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Northern Star (1837-1852), 29th October 1842, Edition 2 of 5, Page 6, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      PUBLIC MEETING OF THE NATIONAL COMPLETE SUFFRAGE UNION . ( From Hit Evening Star . ) Bristol , Oct . 19 . Tha Caainnin ( 2 > Ir . Evans ) opened the meeting bj reading the objects of tii 9 National Complete Suffrage Union , alter which be called upon Mr . Johnston to propose the first resolution . Mr . Johnston , on rising to address the meeting complained of the Bmallness of their numbers on an occssion like the present , -when ft meeting is called to appeal to the sympathies of oar fello ^ men , on behalf of those men who had stood se oohly up for oar rights bat p 3 rh * ps I condemn them tssh \ y , as the meeting was originally intended to bate % een held last night It wasperhaps , owing to tfcis that the meeting w * s bo

      , email . Other r .-rangeuieats by the parties belonging to the Hall fca . d : ¦ : ¦ . vented them holding the meeting last rught Hy Uitn read the following resection to the mettiag : — " That tai 3 nesting consider itteba their duty , and the duty of -ofl friends of tree-liberty , to : coBtritmte to the National Defence F * nd , thereby en-, aMing tha advocacea of the people ' s rights to provide ' ssstocDce at the fsrtheoiring trials . ' He ( thsispeaker ^ , ¦ was not in connection with that body , who had suf fered , yet hs agreed -with the bold manner they had advocated the right of free diEcasson- ; sad in order to alleviate their suEerings he s * w but one course , vii , to come forward -with the . smallest mite .. JPut the case to yourselves : —it might come -to their tarn . Their very act of Hissing there ttsit nigbt might bring them under tfce ban cf the law . If this were the case

      if they w * ro tora from their families , from their homes , and subject to like treatment , -we would wiih that some frit-nds would come forward -with their pecuniary ii > sistaaee , with whatnbeycould afford . He did not struggle 'for the urns of the Charter , 4 > ut for its principles . 'It aiattered not to him what emit ha had to flad with any man ; he cuae forward now on principle . The Ban who remained silent on the pre-8 ent occasion was an enemy to his -cause . Was assistance of every man is wanted now . Some migit object and say that the money -was given to parties who were interested in tba prosecution ef the individuals ; but he would ask , whore Frost would have been had he not employed counsel ? He would rather see a Cnartist come bo . dly forward and defend himself—he admired the snirit of-soch a man . At the same time there

      might be a le ^ tl point , that would be defined by those who made tbe law their study , and the prisoner would in all cases be ^ tfce better of engaging a lega . 1 person . It would cot Ac to lose one single friend at present—not the humblest individual . There could not ha a more melancholy-scene , than a man dragged from the bosom cf his ftmUj , and immured within the walla of a dungeon for teaching the truth , and spreading its principles thronchout tie land , and then to be deserted by his friends . -Let , me ask ycu to look at trial by jaiy . Is the weaver tried by his peers—his equals—when placed in the dock before a middle class jary of yeomanry and middie-class shopkeepers , . who have never once witnessed the scenes that the poor weaver at the bar h * s been -ftiTnilir-. r \ rith ? I ask , does he not require the assistance of thosa whose principles are identical

      • with hi * own ? Compare bis case -with that of the aristocrat—a peer on arriving at twe :. ty-oDe yeais of ageby an accident of birth , he will be tried by his peers , by those who have lived and moved in the same scenes as iiinisilf . He appealed to the sympathies , and , after pointing oat tho * treatment cf the prisoners , and of John Frost , who was kept an txile , for f » ar tnat he would be a rallying point for the Chartists . By a re-Tiew of those trials that had already taken place , be found that the prisoners were much beneflttsd by the employment of counsel , and he implored the people not to desert the leaders now , bat rally around with renewed vigour , and by subscribing the smallest nrito , ahow that persecution rouses the spirit that is within you , and that you stiU are the friends of the persecuted , but jast patriots of the people ' s causa

      Mr . Johnston was repeatedly applauded throughout his Epeech , of which the above is but an outline . He resumed his seat by proposing the above resolution . Mr . Chard , boot End shoemaker , on rising to Eecond the resolnliofi , said , that he never in his life seconded a resolution with more ardour than ths present oce ; it ¦ was true whst had been stated by Mr . Johnson—men ¦ were brought np before jnriss of yeomanry ibi advocating your rights ; aye , brought before men who were as ignorant of the crime that the prisoner was to be tried for , and . knew as much about whao was and what was not sedition , as tha horses in ths ploughs they drive ; he wished he bad the Etrength cf a legion to crush the

      tyrants for ever ; it rubies no difference what association the men belonged to , whether they were members of the Complfci ^ Sirf&Ege Union or members of the National Charter Association , thay were Chartists , they were his friends , and they are your friends . Frost had been mentioned , tat for "what waB he banished , for what waB he condemned ? Simply because he was the opponent of lord John -BusselL Mr . Johnson had so fully , so ably , and so mnch better than him , laid the subject before them , that be thculd not take up their time any longer , but call upon them not to flag , not to be disheartened , but to put thvir shoulders to the wheel , and let them see that we are men trying to rsgain our rights ; let us show a bold lront , and let every man assist . It was with great pleasure he seconded the resolution .

      Mr . Hsmments , master tailor , Bedcliff-hill , Bristol , " wished to knew if this was a meeting of the Complete Suffrage Union , or of a ¦ few individuals for the purpose of subscribing funds for a certain

      purpose . The Chairman slated , that it was a meeting for tbe purpose of raising fends ftr the defence of the Chartist prisoners , aad to be forwarded to the General Defence Fund , to the Evening or Nor thern Stars offices for that purpose . Mr . Hamments—Do I understand that this meeting emanates from the Council of the Complete Suffrage TJnion ? Mr . Johnston stated il did ; -that Mr . 2 v eTrmaa , baier . bad met Mr . -Griffiths , and aiked hia if they , the Sturgites , were not going to do anything for the defence of Chartist prisoners , and the Council had at their meeting agreed to that effect . Mr . Hamments did not know that the Complete Suffrage Union had but one Cecneil , and that sat in Mr . Johnston—The name Council is givan to the general committee , as it is illegal to have more than one Council .

      Mr . Hamment 3 did not think that the object of this meeting had anything to do with the Complete Saffrage Union , of which he was a member ; he did not agree with the plan cf raising mosey for such purposes ; he had seen money collected in Bristol before for such objects , and as he did not agree with the manner in which this money ¦ was expended , he would smove an amendment ; he condemned the conduct cf the men who had burned and destroyed property in the north , and had they attained their object by physical revolution , a counter revolution would have to be got up before a

      twelvemonth was over our heads , for the purpose of upsetting the tyranny they bxd established ; they did not require to go far for a precedent , only to a . neighbouring conntry , France . He totally disagreed with the lafca BceneB of riot and plunder that had taken place , and thought the parties richly deserved punwiiment ; he protested against the body having any thing to do with it as council or committee ; let it be done by parties apart from the association business . Mr . H . was met by frequent marks of disapprobation , and Bat -down by proposing a counter resolution .

