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Northern Star (1837-1852), 21st August 1841, Edition 3 of 3, Page 4, Untitled Article

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    • THE O'CONNOR LIBEKAT1ON MEDAL. On the 13th of November, thft flirt Saturday after
    • fHE NORTHERN STxiR. SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, 1841.
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      Untitled Article

      TO THE CHARTISTS AND WORKING MEN OF LANCASHIRE . Fellow Cocmbyhkn , —The time being nearly ome ¦ when jour friend and the untiring chasjpion of yanr rights , Fe&rgas O'Connor , Esq . ¦ will be liberated from a felon " ! cell , we , the Demonstration Committee , Bow Address yon on tendering that gentleman some fraWic token of respect for his arduous labours in behalf 0 . our common humanity and the cause e ! universal and qoal justice . To cffer indasementa in order to stimulate yon . to dis-Charge this debt of pnblie gratitude , it will be only necessary ti examine bis carter la and out of parlia ment Possessed of fortune and influence , we discover frvm i-ientifymg himself with the industrious poor in their struggle for political enfranchisement , gyrting Wealth and influence upon the altar of oar common bmiiiuuty , and derating his time , health , and parse , to the emancipation of his country from the miseries of class legislation .

      Educated for the bar , his profession might have enabled turn to realiie a fortune , but the callous indifference to fantsan Buffering peculiar to the profession nerer entered into tfee ardent temperament of O'Connor ; possessing em aabouaded benevolence , united with the greatest steadiness , he laid oat hia talents for the elevation of oar rice ; for years he continued to agitate the doefcriErs contained in » iir Charter , and it is not saying too much when we assert , that to him more than to the labours of any man the cause of UniYersal Suffrage owes its present proud and invulnerable position . His devotion to your cause was not the artificial excitement of a public meeting , bat it was tbe calm evenness of purpose which carried him onward in "the face c-f obstacles ; the solitude of an unmerited confine ^ msst to usable to daunt his bold and indomitable spine ; b-: ije meets his friends as he left them , the derate of Universal Suffrage , and no surrender .

      We are sot going to recommend him to your adnxi tatioa , because he has wealthy friends and powerful eonr ^ fitioriS , but because be used these advantages in sd-nncing the temporal well-being of those who had fch&m not Wealth without public virtue has failed to Command the re Terence and esteem of the ¦ working men of tnis country . Had this not been tke ease , Bach men ss Lord Brougham , Grey , Russell , Hobhouse , Hume , and others , whose names were at one time con-• ideifcd sacred to the cause of human liberty , would Itiii hiYe been the objects of tie working man * adulation , but thsir sun has for ever set , their iiflaence for erer xons , ^ nd they sre only remembered as illustrating their apestacy of forme * principles and abandonment , of formti friends ; O'Connor h » s stood true to his friends and principles , and you will , we doubt not , iu&ks it appear that your feelings and attachment remain , so far as he Is concerned , andianred .

      What is then required of yon in welcoming him from Pr is .-a ! we &sk you to unite with your fellow labourers n giving h . in & marled expression of public respect , tod Te expect yon will unite in overwhelming thousands to givr Mia a demonstration of attachment , about which tiier . can be neither mystexy nor mistake . We appeal to tht > trades with feelings of perfect eouE'ifcsce . Hare you forgot , ye working men of England , his labours in defence of the Dorcbester Lab- 'urers and Glasgow Cotton Spinners ? At his own cxpeisce he defended their cause , and their restoration to home was tke consequence of his Herculean exertions . GiTe honour to nboai honour is fine , and show you can appreciate the labours of tkoee max who defend the tights of labour .

      To the friends of Cfcartism we can scarcely . offer any inducements , bnt what hare been already noticed by you . His labours in print , and in person , to spread Chartism , you know already ; his labours for your frieiiis ? ou still remember . Waen John Frogt , Zrphanifih "Williams , and William Jones , were committed by "Whig treachery , and bad to take their trials for bigh treason , O'Connor fl = w to the rescue ; his purse and laIeDt 3 were employed for his chosen friends , and to him , almost exclusively , we owe the preservation of the Welsh patriots from the horrors of a public execution .

      Nor will the females be behind in this work , aad » e expect the Female Association of Manchester to tsfce up uAi business . Look at Ms protest tjainjt the New Poor Law Amendment Bill , when a set of Commissioners wera invested with a power which set all the diarizes of our common nature aside ; he denounced tfce impious and unchristian measure , and exhibited its bideouiuess in all its deformity . Ye wsmen of England , and of Manchester , do your duty on this occasion , and show you lore your families , fcy the manner in which you receive the advocate of your families' political rights . Ali the duties arislne out of the relations in which

      you stand , show the propriety of honouring your fnends bo fer ? s tbey advocate your principles . We ask you as men to do your duty—the title of man eclipses all the other titles that a mortal can confer ; it implies a capability of reasoning and thinking , it inrolres the possession of sji Immortal nature susceptible of the most refined pleasures , and capable of the loftiest acquiremeuti—it is the charter by which you claim to exercise the immunities of freemen—unite ycur thoughts , combine your sentiments , and your well directed mentai power will soften do-srn public opposition and multiply de number of your advocates and friend ? .

      "We Knieit you as men Eetkicg tbe imnmmbes offree-StexL aud eitizJE&hip . Wto taught you first to feel that you had the "mrfe of humiliation upon your forehsads . and that you possessed powers , the exercise of -which tyrannical rulers had kept in abeyance ? it was his ten&ue and pen which "were alike coiisecrated to this bigli and h&Uowed object—with him and each othtr , let us renew our plighted faith on the day of his coming among you , and afresh pledge ourselves in one another ' ^ presence to carry out the principles of political equality and universal liberty .

