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Northern Star (1837-1852), 26th November 1842, Edition 2 of 4, Page 4, Untitled Ad

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    • THE NORTHERN STAK.. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1842.
    • THE POLITICIAN'S TEXT BOOK.
  • Adverts (3)
  • Text (9)
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      Untitled Ad

      T HAVE great pleasure ( and no small share of pride ) A in submitting the following encominm upon my little Compilation , the POOR MAN'S COMPANION for 1843 , to the notice of the Public generally ; convinced that the lovers of bight and tbuth will be pleased , with me , that this three-penny-worth of " Facts and Figures" is calculated to be of use in guiding the public mind to a correct appreciation of several political and social schemes of amelioration advocated by the advanced sections of the Reformers . The letter , in which testimony to this

      Untitled Ad

      London , Nov . 19 , 1842 . Ml dear HoBSOU , —Yon -will see by tbe Evening Siar , that I have made a goad use of your invaju&ble little book ; the very best that ever appeared in tbe English language , and one -which bas taught mo that I was a fool till now . You should have called it the " Whig Economist . " It is splendid . The tax-payers on the platform started again , vrben I read the txtraetB from it Bat I cave not had time to do it justice . I

      Untitled Ad

      The Poor Mans Companion may bt- had at the Publisher ' s Offices , 5 , Market-street , Leeds , and 3 , Market-walk , Hudd * rsfield ; of J . Cleave , 1 , Shoelane , Fleet-itreet , and J . Watson , Paul ' s Alley , Paternoster Row , London ; A . Heywood , and J . Leacb , Manchester ; Patou and . Love , Glasgow ; G . J . Harney , and "W . Barraclongh , Sheffield ; and of all Booksellers and Kews Agents in Town and Country .

      Untitled Article

      BZAHCHESTER , GRAND FESTIVAL IN HONOUR 0 ? T . 9 . DPNCOMSS , ESQ ., M . P ., AND FBARQITS O'COXNOB , ESQ . A Tea Party tad M m htld in the Carpenter's Hall , Old Ganett-road , Manchester , on Monday evening , in honour of the above illustrious gentlemen . Six o ' clock was the time announced for the tea to be upon the table ; but long before that boar thousands -were tongregated around the doois , anxious t » be admitted . Notwithstanding the committee had limited the number of tickets to one thousand , tnch vas the demand for themand the importunities of toe people , that they

      , -were compelled to break through their origisal arrangements , and grant a second issue . The committee had neither * p * re& trouble nor expeuce in decorating tne loom . The platform had mi imposing tSect upon the light ; over the frsnt of it Vis erected a magnifldent triumphal arch , in the centre of which was suspended the portrait of T . S . Doncombe , Bsq , in a splendid rosewood frame , supported on the right by that of F . O'Connor , Esq ., and oa the left by the ever-to-be-I&mented John Frost , in frames of the same material Around the Hall -were many small banners bearing appropriate mottos . An excellent quadrille kand was in attendance , and played several popular airs dvring tea .

      About eight o ' clock , Mr . Dascombe , accompanied by Mr . O'Connor , entered the Hall , and here ensaed a scene that taffies description . Ttw people rose upon their feet from the tables ; mored by one common impulse to ^ o honour to the men who bad advocated their cause through good and evil Teport . Tfee cbeering at this moment surpassed anything that ire ever witnessed before- The waving of hats and handkerchiefa continued for a considerable time ; in fact , it appeared as if the people thought they could not sufficiently skew their gratitude to these nobles of nature , who had done so much for the suffering sons of toiL

      It -was -with considerable difficulty that they made fXt > i > way to the platform , upon mounting "which tae cheering recommenced and lasted for several minutes . Order being restored , the people commenced consuming the good things set before them ; and , notwithstanding 1500 persons took tea , sitting down at fear different times , yet , all . was conducted with the utmost decorum and good order . The people were highly delighted with the arrangements made by the committee for their comfort , and all were perfectly satisfied with the quantity and quality of the provisona provided for tfr » Tn . Upon the tea equipage beusg removed , Mr . Dixos moved that Jlr . J . R . Cooper do take the chair . The motion being seconded and put to the meeting , it was carried unanimously .

      Mr . Cooper said th&t he would not occupy their time hy any preliminary remarks , but just obstrve that on account of the crowded state of tie room on < 3 the lateness of the hour , it had been thought advisable to omit a large number of sentiments that originally stood upoa the liet , reserving only three . Yet there was one that he could not dispense with , he wonld read it and call upon Mr . James Leach to respobd to it " The working classes , may they er . j > y the fruits of their own industry by the speedy abolition of class legis ' ation , and become united , happy , and free . " Mr . Leach rose amidst louii cheers aad respon : '« d to fie toast in a speech which did honour both to hia head and heart , and retired amid the plaudits of his fellow townsmen . Air fey the Band— " Scots wha ha' . " The Chaiumas said that the next toast was one Trhich all would hail with delight , it was : —

      " Our illustrious guests , T . S . Danco ' mbe , Esq ., mid P . O'Cennor , Esq , and may they live to receive the congratulations of a free and happy people for their disinterested advocacy of their rights . " This was received with tremendous cheering , which was repeated for several minutes . When order was restored , Mz . DuxcevBE said—Ladies and kind Friends , — Your moat excellent Chairman has truly said , if there is anything worth living for , it is to know that we have honestly doae our duty to our fellow-man , and in return receive the thanks of a grateful people . The nattering reception that you have given to me , an entire stranger amongst you , has so overpowered me , and embarrassed my mind , that I feel it a difficult task to return to you

      the thanks whick you deserve , or to find words adequate to convey to you the feelings of my heart on this occasion . But we are not strangers in reality ; for although we reside at & distance from each ether , yet we have fought long together against oppression and iojusticewe have long been struggling in the same cause . Mr . "Dttncomfee then said he remembered the honour the working classes eo&ferred upon him in the last session of Parliament by entrusting to his care the National Petition—tleud cheeis )—and he also remembered the manner that that Petition was treated by the Heuse of Commons : and the language made use cf by the members of that House . They had called the Chartists spoOatora and destructives . Bat he ( Mr . Dancombej told them it was a libel on the working men of

