lords ard Gentlemen , I shall enter into a j Tffj trief , and I trust , dear , fair , and unbiassed con-1 Bbraiion of my client * ease . Tb the first pl&ee then , Ubouristke foandafcit n of -. ill wealth . That is indisputable . The barren surface ' . of your son , until made available by the poor man ' s j bbour , has no m » re valne than the shapeless block of ; nurble , rough from the quarry , before it receives value ' bom the sculptor ' s hand , who puts the stamp upon it ; 1 tod even ite value is but ideal , or ratber it must be i

      regelated by the price of the produce of the land . So with every luxury that you use in this world , from the gorjeons feast , the gaudy trappings of your persons , the sumptuous furniture of your mansions , and the iplendour of your caTiages , down to the mere Becstsaries of . life , —all , all are regulated by tie price of labour : and having deteriorated the value of labour by your law of primogeniture , settlement , m& entail , as also by your whimsical mode of leading pound for terms of years at fixed rents without reference to annual prodnce or price , ( of which more heresfter > and also by bad tenure and destructive conditions

      annexed to occupation ; having by these complicated erors deteriorated the value of labour , you have drugged the world with its cheap produce , while you have smothered the bees in ths midrt of their own honey , aot allowing them the very meanest subsistence after all -, and you now vainly hope to limit suffering to those very producers , never reflecting that all other properties , of every description and however guaranteed , whether they be fixed incomes , salaries , or fluctuating incomes , aad whether insured by rents , Acts of Parliament , castora , or contract , must , sooner or laier , eslcli the infection &ail take Hie disorder , which

      ispoverty . In this state of things , allow me to claim , upon bebalf of my clients , the full benefit of the latest , most brutally concocted decree—that decree which " threw the poor man upon his own resources . " Beyond that I do n » t go ; and the fulfillment of that I have a rigb * todemand . The rich have thrown the poor " upon their oth resources . " I am satisfied ; and you hav : ng made the law , I claim its spirit for my clients . Throw them , ihcn ^ " upon their own resources : " those ' Tesonrecs" ar *" libOM , hcAl ^ . and industry ; or peculation , fraud , and

      Uuevery . Whkh do you choose ? If the litter , abrogate and destroy all impediments to a full exercise of those " resources , " by the repeal of all laws for the putisumect of such offences . If the former , giye to them Sis only mean 3 ¦ whereby in this world they can lire upon theii labour , tieir health , and their industry , which « re their resources , by opening the gate of Nature ' s field , lad allowing them to enjoy these blessings for your and their own adT&nlage , freed from more artificial constraint than is absolutely necessary for the existing state of society ; and , above all , allow each to have s Toice in regulating the » ti sting state of things .

      My Lords and Gentlemen , the skill and industry of fee BritUi and Irish people are proverbial alt over the worH ; pray bear in mini , of the people ; not of the gsanWing aristocracy , the speculating merchant , the baitlittf Churchman , the sporting Squire , or the shooting soldier , but of the people . Is it not , then , high time that the system skould be changed which prevents the one from wearing a sufficient portion of the ebShss he make * , and the other from eating a sufficient Portion of the food he produces ? > "ay , more , that I

      uay not be out of fashion , I will go upon " reciprocity , " tos economist ' s caterer for all man ' s wants , by an in ' * &mge of their respective surplusage ; and is it not Pissing strange that the producers of England c&rniot exchange , with the producers of Ireland , their surplus produce , or any portion of it ? nay , more , that over the 'sgnlation of supply and demand , they , whose very ^ iiteaee depends upon a jealous watching of the kittce , have no control , either directly or indirectly ? ^ ow , i » not that very strange , very wrong , and very S » th at variance with all the rules of free trade and

      reciprocity ? " ind ye ' , those vary people who cannot fcTel the waters , or stem the torrent at home , are asfced "fc > be free traders with all the nations of the earth , iaorder that , by a " reciprocity , " or mutual return , * bidi is the meaning of " reciprocity , " they may get a command over the Government and valuable produce of * H foreign c&nntries ; while they cannot make a policett » a . appoint a magistrate , sit upon a Jury , vote for * representative , or appropriate one acre of land to ** 5 oial purposss &t home ! Is it nut disgusting "fensl nonsense , to hope to cram a starving people * &i such moonshine '

      My 1 *^ ^ Gentlemen , I hold that man in utter *» tempt , irho , seeing and feeling the justice of his case , * &bol < is any portion of it from tbe most jealoua in-* P * &m and r igid scrntiuy . BaS in fart , politics and * b » 1 anaagements nave been so mixed up together of **> that very many honest men are fearful of explaining ™ T ttfi great social changes which they anticipate 600 the success of a political measure . We know that si-ainded men who dread the result , will from *»« interested motives give a decided and dogged ^ P ° « ticra to the proposed change , without adducing **? better argument than : " I don ' t like il ; " " / don't *** £ , " u IivtCt see if * uu of it ; ' " We do very **; " and " Dfpead upon U , it uwldfaU of aatisfyiny *< mdcosUxL "

      « o » ill tl-ese furnish no argument ; ray , not rren ™ iJ 5 ctian ; Uity amount io no more than a perverse ^^ on . Mareovcr , I now fefl jnjsclf in a situation « * Eyou with all the hcstiiity -ffhieh dogged folly PKrese exclusions can funiish . I feel that By *** J isuo ^ r scerfently strong to stand firmly-with T ^ wynpDli liie broad b « 3 e ot popular right , which Le was before , wiciiia the mviscry of luau ; nor was

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      it in that position till the dissertation of Parliament My monitions may now lose the tone of appeal , and assune the tone of warning and judgment . I shall therefore tearleaaly belJ yon all that is required' for the completion , perfection , and stability of my plan . Those requirements do not amount to innovation , experiment , or even Reform ; they , one and all , whether social or political , amount to no more than

      restoration . They an a restoration to Ireland of her Parliament ; and a restoration to the whole people of their electoral rights , with entire and ample means for their fullest enjoyment Such may be considered the two great principles ; while the whole of the detail benefit sought may be gleaned from the following measures which , I rejoice to say , still stand upon tbe journals of " the House , " and to which is appended the name of Feargus O'Connor .

