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Northern Star (1837-1852), 22nd May 1841, Edition 3 of 5, Page 4, Untitled Article

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    • THE NORTHERN STAR.; SATURDAY, MAY 22, 1841. j
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      u TREE" DISCUSSION ! PACKED MEETING ! WAT TO GET " sCPPORl" FOB THE WHIG SIIMSTHT . ( Reported by a Stranger Present . ) The Wbics of Manchester hare this week held a mee » iB 2 , f \ , r ihe purpose of supporting ^ Ministers , under circumstances which bnt too plainly proclaim the wretched condition to which the bloody faction'" id reduced . They had ine impudence to call their meeting a public meeting : while the measures they look were such as to effectually exclude the public . The meeting was ca'led by the Mayor , in pursuance of a lequisiuon , very nnmerously signed ; themaior portion of those signatures having been obtained so ihat a trick migat be played off upon the public ; and that , by mear . s of this trick , the p lace of meeting michs be packed , and a favonrableopinion respecting Ministers thus secured . of

      The trick was this : a ter ^ e number tickets were prepared , purporting to be addressed to the Kquisitionists , and to them only . The following is a copy of this ticket ; first premising that the meeting was called for eleven o ' clock : — As one of the rtquiritijcists , you are requested to attend at a quarter pas ; ten o ' clock on Tuesday m ^ niing . " These tickets were extensively distributed amongst all persons , whether requisiticnists or not , wherever those distributing them thought they were . « r / e . Scouts -were entrusted with them by hundred ? , to ferret out those whom they could depend on . Warehousemen , ove-lookers , and hangers-on of every

      description , and even persons from a distance , totally unconnected . wiih the town of Manchester , had these tickets g ^ en to them . In fact the writer of this report , though an inhabitant of a town sixty miles disrant , and who was only in Manchester on private business , was presented with one of these tickets ; and he was accompmied to the meeting by four other gentlemen , not one of whom was a requisition-is :, or indeed hardly ever saw the requisition even when printed ; but all whom had had tickets presented to them as requisitionist =, and they were admitted to the meeting by the private entrance in that ftharsuMPT .

      Bv half-past ten the public beean to assemble , and 01 aitem tin ^ to enter by either of the u = nal passages tney were repelled by parties who refused to give either the r carries or authority . On further inquiry it was d . soorered that persons were in the meantime procuring admission through the police-office in another par : of : be building , and on proceeding to the spot , we ftnrnd this passage lined on the inside frith police on either hand , and ticket-bearers only admitted , one by one , with the most jealous scrutiny and precaution . On one side was a person , said to be the son of a well-known Whig and member of the . Corporation , distributing tickets of admission to approved individuals who presented themselves unprovided ; but mast respectabl y Conservative gentlemen were disinctiv and positively refused . One of

      them , to our knowledge , asserted his right to enter as a Commissioner of Police , and succeeded . The writer of this report , accompanied by the friend above allu led to , presented himself at the private entrance , and readily obtained admission oh producing his " ticket . " On entering the large room , he found it abaut half filled with persons who had been admitted in the same manner as he had ; while large crowds of persons were waiting in the portico and ia the street , in front of the building , every one being refa-ei admittance if he was not possessed of a" ticket . " Indeed , the following fact , as given in the Mariche&ter Chronicle , of Wednesday , will shew the exieo ; to which this system of exclusion was earr . ed , and the resolute determination to have none bnt thoroughgoing Ministerialists present .

      Mr . Hubert Gardner , an eminent merchant and manufacturer , of Conservative politics , and an ardent friend tofree-tradepriiiciples , had engaged , on thefaith that the meeting was to be of a purely commercial and not political character , to move the first resolu-. tion . Ou firsr presenting himself at the police barricade he fortunately had his ticket with him , _ but meeting a sentk-man , of the highest respectability , who had been repntsc-d for want of a ticket , Sir . Gardner endeavoured to . ntroducehim in his company . Finding tins the poiiee wore under orders so stringent that they could not allow this , Mr . Gardner went in

      alone , and remonstrated with the parries assembled , on the extreme severity of the measures adopted to exclude ihe public . He subsequently returned to Communicate the result of his remonstrance to his excluded friend , but nnfurtunau ^ y left his ticket behind him . Oa presenting himself a second time at the barrier , he was rudely refused admittance ; and on producing the resolution which he h 3 d to move , as evidence of his title to entrance , the officer in eommand of tha police exclaimed— ' Take . thai Etas into f-astody ; ' and he was , in point of fact , actually ejected—thrust cut—by the hands of . ; he police !

      "Of course ? he police-officer would never have presumed to nave acted thus , had he not received distinct ana positive ordersfromthe presiding author ities ; so ? hat toe case amounts to this . The Manchester Widijs , with tbe Mayor at their head , first entrap a Conservative t ; en'leman iato a " promise of co-operatiou - . ^ i-h them under raise pretences : and when he ventures to remonstrate against the unprecedented and unwarrantable steps th- ; y take to pack their meeting , theyacmaUy seizea pretext to get hina turned oui with iimili ana even violence ! It is only of Manchester Whigs and Manchester * Corporat , ors that anything ^ o utterly despicable , unmxaly , and brntish could be predicated . " '

