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Northern Star (1837-1852), 11th December 1841, Edition 2 of 5, Page 7, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      - DEMOCRATS OP SHEFFIELD TO THE POLISH EXILES IN ENGLAND . BROTHKES IS THB CAUSE OF TJMVEBaAX Llbsbtt , —With feelings of sympathy ud admiration , ve have penaed an address purporting to be from a portion of your body , resident * t Portaea , in ¦ which you jeniind aB of the errices and nerifioes af your country lor the safety of Europe , and the base ingratitude of ttiose Governments , who , saved from the scourge of the Northern Autocrat by the torrents of blood shed by you , who have survived the storm of war , and by your compatriots who sleep in their gory graves , hare basely allowed the destruction of the independence of that nation , that , by its immense sacrifioe * and god-lite heroism , hu twiae prevented the annihilatioB of civi-Bastion and freedom in the West ; first , under the walls of Vienna , when the Crescent waned before the Cross , and Europe was saved from the barbarism of the Turk ; jecond , on the banks of the Vistula , when WarsaWs beroic legions Bared Paris from the sword of the

      Muscovite . We hare denounced the base ingratitude of certain { joTSTBiBents : we shall not shrink from saying what governments—we mean the Governments of England gad France . Of the Freneh Government it is not our province to jpeai : we leave the perfidious Monarch of the Barricades to the vengeance and exeeration of the generous sons of Gaul , oonfident , as we are , that the tri-eolonr gig of libertj Trill yet be what it was in 1793—the terror of tyrants , the beacon-light for the oppressed of « U nations struggling to be free .

      It is with our own Government we have to do . We assure yon , Brothers , that the sympathies of the English people in 1830 were with you ia your holy struggle . Ton had the good wishes—you had the prayers of the people for your triumph and success % but you needed more , yon needed the assistance of oar rigLt arms . Alu \ you knew net that the people of England , of ¦ whose boasted freedom you had , doubtless , in your own Und , heard so much , were but slaves themselves : not glares ta one blood-stained military tyrant , like the people of Poland ; but slaves to a host of plundering ariiwerats , stoci-jobbers , capitalists , stete-priesU , pensioners , and court-paiasites , -who keep the toiling classes in political bondage , that they may deprive them of the produce of their industry , and plunder them of the fruits of tieir

      toDyou denounce the treaty of the 1-ith of July . We unite with yen in execrating that treaty , by which Eng . land was insanely and wickedly bound to support the designs of Russia upon Turkey . You do the people of England but jastiee in supposing that the national feelings of this country were not represented in that treaty ; if the silence of the Ttngl ^ h people surprised yon , we can explain that silence . Tree , they were appealed to by certain parties , who told them a certain Minister was a traitor , and had sold bis country to Rnssia . ' What said the people ? "

      Palmerston may be a traitor , but what then ? Are not all his ccronettad compeers traitors teo ?—have not tha aristocracy , one and all , sold us to slavery ? We detest the Russian despot , but we have no power to prevent an alliance of out irresponsible rulers with kirn ; we will not have our attention diverted from the obtainiBent of our Charter . " Thus reasoned—thus said the people ; in our opinion , the people reasoned wisely , and acted well in refusing to take part in any movement that had not for its object their own enfranchise ment .

      Brothers , believing , as we do , that " he who oppresses one nation is the declared enemy of -all , " we cannot but hold in abhorrence the blood-stained tyrant of the North . But , alas I we have no power to prevent an alliance with him , on the part of our governors ; they are to the people irresponsible ; over them the enslaved millions have no centrouL Brothers , we are united to obtain those rights which We belters are the common heritage of men , without distinction of country or class . The Chartists of England have been painted in the blackest colours by the wretched tools of aristocracy , who sell themselves , mind and soul , to prop up the present Uttering despotism . By them we have been denounced as " anarchists , " men who sought only rapine and spoliation , and the reducing of society to one chaos of confnsien , \ Y \\ we might profit by disorder .

      We indignantly repel the charges brought against us Our object is the putting an end to that legalised system of rapine , by which the idler is made rich , and the wealth-producer made poor : our demand , is to have accorded to us the rights of manhood , and to be placed upon a political level with our fellow-men . Is there ought that is unworthy in snch objects * Is there ought ibat is unjnjrt in such demand ? No , brothers , BO 5 we feel assured that , having yourselves battled for liberty , your hearts are with us in our struggle—a struggle for the liberties of Englishmen—for the rights of the human

      " For our freedom aEd yours" is the motto of English democrats , as well as Polish patriot * . In contending for our Charter , we contend for the power to protect onrselves—and the power to extend the arm of fraternity to every other people . Let the democratic banner once wave triumphant over the blood-Etamed flag of despotism , and Englishmen , having won their own freedom , will not be slow to diffuse the blessings of liberty among the Eations of the earth . Ton ipesi of yoni countrymen , the " gentlemen emigrants , " as having failed to do their duty . Aristocrats are the same all the world over . We question ffineb , whether your revolution would have failed , notwithstanding the non-support of England and France , tad the chiefs of the revolution proclaimed not only war -with Russian tyranny , but war also witti Polish inequality .

      The independence of Poland and the eqnal rights of her children inscribed on yoar banners , will in your next struggle ensure you the ttumph , and the victory . You speak of the treachery of leaders , —tfee curses of posterity bls * t their memories , and blight their names may the fate of the traitor Tobhihofsii be the fate of all , who like him , sell freedom and a nation for a tyrant's gold . Brothers , from our hearts ire rf joice that you have determined to this eay celeirate the glorious 29 th of November ; in person we cannot be with yon , but in spirit we are . We tso are met this hour to celebrate a day so dear to the lovers of liberty , so hittfnl to the oppressors of nations .

      Brothers , our fathers were tiught by interested knaves and juggling state-priests to regard as their natural enemies , all men not born on British ground ; we turn with disgust from so loathsome a doctrine . We believe all men to be brothers , and all the nations of the earth to be but one family ; we extend the hand of fraternal love to all men , regardless of colour , clime , or creed ; and m > w before God and the human race -we pledge yon our sympathy and brotherly aid . You say well , that the hour of your battles is again come . Eternal justice forbid that Poland should sink into the grave of annhilation , and her name be blotted from the book of nations , without snother struggle on the part of her

      children—aye , ralber eyerj Pole perish , sword in hand , beneath the spear of the Barbarian—every fort of Poland ' s soil be given to desolation , rather thaa submission to a bloody despotism be hopelessly endured . But , brothers , we have fervent hope , that the undjing spirit of liberty , rallying your dispersed legions rousd the white eagle of your father-land , will lead you onwird ts victory and the restoration of your country's independence . What though Barbarian hordes again oppose you , and torrents of gore again are shed 1 The patriot may fall on the red field of strife and see not the realization of his hopes , but liberty is immortal , and a brave people were never yet subdued . Poland must , -will regain her independence and freedom .

