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Northern Star (1837-1852), 12th December 1840, Edition 3 of 4, Page 4, FOKETGN nTTELUGENGE

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    • FOKETGN nTTELUGENGE
    • IHE NORTHERN" STAR SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, 1840.
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      Untitled Article

      ADVICE TO CHARTISTS . TO THS EliiTOR . OF THE VOITXHEBN STAU . SIR , —TLio Chartists of Ssnderland having commenced , un ^ er Very fcvoarat-le prospects , a Chartist Benefit Sockty , 1 strongly recommend my Chartict brethren in other parts to establish immediately similar odeties . To promote this object , I -will feel obliged fey your insertine the fuilowin * :

      REASONS FO 2 . CHAUT 1 ST BENEFIT SOCIETIES . 1 . A . s sickness and want are at one period or another the portion of all , it is neeess&ry that all should be prepared for , and provided against , such calamities . 2 . That of the two means , providing for ourselves , or depending « pon the charity of others , the former « nly is that which every honest and honourable man ¦ Would ¦ wish to employ , and 'which every prudent man only would depend upon . 8 . That as the working people are neither bom to wealth , aor can acquire it , they possess in general 210 individual resources adequate for the purpose , tad , therefore , are bound to unite ¦ with others to mike those calamities fall as lightly as possible npon

      ? . Thai as a larce portion of disease and death is the direct or indirect result of too much work , and too little food , a knowledge of the causes of these , in order to their removal , is aft important part of the proper oty'cts ctf a benvfit- society . 6 . TtVw this essential part i « aot at all provided for by any of the ex i sting benefit societies , "which indeed . » o far from < iu ; ng this , ia miny instances , powerfully tend to wiinriraw all attention from them , and confine the application of their resources to means Which leave the must gentral cause of sickness and death entirely untouched . 6 . That as the over-woikinf and partial starving of the mass is caused by the extreme id lenesa aud luxury of a few , the principles which would tend to a correction of this evil , ought to form a component part of erery beseSt society for a toiling and impoverished people .

      7 . Tint this Mischievous distinction arises from a few having the power * o take , by what they call law , that which is produced by the labour , sweat , and skill ¦ of the many , for whose beutfit the law is said to be made . ^ t 8 . That as this , which it called Jpr by those whs feed by it , is felt to be robbery by those who starve by It , the latter oniy have tie disposition and will to alter it , and can only do so by becoming lawmakers . 9 . That , is this is the object of Chartism , it is , toerfcfure , worthy to be incorporated with a benefit society , established for those who have been , and are , bo plundered tnd oppressed .

      10 . That while such societies would be alleviating the evils of sickness and death as they occurred , and were keeping attention alive to the frequent unnatural causes of tliss ? , they would also powerfully tend to free their members from bribing , sonl-enslaving charity and create th :. r paternal feeling amongst working people , which , by making their hearts one , would make theii power invincible for good . 11 . That such societies would also supply their member with & powerful remedial agent in sickness , and often avert death by the excellent medicine adminis tered to the mieds of the afflicted through the medium of their physicians , the stewards , who would cheer * Ka hearts of the hed . ridden sufferers -with the

      ruiTninistrstion of pecuniary relief , and revive their drooping energies by acquainting them wi : h the spread of . those principles which their souls longed to see established . 12 . Thdt as it would then be said , see those Chartilts , how they " love one another , " others would " * ud do like-wise , - those who were " weary and 'heavy laden" would have their " yoke * lightened , and evsntaally the pt > or ( or workers ) and meek would " inherit the earth . " J . W . Gaol .

      P . S . As the rules of the Sunderland society are now printing , they will be published , and transmitted to oar Chartist brethren in any place who may apply for tkem . Farther intelligence will be given next week .

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      EXTRAORDINARY EXPRESS FROM MARSEILLES . CHINA , INDIA , AND EGYPT . ( From the Morning Herald . J We have received , by extraordinary express from Marseilles , by the Oriental steamer , accounts from Bombay to the 1 st o $ ' November , with dates from China to the 4 ih of August , Singapore lkh September , Calcuua 18 ' . ' a October , and Alexandria to the 26 th November . The intelligence brought by this arrival is , in every respect , of the greatest importance . From the ma * 3 of our correspondence , and the details with which we have bean supplied , we have selected the most interesting feature * .

      The expedition to Chusan , under the command of Commodore Sir J . Gordon Bremer , and Brigadier General Burreil , arrived off mat island on the 2 nd of July , aad the necessary soundings having been taken , anchored in ibe harbour of Chusan on the 4 ; h , and after summoning the Governor to surrender , compliance with which was evaded , the operations Against the place were commenced on the following day , July oth . After a short resistance on the beach , whieh was soon cleared , the troops landed aud

      began the breach of : he ciiy of Ting-ine-been , the eapittl of Cbnsan , which was defended till a late hour , bus on ihe lollvvriug morning was found to bave been evacuated during the night , and the British troop 3 immediately took possession . A great number of guns were captured , together with numerous et-ores aud a large quantity of ammuniaitioa . The loss of the Chinese ia estimated at about thirty killed ; there were no casualties on the side of the British .