      By the < e means the room was fully three-fourths filled with " Rcquiiiiioiiitls" who had not signed the requisition As a s- > ri of pretence for this trick , the eommiu-ee of arrangements went through the'farce of submitting their resolutions to the "RequisitjonLts , ' "' ai , d taking a vote upon them . All this time , and until after the clock had struck eleven , ( the advertised nour for the business of the meeting to coainieuje , ) the doors were kept closed , ar , d the public excluded ! Before the doors were thrown open , the Mayor aB 3 uuidU the chair ; and he rose to open the business of the day simultaneously with the appearance of the first bat ; h of the persons constituting the public . After the doors were opened , not one wor-1 of what he said could be heard by the meeting ; for he spoke while the persons who had been exemded ( until a

      msjonty had been packed into tbe room ) were entering . H ? is reported , by the Manctesler Guardian , to have said , ** He had taken the chair according to the power vested in him by law—( hear , hear , — he wished to allow fair and free discussion— ( Hear)—he hoped no one would advance principles he was afraid of being controverted , and that the meeting would patiently listen to any observations made . Any amendments to the resolutions to be submitted , eo long as tho .-e amendments were in accordance with the subj- ^ et for which this meeting was con-Tened , should be submitted to the meeting for its decision . He h : ped that , as Englishmen , they would respect the laws , aud would coudnct themselves with that peace and decorum b-: comiiig the important subject they were this day met to consider /'C Hear , hear , " and a cry of " Down with the "Whigs ' . ")

      A Mr . Alderman K \ t rr-se to move the first re--solution to be adopted by the public meeting ; and : fir Thomas Potier seconded it . Bo : h fhe ~ e gentle- i men were heard with the greatest patience and I attention . Indeed , not a single interruption of any ] kind or degree was offered to them . j When the Mayor rose to perform the farce of ' putting the motion to the meeting , the Rev . Mr . ; ScHOFtLLD presented himself to move an amendment . No sooner , however , did he rise for this purpose , I than it seemed as if hell itself were let loose . The j patriotic , enlightened , " educated , " " liberal" Whigs I set up yalk , groans , hisses , and brayings ; some of ] them using cat-cails , and other artificial modes of annoyances , No ? a word could be heard from Mr . Schofisld ; and he was ulumitely compelled to sit down , with barely moving his amendment in dumb show .

      Mr . Elijah Dixox , who was in the body of the zoom , csfled out that he would second the amendment ; ana he attempted to go upon the hustings to i offer to the meeting hi 3 reasons for so doing . His i progress thiih ^ r was opposed by a gang of " resprct- j able" blackguards , who set upon Mr . Dixon with fiend-like ferocity , using their fe-et and fists in the most " educated" manner , and pushing about , hooting , and kicking in the most gentlemanly'' btyle . For full five minutes did they succeed m keeping Mr . Dixon from the hustings , though lie was not Etc yards from it when he first set out to get upon them . During ail tkis time , the Mayor , who bad promised a "fair and free discussion , '" and had called upon his friends to " conduct thtmselves with decorum , "

      actually stood in front of the chair , saw the manner in which his friends were using Mr . Dixon ; saw blows , and kicks given ; and never held up a finger , or tittered a word , to get them to dts ' uH . 'J Mr . Dixon , however , at last fought his way to the hustings , and his appearance there W 3 S lhe signal for another outburst of " education" and " intellectuality . " The " broad-cloths" yelled most vociferously . The profit-eater produced his cat-call , and most " elegantly" did he use it . The sleek-looking , primly-dressed , " buttonles 3 blackguard" Quaker night be seen in many an instance contracting his rigidsaintly features , and hissing in most charming -tyle . Indeed , ail the " ignorant , " " uneducated , " w fcllowo" in Manchester could not have beaten

      respectables" at this most intellectual version discussion ! " After this had continued : nutes , the May « r , who had guaranteed ¦ ; who had requested for every one a -ho was net afraid of any of their introverted ;— [ he need not when mcked the meeting]—who had to conduct themselves with lly had the impudence to "ked meeting , whether , ' -it , be heard I The . v tbe Mayor , in-} j . ) -ltq I and even & * " liberality , " rjj tf r ^ ncetogo * £ ?>< ** ' , toth ,

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      or a single reason allowed to be adduced in its Fi : pport 1 As might be expected , the " packed meeting , " who had refused to hear the speakers in support of the amendment , rejected the amendment itself ! Actuated by feelings of unutterable disgust at such " respectable" conduct , the writer of th s report left the meeting , strongly convinced of the absolute necessity for an extended system of " National Education , " which thould have for one of its objects the teaching of the broad-cloth-gentry how to behave themselves as well as the poor , despised , persecuted Chartists . The writer understands that , in an after stage of the proceedings , the following Protest was handed to the Mayor , and by him read to the meeting . It was also extensively posted a 3 a large placard on the walls of the town .

      " PACKED MEEETISG . " Fellow-townsmen , —We tbe undersigned inhabitants of the borough of Manchester , attended at the Town Hall , this morning , from ten until eleven o'clock , in consequence of the Mayor having convened a public meeting of the inhabitants of the Borough , to be holden there at eleven o ' clock ; and we having DEMANDED and been REFUSED ADMISSION at the door of the Police Office , ( all the other doors of admission being locked , ) and haviug witnessed the refusal of many hundred other persons , whilst all parties presenting a ticket

      were admitted , do , on these grounds , PROTEST AGAINST the said Meeting being considered a PUBLIC MEETING of the inhabitants of the Borough , or competent to express their opinions , inasmuch as the room was manifestly PACKED when the doors were opened at eleven o ' clock . " J . B . WjiKKlYII . " Thomas Flintoff . 11 John Barker . " JOH . \ MlDDLETOX , Jun . " Robert Bradley . " R . Ketmer . " Manchester , 18 : h May , 1841 . "