      Mr . Johnston explained , and pointed out Use a& enrdity of coupling the names of the Chartists with the outbreak- They hail been seized while promulgating the truth , and ha was not aware that the Ddfeace Fond went to defend aay but Chartists . Tfce ¦ eatbretk was a ttrike for -wages , and the men were driven to do what they did . He was not an advocate cf ph ; sicai violence , bnt ie considered that the men that had done what the leade . s of Chartism had done ought K > be snppoited . He alluded to such men as M'DomU and others—sen who were to be tried for sedition , and be ¦ was anxious that the fund sho&ld prosper . He did not care whether it was a Council or not ; the meeting was decidedly a meeting of the Complete Suffrage Union , and eman&ted from them .

      Mr . Hamments wished to enter his protest in jostice . He thought the men to which Mr . Johnston had alluded were to blame ; they , the Chartists were the ringleaders -, they were the promoters of the bloodshed , rapine , and plunder that had ensned , ' and had the time that had been lost , and the money that had been thrown avay , been devotsd to ths moral and intellectual improvement of the people , thit would be . the means of obtaining our rights . He would 'withdraw his amendment , and simply ask for his protest to be entered . He considered the leaders aiders and abettors . Mr . Dutton , President cf the Complete Suffrage Union —Mr . Chairman , I should like to see a meeting got up something lite a meeting ; none of your bole and comer afiairs . Who is to collect the money ? I think that it is strange that no notice of this meeting should have adpeared . Tbe Chairman of tbe meeting stated that the meeting \ ras advertised in the Bristol Mercury , and large bills had been printed and posttd .

      Mi . Dutton—Was the object stated ? I bate tnch doings ; let a good meeting be called . ' Mr . Johnston—The object was stated in the notice sent to the Mercury ¦ bat he could not be answerable for tbe editor ' s curtailing of it , and Mr . Datton bad not been present as be ought to have been . He bad been absent for five or six nights , or he woold have been aware . Mi . Chard—Mr . Dutton had cot attended , and he was surprised taat Mr . Hamments had not expressed his dissent , as he was present on the committee , and heard it passed that this meeting should be held .

      Mr . Dntton never liked two-faced people ; let the public know what they were doing ; let a meeting be called in a proper way . He was not opposed to the object , if it -was a good meeting , and he believed Ms friend , Mr . Hamments , was of the same opinion . I cannot bear to Bee such things— ench np&tarts . I hate such d—d sneaking Trays . What right had they to forge his name . I do not like such things . I am desirous that a fund should be got up ; bat I cannot agree with such conduct . Who . is to collect the money ? I can bear my friend Mr . Simeon ' s -voice . ( The speaker then came , to where Mr . Simeon was seated , and handed him one shilling towards the Defence Fond , which Mr , Simeon immediately pat is his poefcet , which highly

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      , , amused the meeting . ) I hate each d— d doings . Is it fair to maks use of my name ? Wbo gave you leave to forge my name ? ( The spea > jgt here stepped forward to the table , and showing som j letters , hs accused Mr . Johnston , we understood , of . forgery . ) Mr . Doyle here whispe . rod to tbe chairman that be had a right to the letters , ' Jattfaey i » ere the property of the Union . Tha Chairsr go . dema&ded the letters from Mr . Dutton . Mr . Datton—Wfeo ar e job , you d—d rascal , to demand my fetters T ( The . uproar was ' raxfa that we 'were not able to follow the speakers , for three or four were speaking at once . ) Me . Chard soved that this day week Mr . Datton pro dnee these letters , : ind retract his expressions , and

      apo-Sogisa . Mr . Dutton -was -wilftag to meet and defend bis-cona * ct . and prove ffie charge of forgery . Tlntil bont tbe members cf the National Charter Asso-Kation -who were present bad net interfered , all the foregoing ^ spealwrs beieg members of the Complete Suffrage 37 Bion . Mr . Simeon regretted , that on an occasion like the pres-ant , parties sbeeld have introduced matters peifec > ty : Irrelevant to tbe business before the chair . He had kcown tbe time when bad he done less than that , partiat were ready to pitch him head foremost from the platfcrjn , for introducing subject * for which the meetina-was not called ; tbe meeting being called for a speciflo-object . Though be bad been termed violent , he had-never mad 6 nas of the language that had been made nse ^ of that evening . Mr . Copp here recommended the propriety of caliiog aso £ her meeting , or adjourn this one till this night wett .

      The Chairman accordingly adjonrned the meeting till that night week ( the meeting at no time amounted to more th *» seventy persons . ) Several lef : the room quite satisfied with the dish set before them . The case of forgery , we understand to be as follows : —At the meeting of the Complete Suffrage Union , an address was passed by the meeting { Mr . Datton , president , in ths chair , ) to the Whig member for Bristol , Mr . Berkeley , to b * presented at the Agricultural Show . Mr . Berkeley did not come to tbe show . Mr . Johnson , as secretary , drew np the address , and attached the name of Mr . Dutton , as chdrman , without allowing him to sign his own name . The address was forwarded to Mr . Berkeley , and he wrote a reply to Mr . Datton , with whom he is personally acquainted , he being the chairman of trades meetings , and ether meetings for the return of that gentleman .

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      MR . VINCENT'S LECTURES . ( From the Evening Star . J ABERDEEN . The Complete Suffrage Association of Aberdeen having invited Mr . H . Vincent to visit this city , determined to give the occasion all the pomp and circumstance imaginable , and accordingly preparations were made for a splendid eo : i £ 3 to come off in the Temperance HalL Admission one shiliing . It was to take place on tho evening of his arrival , and all thtir energies were at work to get up a good attendance ; but notwithstanding all their exertions the number who attended did not amount to 300 , and proved to the party that any mavement cot supported by the working men is completely powtrless , as they are not ? tha only party

      capabls of wielding public opinion . There were several local speakers at the soires , but all the dependence of the evening was upon Mr . Vincent His friends were highly satisfied with the manner in which he acquitted himself , bnt impartial auditors said be had failed to support the high character , as & public speaker ) which had been assigned him . It had been understood , although not mentioned , that Mr Vincent would lecture on the Tuesday , and there was a considerable struggle betwixt the iiquisitiveness and the ambition of the party ; the money-lovers contending for sixpence of admission , and thosa -who were anxious for a full attendance for oae penny . After a good deal of cogitation it was settled by a sor t of compromise , the price being struck at twopence .

