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TO THE IMPERIAL CHARTISTS.
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MR. FERRAND AND THE LEAGUE.
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3hn$imaJ ^parliament.
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VEEBATIM REPORT OF THE CHARTIST TRIALS AT LANCASTER.
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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IN THE PRESS AND SHORTLY WILL BE PUBLISHED , A VEKBVT . IH REPORT OF THE KECEKT TRIALS OF FEAEGUS O'CONNOR AND 58 OTHERS , AT LANCASTER , FOR RIOT , SEDITION , TUMULT , AND CONSPIRACY . T ^ HE above Work will be PnWished in Weekly Numbers of 64 Pages of Royal Octavo , Edited by JL FEARGUS CTCONNOR , E * q ., Barrister-at-Law , and to which will be added A SHORT ACCOUNT OP THE CAUSES OF THE DISTURBANCES OF AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER LAST , With Notes upon the Trial ; aUo a Dedication to Baron ROLFB . A SPLENDID PORTRAIT OF THE JUST JUDGE WHO PRESIDED , WILL BE PRESENTED WITH THE LAST NUMBER ( GRATIS ) To those who have been Subscribers to the Work . The Portrait will be Execoted -with a view to its being placed as a Frontispiece , and when completed , which will be in about four Numbers ; the whole will make a valuable work . Price 6 d . a Number . The Portrait gratis . Subscribers and Acents are requested to give their Ordera to Cleave , 1 , Shoe Lane , Fleet Street , London Heywood , 60 , Oldham Street , Manchester ; aT ^ HpBSQM , Northern Star Office , Market Street , Leeds . * v ?* ' * ^ ' The firs' Number will be Published on Monday , 27 th Mauch , and the subsequent Numbers will be I Published Weekly .
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% j deab Fsiesds , —Those -who have right and justice npon ^^ ^» '" ^ ^^ * tne JoD S run , jpninph over tbo 3 e who rely upon mi ^ ht and their power to arrest or lo pervert justice . Tie canse of Quriian has triumphed oret the muted forces of jjie And-Cora Law Leagne , the Whig Local Execugye , * nd the Tory Government . Oar cause was IB anomalous one . The League hunted us out of j ^ ad , the Whig authorities caught us , and the Jery GoTernment proposed making an example of 53 , more for the propose of terrifjiug our tormentors ( the League ) of whom they ^ are afraid , than of
provig that we had violated * the law . Oar crime being desire to make a new distribution of property . ¦ aey felt themselves secure in the hands of men of ropertj , and therefore gave us a special jury , jfah taxes screwed out of you they dragged the gry kenneb for evidence . They bronght policemen , yr&bonds , willing idlers , mad men , hired spies , formers , and traitors , to support their case , while ¦ 8 brought men of property , and the local authoges ftomthe scene of devastation to an 3 werthem . ierea is the fault . The game being stalled , Mr . jggory ' sva 3 sent ^ own to Lancashire to get up a
lsSr The authorities are Whigs , the turn-out was ~ Wb } g turn-out , and the concoctors bain ? disapjjjiled in the result , set Gregory upon the Charts . WeD , he got up evidence against us all , and educed witnesses in support of his case , before the HBinisting maigiFtrates , yea , a vast amount of ridecce , while with the exception of the traitor , ' lijfin , none of those witnesses were produced at is triai > Afresh pack was got up . I ilame those eaves-dropnig , petty fogging , hedge attorneys , wtogot up the jseand presented witnesses / or examination to whom jar found it necessary to read their depositions
jjj the Grand Jury Room , while the trial was go ng jjij to refresh their memories . I do not mean to enter-at any great length upon the merits of the trial just now , as I am engaged in publishing & eheap tfition of the whole proceedings , to be accompanied irith a true listory of the strike , and the whole jQusiratedwith notes . 'I will publish this in numbers , of sixty-four pages « aeh number , royal octavo 523 . As it would be impossible in the space of any s ^ ffspaper to grre averbatim report , and as I h&re got & report of ETery -mrd spoken thronghont the meee&Xig , and as I hold it to be absolutely requisite flat this all-important trial should be widely circnhied sndpreserTed , 1 have imposed this trouble upon
Bjself . Ths first number will be ready for publication on jjijuday week , " 27 to March , and will contain a -jrefaee , a dedication to Baron Rolfe , and a porfan of the trisL With the last number , will be preseBted an Engraving of the Judge , which may he prefixed to the work when complete and all ioaai np together . As I have decided upon this course , you will not reqnire any further comment upon the trial just now , and therefore 1 leave that sibject , to come to what is of paramount importance , 1 mean rhe-eoirriciieiis on the fourth count .
I hold th&iao conviction can oehad on the fifth ami , for more reasons than one , which 1 need not iere state , and whieh I regret being obliged ¦ fins publicly to mention , but you must be afiified . I now eome to the fourth count , liich charges the parties found guilty on it rfdoingunla-wfnUy thst which those found foolish EBder the fifth count did lawfully . It is my inlen-Son to moTe an arrest of judgment upon the whole -radict ; that is to show that , firstly , the trial has ieen irregular ; secondly , the evidence has been iadmissible 5 thirdly , ihB Terdict ha 3 been illegal ;
u > fl , foarthly , that the parties confided on the fonrth joant were not legally before ihe court . If those * bjeenons were irregularitiea which conld be ytt enred , J should not state them , but they cannot , and Xj reason for stating them is to sronse you to the completion of that work which yon have so fiobly commeaeed . As Treasurer to the General Defence Fund , it will be my duty to hj ^ before you , when the trials are completed , 1 balance-sheet accounting for tne expenditure of every farthing . Tiis I shall do , and in it you shall lad yOXrEKCOMTECTXD WITH MT DEF-EKCB ^ that IS
separate . But now , I ask yon , —if M'Douall and the Executive , and some of our best men , are to be serificed for want of the best translation of the law ? lEnd me , ialent is what we require to argue the Kveral points of law , and talent must be paid for . loa take my own part ; I merely apply to yoa on JehaJf of others , and I know of no such triumph tpon record as that which the liberation -of the liole fifty-nine conspirators would furnish . I have iherefore to implore of you to transmit to John Qeave , 1 , Shoe-lane , Fleet-street , for the defesce rcsD ; mind , for that fund alone , till the trials are lashed , what yon can spare .