      In reference to this very proper and necessary protest , the Manchester Guardian tries to get his frirnds out of the dirt in the following manner : — '" Why these very amusing gentlemen should go to the Town Hall at ten o ' clock , when the meeting was called for eleven , we cannot conceive , and they do not choose to explain . Unless they wanted to pack the meetiug , we conceive they would have waited until the time fixed for the commencement of the proceedings . But they allege that " parties presenting a ticket were admitted . " No doubt they were ; tickets had been issued to the parties who signed the

      requisition , and who were requested to assemble a little before the time fixed for the commencement of the proceedings , in order that they might determine upon the resolutions to be submitted to the meeting , and select the parties by whom they were to be moved and seconded . Owing to the large number of the requisitionists , no other room in tno building could have contained them ; aud hence there wa 3 a necessity for their assembling in the same room appointed for the public meeting . This proceeding was in strict conformity with the practice of former public meetings in the town ; and its propristy is perfectly unquestionable . "

      In answer to the lame effort of the Guardian , it may be observed that it nowhere appears that the protesting gentlemen offered themselves for admission at ten o ' clock . The doors were- not opened for those who had not tickets until after eleven ; and with reference to the other portion of the Guardian ' s explanation , the following remarks from the Manchester Chronicle , published on the same day as the Guardian , dissipates it into thin air . Tno Chronicle says : — " We understand the Mxyor affirmed that precedent existed for the preoccupation of the room by ticket-bearers , admitted one by one , through a double column of police lining a private entrance , but we maintain confidently that no such expedient was ever resorted to before . The requisitionist 3 to public meetings do often assemble before the hour announced , to meet the authorities , and settle the preliminary

      arrangements ; but such meetings invariably take place in another room , from which , at the due time , the parties proceed to the place of public meeting , when the chair is taken . The business at such previous meeting is strictly preliminary , and the public are expected to assemble meantime in the place assigned for open meeting . But the cards of summons issued on the present occasion , say nothing about preliminary business , and the ^ e were distributed to hundreds who were not ri quisitiomsts ; and by these means the place of public meeting was effectually packed before the hour for opening the doors . This , we repeat , was wholly unprecedented , and it utterly destroyed all the pretensions of the assembly to ihe character of a public meeting . It was a mere party demonstration , to which , by their command of the Town Hall and of the police , the Corporation attempted to give somewhat of the exterior semblance of a Town ' s meeting . "

      i es , the meeting was a packed one ! The W higs of Manchester feel and know , that unless they had resorted to this new method t , f obtaining an expression of "free opinion , " their meeting would have been a decided failure ! To prevent this , and to procure for their friends a semblance of support , they resorted to the miserablo trick of packing the meeting . If they dare , let them ca'l an outdoor meeting—and submit their resolutions to it . If they dare take this step , let them do so ! I ! they do not , the meeting—the packed meeting of Tuesday—will have its due effect upon the country , and no more .

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      Mr . O'Brien . —We have much pleasure in statins that there is no truth in the rumoar of O'Brien ' s ill health . A letter from him is now lyint ; at our office , in which he states that he 13 unable to account for the origin of the report , but that he is certainly not suffering from any unusually ill state of health . This letter was sent to us for publication in our last , but arrivtid too late for insertion .

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      AGITATION FOR THE WHIGS IN 1832 . AGITATION FOR THE WHIGS IN 1841 . Havisg borne our full share of abuse for the well-merited odium which Whig deception has so unsparingly heaped upon the Whig party , we n « w begin to look about U 3 in order to discover whether or no one poor outcast of a provincial journal could have created so tremendous a storm against our friends , if unaided by their own malicious cooperation .

      In 1832 , no amount of Tory money , Court favour , newspaper support , or oratorical appeals , could stay the anti-Tory torrent , or hold the Whigs from office . A succession of abuses spoke in language too powerful to admit of either doubt or defence . Every town poured forth its thousands of Whig backers , while not a few offered smoking incense in condemnation of the unmanageable Tory tyrants , Every banner floated in the breeze . Every patriot was at his post , and the leaning of monarchy to the breaking reed seemed rather to weaken than strengthenthecause itprofessedto ? ave . Thenameof theKine

      los ; its wonted magic , even with a people beyond all others enamoured of monarchy ; while the fervour of party , for the passing moment , induced some , ( we ! rrjoice to say not many , ) to merge tbe Englishman's gallantry into the bad man ' s spken . The King , then , was no one , or something less ; the Queen was some one , and tomething more . In spite of ! all opposition , the "fiery Dnke" was compelled to yield to the firing people . His very house , the Englishman ' s castle , was to him no sanctuary . His < name , theretofore a tower of strength , lost its magic ¦ in the storm of " peace and retrenchment . "

      All this was , of course , in anticipation of what the Reformers promised ; and , so courteous was , public opinion , that even Irish coercion , as the very ; first instalment of English justice , and the New j Poor Law , the first of W hig gratitude , were , of i themselves , insufficient to change the strong trade- ; wind , which had jnet then set in in favour ofj general Whig policy . Still , in the teeth of these isolated acts , as they were called , was the cry of j " down with the Tories , " raised at every single ' election . " I am a Whig , " was the only passport to public confidence then required by candidates , either in single combat , or general conflict .

      The first general election , the election of promiso , gare the Minister a majority of two hundred in the House of Commons , the largest , as well as the most noisy , ever remembered—a majority quite sufficient to briDg the Peers to their senses , and to have proved ( had there been a real desire to purify the system , ) that the bottom of the well being at length cleansed , henceforth the surface would be clear . The intention , however , being transfer , and

      not organic change , the Commons , in their strength , proposed only what the Lords could conscientiously subscribe to . The lower House , through its leader , Lord Jons Russell , declared it prudent to avoid collision with tho other branch of the Legislature , except upon some grand fundamental question . The Noble Lord and his party , however , allowed their ] fundamentals to pi ? a unnoticed , although compelled : to submit to daily kicks and insults , until , at length ,

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      the timidity of the Commons emboldened the unreformed Lords , and made a stumbling-block , which , if takes in time , might have been removed with a single breath . This truckling the people saw , but were yet silent and hopeful , until , at the end of about two years , the Whigs were compelled to taste thebitter fruits from their own tree , by seeing the old enemy strong enough to take office .