      The Chartist body did not wish to create or'foster any ill feeling betwixt themselves and the Complete Suffragists , by any reference to the past conduct of Mr . Vincent , and therefore determined to view him only as tbe accredited advocate of their principles , and to deal with him only in that capacity . The attendance at the Tuesday ' s lecture was very full , being from nine to ten hundred . Mr . Vincent commenced by an account of his own political life , and the persecutions he had suffered ; he also showed the tempting offers that had been made to him by the Tories and others , to obtain his infiiseuce and assistance in support of their cause ; he also gave an account of the Sturge Conference , held at Birmingham , and the reasons which influenced their decisions in adopting the six points . Mr . Vincent then showed that he had laboured hard in that conference to have

      adopted the name and all , but this he did not carry . He then adverted to the Nottingham and Ipswich elections , and dwelt particularly on the success which had attended his addresses in the latter place , and the opposition he had met with from a clergyman of the Established Chnrch , whom he ( Mr . V . ) mimicked most encceEsfnlly to the great amusement of the audience . He ( Mr . V . ) then referred to the Leeds Mercury , regarding some articl es -which it contained against tbe principles , of complete Suffrage , and more particularly an argument therein nsgd , that it would beuDJuEt to give the working classes the vote , as they were the majority . Mr . V . condemned this in the strongest and most unmeasured terms . Mr . V . then . concluded by stating that he was willing to answer any questions or meet any objections that might be asked or brought forward on the subject of his lecture , and sot down amidst considerable approbation

      Mr- JameB Macpherson then rose and said that be did not stand up for the purpose of opposing or finding fault with anything that had fallen from the speaker during the cooree of his lecture , nay , he highly approved of the greater portion of it ; but while he approved ef what had fallen from the speaker , he wished to draw the attention of this meeting to some of the ac ' s of that body , of which Mr . Vincent was the accredited organ , namely , the Birmingham Council . in the address issued by whom , there were several paragraphs diametrically opposed to the sentiments which had fallen ficm Mr . V . during his lecture . Mr . M . then read tbe fallowing passage from the address : — " Bat in the election of representatives to meet in such conference , all party spirit must be excluded ; all efforts for forcing individual opinions through the power of numbers must be avoided . " Mr . Macpherson said , the portion of the address he had just read was in

      direct opposition to ths opinions promulgated by the speaker that evening , and -were in perfect uniEon with the articles in the Leeds Mercury , to which tho lecturer fead so strongly and so justly objected . Nr . M . then drew their attention to the mode of election in that address , and condemned it strongly as arbitrary a :: d unjust , and in direct violation of the principles they sought to establish . He further observed , that the individual who crew op this absurd and contradictory doenment , might be honest ; and , God forbid , that he should charge him - ^ ith dishonesty , if his intentions were pure ; for he would rather that two knaves shocld escape with tbe character of hocest men , than that one honest man Ebould , throngh his instrumentality , be branded as a rogue . Bnt if he was honest , it was plain that he had allowed his feelings and wishes for a union between the middle and working classes to run away with his better judgment .

      Bat while an excuse mi ;; ht be offered for an . individual , no such excuse could hold good for the Council who had adopted that address ; they had shewn themselves utterly incapable of conducting any great and comprehensive movement by the adoption of such a co :: traRictory and inconsistent address . He ( Mr . M . j had no intention of oppesia ? the complete suffrage movement if confined to its proper sphere ; on the contrary , he considered Ench a movement as in some meaeore necessary to meet the prejudices of tha miricile classes , whose class-pride prevented them from receiving the truth . 3 ut while he would ( Mr . M . coutiDued ; so fax give way to thsir prejudices as to lay aside the name of the Charter , by those who were willine to do

      so , be could by no means consent to sacrifice one iota of the principles therein contained . He would never allow them to diverge off at an angle from the paths of rectitude , frittering a-way one principle after another . No ; he wished them , after having given up the nacis , to be kept by the force of a powerful and well-directed pnblic opinion—to be kept moving in a direction parallel with the great Chartist movement . Mr . Macpher : on then conduced by asking Mr . Vincent if the l > lan for electing the proposed Conference , contained in the Address of the Complete Suffrage Council cf Birmingham , was in accordance with the principles of Ccmplete Suffrage ! and sat down amidst immense

      eheerinc-Mr . Vincent , who bsd been noddiDg asetnt and approbation during the speech of Mr . Macpherson , teen rose to reply . He said he had not been present whtn the address was subrahted to the Council , and bad cot therefore , en opportunity of expressing his sentiments on its merits , and although he was satisfied that the Council had adopted it from the best ef motives , and had considered that in almost all instances the electors and non-electors vronld agree and elect their representatives at the same mestings , j et as the question had been put in a fair tpiiit by Mr . Macpherson , he would just give as fair an answer , and that would be just what hid already been given to a similar question by Mr . Stuige , which was , that he disapproved of the mode , and would try and get it brought before the Council for their reconsideration .

      Mr . Macpherson expressed himself perfectly satisfied frith the candid manner hi which his question had been answered by Mr . Vincent , as Mr . Vincent had joined with him ( Mr . Macpherson ) in his unhesitating condemnation of the mode of election proposed in the Address , and trusted that the Birmingham Council would take this as a warning for the future , and never presume to tamper with the glorious principles of justice laid down hi the People ' s Charter . Mr . Adam , of the Aberdeen Herald , then rose , and proceeded to defend the proposed plan and the Birmingham Council in adopting that plan , but found it impossible to proceed , so great was the disapprobation of the meeting ; and , after an ineffectual attempt to be beard at greater length , sat doVB amidst a shower ef hjfses from all parts of the ball

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      Mr . Vincent replied , 'And censored Mr . A . very freely for his injudicious remarks . He was followed \ tj Mr . Legge , who defended tbe woiking classes from the imputation of illiberally and intolerance , « hargod upon them by Mr . Adam , and cited , as -a proof , that they had agreed to allow a delegate ' 4 om tbe Complete Saffrage party along with one fram them , the working classes , to _ attend tha Ccntoence proposed some time ago at Birmingham . Mr . ' Alaepberson also spoke a few words in answer to what bad fallen from Mr . Adam , and showed that tbe

      working classes were beitber tyrannical , illiberal , nor intolerant , and had they not been anxious for conciliation , and averse to cavilling and fault-finding ? that there was much more contained in the address , to which he had not before adverted , that would afford good ground for the most strenuous opposition ; and further contended that the greatest fault of the working classes wae too much gratitude for any little service rendered them , which they bad often cause to repent of , but never either of their illiberality or intolerance . A vote of thanks was then given to Mr . Vincent , and the meeting dismissed .