      Admiral Elliott , in the Melville , reached Chusan on the 7 th JkIv , asd nnfortnnately got a-grouud , with so much damage done as to make it necessary to have his ship hove down ana dismantled , thus rendering her perfectly useless . Iu sailing along the coa ? i , the Blonde , sent into Amoy with a flag of trace , tva = fad : nto ; but , on returning the fire , the Chinese tioopa were quickly dispersed With considerable loss . Shortly afltr lh « admiral ' s arrival , he proceeded to Xinji-pu-iuo , to forward a sealt * l letter to the Emperor , which , after having been receired by the mandariLS of thai city , was returned unopened . In consequence oi this occurrence , Hiug-po-ibo was bloek&dea , and preparations were makiDg to extend the oiockade w the mouth of the river Yonghe-Kion , leading to Nankin . The capture of

      Chusan , and the action at Amoy , appear to have esu'ied a great , sensation in that pars of China . Brigadier-General Burreil has been appointed governor of Cbusan . It was expected tha * . the admiral wouid shift his flsg on board the Wellesley . The ihips of war at Causan were the WeL'esley , Conway , Alligator , Algerise , Cruiser , Melville , Blenheim , Py ^ cies , and Madagascar and Enterprise steamers . The accounts from Canton state that Commissioner Lin ¦ was vainly endeavouring to raise vomr . tcers to destroy our ships of war , by the promise of high rewards . Several jnuks , iaden with salt and grain , bad been captured under the jjnns of the bogue fart by the British blockading squadron , wnich consisted of the Druid , Vokge , . Hyacinth , and . Larne , subsequently reinforced by the Nimrod and Columbine . The blockade did not commence till the 1 st oi Julv .

      The intelligence from India redeems the last unsatisfactory accounts . From Afghanistan we learn thai a most brilliant success had been . gained by Brigadier-General Dennis over Dost Mohammed &nd the WaLe of Khoolum , whose combined army of 8 , 000 m ^ n had been totally routed by a body of 500 men of the 35 th native infantry and the Goorka eorps , with two guns and some cavalry . Doit Mohammed , who «* as wounded , los : all his tents , kettledrums , standards , baggage , &cM with 300 killed , and wounded in proportion . The intelligence

      of thia afikir is contained m a despatch from ilajor-General Sir Willougbby Cotton , dated Caubul , September " 20 . This victory , it was thought , would be highly beneficial . The fort of Ka . hun , which Capt Brown held out to the last , was finally evacuated by him after receiving ortlers to that effect , and he saccceaded in reaching Shikarpoor in satety with ill his baggage and artillery . It is stated , in our private letter ? , thai there is every probability of a war with Nepau , and the Ameers of Scinde axe much dissatisfied at having to pay tribute .

      The utmost activity prevails in all the military departments throughout India ; an augmentation has been made to the army , and all ihe officers on leave required to join immediately . The troops under Major-General Nott were advancing on Khelat . Ten thousand men were ordered -to assemble at Lukhnr from the Bombay army ; this large force it assembling ia Upper Scinde for some other purpose u is supposed than that of chastising the Bellooflbes . As ft set off to the success of General Dennie , it appears that Sir . R . G * le experienced a repulse at & small fort in Kohistan , near Canbul , with the loss of fereral killed and wounded . His aide-de-camp C&pt . Conolly , was killed by his side . The fort was subsequently taken . The failure , in the first instance , is ascribed t * the shortness of the scaling ladder * .

      From Aden the icoonnts were that the European garrison waa in $ ood health , but that the sepoys had suffered severely . The Arabs had remained perfectly quiet since the last repulse . We . nave dates from Ceylon to the 12 th October , by which it appears th&t the cholera had re-appeared At Candy . The intelligence from Alexandria , which reaches to the 26 th ult ^ represents the Egyptian question as jettlfid . Commedore Napier arrived there in the Powerful , on the 21 st November , and immediately opened neeoci&tions with Beghos Bey , which were ontinaed till the 26 th , when they were cut short by the peremptory demands of the Commodore . The principal concessions made are , the delivery of the

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      Turkish fleet , and the immediate evaluation of Syr : a by lbrahici Pacha . The fleet to remain till the neci-ssary guarantees are furnished for the hereditary succefsion of Egypt . Commodore Napier had made every preparation for the bombardment of Alexandria in case his terms had been refused . Tho following ships were lying there -when the Oriental sailed : —Powerful , Rodney , Revenge , Cambridge , Ganges , Vanguard , Carysfoot , and Medea , and Vesuvius steamers .

      DISASTER AT ACRE . On the 6 th of November , three days after the fall of this redoubtable fortress , and when the British were still rejoicing at having achieved in three hours , and with & loss on their side of only twentytwo killed and forty-four wounded , that which even in its then inferior strength withstood twelve assaults of Napoleon Buonaparte , with a sad . logs of human life , they were doomed to suffer a disaster , the origin of which is likely never to be cleared up , though in all probability it has arisen from the loose manner in which powder appears to have been conveyed from place , to place by the enemy during the defence of it against the allies ; for it seems the approaches to tho works from the several magazines are literally one continued train of powder , requiring the greatest vigilance to remove , bo as to avoid such consequences as the one we are about to relate .

      A column , at least five hundred yards in height , of thickly yellow smoke and dust , with a loud and simultaneous report , succeeded by a white smoke , and the bursting of as many as a thousand deadly shells , spreading ia all directions far beyond and all around the ships of the fleet , some of which , and among thtm the Wa 3 p , being only about one hundred yards from the shore , announced the explosion of another powder magazine within thefortress of Acre In five minutes after the officers who landed from tho shipping to the succour of the sufferers , among whom there might be shipmates aud messmates encountered on the road , those who had fortunately escaped carrying to the boats for conveyance on board , for medical aid , the maimed and wounded , which together with the killed are said to amount to 280 , of whom at least 150 are native women and children . We have been unable to

