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Northern Star (1837-1852), 17th September 1842, Edition 3 of 5, Page 6, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      TO MR . O'BRIEN . "Verily , Sir , you have most ingeniously attempted to light many small fires around your " Uld Chartist * pile , in order that you may escape in the smoke ; . but you wiil please to remember that it was I , not you , ¦ whom yon and the " Old Chartist" would tie- to the stake , while you , the offender , would ^ now turn upon your intended victim , and cry out * Murder , murder i save me , save me ! " That I haTe not been prompted by an over-anxious desire to recriminate , even you must admit : at least , the country will . In my o'K'n justification I did not display that irrascibiLiy vraich yon , as my accuser , have manifested . I merely confined mystif to facis , while my total disregard of ycur insolent leader of the following week " and my determination not to notice it , evinces no great desire to continue a dispute in which you were the offender and I the offended . However , in the last number of the Statesman you not only invite but dare me to tha contest . ^

      Jiow , Sir , bear in mind , that I sought yon not . You grap :-ied with my honour ; if , in the conflict , your own should suffer damage , blame your rashness , no my t mt : rny . The prospectus of your anticipated labours in the Charutt cause I pass over ; they cover the two first paragraphs . I sincerely wish you had om : -. ed the third , and allowed poor Cooper , in h s dungeon , the benefit of whatever little jury-class sympathy the Morning Chronicle has left him . But eo ; Sir , he appears to ba your personal enemy , and ven 5- "incehas triumphed over justice . Hiving thus britfly noticed these threo paragraphs , I shall now select your sixth , which runs thu 3 , as my tax : : —

      " Ard now that I have confessed the dsbt , and thereby verified Mr . Hill ' s statement in the Star , will tbat retrrcr . d personage , or his great master , act an bonoorabl- part for once in their lives , by acknowledging en thtir part that , though I v re O'Connor the debt , I owe Mb : no gratitude for it ; but , on the contrary , hatred and conKinpu Will they state to the public all the t ircunst-iucei ¦ which preceded end followed the incurring of the obligation ! Not a bit of it ! It is not in the ' r nature to do justice to ar . y man , unless th 6-doing so should happen to suit their own private views . They -will make a great , noise abvut th 9 pound a-week , but ; hey will nst inform the Chartist public' lai . Tt&t the pou ^ d a week from O'Connor pre-Tet- ^ ri , and was intended to prevent , 1217 family from getting twic-e that asoczt , or more , from the pnblic .

      2 . TIu ; it was purposely remitted in such a way as to xroduce that effect , the party selected for paying it being a per . « on whom O'Connor well knew to be no frien-. l cf miae—a person with whom I was not even on Bpeuking terms for long bgfore . A real benefactor *• wLl do good by stealth , and blush to find itiaine ;" but 53 far -XL 3 this from being the style of 0 Caunor ' s beEtvojri : £ , that almost eveiy boJiy acquainted vrith tha pr . rt- > 8 kaev 7 of the pound a wee .-i btfirs i = carao to my knv !? i-. u ? e . As \ r-. y letters were subject to examination by ! £ . •> Governor and Chaplain of the Gal before ths 7 wstd bj » nd- - -d to me , my wife was naturally very slow ara titMcate in eormnunicatirig thi circumstance I was Vinios : ths las : person to hear of it ; bo much so , indeed , that some of my kaow-prisoners actually knew of O'Cjseoi ' s bounty before I knew of it , myself ,

      34 . There was no ccasion whatever for O Connor ' s b * nuty on lh _ occcaslon . Ee could have got twice cr thrco times the amount raised for nie , without putting his band into his own pocket A s : ngl 3 paragraph in the Star , -with iu name attached to it , and stating h ^ s ? my family wsre atost ^ d , vrould have done she bus : nes ? , or , without a paragraph at ail , he had but to call a few frteaia together to form a committee for the purpose , luarsd . . at the time he made tie arrangement -with Mr * . O'Bricn , there was a comuiiV . ee being formed in London , the principal mtmb = rs of which kindly undertook to raise a pound a week . But as soon as they teamed what O'Connor had done , they ceased to act , aa > iid also many oth = J active friends in tbe coantry . In short , it soon

      became a g ? ueraDy understood thing , both 11 town anJ country , tt . it " O'Brien needed no subscription , as his friend 0 Connor had lib'raUj / provided for him ; ' snH it was acumtiion phrase at the tim « , when speaking of toe Tie'ims— ' -Dun't mind 0 Brien , O'Conrsor lets him leant for nothing He sexds him money regularly through his agents . I know otx through ichom he tends him a pound a -week re-juiarty ' tc , & £ . Tiiere are scores of persons in town and country to bear witness to the trnth of this statement . In fee ; , had O'Connor left me . to ruy own friends , so far from neeeding his assistant my family would have farsd inach better than they did , and 1 should have escaped some sixteen moctho of snsh msn * al torture and nuiiry , as I would not again endure for all the money is England . "

      Auxions as I WA 3 to steer cleaj of all private matters , ana grieved and annoyed a 3 I was to seo any reference mzdd to them in lad Star , yoar cballei ^ e in the above psrairriph . com u-is - . v . e to " .-t : ? e all the circumstances ' which PRECEDED AM ) FOLLOWED the incurring of the obiigalioa . " You chorda me with rendering jou a servioo for tha purpose of subsequently turning is to your disadvantage . That charge I rnas : mec : by pleading preceding circumsiatic ^ a cf a like c ' r . aracti r . to which

      Euch a iroiive could cot be assigned . Hid I served you but in Otis iu 5 tanc-i ? , aiid that had been U 3 sd even cssually to your disadvantage , Cyourstlf making it cunningly the pre ' -txt ) 1 good chain of weii-fabricaied circumstantiai syents might have made a ca ? e profitable and plausible out of it . If 1 can show , however , th& : frora my fir .-t acqaaintincs with you down to the close cf iha Birminghsia CoDferene ? , I had been laying the SAME SNARES FOR YOU , what mast the world think of the construction you would put u :, on my kindness !

      Inl » 37 I established the " Northern Star , " and very shortly after its appearance I eiigxged yon as a contributor , by which you earnsd from two guineas to ihree guinea ? per week ; or rather you got it , for very slovenly and bas-ily-wriUen letters of very liule interest ; however , you sot it . You were poor , as many » good man :.- >; aisd your p 3 y was nearly always in advance . Yourlett .-rs were low-spirited and pouitlss . Every one saw the fa r ii ;^ off in your " homilies . " At the same time you wore engaged to write a lifr of Hc-bespiere , for Mr . Watson ; with this I hare no more to do than mer : l > 10 use it as- introdnstory to an act of kir . acc . -s , tvalch was of course '" intead .- > d to damn ycu . : ) ilr . W . ttcn ^ vrttt to my to say ; hat

      the state of your iLiind had ccmpletely sub'dueu your energy ; and that if I would lend * you £ 40 , no doubt it weald restore you to hope . 1 immeaia : e ! y went to London : ard though I did not lend you £ 40 . I tell yon whit i did < lo . I took you to a frk-ua ' s house acd borrowed £ 30 , ( rrhich 1 would not haf e done for ffi 3 ~ - . L \) aad / mide you a prrsent of U ; ahaough at the iims you was in arrea . ? £ 16 ; thus pre Bent . ngyou ^ ith £ 30 as a gift , and leaving £ 16 to be worked out . I thought you would have gone mud with gratitude : ; And how did you repay th ; s act of kindness ? Why , " immediately ccasiug ail cor-Tespojdence w : h in .- Star , without any o-hc ? notu-e than the noa-arrivil 01 your w-: eVJy letter ! ! and