      England . T > iafc petition told the truth concerning your grievances , and pointed out the only remedy—the People ' s Charter . That petition also prayed for your delegates to be heard at the bar of that House . But they durst ntt hear you—if they had , you ¦ would have told such truths as would have made them ashamed of themselves ; and would have laid bare to . the whole country the grievances you complained of , and at the sanu time ths justness of your demands . Mr . Duncombe then commented in severe terms upon the conduct of the members of the House of Commons spon that occasion . He ( Mr . Doneombei thought it would have been time enough to hare called them , deitenctives , and to have cavilled about the wording of the petition , when they had heard what you hod to say

      upon the subject . He would tell them how that petition was received by the men calling themselves the representatives of the people . When the vote was taken for you to be heard at the Bar , there were 51 cut of 658 , for your being heard ; and if a proof was wanting to show that the House required reform , this -vote fully substantiated toe fact , that nothing short of s remodelling of the House of Commons weuld ever benefit this country . He lamented that fiUl vote ; he called it a fatal vote ; for if the House of Commons had not come to that vote , the late disturbances would not have taken p ' iace . If they had instituted an inquiry into the distress of the country , the people -would have had something to have hoped for ; but cy that act they doomed them to despair . Had the House done its duty to

      the country at that time , hundreds of families would not at this time have bad to lament the death of their natural protectors . The consequence of that neglect was , that the working classes , seeing they had nothing to expect from the House of CommoES , struck for en advance of wages , which they bad a perfect right to do—nay more , as the law at present stands , they ha * , a ' . right to combine together for that purpose if they thought prop * r . They also might say to the wsrkmen of another tmployer , " you ought cot to -woik for that man without be will give you a certain amount of wages " : further than this they cannot go . If they compel others from working against their will , then they fall a prey to the pangs of the law . And if ( said Mr . Duncombe ) what I read at the time "was correct , 1

      have no hesitation in saying that the law has been stretched by certain parties to suit their own purposes . Englishmen have the right to meet , peacefully to discuss their grievances ; and if the assembling of a few hundred persons outside of the building where the meeting is held makes the meeting illegal , why this may be called an illegal meeting ' : if that is the law , the House of Commons is often surrounded by a grumbling crowd of people , and therefore their meeting must be illegal . The authorities bad no right to interfere with your delegates , who were peaceably assembled together to do your business : it was their duty to see that the crowd in the street did no violence , but it was illegal for them to disperse the meeting , that was peacefully doing their business Inside of a

      bunding . But that is not all I have heard B ' . nta I-came into town of the conduct of the magistrates of this place , remanding men day after day for thirteen days , sjid in one instance for nineteen days , and then discharging them , having no evidence against them . If this is the -way ( said Mr . Duncombe ) that the laws are to be administered , then farewell the liberty of the subject . Where is our boasted Habeas Corpus , the palladium of our liberties ? Mr . Duncombe commented upon the conduct of Lord Abinger , and hoped the men of Manchester would fellow the noble example of the men of London , and get up a petition to the House of Commons and get it as numerously signed as possible and forward it to your representatives . —( Cries of ' It ' s no-use to send it to them . ") Oh , yes , ( said Mr . D ) they are very

      respectable men . —( Cries of " They will not do . " )— "Well , but fan must try them . He ( Mr . Danccmbe ) would do all that was in bis power to bring a boot the necessary enquiry . — ( Loud cheers . )—Mr . Duncombe then said that the Corn-Law-Repealers thought that if the Corn-Laws were repealed that that would heal all our evils . He ( Mi . D . ) was of a contrary opinion . There was , othing would save this country but the Suffrage , and to that point all real reformers should rally . The Repealers were going to raise £ 50 , 000 . WelL he ( Mr . J ) , ) hoped they would get it ; and he would advise the Chartists not to throw any obstacles in their way . It would be a failure ; they would not succeed . It would only be a feolish waste of money and time ; and after that has proved useless they will come to you—( loud cheers ) . Gentlemen , the suffrage' must be extended before any good can be accomplished—and come tfr » i nrnst , and come it wilL The House of Commons

      moat be reformed before the Com Laws or any tther te w * fox the good of the people can be repealed . There are six yean of the term for the -Tories jet , and when you bring any thing btfore them ., they as good &a say the Septennial Act is in existence , and yon may f »>> as Jon Will , we are secure for the remainder of the- ^ BTO- Mr . D- sold that he had stated in his place in Parliament , when he presented the petition containing three millions and a half of signatures , that he would never again be the means through which that House should insult the working men of England . He < 3 Ir . D . ) had very little faith in petitioning the present House of Commons—( cheers ) . You must rely upon your own strength . Unite together for the overthrow of oppression and injustice ; and whatever "little I can do towards bringing about that change so desirable at present for the amelioration of the condition of the working

      Untitled Article

      classe * , I shall feel a pl ^ ure doing it . Mr . Dunccmbe then referred to tae peace with China , and said he wished it was ' jj j ^ g power to proclaim peace between the people ^( J those who governed them . If he had the power b ^ won id tell Her Mtjesty that the only tray to secje the stability of the throne was to give equal laws a ' ad . equal justice to the subject ; and on the otoer han ^ if there was bo protection for the poor man ' s labei ^ , there oould be no security for the rich man ' s property—( cheers . ) Mr . J >* then thanked them for tt \ d hearing they had given him , and ab > o fer the reception he had received , and retired amid thundering Tounda of applause . Air by the Band—' AnM langsyne . " The Chairman then gave the following toast : —