      We ask ycur influence on that day , in the name 0 ? your country ; and , as countrymen , you are uniting to Assert your right of subsistence on the soil of the land that give yea birth—you c ' airn cf the oligarchy , -who have monopolised all the goed things your hands produced , and who have assumed the exclusive power of jnaiira ; laws into the bargain—you claim of both "Whig ar . d Tory , alike heartless and unfeeling , a fair distribution of your nation ' s wealth , and political influence—your demand , in ercer to be powerful , must

      be united—ycur claims , in cid ? r to be effective , must i > e asserted aimultaneoTiilj ' - Let the day of his liberation be the marked epoch from which you can date your country ' s emancipation . Let Manchester and "its masses be tbe centre from which ¦ will emanate a feelisg Which will force its way into the wide circumference cf your nation , until the barriers that stand between ycu and jcur liberties , too weak for a united nation , siall giYS way before the forca of public information , and fiee , lire rtraws before a whirlwind , ¦ when met by the EncoTBpronusiDg demand of a united nation .

      Lst U 3 on that dsy avoid all improprieties ; k ? ep from ar . y step which would jeopardize your cause ; and your peaceful , stern , unyielding devotion to your cause , will shew -srhst a people can do when they are prepared to "Hill i : ; tyranny and injasiice will hide in ibeir muTky cin from the face of an intelligent people , and that God , in whose name you hoisted your banner-, Will smile upon tbe efforts you are making , and crown . yoar Ubc-urs with ccvcplcte success . Already our prospects axe beginning to brighten . The Vronzs of Centuries are beginning to be Voo treuk to

      fhwn the human spirit ; those unnatural autipat :. i : s Which separated man from man are giving way to better feelings , so iir as our owu order is concerned . Let us demouitrate ourselves worthy of the principles we have ixez adTc-c&iing—let 11 s rtnerate , snd as far as tre can emulate Lh ~ acts of such meE as Hunt , Cobbett , Btaumout , Einmett , Cartwrisht , O'Brien , and last , though not least , the gen'Jeman , who coming among you , you wili assemble to welcome , we mean O'Connor ; and the salvation 0 ! our common country , and the political freedom of its citizens , will be the noble prize of ycur devotion to the ciuse of eternal right .

      That happiness and prosperity may be tbe porti © n of our country , and that cur countrymen rosy soen . erjjoy the rights of freedom , is the sincere wish , and shall bo the constant endeavour of yours in the cause of equal justice , TE £ DEM 0 > 'SrcU . TI 05 COMMITTEE . Signed in behalf of the Committee , James Harbison . Joseph Li > m : y . Thomas Dayizs . James Wood . Chejsto ? hzb Doyle . Thomas Mvp . kay . W . G& 1 FF 1 X .

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      TZOH OUB LOOTOS CVSEZSPODDEST . Wednesday Evening , Aug . ISlh . LOKDOh' DELEGATE 3 iEEII ^ 0-This body met on Sunday last , August 15 th at tbe loom , 55 , Old B&Uey , Mr . A . Wilson was called to tbe pfra * r . The minutes were read and coaSmed . It tme rtts * lTed : — " That the names of the members not present at tbe Commencement of business be taken dowa , to remind them of their delinquency . " The sum of 18 s . 4 d . was received for the use of the CoonciL . _ . .

      The Obserration Committee reported : — " They haa ttnanimously elected Mr . Wheeler as permanent chairman to the committee , " They also laid before the Council " A planfor visiting the Metropolitan Districts . " yh * pi m after some slight alterations had been made ihm-in -was aoopted for one month . The committee ¦ Ibo reported " That at the ensuing meeting they should fctiug up an address to the Chartists of G « -eat Britain for the dek fates' adoption or rejection . " Tbe ilLjaging and Finance Committee were not prepared , at this early period of their sittings , -with * report Mr . Simpson , on the resignation of Mr . W&tkins , was ieeted a aamber of the Finance CcmmUtee . Hz . Watkins was then added as a member of the fifeaaratioa Committee .

      tt * hsm of MeEsrs . Ridley , Wheeler , Stdlwood , pMMtS sad Watkins were given in , as permanent lectmmicrttot London district ; CtajhftJaoe of Mr . Culverhouse being given in , a tmg ~ 8 HK | sddi ensued , when it was decided on a motion ¦ Bteby UcJ . Watiiui , secoadtd b ; ill . Simpwn ,

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      " That the services of no person should be accepted , as a lecturer , who is not a Biember of the National Charter Association . ** Tbe localities are requested to send ia the names of persons , Veing members , who are qualified fer this important office . The Secretary was instiueted to write to the Executive for five hundred of the new issue of cards . A deputation , consisting of Mesais . Ridley and Watkins , was appointed to assist tbe masons on their visit to the coppersmiths . Mr . Worthington gave notioe of motion , — " That for the mare readily and punctually transmitting the funds to the Executive , each locality shall send its quota to the Delegate meeting once per month , to be immediately forwarded to the Executive . "

      Mr . Hogg rendered an account of his office of treasurer to the late council , stating the amount of funds in his hands . His conduct was highly approved of , and he was ordered to retain tbe amount of money in his hands , until the accounts of the late council be fully settled . The meeting then adjourned . JOL £ NETXENS' TBADES Hali A most numerous public mealing was holden , on Tuesday evening , at the Social Hall , Goswell-street Road , for the purpose of assisting in carrying out the above object Mr . William Taylor , gold-beater , was called to the chair . Mr . Elf moved and Mr . Rae seconded— " That this meeting , referring to the number and importance of tbe various trades' associations and societies of working

      men in London , is of opinion that the establishment of a Trades' Hall in tb » Metropolis would be most economical and convenient , and calculated to elevate the moral character , and secure the welfare of the working classes . " The resolution -was carried unanimously . A Gentleman , whose name we did not catch , moved" That this meeting is of opinion that the proposed London Journeymens' Trades' Hall , as now enrolled by act of Parliament , is deserving the united support of all parties : it would be accessible for trades' meetings , for public meetings , lectures , &o ; and , therefore , we earnestly recommend the London trades and mechanics to take up the subjest with their usual determination , ps the only means of erecting bo desirable a building . " He entered into a detail of the rules and regulations under which