      ascertain how many are the sufferers in the British fieet but we understand that as many as fifteen marines are killed , and bad it not been the hour of dinner the number wonld have been considerably increased . Among the seamen there are several wounded , and of the officers Brigadier-General Sir Charles Felix Smith , R . E ., Tery slightly ; Captain Collier , R . N ., of the Castor , leg broken aud other injuries and bruises ; and Lieutenant Johnson and the Rev . Mr . Kitson , both of the Princess Charlotte , from which ship Mr . Warre , mate , with a working party , were ordered to clear out a magaxine , full of powder and shells , which was on fire from the

      explosion ; this perilous service was happily performed without any casualty ( notwithstanding the doors had been shattered ) , by the applying of wet bales and blankets , and by dusk the chances of further danger were considerably reduced , though the fire was not entirely extinguished until a late hour of the night . Nothing could exceed the intrepid conduct of the parties employed , who mounted the burning roof , braving all danger , in order to introduce the hose of the engine , playing npon the fire . The Priucess Charlotte had two of her marines killed and nine wounded , besides several seamen , and the officers belonging to her above-named .

      UNITED STATES . By the packet Bhip North America , which arrived at Liverpool on Monday last , we have received New York papers to the 2 utb ult . They contain but little news of importance . The official declaration of the election of General Harrison as President seems to have excited but little sensation , as the result of tho contest had been for some time curtain .

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      PRISON DISCIPLINE . On our third page will be found the first of a series of letters on this subject , by Nbma .

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      ADVICE TO CHARTISTS . "W * request attention to a valuable article under this head , whieh will be found elsewhere ; we shall have more to say upon the subject in due time .

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      RICHARD OASTLER . Wb understand this veteran champion of the rights of infancy and labour is , or is likely , shortly to become an inmate of tho Fleet , by the especial favour of Mr . Thorshill .

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      THE AUCTION AND SALE . We extract the following passages from two speeches made by Mr . O'Co . nsok , so long ago as the year 18 S 5 , whe-n engaged in his mission as delegate of the Great Radica . 1 Association , established by him in the parish of Marylcbone . At Stockport , where he opened his commission , and for which town he has frequently , and , in consequence , expressed a peculiar interest , be made use of the following prophetic words : — " Lord Chesterfield has said that any man can be purchased if you but come up to his price . I admit it , and the amount is the only question at issue between the vendor and the

      purchasei : 1 am for sale , and 1 intend you all for sale ; but if I may be allowed the most extensive construction of his Lordship's assertion , we will go in one lot instead of being set up singly . And now , in the commencement of my tour , 1 proclaim myself for sale ; and thai my object is to prepare my 6 tock , that is , the whole community , for the highest price , by putting them , as feeders say , in the most profitable condition . I will not let you go lame , or halt , or blind , or lean , or in bad lots , to the auction mart ; no , you shall go in a body , and all in the best condition . My price is large , but from it I will not abate a fraction ; it is Universal Suffrage , as my principle , with Annual

      Parliaments , vote by Ballot , no Property Qualification for Representatives , and Equal Representation , as the details to give full effect to that principle . And mj coui ^ e is to prepare you for sale , and tnen to sell you ; and now let me point out the manner in which this important auction will be conducted and concluded . The Whigs and the Tories will appoint their respective bidders . Lord John Russell will probably bid for the Whigs , and Sir Kobebt Peel for the Tories , for , rely upon my word , that , though you u-ere at ignorant as asses , ihe moment you are united , your strength , arising

      from combination , and not your mental qualification , icill constitute your value to men wishing to perpetuate potcer at any price . 1 will be the auctioneer , ana will set this lot up ; it matters not at what . Then the auction will proceed thus ; we will proceed downward , like a Dutch auction , starting from the present £ 10 franchise . Lord John will commence £ 9 , Peel £ 8 . Lord John £ 7 , Peel £ 6 . Lord John £ 5 , Peel , Household . Lord John £ 4 , Peel £ 3 . Lord John £ 2 , Peel £ \ . Lord John , Universal , —a pause . Auctioneer , to Loid John , the lot is yours , my Lord . Sir Robert Peel— " No , no ; I nodded first . "

      Auctioneer— " 1 assure you , Sir Robert , I never saw you ; I took Lord John ' s wink . Sir Robert— ' * I appeal to all around me . " Auctioneer— " It ' s very unfortunate of course my duty is to make the most of the lot . " Sir Robert— "Well , you are bound to put it up again in case of a double bid . " Auctioneer— ll Very well , then , up it goes again . " Lord John- " And the Ballot . " Sir Robert— "And Annual Parliaments . " Lord John— " And Equal Representation . " Both together— " And No-Property Qualification . " A pause—Auctioneer— " Who bids more ? I have two bidders . " No answer .

      Lord John— " We'll take the lot between us . Now I'll get that for you , but / co 7 j '/ get less , and if you consent to take less when you are coming to be worth that , you will be offered nothing ; neither party will give a penny for you , because , if they can purchase you in small lots they can have you for the price that any local saUsmaster wishes to put upon you , without consulting you . " We must now leave te our readers , after five years' experience to say whether or not that process has not been going on from that period to the present , and whether the attempt of the many Associations , since formed by the factions , has not been with a view to make merchandise of the

      working cl&sses for the aggrandisement and emolument of humm jobbers , who , toed out by the process of keeping the stock till most fit for the market , would gladly make such profit as their present condition would fetch . In order to effect a transfer just now , the Leeds profit-jobbers hare invited the great wholesale butcher to view the Household Suffrage stock . He who sold nearly 300 . 000 poor and unprotected crea-