      AH ills have bounds , plague , whirlwind , fire and flood ) Even power can spill but bounded seas of blood ; Stitas caring net what Freedom's cost may be , May , late or soon , but must at last be free ; To ? body-killing tyrants , —cannot kill The pablic soul , —the hereditary will , Which downward as from Bire to son it goes , By Ehif ting botoms more intensely glows , Its teii-loom is the heart , and slaughtered men ? i | b . t fiercer in their orphans o'er again . " Assuring you of the undying sympathy of the democrats of ILcg ' ncd , we are , noble and gallant patriots , in hatred to tyrants , and love to you , Yours in fraternity , The Democrats of Sheffield .

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      DEWSBUBY . At the Keeting here on Thursday night week , the folio-wing address -was read , and was omitted in our last , for -want of ro « m : — TO FEARGUS O'CONNOR , ESQ . Respected Sie , —Permit us , the inhabitants of DtWibury and its surrounding villages , in common with the whole of the wealth-producing portion of the community , to express , thongh feebly , our unbounded joy , that yonr constitution and spirit have enabled you to triumph over the disease and honors of Whig solitary confinement , and that you have come to the glorious face of day , like a giant refreshed with new * ine , prepared to tell despotism to its teeth , "thus didst thou , and thus thy reign shall end ; " prepared to tell it . that the measure Gf it * wickedness is full to

      fverao-iring ; prepared to Ull it that it h&i rooted to toe end of endurance in the blood and groan of suffering humanity ; prepared to tell it that your woe-? orn fathers curse not loud but deep ; that the heaitbursting sigh ef yon famine-stricken , half-naked mother , as she wildly clasps her offspring , dying from hunger , to harmiJiJess bosom-, prepared to tell it that all these , DliddfcDed at the protracted injury and insult , proclaim m notes cf tiunder , that unless ju * tiee be done , and that speedily , to Buffering humanity , a day of fearful retribution is , like time and death , silently , but witi frightfully rapid strides , certain to overtake them .

      We cannot , Sir , in the compass of an address of this kind , pretend to enter into , or point out ail the actions which , have adorned yooi career , and which have endeared you to the hearts of all those who love mankind m this and every other country . But permit us to allude for a moment to the state in which we were » hen you came amongst us . We have bad the splendid talents cf aCobbett , a Cartwright , a . Hunt , and a test of others for twett ? years ; we haTe seen the bill , the Whole , bill , and nothing but the bill , become the law of the land ; -we have seen the middle classes become the law makers , and , as a natural consequence , * e > ve » e « B ttw eBJu . t-. ng of dead body bill * , Irish

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      union bills , and English and Irish poor law amendment bills ; ire had seen these , and a host of others , which were to make England the admiration of the world ; and yet our destiny became every day n >» fearful ; from being the well-fed , well-clad Englishmen , we have become worse than slaves ; for we bad more than the slave ' s toll , but less than slaTe' » reward . But , Sir , notwithstanding all ibis , notwithstanding we were " without form and roid , " yet we had within us all the elements which were necessary for our freedom and greatness . You , Sir , have collected those elements —you , Sir , have given those dry bones form , sad have taught us to stand erect and ask ourselves why it is that mil those -who produce nothing should suffer nothing , &nd why it Is that we who produce all , should suffer all ?

      Before you came amongst us , Sir , we were the coustant prey of one or other of the factions . Every one with his lo here ! and lo there ! was able to divert us from the one great cause of all our individual and national degradation . But now , Sir , what is our situation ? We are acknowledged by our opponents to be the most numerous , most intelligent , and most influential party in the stats . You have taught as to expose the now wornont fallacies of the Cora Law Leagua You have taught us to dissect and refute the cabalistic jargon of the Malthusian political economists . You have taught us that man was created for other and higher purposes than to be the serf of a class ; and , though last , sot least , you have taught us to detect the heart of a foe , although that foe pretend to hold out the right hand of fellowship , and be clothed in the garb of a friend .

      But perhaps , Sir , the greatest of all your achievements in the cause of suffering humanity was the establishment of the Northern Star . Yes , Sir , the Star has canted despotism to quail to its inmost soul , and it has often " sworn by its God" that it " should be no more ;" but the Star , Anteus-like , has returned from each blow with increased vigour ; and we hail its establishment and continuance as the sore and certain pledge of man ' s emancipation ; as the " day-star" of freedom to the world , and as a happy presage of the moral and physical happiness to which man's high destiny yet urges him .

      Go on , then , noble Sir , in the cause you have so long continued in . Swear with hs this night that yon will never cease your exertions , but with life , to cause every man to have a voice in the making of the laws by which be has to be governed . And that you may live to see the righteous cause Becure , and that you may long contribute to its success , by your splendid talent * and vast experience , is the daily prayer of this great assembly . Ana when time shall have silvered o ' er your honoured head , and have taken you to " that bourne from whence no traveller returns , " may our children's children , as the big manly tear steals down their furrowed cheeks , point with exultation and regret at the place containing the mortal remains of the man who has caused England tj be in reality the " envy of surrounding nations , and the admiration of the world . "

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      TO THE OFFICERS AND MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL CHARTER ASSOCIATION OF GREAT BRITAIN . Brethren , —We the auditors of the accounts of of the Executive beg to call jour particular attention to the balance sheet which is published in to day ' s Siar . You collectively agreed to elect an Executive body and pay them for their services ; now , brothers , unless the association performs its duty to that body , they cannot expect very great progress to be made in the glorious cause we are engaged in . You will not fail to percerre that seTeral localities have not paid for their cards ( which by the bye ought to be a ready-money transaction ) and consequently have not sent a farthing in the shape of contributions to enable the Executive to proBtcute their labours . We beg to be understood

      that we do not attach any blame to , or find fault with those districts which have but recently enrolled themselves in the National Charter Association ; but there are others from which we expected better things ; we sincfreiy hope those localities that are In arrears with the Extcntive , will make arrangements for liquidating their debts immediately ; we do hope the officers and members ef the association will make it a point of duty to seEd the moiety required by the plan of organisation to the Executive above all and before all other claims . Yon mitt see plainly , unless this is done , that that talented body -will have to struggle continually against the stream , to the great Injury of our sacred cause . As the Executive have accomplished so great an amount of good with the limited funds you have plsced at their dispasal daring the last four or five months , what may we cot expect from them if property suppoitsd ?

      Brethren , our enemies are watching for the sign of a break up in our great and glorious organisation ; they well know that our chief and greatest difficulty , is a want of funds ; let us disappoint them—let us strictly abide by the plan of organisation , and we shall soon create such a feeling in the public mind as will carry all before it , and finally cause our beloved Charter to become the law of these realms . Hoping that you ¦ will receive these few remarks 1 b the spirit in which they are given-Brother Chartists , We subscribe ourselves , Yours , in the cause of democracy , William Robson , ) . ,.. JOH . v ilaT . ViBD , } Auditors . London , >* ov . 30 th , 18 il .