      ¦ tbe society waa enrolled . There was no chance ef being defrauded ; the act took especial care of that , for speedy justice would be attalnabla He considered that by the trades meeting under one roof , if any act of irjostice was attempted , the trades could more promptly act than as now , having to send all round ivondon , and , therefore , if a strike was necessary , it would be made much a ore effectually . The Londen Tiides , he thoujht , should come out and take this subject into their most serious consideration . The proposition wa * made in a plan where the mechanics could afford the small trifle they asked from them , it vras not made in a manufacturing place where their brethren were starving , and where it would be mere derision to ask them to carry it out There were 15 , 000

      of them , and surely In two years they could erect the building . After alluding to the great advantages which were likely to arise from carrying ont the project ; the gentleman concluded fcy calling on those present to aid the r « odation . Mr . Farren , jun . said , in secondir <; the resolution , be had little left to say , for his friends who had preceded him had newly exhausted the subject ; they had , however , orerlooked the public advautf jes likely to accrue ; for example , the people were now prevented from meeting , as their forefathers used , under the canopy of the heaven , to pray for a redress of grievances ; if they did so , they were immediately branded " torch-light ret ^ ls . " There were other occa sions ; for example , the election of members , when the public mind onght to be concentrated . Perhaps a

      time might arrive when another Reform Bill would be obliged to be passed ; and , then would it not be necessary for the working classes to meet—and where &o well as under their own rocf ? ( Her ? and cheers . ) Again , be would say immediately take up tbe question , for be found a gentleman belonging to the legislature who was in favour of a trades' hall , wanted her Majesty to patronise them . He would say for himself that he wanted no Parliamentiry assistance in this work . He did cot like the idea , with the vast means whicb the trades possessed , they should be beholden to any for assistance ; let them erect it themselves . In tbe year 1834 , the carpenters could and did afford , for a strike , the sum of £ 20 , 000 , and the hatters , more ¦ recently , the sum of £ 17 , 000 ; and , surely , the trades

      could raise the ram of £ 15 , 000 . It only wanted to be taken up . There were no less than 152 meetings of trades held in one week m a central position of the metropolis ; and he would a&k how much they had taken from the pockets of the working man , who perhaps bad not paid for the i » of the rooms in money , bnt hid had to pay in drink , for tbeir accommodation ? and what accommodation ! He could assure them he bad lately , with a friend « two , ct ' led at a club-house at the West end of town , and for the accommodation of 400 persons there was just room for eighty . What was tbe result of this drinking ?—poverty . What at it to

      home ?— quaireVhng . Tb ^ n waa time end thei 9 scenes , and by social parties , give their wives a chance of recreation , instead of moodily sitting at home . Yea , he would invite those present to see how rationally the patroES of Traits' Halls enjoyed thenuelvea on that day fortnight at Highbury Barn , when they would enjoy themselves at a tea-party ; and , in conclusion , he would beg to state that the rules were founded on ihsse principles which every mechanic held in secret , if not in pnblie—the principles < - -ontained in tbe Charter . Cheers . ) The resolution waR put and carried . The meeting , after a vote of thanks to the Chairman , then separated .

      thk Braziers and Coppebsjuihs . —We have received anottier address which has betnissu- 1 by there trades , and which we bive not room to insert ; in it they return thanks for the subscriptions aiready received , but implore for further and more efficient aid —the sumg which have hitbeito been subsoil-d not being near sufficient to me 21 the peculiar exigencies of their ease . Repeal Mekiinc—A glorious Repeal meeting took place on Sunday evening , at Mr . Thomas R . > che's , Maze , Tooley-street , Borough . Several excellent speeches were delivered by Messrs . Murphy , Crowly , Ki an , and others . Upwards of forty good men and women lirame fellow-labourers in this god-like work . It is a fact that 350 rcen , wemen and children , have paid their subscriptions of one shilling within a few weeks , thereby sbovriDg their attachment to their God aud their country ' s good .

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      " The CnAimsTS hate proved themselves more accurate calxtlatofs than thk middle cusses . Whether their nostrum ¦ wovld have mended mattbf . 5 i * not sow the question j but the result Has sn etvn that they were correct i . v theib OPINION —THAT IN THE PRESENT STATE OF THE REPRESK > 'TaT 1 ON , IT VFAS VAIN TO TH 1 > K OF A REPEAL OF IHE cobs m 0 n 0 p 0 lt . ??????? Political power in this cocntbt , though it resides i > " a comparativelv shall class , can only be exercised by the ? l ff £ ra . nce op the masses . "Silontinff Chronicle { organ of the Whio MinistersJ , Friday , Jum IGth , 1841 .

      THE PEOPLE'S HOUSE . " Suppose , for a moment , that we suspend all controversy with Reformers about pr inciples and detaib , and endeavour to discover by the only remaining means , -svhe'her or not the Reform Bill has in reali ty made the Lower Heuse more the " People ' s Ho = £ e" than it was under the old borcngh system . Reformers tell u ? , that in tYery measure of theirs is to be found the spiiit of the Bill , if the dull people

      could only discover it ; while vre assert that each Parliament , from 1832 to the moment of the last monster ' s dissolurioD , was a banditti of common plunderers—a png of self-constituted placemen , pensioners , tax-eater ? , and idle paupers , having no interest in common with the people ; and , therefore , not the " People ' s House . " Indeed , England has never yet had even a Reformed Parliament : each successive House has been returned npon the spur of the moment , and upon some clap-trap .

      In 1832 , the electors returned " a trial" House ; in 1 S 34 , ibey returned a " pnt-out-the-Tories" House ; in J 837 , they returned our " beautiful-young-Queenaud-Reform" House ; and in 18-11 , they have returned a " holy-a £ ricu ! tura . l-cbuich-and-state House . " isever , since the passing of the Bill to the present moment , have we had a House returned upon any de&ned political principle . The most which was ieeud by the last , or that could have been tested

      even in the event of a Wkig majority , and that majority being sincere , was a willingness to try experiments as to the easiest means of procuring a ready penny , by raising the wind outside . But the Whig 3 having failed , what , we shonld be glad to know , is to be discovered of the principle of Reform in the constitution of the present House , or the ' ' Parliamentum indocium , " or " lack-learning Parliament , " who , we gnppose , would make education the test of electoral fitness ?