Perhaps it may not be amiss to state here that I jSedge myself that the greatest economist will be 4 etoBished at the prudent manner in which the fnnds tare been expended . Ton wDl hare seen thai Jim Crow Gibson smarts isder the development of ihe schemes of the lagners , but when he comes to read the whole ase , he will have reason to smart- Had wenot used « sr every energy , we could not "have succeeded in pushing Chartism , as this prosecution has done ; ad , rely upon it , that ihe opportunity will not be ket . The Whig press is furieuF . The scribblers * ae in anxious expectation of removing the BanWiig blocks out of the way of the League .
Sie unprincipled monsters had gone their fall Ittfth in creating prejudice against us , and that Sozsethey began to play the part of " Goody , " to sjopathizs with ns , and now to abuse us . What Sink yen of " old obscurity , " the Sunday Times , priag a supplement of the four first day ' s proceedojs , with the Government charge against us ; and * $ al think you of the same beastly pot-boy journal Btgmng a line of the last four days . The tboi-SiEEisiiiute as the grave . The duties which I owe i > those who have been found guilty on the fourth Rant , and the desire to make the trial as complete ted instructive a work a 3 possible will occupy my > isole time until the question of gciltt or sot Eton is disposed of .
Id speaking ol the trials , it won ! 3 i « & monsfcrons i&Baon to foigei the great , ihe gigantic service of it liobertSj of whom I can ODly say that never did tea work with more mind , more pleasure , and more Recess . Of the Judge , 1 shall merely observe , tfeat &tz . i giTen to ihe workiag classes a practical illus-& * ti $ m of vrhat is meant by the due administration rfths law , and that he has done more than a hunired thousand bsyonets could dLct , by prescribing Siose limits beyoDd which language cannot pass with iapnnitj . Of the Defendants 1 Eaall say more here-* £ er , but must here observe that their conduct , their ^ noies , their zsal , and their talent won for them
«* £ i > ictn opinions of all , and elicited this ^ aik atile tribute from the JrsT Jcdgk : — Gentlemen , 1 feel convinced that every EngRsh * z * vuul fed proud of his country , and rrjoies in * k rcrpid groiclh x > f intelligence so strikingly exhi-*^ is the speedies of those working men who have " ^ -ttttd ymiP Contrast this with the language of $ * modern JeSries : — Yotj ttacabosds , 10 c 1 iEbu : 5 tct EC 0 C 5 DKELS , do you imagine that ** k ^ aiows is toc will be allowed to upset the **» V Bui a few more such caricatures of justice *^ as exhibited in Chester and at Liverpool , would «* si down all legal barriers , and throw thestarving ^ open war with the opulent .
* J friends , I have only further to observe , that *« Utempts to Btop Chartism or to impede its pro-^ sSj Bmst now faiL MACHIl ^ EBY is the com-^ enemy . It w 31 eventually carry the Charter . ^ ftceiTe letters from all quarters thanking me for ^ « Kitt days' exertions . I reply , send the funds * Ge&Te , to allow me to complete the good work . I hate just laid dowrnny pen to read the rattling 7 ** Brongham has given tiie , net What-ihaU-be-7 * hl > &ihe Who-shaU-do-il men . Now jastread f )» ad ay if it is uoi the language of the Star * ^ ihe League got more Free Trade than the 5 % s -rentured even to tsdioss them , and yet *¦? we grttmbKng .
^» rk my -words agam , and let not this excite *^ of the trials obliterate the fact from yon minds , •« »> wt Uat Ae League or they will beal us . " ^* x ltt the cat out of the bag . Let ns have but ** ° pa rties , said the League man , —the League and "Tories , Sow , bo gay 1 ; so I have always said ,
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— " That the existence of three political parties in a state is incompatible with the existence of peace , law , and order . " Let us then treat the League to a bit of their own policy , and have but two parties—the Chartists and the Tories , and then the struggle won't be long . We will leave the rest "to the God op justice ASD OF BATTLE . " Your faithful friend , Fkabgcs O'Consor .
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The League clique in Knaresbro' have sent a memorial to Mr . Ferrand calling on him to vote with Mr , Villiers for a repeal of the Corn Laws . The Hon . Member , in acknowledging the receipt of the memorial , thas addresses the party through whom it was sent : — Sir , —I have to acknowledge the receipt of yonr letter , informing me that you have forwarded te mj colleague , Mi Lawaon , a requisition from a majority of the electrra of Kaaresborough , requesting us to sup-Kort and vote for Mr . Timers' motion for a Repeal of the Corn Laws . If the intimidation and corruption ¦ which Were adopted by the agents of the anti-Cora law league in toot Borough , At the last election , for the
purpose of aecurng the return of their candidateafter our Whig opponents had retired from the field , and had declared that the ; would not be justified in disturbing ths peace of tbeBorcu $ h —« 8 * fcill in opera taon ^ -lamnofc afcalLrarprlsed at ytmr eoroninnlcatldn ; but if the signatures have been obtained by a real belief in the falsehood * -which are circulated by the anti-Corn Law league , and tbeii hired agitators va the qnestion of the Corn Laws , I shall have no difficulty when I visit the Borongh , in convincing the electors of their error . I beg you to inform the reqaisitionits that I have just joined •* The society for the Protection of British Industry , " "which holds its meetings * n every Tuesday and Friday , at No . 59 , Pall Wall : —one of its otgecta is to obtain a Repeal of the present
Com Law , because it does not now afford sufficient protection to native industry , and to procure a law that will give more encouragement to the agricultural interest of Great Britain and Ireland , -which alone provides a market for three-fourths of our manufactures : and I am the more fully co - vinced of the urgent necessity foi this measure from the fact that Foreign Governments , instead of adopting our minous policy , have been warned by onr rapidly increasing distress , and are itt this very time nursing a ^ protecting their own manufactures by securing to capital and labour their just reward . If the Members of the Anti-Corn Law League were sincerely anxious to relieve the present distress , they Won d turn their attention to the trants and snffei ^