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      SAYINGS AND DOINGS IN THE NORTH . During the abstraction of the inhabitants of the coast towns , by the fisheries and harvest , agitation naturally verged southward , till merged in the demonstrations of " the patriot chief . " Apart , however , from them , thongh full of anticipation , " the good men and true" of Falkirk welcomed the self-devoted missionary of other scenes to deliver a lecture . Three good audiences , on the first day of the week , listened to a scriptural vindication of the equality of human nature , the proper exercise of Christian sympathy towards the prisoners , captives , and the destitute , and the identification of practical Christianity with the pervading principle of Chartism , manifesting the most intense interest . Tbe lecture on the second day madeapowerfnl impression , and elicited enthusiastic applause . Pressing solicitations for future intercourse * > iaU not be forgotten .

      The men of Alloa , though in the greatest bustle of preparation for their splendid display , also provided for , a lecture , doubtless from the laudable consideration of contributing their quota towards expences of travelling , 4 c-, and therefore it deserves record . Stilling rtceived an address at a convivial meeting on the Saturday eTening , on the due importance of working men assuming thfcir proper position , in tbe present distracted state of our common country ; on the next evening , the personal responsibility involved in national association , was laid before

      them , and certainly net ib Vain . On Monday , the neighbouring villagers of Cambro-baron , made announcement , and gathered a portion to hear a lecture on the state and prospects of trade . Owing to the breaking up of a large establishment recently , a flourishing association as been torn asunder , but if the wanderers retain their principles faithfully as those they have left behind , it will be but the wider dissemination of the good seed , to result in the more luxuriant harvest . A survivor of tbe persecution , that victimised Hardy and Baird , still cherishes here the principles that perilled Mb life with theirs .

      At the Whyns of Melton , close on the celebrated field of Bruce , and having near , once ft Bacred edifice , a revolutionary stable , then a magazine of " Prince Charley" after the battle of Falkirk , blown up , a fctinding memorial , whose ruins are still , on tbat account , more strikingly indicative cf national mutations , there had we a good gathering of impoverished nailors and Etrogeling weaTers , who rejoiced by a lecture , to witness on the political horison , the beaming emanations of the forthcoming Charter of a people ' s rights ; and were urgently pressing for a aecond favour . Engagement however , at Bannockburn precluding , that was the next scene of labour ; where adventurous usurpation and fearful submission , alike derogatDry to moral woith , presented a clot on human character , threatening to

      extinguish the very being of man . Importunate , unwearied exertion rallied a very tolerable assembly in a spacious hall , resulting donbtless in the pretty general conviction of the audience , that they had souls of their own . Two or three friends from Melton Denny , where a better , at least a brighter spirit exists , accompanied tfce lecturer , who had been arranging with them , several miles to return also , although they were to hear him at their own home . A gathering took place to listen to an exposition of Chartism and its necessity ; as also to pass the National Petition for numerous signatures . If every neighbourhood possessed the intelligence , zeal , energy , and moral standing , an the score of total abstinence of the Chartists of Denny , the speedy triumph of the cause would be soon effected .

      The cold and sterile north still presenting attraction to the glewing breast of the missionary , he judged the period arrived to retrace hi * step * . Wishing also to partake in some demonstration , as a duty to a privilege , a recollection of former struggles awakened a lively interest for that of Aberdeen , conscious that the overwhelming triumph Chartism over moral force fallacy , whether of Lovett , or BreWBter , Owen , or both combined , would be some gratification for the past , be hastened forward . On his way a letter was put into his hands at Forfar , and by his means forwarded to O'Connor at Dundee , of the value of which he was fully aware , yet little did he expect the ample reward which

      its exposure so signally secured . After a day or two ' s rest he urged onward to Peterhead . There the evil genius of Brewsterizm had engendered strife , and was labouring hard to produce distraction . Surely the harpies of Government are sufficiently alert with the giss , snares , and traps of the law , without hounding on to the prey by moral force mania I He besonght the friends to oust" the bone of contention , " with common consent ; and after allaying considerable prejudices by as address to tbe total abstainers , left them with hopes revived for the progress of genuine simple Chartism . The next stage New PiUdigo , we had one lecture on abstinence , another on the nature and means of effecting the Charter ; a procession with paraphernalia of

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      mnilc , banners , rods , and licton , notwithstanding a sharp driszly rain ; together with a ball commemorating O'Connor ' s liberation , and also a sermon awaking surprise , gratification and inquiry . The succeeding past was designed to be Conniston , and rambling heedless on , he came t » hii journey ' s end . "So , instead of that to choose between a five or seven miles farther tramp , and a Scotch cross road , when ancle deep with snow , the shades of evening presents no powerful charm to lure a stranger . The odds were in favour of seven to Bmnnt Emblematic scene I a slippery , weary way , the wind a hurricane , pitiless , pelting sleet , lightning flashing , thunder rolling , and bitter , biting frost ; but the Charter in prospect , he braved the storm , Lo 1 a gig lowly ascended the hill behind , and having gained the summit , the driver oourteoutly offered a vacant seat Conversation turned on the severity of the weather , scarcity , and the miserable destitution of the weaving population . " They are clone up 1 " wae an observation

      alike common-place in matter and tone . " What can they do ? where shall they go to ameliorate their condition ? " was interjected . " True , they must remain aa they are ; to remove they would be homeless and unsheltered . " The nonchalance with which these remarks were uttered seemed quite as "nothing when you ' re used to it . " Oi the bitter train of determined reflection they inspired I Here was a man , prompted by tbe kindly feeling , who observed , Now , Sir , this is Banff ; your ride has cost me nothing , while it has eased you three miles ; you are welcome , good night !'' yet none the leu self-satisfied in unresisting ease , amid tbe starvation , wretchedness , and misery surrounding . 0 , that he were " alone in his glory . " " Shame , where is thy blush ?"—humanity , where hast thou hid thyself ? Banff , low , wretched , apathetic ; no place of meeting , and little disposition to encounter taunting reflection and persecuting prejudice . When Will human forms be men f

      Portsoy , a young journeyman , whese manly , open face does credit to an honest heart , greeted the labourer with the salutation , " Yes , we'll have a meeting , if possible , though at my own expence . " A meeting we had , and he bore tbe brunt , as he was likely to do it , nobly . " O , " said he , •« it is capital put out to interest , which will amply repay the investment" A cheer for Mann ! Cullen , Chartism dressed up by ignorance and interest , as a bngbear to frighten boobies . Nevertheless the Star finds its way , and from thence to Durness , letting fall its light on Andersonian deeds .