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      tiiros of his own neglected , proscribed , and enslaved creed for personal aggrandisement , is now to hang the slaughtered carcases of the Leeds " geese" upon the front of his political stall ! He who took wholesale commission upon the infants over whom he constituted himself Chancellor and Guardian , for want of that protection which the law refused , is now to take the pining , care-worn wives and little crippled children of the Leeds geese " to the Whig charnel-house , and then the nacker is to smile ia lustful patriotism while disposing of bis fresh cargo ofhuman flesh ! The man who

      encouraged the Canadians to withstand the step-mother tyTaany of Britain , and then rifled them of the remnant of their constitution , now comes to help the Leeds "foxes" to kill and carry of the M geese . " The man who says that the New Poor Laws are a guarantee to the respectable operative against the eucroachmentB of the lea meritorious , is he whose aid is invoked by the Foxes of the Leeds Club . The man who has scandalized the women of England , —the wives and daughters of the English operatives , —as " hoores , "—who has filled Ireland with paupers and a rural police ; the

      mau who has kept up a perpetual war of religious strife between the two countries for his wn profit , is to be the pilot of the well-manned vessel of the Leeds Fox and Goose Club . Tho man who lent all the available troops , aud promised 500 , 000 volunteers to shoot British working men seeking the redress of grievances ; the man who rejoiced that it was Irishmen who shed Welshmen ' s blood at Newport ; the man who called FnosTatraitor , and the people's best friends ruffians ; the man who hired ruffians to iDsult the peaceful missionary of English Radicals ; the man who deserted tho Dorchester

      labourers , who sold the Trades' Unionists , who villiSed the Glasgow Cottou Spinners , who would give £ 20 , 000 a year more than even the Tories to a German beggar for begetting state paupera and feeding sporting dogs ; the man who sold Carlow to the Jew , aud then said the Jew to the Devil ; the man who banished Crawford from Ireland ; the man who has crushed every bold spirit who would not surrender principle to his fell dominion ; the man whose name is to be found in every corrupt najority which has supported the shooting , entombing , transporting , police-enacting , life-destroying , liberty-crushiDg , poor-man-hating Whiga ; the

      man , whose name , after possessing more political power than any other individual ever did possess for now five years , is not to be found originating any one act or any portion of an act for the benefit of the human race in any part of the world : —is this , we ask , the monster whom we are again , not only to trust , but to court , and to apply to him the gentle motto of the Beaumoxts—Fide sed qui , vide—Trust , but see in whom 1 Have we not trusted him , and have we not been as often deceived ! And yet a pack of silly profit-mongers say , "Accept his assistance , but wat « h him . " What , we would ask , must be the depravity and spirit of a guest , of whom the very host is thus compelled to speak )

      The Fox and Goose Club have invited Dan to co-operation and a banquet ; and Colonel Thompson , very properly objecting to the scheme , says , how are you to receive him ! Now , observe the answer of the noodles : — " We would say thankfully , BUT WITH OUR EYES OPEN . " Was ever such bare-faced audacity ? Suppose a host invited a clever pickpocket , and in apologising to his guests , said , " Gentlemen , you will dine with me , bul be on

      your guard—bring no money—as I have been compelled to invite a pickpocket ( o help out the entertainment ; " and suppose the host communicated to the pickpocket the necessary precaution given to his guests , what would a honest pickpocket say ? Would he not say , " Sir , if I practice my calling , I have & character to support , and therefore I cannot accept your invitation at the expence of my manly pride . "

      Let us first take this question in its plain and simple bearings . Is O'Connell iuvited here to assist in the Household Suffrage movement ! By no means ; he is invited here to strangle Chartism . If O'Connell was intended as an auxiliary to the Fox and Goose Club , and if his services were to be honestly given and effectively used , where would they be most usefully employed ! Why , in Ireland , to be sure , where he still holds the ignorant ia religious chains of bondage . What would be the result to' the present movement of O'Connell getting eten a footing in any part of England . ' The assurance , through the prostitute press of Ireland , that the defeated and deluded Chartists , having got rid of their false

      leaders , HAVE AT LENGTH BEEN COMPELLED TO THROW THEMSELVES UPON THE LIBERATOR FOR SUCCOUR . comfort , am > relief . This would be echoed by the English Whig " Establishment , " and thus would the ignorant people of Ireland be gulled for another season , and thrown back for years into that state of mental delusion from which , thank God , they are just beginning to emerge . What then becomes our duty ! Why , as honest watchmen , ever at our post , to prepare the people to meet the outrage at the threshold . That is our duty ; that we haveperformed ; and what is the people ' s duty ! Simple , and easy of performance : it is to be ready to march to Leeds to a public meeting to be holden upon the day of

      the " base , bloody , ani brutal" Union ; to be ready at all hazards and sacrifices ; and to bring their -wives , bearing small white flags , with the simple inscription , "We are Englishwomen and mothers ; and if our children are slaves the tralior O'Connell made them so ; but our husbands will throw their chains in the fuce of their oppressor . " Yes , upon that day , we will show in Leeds a body of -virtuous women and free-born Englishmen , even larger than that promised for the suppression of Chartism . That day will be a day ever famous and glorious in the annals of chivalry . St . John , St . Peter , St . Patrick , St . Bridget , and all the saints , have their day , and that day shall henceforth stand in the almanacs of all time to come as S ? . Englishwoman ' s day .