ings of their starving operatives , from whose slmws they haTe extracted -wealth , sufficient , as they boast , " to buy up all the land : " if they -would contrast the enormous profits of their capital with the paltrj reipiital they give for the labour of their aTtizans . they might then grapple -with the chief cause of the present stagnation in trade : —bat the same selfish spirit -which induced them to " annihilate by death from hunger" the race of Indian hand-loom weavers ¦ with that engine of misery the po-wer-loem , " for the purpose of giving free scope to British capital , 11 British ingenuity , and British machinery , ** now
declares that to give their capital its dne reward , " Xheprice of labour at home must be kepi down ;"and to enable them to effect this object , they hope to blind the manufacturing operatives with the cry of " cheap bread . " In this they have signally failed : the worttDg classes knew too well that bad wages are the cause of their present sufferings , as is ably shewn by one of their order 1 Richard Crowther , of Manchester , a fustian cutter * , -who , in a clever " essay on the cause of bid trade , with & plan of legal prelection for -wages as a remedy , " otwTves , " that bad wages are a greater obstacle to commerce than all the tariffs in the world . *'
If Goversment would again restore adequate protection to agriculture and trade—if the " free tr ade" manufacturers "would be content -with producing a supply proportioned to the demand , ii > atea 4 of entering into recfcUs 3 competition , -with each other , -odM \ their profits can only be exacted from the -wages of their operatives—if they would adopt the golden rule -of " live and Jet live , " instead of indiscriminately destroying Tnanr . nl labour by unrestricted steam power machinery—if they "would render unto their artizias " a fair day ' s wages for a fait day a work , " the life-blood of England ' s prosperity would again circulate in its former channel , her trade wonld revive , and her labouring population ¦ wonld-pnce more bi-come contested , prosperous and hap . py- Mr . Tiliiera' motion would , if successful , increase the present distress ten-fold , by sacrificing the property of twenty-seven millions of cur fellow-countrymen for the uncertain and , at the best , transitory bei . eflt of three millions : and I know no town that wonld more
immediately and more severely suffer from its effects than the boreugh of Knaresborongh . My constituents art aware that befob . e they elected me their Representative , I distinctly declared my intention to oppose a repeal of the Corn Laws , and I beg explicitly to inform them that I neither intend to forget the pledges I gave npon the hustings , bdt to betray the interests of those who then reposed their confidence in me ; if therefore this my firm determination to act in conf * rmity -with the assurances I gave them meets -with their disapprobation ,-they will , at the next election , have the oppertsnity of placing their confidence in some person whose principles may be more congenial with their own ; and if so , it wiU cause me 20 regret to bid farewell to a constituency -who consider that deception and dishonour ongbt to be the chief qualifications of their representative . 1 am , Sir , Tour obedient servant , W . B . Fjbbrakd . Mr . Richard Dawes , Junior , Solicitor , Kuaresboroagh . March 6 , 1843 .
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HOUSE OF LORDS—Tuesdat , March 14 . lord MoyTEAGLE , according to notice , moved " That a select committee be appointed to consider the operation of the act passed last session to amend the laws respecting the importation of corn . " Lord W-HABSCLIPFE denied that the distress bo extensively prevalent in the country would be in any degree mitigated by the repeal of the Com Laws , and attributed it principally to gambling speculations in corn , which the present act had done much to diseonrace .
L" > rd CLAB . E 3 D 0 S pifeaSfd foi somB immediate measure of relief from a distress -which he described as fast £ oing beyond the limits of human endurance , and ridiculed the opinion that an inquiry snch as that proposed conld prove a " waste of time" at a period of the session when their Lordships had literally no bnsiness to go on -with- The example of every foreign nation Showed -that a menrenjeni was in progress in favuur of a free trade ; and it was time that we deserted the ground we had unwisely assumed , and commenced a mutual and prt-fitsble interchange of the commodities
-which each country conld best produce . He called for the committee , as tlia most satisfactory means of proving , if proof -were possible , the bentficial -working of the present law . H « enlarged upon the danger of delaying necessary reforms until they could no longer be refused , and the evils of the existing uncertainty as to the continnaDce of protection ; and after an excnlpation of his personal motives , eonclnded by complaining that siany of the pledges with which the present Government had entered npon t ffice were yet unfulfilled , and insisted upon the necessity of setting free onr commerce as a m « ans of fnmifihrog employment to our redundant
popnlaticBLoid ASHivtHTOS had dra-srn a very contrary conclusion "from the extensive detail with which Lord Monteagle ' B Eoeech ha 4 been crowded , and was convinced that the principal cause of manufacturing distress was the almost entire failure' of the American market No argument , he contended , had been adduced to show that the distress , which all admitted , and which all lamented , had been catised by the state of the Com Laws ; and he warned their Lordships not to attempt an alteration -which might sprtad vider the existing depression , until its connexion with the alleged cause was clearly made out . Com Laws in some shape or other wers in force in every part of Europe , and under their operation oui manuficturiBg prosperity had grown up , and the price of food been maintained with fewer flactuatiena than in any other country .
The Dake of BicHiro * D , in answer to a statement by Lord Monteagle , denied that Lord Grey'a Cabinet bad ever been divided upon the subject of the Corn laws . He ' approved the firmness of Government in maintaining the present law , and -was delighted to hear that there was no present intention of a change . Lord FiTZWiLXJA * admitted that the present law m , an improvement upon ita predecessors , inasmuch as it in some degree approximated to a fixed duty . He supported the morion for a committee , and from the constant variations to which the Corn Lawi had been subject from their first institutions , and the constant disappointment and distress they had oceaaioned , drew the condnaion that it wonld be everao , until the true principles of commercial legislation ¦ were acted upon , and all artificial restrictions abolished .