      " The People ' s Charter , with all ita honest advocates ,- may they continue to struggle Io the glorious cause until its principles become the basis of our future laws , thereby giving peaoe and prosperity to the community . " Fbargus OCokwob , Esq ., then rose , amidst tremendous cheering , which continued for a considerable time . After the cheering bad subsided , Mr . O'Connor said , Mr . Chairman and Brother Chartists , it is seven years this very week , if not this very day , sine * I first advocated the principles of Chartism to you in Manchester . You and I have fought many a battle together since then . We have passed through obliquy and misrepresentation . We have suffered persecution ; they have incarcerated some , and entombed others . Though

      they have murdered a Clayton and a Holberry , still their spirits beckon as on to greater exertion in the cause ef Chartism . Mr . O'Connor then eulogised the conduct of Mr . Daacombe , for the manly course he had pursued in the -Commons House of Parliament . But he ( Mr . O'Connor ) differed with that gentleman when he said that be was a stranger . It was true that they resided at a distance from each other , but the people of England were not unmindful of those that dared to stand forward in the cause of the toiling millions . It w&a a great mistake to say that the people were fickle : if any person said that to him , he would tell him that he was a renegade , for the people never left their friends until they proved themselves unworthy of their confiaence . Mr . O'Connor then gave the Plague a severe

      castigation , and referred to Mr . Duncombe ' s remark , concerning the £ 50 , 000 being a failure ; and , said Mr . O'Connor , by the blessing of God , it shall fail , and soon too I He then stated that be was called a victim , and he gloried in the name ; it was an honour to be a victim in a good cause . He was no conspirator ; he never in his lite had attended a secret meeting ; be never belonged to any secret association . It was the law that conspired against him , and not him against the law . Bnt if tbey imagined that they could put him down by persecution , they reckoned without th 6 ir host If they put him in prison every day of the week , and ho only had Sunday left , he wonld agitate the one day in suven ; and with that alone be -would beat faction oat of the field . Mr . O'Connor then called the attention of

      the meeting to the hubbub about the great distress that prevailed in the rural districts ; they were no po-UticiEnB or they would know the cause ; they had no brains or they would know the reasen of that distress . He would tell them what it was that produced thiB state of things in the agricultural counties . The late Prosperity" was the cause ; during teat prosperity they were kidnapped to serve the turn of the manufacturer , until they could get machinery made , and then they were thrown by like old cog-wheela in the lumber-room . And these were the men that be { Mr . O Connor ) was to join ; with men that bad " plenty" on their tonuegs . but $ '« rca ( to » in their hands —they mi ? ht join them if they pleased , bus ho never would . John Edward Taylor , that handsome young

      man , ( save the mark , ) says that there are only 13 , 000 Chartists in England—but there are three millions and a half at least . ( Loud cries of there are 4 , 000 , 000 . ) Yes , said Mr . O Connor , 6 , 000 , 000 , if -we count the women . ( Mr . Leach said they were ladit-s . ) No : according to the definition ef Mr . Cobden . at Liverpool , ladies were bread-breakers . Now , the working men ' s wives were not ladies ; for they had left them no bread to break . It was Peel ' s 3 per cent in their incomes that was making the shopkeepers wince ; and that was the ticket for Chartism . Mr . O Connor then remarked , that it mattered nutting to the werking classes what we got from China ; it would not make o . e farthing difference to them if we got £ 500 , 000 , 000 from them . Mr .

      O Connor then gave a glowing description of the growth of his principles in his own country , and showed in clear and convincing language the difference between Paddy and John Bull . Itros simply this , that we bad to live from hand to mouth—whilst Paddy , with all his poverty had , at this time of the year , four or five months potatoes in the hole , and he would live upon one meal of these in the twenty-four hours , and agitate without the fear of his employer . He ( Mr . O Connor ) would never rest satisfied until be bad removed that state ef things which left them at the mercy at their greatest enemies . Mr . O'Connor ' s speech was a maBter piece of oratory , and perfectly electrified the audience . He was loudly cheered throughout Air , by the bond . — " A man's a man for a' that

      The Chaibman then gave , " The democratic press , more especially the Northern and Evening Stars , and may they receive the support of those whose interests they so powerfully advocate , and be thereby stimulated to more powerful exertions in the cause of human freedom . " The toast was responded to by the repeated plaudits of the meeting . Mr . O Connor , then proposed , " The thanks of not only the men of Manchester , but the working classes of Euglaad , toT . S . Duncombe , Esq ., M . P ., for his manly and straightforward conduct in the cause of freedom . ' The proposition was seconded by Mr . Leach , and carried with tremendous cheers . Mr . DtJ . NCoMBE returned thanks in a feeling speech ; after which the two illustrious gentlemen left the room , followed by the blessings of the people .

      The ball was then opened and the dancing and singing were kept op with spirit till five o ' clock in the morning , when the assembly dispersed highly delighted with the treat

      The Northern Stak.. Saturday, November 26, 1842.

      THE NORTHERN STAK .. SATURDAY , NOVEMBER 26 , 1842 .