      But to the constitution of the House—for to that we appeal from all consideration of principles and details ; and what do we find ! Why the curious fact and extraordinary anomaly , that out of 658 of the people ' s representatives , 200 , or nearly one-third of the whole , is composed of Lords , Rt . Honouia-Ues . Honourables , and Sirs ; the numbers being

      Untitled Article

      65 Lords , 55 Rt . Honourables and Honourable ? , and 80 Sirs . Now , surely , the 120 Lords and Honourables , at all events , should not belong to the House of Commons , and for these reasons : firstly , they art , for the most part , represented in the Upper House by fathers or brothers , or " heads of familiet : " and , secondly , the Lower House , being bat a preparatory seminary , they cannot be ooosidered as being under the control eveu of the constituent body , which in some instances may be righteously used by the electors over their representatives . Indeed , bo far otherwise , we have had frequent instances of late of the fact , that loss of popular confidence by a pure time-serving Whig , is the best title to the peerage . We have within this week seen an augmentation of some half dozes

      Whig Peers to aid the opposition in the Lords ; and we find that most of them , ( Sir H . Pabkeix , Sir Htrsssr Vivian , and Earl Belfast , to wit , ) were out-cast Commoners ; and we are informed upon authority whioh we have every reason to credit , that in the event of Lord Woksley ' s being defeated in the County of Lincoln , his name would have swelled the augmentation list . We do not stop to enquire whether the majority of the two

      hundred Lords , Honourables , and Sirs , are Whigs or Tories ; that is upon the 6 vent of a Whig or a Tory administration , which would belong to and be quartered upon the idle pauper ' s fund ; but we unhesitatingly assert that all , one and all , will ever be found marshalled against the interest of the working classes upon whose sweat they live , when any question of labour is submitted to them for legislation .

      What can such men know of the wants of the people 1 How can they be judges of those matters about which they would not condescend to trouble their heads , further than to give a vote with their party , whether consonant or not with any little notion which they may hare formed upon the subject ! and then , if we add to tbe above list eighty gallant naval and military officers , and to them

      about three score barristers aud attorneys , of whom our great Northern Circuit alone was blessed with nine , ( now reduced to eight , by the melancholy death of Mr . Lister , M . P . for Bradford . ) Upon thin circuit we have Mr . Cbkssweix , M . P . ; Mr . Dundas , M . P . ; Mr . Watson , M . P . ; Mr . Hardy , M . P . ; Mr . Aldam , M . P . ; Mr . Gr ^ ger , M . P . ; Mr . Murphy , M . P . ; and Mr . Roebuck , M . P . Thus we find that more than one-half of the whole House is

      composed of Lords , Honourables , Sirs , Officers , and Barristers i and we a&k if labour has anything to expect from them 1 Next we turn to Ministers on both sides , the Ins and the Outs , with their immediate dependants for office or provision , aye , or even for the small loaf , many of them ; and these we find amount to no fewer than from sixty to seventy a-side ; or at &b average of sixty-five a-Bide , making a total of I 3 & . Then the account stands thus : —Lords , HonouraWes , Sim , 5 ? htingmeB , Ken who live by feud and dissension

      and family quarrels aud treason aud violation of the laws , and men who live on place er io expectation of place , 470 ; added to which ,, xre have of Country Gentlemen , Bankers , Merchant * , Fundowners , Manufacturers , Aldermen , Shipowners , Foreign Slaveowners , Ironmongers , Coroners , " Coal Huggers , " and Pans for Infant Honourables , Fools and Squires , 188—making a total of 658 ; and we ask , in the name of common sense , what the millions have to expect from a House so constituted , or from a constituent body which has allowed it to be thus constituted !

      Is it not quite clear to every man of cwnmon sense , that the wealthy portion of the electors overpower the poorer , portion , aud that the latter must , in selfdefence , join our ranks , in order to free themselves from the trammels cf the privileged of their own order \ If after tbe grand banquet there were any broken meat to be divided , it would be given to the tag-rag and bob-tail of the electoral body , in preference to the unrepresented ; but there is now no residue after supplying the craving appetite of the hungry and the powerful ; and the poor electors must henceforth be satisfied with the

      distinguished honour of being represented by proxy at the great national banquet , while they take " pot luck" with those " below the salt , " whose ranks they must now join , and with whoso sooiety and homely fare they must henceforth rest satisfied , their only consolation being that they were left for destruction to the last , and then instead of being transported or entombed , were disposed otsecundum artem , ccordiEg to the rules prescribed by their representatives , which they opposed not so long as others only suffered from them .

      In this state of things , is it begging the question to ask what the odds in favour of labour , whether the the Honourables , the Sirs , the Officers , the Barristers , the Merchants , Bankers , Traders , Manufacturers , are Whiga or Tories ? We say it matters not a straw ! The comforts of the people , Iheir rights and pm lieges , will certainly be the straw kept floating by their breath , while in pursuit of their ovm ends . Every battle is fought in the people ' s name ; and , however decided , is trained by the people ' s enemies . Let us just see .

      Suppose it possible , then , that an anti-church party was strong enough to wrench all church property from the present holders ; and suppose hat church-lands and other church property amounted to £ 10 , 000 , 000 a year ; what would be the working man ' s share ? Not the fraction of a farthing ! the spoil would be divided , and appropriation made to the officers in the good fight before the battle was won ; and as is the invariable practice , the officers would get all the gold chains , while the soldiers whose foolish agitation alone could insure triumph , would get all the wooden legs !

      Suppose , again , that every pensioner , state-pauper , and half-pay officer , from pauper Leopsld to the junior ensign of the establishment , were deprived of their state provision to-morrow ; would a fraction of a faTtbing be remitted , or a fraction less of new burdens be imposed ? No , not a fraction ! SHpposo , again , that the value of land was reduced , and thereby brought nearer the reach of working men , would they be nearer getting it \ No , not a bit .

      Suppose the Corn Laws were repealed , would they , while unrepresented , have any more control over the thing cheapened , or any means of knowing how the machinery for its new arrangement was worked , and upon which their very lives depended ? " No , no ; a thousand times No . " Suppose the whole army was disbanded , and that some new physical force steam power was found sufficient to control the mighty millions , ia such case would the taxe 3 be reduced , or if collected , would the people have any share in their distribution \ Not a fraction .