      Inverness , swarming with Corn Law crotchets , a bait was put out , but the fish were shy , not so isifch as a dash with a tail ! Repotting a meeting of these gentry , some short time since , the local press lauded the intelligence and order of the good town ' s workmen , which was only interrupted by an operative from the south . Lo what a change comes o ' er the spirit of the dream , tfcis self-same person recently figures as Mr . Henry Bnrrell , receiving the complimentary feast of a number of working men employed under vigilance , honoured with the presence and enconiums of the master builders , and eulogised by this same press , for urbanity to men , justice to employers , assiduity ami great skill displayed in the erection of a considerable public edifice . What a contrast to the course , vulgar , outrageous satrap of the new St . Stephens—and this Mr . not A . but B . is still a firm , uncompromising Chartist , ever ready to lend an able aid in the great works which aims at the good of his fellow men .

      We had also an address en abstinence , two sermons , and a closing lecture on the principles and protections of the Charter , awakening an interest which may be hoped to go en and prosper . Notwithstanding party opposition , fair weather , an indomitable , yet prudsnt missionary , with tho . National Petition , and the northern region will add its multitudes to swell the tide of a nation ' s voice for heavenborn liberty , earth ' s blessing , rational freedom ! Faithfully , THOS . Davies . Zones , December 3 d . 1841 .

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      HORRIBLE TREATMENT OF THE POOR IN THE SEVENOAKS UNION WORKHOUSE . In some recent paperB we made some remarks on certain actJ which had been perpetrated within the precincts of the above establishment , and which were brought to light by Mr . Booth and the Earl of Stanhope . His Lordship , it will be recollected , stated that certain reports had come within his own knowledge , and he had reason to believe that they were true , considering the quarter whence they came . In the first place , it appeared that the children in the Union Workhouse had not been properly washed from the month of May to the month ef November . In consequence of this neglect of cleanliness , itch ensued , and prevailed to a very great extent . On the 25 th of December last , five women were confined in two beds in the same room , not receiving anything like the attention due t « women in their circumstances . On the

      30 th of January , 1841 , a report made to the Board of Guardian ! stated that " the women in the lying-in room had not that attendance which , under general circumstances , the poor obtain in their awn ccttigea . " On the 22 nd of April last a report to the Board of Guardians stated that 75 boys were sleeping in 16 beds , 86 girls in 19 beds , making 161 children in 35 beds . Then there were 57 men in 31 beds , and 40 women in 20 beds . On the 29 th of April last , a period designated by Dr . D'Ojley as lsut winter , a report to the Board of Guardians stated that there were 78 boys and 94 girls in the bouse , and that of these all the boys had enlarged glaada at the back of the seek , and 42 of them had also swellings ia the front and around the neck . Of the girls 91 were afflicted with swellings of the glands in the back of the neck , and 63 with them both in the back and front of the neck .

      This detail of atrocities was made by tbe Noble Earl himself at a meeting at Sundridge , and an investigation into tbe matter being decided upon , the Poor Law Commissioners sent down Mr . Assistant Commissioner Tnffnell , to institute an inquiry . It was , thereupon , offered to substantiate tbe Earl of Stanhope ' s statement , and to prove even more facts than his Lordship himself adduced , either by means of a written communication , or by procuring the attendance of a female , who had held the situation of nurse in the establishment , but who , sickening at the amount of disease among the boys and girls , and the treatment experienced by the lying-in women , quitted the workhouse in disgust . This person ( Mrs . Middleton ) , is a most respectable woman . She sometime ago attended a lady in her confinement , and subsequently engaged herself as nurse ia the Union , and on her leaving it , wrote r a long letter for publication , but which , for prudential reasons was not inserted in the paper to which it was sent—Mrs . Middleton was sent for

      from Canterbury , and she has in every material part , substantiated the Earl of Stanhope ' s summary of disease and ill treatment We shall now state the facts proved as to the lying-in women . In January last , there were two lying-in rooms only in the workhouse ; one of them 7 feet long , and 10 feet 9 inches wide , the other about 9 fett square . In eacfa of these rooms were two beds , each of them 4 feet 6 inches wide , and 6 feet long . In each bed there were at one time two women at the least , either expecting labour , or recently delivered . The state in which they lay , and the treatment which they received , may be understood from two cases—those of Fanny Giles and Rebecca Bi « nell . Fanny Giles was placed in tbe same bed with Sarah Watson on the 15 th of December ; on the 16 th , she was conSned , being at the time alone in

      the bed , but two women being in the other bed with their children . The next night , within ten hours of her confinement , she was removed , to make way for a new comer , into the bed already occupied by those two women and their children ; thus making tkree women and two children at the same time in one bed . From Sunday , the 13 th of December , till a whole week after her confinement , she could not obtain clean linen of any kind , though she frequently applied for it Shortly afterwards she was removed to the other lying-in room ; and while there , on the 25 th of December , a woman named Harriet Harborcr was actually confined -while in the bed with her . The next day Giles was again removed into the casual ward , aDd was there compelled to sleep in the same bed with a woman who had a loathsome contagious disease " of a very bad character . "

      Rebecca Blgnell and Mary Collins were put into the delivery bed together about the same time shortly before tbe 18 th of December . Collins was delivered on that day , in the daytime , Bignell not being then in bed . Collins remained in the same bed till the following day , and was only removed just before Bignell ' s labour , which then took place . At this time there were seven women in the two lying-in roomH , and only one nurse to attend them , who was unfit for the duty , and did not properly perform it Bignell was seized with puerperal fever , and underwent medical treatment successively for the first few days , so as to be apparently out of danger , and the medical ofiicer thinks it probable that she would h » - ? e recovered , if shs had been properly nnrsed . She was neglected , however , and she died . All these facts were proved by the evidence of Fancy Giles &ad two of the medical officers of the union , Mr . Adams « nd hit assistant , Mr . Jackson .

      We abstain from going into the disgusting details about tbe filthy state in which these poor women and others in a similar situation were suffered to remain . Some bad no change of linen for a week , others none for a fortnight ! one stated that she left the House covered with vermin . No visiting Committee ever came round , so that there was no opportunity of complaining ; and indeed complaint would have been of little use , as tbe Guardians proved , by the way in which they received a charge afterwards made against the Mistress by Margaret Middleton , one oi the nurses .