      Untitled Article

      " THE REAL WORTH OF CHARTISM . " Undke thia head , the Times has published a paragraph , in which it comments , in its own way , upon the balance sheet of the Executive , gives in tbe Northern Star of last Saturday but one . The object of the Times is evidently to allay the apprehensions of its patrons as to the growing ibfiucB . ee of those principles of right by vrhich the axe shall ere long be laid fairly to the root of the fell upas tree of class dominance , under whose shade the Times and its supporters have so long nestled . He affects to sneer at the amount of the quarter ' s income and expenditure , and to regard it as evidence that the Movement to which it appertains must be contemptible . Here ia the paragraph : —

      " The Real Wobth op Chaetissl—On Saturday the provincial organ of Chartism , the Northern Star , published the ' balance Ebeet of tte executive' for the lafit quarter . This * casting no of account * ' will en-

      Untitled Article

      able the public to judge of the extent of Chartism , and the sympathy which its advocates find in the nVjasof the population , better than by the 3 , 000 , 000 sign stares asserted to have been attached to the ' Nation- 4 ] petj . Uon . " From thereout disturbances in the F < ' orth , it would be imagined by those who are not awr iTe of ^ ease with which the unemployed and d , scontented workmen of that district are excited , that ' inch a bustling place as Aahton , where Chartism bo » jt * of having taken up a strong position , would shew a . very respectable muster of what O'Connor ctyles ' blistered hands ' in support of the Charter , and also a goodly

      contribution to assist ia its consummation .. The balance sheet , however , shows that Ashtonhaa but sixty ' fraternising' Chartists , and that tbeir permanent resources for the quarter amount to exactly the sum of 10 s . At Birmingham , where Cbartfcam is supposed to be , numerically speaking . »{« nge » than ia any other part of the kingdom , these axe but 175 bona fide ' paying ' Chartists ; and the amount tbey have ' sent in ' to the Executive during the last three months is 18 s . 4 d . ;—18 a . 4 d ., or £ 313 s . 4 d . per annum , from Birmingham in support of the Charter ! This is sympathy Indeed . Coventry adds 100 Chartists to the ranks , and

      18 s . 8 d . to tbe funds . Carlisle gives £ 5 ; Darlington £ 5 ; Derby £ 1 ; Huddersfield £ l 18 s . ; Hull £ l 12 s . fid . ; Halifax £ 1 15 s . 4 d . ; Liverpool has 280 ' communicating * Chartists , and pays £ 1 13 s . 2 d . ; and Manchester , with its 524 brethren , sends £ 9 17 s . 4 d . Such are tbe bona fide indications of tbe strength of a faction whose noise and violence , artfully associated with the distress unfortunately so general in the north , have harf ' frighted the Isle from its propriety . ' The grand total of the income of the executive for three months from the 3 , 000 , 000 of partisans , friends , and sympathizers , is £ 160 Is . 5 d . The greater portion of the sum has been

      swallowed up by three of the principal itinerant lecturers : Dr . M'Dauall ' s wages' and travelling expencesfor two months amount to £ 35 10 s . ; BairstoWs to £ 33 8 s . ; and Leach ' s to £ 21 10 s ., —the three taking £ 90 18 s . This is agitating to some purpose . The extent , nature , and value of Chartism may be wull judged of from the fact that a laborious org&nizition , carried on in every county in England , bas enabled its various associations to Induce only 11 , 363 persons to enrol themselves as members , at twopence per quarter , and of these 11 , 363 there are no fewer than 4 , 813 who h&ie neglected to pay their twopences . "

      Thus it is that the middle and higher classes are led blind-folded , and many of them prevented from forming due estimates of things by the care taken to pervert the information which is furnished to them . This paragraph is fraught with folly as with rirulenoe . The Times writes habitually for the sordid classes , whose god is Pelf , and who estimate everything , not by its right , its justice , or its

      necessity , but by its profitableness . He calculates , and in all likelihood , rightly , that hia readers must think meanly of the powers of a Movement , national in its character , and affecting all the interests of society , of which the sum total » f its income is ono hundred and sixty pounds , ono shilling , and five pence , for three months J The Times knows nothing of the potency of principle ; nothing of the honest , earnest enthusiam which makes men

      u D ^ Hbly active in a losing game . " He weighs power in the class-balances of money , and , at the rate of party payment finds £ 160 to give so small a modicum , that he becomes merry with his conceit of " the real worth of Chartism . " It may be be well that we should help the readers of the Times to a more just mode of reckoning ; one that is less likely to mislead them . We shall do so presently , and gbow that this account of £ 160 for three mouths , is no statement of Chartist funds at all ; and that , were it tenfold more or less than what it is , it affjrds no criterion whereby to estimate the power or capacity of that Movement .

      But tbe ingenious dullness of tho writer is most striking in his manner of miking out tbe paucity of numbers devoted to the principles of Chartism . He looks down the column of cards issued during the quarter to each place respectively , and chuckles over his own blundering assumption that these figures indicate the number of enrolled Chartists in each place . Thus be cackles respecting Ashton-under-Lyne : —

      " From the resent disturbances in the North , it would be imagined that such a buatling place as Ashton , where Chartism boasts of having taken up a strong position , would show a very respectable muster ot what O'Connor styles blistered hands in support of the Charter . Tiie balance sheet , however , shows that Ashton has but sixty fraternizing Chartists . " In like manner the goase gabble 3 of " a hundred and seventy-five Chartists at Birmingham , " and o a * hundred Chartists at Coventry" ! -

      Tr . e quantity of cards thus issued during the quarter to each place is oast up at the bottom of tho column , and amounts to the number of 11 , 363 plain cards and 79 enamelled cards ; whereupon Goosey , still reasoning from her own manufactured premises , thus further cackles : — " The extent , nature , and value of Chartism jnay be judged of from the fact that a laborious organization , carried on in every county of Engi&nd far 3 enabled ita various associations to induce only 11 , 363 persons to enrol themselves as members . "

      Now whether tins be sheer stolidity or wilful misrepresentation , it is not the less likely to be mischievous , ia causing tLose by whom it is read and trusted to mistake their own position , and the whole nature of the great matters to which it has reference ; and therefore we take the trouble of adverting to it . It is right that those whom tho misstatcments of tho Times might otherwise deceive , should be informed that those statements are erroneous ; that the number thus given as the total number of enrolled Chartists in England is nothing more nor leas than the number of new cards of membership issued by the Executive during tho three months iueludod ia the balance sheet I and that instead of showing the total number of enrolled Chartisfs , it exhibits merely the increase during that period ! !