      by accep t ing tae eciicrsbitf of the Oprratxve without Edi ? or and e 3 pf . cially npon t ^ Editor . and at the any wora of notice . 1 m thus go £ 46 01 my money ; aBie ti ' me you £ rote ( 0 ^ c a vevv ^ DQl g ™ ^ 183 " tDe a lm me that Mr - HiU had now mad € lh € lY «>»« " !' . ' by the deputation , con ^ -n - of Dr . Taylor and otaers , ev J * fy you that I had p « intMitionr . f tff ° Jii , ou S ? n £ ?? e ^ k 4 p ^^ OuSS" 5 T . S Y ° ^ earcd t 0 kim ^ ^ ' ^* "& ? he Tn i-sfeM " I r -u d to » lfe n kr hm n ^ f « pl » aanon ; and now for the turn which the fruits of ^ - ' ^ rfrnnJjr ^^ th Sn „ - > ii If' *»* ^ isdou gave < o the whole quo . tiou of " corres-S ^ f ^ w ? dtin v « n ^ Doubtless pondence » had jou &vcn written * s a correspondent , ¦ S ^ t fnM v ffioq ? J ? S V ° v ? " w .,, u , , ^ - c : i you never did ; not one tingle line . ^ cxi m May 1 ^ , 9 , > ae » RcT . -Mr . Hill began to air- Hjb- ; occasion to go ro Chester to find r ^ e labour , of E : Korship and t \ e du-: es waicn see & 0 Reverend Mr . Ste-i-heu ^ on b ^ uuss , had put k 3 ^ cs retired at ms hands more taan his health into hi 3 ^^^^ thii kvou » ; Why , a letter from cou . a wen war , especially as at that ; me the James BvouteTf 6 O'Bii-n / espr&shk an anxiety To journey to riuil by coach was tedious , tiresome . be once nore at liLgrtrifl ^ tfjp urpos e of de * r < $ ng ^ i ^^ ! L , ^ . ^ l /^^ l" . ^ t ^ the popularity of Drf M Dolall . Air . H . Ln of nis Hoeandwith grautude ion

      ; , mere a , e n . nour kT ^ ST „ Wk f lua ai ^ apprc ^ u ^ ^ " p ^ t ^ L ^ r vn C ^ } c ^ K : % ™ S- \ ¦ ™^ the movement , " and he then communicated ti . u ? K 3 ^ l ^^^^ J ^^^™^^; KH ^ JP ' ^^ ks ^ sj k ;^ ^^ f ^ m &Stm » "i-= Saa ^ K « a , s th- f n" ; r ' ^ he ' h'd . maintain-d m the & •„ < ^ lo d o . your jmpnsyumr-nt you wero cu » cocting ? V ^ wJn 1 d h . V 4 . Tei mc ^« -3 ^ vJ'Zg ] T ^^ Z ^ oi T ^ Z ^ ™ V ^ % >™* f ** wi : L Mr . Hia , 1 mendoned tLe . whcla circum * ' wJS ^ S todVweS ^^ nUd ^» TrSd B ^ aca to you , tad told you that . coxriSGESTLT upon . ih { i Ci > U ! it „ / oreiinx JSS mJn who Lired to Mr . Hill being mmpeu-zd to leave tne ^ r yen . ruin chartism for a ' more profiffir twdT ^ You go uid hare tfce efftr ; upon wtch you « pn , d inat j knew lnat you had witten prWa'elj to the EdS a ^ sajS ^ i ia ^^ -i ^!^?^^

      This was no proof o ; ^ desira to injure you ; and I Aj opinion * coinc . de exwtly with your own in merely menriun it h . ra for the purpose of exDO = ing ' ^ pf ^ ^ Prosessijns , dinners , < tc . in honour of a deep conspiracy of vrhieh Mr . Hill was to have ° ^ n f »»» M'Douall ; and as to the movement , I conbeen the victim , s . ud whiohwas natched by jour fr 1 u to » e rurtuaily extinct for all useful purposes , friends at Hud < ie ? =. £ cld for his destrustion , and on li ^ no conadence whatever in the present race of Which this is iho iitti intimation he has had from me , ^ „ " ! ' ? ^ u ^ two " ^ Pti 0118 C doubt Warden and of which your chargeswMle in Ltncaster Castle , Ca ~ ° - - . ** ^ le neither the knowledge nor the were to form , and did lorm , the groundwork . - , ^^ I ^ toSJ ^ ° l ' nor the C £ > ura « e requisite Well , Sir , in Bpits even of all the cropping up of the . * , f ^ IS 8 I 0 N - T he majori ty of them are actu-Star you very quickly despatched ihe Operative , and ated s . oWy ^ P e «« nal moUTts , either the immediate iu January , 1840 . you started the Southern Siar . 0 De ff P ^ ' ° r the more remote but not less unworthy Its appearance w . is announced for many successive 0 De ** amtaki 0 D - Not » few of them are also , I fear , weeks , and puffftd off by the "blackguard Parson . ' ^^^^ " * S .- ** " *! Saitohs . I could Botlo ! you had uo fnend to pve the necessary f 7 ™ . <« ^ ^^ I ^ ooss to commit to print , security to the S ; amp Office , and were compelled to bnt Bcffi : ient « ar . tt »< tayi « the erll thereof

      apply to the " eoicard , " the M / r « tor , " " the friend who but serves to damn ! " You applied to Be . I tendered myself and was refused . That refusal would have satisfied you as far as I was conoernedj but it did not Batisfy me . I wished to hup tou ; asd in good trnth the way to trap you is to give you a newspaper . However , I was not satisfied ; and I msde my solicitors threaten the Commissioners with an action if they persisted in refusing me ; and after a hard battle I compelled them tit accept me . ixow , ? : r , how ths Northern Star puffed off , and copied from the Southern Siar t all must recollect ; while few will have forgotten the hot water in which that paper embroiled all connected with it , and its gnhsf qnent death . But of course that- was no fault of roars ! Oh no ; every misfortune that befala you

      Untitled Article

      is a eenspiracy ! no indiscretion of your own has ever had any share in the departure of the many papers of which you have been " in at the death !" My next act " of kindnrss done with a view to entrap you , was that " UNSOLICITED ONE , " which so unnerved you , and added to the horror of your confinement , well knowing that it would be used tor your destruction ! That act of which you knew nothing till long after it was performed . But let us have your own words : — " Let me at once and foi ever confess the report la true' that O'Connor did , unsolicited by me , advance a pound a week to my family during sixteen or seventeen months of my imprisonment in Lancaster Castle ; and a bitter day it was for me—the day the arrangement was nude ! I was not a consenting party to it : I knew nothing abeut it when it was made . I was locked up at the t ime , and the moment I heard cf it I

      felt as if I were paralizad . I knew full well the use that would be made of it I foresaw all that has since happened ; and I apprised Beveral friend b of the same . There are at least a score of persons now in the country who can bear witness that I communicated the circumstance to them as the greatest calamity in my life . I saw at once that his object was to make a slavo of me , and that , having previously failed , with all his cunning , to destroy my credit with the radical public , he wonld cow , edjner or later , succeed in overwhelming me with the wntrast between his own ' generosity' and my 'ingratitude' In uhort , I told my friends that it was a scheme of O'Connor ' s to put a gag in my mouth ; for , that the moment I refused to be a party to Lis ulterior projects , that moment he would get me denounced as an ungrateful wretch , ' &c , having previously taken go d care to get his generosity whispered about all over the country . "