      The elections of 1835 again gavo courage to the Whigs ; and again , in 1837 , the possession of the Queen ' s name by the party in power , backed by " exclusive dealing , " and French and Belgian policy poured into the young and confiding ear of a nation's Monarch in nursery tales , gare the Whigj another majority . But again did tyranny and presumption break down what promise and confidence had built up , and from that hour to the present , the acts of the Whigs have been the most bloody upon

      record ; and now we ask , iu 1841 , after sustaining a most disgraceful defeat , where is the enthusiasm—where the single WHIG CONFLAGRATION , so welcome in 1832—where the grand Glasgow , Birmingham , Weft Riding , Bristol , Nottingham , and all the other demonstrations of POPULAR WILL , then thought worthy of Ministerial courtship 1 Whtreare they ? Where is the magic of that young and endearing name , bo fondly * cheri » hed and so successfully used as a spell to conjure up support but four short years back ?

      In 1832 the Queen was told that she was a German . The people may now retort and say that the present lady has married a German pauper , to whom the skin-a-flint Whigs would have given £ 50 , 000 , inBtcad of £ 30 , 000 a-ycar . Where , we ask , is the magic of that name now \ This brings us to the grand question . We are told that it is in reserve , and that the old story , " Stand by me , and I'll stand by you , " is very current . Again we counsel Lord Melbourne against a repetition of this child ' s play , and , though reluctantly , the very Club announcement of the scheme , which is an ominous precursor of eventsi compels us to offer an observation or two upon the danger of such a course .

      When anything like justice has been done to the English people , they have shown no disposition to quarrel with the maxim , The King can do no wrtng . " Iu fact , anxious to respect royalty and an English monarch , thty have been more servile upon this point than upon any other . But the moment that a monarch assumes a power unknown to the Constitution , and not frequently practised ia darker ages , that moment will the people turn all thought from the Commons to the Minister and the Monarch . Lat us then see how matters just now stand . And the Queen being once before paraded as a shield for Whiggery , aad the country being again threatened with such an obstacle to the public will , we are most reluctantly compelled to enter into some consideration upon the subject .

      The Queen , then , though young , has , as the Executive , witnessed , unmoved , more inequality of law ; more injustice to her subjects ; more unjust persecution of her people ; more affliction among the working classes of her own sex ; more degradation of females ; more ministerial , domestic , and colonial profligacy ; more popular dissatisfaction and discontent than has ever existed in England heretofore . Hence , sho must , if she now allow herself to bo tampered with by a prcfl ' . gate Prime Minister , bear the reproach of all these sufferings , which the people would most cheerfully hold hor guiltless of . She cannot " run with the hare and hold with the

      hound . " She must make her election between her people and her Minister . We must go further . If such a latitude were allowed to a monarch , what difference is there between such a state of things and a perfect despotism ! Nay , has not the practice , as far as it has gone , subjected this country to a perfect military despotism ! Has it not rendered trial by jury a farce—the poor man's relief-house a place of degradation—the old man ' s alm 3-house a charnel-houseevery prison an inquisition—every policeman an ii . quisitor—every magistrate a tyrant , aud every official a dictator ?

      Having stated some of the acts , with which any improper interference of the Queen will make her personally responsible , as the Executive , let U 3 see whether or no there is not already too much representative power vested in an English monarch . As the Executive , he is supreme and sole ; has a power of life and death . As Peermaker , he has a power which has been , recently , most injudiciously and extensively used—a power of making Peers of the partisans of the minister in office ; a right never

      contemplated by the ancient constitution to be otherwise used than as a means of distinguishing the truly noble , without reference to political bias . In the House of Commons , no ministry deprived of the support of Stato paupers , royal servants , salaried effice r * , ministerial commisnioucr = i , and secretly paid partisans , could hold offce , even upon the present franchise , for a Eingle month , while the unrepresented , the most numerous and powerful party in the State , are oppressed by the Commons aud not relieved by the Executive .

      Thns we show that those two estates , over which the Monarch should have no controul , but over which the people should have all controul , must , as a matter of necessity , if once unfettered and freed from Royal trammels , appeal to the whole people , as the only means of holding office for a single season , while Court influence now makes them not only independent of public opinion , but actually presents the frightful anomaly of a nation divided against itself . Upon the question of Royal interference , some very chuckle-headed ante-diluvian scribe writes thus , in the Weekly Chronicle , under the head : — "A DISSOLUTION—BUT WHEN ?"

      " The Queen , in answer to an address for the removal of Ministers , lif carried , ) ruigh ^ reply , that their resignation had been delayed soleiy for the purpose of enabling the country to come to a calm an I definitive conclusion upon the most important subject ever submitt « d to it . Who could gainsay Her ? Who would dare to call the decision unconstitutional ? The object being not the miserable desire of prolonging official existence , but the wish to i . iyQ additional weight and deliberation t * the national will . "

      So jabbers the consummate fool who wrote tho nonsense about " no miserable disire to prolong official existence" ( O ! ye God 6 !) and " to give additional weight to national deliberation . " O ! ye Gaols full of national deliberators !!! But the Chronicle asks a question— " who would dare to call the decision unconsti : utional ! " We would dare , and do dare , to do eo—we call it unconstitutional .