      The gabbliugs of the Goose of Printing House Square upon her supposed discoveries of the strength of Chartism in this Balanca-sheet are really not a little amusing . She thiuks that" This casting up of accounts will enable the public to judge of tbe extent of Chartism , and the sympathy which its advocates find in the mass of the population , better than by the three millions of signatures asserted to have been attached to the National Petition . "

      It is difficult to bajieve 'that the writer of this silly paragraph was unaware of the hollow and false character of these statements ; but for the mere common credit of humanity we will presume it . Goosey infers that because only 175 cards have been issued to Birmingham , " the three and a half millions of signatures , asserted to have been attached to the National Petition" forms no criterion of Chartist strength ; and that , in reality , the Chartists are a puerile and contemptible set of whom nobody need be afraid . We have shown already that her inference rests on a false basis , and is therefore

      worthless . But the National Petition , quoth Goosey , is no proof of tbe general prevalence of Chartist doctrines and principles . As we have no disposition to . be captious , we 6 hall not defend the point . We may however whisper into Goosey ' s ear a little fact that is proof of this bo much dreaded matter . In this same town of Birmingham , where there are only one hundred and seventy five Chartists , and where of course the rest are all Whigs and Tories , neither Whits nor Tories dare come honestly , boldly , and openly before a public meeting of the inhabitants to controvert any one of the principles of Chartism , for

      fear these one hundred and seventy-five . Chartists should out-rote them J In this same town of Birmingham , where there are one hundred and seventyfive Chartists , and of the contemptible character of Chartism , in which Goosey cackles eo lustily , neither of the factions ever dare to permit these one hundred and seventy-five Chartists to hold a public meeting , for th « assertion of their principles , when they can prevent it . The case ia similar in every town in England . Will this enable Goosey to "judge of the extent of Chartism and the sympathy

      Which its advocates find in the mass of tho population better than b y the 3 , 000 , 000 of signatures asserted to have been attached to the National Petition" ! Poor Goosey finds herself and her patrons in a luess , and wo much doubt this blundering will not help it . Bui tbe money I the money I the " casting up of accounts" ! thera is at all events no getting over that . The whole income of the Chartist movement , fora quarter of a year , ha 3 been little more than £ 160 . And what can be done for £ 1 GO ? Whsfc alarm need

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      faction have on account of anybody , or any code of principles , for the sustenance of which only £ 169 can be raised for a whole quarter ^ O 1 what a pity that Goosey and her patrons know so little of the indomitable spirit , the persevering energy , and the ceaseless activity infused into a people by suffering and poverty , the known consequences of injustice . To help Goosey and her patrons to some slight acquaintance with the matter , let us just look at what has been done by tbe advocates of Chartism , and the sympathy whioh those advocates have found in " the mass of the population . " What hare they done ?

      They have baffled all the efforts of all Goo 6 Ov ' b friends , whether Whig or Tory , Pro-Corn Law or Anti-Corn Law I All the wealth of the whole nation ; all the power of the whole nationas weilded first by a Whig and then by a Tory Government , —has been employed to put down Chartism . It has failed 1 All the blandishments of eloquence , so easily at the command of wealth , have been exhausted by the Anti-Cora Law League in attempting to persuade the " mass of the population " to give up their sympathy with the advocates of Chartism . The League has spent upon this single object very many thousands of pounds already ; they have contemptibly failed ; and are now seeking to raise £ 50 , 000 more to renew the effort . Failing in

      persuasion , they have tried jugglery and treachery ; they have pretended to espouse our principles that they might lead us from them , trying thus to cheat U 3 out of that which they couldn ' t cajole from us . They have failed , and are being laughed at , as they are preparing to slink from our ranks like a discovered and well-duckad spy . The "free-traders ' have endeavoured to enforce compliance by starvation ; they have brought down wages for the avowed purpose ; they have , in many instances , refused employment to all men of known Chartist principles . Every means has been tried to induce the " mass of the population" to refuse to " fraternize " with Chartists ; but in vain : their " sympathy with its advocates" was too strong to ba thus overcome 1

      The faotions then joined together for the purpose . They agreed to " sink minor differences , " aud make one mighty effort to crush Chartism . They played into each other ' s hands , the League forcing an insurrectionary movement , and tho Government coming to their aid with Special Commissions , partisan Judges , law myrmidons , and all the paraphernalia of power and terrorism . The Leaguo orators , the Buckingham and Chandos orators , the whole presa of the "Establishment , " the Legislators of St . Stephens , and the Judges on the Bench , have all concurred in describing Chartism as a dangerous monster , which , if not slain , would dostioy property , and rank , and literally

      «« Frighl the fair Isle from its propriety" I All the powers of all these parties have been severally exerted and unitedly combined to crush this same Chartism . It has all failed !' . and Goosey now comes to the affray with hope to sneer it from tho field , because all its mighty efforts , offensive aud defensive against the power of tyranny , seem to have been made at almost no cost 1 " The grand total of the Executive for three months is £ 160 Is . 5 d" !

      Had Goosey not beenjeither a | very Billy or a very dishonest goosey , she weuld have cackled otherwise . She would have said , if Chartism , with an income of only £ 160 for three months for its Executive , has been able , thus successfully , to defy and ecorn us ; if with this paucity of pecuniary resources given from the pence of starving men , Chartism holds on its way , and lives against all odds , it is surely high time to inquire seriously if there be not

      good aud [ sufficient reason for it ? if a system so enduring in its character , and finding such perfect and universal " . sympathy in the mass of the population , " be not based upon justice and upheld by truth ? Had Goosey thus commended to her readers an enquiry into the merits of Chartism , instead of inspiring them with a contempt for it , her cackling ? might have been regarded as approximating much more nearly those of her ancient prototype who saved the capitol .