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      NORTHLEACH PRISON . ( From ike Cheltenham Free Press . J Adjourned Inquest cn Charles Beale . — The adjourned investigation into tbe cause of the death of Charles Beale took place at the board-room of the Union Workhouse , at eleven o ' clock on Friday . Mr . Rowland J . Ticehnrst , clerk to the Board of Guardians , attended officially by order of the Board . Mr . Curtis , head-turnkey of Northleach , and several of the Cheltenham Board of Guardians were also present . John Newton—I am a Bhoemaker . I am now residing at the Cheltenham Union workheusa- I was sent te Northleach House of Correction on the 14 th of April , and left on the 7 th of July . I was sentenced to hard labour . I frequently saw Charles Beale there . I first saw Beale thereon the 15 th of April . He looked

      very i ! l . He was then working on the wheel , he was doing full work then . We were not allowed to Bpeak to one another . He appeared very weak and poorly . I think he continued at full work on the wheel for six weeks after that . He gradually get worse . He complained of being ill . He was tak 6 n under the doctor ' s chargt , and did no work for about a fortnight or three weeks . I saw him passing through tha yard several times . He looked very ill . I never spoke to him . He went to-srards the mill bouse . I have seen him frequently . He had no particular heavy loads . T « fo people were carrying tbem in a basket that would contain about SOlbs . He waa on one side and a nmn assisted him . It was only occasionally I saw it . We are not allowed to look round . At the end of three weeks he was put on the wheel and did half work . He was taking pil ! s at the time . They wore given to

      him by the under turnkey just before wo got off tho wheel , between five and six o ' clock . I heard him complain of being ill . He worked his whole turn when he got up . When it was my turn to follow him on the wheel hs told me he was ill , and unable to . go on with his work . I never heard him tell the uuder turnkey ( who was always present ) , the surgeon , tho governor , or the head turnkey . He never complained to tbe under turnkey when he was carrying potatoes ; it vras no use . If it had been Mr . Curtis , it might have been of Bonie use . As to the under turnfey . I never saw such a heart-hearted man in my life . He continued at half work and taking pills for about a fortnight He was then put upon whole work . Before that I thought he looked better . He complained of weakness . He continued much the same until I left . I did not communicate complaints to anybody .

      The Coroner Baid those complaints were not evidence . The potatoa bury is under the house , about half a dczsn steps below the level of the lower cells . He brought the potatoes apparently from the petatoe bury . The way to it is through one of the women ' s day cells I am sure be was several days at work in tho carrying potatoes . Deceased ' s day ceil was nearly on a level , or a little higher than my day cell . Wo had both two cells . Our night cells were over . My day cell was very damp , particularly in wet weather . It was never heated with hot air while I was there . The stones on

      the ground were damp . T 2 ie side walls wtre not . There was no glass in my call , the roof over my day cell door overhung two or three feet . That was somu height above tbe door , having a tier of night cells between . Both the day and night cells open into the outer air . Above the door ef my day cell , there is a wa king way of stone , by which we got to our night cell . It protected the door of my day cell from rain . Notwithstanding this , the rain water would run ioto the cell . The water lay in puddles . I have known a gallon there at a time . I have been shut in the cell with the water .

      Charles Cur tis deposed—I knew the two cells occupied by Newton and the deceased Beale . The floors , and the walls , and the means of ventilation were alike . Newton ' s examination continued—I have complained about there being water in the cell . There was a balfronnd opening over the door -which I could shut with a shutter . It waa not gbzed . There waa a wooden shutter to the opening , but I never Eaw it shut . I believe we were not allowed to shut it . Thero was another opening at the back . There was a shutter for this opening also . I never tried to close a chatter . If vre made an ; noise in the cell , vm should bo punished . There was no fclasa to this opening . We left the night cells at six o ' clock in the morning , aDd went to chapel . We remained a quarter of an hour or

      twenty minutes there , and about half-past six went to work on the wheel until eight o'clock . We then went to our day cells to breakfast , and were locked in there for half an hour . We then went to work until one . We returned to our day cells , and were locked in there for half an hour while we had onr dinners . We returned to the wheel , and worked until six . We Etopped until eight We had not much snpper . That we ate at dinner . It was given out to us in the morning . A hungry man might eat all his bread at breakf ast , but we were not allowed to do eo . Each was obliged to put halt * his leaf outside the cell to show he had not eaten it . We were very hot when we came off the wheel at six . We never came off without a good sweating . My shirt was very wet from perspiration ,

      especially when I first went to prison . I never tad a dry shirt to put on , either to go into my day cell , or at bed time , except on Saturday evening , except when I had any clein one given to me , I never complained to a-. y one there of my shirt being so vet I know one young man whose shirt was very wet frem perspiration complained to the turnkey and he had a dry shirt given to him twice every day for about a fortnight . The under turnkey ditl not abuse him for it . The young man was only in for a month . The shirt was brought by the under-turnkey without grumbling , and appeared as an act of duty , at dinner time and at night . It was some time in May he came in and left in June . 1 hati been there a . month hefore ha came in . I never knew

      Beale apply for a clean shirt , although he was on the wheel and knew of the indulgence granted to the above . 1 did not apply , as I did not perspire so much as I did the first fortnight The wheel was hard to work . I should have preferred being locked up in a celJ , for , although it -was cold , I should not have worked all the flesh off my boneB . It is not having food enough to keep ourselves up that is the great thing there . 1 Lave seen BhcIs ' s hands dirty , as though he had been picking potatoes , I have never been at Northleach or any prison before , and should not like to go again . I was never charged before any magistrates before . The charge was leaving my wife r . nd children chargeable to the parish . I was sent for three months . I had three email children in the workhouse . I was short of work , and they would not allow mo jmything uut ; so I went in search of some . I wastcken up at Gloucester , and committed oa a charge of leaving my children chargeable to the parish of Cheltenham .

      Mi . Cuttis said the evidence was , so far as he could judge , pretty correct . By the Foreman—I was very ill when I came out , scarcely able to wsJk . The Coroner said that his state of health could have nothing to do with tbe rieath of Beale . Mr . CuniE—The complement cf men is eight on and sixteen off . The wheel goes forty-eight paces , or twice round in a minute . By the Coroner—I have no reason to suppose that if I bad applied for a dry shirt I Bhcuid not have had one . I know if I had applied to Mr . Curtis I should have had one . I don't think he would injure any body . Newton—I do not say this because Mr . Curtis is present . One man was very ill , and they corded him cp to the wheel , and beat hi 8 heart against it as long as they liked , r . n «! let him drop throngh . They might have broken his neck . The Coroner eaid that was not evidence in reference to the deceased Charles Brale .

      By the Coroner—I have known ths visiting magistrates to come reund , and the governor has asked the prisoners if they bad any complaints to make : but they were afraid . If anything was said very little attention was paid to it , and they made it OBt to be a pack of lies . They came round about once a fortnight . I never heard Beale complain to the visiting justices . I have seen plenty of them eat potato rinda , but not Beale . Alice Beale—I am the mother of the deceased . He was in good health before ho went to Northleach , In consequence of some information I had from a discharged prisoner about my sons health , about two months after his committal , I , in company with the wife of Joseph Rowley , went to Northleach . We had a magistrate ' s

      order . We walked there and got to the prison about twelve o ' clock . We were with ray son about ten minutes . Rowley and tbe governor wero present ; I thonght he was at the point of death . He told me he was in good heaHk , Bnt he has told me since , he said that to cheer my spirits np . He looked exceedingly ill . The governor seemed to push us on as though he did not wish us to stop any longer . He made no complaint All he said waa overheard by the governor . I should have liked to have remained longer , bnt the governor did not appear to wish us to stay longer . Three -weeks before he left , I received a letter as from the governor , stating that my son was very ill and wished to see ns all , me in particular . I started at two o'clock , and was with him one hour and a quarter . The governor was not present , nor the surgton , nor tbe turnkey . He had