      Let us reason calmly upon the probable result of such a step , if unopposed . Is there a Chartist in the kingdom who believes that the question of Household Suffrage ever would have been started by Foxes Marshall , Stansfeld , and Co ., if the question of Universal Suffrage had not been raised \ No ; no man in his senses has any sach notion ; the movement is intended only as an antitode to Universal Suffrage . Wco support it ? Some of the greatest jobbers ever known in any country ; who , uader the old system , have made more money than they know what to do with , and who never lose an opportunity ,

      as masters or magistrates , oi oppressing the poor and the unprotected ; men who now see the necessity of a further reduction in the wages of those out of whose hard earnings they have , from being paupers , Bcraped millioLs together , and now require cheap food and cheaper labour , in addition to their other chance 3 of peculation and subtraction , to give them another ull at the very vitals of a large competitive labour community ; creatures who complain of the people ' s ignorance and want of principle , and send waggon loads of provisions , and large [ sums of money for distribution among those very corrupt people , bnt only upon occasion o { a Municipal Election .

      This miserable crew have been at work with their more miserable stick of an organ for now nearly three months , and throughout England their disciples do not number one hundred , but like a hen with one chicken , they are as busy as if they had a fall brood . Only one Association , and only one fox in that to bark—aad even his bark worse than his bite;—uot a goose for very shame to cackle for them ; and thus foriorn and broken-hearted , they are compelled to throw themsalves upon the old juggler for a trick or two . No > v we tell them that Signor Daniello would jockey them too ; and in less than six months would put all the peas under his own thimble .

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      Tho Irish Catholics are just beginning to learn that many of the English martyrs are Irish Catholics also , and that not owe of them has shown the white feather ; but , on the contrary , although getting some of the severest sentences , are still bearing , like Irishmen , in the universal cause of freedom , their respective terms of from nino months to four years , in madhouses . O'Connor is an Irish man , and although not a Catholic , is as energetic in their cause as any Catholic in the land ; and these things are now making a deep impression upon the Irish mind , and will , ultimately , bring about a real , instead of a clap-trap , union between the two countries , if not frustrated by trick and chicane .

      Must it not be palpable to every man of common sense , that the motive of O'Connell , in seeking footing onco more in England , is for the purpose of propping the tottering machine of decaying Whiggery , while Ireland is reserved as a draw-farm , whence the Honourable Gentleman (!) may still continue to extract the forfeit of national ignorance , much increased , by the colour given to his renewed popularity in England . Let us quote the monster ' s own opinion , delivered in full conclave to his Corn

      Exchange slaves . A fool who said that he had threatened to kick O'Connor at a meeting at Preston , was told by O'Connell that he never would have been more right iu his life if he had just put , his threat into execution . The boast upon the same occasion said , that " if Fear « us came to Dublin , the boys would treat him to a swim in the Liffoy . " Upon this vre shall only observe that we too have a river running through Leeds ; not that any Englshman would bo false or treacherous enough to poison its waters with so much corrupted maiter !

      Again , then , vre say that this outrage must and shali be met at th « threshold ; we will not , as of old , admit the infection , and then seek for remedies . Let our readers just read the list of guests furnished by the Club , to do honour to the national banquet ! —Daniel O'Connell , Colonel Thompson , John Arthur Roebuck , Sharman Crawford , Joseph Hume , Sir William Molesworth , Francis Place , Charles Villiers , Richard L . Sheil ,

      Richard Cobdbjt , snd Lord Brougham ! We might have stopped with Dan , and said , " Ex uno disce omnes ; " but we give the sack , iu preference to the sample , and shall ouly say that not a man of them , but Roebuck , Villiers , Cobden , and , perhaps , Molesworth , is likely to come . No , no ; catch Dan meeting Brougham , Thompson , and Crawford ! How many of the whole lot are not Malthusians , just made to the knuckle of the cheap labour-mongers 1

      The other extract , from a speech of O Connor ' s , delivered in the same month of the same year at Manchester , runs thus .: — " The Poor Law Bill was but a means to an end ; it was no sooner fixed in the statute book than the white slave owners began to turn it to the proposed account Ellis and others of the Emigration or Transportation Society , at onco attached the emigration system as a rider to the starvation bill . They first passed tho one to break down , disgust , and starve out the honest working man , whose place has been supplied by machinery , and then , in their tender mercy for the poor , they apply to Parliament for the means of mesiUing tmiyration . Now , observe the trick ; those fellows have large foreign possessions , wild , unprofitable , and valueless , for want of population ; and every ship load

      of white slaves that land upon their territories increases the value of their property fifty per cent . So they first save poor rates at home , and then apply the public revenue to supplying them with the only means of giving value to their barren wilds : and further mark ; those gentlemen make bargains with the emigrants before they leave England , or , in other words , actually purchase the slaves -without even giving them the chance of the market . Well ; was I idle upon this , any more than upon the Poor Law ? No , I voted against « very stage of the one , and , single handed , I stopped the other at half-past two o ' clock in the morning , during last session . I stood alone ; no one would second the rejection of the Bill ; Sheil spoke in favour of it ; they laughed at me ; but I cast my eye over tke House , and found that I was equal to thirtynine Honourable llcmhers . I moved that the

      House be counted ; they then appealed to my good nature and prayed of me not to stop the Bill , I siid that my good nature was all dno to those whose rights were invaded , while they slumbered in perfect ignorance of the blow aimed at them . I persevered and was all but hissed , but I did persevere and stopped the Bill j but who will stop it now ? " I'll now tell you my opinion of emigration . I am a citizen of the world and ready to steer where God and necessity shall direct , but if I can help it , no man shall leave the land of his birth against his freo will and consent . But stop ; Ellis's Bill only provided for men of a certain age , and forbade the accompaniment of the

      wife aud family except at the emigrant's expence , thui taking the bone and sinew and leaving the young gristle to be nursed by the Poor Laws at home , till fit for profit . When every lordly oak is levelled to the ground : when the throat of every fatted wnr-horse is cut ; when every pampered sporting dog is destroyed ; when every pleasure ground is turned into a garden for the production ofhuman food , and made subservient to the sustenance of man ; when our waste lands are made to yield forth their fruit ; when our own country , after being turned to the most profit , shall refuse to Us own

      sons the reward of thoir own industry and sumciency for their wants , then will I join in search of other climes , and by lot take my chance as a volunteer in quest of afield wheroon to expend my labour . Your country is a wild for want ef proper laws to apply man ' s labour to the most profitable pursuits , and inBtead of altering tho laws , they would transport the people- I tell you that this is but the commencement , they now only invite you to transport yourselves , but when machinery arrives at its height , they will then compel you to involuntary exile . "