      We think it necessary , however , that the readers of the Times should know more about the matter than it is plain the Times does . Tho Times makes the gross mistake of substituting the expenditure of the Executive for that of tho whole Chartist body . This it is for a goose to cackle upon matters of which it knows nothing . The Balance Shtet of the Executive has merely reference to one of the many departments of the Chartist agitation ; and that the one which is Or ought to be the least expensire . Tho Balance Sheet has merely reference to the expences of that general supervision of the

      whole whioh pertains to the Executive . Goosey seems not to know that every district , and generally Bpeaking every locality , has its own funds ; and its own staff of lecturers , tracts , meetiDgs , delegates , and other means of agitation , by which tho strongth and animus of Chartism is kept up , and through which its power is made mauifebt . Goosey never made a greater mistake , nor one calculated to do more injury to those who trust her oackttngB than in thus substituting the Executive for Chartism . Wo readily make Gooaey a present of the inference , that if the real worth of Chartism

      is to be reckoned by the Executive balance sheet , it stands but at a low ebb ; but we warn Goosey ' s keepers that her cacklings are fallacious . . We point them to thefact that with an Executive receiving but £ 160 for one quarter , and of that small sum grossly misapplying a large portion , Chartism has yet made head against all the power ef faction ; and we ask them to think what must have been its position , if their remorseless cruelty had not so bound down the hands of poverty as that £ 160 has had to come in the shape of deductions from the half-meals of a people half-famished 1 . We ask them to think

      if with an Executive grossly misapplying their , funds , the people havo yet made head for Chartism ! what will they do when Ihose scanty funds shall be honestly disbursed , and wisely appropriated } We ask the patrons of tbe rimes to think upon these matters , and to consider whether it be not useless to prolong tho contest of might against right ? when according to the showing of their own organ , a struggle so momentous so peaceful , so determined , and so perfectly national , as that of Chartism against faction , is conducted at

      a cost so trifling that even the expenditure of an extravagant jobbing Executive is quoted by that organ as matter of contempt , because of its seall amount ! while we bid the people see in this another indication of tReir power , and another indication of the trembling Tearfulness of . faction , which so dreads the fair form of principle and right , that it refuses even to look upon it but obliquely , and tries ro please and sooth itself , by cocjuring up a creation of its own , of which to speak contemptuously as " the real worth of Chartism . "

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      starvation , and whose only offence was their p , eaceably assembling to discuss their grievances , and , according to the unquestionable right of the British Constitution , to raise the voice of remonstrance against ' that Vile system of " Class-legislation , " which has produced , and would perpetuate such a state of things . ' The foul and tyrannical spirit in which the proceedings of w the Commission" were carried oat , demanded the meeting ; and most nobly indeed did " the mon of London" respond to the demand .

      To say that the great room of the Crown and Anchor ( estimated to hold " three thousand persons , " ) was filled , would be short of the description , and tame for the appearance . It was literally crammed— " crammed to suffocation "—not only women ( who were there in large numbers ) , but men , being so oppressed by the heat and pressure- , as to be frequently carried from the room in a fainting state ; and all this , while " thousands" who presented themselves at the doors of the tavern were compelled to go away disappointed , —the lobby and staircase approaches to the great room being choked with a living mass of excited , interested , and anxious peoDle .

      In the memory ; of the oldest meeting goers , no such crowded demonstration has before taken place , even within the Wills cf the celebrated Crown and Anchor . Even the oldest reporters of the London newspaper press , —men , oe it remarked , accustomed to public meetings , and whose opinions ( the result of . xperience and observation ) aro worthy tho highest attention—admit that they have never witnessed any thing to equal it .

      "The breath of the people , " says the proverb ,. " ia mighty ; " and on { this occasion it was not only mighty in its "indignation , " but mighty in its " condensation . " Ascending in imperceptible vapour , it descended from the coved and lofty ceiling in large condensed drops—a rain-like shower—indicative of the wedged aad firm-set mass from whom it emanated . And yet here are mon who say that " Chartism *' is dying , and that its members and advocates are falling off . Chartism dying ! This great , this mighty meeting of " sympathisers , " or , in the words of the immaculate and pure-minded Lord Abinqeb , of " a kind of people called Chartists , " looks like it —gwes the answer to it .

      Let the Government not ba insensible to the importance of this great Meeting , in its collective form , and in its individual membership . Let it think , reflect , dwell upon , take a lesson and a moral from it . Let it be not as "the deaf addtr , " or "the moping owl , " insensible to what is passing , and to what so deeply concerns it ; but , if it have "eyes to see , " and " ears to hear , " let it "hear and see , " and judge accordingly ! Let it fling away the " oracles" and " spectacles" of the wily , willing , and ready tool , Judge " Jeffries "—vie beg his Lordship ' s pardon—Judge "Abincee , " we meant to

      say . Let the members who form and carry on the Government remember , that this great demonstration of men and mind was no ordinary one : that it was a mighty commentary on their proceedings ; and if they would cot hare it a lasting , and a destroying one , let them , while they have yet time , reflect in their councils upon it , and regard it as a "light" held out by au outraged yet forbearing country , to lead them from the dark labyrinth in which they are floundering , into the highways and broadways of justice whioh they have so shamelessly , guiltily , unbiushingly , and unprincipledly abandoned .