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      a quantity of toast and water , of which he drank a good deal whilo I was there . He had about half a threepenny or fourpenDy loaf toasted , to make the toast and water . One of the turnkeys brought him a box of pills . He was in bed in the hospital . I did not see him afterwards until he cams homo . I saw him three days after he came home . Ho was as bad- as he could be and alive . The first time I went with deceased to the dispensary was Thursday , the 22 d of September . On the Thursday before he died he despaired for the first time of his recovery . On the following evening ( Friday ) , Mr . Hollis called . My son asked me if I knew where that gentleman lived . I told him 1 did not . He said he was fearful that Mr . Hollis had misunderstood him as to tbe hours he was in the

      potatoe bnry , which was very shortly after the first time I went to see him . He said it was wrong that he told Mr . Hollis . He was not down ten hoars in the potatoe bury in one day . He wished to correct this , as he wished to put ull straight before he died . His head wandered at times . On the Saturday before he died , when he was quite sensible , he said— " Mother , when I was in the potatoe bury , I found my blood run cold . My hair steod on end on my head . I pulled off my cap and kneebd upon it I think that caused me my death . Tbe starvation of the prison that I suffered , mother , ho tongue can tell . I did not hear my son say , in tho presence of the governor and turnkey ; that ho was perfectly satisfied . He said , " Dont make yonrself uneasy , mother , the turnkey haa been very kind to me . " His satisfaction was confined to Curtis . He was

      always of a delicate constitution until he was grown up a man , when be became strong and healthy . By the foreman—He was at work as a sawyer the day he was taken to prison . He waa iu perfect health and had been for a twelvemonth 1 « fore . Nathaniel Beale—I am father of the deceased . He was twenty-three last birth-day . He told me on the Saturday evening before his death , that he waa down in the bury " chitting pot&tees" with Cliurin , when he ato some law potatoes . He did not eat so many as Churin . It was hunger that induced him to eat them . He paid tbe prison caused his death , his being put in the potatoe bury caused his illness . He said he made no complaint becavm he was afraid of been served worse .. My son said be would seoner saw for seven years ihrirt work at the mill for a month . ¦ ¦ ¦ ' '

      It being now half-past four o ' clock , and one of the Jury having to attend the funeral of his mother at Camden , the Coronor adjourned i the inquiry until Monday . ¦ ¦ j

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      MIDPLSEX SESSIONS-Wednesday . CASE OF CRUELTY TO A CHILD IN SIABYLEBONE . ( Before Mr . Sergeant Adams , Chairman , and a Bench of Magistrates . ) Barnard Gavsn , aged 39 . and Mary Gavan , aged 35 , were indicted for assaulting and beating Eliza Gbvan their child . The malo prisoner was first arraigned , and pleaded not guilty . Mr . Claukson , who was assisted by Mr . Payne , conducted the prosecution ; and Mr . Prendergast defended the prisoner . :

      Mr . Clarkson stated that this prosecution had been instituted at the instance cf the parish authorities of St . Marylebone for assaulting p . child of the tender age of nine years . Upon perusing the depositions he observed that the child spoke of a series of brutal assaults anil ill-usage , yet it so . hr . opaned ttut the present indictment referred to only one charge , although it should have contained at least twenty counts , setting forth as many instances of in oat aggravated assaults He should therefore be compelled to confine himself eo the isolated charge in the indictment . Tne object of the prisoner ' s ferocity was the chiid of a former wife , and livvd with him at No . 2 , Htnry-street , Portland Town . The prisoner was in the receipt of goed wages , and earned , as a tobacco-pipe maker , from thirty-five shillings to fifty shillings per week . He bad six

      children besides the one in question . The jury were aware that the prisoner , in point of law , was justified in administering mild and wholesome correction to his child , but it was not to be endured that it should be traiitsd so barbarously as it had been :.- ' It would appear that , on the 26 tU of September , while a policeman was going his rounds , the little girl was brought to him as a lost child . She was taken to the sta-ion house , and it transpired that her father bad turned her out of doors , and had been in the habit of exercising the most extreme cruelty towards her . The policbmansubsequentlywentto the prisoner ' s residence , and took poesr . ssion of a leathern strap , with which be was in the habit of beating the child about the head until the blood flowed . The

      learned gentleman than gave an outline of the evidence be proposed to lay before the jury , and expressed his regret that , by reason of the form of the indictment , he could not go into the whole circumstances of the case . After the jury had heard the child's statement , corroborated as it would be by other witnesses , it would ba for them to say if the prisoner was justified in inflicting such punisbment upon a child of nine years of age , or not The parish authorities considered it a case in which they should not have discharged their duty unless they bad brought the prisoner there to ansrver for his conduct . He was happy to inform them that the parish officers had not only taken the child that had been illused into tbe workhouse , bnt had likewi-e received under their protection all the other children of th

      prisoner . Eliza G . ivan , a poor , attenuated-looking child , was placed near the bench and aworn . She said—The prisoner is ' my father . My mother is dead . I came from Ireland with my father a good while ago . Ths woman sitting down with tbe baby in her arms is my motherin-law . On the 26 th of September , I saw the policeman , Hobbs , in Hi ^ h-street , Portland-town . I had been turned out of doors by my father . I remember that , a few evenings before , ho beat me about the head with the leather strap produced ( a thick strap , about two feet in length , was here exhibited to the Court . ) I ran into the privy , and he followed mo , and again " welted '' me . The blood ran from my head . He also took up my clothes , and beat me with a strap about the body . The reaRon I was punished was for blowing my nose behind the door . He beat me about the back , and every where e'se . .

      Cross-examined—He kept the strap to beat me with He did not use it to punish the other children with . I had been living , until wi' . hin some months , with my grandmother , at Baliymena , in Ireland . She died , and my father fetch&d me home . My mother was Nancy Quin . I had sores upoa my bead , and was begging about when my father fetched me home . Re-examined—I never saw the female prisoner until I came to England . William Webb examined—I live at No . 2 , Henrystreet , Portland-town . The prisoner and hia family lived there . I saw the child run out of the house , followed by the prisoner . I afterwards saw blood on the flooring . I also saw blood on the hands of the child . The blood appeared to bave dripped about the place , and the stains covered about a square foot of the boards .

      Cross-examined—I was never on bad terms with the prisoner . A son of mine worked at the same shop with him , and he made an objection to hia doing so , as he hart not served his apprenticeship , but I bore no malice towards him on that account I never threatened to punish tbe prisoner in the hearing of Mr . Cunningham , hia master . Police-constable Hobbs , 174 S ., said—I remember tbe child beieg brought to me on the 26 th of September , in H- ' gh-street , Portland Town . I took it to the stationhouse , and I met the mother afterwards , and told her the child had been terribly ill-used . I went to the prisoner ' s house , and obtained tho strap produced . Mr . Robert B 9 ys , the pariah surgeon of Morylebone , sworn—I examined tho child , and found blue and yellow marks upon its body of long standing . There ¦ were superficial scabs ou the head , and bruises areund them . I do not think the sores were the result of disease , but of violence .