      My Lords and Gentlemen , when I discovered , late in 1 S 33 , that the windings of the Repeal question were'too mysterious for my comprehension , and when I supposed that many mere ignorant than myself were , equally with me , liable to misconception

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      Tinted that if one dozen men had worked for it outsi le , as I . worked , and backed as it was by fortytwo votes , and powerful eloquence and great courage inside , that it must have triumphed if those forty-two remained firm , which Ireland would oblige them to da Thus tot the first year I abandoned aJl minor considerations , and dting to that question , which erer has been , and ever shall be , tbe darling object of my life . Bowever , finding that the whole thing was a piece of magic , I placed the figure on the wall in 1834 . showing its strength , its justice , and its prudence , and at the same time exhibiting the great superiority of the arguments of iU supporters over the fectious opposition of its opponents . As my next letter shall contain a plain and simple development of what Repeal would accomplish for Ireland , and the hopelessness of expecting benefit even fr » ra the adoption of any agricultural plan , or indeed from any other plan without giving to it the protection of the master's eye and tbe guardianship of a freelyelected representation , I shall say no more upon that subject now ; but shall at once proceed to lay before you the five measures which I proposed for immediate relief in 1834 and 1835 .

      No . L To move for leave to bring in a bill to compell Irish landlords to give leases for ever at a corn rent ; and in all cases where lands are now held upon lease or accepted proposal , and are considered too dear , to give to the tenants of such lands the right of appealing to a Jury , who shall establish tbe value in like manner as the value of private property is now ascertained , when required by the Crown , or legally authorised corporations or individuals , for national purposes . No . 2 . For leave to bring in a Bill to make a legal provision for the poor of Ireland . No . S . For leave to bring in a Bill to consolidate the several Stamp Acts now in force in Ireland .

      No . 4 , For leave to bring in a Bill for the-better regulation of Quarter Sessions' Court ! in Ireland , with a view of making those courts cheap courts of equity as well as courts of law , whereby cheap justice might be brought home to the door of every poor man . ~ So . 5 . To move a resolution of the House , that it is desirable , a * well for the ends of justice as for tbe tranquility of Ireland , that all clergymen , being magistrates , should be deprived of the Commission cf the Peace . Now , by these five measures , you will at onee discover that I have been long looking after my project The law to regulate tenure I shall presently explain fulJy .

      The Bill for a provision for the poor was of a very different nature from that ¦ which has since been adopted ; by it I meant to make as good a provision for the unwilling idler as for the wholly destitute ; and I meant to carry out my plan , as announced in one of my speeches upon the presentation of a petition , by a tax upon absentees , middle men , and landlords ; and by agricultural and labour premiums for the working farmerand labourer . My plan was persuasion ; yours compulsion .

      By the Stamp Act , ( a full draft of which I handed to Mr . Littleton , and received his assurance to bring it forwards , I meant to deprive landlords of a right to taie monies on account o / rent , without giring stamped receipts , by a want of which tenants are chested out of thousands annually . By the Quarter Sessiom Bill , ( which I foolishly relinquished , rtlying upon Mr . Littleton " s honour that he would adopt my every suggestion , ) I hoped to establish a kind of Court-roll , or Baronial Court , where tenants might , in case of dispute , lodge monies for their landlords and receive receipts upon noUce riven to tbe

      landlord ; might cheaply register their leases , and the Seneschal of ¦ which should have certain powers in cases of dispute . I also hoped to confine all questions of equity between landlord and tenant to those caeap courts , instead of seeing the farce ot a man ot straw going to the Court of Chancery to defend the beat equitable title against a golden calf . I also hoped to ta » e from landlords the power ot distraining for rent , ami giving them tbe same mode of recovering as all other persons who deal in the world have ; making them liable to double costs in case of illegal or vexatious proceedings against their tenants . I also hoped

      to simplify the law of ejectment , by making it more inexpensive , and rendering the re-assumption more easy in cases of fraud , failure , or non-payment of rent ; thereby fully proving tbat with just and equal laws for all , I would be as ready to defend the rich man ' s right as to defend the poor man ' s r ight Indeed , I have seldom , or never , known a single instance of a rich man and a poor man going to law , wherein the poor man had not both law and justice on his side ; and tUe very "fact of a poor man braving tho danger is , " prima facie" evidence ef the justice of his case .