      We now proceed to describe the manner in which the inmates of this workhouse , and especially the children , were and are lodged . There are two boys' rooms , attics ; the one 15 feet by 27 , and the other 25 feet by 29 ; and two girls' rooms , 15 feet by 29 each . Mrs . Middleton , an experienced none , who was engaged in Fobruary , upon the recommendation of Mr . Adams , the medical officer , states that " in March last there were 91 boys in one room ; and in the girls' room there-were 86 odd . There were sixteen beds and a half in the boys' two rooms . They lay 15 children in two beds , f eet to feet , and 18 children in three beds ; the remainder o f the beds had four each . The ages of the children Fgried from five to twelve yean . The beds were four fe six inches wide , and tbe two in which bo many tb j ldren were placed were tied together , so as to form v ne bed . "

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      In the letter sent by Mrs . Middleton , she says , — " It was truly heart-rending to see ao many motherless and fatherless children ; they had the itch ; their heads were covered with vermin ; and their feet were actually half rotten . Tbe food of these children was very coarse ; for breakfast they had dry bread and skilley ; for supper , bread and butter ( the smallest scrap of batter was ased ) and a drink of water . The manner the children slept was sufficient to breed all manner of diseases ; they were huddled together six and seven in a bed , and daring the ten weeks I was in the Union , I

      never saw a woman with a clean chemise , or a man with , a clean abirt . I repeatedly saw the old women go into the hall , and where those who had good eyes Used to pick the vermin from their aged co-paupers . The lying-in room was beastly beyond description , and th « smell arising front th » filth horrible . On one occasion a woman named Otnden , whose children had the itch , asked for some bread to make toast and water , and there being a scarcity of mags in the Union , the Master actually gave her a brown chamber utensil to make it in .

      Mrs . Middleton , it appears , left the Union with a most exemplary character , which was given to her in writing by the Board . On the 22 nd of April , Mr . Adams reported to the Board that there were then 86 boys in 18 beds , 75 girls in 16 beds , 57 men In 31 beds , and 40 women in 20 beds . On the very day of the inquiry , after Mr . Tofnell bad taken a number of strangers and others over the workhouse , and after these visitors bad been told that they had seen every apartment , Mr . Booth , the , vestryclerk of Snndridge , received information that there were two rooms which had not been visited ; and on proceeding to these , twenty boys ( apparently diseased ) were discovered in one of them ( a loft 13 feet by 14 ) 7 iw * - dled together in jive beds—Bre boys each in two beds ,

      six boys in one bed , and . two boys each In two more . In February all the ohildren in the house , of both sexes ( except kwo or three infants ) had tbe itch ; about a dozen had bad feet and chilblains , with the bones of their toes protruding , in consequence of neglect On the 20 th of April Mr . Adams reported to the Board that there where then in the house 78 boys and 94 girls and infant children ; that all the 78 boys had enlargement of tho neck , and 42 bad likewise goitres ; that of the girls and infants , 91 had enlarged glands at the back of the neck , and 63 also goitres . In this horrible way has the health of the children of the poor , in one of the richest and most flourishing agricultural counties in England , been sacrificed to the maintenance of the prohibitory order ef the Poor Law Commissioners .

      in December , 1838 , there were 162 boys and girls in 35 beds . In 1839 there were 325 inmates , taking adults with children , at one time in the workhouse . Ia March , 1840 , there were 298 inmates in one week . In February last there were at one time 347 persons . On Satarday last there were 315 inmates ; an increase of C 2 having taken place within ten days , after the master had reported to the Board of Guardians that tha boufu was full ; the Board deliberately continuing , under these circumstances , to enforce the workhouse test There are now seven boys sleeping in one bed , five in another , and sixty-one boys in sixteen beds , distributed into fours and threes ; each bed being only four feet six inches wide . Mr . Love has been a member of the Board of Guardians ever since the formation of the Sevenoaks Union , and Chairman for several years . Listen now to his own account of the way in which he has performed bis duties : —

      By Mr . Burgess . —How was It , that being Chairman of this Board , you did not become acquainted with the state of the house with regard to the children until the 22 nd of April last 1 That was the first time it had been officially reported to the -Board to be in too crowded a state-Mr . Burgess—That is no answer to my question . How came you for five years to be ignorant of the state of the house ? Because it had not been brought officially before the Board as a matter of complaint . Why did you not make yourself acquainted with it ? I considered the duties of my office as Chairman , and my almost invariable attendance as such , a sufficient reason why I sboald not take upon myself to ri * it the house , as other Guardians did . Might you not have obtained that information without visiting ?

      Yes , if I had asked the master or medical officer for an official report Is not the weekly return-book laid before you , so that you may see the number of inmates without asking » question ? That I almoBt invariably inspect ; it gives me evidence of the numbers , but none of the crowded state of the house . I cannot ascertain from that how many are in the different wards or in the different beds in the wards . An increase of ohildren might take place , and a decrease of able-bodied , which would not be discovered from the book .

      Mr . Love ' s evidence sufficiently shows that the paupers have been scandalously neglected . As Chairman of the Guardians it was his duty to ascertain whether the poor were well fed , well clothed and well housed ; and his failing to have done so exhibits a lamentable want of feeling . We shall here drop the subject for the present ; but we are nevertheless proud that we have been partly instrumental in exposing as gross acts of ill treatment and injustice towards a mass of unprotected human beings as were ever brought to light . What decision the Poor Law Commissioners may come to on the subject , we

      are at a loss to imagine , involving as it does the working of the damnable Poor Law Bill . It is , however , scarcely credible that such things can have happened without reprobation ia a workhouse of whicU the Marquis Camden and Colonel H . Austin lately constituted the visiting Committee , and which has been frequently visited by the R- » v . Dr . D Oyley . Had it not been for tbe public spirit of Mr . Booth , the | Vestry Clerk of Sundridge , ( whose conduct , in spite of what Dr . DOyley designates his " humble situation , " contrasts meat favourably with that of his superiors ) those enormities would never have been dragged to ligbt

      One curse of the Poor Law scheme is evidently the largeness of the Unions ; and the poor will never be dealt with fairly till the system ia entirely broken up . There is , perhaps , not a Guardian of the Sevenoaks Union who , questioned apart as to the sufferings endured by the children and the females of his owd parish , is not heartily grieved at them , and ashamed that he did not detect and prevent them . He knows tbe rate-payers of his own parish did not wish , in order to save a few shillings a piece , to coop their less fortunate neighbours in such a hell as this Seveneaks Baatile .

      If the children of his parish had been apart from the rest , he would not have dared to suffer them to be so grossly misused ; his better feelings would have compelled him to interpose . No , It is the Union systemthe want of individual responsibility . It is the feeling that whatever is done is the act of the whole Board , that is the source of all the Begligence and cruelty and oppression ; and there is no remedy but a general dissolution of all Unions , and the relieving the able-bodiod poor at their own homes , provided the paupers attend at the poor-house during the day , to labour in a parish garden or at a farm .

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      SOCIALISM v . CHARTISM . The adjourned discussion between Mr . Parry and Mr . Lloyd Jones , on the comparative merits of Chartism and Socialism , was resumed on Friday evening last The place was again crowded with a highly respectable audience . Mr . Parry commenced by recapitulating his arguments of the previous evening . The Socialists were contending for the establishment of a community of 1 , 000 acres , which , by properly cultivating and arranging , they can bring to the acme of perfection , and thereby stud the land with Universal Communities . I contended for Universal Suffrage , its benefits being immediate and not prospective , it being a grand national universal measure , and not a local question of pounds , shillings , and pence . Mr . Jones relied chiefly upon the superiority of Socialism , from its being independent of any extraneous assistance ; it ca"ed not for the House of Commons—no , nor yet for teat venerable body , tbe HmiHfi of Peers . Let us examine a little into this . Mr .