      Cross-examined—I will swear the sores did not come of themselves . Mr . Prendergast said he never heard of a more trivial an < l disgusting case being brought before a court of justice by any parish officers . Let the jury examine the facts without prejudice , and they would at once perceive the barrenness of the case , notwithstanding a ! l the garnish and misrepresentation that bad been brought in aid . Several witnesses were called to prove that the present wife of the prisoner -was the child ' s own mother ; and Mr . Peter Cunningham , a tobacco-pipe maker , gave tho prisoner a good character during six years that be had been in his employment . The witness added , that , the day after the prisoner was examined before Mr . Rawlinson , the man Webb said the prisoner had been severe with him , and be should be equally severe with the prisoner , for God paid all debts without money . Mr . Pavne replied .

      The Chairman , in summing up , told the jury they had to decide whether the punishment inflicted by the prisoner was justified by the offence committed by the little girl , and whether it was a mild and proper correctioD , or an excess of violence hai been exercised . They were to say , as men of good sense , vrhether he had or had not substantially * xceeded the laws of nature and humanity . The strap appears to him to have been used over the child ' s bead , as there were stains of blood upon it . The strap "was then banded to the jury for the 3 r inspection , and , after a short consultation , a verdict of Guilty was returned .

      Mary Qavsn was n « xt indicted for a similar offence . E Gavan . thechild . proved that tbe prisoner had frequently dragged her about by the hair of the head , knock her head against tbe mantel shelf , and threw her o » the ground In consequence of a discrepancy between " \ he evidence and indictment , the prisoner was acquitted , under the direction of the Chairman , who remarked that the parish authorities ought to bave employed a competent person to draw up the indictments . If it turned out that the blame rested with tee officer of that court , he would hear of it again . . Mr . Piendergast said he believed the parish officers were willing to recommend the man Gavan to mercy . Mr . Payne said they would do no Buch thing . The Chairmau , in passing sentence , observed , that if the indictment had bet n properly framed , so that all tbe circumstances should have been laid before tbe

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      Court , both as regarded the prisoner and his wife , a very severe sentence would have been passed upon them . Tha depositions contained a series of cruelties which would make every humane man shudder upon reading them . Tba hands of the Court were , however , tied , and , although their better feelings spontaneously rose up against such conduct , they mutt not allow themselves to depart from a strict administration of the law . The Learned Gentleman then sentenced the prisoner to six weeks' imprisonment in tha House of Correction .

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      EXTRAORDINARY CASE OF SWINDLING . On Friday afternoon , at the Police-court , Liverpool , after the usual business of the day had been brought nearly to 5 close , a young man , appwently belonging to tbe Bwell mob , " and who bad just been apprehended , was brought before Mr . Ruehton on a charge of having , with the assistance of a coin-rogue ( who has escaped ) , tricked a stranger , who bad arrived in town only an hour before , of a sum of upwards of £ 60 . The prisoner gave bis name aa Thomas Rule , but bis real name is said to be Davies . The circumstances of the case are bo extraordinary , showing the cunning ol the delinquents as contrasted with tbe apparent simplicity of their dupe , that \ re supply tbe evidence at length . The complainant , a slender and unintelligent-locking man , in a Ions top coat , and who stat < d that be was

      thirtytwo years of age , said , 1 am a joiner and builder in Cbeetham-hitl , near Manchester . This morning I arrived in Liverpool by the railway , a few minutes before twelve o ' clock , to buy timber . As I came along Manchester-street , the prisoner , Thomas Rule , overtook me , and asked me the way to the dock ? . I said , " I am a stranger , I cannot tell . " He said , " I am a stranger too , from Rochdalu . and am going to do business at the docks ; it is a cold morning , will you step in and have a glass ? " adding , '' Perhaps you have not t ' . me . " I agreed , and we went into Whiteley ' 3 publichouse , in Manchester-street , into the second room on the right side of the lobby . Rule said , " I will have half a glass of brandy . '' I said I would take the same . The waiter cams into tbe room , ttnd orders were given for the glasses . We each paid for

      our own . Before we had tasted , another man came into the room , and placed himself in a corner near the fire . He said , " What bustling places these large towns are ; these big streets contain nothing but shops and public-houseB . " I said" Yes ; " and the prisoner said , " The back streets are very dirty . " The other man then took up his glass , and said , " Here is our g » od healths , gentlemen ! " We returned him the compliment . The other man then said , '" I am a stranger ; I came from Bollington to sep a lawyer . " Prisoner said , " It is not a very pleasant job '" Tha other man said , 'fit is not so with me ; I have come to draw seme money which an old ancle of mine has lett me . I have been to my attorney , who says I shall have to wait a week or ten days , and he wanted to know if I wanted any money . I wanted none , but he handed me

      £ 30 , and said , " It is customary to have a glass on paying money . " We went into a public-house , and the lawyer and his clerks had glass after filass ; and when I came to pay the Mil , it amounted to more than £ 2 . I then went into that big street ( Dale-street ) , and lnoke'l through a shop -window . A T . iriy came up who had ii feather hanging in her bonnet , -which rtnehed nearly to her feet . She said to me , " Well , John ! will you go with me and have a glass ? " I went with her . She told me fcho was a l&dy ' 5-maid-out ' cf place , but resided with her aunt in Wiliiarason-sqaure . We went there , and found a number of ladies sitling in the house . I threw down a . sovereign for sonis fiiri , and whilst we were drinking some officers came in . The prisoner said , " What kind of officers , i ' ' Tha other man said , they had gold lace on their caps and coats .

      The prisoner said , they must have been captains . The other man then said , " I went to bed with one ' of the ladies , and in the morning , on counting my money , I found that I had spent between 3 £ . and il . The laiiy of the bouse was very kind to me , and invited me to dine there , which I intend to do , and she said that the woman who was so very handsome would bo there . " I said to all this , " If you would be advised by me , you will never go near the place again . " I endeavoured to dissuade him , saying that he would repent it if he did . He Baid , " I will , " and took out his money , and showed a number of sovereigns and some notes , saying , " I will go there and spend the remainder . We hid been playing the other night with something that counted very many , but I do not know what it w .. is . 'I said perhaps they were dominoes . Tha prisoner said ,

      they must be cards . The other man then put his hand into his pocket , and took out a pack of cards , saying , " These are them : I brought them away with me . I played with them the nittht before , and the young lady woulil instruct me in'something which I did not understand . We played a considerable time . "' The prisoner said , "I won , " and laid the cards on the table , and showed us how be had done it , by cutting tho cards and guessing black or red ; and be placed a crown down , saying that he would beat either Hie or the prisoner . The prisoner betted half-a-crown , and w , on The other man went out , leaving the cards on the table , saying he was going to the lady . I then said to the prisoner , " What a pity it was that the man should losa his money : our best way svould be to gt ; i him to deposit it in some bank . " Tho prisoner oaid , we had better