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Lord Brobghah contrasted the ability and the absence of party feeling -with -which the question had been brought before th » ir Lordships -with the spirit of factions injustice in which the concessions of last session—great in themselves , though , as he thought , insufficient—had been received by the League , and denounced in indignant terms the blind partisan violence which had ltd them to savil at the carrying out even of their own principles . He defended himself from the calumnious imputation , that be had offered his services to the League , and explained the real chiracter of the conversation which had been thus grossly misrepresented . He exculpated the more respectable members of the League from a connexion with this
falsehood , as well as with the speech of the Dissenting minister who bad hinted at assassination , but complained that they did not take pains to sever themselves from the pollution they must contract from such companionship . Be supported the motion for the appointment of a Committee ; and after showing by the example of the years in -which the continental system was in fall operation , and in spite of which there had been an extensive importation , that the apprehensions of those who feared a dependence on the foreigner were unfounded , concluded by explaining , that although an advocate for fite trade , he would not oppose the levying of a duty upon fureign procJuce for the purpose of revenue ; he objected only to the principle of protection .
After a few words from Lord St . Vincent and Lord UOUNTCASHEL in opposition to tn « motion , Lord MONTEAGLE replied , and their Lordships , upon a division , declined to appoint the proposed Committee by a majority of 122 .
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HOUSE OF COMMONS . —Tuisdat , March 14 . Mr . T . Dvxcombb stated , that he wonld postpone until this day fortnight the motion of which be bad given notic 9 for Thursday next , relative to the manner in -which justice was administered by a portion of the magistracy during the disturbances which took placelast year in the manufacturing districts . Lord ASHLEY jrave notice of his intention to move on Tntsflnv , tbB 2 gtnof March , the following resolution : — " That it is the opinion of this House that the continuance of the trade in opium , and the monopoly of its growth in the territories of British India , are destructive of all relations of amity between England and China , injurious to the manufacturing interests of this country by the annihilation of legitimate commerce , and utterly inconsistent with the honour and Unties of & Christian kingdom ; and that steps be taken as sctpn as possible , with due regard to the rights of Governments and individuals , to abolish the evil . "
Mr . Wabd moved for a Special Committee to inquire what peculiar burdens are borne , and what peculiar exemptions enjoyed , by the landed interest . He considered stability to be the great essential of any Corn Law ; and tbero conld be no stability without thr ascertainment of the points to which this motion was directed . He did not believe that any peculiar burdens were really borne by the landed classes ; on the contrary , he was persuaded that the peculiarity was all on the side of exemption to them ; but he bad put his motion in its present shape that they might hava an opportunity of making out their case if they could Be commented upon and disputed various general propositions in divers speeches of his opponents , particu laxly denouncing an assertion ef Lord Stanley , that the
general policy of this country required protection to land . He would admit the necessity for that special protection , if special burdens could be shown ; but he denied the existence of any such burdens ; for he cjuld not consider as special burdens the cost of buildings and improvements , or the fluctuations of prices , there being in every trade outgoings analagons to these . Not was the Income-tax a peculiar burden on the land . But there were the poor-rates , the county , highway , and church-rates , and the tithes . Now the value of houst property was less than that of laud ; yet house property paid more than half of the entire poor-rate . Land was always gaining by every public improvement : thus he knew of a pariah where a raitoay , passing through , defrayed half of the rates fur the poor . As u > church-rates , the common argument used against the Dissenters , that they bougat their loud with that iDcumbrance , deserved to be remembered here , for it was an argument fairly applicable to all burdens
on land . With respect to tithe it was sot a bnrden . but a co-proprietary right . That charge was not being borne by the rent , but having existed fton > time immemorial , independently of and collaterally to it . He then ¦ went into the history of the land-tax . At the Rev&lution it had been imposed at the rate of four shillings upon the value , as the value would be from time to time ; but at the present day it-was still levied upon tht low valuation which land bore one hundred and sixty years ago ; and in many parts of the country the levy did not reach to anything like four shillings , even upon that low valuation . If , however , the full four shillings were actnally levied , and this upon the real valuation , still the proportion borne by the land would not be larger than in most of the continental countries . In the imposition of general taxea , the agriculturists ha > . constantly contrived to get special exemptions , as upon profcate and legacy duties , and even the minor items of farm servants , husbandry herses , sheep-dogs , and
eo on . Mr . G . BaNKES , though about to move an amendment on a subject more interesting to the landed classes than the subject of this motion , was fully prepared to meet the motion itself by a direct negative . To appoints committee for the purpose now tuggested ¦ would be peculiarly dangerous at this period of anxiety among the sgriculturalists , by leading to the appruben-» ion that Parliament -was about to derange them bj atill farther interference . The object professed by the mover was to abolish all protections ; and , that being the case , why was this motion levelled against the agriculturists alone ? He defended himself from some attacks which were made upon him on a former night by Mr . Cobden , and which , on that night , the lateness
of the hour and the interposed speech of Sir B . Peel had prevented 6 im from answering . Mr . Cobden bad then asserteo that the Dorsetshire labourers were paid at the lowest rate of weekly wages , and were the most ignorant , neglected , and miserable peasantry in all England . Mr . Bankes now read various letters showing the -wagts t > f the labourers on his own estate to bt ample , and their condition comfortable . The writers , he said , who were hia tenants , had sent him those letters in answer to inquiries which he had made without apprising them of the purpose for which he wanted their answers . They expressed their fears , however , that if the price of corn should fall further , they eheuld not be able to continue the present remuneration . Some person , using Mr . Cobden ' name as his authority , bad lately visited every cottage in the quiet village in w ^ iich he I Mr . Bankes ) resided , telling the cottagers how miserable they were , and leaving -with each a packet from the Anti-Corn Law League