      "Rovr , Sir , read that ! and confess yourself the verits ; hypocrite and greatest liar that ever stood before tho country ! The first announcement that I had of your condition in Lancaster WAS FROM . YOURSELF , in a letter which made me shed tears ; and in THAT LETTER you assured ma that your sufferings would be much ailuviated if I would see Mas . O'Brien and make such arrangements aswould render her comfortable !!! You said that you had some friends in London who would probably form a committee for the purpose ; and " 0 lnw you would repay me . " I did noc kuow where Mrs . O'Brien lived * till I got your letter . I received it at Hammersmith at four o'clock , and I was at the far end of the Borough at her house bsfere sis . Sho was

      not at home when I called ; and as her apartments w ^ re locrted , I walked up and dotvn the street till she returned . I handed her your letter , and learning from her that she had little id expect from Committee ? , I left her an order for £ 2 upon Mr . Cleave , and to'd her that I vryuld allow her £ 2 por week during your incarceration . I called upon Mr . Cleave upon my return , mentioned the arrangement to htm , and requested that he would not allow it to escape his lips to mortal man . I read your letter to Cleave to show what a weight it would take off your miud , and wa parted . In a f- ; w days I understood

      that a committee was abous being arranged to supply £ 1 a week , and I wrote to Cleave to that effect ; iind id a day or two afterwards I received a note from Mr 3 . O'Brien , in which she requested me io make arrangements f * r her to receive her money weekly at Lancaster , and in which were these words : — " You are a kind good creature not to have fbrgoiten me in the midst of your own trouble . " Shortly after I was consigned to tho Queen's Bench , when Neesom , with some others , called upon mo for the purpose of arranging a subscription fund for your family , and asked Hiy aid . I had no course left but to state what I had alreadv done .

      Now , Sir , that" blood money' you received during your whole period of incarceration , and neither my clerk , publisher , nor editor knew anything whatever of the matter till Mr . Cleave sent iu the charge at the end of a quarter or half year ; and when I was questioned as to its correctness , I requested that no mention should bo mada of it lest it should make tho country indifferent as to your circumstances . Besides , Sir , at that time I was paying to more worthy individuals thau yourself £ 6 per week ;

      while I was borrowing money mys .-lf every week from Mr . A . Heywood to keep ihe Star on its legs ; every soul to whom it owed a penny pounciDg upon m-:- at once , in consequence of the determination of Government to put it down by persecution ; and I defy you to produce one man in England who ever heard the factfrom me that you had that "blood-money " other than those I have named , until you showed ycur ingratitude ; and not even then except in reply t <» the question , "Is it possible that you supported O'Brien ' s family while he was in Lancaster !''

      You complain also of the mode of receiving the pouud a week . Mr . Cleave was the only agent I had in London through whom it could bo paid !!! You say I knew you were not on speaking ; erm = with him , and that he was no friend of yours . I did net kuow that you were not on speaking tf rm 3 ; but I soon feur . d cut that you had not one friend in London , although I bad no reason to suppose that Mr . Cleave was your enemy . But . after all , my gr ;; . t crime appears ! o consist in othT peopl ? n-. 't keeping the thine secret ; so that yonr feelings were nut hurt by my act of kiodnes 3 , but by the 1 'cowledge that others had of it : while the fa"t L ? , I don ' t thiuk a dozen man in En ^ laud knew anything of the matter , while all would have rejoiced at it , had you proved deserving . Now , Sir , what have you to = ay to my u unsolicited act cf kindness" ! What was the next '

      vYnen tne Convention of 1841 v ? as sitting , I read among other cf their proceeding ? , that you were in a dangerous state of health ; and what did I do ? I instantly Sit down aud wrote to Airs . O'B . desiring her to procure what advice she pleased , to furnish you with anjtuing tha f you wouH possibly want or desire , and to scud ihe bill to me—of couese to ruin tou !! What was the next ? You knew that my expences were tremendous and my calls many , and you wrote tc me to York asking me if 1 would cjntinoe my allowance of £ 1 a week , and that you would write fcr the Star . What was my ar . 3 wer ! Write as much as you please , but without rtf-renca to the £ 1 ; yuu shall have a guinea a column for all you Fend ; that is . I observed , it you send one column , you shall have £ 2 . Is . and if two columns £ 3 2 =. always adding tha £ 1 io your allowance . And yot you were stung to the soul by ; iiia blow aimed for your destruction !!

      You hive a bad memory . You ought to have a good OLe . You have alcojether mi .-quoted my letter written to you from York CaBtle , aad published in the Northern S . ' ar . The letter appeared in the Star , has been before the public , and your sen Jtiveness upon ii has be-n universally ccnci eninei , as there was uot one sir . ^ lc syllable in it calculated ro injure y-u , to hurt yonr feelings , or to lessen you in public estimation . But why was your answer to it not published ? Because it was the most ra . > Cu . Ily , vicious , brutal , beastly , and insidious attack , tha ever was made up ^ n the Star and the

      Now , sir , e ? en these two circumstances were not the cause of your productions not appearing in the Star . There were others ; firstly , you did hct seud ant , as you said that Captain Williams had prevented your writing !! You wrote to the . Reverend Wq . Hill , it is tiuej but euch letters as would have fully justified him in kicking yeu out of his office the moment you made your appearance there . They were low , base , scurrilous , false and ungentlemanlike ; and while he was receiving those I was receiving communications from differeit places assuring me that nothing would so much please the readers of the Star as the substitution of Mr . O'Brien for Mr . Hill , npon his , ( Mr . O'Brien ' s , ) release from prison ! My next malicious act of kindness was after the Sturge Conference broke up . Then I promised you as much type as would start you in your new under-

      Untitled Article

      taking . Upon that occasion I pud you £ 42 , as treasurer to a portion of your presa fund , and you were of oourse so anxious to canoel all " obligations , " that you repaid it me as p art payment of the advanced " blood- money" 1 At least , from your great desire to repay it , one would suppose so . But not so ! nor did I ask it ; nor would I have accepted it , had you been just enough to have made tho offer . Before I leave Birmingham , I shall dispose ef the Conference . And firstly , as to what took you there . When you were at Stroud , upon a mission to damn O'Connor and the Star , through Vincent and the Vindicator , you , with a few others , left the fustian jackets , and repaired to a private room , when a gentleman said to you , " O'Brien , if you were elected to the ' Sturge Conferenoe' would you go ! " " Yes , " was yonr reply . " I am delighted to hear it , " said the gentleman , " it would give you great moral influence ; and one man and one paper have had

      ALL THEIE OWN WAY LONG ENOUGH . " Now , Sir , I never hint at things . I give my authority . The sub-Secretary to the Chartist Association at Cheltenham , is my informant : and it was told a 3 a sarcasm upon praise which I was bestowing upon you . You went to the conference : and you have denied what I published with regard to your conduct while there . Now there are three living witnesses to the material facts , sll of which you deny : Mr . James Leach , with reference to your conduct upon all occasions when you joined the people ' s delegates , and Mr . and Mrs . Porter respecting the most material points ; my invitation to you and your accep'ance of it to write your own version of your proceedings in the Conference to the Star , in preference to your proposition that I should do it ; and also your promise to meet me on the following Monday , at the head of the Birmingham procession , to join those from Bilston and Wolverhamptou ; and in fact as respects the entire transaction .