      try to get it from him , and give it to tho poor , r . nd he took hold of the cards and said , " We will take out all the black ones , " He took out about two-thirds of tbe black ones , and put them into his pocket . The other man came in again , and I endeavoured to pi ; rsnade him to put his money in a bank . Ho said , " I will not ; I will spend it all . When I draw the fall amount it will be £ 800 , and I will-than return home . " The prisoner said , " Will you give it to the poor ?" The otnor said , " Tha poor shall never fcavo a farti . ing of my money , " and pretended to be very tipsy . Prisoner thin sai'l , " Let us get it from him , and give it to the poor . " I saii , " It will not be right to do so , as h * has objected , but we ought to get his address , ami send it to him . '' The other man then produced the cards , and said , " I know nothing about you ; you are a stranger to me . I will bet you any thing you like , '' and he

      laid down two sovereigns . I laid down two sovereigns alse . The prisoner then cut the cards , and the other man-won . The other man proposed a bet of five sovereigns , which were placed on the table . Tho prisoner again cut the cards and the other man won . I believe I proposed to bat ten sovereigns , and we placed cur money on the table . Prisoner cut again , and the other man won . Prisoner kept paying to the other , " What a lucky man you are . " We carried on betting till I lost one £ 5 Bank of England note , one £ 10 Bank of England note , and forty six sovereigns . The other man then said , " Wait a bit till I go to the back-door . " He -went out , and I followed him , but lost him . I returned into tbe heuse , and found the prisoner had thrown the cards into tho fire . I tneu suspected I had been cheated . A constable came in and took the prsoner into custody .

      Mr . Owen , who attended for the prisoner , cross-examined the witness , with considerable severity , as to his entering into gambling with strangers , and endeavoured to elicit an acknowledgment that bo would have pocketed the £ 30 , of the mau svho had escaptd , or any part of it , which he might have won . The witness , however , strongly denied all euch intent , alleging that he was solely actuated by a humane desire that the man ( though a stranger to him ) fahouid not squander his money at the places be had mentioned , and that he should receive it " when he came to his senses . " James Berwick Whiteley , landlord of the

      publichouse , said , that about one o ' clock this day ( Friday ) he was called down stairs from his dinner , and saw the prisoner Rule in the lobby , and he ( prisoner ) said to him , " Landlord , if yon will corne into the parlour all in a hurry , and say you will futch a policeman , arid that you will not allow card playing , I will give you £ 5 in an hour's time . " Witness made some inquiries respecting tha prisoner and his company , and then went for a constable , He returned with police-officer Charniey ; and went into the parlour along with the prosecutor . The latter charged the prisoner with having defrauded him of £ 61 at cards . Tho prisoner made no reply , and Charnley took him into custody .

      Jane Whitely , wife of tho last witness , said , she served the glasses called for between twelve and one o ' clock . About ten minutes after , the ether man ( who has escaped with the money ) came in and called for a glass of gin . That man and the prisoner she bad both seen together in the house several times , and generally with strangers . Her husband mentioned to her tbe propesition msde to him by the prisoner , and she stated her supicions , upon which tho constable was called , and tbe charge vcus made against him by Foggott , as stated . The police-officer Charnley corroborated the facts stated as regarded timsalf by the two last witnesses . He found on the prisoner the turn of 5 s . 6 d . only . Tbe prisoner , on being cautioned , said that the complainant had never accused him of having cheated him out of anything , or of having betted with him at all ,, until the landlady came into the room with the constable , and said that sho had seen him there hf . fV . ra .

      The prisoner waa committed for trial . He inquired whether he could be admitted to bail . As the case as it stood resolved itself into ( we believe ) a misdemeanour , Mr . Rushton said he would be so admitted , by finding sureties , himself in £ 100 , and two others in £ 50 each , with forty-eight hours' notice of bail .

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      WELLINGTON , SALOP . ( Correspondence of the Evening Star . ) A few friends of the common cause , in this town , beg t * forward their mite to you for the Defence Fp . u > 3 . There is at present no organized locality here , and the enclosed trifle haa been collected by calling on the well-disposed at their homes . Those who have began the work will continue tbeir exertions so long as they shall be needful or productive ; and they beg , at the same time , most earnestly to call your attention to the Isolated and hitherto unnoticed case of Thomas Halford ,

      a most active and useful volunteer Chartist lecturer , now a prisoner in Shrewsbury gaol for using exciting language at a meeting in the neighbourhood of Iron Bridge . He is known to Llnney and Mason , having been , as a member of the Coalbrookdale locality , mainly instrumental in the introduction of Chartism into this Tory-ridden county , and in the getting up of the Demonstration on the Wrekin , where he spoke . He afterwards took a bouse at Ketley , among the coal and iron works , chiefly In orier to spread the light of truth among tbe colliers and others of that district ;

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      and at his own door , once a week , delivered a . sound , reasonable , and temperate lecture , besides attending twoor three other places . He soon became a marked man , and , consequently , had hl » body-guard of gre « n dragons constantly at his heels ; and as cool and biting sarcasm is his forte , he treated them occasionally in a way that excited their ire , and that . of their employers , in no common degree . Aware of this , he has particularly guarded bimtelf against giving them a ehance , but ^ determined not to be foiled , they have broken through , every barrier of law and Justice , and he is now , unfriended and alone , In their power ; and being the only Chartist prisoner in the county , and unable , from the alarm excited by the late disturbances , to procure tha heavy bail required , viz ., himself in two hundred

      pounds , and two sureties hi one hundred pounds each , besides extra bail , himself in fifty pounds , and two sureties in twenty-Eve pounds each , for good behaviour until bis trial ; he is , to use an old Irish saying , " At law with the devil , and tbe court h 6 ld in hell . " Mark what follows-. —When taken he was committed for trial at Wenlock Sessions , an obscure Tory borough , where the " jolterheads" would bang , draw , and quartersuch a man if they could ; but for fear that even they could not for shame convict him , we are now informed on good authority , that they intend his trial shall take place at the Assizes in March , thus making sure work of his incarceration for the six winter months . His friends , the colliers , are beginning to do something for him and his poor wife , who is in a destitute condition .

      N . B . The charge against Half ord is wholly , and solely a quotation from Blaekstone with regard to the right of the- starving man to take rather than perish , which haa been pat down as Halford ' s own words I

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      NATURAL RIGHTS . Much has been said and written upon the great and practical advantages t « be derive *! from co-operative communities . But tbe advocates of those societies seem to overlook the fact that the system now established by common consent among all nations is in truth one vast system of co-operation . Is not the farmer raising pork and wheat for the wea . ver , and the weaver in return fabricating coat and pantaloons for the farmer , co-operating with each other , as literally as if they domiciled under the same roof-tree J Let the Measure of value be uniform and

      nBfluctuatinulet the farmer sell his produce at the price put upon it by an open morfcet With the proceeds he can purchase the proceeds of the weaver ' s skill ; and not only that , but the labour and ingenuity of ten thousand artfnns are at his feet , soliciting him to take them in exchange , at prices regulated by public opinion , for the produce of his farm . This is indeed co-operation in its most comprehensive sense , and , if freed from the Anti-human 'influences that are at work upon it , it would presents system aa much superior to the little hole-and-corner communities that have been proposed , as the sun ' ght is superior to the dim and drowsy twinklings of a midnight toper .