      Is it wonderful , then , that the ins should declare things as they are to be veiy well , and their determination to let well enough alone ; or is it wonderful that the outs should declare the whole system which excludes them , to be erroneous and fraught with errors which the popular voice alone can rectify ? No , by no means ; but it is wonderful that the oft-burned people do not yet dread the fire by -which they have been so often scorched , and to put their fingers into which tliey are now once more invited .

      For these , and sundry other reasons , we quite agree in the opinion that the united force of the unrepresented could neither effect the dismissal of a guilty policeman nor the discharge of an obnoxious palace menial ; that looking for administrative improvements and instalments of justice but tends to weaken our ranks , to strengthen the hands of jugglers , to disgust those who were wont to tremble before the stamp of the mighty millions , and to make them look upon the sovereign people as bo many puppets , moved at will by wily managers pulling the wires of popular feeling .

      An organic chaDge must take place ! and that organic change muut be to give the millions command , at least , over one of the three great eefcates

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      all of which are said to exiBt only for their good and to derive power from their suffrage . We most no longer have a House of hereditary tyrants , and » preparatory school for their juvenile successors We h » Te now » Queen of an oligarchy—a House of hereditary fools , and a preparatory school for tools-We want a House of Commons sent by the people to do the people's work ! and a House of Commons we must , and shall , and wiixhavb ! in spite of all the powors of Earth and Hell . Britons , rouse yourselves ! the British Lion slumbers ; awake him , and as the king of beasts proclaims his sovereignty over the forest , proclaim you your sovereignty over your own House !

      Ere we again appear before yon , the clod-pole State Church Parliament ? will have assembled ; let it bo met by single petitions , sent from each town to our tried friend , Mr . Buncombe , that we may try his mettle in the new furnace . Threeor fonr hundred can be sent in single sheets for one penny each . Let them be a protest against the constitution of the House of Commons , and requiring the instant dissolution of the body , and that the Royal writs be issued to the several returning officers to elect a people's House by Universal Suffrage . Say you have no House of Commons .

      We most meet Peel on the very threshold of the new building : it will not do to slumber . The work is but the work of a day : it is at present tho only means of keeping our cause warm inside for the winter . The hedge fire of Chartism mast be kept up . The House meets for business on the 24 th , and will then , vre presume , sit no longer than the necessary time for receiving petitions against some sitting members—fourteen days .

      See how timely and how serviceable to our cause the last silent monitor , that stood in dose column at the bar of the House , pleading in dumb eloquence for the sons of toil ! Who would now wish that undone ! and who will aow refuse to make that ground g * od by backing it , and covering it with a heavy fire of Chartist artillery ! Let your shot pour in from all quarters . Give the preparatories not a moment ' s bseathing time . Let tbem know that we have willed our freedom , and our freedom we will have . You have-plenty of time . Class-leaders fill you * sheets men and women sign yoar protest ! Mt . Buncombe ' s address is , Thomas Dsmcohbe , Esq .-No . 6 , Albany Court Yard , London .

      We kad a nine months' offspiug in 18 S 9 > a fortnight ' s- child in 1841 , still larger ; and with God ' s blessing , Chartism wilt deliver herself of a one day s ownster in the same year . To it S n good earnest . Scotland , to it I Ireland , to it f amal j thougb your numbers be- as yet , nevertheless register t&em in time . Thra surely must meet the entire approbation of the' moral force patriots , while it- will convince the-sceptical that Chartism Btill lives , and in spite of all opposition- gains strength < by opposition;—ia foot , that it , and it alone , constitutes the pressure from-without . Do this and we shall 1 have stolen a maroh upon all sections *? bitand-bit reformers , and wills have put our hoeee in order before the campaign * of 1841 has closed the tenth Reform battle of might against right .

      Every leader of your cause has signified approval of this coarse . People , n » then , and do it ' . Beat your last . Glasgow , you have but two days ; enough for the spirits ever foremost in the good work of regeneration * Mauchester , you are within ten hoars of the presenting place , Birmingham , yow > are within four . Bath , Bristol , Nottingham , Sheffield , Huddersfield , and Barnsley * though last , not least ; when were you behind in the good fight ! Dewsbury , the first of towns ; Bradford , that returned Mmusin ; and Halifax , thai but for . treachery would haw ±

      returned Guu » £ ; every man . and woman to youn pens once more ! let your saored names staudi m the muster-roll of England ' s strength . York , do . your duty , and Leeds will follow . Carlisle , Newcastle , and Sunderland , will vie for pre-eminence ; . while Dundee , Edinburgh , Aberdeen , and Perth ,, with little Alloa * Gumnock , Kilmaruock , and the Yale of Leven , will prove that their martyrs did not die in vain , and that the school-master has been abroad . Let Chartism , be heard on every , passing breeze ; and Cooper the glorious Cooper , will not allow Leicester to be extinguished .

      Again , we say , protest against the second House of Lordsy&ad demand a House of Commons .

      Untitled Article

      THE SACRED DAY . Ax a resent Whig feed , devoured at Waxxiagton , in honour of a defeated Whig candidate , Mr . " Stevenson-square" Cobden , in one of those exuberant pieces of rant by which he has made uimseli quite remarkable , said among other extravagancies that there should be a day devoted to , popular exhibitions ia favour of u Repeal of the Cosn Laws ) and that the said day should be called the " Sacred Holiday . " Now , to that we say " good , very good "; but Mr . Cobden may rest assured that the "Sacred Holiday" shall be devoted to some

      better purpose than the mere echoing of Whig clap-trap by an insulted people . We quite agree in the principle . We objected to tha last , because a month ' s starvation was too long a period ; but we agree to the one day : and , therefore , let every Chartist in the land be prepared for the sacred day ! aud let it be a day sacred to Chartism , and not to a transfer of monopoly from tyrant landlords to tyrant masters and speculators in grain ! but , above all , let every Chartist , who attends at such meetings , 00 PREPARED TO MEET BOTH Mr . COUDEN AND HIS God ! ! '