      Jones told us , last night , that they did not look for assistance to any class , but to tho benevolent of all classes ; is this independence ? They request loans frem parties willing to lend , promising regular payment of interest Now , it is quite impossible that tbe poor can lend money ; they cannot purchase food . These loans , then , most come from the richer classes of society : bow , then , can they be independent ? The rich do not want to subscribe to get into community ; they can get anywhere . They have also a printed form of bequest , by which parties may leave their

      property for community purposes . I do not like this principle of appealing to benevolence : I demand right in preference to benevolence—I demand that the poor man shall be placed upon an equality with tha rich man . Benevolence is one of the worst principles which can be laid down by any form of Government ; and if carried to a large extent it . becomes a positive nuisance . ChartiBm demands that all shall be placed on an equality in the eye of the law—that all should be at liberty to nse their unfettered exertions to procure a comfortable existence . I call upon you , if yon prefer right to benevolence , to decide in favour of Chartism .

      Mr . Jones — I informed yon last night that I objected to Chartism , because you had no defined plan ; yon nave certain things floating in your imagination which yon may or may not pnt into practice . Mr . Parry ridicules the confidence and presumption with which we pnt forth our plans . I admit we are « onfldent in the success of our plans , but we do not eall upon the public to adopt them without examination . We do not enforce them with angry feelings ; we do not dispute abont moral or . physical force to carry them out ; we call not for general adoption , but general enquiry . Mr . Parry alluded last evening to . my mention of the Spartans . I condemn their vices as much as Mr . Parry ; but is that

      any reason I should not adopt what is good ? Mr . Parry also charges us with looking entirely to the stomach and neglecting the mind . Is not his allusion to our singing , our grammar , and other classes , an ample refutation of this ? Mr . Parry says , we may get a few t « carry ont reforms in the quiet manner which we desire , but that it is impossible to get the bulk of the peopla . I defy him to prove any good done by violence . I defy him to prove aay lasting good produced by great excitements . Look at the French revolution for instance . I allow that with an ignorant mind , it 1 b impossible to bear Buf fering patiently , but in an intelligent man , this same suffering will produce a spirit of calmness and patience

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      Socialism was called a dreamy thing . Mr . Parry allowed as the credit of establishing infant schools and having instltutlens similar to the Mechanics ' * Are these dreamy things ? If they are , they appear to me to be more substantial than the realities of CharHwn . Mr . Parry , objects to as because we appeal to the benevolence of those who may hare It ia their power to assist us . We do not appeal to them as a class bat as individuals ; and are not the Chartists continually appealing to their benevolence ? Are you not , at your public meetings , ice ., continually begging and praying of them

      to grant yon your rights . With regard to the applications we make , we are a little like the Spanish beggar , who , when asked why he did not go to work , being a strong halo man , he told them he asked them for \ their charity and not for their advice . Yon may go on appealing to . these classes for your rights , year after year ; but their interest is opposed to yours , and they will sever grant them . You have a House of Commons opposed to you ; a House of Peers opposed to yon , and tbe public press against you ; the Times even calliBg you incorrigible seoundreU .

      Mr . Parry . —Mr . Jones states that I compares the Social to Mechanics' Institutions , and said tboy were inferior to the meanest mechanics'institution in the poorest town in the kingdom . Inferior in point of wealth , and I might almost say for usefulness , to most of the trade societies in the kingdom . These do what they profess , but Socialism , professing everything , accomplishes bat little . I am sorry to hear Mr . Jones again refer to the Times journal . What does any respectable person care for the Times ? We laugh at its statements ; we care no m « re for it than for the squeaking of a pig . When tbe brawling Times filled its columns with vituperations of the Socialists , did the Chartists value its reasonings ? It was childish and puerile to refer to such a venal and ruffianly paper . Mr .

      Jones says the House of Peers Is also against us . Shall we quail because the peers are opposed to us ; because the Times abuses us ? Mr . Jones says they act in accordance with law . We also act in accordance with law . Their whole system is founded upon an act of Parliament . Can there be a more sandy foundation ? If ever yon attain to the influence yon expect , and I think you will not , what is to hinder Parliament from repealing the Acts of George and William on which your Communities are founded ? If ever you get wealthy or powerful enough to be obnoxious to those in power , that instant , if the people are not in possession of political power , will you be annihilated . I appealed to all history in proof of the advantage of political power ; Mr . Jones , to a few isolated Shaker communities in

      America , where he informs as that wealth is created to an enormous extent Mr . Jones says be will adopt what is good in these communities , and reject what is bad . They adopt the principle of celibacy ; how does Mr . Jones know that this is not the very principle which enabled them to succeed . Mr . Parry then read extracts from Miss Martineau ' s work , in which she states that they are scarcely allowed to speak to strangers—that it was with difficulty she met with the ritea of hospitality —that they are allowed to speak no language but Garman—that a young girl taking a fancy to have a ride in the country instead of attending worship , was severely reprimanded ; and were these the principles they would bold up for the adoption of the most intelligent and civilized people in the world ? Only bring men to the

      state of apathy and mental degradation in which they are found in these communltes , and perhaps they might succeed in making them profitable speculations ; but once admit of freedom in religion and other opinions , and they would immediately fail , as Mr . Owen's did at New Harmony . When Mr . Owen took New Harmony , it was fenced all round to keep out the pigs of the neighbouring forest Mr . Owen immediately removed the fence , and the pigs speedily came in and destroyed all the beautiful gardens the Rappitea had created . One of the great vices of the Socialists is , they think there are no pigs in the moral world—that ; we are all amiable lap-dogs . Mr . Jones states that if Tytherly succeeded , the example would speedily spread throughout the country . I find there are fifteen Shaker and

      one Rappite community in America , which have been established between fifty and sixty years ; why has not tbeir example been followed ? is there any difference between human nature in America and in England ? The Socialists believe they have only to lay down their laws , get Tidd Pratt to sign them , and all will be prosperous . They think naught of the discordant principles which animate mankind . All will vanish before the force of their paternal government Look at the amazing power vested in the Central Board . True , they are elected by the people : but they are still more under the controul of Congress . They have power to separate children from parent ; they have the management of the schools , of all public amusement . If you

      dance , you must dance under the controul of the Central Board . Their's is a system of pure despotism—that worst of governments , a paternal one . A father may do what he likes with his children , may beat them , may turn them out of doors : he has nearly as much controul over them as a man over his wife . I do not object to this ia parents ; but I do in society . The Governments of Austria and Russia are of this description . The ruler is called the father of his people , and why ? Because be can do what be likes with his subjects . Ibis is the system which Mr . Owen proposes and the Socialists admire ; but I an certain they will never succeed ia getting any large number of individuals to submit to this irresponsible power .