      My Lords and Gentlemen , I now come to a consideration of the justice , propriety , policy , reasonableness and mutual convenience of my proposition as regards a tenure in perpetuity of land a , t a rent regulated fey the graduating tor sliding ) Bcale of prices of produce . Firstly , then as to a lease of land for a term of three lives , or thirty-one years , or fourteen years , which is the shortest term ; or for any term at a fixed and unchangeable rent , —it is rank nonsense ! Whit would you think of a clothier , a hosier , or a wine merchant who should say to a purchaser : " Ton must give me so much fcr this article , because two years ago I gave so much for it myself In the wholesale market I" and yet it would not be one-half as absurd as the practice

      of requiring a fixed annual price for your wholesale raw commodity without any reference to the retail manufactured market Besides tb . 9 folly—the rmtinrnQ loss is too enormous , and ' population presses too hardly" upon the means ALLOWED BY YOU for its subsistence to admit of the continuance of a vicious practice , which deprives the community of the full developement of all that skill , industry , capital , and even honourable speculation , which the husbandman would more freely and largely expend npon his own account , than he can be expected to expend to his own disadvantage . You ride a hired horse harder and take less care of him than you do of your own horse ; so with the poor man who merely hires your ground at your will for a job .

      Secondly , the very fact of yonr being compelled to make leases for ever of your lasd , would , for selfinterest , work ont my principle of small farms ; inssmuch as yon would then see the great advantage of a retail market Thirty , tbe whimsical e » 0 « of kadirg land operates prejudicially not oaly agaiast tbe farmer but dso . against" the labourer whose sem «* the farmer

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      will not venture to hire , except at tbe very lowest rate and the lowest amount ; while if he had a lease for ever he would make » garden of his every inch Of ground . An Irishman will work from sun-r&e till sunset , and work cheerfully , too ; and so would an Englishman , or Scotchman , upon his own ground , and would require no military force to put him to bed at the sound of the dread curfew . He would sleep sound , and awake to the pleasing reflection , that " his chief happiness really consisted in the modest comforts of his condition ; " * bis face you would ne f er see in a court of justice , or resisting military authority . Ah ! a bad hit that for iny client , as echo answers , " No 1 " and therefore you would never see " my son" upon the bench , or pleading his cause , or commanding the said military to fire upon him . But , however , to the case .

      I have shown you that a conditional sale of your land upon the terms of annual render of payment is the only means of cultivating it to the highest state to which it is capable of being brought ; and now I proceed to show you the egregious folly and injustice of requiring a stated rent through all time , while I show you at the same time the injustice of the present system to yourselves . Land ifl to produce , what cotton is to calico , wool to doth , tallow to candles , leather to shoes , bread to wheat ; that is , it is the raw material ont of which tbe article is manufactured ; and of course , aa the value of produce and raw material in all other commodities reciprocally act and react , now for and now against , the speculators who buy and sell with

      the day;—< pray keep that in mind , who buy and sell with the day , )—the longer overholdlng than is necessary for a corresponding return between recent purchase of raw material and immediate Bale of the manufactured article becomes matter of fair speculation for the manufacturer , and subsequently for the tradesmen who retails it The one sells to convenience himself ; the other buys to convenience himself . It would not be judicious for a manufacturer to lay by a fourteen years' stock of raw material ; and much less would it be to lay by a thirty-one years stock , without reference to , or control over , the price of the manufactured article : and yet the system of leasing land upon fixed rents for a term of years is precisely the same : not a particle of diseernable difference .

      Let us now see wherein authorities and titles higher than yours , bear me out in my principle . Firstly , then , I will take the ruling power of the Church , and I will show you how the principle of annual render according to annual produce is therein acknowledged ; and I will also show how you , When you altered tbe old practice , you brought it still to bear upon the principle of reciprocity . Tithes , then , are annual render of a tenth of all the produce of the land ; and before tbe enactment of the Tithe Composition Bill , which ordained a seven years'lease of them , the parson was partaker with the tenant in many

      casualties . If the tenant thought the valuation too high , or if the crops were destroyed , he could make ihe parson draw his every tenth sheaf , tenth grass cock from the meadow , and the produce of every tenth rod , of every ridge or drill from the potatoe field . To obviate this inconvenience to the parson , and at the same time to make a beginning by way of experiment upon an appropriation of tithes to your own uses , you gave the farmer a seven years' lease ; and just think of tho principle upon which you acted . You gave him for the seven years to come an income established by tbe average of prices for the seven years past ! Well ,

      unjust as that was , it was , nevertheless , a full acknowledgment of my principle ; it takes prices of produce as the standard of yearly income ; but it would have been much more just and fair to have made the tenant pay money en account during six years of the current seven , and then to have balanced accounts by a whip upon the last year , than t » have made the average of 1834 to 1840 , both inclusive , a standard for the regulation of payments for the subsequent years of 1841 to 1847 , inclusive . Indeed , taking tbe average price of each year is precisely tbe same , but too simple , as the average for any , or for every year within the year . However I am glad to be able to establish my title upon

      clerical principles , and therefore I adopt it , but I must nevertheless explain to you tbe folly of taking a seven year ' s average , or any number of years as an avenge , Instead of an average price within each year . Observe , then , that the average price taeh year constitutes in the end the average price of any number of years ; for instance , take seven years' average prices at the following amounts—14 s ., 17 s . 6 d ., 21 s ., 24 s . 6 d ., 28 s ., 31 s . 6 d ., 35 s . ; and you will find 24 s . « d . to be the average ; and you will also find that the parson or person entitltd to the seven years' different sums would have received precisely the same amount if he received the average price of eacii year within the year .