That visitor , he said , appeared to have reported tbe mere money wages of the labourers , omitting to state the allowances and advantages given to them in rentfree cottages and lands , wheat , fuel , and other articles . Mr . Bankes , after mentioning other particulars respecting the state of the poor ia hU own neighbourhood , and the exertions which , as a landlord , he bad made for their benefit , and exposing the injustice of Ma assailant in having made these charges against him without'having ascertained them to be true , desired not to be understood , however , as expressing himse ' . I wholly satisfied with the condition of the Dorsetshire poor ; on the contrary , he anxiously wished and not without hope , for some improvement is tbat condition It had struck Mm with some surprise that , substquent to the former debate , when large bodies of persons thought fit or necessary to congratulate the Hon . Member for Stockport as to the figure which he bad diB played in that House , and en the impression which he had made , tbat it was rather infelicitous tbat the first
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ground of congratulation to the Hon . Member waa on bis stern regard to justice—( laughter , and heaR , huar . Waa it . be would ask , from a stern regard to justice that the Honourable Member proceeded to censure before he collected even the evidence ?—( hear , hear . ) Was such a proceeding conaistent with any equitable or ChriBtiau feeling , or was it a way in which the debates should be carried on in that House , involving such serious charges against the characters of individuals ?—( hear , hear ) [ f such were the Honourable Member ' s notions of a stern sense of justice , he ( Mr . Bankes ) boped that it was a description of justice with which he should n ^ t ofttm ba brought in contact . He flattered himself that he had now sufficiently disposed of all these charges ; but there were still a few
other points with respect to which h ; -wished to make some observations . As for the line of conduct taken by the Hou . Member for Stockport , who bad been elected by a large constituency , and who was distinguished for his eminent talent , he ( Mr . Bankes ) would only say that he felt called »? on to give an answer to all the questions which applied to the aHmrtiou of his property . There was one question which the Honourable Member , 'however , bad pot to him , which he did not tbinfe was altogether fair , he meant , when the Honourable Member asked him what he ; Mr . Banks ) would say at the next agricultural dinner at Blaudford . In reply , however , he would observe that he could not exactly tell , for the Honourable Member for Stockport might be there himself . The Honourable Member hid said in his speech on the former
occasion , tbat at the nbxt dinner one black sheep would be thtre , and he had told toe Souse what be would say . Now he ( Mr . Bankes ) would just state what be would say in answer , if the Honourable Gentleman did make hia promised observation . Tbe Honourable Member bad alluded to what be said about the sun gilding tbe spire of the church , and the dome of the palace , and the thatch of the cottage ; and the Honourable Member added , tbat the black sheep he alluded to would get up and observe tbe chimney of the landlord . ( Hear , bear . ) Now , if he ( Mr . Bankes ) heard any such observation at that dinner from tbe Honourable Member , he would say yes , and tht factory chimney too , — daughter , )—that tall , gawky , ugly chimney , which poured forth volumes of smoke—that chimney , to which might appropriately be applied the
lines" The < tasteless' column pointing to the skies , Like a tall bally lifts its bead and lies . " ( laughter )—It might be his ( Mr . Banke ' s ) duty as chairman of that dinner , to propose a health . He might have to say he had to propose a toast in honour of a distinguished individual who was present , and who was no personal friend of bis / bat as he was the son of a farmer , and was descended from a long line of Sussex yeomanry , be came among them id sheep ' s clothing —( laughter ) . The Hon . Member bad also said that he would put the agriculturists on their defence , and should call upon them to show the benefit which protection had conferred on agriculture . His answer was , that protection bad brought thousands and thousands of acres into cultivation , which never could have
taken place but for protection , and the labourers who tilled it , therefore , never could have been employed . The culture and enclosure of waste land had been going on rapidly for yea ) s , until tbe present check was put upon it , and until means were f « uud of inspiriting the agriculturists a stop would be put to its progressi hear , hear ) . He recollected travelling from his father ' s house to London , which was about 100 miles , at a time when there was 40 miles of waste land to be seen , and now there waB not 10 miles—( hear ) . No land could have formerly looked more unpromising and more hopeless thaa this laud in Dorsetshire , Hampshire , and Surrey , but in travelling this road now , it would be seen that villages had sprung up , and thousands of husbandmen were employed ou it —( hear , hear ) .
If the Honourable Member had been in Dorsetshire , ho must have been much struck with surpise at the desolate state of some of the land on the entrance of ihat county , but it was not worse than much of that now under profitable cultivation . In the union in which he lived he knew that a few weeks ago there was not a single able-bodied labourer ou the rates , and this was the effect of the enclosure of waste lands , which it was the object of the Hon . Member for Sheffield ' s motion to put a stop to . To-morrow riight that dangerous body the anti-Corn Law League were to remove to a larger scale of agitation , and were to appear at the first theatre of the town . On that occasion the Honourable Member for Stockport was to take his benefit , and was to be
the lion of the show He wished to call the attention of the Chancellor of the Exchequer to the money collected by this body . He should like to know where it waa lodged —( laughter)—as it would enable the Chancellor of the Exchequer ro apply for the Income Tax— ( laughter ) . — Thfly were told that this y » ar the fund oolleoted was , £ 50 , 000 and next year it would be £ 100 , 000 , which , taken at the medium of the two years would give £ 75 ( 00 to be rated to the tax . With respect to associations generally , he would not give any opiuion of his own , but . would refer to some expressions which he found ' on the subject in a debate which took place in 1825 . The first quotation was— " The House would bear in mind that this association , though a
public body , differed from moat publio meetings in this point—that they were all of one mind . There was no competition of opinion ; no opposing voice was heard . Every speech was previously arranged , aDd every decision was unanimous . Indeed , ; if any unhappy adversary had the hardihood to present himself , he would most probably get a reception which would prevent any repetition . Formed as such a body was , there was a danger in the indefinite duration . Under different circumstances the fickleness of the multitude might operate as a check to the probable evil results ef such an association ; but he waa compelled , with regret , to say , that , a most influential body , whose duty it was to impart re-Imious consolation , and to keep themselves apart