      Let any of your friends read my letter in the Star of April last , over to Mr . and Mrs- Porter and to Leach ; and if any one of them wiil say that there is an inaccuracy , the public may consider the whole as being false and malicious . And with respect to the charge that you now make against the Editor of the Siar and myself of having changed our opinions as to thefirst Birmingham Conference : you ate wholly in error , inasmuch as wo still hold to the opinions we at first expressed , and merely approve another Coiferenc : Hpon the understanding that it shall be a national representation , instead of a packed junto . As to my praise of Sturge ; I always said that he was much too good for his followers . But , as to any junction with that party upon any other terms than those contained in the resolution whioh I published , and which I would have moved had the Conference

      met , it is idle for them to hope for it . Aa to the resolution which I supported at Birmingham , I will give you a stronger case . It was I who recommended it . But . what doe 3 it do \ It thanks the Conference as a distinct aud separate body from the Chartist 3 , for going so far before their order ; and wherever you think proper to move the same , I will support it . The Conferenoe ended , tho Convention shortly afterwards assembled in London . We sat for three whole weeks , and never did so much kindly good feeling and union prevail among the people ' s representatives ; when , Io ! upon tho last week you made your appearanco , and harmony , as if by magic , was turned into discord . Notiiiug but fighting and squabbling , rowing , accusations and recriminations . There , too , I was ready to smo : her the past , and to go unitedly for the future . But , no ; that would not suit your book ; you thought that in a storm alone you could live . Woll , we passed tho two following resolutions : —

      " That this Convention deem it absolutely essential to the success of the Chartist movement , and to the safety cf all who take a prominent part in it , that no public men connected with our cause should be denounced in any assembly of the people , or in nny newspaper supposed to be in the interests of tho peopJe , until after the party against whom the denunciations may be levelled , has been fully heard in his own defence in the presence of the assembly , or through the columns of the newspaper which would denounce him ; and furthermore tins Convention records its solemn determination , collectively and individually , to treat a'i denunciations as calumnies aud misrepresentations against the parties ¦ who may be the objects of them , unluss the denunciators shall have pievioaa . y invited or brought the denounced parties in preseuco of the public , so that a fair bearing of both sides may take place—the public as jurymen—before any public censure is awarded . "

      " That we respectfully invite our brother Cbartists throughout the empire to close their ears against all private slander levelled against the character of tha people ' s friends and advocates , and at once to silence all such attempts to recotnise in such a pernicious system the destruction of union so necessary , and the frittering away of character so essentially necessary to the success of our common cause . Wo also recommend that the system of private letter writing for the purpose of creating an ill-feeiinR , which is generally followed by the formation of sectional parties , who invariably direct their attention to the support of individuals instead of the furtherance of the c : use , be discountenanced . "

      The first you moved , and I seconded it ; the last I moved and you seconded it . I promised that your "blackguard letter" to Mr . Hill should be returned ; and it was returned . I pledged myself that any communication you sent to the S'Mr , in explanation of yonr conduct , or in contradiction of my letter should be inserted ; or any other communication that was not personal . Did you take advantage of this opportunity which now and at all times you have expressed such a desire to have afforded to you ! Did ycu ever try the experiment in order to strengthen your catalogue of grk-vancpfl if refused 1 ! No such thing !! You never wrote a word to the Star , beeame you had nothing to complain of . Now , surely to a man really deserving union , her * was a wiping out of the " bye gones , "

      aud a fair prospect for a belter understanding in future . Did you embrace it ? No , you vile man ! The ink in which the ftb- < ve resolutions were written was scarce npon the paper before you had dispatched your secret missives all over the country , breathing fresh denunciations of O'Connor . One of those you wrote to jour fiiend , Gray , of Manchester . He read a portion of it to a number of Chartists ; when they , very anx'ous to hear all , took tho letter from him by force , and read your foul , unjust , ungenerous and false dt-nuueiatons . You had the columns of the Star at your service ; you accepted my offer of type to bring out a pamphlet in numbers to introduce your paper ; and what did tho first number contaiH ? Why , a united attack upon me by yourself , Vincent , and others , which of itself was sufficient to damn you as a public man .

      Now , S . r , state what act of mine , or of the Editor of the Star , between the passing of those resolutions acd the offering your communications publicity , and the appearance of your pamphlet , could have justified you iu such a course 1 Another attempt f o en'rap you had nearly . escaped my memory . 1 intended to establish a daily piper ; and what was my offer to you ? It was to join mo in a tour of Eagland , Scotland , and Wales , for tho purpose of-announcing it , at my expsnee ; and the further off . r to you , without a farthing ' s subscription

      towards it , to become joint proprietor with me , or to name yonr own terms as Editor , without risk . Having now dibposid of that portion of the sub ject which you challenged me to explain , I come to your senseless , foolish , and 6 elf-answering allegations as to your trial at Liverpool . Firstly , you were never tried for any one of tho-e "fabricated speeches" of yours which appeared in the Star . I was tried for publishing them in the Star ; while you was tried and convicted upon the Manchester Guardian reporter ' s version of ono of thosa k . tu )

      speecius . A ; i' ! , curious to say , I was convicted at York , bttore tho Judge who tried you at Newcastle , a : d was convicted for tho publication <^ f the speech fo r uttering which you were acquitted' ! You forget that tho Star reports were never offered in evidence except against me . You also forget that you wa > acquitted at Newcastle in consequence of tho imperfeot nc , Election of the reporter ; whereas you was convicted at Liverpool upon the testimony of a reporter wbo swore that hj had taken down every word you ppuke , and who read his notes as glibly as though they wore printed . You also forget that if the Star report had been m » ro strong against you , that that report would have been preferred to any other from any source whatever .

      As to your version of my conduct npon your trial , thera is not a child of seven years of age who heard of it , but must laugh heartily at it . " WHAT DID YOU U 6 E THAT LANGUAGE , O'BRIEN V Madman ! who in court but yourself heard it , or ever heard of such a thing 1 ! Three barristers sat between you and tne . Mr . Clarkson . the solicitor , was at my elbow , and the Rev . Mr . Jackson , and ether Chartists , were close by me : did they hear it ? No , faith ! and for the very best of all possible reasons : because I never opened my lips from the

      time the trial began till it closed , except for the purpose oi instructing counsel aa to the cross-examination of Clarkson the reporter . Why , foolish man , I did ' nt even condemn your language upon my own trial , when it might havo been servioabJe to me !! But for a barrister to get up in court while counsel was speaking to evidence , and especially a Chartist barrister upon the trial of a Chartist , for the purpose of reproving his conduct , is too ridiculous 1 ! but more ridiculous still to suppose that the great political , sieve should have so long kept his mouth shut upon suoh a plum !