      Thus far I have tbe principle acknowledged by church usage and commercial usage ; and now I bring tbe practice of Government to bear , and in all their contracts , from tbe regulation of duty upon grain down to the Bupply of stores and provisions of all sorts ; we find the principle of " buying and selling with the day" strictly acted upon by annual tenders and declarations , and contracted for , fcr the year . Having said so much upon the subject of tenure and mode of annual assessment of value , I aball now show , and I think dearly , that a rent regulated by the price of grain , familiarly callBd " a corn rent , " is tbe only just mode by which the annual value of rent can be ascertained without a risk of chances , all the bad ones being on tbe side of the tenants , and all the good ones on the side of the landlords .

      If a manufacturer goes to market te purchase raw material , he is regulated is his bargain * by the market price of produce ; so with the butcher wbo bnys live stock ; so with tbe farmer who buys dairy cows or other stock ; so with those also who even purchase in the ¦ wholesale and sell in the retail market ; they , one and all , " buy and sell with the day : " while the very man whose bargain should be In some way defined , in order the better to lead him to a calculation of surplus after rent , has no means whatever of judging even while the crop is reaping , of what portion becomes his share , or what portion become * the landlord ' s share ; and while in his share there is mixed up labour , capital , risk , responsibility , and personal security , the landlord ' s Is altogether freed from any such h&f&sslog drawbacks .

      Now , I ask , what can be mere absurd than a stamped agreement to pay for each and every year , of thirty-one years , tbe same amount of rent , without reference to produce ? It is rank nonsense ! and , upon the other hand , I ask what can be more just , seeing that the produce is of tbe land , and its render being annual , than that the standard of rent should be ascertained by value of annual produce ? One silly gentleman once Baid to me , when talking over the Bubject , that " a majority of farmers would prefer the principle which left the widest field open for speculation , and that a com rent

      would damp their energy , and in high years would act against them ; " upontheotherhandl contended that the present system net only damped , but forbid all energy beyond a mere existence point ; while the field Of speculation would be incalculably increased by the substitution of a com for a fixed-money render . 1 explained , that only with acorn rent could the benefit of leases in perpetuity be made equally advantageous to landlord and tenant , by giving to the landlord , tbe only menus ¦ which , apart from folly , he should enjoy of squaring his annual expenditure by his annual receipts .

      I further aver , that in such cases high rents would be more beneficial to the tenant than to the landlord , inasmuch as upon all surplus produce the tenant would have a fire-fold increase , while the I&a 41 onl Trottld have bat a eingle increase . Thus : suppese ten acres of the land of Bltckacre , to be taken hy A . at 20 s . per acre , on a com rent when wheat wa » Sfla . per bag ; and suppose the price to rise to 30 s ., and tbe rent to be consequently increased to 30 s . ; ia > seen ease the laad-Icrd ¦ would have but an increase oS 'JOs . upon the 4 CT 6 , while A ., would have an increase c £ 10 a . on every bag , or £ 3 on every acre . It is tru ^ that the mtfe would only apply so extensively to , grain-prod » eins land j

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      but Inasmuch as the price of grain regulates the price of all other prodaee , it would effect oil the gr&sa land to the full amount ot the difference of ten shillings ; that is , tha differs *)* between twenty shillings and thirty ahUlingi ; wh . tta it would leave to the tenant the benefit of all surplusage of profit above rent upon grain ; and what coold be so great an inducement for the encouragement of the growth of grain , in which , we are told , we stand in so much need

      My Lords and Gentlemen , custom reconciles the mind to practice and principles the juatlca and propriety of which few men will vesture to defend ; and while the defence of those principles and practices invariably subjects their supporters to universal scorn and reprobation , nevertheless are the principles and practices preserved and universally acted upon . For instance , the Duke of Newcastle has been censured ,

      and most justly , for defending his " right to do as he pleased with his uwn ; " and no apologist appeared even from the ranks of the practitioners . Mr . Bruen said that the Irish were " savage , " and he too was universally censured ; but is there a country upon tbe face of the earth , « r do we read in history of any country , where the priufipto-of tbe Duke of Newcastle and the belief of Mr . Bruen is or was more extensively acted upon than both are at the present time In Ireland ?

      Was ever the system of serfdom and vassalage more perfect ?—softened down as it may apparently be by the assertion , that tbe vassal and serf is a free agent and enters upon the cou tract with his eyes open ; he does so : nor is he blind to bis position , but he has no alternative . Tbe moment be becomes your tenant , he is to all intents and purposes , your vassal , slave , and bondsman , f » r tbe whole term of his tenancy . He cannot keep a gun to nb >> ot a crow without your license ; he < a bound down by conditions of every sort you th ' na proper to impose for . the management of a farm , for ; l j rnt of which be is answerable ; you are

      part proprietor of bis capital , of his skill , his industry , and his labour , while you are released , aa 1 have shown , from all easualities and liabilities . You have his capital , as a sinking fund to fall back upon la cose of bad yean ; while at the expiration of his term , should he get a renewal , tt is in general on condition that he give something more for his own improvements than another will bid over his head ! aud , above and before all , he is compelled , at the bazird of losing bis farm , and perhaps his life , to vote

      for your nominee , who is most likely an enemy to his interest , his religion , andhispoHtlcalfeelingsjandyetthis is called the justice of " doing what you like with your own ; " this is the leaven of the system of which all have a right to complain ; this is the cause of the demand for foreign grain ; this is the original cause of " over production for the fancy market , " of " surplus population , " and a scanty supply of food . You first limit the amount of tbe land ' s production , and by so doing , you increase the amount of " surplus population , " while you diminish the means of traffic . '