from political contention , not only encouraged , but assumed a part of its power . Next , in upholding that association were to be found men of disappointed ambition and considerable talents , who exerted themselves , no matter whether on real or imaginary grievances , in exoiting the public feeling against the government ; and in inflaming the population against the laws , and what they described a prodigal and corrupt administration of them . " And again , subseqaently was the following passage : — " Now , he thought that no man who understood the constitution of the country , cojild contemplate the levying of money upon his Majesty ' s subjects by an irresponsible body , to be applied to objects not previously defined , but at the discretion of the selfconstituted authority by whioh such money was called for , with any olher feeling than that of unequivocal disapprobation . " This was the language of his Right Honourable Friend the present
Chancellor of the Exchequer , in introducing the bill against illegal associations in Ireland . The next opinion he should quote was tbat of the Right Hon . Baronet now at the head df the government , ** He would first notice an argument that had been made use of , in the course or this disoussion , by an Hon . member , the effect of which , if it were well founded , woald be to take away from government , or from Parliament rather , all right of interference in the case of Associations that might be deemed illegal . The Honourable Gentleman had expressly said , * he woald not vindicate the acts of the Catholic Association ; he thought them to be , in many respects , indefensible , and he could not stand forward as their advocate . ' Bat still the Honourable Gentleman conceived , that the hands of the House were tied up—that these people laboured under such a grievance , as took from the House all right of iuterfeteiice with their proceedings ; those proceedings being admitted , by tbe Honourable Gentleman him-
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self , to be indefensible . Wh y . ifthia were so , there was an end ot all their deliberations in that House on thiB or any other subject . If that doctrine was , to prevail , it must follow that the subjects of this country , if they should imagine themselves to be suffering under a grievance of this or any other kind , might resort to unconstitutional measures for their redress ; which measures , however , Parliament could not interpose to check , until those grievances should have been first ' removed . Wow , he maintained , that from the moment Parliament recognised such a doctrine as this , they would abdicate their legislative functions altogether . It seemed necessary to approach this argument in the first place , before he proceeded to any other
observations ; for if the principle were onoei accepted where was its application to terminate ? Where were these associations to end ? There were many persons who considered the representation of the people in Parliament to be so bad and imperfect , that & large portion of the people were deprived of their rights . Now , that might be considered a grievance , and a grievance of a very heavy kind ; and , if the argument ; he had alluded to was to be admitted , ! why might not the country expect an association for the purpose of obtaining Parliamentary Reform—"( ones & # " hear , hear ") ? What would be the consequence of such a system he linew not ; bat he called \ upon the Hon . Gentlemen , who expressed by their cheera their willingness t » have such associations , that if they
admitted the principle in one case , they must expect associations for the removal of every r « al or sopposed grievance ; and if Parliament should afterwards think » f putting an end to them , the answer would be , that the subjects of the country , and aoi its legislature , were the proper judges of those grievances , and of the propriety of the measures to be taken to redress them . That , h&weyer , was not hia reading of the law . He conceived Parliament to be tho soJe constitutional judge of these matGers , and if the Parliament thought a law ought to be continued ^ those who fancied themselves aggrieved by it roust not resort to unconstitutional measures io procure its abolition . They might petition , they mighj . represent their grievances to Parliament , and their petitions and
representations would be taken into * consideration ; but Parliament would abandon its doty , if it allowed any body of men to act independently of its authority , and only according to their own free pleasure . " These were the words of the Right Honourable Member for Tamworth in 1825 , and they exactly described the association now in question . Tne Noble Member for Sunderiand chee ' red ; in reference , perhaps , to the circumstance that thn association thus censured by Parliament , in 1825 , did ia the end succeed . ( Hear , hear . ) He would beg , then , to recall the recollection of the House lo another association , which did not ' succeed in tile end , though it produced great excitement and popular commotion in its progress , i That
association was a Protestant Association , formed on principles intended to be entirely in conformity with the law , and by men of respectability , pf good talents , and of honest intentions . Of this association , Lord George Gordon was chosen to be the head , for the sake of the weight which his excellentiprivate character would give to any association with which he was connected , he being , to use the words of Lord ( at that time Air . ) Kenyan , " a mart of blameless life and conversation , not mixing in the vices of the age ; a man irreproachable in his moral and religious conduct . " ' It was not necessary for him ( Mr . Bankes ) to relate the transactions which followed , in connection with this Association , in the year 1780 ; he { would only
observe , that though its Members had meetings in all the large halls in the metropolis , it never occurred to them to hire Drury lane Theatre ] for their purposes . On the day before their petition was presented to the house , they assembled in St . George'sfields , to consider of the most prudent and proper manner in which to attend its presentation ; and Honourable Gentlemen were aware , that on the day it was presented , hardly any Member who was present in the House thought he should leave the House alive ; indeed , the only public man who showed real courage on the occasion was the Sovereign , whom the anti-Corn Law League described in one of their papers as " Stupid George the TbirfL" The anti-Corn Law League waa pursuing the same course
now , which had been pursued by the j Association of 1778 in its outset ; meeting in large rooms , and collecting petitions to be brought with great effect before the House ; but the present Association was certainly going much beyond that of 1778 , in thus announcing a public meeting in a public theatre—( hear , hear , hear ) . He ( Mr . Bankes ) would put it to the House and to ! the Government , whether this was not a subject fit for the consideration of Parliament , seeing , * as they did , that from day to day some new attempt was made , somo new experiment for getting up public interest and public excitement—( hear , hear ) . ] Public excitement was what the League professedly and publicly desired ; their complaint was , ' that hitherto
they had not been able to produ « e this excitement , and , accordingly , first one scheme and then another was resorted to , and now they were about to try a public theatre . One thing was quite certain , that until they had produced it , they would not come before the House practically with a proposition as to the corn laws—( hear , hear . ) It was the absence of ihe required excitement that had occasioned the postpouement of the Hon . Member for Dumfries ' notice—( hear , hear , )—it was this that had caused the postponement of the Hon . Member for Wolverhamptos ' s motion on the corn laws ; for the League were conscious that at this moment there was no feeling in unison with theirs throughout the metropolis , and very little throughout the country at large .