      To the : u Men of London" who constituted that great meeting—of London , " the mighty heart of the Nation" — -the highest praise is due ; and be the highest honour given ; for the manner in which they got up , and carried out , this astounding demonstration . To the rest of the country—to every City , Town , Hamlet , aud Borough , within its bosom , we would say , " Go and do likewise . " The Great City has moved . Let the minor ones follow ; let the Towns , the Hamlet ? , tho Boroughs , and Rural districts follow ; and in this way , without

      distressing any one , such a " Victim" and " Dafence" Fund cannot fail to be created , as will defeat tyranny , tear the scales of Justice from the polluted hands of a Political Judge , defend the innocent , defeat the unjust , and j by putting an end to " Class Legislation , " and building up the great principle of "Jusifce to all , " protection to all , equality of " political rights" to all—make this country what she ought to be— " the glory and admiration of the World , " free in her institutions , and happy iu the independence , comfort , and union of her children . .

      Up ! then , "Men of England ! " "Be up and stirring ! " Follow the noble and " soul-exciting example" of the " Men of London , "—an example whioh cannot fail to cheer tho very "Victims" in the solitude of their cold , dismal , desolate , and health * destroying cells . " Up ! " it is " the Voice of Liberty , " from your " native hills" and " valleys , " that calls upon you ; your suffering fellow countrymen , in their bondage , echoing the sentiment , call upon you ;

      " all Nature" calls upon you to be " up ! " Setyour meetings going ; and without violating any law , you will , we repeat , by this course , create such a" Victim" and" Defence" Fund , as will enable you to beat the enemy , set your country and kind free , and lay the basis of a Bystem of legislation and feeling , in which the Crown will fiad its protection , and the Community its wisest safeguard . —Evening Star of Wednesday .

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      ELECTION OF GENERAL COUNCIL . The eighth article of our General Organization provides that the nomination of persons to serve on the General Council for the ensuing year , shall take place on the first day in December in every year . There has been hitherto in this as in every other part , of it , an utter want of attention to the working of the Association . It is the General Secretary ' s business to instruct all the Sub-Secretaries , and through them the General Councillors of the Association , as to the proper mode and time of performing this and all tho other ^ duties that devolve upon

      them ; so far as we can learn , this business has never been done ; and tho consequence is that abuses and disorders have abounded everywhere , and wa have literally , in point of fact , had no Organization at all . Instead of having , as by rule we ought to have , a general annual election of Councillors , they have been elected in all sorts of ways ; some places electing them every three months , others every six months ; and some at one period , and others at other periods of the year . Nominations for General Council have been continually sent to us for publication

      throughout the whole year , without the observance of any rule upon ' the matter ; so that in point of fact the NatioLal Charter Association , so called , has been no National society at all . It has been simply by the Executive ' s neglect of duty , a heap of disjointed local societies acting without either system or concert , and exposing all its members to exactly the same legal risks as were incurred under the old Organization without any of the benefits of tho confessedly more stringenticharacter of that Organiza . tion . ;

      It is high time for this state of tilings to come to an end . Seeing that the Executive , to whom the duty of carrying out the Organisation is more peculiarly entrusted , lack either 2 he disposition , or the ability to do bo , the people must now do it ' for themselves . They do not need the Executive , but . they do need the Organisation . That is their only effective rallying point against the enemy ; and that must now be carried vigorously ( into effeot . It must be

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      done , as all other good things must be done , by the people themselves . Let the people bnt do their duty , and the members of the Executive , whoever they may be , will be speedily compelled to do . theirar There could be no such doings as have beea practised by the Executive if the people did their duty . Let them begin now , then . Now is the time for the general nomination of the Councillors of the whole kingdom . This nomination is the business of the several sub Secretaries , for be it . remembered that the National Charter Association cannot legally have any existence , but in the acts of ita functionaries , and the public registration of its members .

      It has beea very common , in several localities , for the weekly meetings to pass resolutions electing such and such men , as Members of the General Council of the National Charter Association . All such resolutions are illegal . The nomination of Councillors is the business of the sub-Secretary , anj of him only . But though the actual nomination is legally the business of the sub-Secretary , every sab-Secretary does or should take for his guidance in it the only democratic " pole star , " Public Opinion .

      To make this plain , wa will suppose tbe nomination of members for the next General Council to be now taking place . The Chartists of Bradford meet in their usual place of resort , on Monday evening ; among other subjects of discussion , the relative merita of nine men who have started as candidates for the General Council , and out ot whom seven are to be elected , cemes upoa the carpet ; the people express their opinion npon tae matter by vote ; they have a right to do so ; it is a mat * ter for public opinion ; and though this expression of public-opinion forms no part of the actual operations of the National Charter Association , the sub-Secretary , whose duty it is to nominate tbe Councillors , will of

      course nominate no other persons than those whom public opinion has thus marked out fat him . Should he dare to act otherwise , he would , in our opinion , prove himself to be utterly unfit far hia situation , and we should advise the Association instantly to replace him by a mote worthy man . The people most beac this in mind , that their weekly meetings , in their several localities , are not meetings of the National Charter Association ; they are meetings of tho Chartists thereabouts resident in their individual capacity . The business of the officers of the Association is , to watch the current of opinion in their several departments of the Chartist world , and to regulate their movements accordingly .

      We shall shortly submit a still better , and more certain mode for electing all the officers , and obtaining a general vote upon any question of importance , but there would not be time to put any new mode of action into operation before the first of December . The nominations , therefore , must all be now made in the usual way , and the chief thing of importance for the people to look to is the sort of men to be nominated . The offioe of General Councillor is one of great importance . They should be all men of cool discrimination , combined with a due share of zeal and firmness . They should ba men of

      business-like habits . They should be men who thoroughly understand the Organization , andjwho will , therefore , keep a watch over the Executive , and over the members in their own locality ; vigilantly guiding and guarding the one against , and , if necessary , restraining the other from , or at least rebuking them for , its violation . They should be such men as the Councillors of Hull . Above all things they should be out and out heart Chartists ; they should have the root of the matter in them ; they should not be men who seek office , either from motives of interest or vanity . These