      Now are these things not quite plain and obvious ? Firstly , you withhold the land from its most beneficial application ; secondly , even under your own system of large allotments you annex such conditions to a , bod tenure as prevents tbe tenant from improving or producing the most ; thirdly , you encourage horse power to the ousting of a much better power , and you thereby create a " surplus labour-population , " according to the means you allow them even for existence ; and , fourthly , you prevent the farmers , by your general practice , from becoming a dealer in the manufacturing market : the result of all which absurdities Is , that

      those paupers displaced by you have become a reserve in the English labour-market , upon which the masters can foil back , as a means of compelling all to work at a mere existence point ; while they also constitute a corps of willing assailants , ready to be led on , ( and " small blame te them !") in any assault against their aggressors , who are , undoubtedly , the Irish landlords . So far from the Irish people having any just cause of complaint against tbe English people , I unhesitatingly assert that the tyranny of Irish landlord * has been the ruin of the English operative , and indeed of all English labourers . You have sent a swarm of bees

      from yonr own hive , ( whose labour , and more , was required at home , ) in order that you and your families may live in luxury npon the idle paupers' fund of which you hold the masterdom , by limiting tenure to tbe standard of class legislation , and which you can only accomplish by firstly starving the Irish people , and then asking who would enfranchise such paupers ? by goading them into crime , and then asking who would enfranchise such " savages" ? by withholding all the means of improvement , and then asking who would enfranchise such ignorant creatures ? by making your class-religion an object of just hatred , scorn , and

      resentment , and then asking who would enfranchise the enemies of our " holy religion" ? by using the laws for their ruin , and then asking who would enfranchise men who bad no respect for our " laws" ? while all are consequences of yonr oppression and misrule , and to which a speedy termination , commensurate with the offences , has been long protracted by a patient and enduring people . I am , my Lords and Gentlemen , Your obedient , And very humble servant , Fbabqls O'Connor . July 27 th , 1841 .

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      if yoahave paid to any person any sum of money on my behalf , you will have the goodness to claim its restoration as money received under false pretences , aa& I will prosecute the offender as far aa the law will allow . My Lord , while my hand is i » , I may be permitted to say that this is a very carious coincidence , inasmuch as I took no part in any single election throughout the recent straggle , save and except in your Lordship ' a ; and as perhaps you may have- paid some one something fo » that , let me tell you what parti did take . Having some interest , and many friends in Leeds , I

      was naturally waited upon , consulted , and questioned as to what I thought the most prudent course to be pursued by the Chartist voters at the Leeds election . My answer to one and all was , " For my part I think it signifies nothing i but , as an Irishman , I beg of you , for the honour of God and my country , not to vote for Lord Joeelyn , as whatever his politics maybe , he represents , in his name and person , the very bloodiest faction that ever disgraced humanity—the Irish Orangemen . " I farther said that if you were returned , I BhouW never again have a hope of convincing my poor countrymen , that even the non-electors were not Orangemen . v

      Now , my Lord , I am happy to inform you that my influence , and canvass , and imploring , and beseeching , had the effect of relieving you of all the trouble and anxiety consequent upon the acquirement of the trust you sought My Lord , another palpable falsehood which some person informs me is abroad ,-is , that my publisher , who is an elector , voted for you . This I can grapple with , and the carious , can arrive at tbe truth Or falsehood of it ; but , meantime , J beg te assure your Lordship that he , with many others of my friends , rejected all solicitations on your Lordship ' s behalf , and did NOT vote for tovr nor would five hundred times the £ 500 , I believe , in my conscience , have tempted him to do so . I learn from him that he did not vote at all .

      My Lord , I am expected to be very pure Indeed , and I will endeavour to be so ; and while I am upon the subject , I may as well request of your Lordship to perform a friendly office for me ; for being , as I presume you are , a member of the Carlton Club , you can do it without much inconvenience . The aforesaid Bakewell further assures some persons that I received the sum of £ 1 . 500 from the Carlton Club for my services . Now , my Lord , the smallness of tbe amount for such services as I am supposed to have

      rendered , would , to a sensible community , at onee be a direct refutation of the slander . In fact , what would £ 1 , 500 be to me when I con ! d have had twice as many thousands . However , yon will oblige me by assuring the Clnb that I never heard of the affair till it came to me in the indirect way in which I have stated ; and if it has been paid , it also should be refunded , as it was acquired under false pretences . Curious that a Olub whose arrangements generally appear bo complete , should pay large sunia of money away in such a slovenly manner .

      I assure you , my Lord , that not one member of the Carlton Club , nor of any other club in the world , would , for ten times the amount , presume even to ask me if I would accept of a gift for the violation of my principles . But as a disinterested politican is a "ram avis , " and aa busy slander cannot find one foul spot in my character , fiction , always ready to aid in the gocd work of destroying the fame of all persons useful to the poor man , has tendered its services ; and what is most curious in the whole affair is , if the said Bakewell was put to his oath to-momw , or indeed if every man in the kingdom waa put to his oath , not one would swear that he believed I was capable of selling myself for any sum of money , or for any principle short ef Universal Suffrage .

      My Lord , I think it right to inform you that I received a very pressing letter on your behalf from Mr . Harvey , assuring rae that you were a very good man , and very fond of the poor , which letter I took as a great insult , and never answered . Perhaps , my Lord , he has been kind enough to receive the reward of merit on my account ; if so , yon should make him refund . His letter was evidently written either at y » ur Lordship ' s dictation , or at the suggestion of yonr committee . My Lord , once for all , I beg leave to assure you that there is not money enough la the Bank of England to purchase a sentence , line , or word from me , which would aid the cause of either Whig or Tory , or injure the cause of my own party .