      f he treachery of this gentleman , manifested at tho recent Stevenson-iquare meeting , renders such a precaution absolutely ncceenary ; and having said so much upon the " sacred holiday" let us now direct tho attention of our readers , for one moment , to the great advantages which they are promised , even by the best of friends , from t he contemplated changec to bo produced by the great commercial reforms . And first of the promised blessings , we find" plenty of work , " as if the people who aro now fortunate enough to be allowed to exist , have not more than a belly full of that commodity every day

      in the week ! We have mill upon mill standing still , while thousands upon thousands are obliged to Btarve ; and contemporaneously we have Lord Ashley , asking that children shall only be allowed to work and cat , and walk to their food , which is not the least of their toil , during twelve hours of the day ! In the midst of all this exuberant humanity of Whig feeders and Tory relievers , vm would just ask , is there another nation upou earth where a people would be satisfied with no greater privilege and no more comfort than that which proceeds from " plenty to do V

      Are Englishmen , now deprived of the free air , with their every amusement cut off by law , their rights abridged , year after year to have their tyrants for enforcing obedience to restric : ions increased at the people ' s cxpence \ Are Englishmen , against who . se very lives and liberties all who live upon their industry have conspired , to loso eight of all advancement in the nineteenth century , in the midst of the march of

      intellect ; aad are they still £ 0 give twelvo hours . ' artificial , " loathsome , slavish toil that they may insure enough of bread 1 Arc Englishmen to be so dead to their own interests as to work the cold jennies by their incessant labour for the live long day , while the slave owners amass millions and live in luxury , and the slaves but allowed " the crumbs from the rich man s table V

      Are they to make £ 200 profit a-head per annum for their maatprs , and is their share to bo but " A PLENTY TO DO ?" Has an Englishman no rights to seek , no object to achieve , beyond the mere means of a slavish existence I I ' s he not anxious to hold pace with the intellectual improvements going on in all the nations of the earth , and to gain time from labour to place himself upon an intellectual equality with his neighbours !

      Untitled Article

      Does he not know that "knowledge is power , * a * id that little knowledge can b » acquired after a eon - tinuous day of toil ! Are not all the means that Ingenuity can detiae resorted to by the idle merchant to invigorate him * self by wholesome exercise , aad excite him by amusemeat , after six hours of a monotonous poring over his ledger ? and will the people lose sight of the fact that by their toil the merchant lives and partakes of excitement , luxury , and amusement , while his hoars of labour are devoted to tke balancing the profits upon the workman ' s toil ?

      Are the rich to have a country , and are its laws to be only palatable and obeyed when they Equate with their taste and pander to their appetite , and are the poor who furnish ail tbe means to have a country in which they are out-lawa , and from which they are asked to transport themselves as a relief from tyranny , oppression , and want ? No ; forbid it "COURAGE ; " forbid it" seiwe ; " forbid it justice , forbid it patriotism .

      The struggle that has been long raging and whi « h must terminate in the triumph of Jabour , has been a contest as to the best means of monopolising all the benefits of the great improvements of tho day , by which the labour of the people e * work has been increased ; While tbeir employment wholly depends upon the caprice of tbe speculator . 7 * get possession of these improvements , for natioaal instead of

      class interest , is now the people ' s object ; and to that object they will adhere , as they have hitherto done , in spite of all opposing powers : therefore Mr Cosden , and the lice upon the beetle , nay rest assured that the next " ' sacred day" shall * be a day saored to the poor mai / a entire comforts * j to the elevartion of himself arad his order ; to the attainment of more rights- than the generous one of havina ** plenty TO » O . "

      His hours of ease must b » increased proportionately wHh the powers of machinery to do his work . His amusements must be all , one and all , restored . If the € Jommander-in-Ch'ef considers Cricket a necessary amusement and cs ^ rcise for the soldier , it is alsoBecessary for him who supports the soldier . If the merchant requires Avausement after the monotony- and ennui of calculating his profits , the work man requires Amusement after making the profit for him . If the sons of the'wealthy distinguish themselves-by literature , aud hold pre-eminence by knowledge ; , the poor must have like advantages . In short , the people must now have a full share in every improvement of the age : ' - and the day fo > reconciling slaves to toil by a promise of " plenty to do , " is gone : and for ever !

      For freedom we contend : and freedom means more than a loaf of bread for a day ' s toil , and cold bastile as the-refuge of man after * life devoted to the sustainmvnt of idle paupers ^ in affluence and luxury . Freedom means rational enjoyment ; the liberty of doiag that which does not interfere with the rights of ' ethers ; and , above ail , the means of producing , by his own industry , a sufficiency to make him independent of man ' s caprice and foreign speculation . To that purpose the next sacred day shall be directed !

      Untitled Article

      MR . MEDHURST . "BRITONS BBFEKD YOUR QUEEN , AND REFORM THE PEERAGB . " Do not star Ir ! gentle reader , do net start !! the above is not cm motto , neither do we assume it , or attach to it more value than tho Athenians of old attached to * the drunkenness of a slave , whose intoxication was to serve as a warning , not as an example , to tho rising generation . Reader , the f&ove is the frontispiece to the last letter of Anti-Royalty " Publicola , ' * to himself , as Editor . It appeared in the last number of the Weekly Dispaieh .