      As to the charge of your witnesses not being in attendance , both Mrs . Lerercehe and Mr . Templetou were there in court subpaaed , and what were they to swear to ? Just this ; that there were better reportera than Clarkson ; but not to contradict one word he said . Now bear in mind that others were tried and convicted upon hia evidence as well as you ; and when I mentioned the nature of the evidence we had to adduce , which was precisely the same as in your case , to the Hon . Mr , Wortley , counsel for the prisoners , he said , " Let Mr . O'Brien examine them if he pleases , but I won't ; as it is impossible to shake that reporter ' s testimony by other evidence . There are his notes : they cannot swear that they are not Bubstaati&llj correct . They may damage us ;

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      but cannot serve ub . " In this view Mr . Clarkson the solicitor , acquiesced ; and upon those grounds the witnesses were not examin 1 d for any one . But oprtposot witnesses . What right have you , of all men living , to object to the non-produotion of witnesses for your defence ! You , who would have me to stand so naked before the law , as to term the affidavits of honourable men " lying affidavits . Surely affidavits are evidence as woll as * ' vivavoce " testimony ; and why censure that course when pursued by me , when you objeut to the same means not being resorted to for you ? Those persons , many hundreds , must be under an obligation to you ! As to your notion of the Chief Justice stopping mo in my speech , you are wrong ; and though it is not worth while to sot you right , yet I wish to set the country right- He did not stop me in my speech .

      When I applied the first day to have judgment postponed on account of ill health ; before I had spokeu ten words , he said— " Mr . O'Connor you are now answering your own application . " But when I spoke in mitigation of punishment in a fortnight after svards , the court did not interrupt me—but the people did , by their repeated cheers , not for my " cowardly , " but for my bold and uncompromising tone ; and the Chief Justice , more than once , threatened to clear the oourt . The same occurred upon each of the three oooasions whoa I was tried ; and I never asked to be transported , nor did I blubber like a great school boy , but I told the court and tho jury that I would break oppression ' s heat ? , or oppression should br-jak my heart ; and that I would como out of prison a better Chartist than I went in . But you , brave man ! appear so far to honour the law as to court

      its vengeance . You speak against the employment of * counsel . Allow me to ask what would Frost , Williams , and Jones have done without them 1 and what did you do assist in raising the funds to pay them ? or what one aervico havo you ever rendered to the cause in your whole life , save and oxcept tho honour that you have conferred upon it by . iving oat of it ? As to my "feigned illness , " I was in my bed fourteen days , was blistered , cupped , leeched , blooded , and physicked almost to death . \ et I roso on tha second Monday and would have gone into court had it not been for the injunction of boih of my physiciaus , much too honourable men and too high in practice to be bribed by the first man in the laud to bo guilty of making " lyinq affidavits . "

      Now , as to the reoommendation to plead guilty . It proves what a thankless office that of acting lor others is . It was not I who recommended yeu to plead guilty ; it was counsellors Watson , Murphy , Wilkins , and Wortley , —all of whom had been engaged in the Chartist , cases at York , aod who had witnessed the different sentences passed upon those who went to trial , aud those who pleaded guilty . They witn ; ssecl the caaoof lloey , Ashton , and Crabtree , who got , two years and hard labour ; and Bome of the Sheffield , or some other , men who pleaded guilty , and got very slight sentenoes . I communicated the opinion of counsel , whioh strongly recommended some to plead guilty ; and all who did were allowed to remain out upon their recognizances , instead of swelling the demand upon the Support Fund .

      To all these matters Mr . Clarkson can bear unbiassed testimony . He can also bear me out in saying * that not a single step was taken without the opinion of counsel , who lost their fees iu each where their advice was followed . But , base and perfidious wretch ! you even charge me with the expenditure of more than i . ' 3 OO of my own money in defence of prisoners , as a crime . Supposo I bad not employed counsel and the prisoaerd had got heavy sentences : what then would ha , vo been your charge , and where would it havo ended t You forget that you lost all self-possession ,

      and actually insulted Mr . Clarkson in open Court . As to tho postponement of my own trial , it was jua : what all the traverses , Richardson , Jack&on , aud others had done at tho previous assize , and for whicn I paid £ 124 . Perhaps that was also to entrap you all ! With respect to the lenity that my conduot gained me from the Attorney General , and Mr . Wightman , now a judge , you appear to have forgotteu that both one and tho other opposed tny application for postponement , aud that I battled tho point myself , the judge who wa 3 to pass sentence upon me in a few weeks well knowing that eighteen mouths was in store for me .

      But pray what has oont ' erred upon you the right f interference and diotation in all matters not only concerning yourself but in thosa in which you can have no possible concern ! Or are you not satisfied with having as 3 isfod in banishing M'Douall , and with holding up Cooper as an object of jury class hatred \ Do you want more victims out of your way 1 Just see how you correct yoursolf , you say : — " Instead of your auffarlug for me on account of the Stockport speech , it was I that suffered through your Star ' s infamous inisreport of it . Its embodiment as a count in your indictment at York , caused it to be circulated through all the papers in the kingdom , nnd that , amongst other similar circumstances , caused no small share of tho ferocious prejudice which the Liverpool jury wore known to entertain towards me in comparison with my fellow prisoners . "

      Now , Sir , with this perfect knowledge ar to the effect of creating prejudice in the minds of the jury class , fresh in your memory ; how can you reconcile the publication of the " O . ' d Chartist , " aud your recent attack upon poor Cooper 1 ! It is a most astonishing oircutnstanos that the man who has least to complain of as to the trials in 1839 , 40 , should be the only one tocompiain . There must be some reason for it , and the public will guess aright no doubt . You follow up your exordfum with a most extraordinary admission . You say that you have received scores of letters from O'Connorites , but you dout wish to publish such things ; while , iu order , no doubt , to alljw the public

      to come to an unbiassed conclusion , you publish no fewer than six scurrilous letters from as many red-hot O'iirienit 03 , Lovettitos , and Vincentitcs—all anti-O'Connorites . What a very extraordinary notion of justice you must have ! and how very fortunate to havo received every ono of the aforesaid epistles , some from uuknown and others from too well-known persons , jitst in the nick of time ! To begin also with poor Mason , aad to finish with poor Burns ! You must be badly eff for a case when you aro compelled to fly to such sources . However , taking their every assertion for fact , let us test the logic of one of thosa '' praise-God barebones" Chartist Christian Churchmen—M'Evven ; a kind of rural Dean ,

      who woHld charge me with falsehood because I asserted that fifty places , which I had visited , supported the Natioual Petition , while ho supports his denial of it thus : — 'There were , " says he , " eighty-four delegates ; and a majority of those wore opposed to the National Petition . " Why , the great horse-god-mofcher-of-a-deril , did ' nt he know very very well that the delegates did not represent the same places that I had visited ? Was he not aware that a sot of them represented lanes Btreets , and alleys , in trlasgow \ But to comment upon the imcomprehensible stuff contained in all this " niokof-tirae" evidence would be an insult ; and I have ever courted the hatred of such follows . But why not pubiiah one , even oue letter from one honest O'Connorite I

      Sir , you w . uld 'addle upon me every act done by every Chartist in the kingdom if it was displeasing to you . * What have . I to do with the acts of other men ; but yet I do thank the brave fellowa who appear to be ao numerous that you cannot select a lino from all , and so watchful that your perfidy cannot escape auy . However , with reference to "Correspondence , " you ask a plain question . You say , " Let thorn publish tho letter ; Ut them publish all they cau : I will stand by all that is my own ,, whether public or private . Would they—oould they—dare they , do the same ?"