He could not refrain from humbly submitting to his Right Honourable Friends that this was a matter not unworthy of their consideration , ' and as far as regarded the subjeot publicly , he was ; quite content to leave it entirely to their opinion , j As to matters affecting those who , like himself , desired to live quietly and safely among their tenantry in the country , the ministry had not the power of knowing , as he and other gentlemen in the country had , the enormous extent of mischief whioh jmight be produced—which was attempted to be produced , at this present time , by the emissaries of this League—( hear , hear ) . He did not complain that the emissaries tif this League , in his own neighbourhood , had endeavoured to shake any influence he might
have there , or taken steps to prevent , if possible , his future return . He cared not for that , and he would further tell the Honourable Member for Stockport , that if he could influence public opinion against gentlemen who ; differed from him , there was no seat so much injdangor as hia ( Mr . Bankes' ) own ; for his seat depended entirely on public opinion , and he desired to retain it only so long as public opinion went with him . j ( Hear , hear . ) He had no reason for any ministerial support in the county which he represented ; but | he looked to Ministers for the peace of hia private life—for the comfort , happiness , and welfare of the peasantry who lived around him . He looked to | them to drive away , by some means or other , this ! new mode of sending emissaries throughout the country , paid emissaries ; for such were avowed and boasted of
by the Hon . Member for Stockport ( hear , hear ) . It was of . this he complained ; and it was from this he entreated the Government to protect the country ; as one of their fellow citizens , as afaithful and dutiful subject of the Crown , he asked , he besought , he demanded this at the hands of her Majesty's Ministers . Tbe Hon . Gentleman concluded by moving the following amendment : " That it is expedient , as a remedy for a state of anxiety embarrassing and unfair ! to tbe agriculturists , and injurious to commerce , that the attention of this Honse be directed to the continued existence of associations , which , in matters affecting agriculture and commerce , pretend to influence tbe deliberations of the Legislature , an ! which , by their combination and by their proceedings , are at once dangerous to the public peace and inconsistent with the spirit of tbe Constitution . " I
The original motion , as well as ihe amendment , having been put from the Chair , , Mr . Cobdsn said , that when he stated the wages given on Mr . Bank ' s estate , be did not mean to tax that gentleman with paying to bis labourers less than other people ; but he charged , as the vice of the system upheld by Mr . Bankes , and others , that it prevented the possibility of well providing for the poor . He wanted to know , not what was paid to particular labourers in Dorsetshire , but what was ithe average of their remuneration throughout the county . Even on Mr . Banke ' a own estate ia the isle of Purbeck , there were cottages so miserable , tbat medical men had denounced them as actual causes of disease . Throughout that county one person in every seven of the whole population was a passer . }
Mr . Wtkehah Martin showed the . large proportion of legacy and probate duty bornsi by the laid . He corrected some statements of tha mover respecting tbe history of tbe land-tax ; and ! reminded the House , that wh « a that tax was settled by the act cf William and Mary , the charge was made to affect sot land alone , bat money , goods , debts ,- and . stock of every kind , and was in truth very much like an incarae-tax . In our times , however , all these other kinds of property had ceased to contribute to the land-Ux , and the assessment was now left -wholly en the land . Gentlemen who insisted ] on the heavy charge borne by tbe whole community for the sake of the landed class , should remember ; bow large a
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proportion of that tax tjbs borne by the l&nted class itself . : Mr . Williams ( Coventry ) complained of thel advantages enjoyed by the rich under the present ' system of taxation . The amount of the stamp duties was not progressive in proportion to the value of the transactions ou which those duties were imposed . A mortgage for £ 300 , 000 paid only on a duty of £ 25 ; whereas , if it were taxed in proportion to sma ler transactions , it would pay a duty of £ 5 , 000 . Tithes were no burden on land . If the voluntary system were introduced tomorrow , the landlord would not get 6 d . of their value iuto his rents . The great bulk of the taxes was paid by tbe working and middle classes . The poor were taxed for the articles of their consumption ia a orach greater proportion than the rich ; and ihe taafes so paid by poor men were spent in salaries to placemen , the connexions of tbe aristocracy .
Mr . Woodhouse quoted tabular returns , to prove the much greater amount of taxation borne by the landed than by tba commercial interest ; and to show that seven persona in every niae are dependent upon agriculture . Mr . COCHRA . K& made an animated attack on the League , whose organization he considered highly dangeroos to the public ; peace . They professed to seek equaStty ; bat it woatd be equality of wretchedness . The rest canse of the evils they complained of were overproduction and tha advance of machinery He appealed to tbe Hause its favour of tbe classes who ba 1 always . rallied round tns Crown and constitution .
Mr . Gibson hoped the House would not seffar an amendment , attacking men ' s characters , to- be withdrawn witbors a vote marking their general sense upon it . Much was said of the Anti-Corn Law League ; did so corn law leagues exist ? Ha < i the country gentlemen never couatenasced proposals for robbing the public creditor ? Such projects were goiag on even sow . A Mr . Brown , the honorary secretary to a central society for tbe protection of agriculture , had written to the Leagne so lately as l' £ 39 , to propose- that the League shouM cease -to agitate against tbe ccttj law , and join to procure an issue of bask paper , which would have been nothing less than a robbery of the public creditor . The landed interest , by voting for Sir R . Peal's measures of las ; year , had admitted tbat up to tbat time they had bten enjbying what they had no right to ; which enjoyment waa a fraud upon the publis : He complained of the sneering tone taken on the othar aide against manufacturers , ani ? accused Sir R , Pfeel of abetting it .
Sir K . Pbsl agreed that Mr . Ward had' a right to a separate vote on his motion . He should 1 first negative , though the forms of tba House would make tba negation an indirect » ne , the amendment of Mr . Bankes , because he thought it an inapplicable amendment as raised upon this motion , and because he thought it inexpedient to proceed on such a subject as the suppression of thesa societies by way of abstract resolution . Where the existing law is sufficient , tbe House may address the Crovra to execute it , though this nay imply a cenaure on the Ministers ; if , on the other hand , She existing law ia defective , the House may proceed by way of legislative remedy . To the original motion be should liKewiea offer his resistance . Mr . Gibson bod most unfairly taunted the landed classes with
having admitted themselves , by their support of tne new Corn Law , to have been previously defrauding the public . What would Mr . Gibson have said if the same taunt had been thrown upon the manufacturers in consequence of . their declaration , jost now made through Mr . Gibson himself , of their willingness to abolish their own protections % He sfrongly denied tbe charge of having ever sneered at tbe manufacturing interest , which would have ill become him , either in bis political or in Ms personal capacity . Though ha should object to a commit tee , he should not , oa any consideration whatever , object to returns on the BubjeeV for which such 8 * Committee was proposed . Ik had been alleged that th » land was altogether exempt from probate and legacy duty : the law was not so
the land bore a great portion of both thess duties : let a return of the amount of these duties , and ef the duties oa conveyances , be called for , and then the House would see whether the land enjoyed the exemptions- alleged in these particulars . So with respect to other taxes , from which the land bad been erroneously represented to be exempt . The profits of stock bad lately been relieved from poor-rates , and tbe laml had been left to make up tbe difference ; let all this be seen from returns to be printed for tbe House . It had been eaiti that the highways kept up by the land were necessary for tho transport of its own produce ; but wt re not the highways equally uatful to those who bad no land at all ? Then , as to tithe . Tithe fixed by the way of commutation was less a- burden on land than variable tithe , but both were burdens . For his own part , he had never rested the defence of protection on the mere difference of . burdens . He had grounded himself in great measure on the considerations
of general benefit , and of tbe dangers that must arise from a rash destruction of existing interests , so vast in amount as thosa of , and connected with , the landed classes . He bad never applied the general principle of buying cheap and selling <* ear , without this qualification of it Even if a committee -were granted , tha mover , whatever might be its result , would no doubt be prepared to vote tbe very nezt day for a repeal of the Corn Laws ; and if that were carried , tbe subsequent equalization of burdens would be left to take its chance . So complicated a subject might occupy a committee for a twelvemonth . He would not , after the arrangement of lust year , consent to bold out an idea tbat he was prepared to concur in a farther change , the necessity of which he did not discern . Believing , as he did , that the arrangement was a prudent one , he thought it his duty to stand by it , unless he could ba convinced , which he was not , that the circumstances of the country required a departure from it .