      We shall firstly lay before you all that is material of this nendescript ' a conversion to Monarchy , and then offer a few observations ^ not upon the document , whieh speaks for itself , butt upon the conduct of her whom Britons are to- defend , " we presume in like manner as she defends them , and their rights , tad their Liberty . The letter ruas thus : — 11 BRITONS OEFEND YOUR QUEBrf * . A *« D REFORM THE PEERAGE . "

      " Mr . Editor , —The singular position occupied by our Queen provokes some serious reflections apon Royalty , in its nature and in its present stats , throughout Europe . Our English Queen is the ^ only European Sovereign tbab is not either tbe contempt or the abhorrence of his or her . subjects and allies , and , unquestionably , she is the only female Sovereign *™ existence who is not , thoroughly , a disgrace to he © sex . I may go further than , this , and even assert that the English throne is th » only one likely to last-through this , and one more goanration . Bat my present object is more confined to . our own country , and to comparisons between her present Majesty aud ; her predecessors or

      ancestors . From the death of Queen Elizabeth to the present houy , England has been absolutely cursed by the vorthlessness or vices of its Sovereigns , if we except tho present Queen , and tbe short precarious reign of tbe very weak man that lately occupied the throne , and who , ia all probability , would , e'or this , have produced a revolution , had he not so fortunately sMed . "Under the a ' 'jeet influence of his wife , the present Queen Dowuga * , he -was about to reverse the few good actiors of bis short Royal life , with tho-inevitable effect of destroying hia small popularity , aad of keeping a vivid impression on the public mind of the absolute necessity of getting rid of regal

      governnwnt altogether , and oft adapting our institutions to the iatolligence aad canditioasof society . The public , boweuer , are not likely to lose sight of this object , now that the Tories ate comiug into power ; for their ex ( Missive bad government and enormous tyranny and corruptions will bring t ' au people to a conclusion that so abominable is the nature o £ Rcgalism , that when gsod fortune doe . ? bestow on us a sovereign of merit , a faction can set her power aside and reduce the nation to , the rfitemma of always having a bigot and a tyrant , like George III ., on the throae , or of having the 8 oyal power usurped by the aristocracy , when tbe sct ^ tre is hold by virtue and talent This a fact amply proved

      by experience . No tysoat that ever cursed mankind was over more vicious or absolute than George the Third and his successor , and consequently they were both supported through thick and thin by the Peerage ; but now , our Queea is as completely set aside in England as Christina is set aside in Spain , witk this immense difference , that the Spaniards got rid of their Sovereign on the ground of her being a confluent mass of all vices and impurities , whilst Sir Robert Peel and his faction dispose t * f our Queen and trample her in the dust on no ground whatever , but that of her possessing talents aad having a fine spirit , which induces her to use those talents to the public advantage .

      Will "Publioola" have the kindness to road that oaco again , and then take ap his letter to George IV . and read it ? But perhaps , the letter to Gkorse was but upon general royally , while the present is upou royalty particular 1 We have omitted nothing material from the royal ebulition of the old Republican , for whom " Charlism does not go far enough , « s it does not destroy royalty ; " the rest of the letter is mere filling stuif in solid type , and is nothing more than a clumsy piece of criticism upon tho foolish mode of electing Scotch Representative Peers , but which , bad as it is , is nevertheless preferable to the royal sample which the last " pitch-forking" of some half-dozeu affords .

      Let us just f 6 r one moment glance at the principle involved in the reocnt elevation of three of those Noblo Lords . The Queen appeals to her people , and those of Dundee , Belfast and East Cornwall , of course among the rest . Very well ; her people of those places auswer cither negatively or positively ; that is , as at Belfast , by rejecting the Royal nominee to the preparatory school ; or at Dundee , by putting success beyond the hope of the Royal nominee . Ia this case , what is the position of her whom we are to " defend" ! Why , just this : She says , " What ! you won ' t have my three nominees in the lower House , won't you \ then you shall have them in the hospital !"

      But surely , if any defence is to be made for the Sovereign , it should be made by an attack upon that House to which there is an , immense majority returned against her appeal and her free trade pxiociples ; and not upon tha House , which she uuy at command mould iq h . er supremo roy ^ TfUJ and pleasure .

      Untitled Article

      So much for Royalty in general , and for our "talented young Queen" in particular ; and just one word as to the interest which Britons have in , defendingthe"Q , ueen of mercy ; " for in that capacity g ^ ine can we eve r co n desce nd to consider the hsad of 6 , it English oligarchy . We . U , then , we have placed the name of &f KDHTOai « t the . head of our article ; and , without feeling acy dispomtfo n ' to add to the " Ksavora excitement" of that younfc' gentleman , Jet us just plainly Btate h ' t oas « f and hi ' title to that Royal sympathy . . ' which 1 % has recently : received . Master Mebhurst murdend

      hia BcfcoolfeIU > w with » kind of butcher ' s knife , which , a » was > roved » PW » bis trial , he had vowe * he would nse if a * * ny time * quarrel arose betwee * him and K » sebpoh ' ellow . A quarrel did occur , and Medhurw waa as , « ood as his word ; he killed his companion . Bu * as good fortune wonld have it , sad » ftrto . "» e ever favours the brave , Master Mevbvt&t belonged to that class in life who are in general sWe to procure the mild spirit of the law ; and with tie « k sistance of her Majesty ' s first law officer # f the Ciwra , the Attorney-General , as counsel , ( who * eouM ho * bt' retained by a misde

      meanant Chartistt a * aay pri ce , ) Medhuhst was , npon payment of perhaps seme . five hundred guineas special bribe , ( fee v » meaB , ) enat led to get a verdict of manslaughter ! and' waa thera " ore sentenced , ire believe , to three ye «? s imprison * lent , instead of transportation for life- ;¦ anothsr go . id effect of employing plain John ( Curing h » eon \ Inement . This ill-used young gentleman 1 was scarcely' under tbe re striotion of prison rules- ? he had a » rite of apart . ment » , and was allowed the use of a . turning-lathe for his amusement . However ,- time hong' heavy , and " ennm overtook the youa&reolus *; whe reupon one

      Mr . Dtor , a kind of police-magistrate , having found out the game , undertook to > -procure Mi ' - oauBsfg liberation upon payment of , £ 3 i 00 < H ** say £ 3 , 000 " to some charity ; and although 1 far be it fro , va us to insinuate such a thing , yet that spirited lit tie dog who write * for the Satirist , and who does not -appear to have the fear of the Attobsot Gkbuul before his eyes .- aeaures us that Mr . DfEiife charicy was intended to begin at home . Howbeit , the ihing came to tbe Lord CHANCELLoaVeare , having been badly doue ; a » d Dyes , was removed ftom > tbe Commission of the' F « ace . But then the thing did not end

      there ; otherr parties , over whom ht » Lordship had no control , w « re implicated by Dteb ^ and those parties were the Marcus of Noshanbv and hia Marchioness . We only giro facts , and the world : knows that ¦ Ph i pps ia a poor devil , who would go-as far for £ 3 , 000 as any other Noble Lord . To < proceed however : Medhubst was in the secret ; and-although the dismissal of Dra& , and the non-interference on his behalf by the NoWe Home Secretary * , may have put Dyer out- of court , and" hav& rendered his evidence suspicious , yet the attorney- of Me ?»