      Mr . Jones—Mr . Parry has said , that our Social Institutions in no way differ from Mechanics' Institutions , except being on a smallar scale . There is this one great difference—wa admit discussion on religious and political subjects—they do not I do not approve of the language of the Times , but I quoted it to show the division amongst you . There is the Times abasing the Dispatch , the Dispatch abusing the Times ; Mr . Parry , a Chartist leader , and the Northern Star abusing the Times . I say they are all venal—they are all acting for party motives , and not seeking truth , all alike , whether Tory or Chartist ; tbe Times is not more venal than any other , the Northern Star included . ( Hisses and cheers for the Star . ) It has just been stated that the Northern Star is the only paper which

      advocates the rights of the people ; I do not object te any paper , but depend upon it , so long as you support any paper in the manner you have to-night , so long will you have a venal press . I speak not as an enemy to the Northern Star , but while you denounce one paper and cheer another , they will always have inducements to act with venality . Mr . Parry's prime object is , that any Parliament can repeal the law on which our communities are founded . We know that nothing is certain ; a comet might come within tha sphere of our attraction , and with its tail , whisk us out of existence ; but would such a liberal body as the Chartists stand by and see such an infringement of liberty as to have that law repealed ? You have the idea of certain reform floating in your imagination , and if you are to stand

      upon privileges , yeu may never realize them . Mr . Parry has shown you the imperfections of the American communities , but are we compelled to adopt their faults because they have one bright feature wrapped round with tha dirty bandages of religious fanaticism , are we forced to adopt the whole 1 Mr . Parry says , are we prepared to adopt tbeir system of celibacy ? I say decidedly not ; but he does not tell you that they are annually receiving into their community widows , with large families , adopting orphan and other children , and that they so train these that crime is unknown amongst them . Mr . Parry asks why their example has not been followed in America . I tell him because of their fanaticism . Tytherly has enly been building two oi three years ; you have been agitating these fifty years ,

      and have not got a single stone lad . If Mr . Parry has any plan to propose for immediate relief , fn God ' s name let us adopt it , while we are building our communities . Mr . Parry also says we think too well of human nature—that we believe there are no pigs in the Moral World . The fault has hitherto been that man has been represented in too bad a light . We believe man to be a more decent animal than is generally supposed . Fault is found with the powers ot oar Central Board ; we are to dance , 4 c , by orders of the Central Board . To this there can be but little objection , provided they are good bands at a set of quadrilles . With respect to paternal government , Mr . Parry forgets that , having the power to beget our parents , instead of them chastising us , we shall be enabled to chastise thorn .

      Mr . Parry—I did not insinuate that the people of America were too ignorant to adopt communities , I said they were too wise to listen to the secret voices of the Rappites and Shakers wooing them to its blessings . I feel surprised at Mr . Jones comparing Acts of Parliament with the appearance of a comet an Act of Parliament may be repealed in two ot three , or pethapB twenty years , but comets act in accordance with the all-wise laws of nature ; their precise time , appearance , &c , may be accurately calculated upon . Surely Mr . Jones will not compare the stolidity of a British Parliament to the eternal progress of the laws which regulate the universe . Mr . Jones has said all our newspapers are venal ; of course , always excepting the New Moral World , of course the lustre of its purity has never been

      tainted . What does Mr . Jones mean by venality ? I do not consider that paper to be venal , be it Whig or Tory , which without change has consistently advocated itB principles . Tbe Northern Star has never swerved from its principles , be they true or false ; it had ever remained true tc tbe Interests of the people . If Mr . Jones challenged it with venality , he must prove when it was bought or sold ; until he could do this the Northern Siar atleast was free from the charge . Mr . Jones was eternally ringing in their ears tbe violence of the Chartists ; you would suppose that the Socialists were mild , amiable philosophers ; meawfa * would not hurt a worm ; and that tbe Chartist * were a set of violent ruffians . Only think of the SocUltsta , in number about 4 , 000 , taunting the Chartisw , who with those professing the same principles in Irelaad , numbered

      four millions , with being advocates of physical foree , because , goaded by physical want , they had occasionally risen in their might , as men , and demanded their birthright ; because they would not sit tamely under the iron rod of oppression ; and because of this the press must calumniate and abuse them , and the Socialists re-echo the cry . I throw back the assertion , that the working classes are violent , into the teeth of their calumniators . Are not the Chartists following the constitutional mode of petitioning , of uniting , to concentrate public opinion . The Socialists being generally in better circumstances , may afford to wait for reform ; may afford to subscribe their £ 50 ; but tbe masses are in actual want ; it is a question in which the crime te greatest , the man that ' steals from want , or the legislature , which creates the want If the Socialists possessed tbe vast physical power of

      Untitled Article

      the Chartists , they might talk of physical tone , bat at present it would be utterly ridiculous ; why two policemen might take the whole petty ! The glory of the Chartists is , that having the power to adopt violent measues , they have wisely and nobly abstained from exerting that power . This raise * them higher ia my estimation than any other body in the state . But another objection ef the 8 odalista is our ignorance . If the Chartists would petition for Social Communities , their ignorance would immediately disappear . Because the Socialists are a little more aristocratic and possess a little more wealth , tbia feeling of arrogance , ia exhibited . The very fact that the Chartfcta can appreciate the merits of the Charter ia a proof of their intelligence . I admire intelligence ; I should wish to see all

      educated , but so long as a man has an arm to work , so long as he is aot idiot , it matters sot whether he can write or mad , he is entitled to a vote . I call upon you , working men , to go on in your agitation , and by getting Universal Suffrage you will speedily get universal education . Tbli was exemplified in the conduct of a female ia America ; she endeaveured to educate her slaves , but the brand of slavery rankled to their hearts , aad she could not succeed . The blessings of education will preve ia vain , unless you attain to the moral dignity of freedam . This noble woman felt tbia , she emancipated her slaves , and in the words of as homely saying , they then took kindly to education ; but Mr . Jones says how will you get tha Charter ? Will the Houses of