      Such were Mr . O'Connor ' s opinions in 1835 , and § uch , we find , from many of his reported speeches , delivered in many parts of England and Scotland ' in 1837 , 1830 , and 1839 , in almost the same language , continued to be his opinions ; we must leave it to our readers to say whether he has been borne out by subsequent circumstances . We have been induced to give the latter extract in consequence of a foolish assertion made by Mr . Moral-philosopher Morrisson , of Dunferaline , to the effect that Mr . O'Connou used the words with respect to a repeal of the Corn Laws .

      In conclusion , then , we say , " to your tents , O Israel 1 " we arc at our post . If you fail , you cannot be surprised ; your trumpet has been sounded ; your defeat , should it occur , will be your own , not our , disgrace ; but we trust you ; and , if we doubted you , OUR LIVES UPON YOUR WIVES .

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      THE OLD FOX AGAIN . The old cow and the hay stack have had another bowing match ; Stansfeld has written in reply to the first epistle of the Mercurial family , and last week the Mercurials rejoined at considerable length , materially altering their tactics in the engagement , however . In the Mercurials , first letter , the question considered was the most eligible standard of franchise , and which was established upon the fanciful principle of all who may be " reasonably deemed" fit for its exercise ; the present letter is confined to a review of what rightfully constitutes the government of a country .

      The question at issue between the parties is simply this : —Is the Government of this country , as at present constituted , a fair representation of the public opinions , morals , habits , and wants , according to the present constitution of society ? Stansfeld , upon his part , asserts that it is not ; inasmuch as a section of society , on behalf of whose eligibility he pleads , is altogether excluded from any participation in the appointment ; while upon their part the Mercurial Editors contend , that , no matter how selected , their very toleration , by existing society , constitutes them a fair representation of the virtues , vices , habits , manners , strength , or weakness of the country .

      In order to arrive at a just conclusion , we must first ascertain whether or not any principle can be , or has been , established for the formation of governments ; and in this course we anticipate no conti'adiction of that noble maxim of the English Constitution , which declares that no subject can be taxed otherwise than by his own consent , directly or indirectly , through his representative in Parliament . iMs simple , defined , and liberty-breathing principle b . Tings us from the Mercury ' s corrnpt reservoir to a consideration of the springs and fountains from w . Hich governments should flow , in order to give them a constitutional title' Thia simple

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      maxim does , wo apprehend , breath in the very lungs of the State , and inspires the whole body with life , leaviDg no withered liaib disregarded , no member uncared for , no section considered as unnecessary to the perfect and healthy existence of the whole . It , in fact , implies an equality before the law , a power vested in a government-making body , to say who shall be the parties under that maxim , to whom power , narrowed to its most convenient use and application , shall be delegated for the benefit of the community at large . Government is , in fact , nothing more nor less than the

      committee of a national society ; a body entrusted with the application of public funds according to national requirements ; a body selected to mature plans for the common weal , and when matured and flatted by the people's representatives , to see to their proper administration ; but it by no means vests in the hands of a party any , the most , remote or contingent right , because in power , so to alter the constitution as to insure their own continuance in office . They have no right to strengthen their own hands , while they weaken those whose will they are bound to obey , and by whose consent alone they can legitimately hold office . When a government strengthens itself by laws , rules , precedents , or regulations , adopted for that purpose , or by the levying of forces

      for its own protection , against public opinion , or by laws made or stretched for the suppression of the public voice , that government becomes a despotism and stands , in relation to the community , in precisely the same situation as a garrison , which should sell the fortress to the enemy , and turn itsguns against its own countrymen . This we presume to be the very position occupied by our Whig rulers ; they are not only besieged by the whole of the unrepresented community , but they are also besieged by the representation of a majority of the electoral body ; while , instead of yielding , they fortify Dowing-street with brute force , and entrench themselves within the fortress , turning the guns against those who placed them there as guardians of the fort , during pleasure or good behaviour .

      We fully agree with the Editors of the Mercury upon the only principle contained in the letter now under review ; but here , also , as npon a former occasion , we are compelled to differ from their conclusion . And Why t Because it . amounts to an admission , that , whatever Government is in existence , provided it be a Whig Government , it is , of right , the accredited representation of society . If this be true , how unjust and unfair was it to threaten violence to effect a change , in 1832 , of that Government which , according to the opinions of the then constituent body , was a , fair representation of

      the public mind and condition . But , be it observed , that the Editors , always having an eye to the main chance , contend that Stansfeld's principle is erroneous , because it may let in a Tory Government , thus shifting the whole ballast to the question of convenience , interest , and expediency . We fully admit that Government , when tolerated , and only factioualy opposed , should be recognised as the faithful mirror of public opinion , while we think we shall show , and that very clearly , that it is because our Government is not in this position that the whole people demand such a change as will ensure their just , fair , and faithful

      representation in the Commons' House of Parliament . The Afertury dips deep into philosophy , history , and science , and even skims polemics ; but in every dive he finds himself out of his depth ; using his arguments to his own destruction , and , like a pig , as he swims , cutting his own throat . When the Editors speak of the frightful strife of by gone ages , they appear to forget that that was all occasioned by a struggle to form administrations to tha taste of the age ; while they would contend that , once established , no matter how surrounded with change , instead of yielding , they should resist it ; thus never in fact , representing existing society .