      The Chronicle then draws some unfortunate precedents from the dark days of Pitt . Is it not , we may observe in passing , very strange that the Whigs are eternally compelled to draw all their precedents from Tory practice and " vice versa . " How is this I But of precedents , we may observe that nothing can be more dangerous thau a blind following of them . In fact , nothing more foolish than the custom of following precedent . A good act requires no precedent , while no precedent can either boften or re

      concile a bad one . Tne Judge who preferred remaining shut up in his carriage when crossing a ford , preferred the chances of drowning to sitting upon the box with the coachman , because the coachman when inviting his Lordship could furnish no precedent for a judge silting alongside his coachman , and his Lordship was constitutionally drowned , but had tho honour of dying according to precedent . Acts of persons living without controul in barbarous clodhopping ages , will be found to furnish but sorry precedents for the government of our steam

      population . Three or four of the Edwards , and as many of the Harry's , furnished Charles with precedents how to lose his head , and James how to lose his throne ; whereas , if Charles had followed those precedent ? , which every passing breeze bore , he night have taken his head upon his shoulders to the grave , and would now have been , an unmutilated

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      royal mummy , snugly niched up in Westminster Abbey , instead of being a vulgar headless trunk . Had he used the follies of his predecessors as beacons to point out the shoals which subsequent pqualls and tides had thrown up in his stream of life , instead of using them as charts to direct him in bis course , he would have been one of the best , as he was one of the most amiable , of monarohs that ever wielded a soeptre ; but he lived by rule and died by precedent , and peace be with him .

      However , as the ghost of precedent has been paraded , and as we look upon current public opinion and passing acts to be the very best precedents which a monarch ia doubt can follow , and inasmach as a second "bed-chamber plot" is very likely to be tried , and as we feel convinced that a following of the precedent once successfully established may be most dangerous , if attempted to be followed , we beg , for the protection of the much-abused , ill-advised , and misinformed Queen , to submit the propriety of tho following resolution being proposed at those " national deliberations" to which the notorious host of the Chartists invited them , and then persecuted them for atteuding : —

      " That while we admit the maxim , « The King can do no wrong , ' to be a just part of a just whole , yet do we deny the right of the monarch to continue a minister in office against the wish of the people , and a majority of the House of Commons . And , inasmuch as the present Administration is most obnoxious to the whole country , we respectfully , but firmly , . beg to remonstrate with ber Majesty upon the impropriety of interposing bad precedents , or royal will , against national opinion , for the mere purpose of being surrounded by the friends of her youth , and who have been tbe greatest enemies of our order . A nation taken once by surprise may tolerate , as experiment , that which it will not submit to as a precedent . "

      In another artiole upon the general question , we have entered fully into the state of parties , and their respective prospects , aud shall close this with a recommendation to the Chartists to proceed onward in their anti-Whig course , while they keep steadily in view the certainty of a successful issue making them one of the two great political parties who must , henceforth , contend for ascendancy . The Whigs , as leaders , are tyrants ; perhaps a short training in the school of adversity may make them useful and willing followers of better men than themselves .

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      THIRTY SIX !!! OVER ! THE CASTER'S OUT !! Nat , not so , Mr . Groom Portbr , his Lordship will i have a " back-hand . " Dice ! Well , well , to be sure , was there ever in this " blessed world" such a set of cripples as our precious rulers , her Most Gracious Majesty ' s precious advisers ? We never knew such " gluttons" in the " ring , " even in the palmiest days of Belcher and Mendoza ; and , as for Tom Cribb , he swears they are out and outers . Their motto is " s ' owm is pas vaineu . " In the first round they have got a sickner in the " sweet breath . " In the seco nd they will get a finisher in the " bread basket ; " and , should they come up to the scratch

      again , the third is to be fought with Canadian battles . But Easthope tells us that the little noble pigmy Lord , who has no objection to a torch and dagger agitation to insure his salary , will , as a last resource , throw himself upoD the country . Now , we tell him fiat and plump at ouce , that , if he dares it , the country will throw him not back again , but into the dirt . He tried torch and dagger in 1832 , the smoke aud the steel were then on the right side , but let him now beware of creating an excitement which , if ouce raisod , will never be Fubdued till it exhaust itself in the complete ' and entire annihilation of the order of the

      Noble Lord . Let "pot-walloping" agitators speak the language of intimidation . We sound a warning to tyrants , a caution to those who know not tho deeprooted hatred which the people bear to every thing Whig and Whiggish , throughout tho length and breadth of the land . We warn them , we tell them that the " Pile " is raised , and to be cautious how they put the match to it 1 If thero is one feature more disgusting than another in the new face which the Whigs would put upon deception , it will be found in the unblushing attempt to create an antislavery feeling , while they are actually trying to shuffle the pea from ono thimble to another .

      The culprits aro still determined to be at it , and we imagine literally propose to snatch no small proportion of the quarter ' s salary out of the fire of a protracted debate . Well , no wonder they should die hard , for die they assuredly will , notwithstanding the powerful stimulants administers d by the daily quacks , and tho weekly sedatives so copiously recommended by the consulting physicians . Yet all , all cannot save them , they still want tho St . John Lokg counterirritant— " Tho scratch in tho back , ' which John Bull will by no means administer .

      On Monday night , the confectioners literally fired an uninterrupted volley of " sugar-stick" at the enemy , without having once hit the mark , or being honoured with a shot in return . Nearly a dczen had the morjiificaion to" Spout , ami spout , and spout away , In one weak washey everlasting flood ; While each succeeding pump , which Up and down its awkward arm did sway , " had the mortification of lacking anything but the dry ground of his predecessor to sprinkle with his watering pot .