      Parliament reform themselves ? The force of public opinion in France , compelled their hereditary House of of Peers to abolish itself , and public opinion will gain us the Charter , not if it is expressed in the mild , quiet , - amiable , social method ; but public © pinion backed by a million of men , possessed of arms and sinews , and who know how to use them . ' It is useless always to crave in a peaceful , humble , legal manner . ' History shows that every reform therein mentioned has only been gained when they dared not any longer to withhold it . How were the dissenters emancipated ?—how was the Catholic Emancipation Bill carried ? Bid not the iron Daks state that ha dared no longer to refuse it ? and tbe time will shortly come when he dare not refuse the Charter . How w&a

      the Reform Bill carried \ The people met day after day , sent petition after petition ; the men of Birmingham roused themselves , and the Government quailed before them . It was now the cant phrase to call the men of Birmingham selfish , because , being deceived by the middle classes , they would no longer join in theix half measures—because tbey wen determined to abolish all monopolies . Mr . Jones says that argument and reason were the weapons we should employ . Tbia might be true with human beings , but aot with a House of Peers . Did they stand firm in their imbecile power when Earl Grey had authority to create a new batch of them ? No , they very considerately walked , or rather sneaked , ont of the House , nntil Earl Grey found himself in a majority , through the desertion of these craven Peers . And this will prove equally true with respect to the Charter ; they will quail , as

      they have ever hitherto done , before the power of a mighty people . I do not expect that this discussion will make many converts to either side ; hut it will show to the country , and tbe middle classes in particular , that large and intelligent bodies of theix fellowmen are daily meeting to discuss the means by which to promote their political and social happiness . It will show to them the folly and danger of much longer standing aloof from a struggle that is almost divine , that will elevate man out of the dust , that will infuse into his body almost a living soul ; and , sooner or later , in proportion as you remain faithful to tbe cause , ia proportion as you unite , man and woman , in the cause , ( for why should one half of the human race be excluded ?) the Universal Suffrage bark will ride triumphant o ' er the storm , in spite of every party and of every passion which may be arrayed against it

      Mr . Jones—When I spoke of the venality of the prehs , I excluded no paper . I believe they have all exaggerated in favour of their own party . I have no doubt the New if oral World itself occasionally has done the same thing . I had no wish to depredate asy of the papers . Mr . Parry accuses me of charging you with ignorance and violence . I only adopted your own language . Have you not a moral and a physical force party ? Are not Frost , Williams , and Jones transported ? Is not this positive proof that you have been guilty of violence ? I do not charge the whole mass with being violent ; I believe you all desire the public good ; but when I see men going astray , I deem it to be my duty to step forward and give them a warning voice . Mr . Parry spoke

      lightly of us as a party , and said two policemen would take the whole . I believe one might do it , for we should all go without It is not correct that the Socialists think the Chartists ignorant ; but we think them imprudent . I admit tbe truth of your Charter ; I admire your principles ; I signed your petition ere I entered on this discussion ; but I think our principles best Who are the class that press most heavily upon you ! Is it the Lords ? is it the Commons ? Partly so ; but it is those who hold in their power those mighty iron machines which have brought you to misery and degradation . These the Charter passes entirely over . I speak to you as working men . Is nob machinery the great cause of your distress ? In whose hands is the machinery ? Why in the bands of your employers ,

      who are regardless of your interests , if it interfere wita their profits . A fair day'a wages for a fair day ' s work , appears to be the height of the ambition of a Chartist Though Tytherly is but in its infancy , yet I trust it w # l soon give bright hopes of the world's regeneration . We do not depend upon a majority to effect ear object ; Mr . Parry has appealed to history , but in the two great instances he has given you , viz . Catholic emancipation and the Reform Bill , you had the middle classes and many of the upper classes with you , elements of which you are now deficient . To gain tha Irish Emancipation Bill every influence was exerted , but does not misery taint that unhappy land ? Beware bow you play with the feelings of the people ; let them not again be miserably deluded with false hopes . For centuries have the working classes been struggling for reform , and in what better position are yon sow ? Yon have Frost and his companions slumbering sixteenthousand miles off , to the lullabies of a distant ocean :

      bubble after bubble has burst " Hope deferred maketh the heart sick . " In your political harangues you have promised to your followers a perfect millenium . Every class is opposed to you ; your groans will never reach the Government , until you have the co-operation of the middle-class ; but this ia almost impracticable . I know that if you were united you could despise both Whig and Tory , and I have no doubt but , some day or other , your principles will be carried into effect , bat I fear the time is distant I do not blame the working classes as violent men . I wonder that , in the midst of so much suffering , aad so much excitement , they have remained ao patient . The principles on both sides are true . Chartism is good ; but , in my opinion , not bo good as Socialism . We have no interest in being divided . In my time I have assisted in every measure of reform j but I consider that Socialism being independent of King , Lords , or Commons , is most calculated to spread happiness amongst tbe members of the human family . ( Great applause . )

      The Chairman then called for a show of hands , and it was so equal that not being able to decide , another show was called for , when The Moderator , being appealed to , gave it as his opinion , that the numbers were equal . Mr . Parry then came forward and announced that his share of the proceeds should be devoted to those gallant men now on strike , the masons . ( Great cheering . ) Mr-Jones should devote his proceeds , according to a previous arrangement , to that which would prevent all strikes , the Tytherly Community . The Chairman and Moderator then thanked the meeting for the considerate and gentlemanly manner ia which they had acted , and the meeting dissolved .

      The discussion throughout was excellently managed by both disputants . The attendance of Chartists was not so numerous as might have been anticipated , but this -was owing partly to the charge for admission , and it also being held at so late a period in the week . Mr . Parry also was not known to the great majority of-the Chartist body , but henceforth he will deservedly be held in high estimation . The profits , it appears , are £ 10 , when rent of Hall and all the expences are paid .

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      We learn that Sir Robert Feel has sent agents to the Continent for the purpose of collecting detailed information relative to the average rates of wages , the prices of food , and ether circumstanoes bearing on the condition of the humbler classes . Sir Walteu Sodti ' s Noveis . —What would Sir Walter Scott have said if he had seen his immortal Novels on sale at itfew pence eack week J We think " this is popularity" would have escaped him . His family have done vtisely , in these times of Jaek Sheppards , to bring healthy reading toeverjdne ' a fireside ; and we certainly have it in the powerfully drawn characters of the Waverley Novels .

      The Weather . —Much damage was done m the metropolis , and the surrounding country , by the late stormy weather . On Monday night week , a new shop-front in Church-street , Borough , was blown into the street . Many stacks of chimnies have been thrown down , but with no fatal results . The low lands on the Surrey side of the river have been flooded . The river itself was violently agitated . A boat with two boys was upset on the river between Wandswortu and Putney , and one of the boys was drowned . Three men were overturned in a obat off Rotherhithe , but were all saved . Near Greenwich , a man was blown from the yard-arm of a

      coastingvessel , but he sustained no injury beyond a wetting . On Tuesday morning , sear Deptford , as a-barge laden with Russian deals was coming up , the' river , a great quantity of the timber was blown off into the water : a workman jumped out of the barge into a small boat , and was picking up the pieces ef timber , which he had previously gathered together with an oar , when a Heavy swell of the -water upset the boat , and the man was drowned . During the night of Monday , a hundred barges , laden with coal , got loose from their moorings on the river , find , sank . On Wednesday afternoon , the tide rose to agrest and unusual height , and caused a considerable destruction of property .

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      ' ¦ ¦ _ THE NORTHERN STAR . ^

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Dec. 11, 1841, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct408/page/7/