      The Editors speak of th « wild ferocity of barbarous ages , of the crimes , contentions , strifes , and butcheries of those times , wholly forgetting that each aud every one of those calamities was a direct consequence of the then existing Government not beiug in unison with public opinion ; and that contention arose from a desire to effect a change in that , and only in that , very department for whose all but permanency , the Editors contend . We pass by the Woody scenes enacted during the reigns of the Tudors , referred to by the Editors ; while it is not a

      difficult task to prove that , from the year 1706 , till 1815 , a period of only twenty-one yearg , there was more blood spilt than during the whole period of the Tudor dynasty , and all to change administrations , or to support administrations , at home or abroad ; thus not only spending . blood and treasure to suit domestic policy to domestic habits , but endeavouring to suit foreign , policji to domestic factious expediency . We now coine to a consideration of the rightful means of testing whether an administration is , or is not , a fair representation of the public mind and taste simply because in power .

      In arguing this matter , we are bound to consider the long , the continuous , the harrassing , and open wars waged against Administrations when much stronger in electoral support than that under which we now live . We start from the year of peace , 1815 . At that period , we find a powerful party commanding largo majorities in possession of the Government ; we find the Executive entirely with them ; bnt not being a fair representation of the public mind , we find a reforming war , waged

      and carried on with various success for sixteen years , duricg the whole of which time , we find the Mercury supporting every artifice by recommendation of open violence , by cowardly threats , and even by ungentleman-like assaults upon women , and all for the avowed purpose of making the administration a national mirror . This conflict eventually terminated in full proof that the administration was not constitutionally formed , and did not represent national taste and opinions , inasmuch as it was disbanded by the nation in 1832 .

      From 183 * 2 till 1835 was a short breathing time allowed for experiment ; and a general armistice was proclaimed , aa far as the unrepresented were concerned , with a view to test the question whether or not theadministration , as newly constituted , was a fair representative Government . During this brief period the very acts of Administration , without being at all bearded by unreasonable demands from withoutno organic change Bought for , but merely a request for such administrative improvements as were promised by the Reform Bill—during this period ' the positive acts of Administration proved that the Reform Bill meant transfer , not change .

      From 1835 to the present time , in consequence of frequent attacks upon popular rights , the fact has been made manifest that Government , aa at present constituted , not only does not represent public habits , taste , or feeling , but does not even represent any opinion , principle , or party , save and except in as far as feeling , taste , and principle consists iu forcible possession and enjoyment of self-satisfaction . We have , upon many former occasions , observed that the House of Commons , as at present constituted , is much more liberal than the constituent body of which it is the organ ; and we have proved it by the fact that , in 1832 , when the Reform Bill was in its infancy , and before it was defiled by administration , it was then almost impossible to find

      candidates sufficiently liberal for the new-fledged electors while , now that the bill has been set to Whig time , it ia almost impossible to find candidates sufficiently corrupt ; thus establishing the fact , that there is no permanency in public opinion—that there ottght to be no permanency in public opinion—and now less than ever , when the invention of the night may wisely call for a change upon the morrow . Hence we demand Annual Parliaments , to harmonise public opinion—to set the representative ' mind by the national time-piece , in order to meet those changes occasioned by circumstances over which it becomes necessary to give to the representative body a new controul , under guidance of the then existing state of the national mind . The Editors of tholMercury ,

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      in speaking of inventions which have led to great improvements , which , by the way , should be called monopolies , furnish thereby the very strongest grounds for frequent changes in , or re-acknowled gments of , the governing body ; and when they instan ce the press as one great change of latter agos , let id be borne in mind that the "very opinion created by that press , 6 inoe its reduced price in 1836 , is now the- vast power and combination struggling for a fair representative Government of its strength , its taste , its feelings , and principles . If the Editors of the Mercury had said plumply , we are satisfied with ^

      this Government , we could then have understood them , while their absurd theories about the constitution of Governments , without so muoh plain honesty , resolves itself into that , and only that . The Mercury ' s mode of constituting government would amount to nothing more or less , than perfect despotism ; by exonerating the Government from all responsibility upon the one hand , and depriving the people of all controul upon the other ; and , in truth they are in complete keeping with the opinions of the advertising constituency of the Mercury , and that , after all , rather than the Parliamentary

      constituency , isthegod of itsidolatry . Itmayappearthat the Mercury is right to a certain extent , so long « g Government represents the constituent body , and oar arguments may go for so much mere Radicalism which apply to the question of suffrage ; but even here wo meet the Mercury and them . We have shewn the great reaction in the public mind , or rather , in the electoral mind , since 1832 , by the fact of less Liberal candidates being now chosen . Let it be borno in mind that we date the reaction from 1835 , and that" since that period we have had five annual registrations , and ouly one election ; but even taking the eight years from 1833 to 1840 , both inclusive , we find that , notwithstanding the change

      even in the opinions of tho electoral body , aud notwithstanding the vastly inoreased spirit occasioned by the word of command , Register , register , register '" given by the fugle-meu to the respective parties—notwithstanding all this , we nevertheles s find that the electors of the latter four years , 1837 1838 , 1839 , and 1840 , have not yet had an opportunity of voting . Add these facts , then , together the declension of Whig majorities of three hundred to minorities—the fact of one-half of a newly-constituted party never having voted—the fact of the whole body of the unrepresented classes being in open hostility to the present Government ; and will even the Mercury tell us that such a Government holds rightful possession of power !