      Whilo thus tho war proceeds in calm inside , the Chronicle " rides the storm"' and " reaps tho whirlwind" with the combined powers of " Great Jove " and " Rude Boreas . " A new chart of England is daily presented ; bamlets , never before dotted upon tho surface of a parish map , are magnified by tho modern geographers into townships , parishes , and wapontakes . Ic is not very long since a pawnb- oker ' s back parlour was promoted to the style and dignity of a " Depot ; " a snuff shop received the distinction of a bazaar , and so taking was the f « ver of local distinction , that we knew an honest cobbler who gave the title of " menagerie" to a little cage with a little sparrow in it .

      The Chronicle's " demonstrations'" are very laughable . We extract the following from the most " powerful" and recent : —

      " CORN LAWS " GREAT PUBLIC MEETING . " The three tailors in Tooley-street had a powerful demo 7 istration on Tuesday last , on behalf of her Majesty ' s Ministers . They met at their guild at twelve o ' clock . P . M ., when Mr . Snip was unanimously appointed to the chair . Mr . Goose was requested to act as Secretary , and Mr . Cabbage as Treasurer . Spirited resolutions were unanimously carried , as also a vote of thanks to her Majesty ' s Ministers , after which the immense assembly retired to the ' Hole in the Wall , ' to complete tbe business by signing a numerous petition for cheap feod and high wages . "

      On Monday last , Sir Thomas Potter had his demonstration ; and , on Wednesday , perhaps , the most important meetiug ever held in this country took place in the spacious nursery of the Prince-s Royal , Buckingham Palace , Nurse Lilly in the chair . It would be vain to attempt any thing like a report of what we heard upon this stirring occasion . The speeches of the Baroness Lehzen , the Countesses of Normanby and Listowkl , produced so powerful an effect upon the chair as literally to curdle the milk of the Royal Nurse , just as we . hear of a whole dairy being 6 oured by a sudden shock of thunder . One passage from the speech of the learned Baroness is worthy of being printed in letters of gold . She said , " Mrs .

      Chairwoman and my Ladies , I will not attempt to harrow up your feminine , your delicate , and toosusceptible feelings , butcau I allow the opportunity which now presents itself to pass?—( No , no , and clapping by the ladies . ) No , I should be a base ingrate , indeed . Behold , then , ( said the Baroness , turning slowly and majestically towards the cradle , in which the Princess Royal lay sweetly slumbering , ) behold , the lovely object of all our solicitude , the magic spell which has still more closely bound every Briton ' s heart to the rojal mother . | Behold the babe , whose first heavings we have witnessed , whose birth we watched , whose cradle we rocked , whose loved form we have so oft caressed , aud 1 ask you , are you prepared to surrender tuch a charge into the hands of the friends

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      of ; but , no , no ; no matter , he shall be nameless . " ( Here the name of Ctjbibebland burst from all present , followed by long and loud cries of "No , never , " ) It would ba vain to attempt a description of the scene which followed , the Princess , as if conscious that her dearest interests were at stake , literally sat up in the cradle and said " NO , KO ; KO !" This fact has been authenticated to tho Sun

      upon authority on which our excellent contemporary assures us he can implicitly rely . Nurse Lilly came to her milk , as if by magic , at the sound of the voice of the Princess , and the demonstration proceeded to pass the following resolution ? , moved by the Baroness , and seconded by the Countess of Normanbt : — Resolved , " That Lord Melbourne be requested to stand by us as we have stood by him . " Carried unanimously .

      Resolved , "That the Ministers who promise us « sugar stick' and buttered bun , ' are in every way entitled to our open and undisguised support " Resolved , " That we do hereby pledge ourselves to resist the introduction of Sir Robert Peel , and the Tories , by ail the constitutional means in our power . " Carried unanimously . After which a council was held in the anti-room , and the demonstration peaceably separated .

      Then follow the powerful demonstrations of Town Council men , mayors , and aldermen ; and then o private correspondents , and then of a meeting of repealers , at the "Coal-hole , " and then the Ward meetings , and then the opinions of the shop-boys of the provincial press , who know that their bread comes from the baker , and their sugar from the grocer , and that ' s the extent of their knowledge ; and then comes the open column glossary ,

      CORN LAWS AND

      COMMERCIAL REFORMS . " Our space is too limited to give any thing like a sketch of the enthusiasm which pervades all classes of society , and which is hourly becoming more and more manifest in all parts of the country , in aid of the great , the important , and statesman-like commercial reform , so nobly proposed by her Majesty ' s Government . " So much for the Chronicle .

      Never was the weakness of a party so manifest as that of the Whigs in their present deplorable situation . A debate worthy of running into the third week , and not a single hit made by a single friendly journal ; but , on the contrary , staggered morning and evening , and knocked down weekly by their friends . The poor Chron ., the morning gun , looks for its old wadding to serve for a second shot . The Sun , the evening gun , has no powder even for a report ; while it actually gives us a sore throat to look upon the cold poultice of long primer , in stereotyped column

      The Globe " genteels it , but says nothing either way . The Weekly Dispatch has astonished us by his ignorance of the whole subject . The Examiner fights wide of the principle , but dips deep in the sugar crock . Greville Brooke is too much taken up with the "Rake ' s Progress" to read what others Bay upon the subject . George Henry Ward is obliged to fly to the shade 3 of the great statesman , now no more , for precedent . Neddy Baines still sings his lamentations to the tune the old cow died of , aud sounds his cracked horn like a huntsman , in the hope of collecting his scattered hounds after a hard day ' s run , but no one hears him , or harks to holloa , while the country

      whelps keep yelping away to fill up the cry of the leading dogs ; and , of the whole Whig press , the Spectator is left to pick the one bit of marrow from the bone for which the two hungry dogs are fighting . The Spectator makes the only point . He says , " vVhat is the charge of the Whigs against the Tories ? It is just this—that the Whigs say , although you oppose us , yet you are resolved , when in power , to perform what we now promise . " This , the Spectator most shrewdly observes is the truecase , truly stated by tho Whigs . The changes are necessary , and while tho Whigs merely promise theni , to insure a renewal of office , the Tories will perform them when they acquire power .