      HOR 8 T , " who doubtless was also iu > tha secret , turned the whole thing to the account of his client , We donft by any means sayj or even hint , that Mr . Q&H 1 hinted anything to tlto Noble Secretary about blabbing ; but certain it is ; that the liberation of Master Medhuhst immediately succeeded the exposed and upon what grounds does tho reader euppose-1 Why , upon the certificatemind the certificate—of a Doctor , who'declared thai the ezcitemeat produced by the disgusting controversy between Dyek and the press-had so worked upon the " sensibility" of Mr . M&kiubst ,

      and had so attested his " nervous system , that hia health might suffer serious damage by > longer confinement ; and upon that the release was- sent and Master Medbbrst was Bet at liberty : !* while HotiBBSBY-, Peddib , Ashton , Caheieb , and others , have suffered TORiuas , compared to Mr . MfeouvRST , and not for a transportable offence : and . yet has the certificate of their sufferings , getting forth the effect likely to be produced upon their healtk , and signed by two millions of petitioners for their release , failed to produce any effect upon the sympathy of that talented Lady whom Bsram are now called upon to-defend !' .

      O ' . but there waano certificate from a regular practitioner in their * oa 3 e . True ; neither was there in Clayton ' s case , or in Hoey ' s case , and why Because they were poor working men . But let us go to- the professional question . Ia O'Connor ' s case these were not only a certificate , but , sworn affidavits ! very unusual thinge . One was made by Anthony Todd Thompson , MiD ., the very head of the medical profession ; and the other by Mi \ Jagoe , who-had attended Mr . O'Cohnoh for more than five years ; and they merely set forth tbe propriety of incarcerating Mr . O'Connob in tte Queen ' s Bench ,, iaatead of a felon ' s dungeon ; yet were the affidavits of those gentlemen * laughed at by , the Noble Home Secretary and his understrappers !

      Again : on Sunday , the 17 th of May ,. 1810 , Mr . Co 9 peb , the Noble Lord ' s own surgeon to the Queen ' s Bench Prison , attended Mr . O'GasNoa , and at five o ' clock ea that evening sent a- certificate to the Noblo Lord , declaring that Mr-. O'Connob , was not iii a fit state to be removed , and that his life might be * tho fosfeit ; but in fourteen * hours from that very time- was O'Connor conveyed a distance of 200 miles ; . dragged , like a dog , froa * a sick bed

      on Monday morning , after a serious iltuess of three weeks , and thrown into a cold damp felon ' s cell , upon an iron bedstead , without sheets or pillow , at ten o ' clock on the following night j and the consequence is * that , a 3 our publisher informs us , Mr . O'Connor , is not now able to stand from the veij effects anticipated by his medical advisers—a state of health produced by the very caases which Dr . Thompson pointed out in his aflsdavifc , namely , the " cold and inhospitable treatment of a common prison . " So much for political offenders and aristocratic felons . Aud now let us , for a-moment , direct atten * tion to the difference between Royal sympathy foe low felons and Chartists of all grades . It will be found in the following scrap , whteh we extract from the Times of last week , and which runs thus : ¦*• " Liberation of Convicts ' at Woolwich . — Twelve convicts will obtain their liberty this week from the Warwick , convict-ship , stationed opposite tha dock-yard , Woolwich . Tiiis extension of her Majesty * Royal prerogative is in cornrnenioration of tke visit of the Queen to witness the launch of the Trafalgar . Mr .

      Armstrong , who has the charge of the conTiptsjin this vessel , very judiciously liberates the mea , by . two or threa at a time , and ascertains that they hare left Woolwich , that they might not meet TCLbfl each other and spend the money given to them to casry them home . It is not generally known that the convicts who behave well are entitled to Is . 6 d . per week in monej , 9 d . of which ia paid to theui weekly , to be applied in the purchase ef fine wheaten bread , or any othe * unobjectionable way they may approve of , and tha other 9 d . per week is set apart as a reserve , fund , for their ase when they obtain tbeir discharge ^ One oat of the three discharged to-day had been thxee years oa board tbe Warrior , and consequently wa&paid £ & ¦ 10 s . 6 d . "

      It would be an insult to the understanding of a half fool to offer a word ef comment on the abore proof of Royal impudeace , insolence , ignorance , cruelty , barbarity , and treason , which mocka ptia ciple by thus encouraging vioe ; and we believe , th * whole- thiDg is meast as a Royal invitation to tho starving millions to work ia the dock y ^ rda , ra'het than starve . Who will aoi repeat Biutjons de * FEND YOUK Q . UEEN . ?"

      The O'Connor Libekat1on Medal. On The 13th Of November, Thft Flirt Saturday After

      THE O'CONNOR LIBEKAT 1 ON MEDAL . On the 13 th of November , thft flirt Saturday after

      O'Connor's liberaU On , each subscriber to tne Northern Star ttrjB 1 Saturday the 4 th of September , will receive 9 splendid iaedal , upon one sidaof which will be a correct representation of Yori Castle , witii the date of O'Connor's admission and Ub 8 " ' . cion ; and upon the other side , a likeness of F * O .-C . " with the six points of the Cnarter . W » . medal will be much larger than either the Northern Union or the Birmingham Union medals ; and a * the parcels for distant agents will be heavy , we Lave to request all friends , from those part * , w&o shall visit Leeds , between the middle of October and first of November , to oall at ouroffce «* them .

      Fhe Northern Stxir. Saturday, August 21, 1841.

      fHE NORTHERN STxiR . SATURDAY , AUGUST 21 , 1841 .

      Untitled Article

      e THE NORTHERN STAR . . . ; " " "' , . '" - ' \ }'¦'; . - ¦' . '¦' . . \

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Aug. 21, 1841, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct563/page/4/