      Having said so much as regards the administration , now one word of the electoral body , and it shall be but a word , and that from the letter of the Editors . We give the following pithy passage as confirmation of our assertion , that Universal Suffrage would disfranchise tho vicious , and eufranchise the virtuous of all classes . The Editors say" We appeal to the workmen themselves . Let any workman in Leeds—a sober , thinking man—cast hi * eye along the bouses of the stree ' t he lives in ; let him consider the characters of those who occupy them ; and then let him say whether alt the occupants , or whether « majority of them , are so intelligent and trustworthy tfeat he would commit to them the

      management of the affairs of his Beueut Society or Sick Club . If not , are they fit to choose our legislators ?" Now , we ask , can words more plainly show the absurdity of all opposition to Universal Suffrage , or more plainly prove that a vicious majority would select representatives from a virtuous minority ; for here the Editors appeal }• what they call the " worthless , " and asks them whether they would commit their affairs to th « hands of their companions in vice ! We answer , no ; and we find those very parties most scrupulous in their selection of persons to manage their Benefit Societies aud Sick Clubs , thereby proving that they seek for those qualities in their representatives , in which they are most deficient .

      Let the . reader observe the sophistry and fallacy of the last sentence . The Mercury men come to the conclusion that all are not fit for the management of their societies' affairs , and then most arrogantly ask , " If not , are they fitto choose our legislators " 1 Why , the question , in order to serve the Mercury ' s argument , should be , " if not , are they fit TO be our legislators ?" We are now mistified between the brainguage of the Mercury and the heart-guage of Mr . Stansfeld . The Mersury would enfranchise all who may be " regionally deemed" fit ;

      Stansfeld , all who would do unto others as they would be done by , and those who love their neighbour as themselves . We have ferretted out those whom the Editors would deem reasonably fit ; they are the 410 occupiers of houses in counties , if , upon enquiry , they should be found to support iha Whig : We must take Stansfeld upon practice , and ask , if he had been in poor Geor « e White ' s place , and George in his , whether he would have considered that his pious maxim had been practically carried out , by being incarcerated for want of a thousand pounds' bail , and whether , in this instance , he loved his neighbour as himself .

      We have thought it right to say thus much , not that our opponents are likely to make converts , bat because we choose to fight every enemy to the Suffrage with his own weapons , and not to leave one shred of false argument untorn in the whole ' weft of deceit and treachery . We have now shown that the reservoir cannot be pure while all the channels are corrupt , and shift

      the question as they may , not all the force , intimidation , threats , sophistry , and tyranny of which the unconstlSWional Government , their local bullies , and hired establishment can command , shall frighten us , or make us turn a single hair's-breadth from the straight path leading to the goal of frbk dom , happiness , and independence . Universal Suffrage , blow breezes as they may , shall be our daythought aad our night-dream .

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      THE CARLOW ELECTION . Never has it fallen to our lot to notice so anomalous , so unexpected and decisive a triumph , as tbfl temporary victory just achieved by Col . Bruen over everything Christian , moral , and even human . We have not room for the speeches made by the candidates , their proposers , seconders , or backers ; therefore our readers must rest satisfied with an outline of the whole affair .

      Bruen , an exterminating high Tory Protestant landlord , was the Tory candidate ; and is now , bj an immense majority , called the county ' s repre sentative . Ponsokby , a relative of the Greys , tb « Besbokoughs , and maDy other noble Whig families , backed by the Fitzwilliams , Tighes , and oihet Whig families , was the Whig candidate . Stanley ' * Bill was the test ; the question of Irish policy was not at all introduced y in fact , . the contest was actually * Whig and Tory struggle ; the Tories putting fof ward the most obnoxious man , perhaps , to be found in Ireland : the Whigs , upon their part , selecting *

      candidate , neither pledged to , nor nursed up in , aoj ultra principle ; his only requisite being to uphold the present men , without reference to system . Tb » Rev . Mr . Maher , a person residing in the countj , and evidently well acquainted with all its affair ^ charged Mr . Brben with having , in two years , ejected , and driven upon the wide world , more than seven hundred of the natives from his estate . In ""* enumeration the Rey . Gentleman appears to hxf mistaken the influence of Mr . Bbtjbw over tha middle men of one denomination , Ballytarsna , &r

      £ he immediate act of the exterminator himself From Ballytarsna , Mr . Maher charged Bsde * with having ejected 101 of those poor creatures . " No , " saya BatfEN , " I was not the landlord of Bally tar 8 naj ' . I onlt received the rents ; » n * with the ejecting I had nothing to do ; so what becomes of the Rev . Gentleman ' s charge ! " -lj > ° Colonel , however , himself substantiates -it by this very denial ; for h » never attempts to c ontradiot the fact of having banished the remaining six hundred and odd ! He reminds us of the Irishman who was charged with the mu der of bis neig hbour .

      Foketgn Nttelugenge

      FOKETGN nTTELUGENGE

      Ihe Northern" Star Saturday, December 12, 1840.

      IHE NORTHERN" STAR SATURDAY , DECEMBER 12 , 1840 .

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      JUNIUS RUSTICUS . Ocb readers will be glad to see their old friend again in the Northern Star . By an oversight , his letter to the Queen does not occupy the place we intended for it . It will be found in our sixth page

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      _ j £ THE NORTHERN STAR .

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Dec. 12, 1840, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct532/page/4/