      This is well put by the Spectator , and constitutes , in reality , the great , indeed the only difference . In the debate , it was something refreshing to find Mr . Duncombe daring to mention the case of the white slaves , but he was afraid to put the saddle upon the right horse , and to tighten the girths . Now , the fact is , that the Manchester Guardian has just said it , — " it is a straw , " and by no means could " Ceres" have furnished a lighter one for a heavy breeze . It is a straw , and is so very light that had any other been tossed up , it would have had equal support .

      Let us suppose the question to decide the fate of the Whigs had been , Is the devil black or is the devil white ? If the result was to be similar to that which is expected from the direction to which public opinion Bhall drive the present straw , we should have all the Bishops claiming acquaintance with the devil , and all the saints calling him their honourable friend ; each party swearing to a premature knowledge of the fact as to his Satanic Majesty ' s colour .

      Of one thing the Whigs may be quite certain—If they come to the country , they had better " look out , " for , most assuredly , a rougher handling no set of feeding patriots ever yet got . A promise of sugar-stick and hot rolls will not bo an antidoto to remova years of lawless plunder , tyrannical sway , and despotic oppression . The poor may be in their cold baatiles , but they will not be forgotten ; the rurals may be bottled ap for the occasion , but John will draw the cork and let the spirit out ; the captive may be sick , silent , dead

      or at hard labour in his dungeon , but a fierce and terrific howl , a horrid noise , will ask where are they , and wherefore aro they there ? Have you not asked for public opinion before , and have you not filled tho gaols , for two years , with men who violated no law and received the best of characters 1 When the Tories were in they transported for slight acts , but when they incarcerated for opinions , it was always from the higher classes they selected victims . You , too , have transported a greater number and for slighter offences than the Torios .

      Give them Frost ! roar him in their ears , and Dorchester , and Glasgow , and Birmingham . Give them a bellyfull of Chartists , and no quarter . You have nothing to expect from them ; and when you have annihilated the enemy before you , then we shall rejoice in bringiug the awkward squad of the metropolitan and provincial pres 3 gang up , in close column , to teach them how to storm a Tory breach , dislodge a Tory position , and to take a Tory garrison . Yos , that shall be our next work ; for let the Tories rest assured that public opinion is now too strong to bo either Torified or Whiggified , and that we do not use them to beat the Whigs for love of them .

      The WhigB have stated their desire to be an appeal to the national will , and yet we find the Chartists , at public meetings , as systematicallyinsulted as ever . But , howhave the mighty fallen ! Would the fiery inflammable pressure without have borne a three weeks' debate within , in 1832 , without igniting ? No , truly ; but that which served as a match in 1832 , is now but a wet blanket .

      Charti 8 ts , if the " Plague" should attempt to effect their object by gold , and to bribe a single one of your leaders , take no excuse , suffer no apology . to justify his 6 udden conversion , leave that to the slaves of office , whilo we boast of our consistencv . Down with the Bloodies ; take our word for it they are in the situation of bankrupts who would put their name to a promissory note to meet a sudden emergency . They arc merely bidding for a renewal of confidence , to betray it for seven long years . Better they should , as they will , be driven to a union with tho olden enemy—the Tory faction .

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      They will unvta before th ay surrender , but ev manoeuvre weakens them and strengthens us w have the choice to stand alone and conquer , Or h divided and perish . O'CoMsoa haa said to us , within this week " r ME LEAVE THIS CELL A CORPSE , BUT LET NO CO * . PROMISE BE MADE TO SAVE MY LIFE . " Have at tViA Bloodies : good Chartists 2

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      WILLIAMS , BINNS , AND THE CHARTISTS versus THE CORPORATION OF SUNDERLAttn AND THE WHOLE OF THEVVh . p CLIQUE . * n « . WHIG In our last we were only able to give a brief a * count of the all-important victory gained over Tory trick and Whig policy by our Sundering friends .

      The meeting of which we now speak was convened upon a requisition , signed by ninety-two of what are called respectable Whigs ; and a Dr . Brown , in th « absence of the Mayor , took the chair against th vote of the meeting . However , the reception which he , otherwise much respected by the Chartists , experienced at their hands , fully proves the folly of even friends hoping longer to blindfold the wideawake , " wild associates" of ChartiBm . We have not room for his Whig palaver , but may say , in pagSu 1 g that the wild-tins made every point , hissed erery . ' thing that ought to have been hissed , heard every . thing with respect that ought to command respect and " whewed" and whistled at all that wanted music to make it at all passable .

      Tbe Whigs moved a resolution of confidence ia the ministers , and a Mr . Wright moved and & jj , Potts , an Attorneyman , seconded , an anti-ministeri&i amendment ; and this brings us to the cream of the joke . Yes , the manner in which Williams and Binns the very Castor and Pollux of Chartism in the North ' avoided Scylla without falling upon Charybdis in their course , at once gives the lie to the many charges of Toryism so freely made against our party .