Lord How ick wanted to have tbe balance struck between tbe burdens on one side and on the other ; and if after that the greater weight should be found to pteas upon the land , he wonld say eqoaliaa it , but still in some other way than by a corn law . If tbe subject were se complicated that it would occupy a committee fora twelvemonth , how could Sir R . Peel think of recommending it as a matter to be considered by tha whole House upon printed returns ? Lord Hewick then entered into the effects of tithe as a burden on land before and since the Commutation Act , contending that since tbat act the tithe was a burden on the land no longer . He gave no credit to the argument about maintaining the present settlement ; it was clear that tbe existing law would not survive even another rotation of crops ; and -it would be best for the agriculturists themselves that tbe intermediate uncertainty should be determined . He admitted the evil of the anti-Corn Law League ; but it was an evil attributable to the present state of the law .
Mr . Blackstone , as one of the committee of the Society for the Protection of Agriculture , positively stated tbat the Mr . Brown whose letter Mr . Gibson bad quoted bwi uev r been , though be bad attempted to intrude himself as the secretary to tbat society . After sumo further conversation about the supposed Secretary to the Agricultural Society , Mr . BrothERTON moved an adjournment , which , however , he did not press to a division , Mr . Villiers stated , that an agricultural society in tbe country had . sent delegates some years since , when corn was low , to a general meeting of agriculturists in London , with instructions worded in strong terms , respecting the inutility of mere petitioning , the expediency of stopping the supplies , and the necessity of a change in the currency . He would , therefore , ask tha proposer of the amendment to look at home . Mr . Ward said a few words in reply , and tbe House , after rejecting the amendment without a division , divided on tbe original motion . Against the original motion ... 232 For it 133 Majority against it 99
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OTOSSXjby . —Mr . Thomas lbbotson , of Bradford , delivered a lecture in the Association Room , on Tuesday evening last . BRADFORD . —Mr . Peddie lectured on Sunday evening , in the Council Room , to a crowded audience , on the " State Church , and Policy of a State Religion . " He gave general satisfaction . On Monday evening , Mr . Hurley lectured in the Association Room , White Abbey . Mr . Sutcliff occupied the chair . The meeting waa well attended ; this locality is again on its legs , it being broke np by the August league plot . The lecturer received the thanks of the meeting .
The Committee of the Co-operative Store met in their room at tho shop , Chapel-lane , and finally arranged the rules to be laid before the body » n Saturday ( to-night ) , at sev < yi o ' clook . The shop ia well supplied with provisions of the best quality , all being purchased for ready money . The Bradford Council met in the large room . Butterworth Buildings , on Monday evening . Thos Smith paid 6 d . for the Defence Fund ; Park-lane , 6 s . contribution . It was resolved , " That th » question to be discussed on Monday next , to chaageihe meeting of the , Council to Sunday evening . . " The members are all requested to attend on Monday , at eight o ' cleok , to take part in the discussion .
The Chartists ob Little Hokton ny * in the bcnool-rooni , Park-lane , on Sunday mossing , when l ;^ xr ^ , le « ted f 0 . - Btook » . lat » Jf liberated trom , Northallert < m prison , after tare * years' ooannement . Tbe Chabtisk of the Central Uwsiitj met in their room , Batttrworth Buildings , on Sunday morning , when it was recommeaded tbat every Uaartist should use his inflaeiwe to support the Cooperative Store , in Chapel-laae . The me « tiag adjourned to Sunday next , at tea o ' clock , a . m . Paddington . —A new totality has her © been opened , and several memheis enrolled , and cwuioUlors appointed . . The causa looks well .
ToDMOBDEN . —Mr . R . jN |^ r >* ai 7 > delifired two lectures here on Sund >^ s ( asvwr&wf Avlerous and respectable audien € e £ i ^ fet ^ u& 5 r ^^ 5 ?* H £ e ^ e reviewed the trials al ^ an «^ I ^ Iifi ^^ n ^^ ukleb < tare was upon the nwe ^ f ^ i ^ i ^ i ^^ itt ^ MteT , and the manner in W ^» cJ ^ , ; f 9 <| Jll ^* oap / 5 « to gam their object . \ m \* L ^ -r * b *^ P ^*^ ' » Z /
To The Imperial Chartists.
TO THE IMPERIAL CHARTISTS .
Mr. Ferrand And The League.
MR . FERRAND AND THE LEAGUE .
3hn$Imaj ^Parliament.
3 hn $ imaJ ^ parliament .
Veebatim Report Of The Chartist Trials At Lancaster.
VEEBATIM REPORT OF THE CHARTIST TRIALS AT LANCASTER .
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Y 0 L lZ L ' g 7 Si ^ SATURDAY / MARCH 18 , 1843 . * ^™™ Zt *\™ % ™ 7
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i AND LEEDS GENERAL ADVERTISER .
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), March 18, 1843, page unpag, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct642/page/1/
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