      Now , thia is a plain question , and hear my plain answer . Aye ; and I will * giro you full and entire permission to publish any letter ever written to any one by me in all my lifo , " and I will give any man £ 10 who will send you ono containing a sentence , line , or syllable , reflecting injurioasly or , having the slightest tendency to injury one single—even the most insignificant Chartist ; and I will give the same to any man who can swear that he has ever heard m « say one single word calculated to injure you , or even to offoui you , until you deserted ths cause of the people . Sow , that's a plain answer to your plain question . Make all you can of it . I shall now take a rapid review of your conduct since you left Lancaster Castle .

      You dined with me on the 4 th of October , after the Manchester , Leeds , and Sheffield demonstrations had taken place . What awkward things those dates are ! Never did heart seem to beat warmer than did yourstomeon that occasion ! You were about starting upon your leoturing tour , and the last act that I performed was that of giving you a check for whatever monies had been collected for you at the Star office during your incarceration . I reminded you that it would be impossible to send a reporter everywhere after you ; but that the Star should be open to your communications . You thanked me : and it did announce your movements , and published every word that was furnished oomplimentary to you , but no portion of your lectures ; sad why ? because you ashed the reporters not to

      furnish them , or rather it ; as the lecture that you delivered at Lancaster upon the day of your release was the same identical one , without alteration or emendation , that you delivered in every town through which you , passed . Mark ! I don ' t object to that course . On the contrary , I think it wise , and prudent to Bet publie opinion by the same dial ; but I do object t * its being matter of accusation against . . the Star by you and your meads as it has been , that your lecture was not reported , when such non-reporting was at yoiir own request ! Now , let me follow you through your tour . You get what pence yoa could , and small blame to you . You did more to cause strife , confusion , and dissentiou , than all the mischief-makers that ever went before joa . You preached abstract notioos vpoa

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      subjects that you do not understand . You denounced every one but J . Bronterre O'Brien . You did not make a single Chartist , but on the contrary , weakened thefaith of many . You abused the organisation , and you told your hearers that you thought just as much of O'Connor and the Star as of old Walter and the Times ; and , to such a pitch did you carry your villany at Halifax , that the whole committee left you in the room by yourself , and told you if you published a paper not to send any to Halifax . You intrigued and defamed with private letters , and made secret charges against every man whom you think to stand in your way . You returned after disgusting the best part of your audiences . You then went to Bath to form a coalition with Vincent and the Vindicator . Y'M gave him a glorious character ; and presently the Vindicator begins to fire at O'Connor and the Star : and down it went . You next went

      to Birmingham , and tried the dodge of intrigue there , ; but they found you out . You then sat in the Conference preparatory to establishing a place in the " new move ; " but , like tho Devil and tl ? e Bottle Imp , they won ' t have you at any price . _ You then got hold of the Statesman : your devils having pushed it for the last week of the Convention against the Star . You then turn " new move" man , and invite the League to join the Complete Suffrage Association . You would then , if pressed , sink Annual Parliaments . Then you would 6 tand upas championfor the Executive against thcSVar . Then the Executive are " cowards and traitors . " Then O'Connor is a " brave and gallant fellow . " Tken " he is a coward and a traitor , and always was . " And then ,

      Sir , to crown your villany , what do you do I You are a professed lover of justice ; you hate the law because it dceth not justice . You charge a gentleman with being a " coward and a traitor , " upon-the evidence of an anonymous writer ; and how do you prove your love of justice ? The law that you profess to despiso allows the " traitor" to have a copy of the indiotment on which ha is charged , of iho jury by whom he is to be tried , and of the list of wirnessaa who are to appear against hid . Tho law does that . What does Jas . B . 0 ' Bricn ? He publishes the charge , and strengthens it by adoption ; and then says that he will give

      the name of the only witness in support oi it to any man except to the only one to whom it Inay be serviceable , and wlioaloneis entitled to it ! " Yea , a Daniel , avery Daniel camo to judgment . " Ah ! you perfidious , wretched , disappointed , self-destroyer ! think you that the keen and all-piercing eye of public opinion will fail to see through the thin veil of patriotism with v / hieh you have attempted to cover your dark and hellish plot for the removal of thn Siar and Feargus O'Connor from out your way ? Read your list of diaries against a man whose every act for the last ten years is known t © every one ; and behold how they are shivered against that coat , of mail with which honour is ever covered

      against tho ' assassin ' s dart . Why , you miserable self-tormentor ! do you suppose there 13 a chiid in England who dr > es not know that you slaughtero-l the London Dispatch , tho London Mercury the OprraUve , and the Southern Star , and that your assass i ns-hand is now armed to strike down the Brithh Statesman ! You have neither constitution , head , or stomach , for the position to whioh you would vainly aspire . You have neither . knowledge , brains * nor temper to main the position if fate had assigned it to you ; and bo from y . ; ur masked battery you would aim your missiles at those whose knowledge , courage , and prudenca but serve as a contrast to your lack of all tho 3 e attribute . - which distinguish a good and honest man . You would be a pensioner upon any man ' s bounty , rather than lead a life of industry ; thinking that tim . BS run hard when you are compellod to do more than " open your mouth , and shut jour eyes , and sco what God will send you . "

      Nosv , Sir , I have replied to your guossea , your slanders and insinuations ; and the only apology that I can make to tho readers of tho Star , for that space which your gambols have recently occupied , is the assurance , that , with my consent , your name shall never again appear in Us columns . You now stand uncoverod and uvnnsked before tho public . I hav < r never assumed ochor character than that which I have and ever shall maintain , that of a honest , uncompromising , and recoJute advocate of the people ' s rghta . My whole conduct is before tho public to the people I refer the question ; by

      their verdict I wiil be judged . If I have been . a juggler , I havo beau tho mo 3 t fascinating and worst paid , that ever appeared upon the stage : while I am bold enough to & 3 sert that you hav < lived well upon the performance of those tricks with which your audience have become disgustud , You have well supported your position . You have succeeded in Ioujeating and perpetuating discord from the moment you entered upon public life . I trust that , in that retirement to which sound public opiaiou has now consigned you , you will have time I ' oi * reflection and ropcutauco .

      I am , the " Coward and Traitor , ' Feargus O'Connor .