      My Lord , you win , of course , take this letter in a purely political sense ; as I have no reason whatever to doubt any one of the many handsome compliments which Mr . Harvey paid . to your private character . I am , my Lord , Your Lordaliip ' a obedient Servant , Feargus O'Coxnor . York Castle , July 26 th , 1841 .

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      WEDNESBTJR . Y . —A public meeting was held at the High Bulling , on Tuesday evening last , to hear Mr . Candy give an address upon the principles and objeots of the People ' s Charter . As it was something new to the inhabitants of this place , he had a good attendance of hearers . He entered full ; into his subject , and convinced his audience that nothing but the attainment of the Charter could heal the wounds that taxation and an oppressive Government had made in society . He was attentively heard , aud the working classes were highly satisfied with the lecture . Three cheers were given for the Pet pie ' s Charter and the Northern Star , and three times three for Feargus O'Connor , the unflinching advocate of the working men . A good working Committee was formed , and a number of working men came forward to form an Association .

      WOLVERHAMPTON . —A meeting was held at Mr . MogfiB , Temperance Hotel , Snow Hill , on Wednesday , which was well attended . Mr . Candy delivered an excellent address upon the science of Government . The Committee at Wolverhampton wish to remark that Mr . Candy ' s engagement will terminate in a fortnight from this time ; and if any ef our Iriends would wish to have the services of Mr . Candy , they recommend him * s a worthy , able , talented , and unflinching Chartist lecturer , deserving the support of every lover of Chartism , Letters to be directed to Mr . J . Wilcox , news-agent , Worcester-street .

      Wolverhampton . They would wish to engage Mr . D . Taylor for one month , in the place of our friend Candy , if he is not pro-engaged . BiJUSTON . —The cause of Chartisn is making great progress here . Mr . Candy ' s lectures on the People ' s Charter , the principles of Government , and other political subjects , has been the means of attracting great numbers of hearers each evening . At the conclusion of each lecturo we have an accession of fresh members . A spirit of union and friendship is manifested both in our public meetings and Committee , and we are now getting well and thoroughly organised .

      DASUu&STOSf . —Mr . H . Candy gave a leoture on the old Poor Laws as they were , and the New Poor Laws as they are . at the Bull Stakes , on Monday evening last . There was a large assemblage of personB present . MUSS £ I > BTJRGH . —A public meeting was held in the Freemasons' Hall , Musselburgfe , on Tuesday evening week , the 20 th instant , for the purpose of forming a Charter Association in this town , Mr . D . M'Paerson in the chair , the meeting was very ably addressed by Mr . William Taylor , of »*} keiih , for two hours ; after which twenty isen eame forward and joined the Association , and there is every prospect of the cause getting a great number of sspportera in the town of Musaelburgb .

      DALKEITH . —The oause is progressing here with great spirit . The Association is sending deputations to the neighbouring towns asd villages , to address meetings and form Associations . God e > eed them ! It is talked of holding a delegate meeting in Edinburgh , fur the purpose of forming a better organisation for the county ., and to try to get a lecturer for the eanie > VJOTTON-TJ * TO £ R-E ! SGE . —Tbe Chartists of ' . his place passed resolutions at tbeir last meeting denouncing Collins and O'Neil , and expressing confidence in " vVhite af Birniingtaw .

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      ^« s * 4 s /^ Jt ^^ y ¦ ¦"¦ / :: jfa : M i * £ L LEICESTER . —Although less excitement y / mznifest , now tne ? l eeifen fever has subsided , yet a strong under-current of thought and feeling on Chartism is yery discoverable in Leicester . Mr . Cooper ' s political sermons in the Market-place , on Sunday evenings , continue to attract great cumbers , and to create busy discussions amoi : g all classes . — The general meeting , last Monday night , was an interesting one , and was addressed by Messrs . Smut , Markham , Bowman , &e . with their usual good sense . The people display deeper interest than ever

      on all Chartist subjects . It was learnt that Richardson was in difficulty , and » plan was instantly set on foot to relieve him ; seventy have already pledged themselves to contribute one penny each for six weeks , towards a fond for him , and more will be added . The Executive , the grand main-sprint in our political engine , has not been forgot ten ; twentyfive shillings were sent , the other day , to Mr . Campbell , the secretary , as a tribute from our funds ; to which was added fifteen shillings , collected by a few real friends to Chartism , at Melton Mowbray . The fact of ouch a sum being collected in thtt aristocratic centre of fox-hunters for such a noble purpose , is not

      a little remarkable ; the money was brought over and paid into the hands of Mr . Cooper , the Leicester secretary , not a little to his pleaenrable surprise . — The Leicester Chartists wish it to be generally known that Messrs . Seal and Burden have no longer any connection with the body . —Communications for the Leicester friends ought to be addressed either to Mr . Cooper , secretary , 11 , Church-gate ; Mr . Bowman , treasurer , Pasture-lane ; or Mr . Markham , committee-man , Belgrav& gate . —Mr . Smart commences a series of lectures on the Charter , next Monday evening ; and Mr . Cooper preacheB , as usual , in the Market-place , on Sunday evening .