      All human life , then , is one vaBt eo-operative society Their capital is the soil and minerals of this whole earth , and all the mechanical forces th ;; t are in existence , or may he called forth by human ingenuity . ¦ Why has tho great co-partnership—instituted by God himself , and extending through all time anci over all nations—why , I ask , has it been productive of so little " advantage to the great mass of the human familyf The answer is—sitnp ! y because a few directors sefasd upon the whn ! t capital—marie it their own individual property—and reduced the mkss of the people from their natural position of v > orLing shareholders , to be mere drudges in the establishment .

      Search the entire page of past history and you will find that thus it has ever been . Look at tbe picture , destitution and woe , which is at this moment presented over Europe and " the East . " Contemplate the causes that are in active operation among ourselves , ami see it there is anything in them to save us from the universal lot of nil past and present nations . No ! Society has no escape—posterity has no escape—from servitude until seine boundary ia put to the individual accumulation of that capital stock which belongs , and inalienably belongs , to the whole human family . We may , if we please , adhere to the blind prejudices of the barbarous ages—we may in the plentitude of our ignorance and infatuation set aside tho well defined laws of nature , and ttia no less explicit injunctions of God ' s Word—we may permit individuals to monopolise tho soul , and shut out starving man from tho fruitfulnoss of Nature , we may say to the grasping and the rapacious , " Go 6 n |; dutch-all ; you have full liberty 1 " but if we do so wear « sure to pay the deep , deep , penalty of our unutterable foJf y .

      I do not propose a disruption of society—I urge no interference , present or prospective , with the ownership of personal property—I desire not to limit individual accumulation of artificial wealth produced by man ' s labour . I fix na bound to the possession of houses , er anything created by man ' s hands or reared by his indestry—I do not approach , to disturb it , the present ownership of land—let all existing deeds and titles remain in full foica , no matter how unjust or unreasonable such titles may-be . What I propose to prohibit is , all PUiURE Monopoly of the Soil—to pass a law . declaring that no deed executed or transferred , for the time to come , shall be valid in law if granting , or conveying ; , to any individual mote land than ; a necessary for such individual's rational rcquirfiiutihts ; 8 : iy a quantity not above the appraised value of 20 , 000 dollars , and in no case to exceed 500 acres .

      L « t this law be passed—let it become a provision of the federal Constitution—let it bo preserved inta / . -t as a sacred principle of our institutions , and in return it Will preserve thoEe institutions from change or decay , aa long as a rrspsct for freedom lives in ths henrts of our descendants , even to tbe remotest ages of the world . But , on the other aide , if you permit unprincipled an . i ambitious men to monopoliz 3 the soil , they will become masters of the country in the certain order of cause and effect . Holding in their hands the Storehouse , of food , they will make men ' s physical necessities aubdue thtir lore of freedom . They will flood ths balls of legislation , sent there by the votes of tbeir dependant tenants Then rapacity and wrong will assume all the due forms of " law and order "—then our unhappy descendants will be coerced , enslaved , famished to death by Acts of Parliament—then resistance to the oppression will be stigmatized as a " crime" against " lawful authority "—THEN our country will career down the steeps of

      " Wealth , Vice , Corruption , Barbarism at last "our fate will be the cemmoii fate , with this difference , that we will run cur vessel on the rocks wiiii a full chart of tbe destruction spread out before us—we will madly dash upon the lue shore while ten thousand beacon lights flame above , to warn ns off the danger . Reader ! You are a rational and accountable being . You are accountable , both te posterity and to ycur God . Examine this quesiion with thnt serious attention which is due to its great and far-reacbing imp . rtanco . If on a cartful examination you are satisfied that there is no danger ahead , then of course you are at libert f to " pass over on the other sida of the way" and offer no htlp , ¦ where , in your opinion , no blip is required . But if , on a deliberate examination , you come to the conclusion that there is danger to onr institutions und to our

      posterity hom the unbounded accumulation of wealth : then I call upon you not to lay down tkis book , and with it dismiss tbe subject from your thoughts . If you do so you are n * t doin # your duty—you are not acting either njusl or a manly purl ; towards those couatb&S millions whose bondage or freedom , whose weal or woe , is staked upon tbe momentous issue . Meet tho nf-cessity like a man . Come to tne rescue of our ii ; sLiu \ tions while it is ytt time . Put a stop to the accumulation of enormous wealth . Why should it be suffered ? Wfcafc good can accrue from it even to the rich men themselves ? Whether tqiiandered in riot and exctss , or hoarded up with the iron-grasp of covetousness , i « it net alike subversive of moiality and religion—alike productive of guilt and crime ? Look iato the simple and harmonious laws of nature , and see how little man ' s rational ertjjyments are dependent upon vast accumulations of wealth . Search tfce Scripture , and there see the doom denounced against those who " lay up for themselves treasures on cart '! . " In

      pity even to those men themselves , limit their ii old of sordid' accumulation . Bat etill more prohibit it , in compassion to the countless myriads of coming posterity . Look to tbe example already furnished en our own " free" hills . See how thirty thousand freemen most be degraded into serfs , in order to manufacture , and support , one " Lord of the Soil ! " And , sucin ? these things , will you permit the soil—tbe source of mans sustenance—to become the prey of the monopolist ? No ! Let him take all else be pleases ; let him a ; ld bouse to house—let his storerooms groan with accumulated merchandise—let him heap all the gold and silver be can scrape together with his clutching and palsied hand—but , ob , preserve THE SOIL from hifl pollution . Let the cultivators of the soil be ths proprietors of the soil . Do this , and whatever corruption may be engendered in cities by the baneful inttueiiee of wealth , will be purified and dissipated by tlw unpurchaseable virtue of an independent and rural population . — William slurgh Democrat .

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      Extraordinary Fecundity . —Mr . Musty , milkman , at Horfield , has in his possessioa a sow , two years and three months old , which has farrowed , in the short space of eighteen months , the extraordinary number of fifty-one pigs , and with the exception of one , they hare all been reared . Alice Lowe , a girl charged bjLord Frankfort with stealing tho trinkets with which she was lavishly adorned by his Lordship , while under his " protection , " has been committed for trial . On being asked by the magistrate what she had to say

      for herself , her reply wae , Oh , sir ! I have ODly to say that the whole of the things produced Lord Frankfort gave me . They were given , to me to induce me to go and live with him . " ( At the conclusion of this brief statement the prisoner covered her face with her har . ds . and applied her handkerchief to her face . ) His Lordship , who appeared not a little ashamed of himself , was glad to make his exit from the court privately , but was recognised by the mob , and most cordially hooted . The girl ia described a 3 very handsome , with" an expression of cheerfulness blended with innocenco in her countenance which has ' a T 6 ry winning effect . "

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      .. . •¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ " .. . - . . ; - - ¦ ¦ . ¦ . - Wr \\ . ¦ ¦ ¦ . ' - ¦ ¦ " n fHE , NORTHERN STAR . _ _^

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Oct. 29, 1842, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct454/page/6/