      In another part of our paper w ^ give the speeches of Binns and Williams , and every thiDe else worth reporting of the meeting . They are beautiful specimens of Chartist speeches , and when read , who will say that we are ill-behaved when in conflict ; here we have a pacificator complaining that such 13 our training that a single wave of the hand seats , silences and " uncaps" as . But wherein consists the vake of the whole proceeding ! Why , in this—that it was not sufficient

      in the estimation of our friends , to be mere anti-Whig and chequered-Tory , but they were resolved to be " whole hog" Chartists , " bristles and all . " ( We thank our South Shields friends for the happy term . ) Yes , youngsters might have been satisfied with the amendment , which would have damned us effectually , but onr young veterans were not to h caught with chaff . This is the right course—this is the way to add strength to our party and di gnity to our cause . We can beat them both if we are but united .

      In looking over tho Morning Chronicle ' s lamentable catalogue of Whig meetings , we do not find any mention of Sunderland , Edinburgh , Stockport , Birmingham , and hundreds of others , but we do find , as a test of national will , a note from a correspondent , informing the Chronicle of" a resolution passed by the Bethnal Green Auxiliary anti-Corn Law Committee "—of a special meeting of the Manchester "TOWN COUNCIL " -of DEMONSTRATIONS at Southampton , attended by the Mayor and twelve others , and of DEMONSTRATIONS at Belper , Acton , Torrington , Mostyn , Bangor

      Carnarvon , Flint , Town Council proceedings at Edinburgh ; and he brings up the rear with an Irish rump of the real old Goat , Lord Chaiilemost , and the hacks . Ah ! ah ! Alas 1 sorry substitutes for the high-sounding Reform demonstrations . Bristol in flames— " Hurrah for the Whigs . " Newcastle on / re- "Dow » with the Tories . " The Duke attacked , and compelled to fortify Apsley House— " Up with the people . " Glasgow Green alive with people . The West Riding assembled Nottingham a < id thousands of others;—but , bah it's all bother ; we have them now 1

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      THE ADDRES 6 OF THE CONVENTION . Never in our Iive 3 did we insert auy production with half that pleasHra which we derive from the publication of the above document . Let those who still doubt the march of intellect , compare the address of the "bakers' dozen" in 1841 , with tha address of the General Convention in 1839 , and ssy , who can long resist such a torrent of improvement .

      It throws the whole of the former doenmeats far in the shade . It expresses well , in a condensed form , what our usurpers have spent eight nights in mystifying . Yes , here you have the whole question , as far as regards the interests of the working man , and in the same view as wo have repeatedly laid it before you . You will only bo injured by the contemplated change . It will be found by our report of the proceedings in Convention , that the members have resolved themselves into a Committee to watch , in fact , into a

      corps of observation . Now , if they aro necessary , and , in the language of the Greenacre Chronicle , we say , " W / w will dare to doubt it ? " let money be at once sent for their support . Let no time be lost . Mr . O'Connor has already handed overall the funds collected for the Convention ( £ 60 ) , and the members cannot live upon air . Let every locality send its mite without delay , and let every name be sent off by Sunday Dight ' s post , to be added to the National Petition . Let this be done at once , and no mistake . Their exertions deserve well of the country . Up , then , Chartists , send your pence at once .

      We understand the petition of 1841 will outnumber that of 1839 by as much as tho address of the latter year outshines that of the former period . Up . Chartists ! drink no beer this one night ; send it for the prisoner , the expatriated , and the cause , and may God bless the donor ! We are requested by our York friends to correct an error respecting the signatures to the York petition , stated in our last to be 247 , while the numbers are 1 , 247—the grea esi amount of signatures ever appended by the worsing men of York to any petition .

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      DANIEL AND THE "MISCREANT CHARTISTS . " The report of the thrashing Dan received at the Crown and Anchor from the" miscreant Chartists , will be read with intense interest . As V > nis joining the physical-force or the moral-force Chartists , we beg to assure him that if he went down on his knees and begged and prayed for the remainder of his days , that not ten Chartists m England would join him , believe him , or confide in him . No , no ; his day is gone by !

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      MR . O'CONNOR AND HIS ENEMIES . We have long abstained from saying even a word upon the frightful persecution of which Mr . O ' Connor has been for years the victim , but which has recently shewn itself in colours too vivid to be mistaken . We now ask if there is one single in 5 ' ^ upon record of an imprisoned man being suffer to be thus attacked in his absence ? We bare l our possession docu ments and evidence to pro deep conspiracy against O'Conkor , iu whioh wr

      Brougham , Mr . HuicE , M-. \ Place , and m any or « ^ " new move , " have for years taken an active p i nor is Mr . Wakley altogether free from imP tion . We need fay no more . We have more >} once cautioned O'Connor against his oTer * c ° Hoff . tory policy ; he has begun to feel its effects . . ^ ever , it is more than disgusting to see b coming from the very parties , whom , when opp ^ » O'Connor defended night and , day--in sea ^ ffar < jt out of season . If this is to be the patriots « fom _ we shall very scon find patriotism » "J cffice modity ; aud yet , singular to say , oh ««*» he waa saw O'Connor yesterday , and k * states ui * h 0 ia u «^«« ;« Ui Of KoolrVi « Tirf Blunts ail " . ii iu j

      UCYC . I Jll ucni' »«¦« ' » " «—— - - Hilt W " * able to smash as many more of ibtrn- " . Btand people leave all to one- " man , while ' ^ timate looking on \ If so , we have made a ww tter 8 of En * lish love of fair play . O Connor * " jn our in replv to two fresh glanders which app = £ 6 $# present number , will be read with inttn :. &

      The Northern Star.; Saturday, May 22, 1841. J

      THE NORTHERN STAR . ; SATURDAY , MAY 22 , 1841 . j

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      4 THE NORTHS RN ST A R .

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), May 22, 1841, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct550/page/4/