      are tbe kind of men whom the people are most apt to put into office , aud who are the most unfit for it . Let these men bo noted ; they are easily known ; let them be avoided ; they are dangerous . Where the people see a man , coming amongst them , who is very fond of hearing himself talk ; who likes to be a forward man and a head man in every thing , and who evidently likes to thrust himself into offioe ; who likes particularly to be concerned in money matters ; and morn especially if they have . noted , that such a man came amongst them very poor , and that , without visible increase in his means , he has , since he became a leading and a head man in everything , become more flush of money than ia usual with persons in his sphere of life : wherever the

      people note such a man , let them note him as an uafit man for a General Councillor . A Councillor of the National Charter Association should be above suspicion's breath . He should have the clean hands aud pure heart of a true patriot . There is a very unwise praotice in some localities o £ electing too many Councillors . It ia of much less consequence to have many , than to have them of the right sort . The people cannot be too cautions in these matters ; The main work , after all , rests with them . Let them but do their own work , and their officers can scarcely go far wrong . Let them remember , then , that a very important part of their work consists in the exercise of judgment and prudencs , in marking out proper men for nomination as General Councillors . .

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      THE GREAT GATHERING . DOOM OF FACTION . It is with feelings of pride and pleasure that wo refer the public attention to the Great Meeting—for "Gb ^ ai" in the strict sense of the term it was—held at the Crown and Anohor Tavern , Strand , on Thursday evening last , to pronounce "in the sacred name of the country , " the strong verdict of " denunciation" on those tyrannical proceedings of the present government , which fill at this moment our jails with "Political victims , " carrying desolation into the bosoms and hovels of the hard-working

      poor , and which have put in motion the heavy and foully concocted machinery of ¦ " Special Commissions , " with a bloated , bigotted , torturous-minded " partisan judge , " and " packed " and " compliant " juries to work them out ; thus heaping censurab ? e expense on the coHntry ; and , in violation and barefaced defiance of all sense of right and principle , iiiflictir . g punishment on innocence , denying justice to the injured , and carrying , on the blasted and envenomed wings of revenge , blight , misery , and ruin to the wives and " little ones " of the accused , —those poor , but virtuous-minded men , whose case was

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      THE EXECUTIVE , THEIR BALANCESHEET , ANDT THE ORGANIZ ATION . We call attention to the correspondence wliicliwe give elsewhere upon this very important subject . It is vital to our movement that the people should know well , and trust implicitly , the men who , as Executive Councillors , have , to a great extent , the direction of the movement , and the handling of a large portion of its funds . We should ill-discharge our duty , did we hesitate to probe , honestly and fairly to the bottom , a discovered rottenness , that might , if not remedied in time , have seriously

      damaged the constitution of our movement . It is reasonable that those who are entrusted with the highest offices , and with the greatest amount of power and influence that Chartists can bestow , should be required to act in accordance with their own principles . We esteem as highly as they themselves can wish U 3 the personal services of some members of the Executive , as lecturers and agitators for the cause . We have no Wish to detract anything from those services , but we cannot permit the services of these men in one capacity to blind ns to their mal-practices in another ; nor must the

      country do so . In reviewing their acts as an Executive , the only proper course is to leave out of sight all other considerations ; to look at the plan of Organisation , at the duties of the ofice , tho defined powers of the office , and the purpose for wiich tho office was instituted ; and to consider how far all these matters have or have not been regardedf a may best become good men and honest Chartists . To guard all the interests of a great public movement requires great ciroumspeotness , great prudence and coolness , and great command of temper . It requires that , as far as possible ,

      discussions and differences should be private and friendly ; that the enemy may take no advantage of . them : and hence , while we have always holden it to be the duty of the people to keep a striot surveillance over all the acts of all their publio officers , and to admonish , reprove , or censure as might be necessary , we have always deprecated the doing of this with undue harshness of expression , or in any manner more public and offensive than was absolutely necessary . For this reason we have very frequently abstained from public icommeat both oa the Executive and other prominent and leading parties , where admonition and reproof were evidently needed ;

      thinking that doubtles 3 other members of the Association were looking on—that the samo ; deviations from strictly defined rules and duties , which struck us . must strike others—and that doubtless kindly private intimations , from perhaps man ; quarter ^ would be sufficient to preveut a recurrence of evils , which we were ready to ascribe rather to lack of experience and inattention , than to any other cause . W will be remembered tliai tho balance sheet published in July , excited , and very properly , muoh ciscusaioBj and much serious dissatisfaction amongst tho mem . * , bets , and that an important meeting of delegates * at Leicester , consisting of not fewer than twenty-one delegates , representing all the important localities of

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      The " country ' is answering to this spirited and energetic call ! It is responding to the challenge given it by the patriotic sons of toil in the metropolis . It is responding to that challenge mpst spiritedly . Look at the Manchester demonstration on Monday evening last 1 The large room of the Carpenter ' s Hall filled ; and hundreds refused admission for want of accommodation . Look , too ,

      to the answer Stockport has given ; and look also to the answer Leeds is preparing to give ! The Chartists of other places are also getting ready ; and , by the time that Parliament meets , we shall have , we hope , throughout the country , such an expression of indignant public opinion as will drive the " Partisan Judge" from the Bench , and compel the Government to revoke tho unjust sentences he has passed . '

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      A TH * E NOB , THERN STAR . . . : ¦¦ ^ B " . _^ — ¦ _ - ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ . _ ¦ ¦ . ¦ ' . ' . - ^ : - ¦ ¦ " . . " ' ¦ ¦ i ¦ - . - _ : ¦ . ¦ . - ¦ ¦ ¦ —¦ — ¦— ¦ ¦ — ^^

      The Politician's Text Book.

      THE POLITICIAN'S TEXT BOOK .

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Nov. 26, 1842, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct458/page/4/