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      EXAMINATION OF MR . WM . BEESLEY , AT BURNLEY . Buenlei , Sept . 7 . —lias day , Mr . Beesley ( who fead been remanded from Monday , inconsequence of the absence of Mr . Philip Grant , reporter for the Manches ter Chronicle , and occasionally for the Morning Heratd , ) was brought before the magistrates , Mr . F . E . Townley Mr . Charles Townley , and the Bet . William Thunby , charged with uttering a seditious libel on the 12 th day of June last , at a meeting held on Pendle-hilL Mr . P . Grant being sworn , stated thai ha resided at Manchester—was a reporter—attended a meeting on PendleHill on the 12 th of June ; what the subject of the meeting was did not transpire in my presence . It was held on the Sabden Bide of Pendle HilL Arrived there about half-past two o ' clock in the afternoon there were about 2000 or 2500 persons present—hustings was formed of earth and stones about a yard and a quarter high , and appeared to have required

      considerable labour in tha erection . There were from 20 to SO persons on the hustings—I went on the hustings—there was not the slightest objection to my going on , or taking notes . The meeting waa quite peaceable , and consisted o ! working men , women , and boys . I began to take notes immediately when I got on the hustings . The copy I here produce is a verhatim copy of what Mr . Beesley Baid , as far as it i ? oes .. It is my own handwriting , transcribed from my note-book on the evening of the meeting . The first sentence I heard was , "I havo now given you my view of physical force . I will show you that if you went unarmed , you cannot meet the peeple ' a murderers , and therefore you must have recourse to other measures ; you have the power to do anything you please if you think proper to exercise it . " ill was here arranged that the reporter should read his notes through , and they should then be copied into the depositions by the magistrate ' s clerk , Mr . Richard Shaw . ] ¦

      Mr . Grant went on to read several pages , stating Mr Beesley ' s opinion of the Tories—showing the people the impossibility of making a successful appeal to physical force ; telling them that the middie classes would be sworn in special constables , and tbat the faxmein would ba yconianry , and cut down the paople to protect the landlords . That the Queen was receiving an enormous salary every year , while the people were starving ; that she had recsived £ 8 , 000 to learn to dance , £ 70 , 000 lot nev stables and learning to ride ; that she could not wash her own chemise , and was spending bar evenings at balls while the people were starving ; that they should go in hundreds to tha overseers and ask for

      relibf ; they should also go to the parsons and demand of them to fulfil the oath they took on theii ordination ; that at tha next General Election , they should elect 658 men , by the voice of the people , and ii they were refused admittance into the House ^ and were bludgeoned awjy , they ehould raaba a Commons House for themselves , and mabe laws , and let them be obeyed . He was one of thosa who thought working men might be worse off , for if they lost an arm or a leg , they would be worse off ; but if th&y were determined to resort to physical force , if they would show him one hundred thousand armed aien , then , sooner than they should be without a leader , he would lead them on to victory and the Charter .

      Mr . Beesley cross-examined the witness , and elicited from him that ha was at the police-office in Burnley previous to gein « r to the meeting—that he had a reporter from the Ti ? nes in company with him—tbat they travelled together in a gig to Sabden , that the London pent , stayed at a public-house in Sabden , while he ( Mr Grant ) went to the meeting—that he left the meeting : \ t three o ' clock , tho business being concluded—that B 9 esley sp « ke a considerable time—and that several other speakers addressed the moating during the short half-hour thai he was there—that be furnished the Times reporter with a copy of his notes , and they were given to the superinten ' . lant of police in Burnley—that Mr . Grant was one of those who went from Manchester to Liverpool to swear against the Chartists in 1839 , and that ho had lost £ 100 by going down there o : i that business ( Mr . Grant was evidently labouring under severe indisposition , hia appearance being such as to justify a supposition that his days or earth are very tew ) .

      Mr . Beesley tead a paragraph from a Manchester paper ( the Guardian ) of the I 5 th or l&h June , which states tliat he was opposed to physical force . He also read a paragraph or two f fotn the Manchester and Salford Advertiser , aBd drew-from the witness an avowal that he hart furnished that paper with a roport . Mr . B . stated , thai io far from being opposed to the witness taking notes , he was glad he was there for the porpose , and r ; ivo him every facility to do so . He had been condemned as a cow . rd for advising the people at that meeting to rti ' iy on their moral power , and shewed the banch . by reading a paragraph from a letter from Mr .

      O'Connor ' to the Chartists of North Lancashire , that he h ^ . d wr ^ te to contradict the report given in the Advertiser , of the 18 th June , an a gross and base misrepresen tation . He h id ( ' . on 9 this -when he had not the slightest id a of a prosecution being pending ; ho had done it in order io sat bioiself right with the public Hecompkino-l thtit the subject should be brought forward at this time , aft 9 r i : aving stood over thirteen weeks , and now . to institute procsedings against him on the written testimony of u repo ' . ter , who it was evidsnt from the f tots elicited was a party-to a conspirary to crush him by ( ' . earJvinc him of his liberty .

      John Djwhurst , of Whalley .. shoemaker , was the next witness called on . ( Tkis witness was examined on Monday last , and hia exauinat ' . on taksn down . ) The Clerk having sworn him , proceeded to read from what purported to be his deposition give-i on Monday , tho -witness confirming what was read to him . Mr . Beesloy protested agaif . st this mode of proceeding , stating that what was then raad was nothing like what he had given in his testimony on Monday ; that it . ipueircd to him ( Mr . Beiilsay ) to have b 3 en cooked U ;< in the office ani now presented to tha witness iu a piiished form , so that it would answer the end of hia prosecutor , by the ¦ witness swearing to it . The following sentence will convwy an idea how the thing was intended to be iloae : —

      Clerk reads to the witness , you say that what the defendant said was calculated to excite the people to a braach of th 8 peace ? and the witness was composed of such materials , that If , instead cf a breach of the peace it bad boen read , to keep Vie peace , or to set fire to the country , he would have answered , Yes , Sirf Mr . ikesley appealed to the bench and remarked , that Mr . P . E . Townley h : id stated on Monday , that if they could produce no stronger testimony than Diwhursl ' s , he should be set at liberty . Ifc was then agreed that the witness sliouid be again examined , and his deposition taken down . In answer to questions , the witness said be attended a meeting on Pondle-hill on Sunday , the 12 th of June ; cannot tall what the meeting was for , but ' o rekkun it \ wuir a Chartist

      meeting . Hearc * Bsetley begin to talk . There wore two or three thousand folks present . They cama over the hill , and in tho direction of Sibden . I saw Beesley thore for one ; there were n"va er six men on the hustings . Ho gave a view of physical force . —I was five or six yards frora tho hustings . He encouraged the people to come forward and unite in ony body . He did not urge physical force . —said moral force was of no use . He saii something about a number of men ( I have for-Kotten how many ) going to the Parliament house and 'ieaiandirsg admittance to repress their grievances . If they were defeat ed by bludt ^ on man , they-wera t » come back and make laws SDmswaffre else . Said

      something about the Q > ieen ' a salary — could not tell what it ¦ was—it - was either £ 800 or £ 8000 , could not tell which —what he said was calculate tto excite the people to get the Charter—did not givu his opinion in niy heating a " siout physical force . I have no p : irticuh « remark about that . —Mr . Beesley hero -wished tie clerk to put down what the witness actually statef ., namely , thvt he di . 'l not recommend physical fores . Tiia clerir said ha would when the wunsss sworo it After some altercition between the ciork and Mr . Beuaiu-y , tl : s Rav . Mr Thursby put tho question to tho -wita ^ as . Are yea positive , you d ' . A uoi hear him recommend pbysw ^ l force ? Witness—Yes . The magistrates theu ordered

      the clerk to put it down in the uspositisn . Mr . Beesley cr » ss- « : xa minod the vritnes ? , a ^ d elicited frein him tbat He was sent to thy meeting L > Sar >? r ;;) - tendent Me Cabe : he had notliin . ; promised him far the job . Here Me . Cabe stated , tbat he was a eptcial constable , ami after aoma hi (?«? iins : to keeo back the Popay system , he bes < an to put words into Uia mtnuh of the witness . Mr . B . very poikely to'd iic Cmu , that he not being a solicitor had no ris ht to inter . ' ers or speak . The bench concurred with Mr . B . Mr . Brfcsley—Wh « n was you sworn in constable ? Witness—In Juue last . Mr . Beesley—Bsfare or af tar the meeting ? Witness—Before . Mr . Beesky—How long before ? Witness—I cannot say ; it was in the spring . Mr . Thuraby—How long w& 3 it before the meeting . Waa it a month or two months before ? Witness—Two monthssir . * .