      YORK . ——The O'Connor ' s Release Domonsoration Committee held their usual weekly meeting , on Sunday , the 25 th instant , when » variety of business , relative to the forthcoming demonstration , was brought forward . The committee highly approve of the suggestion ef Mr . G . J . Harney , for holding a delegate meeting to arrange the various demonstrations that will take place on the release of oar glorious chief , and have determined on sending a delegate frem York on that occasion . The secretary wat instructed to communicate with the various localities , requesting the co-operation f tiMir Charti * ftnthcen tfawoghout the United Kingdom , as the men of York are determined to do tbeir utmost in order to render their demonstration effective , and to show to tbe inmates of tbis den of corruption their determined hatred of oppression , und their love for the glorious principles for which that truly ?« Noble of Nature , " F . O'Connor , Esq ., has so long and so unjustly suffered .

      LAMBETH . —A meeting will beheld on Tuesday evening next , at 54 , Webb ' s Row , Waterloo Boad , for the purpose of nominating a sub-Treasurer , when all members are requested to attend , as there is business of importance to transact LEIGH—Chartism in this this town is rapidly progressing , so much so that the authorities have deemed it prudent to arrest Richard Brooks , on the 2 lst instant , because be is a zealous advocate of the elective franchise . He was placed under arrest , no doubt , for the purpose of retarding the progress of public opinion , on a charge of being a party to a seditious placard , issued prior to the 12 th of August , 1839 , he having absented himself for one year and nine months , but immediately after the division in the House of Commons on the release of

      all political prisoners , he ventured to return , and after being at large in his own town for three months , they at last seized him and brought bi : n before the magistrates for examination on the 22 nd inat , who sat for the first time in the New Town Hall , and on being arraigned at the bar , Brooks requested of their Worships that the charge pr indictment should be read , and there being no Indictment , their Worships thought it judicious to adjourn for an hour , during which time an indictment was made out . After this announcement the Court was cleared by the police-officers who wereln attendance . When th « Court resumed , after their deliberations , the Magistrates had determined to commit him to take his trial at the next General Quarter Sessions . Brooks then enquired if he had the privilege

      of choosing whether he went to the Assizes or the Sessions , which was answered in tbe negative . He also begged of the Bench as he was a poor working man to be as lenient as possible in the amouut of bail , and their worships decided that he should be bound himself in £ 50 and two sureties of £ 25 each . Bail haviug been obtained and sworn that that they were worth £ 25 when all their just debta were paid ; their worshi p * demanded twenty four hours notice before such bail should be accepted . Several persons waited on the Superlntendont of Police to enquire if the bail was accepted , when it turned out they were rejected \ two others having been obtained were accepted , When Brooks enquired what he had to pay , Mr . James Smith , the Magistrates' Clerk , stated it to be £ 110 s . 6 d ., and oa being paid , Brooks was " once more set at liberty .

      DtrBUN . —The Universal Suffrage Association of this place , held their usual weekly meeting on Sunday the 15 th inst , Mr . P . M .- Brophy , in the chair , who opened the business of the meeting by declaring its objects , whioh he said were the principles of the People ' s Charter and the Repeal of the Legislative Union . He repudiated the idea of the Chartists being Tories or torch and dagger men and showed that even Mr . O'Connell had softened down the charges be made against them in April last , When ke said it was " a transportable offence in Ireland to be a Chartist . " Now , he only wanted to know what c » lour they are , and the worst he can do fa to call for three groans for them . Tbe Chairman concluded by Introducing Mr . Handcock , of Manchester , who in very eloquent terms and at consi *

      derable length pictured the state of public feeling in England towards Ireland . He said ne knew of no Chartist in that country that was not a repealer to Har full extent , and that if Irishmen were not to be partakers of the fruit of the Charter , Englishmen would not accept of it All tbe aristocracy dreaded was a union of sentiment between the three countries , and he said that that the present meeting was a foreboding of such a union . He gave some very striking proofs of the evil conduct of Irishman ( whom he believed to be of the lowest grade ) at Manchester and other towns who , be said , were acting oa the advice of Mr . OC&nnetl , and wbo to their eternal shame , acted a most brutal part at the Stepheneon ' s-square meeting , and one of whom he said , told the veteran patriot Wheeler ,

      " to bo prepared to meet hieGod . " Mr . Handcock concluded amidst the plaudits of the meeting . A gentleman from Bradford , here stood up and commented in very severe terms on the conduct of the Chartists of that town , whom he said had acted very unwise in taking part with the Tories , and saidtbat they , the Chartists , were acting on the advice of Feargus O . Connor , who some time ago , wished that the House of Commons had in it 058 Tories . He gave it as as his opinion that the conduct of Martin , at Bradford , was anything but calculated to further the cause , when Patrick O'Higgins stood up and said that the gentleman who spoke last , had , he thought , acted severe . in passing such strictures on Messrs . O'Connor and Martin . He said tiio meeting should bear in mind that it

      was not tbe men but their policy that was condemned . Now , he ( Mr . O-Higgin ' s ) had very great respect for Mr . O'Connor , although he differed from him in many points . He said he yielded to no man in his admiration of Mr . O . ConneU ' s transeendant eloquence , although persons present thought otherwise , yet he denied altogether his title to the character of a statesman . He said there never was a . man in the world wbo possessed SO much power , and who at the same time made so bad use of it When the " base , bloody , and brutal factions" were persecuting him , the people in England and Scotland turned out in tens of thousands to hail his entrance into Birmingham , Manchester , Newcastle , Edinburgh , and Glasgow , and foreed the middle-classeste do henour to the man whom they hated and whose

      power they dreaded . Mr . O'Consell had at that time all Ireland with him as well as England and Scotland . And with all this power what did he get for the people ? What did he ever prepare in Parliament for tbe benefit of his country or of any other country ? It could scarcely be expected that he would be able to carry any measure in a Whig Parliament for the good of Ireland , but he should have had the moral eonrage to have proposed something as others , even If he were left without a seconder ; but , instead of attempting to carry , or even bring forward in his place ia Parliament any measure calculated to benefit or alleviate the suffering * of those who would have sacrificed tbeir lives for him , and who soifered the most cruel and heart-rending persecution , on account of their adherence to him , he

      turned round upon bis deluded followers , and got tbe Coercion Act for then . And when Mr . W . S . O'Brien , the M . P . for the County Limerick , moved tbe continuance of that Act should be limited to two yean , Mr . O'Connell , and every member of his family , whowere then in Parliament supported the Whig motion for the duration of that Act for fve years ; and Mr . O'ConneU justified bis conduct on the miserable plea , of the necessity of the Act , in order to put downagrarian disturbance . And agai > , { said Mr . O'Higeina . ) when Mr . S . Crawford moved the Repeal of th » Coercion Act , let it be xememkered , to tbe eternal shame of Mr . O'Connell and hia 4 unily , that the voto * of every one of them ore recorded against the repeal of that Act , and their votes a * e to be found in an authentic deeumeat , called " The Votes and Proceedings of the House of Commons . " Again , when that parent of patriots , Mr . Crawfoirf , brought forward hi * motion for the total abolition « f tithes , Mr . O'CaasttU

      voted with Mr . Peel , SergeWt Jackson , Mr . ietroy , and all thft Tories in the Hons * at the time agaiMt the motion , ami afterwards had the face to tell hk dopes that Mr . Crawford ' s motion was calculated to euattbe " Liberal" Government , and bring in the Tcufca , He ( Mr . O'Higgins ; would say aothing at present about the barefaced and open sale of the County ol Dublin to nbn-Repeaiets—the Couafcjr of Meatb to asat-Bepealen —the County Kerry to aon-Repealera—avc about the recoouaendation to the favours of the citiaens of Dublin , those who congratulated the Marquis of Anglesey for arresting Mr . O'Connell and others . He should re- ¦ ¦ «*¦«* W sarve any thing he had to say upon these subjects for Hill * f HW ** future occasion . He concluded by reading a lottePMSw * i ft from Mr . A . M'Kenzie , of Bristol , which , animadverted * -VW » - £ -S ?^ on the conduct of Mr . O'Connell in * very fordbW ^^^ ivilY ^^^ fc terms . A person present evinced some disapprobaWW . iSv fs ^ - ^*^^^ at it Tbo Chairman interfered , and , the mea £ g / 3 •«*^?'' 4 ^^« being again composed , it was further ^ u ^ essedlSiX ^^^^^ li i ^ S Messrs . Lee and Wood . Thanks being giren t < ry »^?\^«^^*^*^ coalman , the meeting separated in very good ¦ Pw ^ W- ^^!^ f ^^ iiai ^^ l

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      Yo The Landlords Of Ireland. Tetteb Iv.

      yO THE LANDLORDS OF IRELAND . tETTEB IV .

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      TO LORD JOCELYN . My Loed , —A person writes to me toom Mjinches ter ^ to say that another person told bisn , that he was informed bj some o » e , that some one else had beard on * Bakew « U ( who from his name I take to be oneof tb * fratenity of " plaguy large loafew , " and who is a eenespoadent of the Sun . newspape *) say that 1 kad a «« eived £ 509 flrwn your Lordship for services rendered I * you at your weent contest for Leeds .

      Now , my Lord , as what so many persons say saay be true , and whether true or false , may be believed by some one , and as I would not wish any one man , woman , or even child in the wezld to believe that I could be guilty , at any price , ef , offering so great an insult to my country , luy party , and my -understanding , as to assist you in an endeavour to repwient Leeds , or any other place , I beg of you as fellows ?— that is *

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      AND LEEDS GrENEBiX ADVERTISER .

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      | VOL . IT . NO . 194 . SATURDAY , JULY 31 , 1841 . P " % " S ^ , g ^ Sr '"

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      P . S . Allow me to correct a few errors of the press which appeared in my last letter : —For " Gracchii " read Gracchi . For " BceUans" read Batiians . I also find that my table of calculations was made to appear , in the first edition of the paper , completely topsyturvy , by the blundering of a compositor , who was entrusted to make a trifling correction in the totals , but who , instead of following the marks in the proofslip given to him , transposed the lines , and put the totals just where they were not wanted to bet . Below I give ngain the table as it should have appeared at first—and as it did appear in the last edition of the paper .

      £ . s . d . Nine bags of wheat , at twenty stone tbe bag , at £ 1 5 s . the bag 115 6 Produce of a cow and half , valued at £ & per cow 12 0 0 Five barrels of oats , at fourteen stone the barrel , at 10 s . the barrel , or less than £ > d . per stone ................... 2 10 0 Profit on four bacon pigs , fed from May to March , and bought at nine months old £ 2 10 s . each 10 0 0 Profit on four sheep , fatted after shearing , 10 s . ahead .. 2 « 0 Eggs , poultry , linen , ( or span flax ) .,,,..,.,... 5 0 0

      Those amounts , added , make ... £ 43 15 0 From which deduct : — Bent and rates 11 0 0 Laid by for girls' portion and easualities , per annum .... 7 15 ft Total ...... £ 18 15 0 which dadvoted front the £ 42 15 s ., leave * £ 24 to be annuatty expended in the manufacturing and commercial Backet .

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), July 31, 1841, page unpag, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct390/page/1/