      , Mr . Bseeley—You have now stated on your oath that ou nia a worn ia constable in Juae , that tha meeti ^ S r * as in Juue , and that you was sworn in two montM before the meeting . Mr . M'Cabo waa then sworn , and stated that be » along with two othsrs , took the defendant into custody on Saturday ths 3 d of Septem > ier , at Holland ' s Temperance Hotel , Curzon-street , Busnley . He took possession of a travelling bag—read a list of ita contents—«» Address from the Complete Suffrage Union , signed Joseph Sturge , and some reaolutiona passed at a delegate meetiag , Were retained . Several books , twoJ » three desen " . ef Eaunetfa life and trial—Cobbett t Paper against Gold , &C , were returned . .

      The Court was . then ordered to- bs oltaied , for w magistrates to' consult ^ When we again entered «» court , Mr . Beealey was infonned by the clerk that » must be bound himself in £ 100 , and two BUretiea » £ 50 each , to appear at the next Lancaster ( wares / Assizes , to answer an indictment tbat would be FJj ferred agains * him for nttering a aeditiona libel- frz was immediately tendered , and accepted . Mr . NM ^ wm bound over to prosecute , and the witnesses °° ^ to appear and give evidence , when Mr . Beesley *" at liberty , ard retired with hia friends . Ob- » Beesley mab ' ing hia appearance ovtUnde . t& 9 ° ^ m room , three hearty cheers were given for the Giwi' * the multitrdda assembled . ¦

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      DKVf , BT , Satnrday .-Tha Archduke * ' < & of Au stria landed here to-day at two o . clock . w » arriv ed in command of the Auswun frigate do * 4 a 9 a eaiy hour of the day .

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      TREMENDOUSLY DARING FEAT . ( From the Northern Times ) An American seam an , named Miciiael Smith , aged 23 , proposed to leap from the east s'de of SunUcrland-bricU-e into the river on Wednesday last . Hia intention'was announced by hand-bills on the previous evening , and at the time fixed \ four o ' clock ) , hundreds of person ngsembled to witness this daring and novel exploit . Smith , learning th . it the officers of police would be on tho alert to prevent him accomplishing his object , changed his dress , to evade detection , and proceeded across iu the ferry-boat to tho north side , which caused

      a little delay . On arriving at the centre of the bridge he instantly mounted tha railing , and was preparing to throw himself off when he ¦ waa seized by the policy , who dragged him to tha station-house , to the great disappointment of tbe spectators . On Thursday he v ? as brought before the magistrates on the charge of obstructing the thoroughfare . The case waa stated Ly Sergeant Paxton , and Superintendent Brown remarked that the man had biren previously cautioned . Smith , in defence , said , that he was a shipwrecked mariner , and belonged to New York . He was an experienced diver , and had no other intention in performing the feat than to raise a little money , in order that be might be enabled to fit himself out for sea . The Mayor told him

      that ho had no husic-iss to obstruct the footpath ; if he i would jump off the bridge people must go to see him , and that the police had acted perfectly right in taking him into custody . Sergeant Puxton here stated that Smith told the officers he would do it in spite of them j and the magistrates . Smith denied this charge , but in- : timated to the bench , tbat he would yet leap off the i briil ^ e , providing he could get their sanction . This , however , was refuse- ! , and the Mayor told him that , a ? ; a foroigrer , the bcuc ' a were inclined to deal leniently , and discharged him on paying costs ; but that the police would keep a strict eye upon him , and if ho disobeyed their in j auctions be would be taken up and bound . ovtr ' to keea the peace . ' ¦ i

      TUB ACTUAL LEAP . . I About six o ' clock in the evening of the same day , determined not to be diverted from his purpose , Smith went privately on tbo bridge , and despatched his companions to apprise certain parties who bad befriend ^ il him of hia determination to leap . Several were , however , disappointed , Smith having before they arrived 7 'o rched himself on the summit of the lamp-frame , fruui 'whence , waving hia cap gallantly , he sprang into th *;

      river Wear—a height of upwards of HO feet . O ; reaching the water he struck out and swam " like a sen-bird , " to a keel or barge , from whence he saint ; u tue spectators on the bridge and ou the heights in tho styie of a true jack tar , which was immediately returned by a round of hearty cheers from tha astonished multitude . It is almost unnecessary to inform our distant readers ( for there are few but must have heard of the fur-famed iron bridge at Sunderland ) that it io so constructed that large vessels of 400 tons sail underneath it without strikiug th ^ ir masts .

      Smith has done -what no man ever did before , anrl what , very probably , no other man will dare to attemptagain . Smith is an active , bravo , jolly-hearted , fellow , short made , and about twenty-three years of age . He has frequently le : ; pe \ from tho highest yards and masts of ehip 3 into the sta ; aud , in several instances , " r > f : n been instrumental in saving the lives of his fellow-msn at great p .-ril . O& reaching the shore , after having achieved littl-3 teas thin' : i miraale , a cumber of people gathered round him , who cheerfully presented him with trifling sums of money , yvhen the police immediately interfered and dragged him off to the station-house , alleging as a reanou that he w » 3 ' begging money . "

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      The Special -Commissions . —Wo , may now state with certainty , - Bays tha Staffordshire Advertiser . that Her Ma jesty has directed letters patent undev the great seal to bo issued , appointing special commissions for the trials of the persons in custody on charges connected with tho disturbances in thomauufactoring districts . That for Staffordshire will be opened on Saturday , the 1 st of October , on Sunday the judges will attend divine service , and on Mour day the trials will commence . Chief Justice Tindal will preside . Upwards of 200 prisoners are now in custody , committed tor various offences relating to the late destructive riots in the Potteries , and to the disturbances in the south of the county , who will be tried under W&-special commission , beside 3 those who are ouc off bkil on similar charges . The prisoners charged with offenceg not connected with the riots will not be tried under this commission . There will be special commissions for Lancashire and Cheshire .

      On ? of tub privates belonging to the 2 d dragoon guards , now stationed at Newcastle , and who took an active part in the affray at Burslem , put an end to his existence , on Friday night week :, by discharging a loaded carbine immediately under his chin , having pressed the trigger with hia foot , by which tho top of his head was blown to pieces . It appears that tha deceased , whose name was King , had formed an intimacy with'a woman at Newcastle , representing himswf as an unmarried man ; but his wife , havin " been apprised of the connexion , came to Newoastk " and frustrated the intentions of the decoased . An inquest was held on the body on Saturday , and a verdict of fefo de ss \ n& returned .

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      6 THI NOITHUN STIR .

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Sept. 17, 1842, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct616/page/6/