Current:

Northern Star (1837-1852), 17th April 1841, Edition 4 of 5, Page 4, Untitled Article

Page 4
Page 4
4 of 8

On this page

  • Departments (2)
    • THE NORTHERN STAR SATURDAY. APRIL 17, 1841.
    • THE PETITION CONVENTION
  • Text (9)
  • Transcript

    • 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.

      Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.

      Untitled Article

      WAP . T ? AfXXm OF EUTCHEli , THE Tvrm ^ T ^ jij ^ i ^ x ^» AS RELATED BY IllAlSELF . lam the aon of George and Hanttab Xiiichell , of Shamble-street , BaraaleT , in the West Biding of the eonsty of York . I -was born at Barnsley on the 12 ih of November , 1824 , and am , consequently , now but just turned 17 years of age , I Am one of fifteen children , though not * fl by the same mother , as my father wa 3 married twice . I have three brothers and eight sisters now tiring . Two Of my brothers are married , sod living at , or near Barnsley , and both are steady and respectable characters —would to God that I had followed their worthy example , and my tender and . virtuous parents ' advice 2

      My brothers are both masons . Two of my sisters are married , the rust are residing with their parents ; and , although I hare been unfortunate , I mean to Bay that there is not a better conducted family , of a poor man ' s daily , in Yorkshire , My parests removed t « York when I was four years old , as my father found it difficult , in his way of business , that « f » bricklayer , to get work in Btrasley . He caaa to the eity to work under his brother , a master bricklayer , who still resides in York , and bears a nws ; upright and honest character . We lived at No . 1 , Hope-str « et , for about

      three years and a kaa . Daring the whole of that p eriod I attended a Quaker ' s School is the neighbourhood of oar residence . I acquired a knowledge of reading and spewing , but not of writing , at that plaoe-ef instructiea . At the end of that tin * my parents returned to Barasley , and i was thea put out to a day scbeol , kept by a Mr . Knight * kit I remained there « nly three or four weeks , being tar » ed away fwan the school by the master for bad coaduet ; and this , as far as 1 can recollect , is the first act which fcaa led to my unfortunate notoriety . One day , before I was twelve years of age , I was strolling aboxt the neighbourhood of Bsrasley when I ch&noed to meet with a maa who xsked me

      where I was-going . I told him I did not know , but that I wanted something to eat . The san said that if I would go with him to a public-house he would give me plenty both to eat and to drink—I followed -tbe man , wfcen be told me that I should have nothing to do but to eat aad drixk « e much as I liked if I would only stay with . aim . I saw that the man was a gipsy , and at the publie-house I got so drunk that the gipsy had to take zse away in his arms . I fell fast asleep , and , npoa waking , I found myself in bed , uader a camp , in a lane . Next morning I saw three little children with them ,-about three or four years old . . The gipsies told me that I was to do whatever they ordered me to do . The party consisted of four men , four women , three children , and myself , so that we were twelve in alL

      I was first employed in stealing grass oat of the fields to feed their horses ; that was wh&l I comlaenced with , They divided , daring the day , into three parties , and went about the country ; they always returned at night , and they never came back without a quantity of provisions with them , such as large pieces of beef and mutton . When I had been engaged for about three weeks in stealing grass for the horses , they took me with them to sell pots and glass among the farm-booses and at vi lages . When I was sent by myself upon these occasions , my instructions were to steal as many geese , ducks , and fowls , and things of all sons , as I could possibly lay hold of , while 1 was going about Belling pots . My piaa was to throw a heavy stick at them , and eo disable them , and afterwards place them in the panniers on the ass which was laden with pot ? . I placed them under the pots . I was expected to bring home three or four fowls , at least , every night , and if I fell short , of that

      number , I was much grumbled at and found fault with ; bit I generally contrived to keep them in good humour on that score , as I was always particularly attentive and successful . My living , in fact , altogether depended upon zpj success in thieving , because if I bronght nothing home to the camp at Sight , I should beg , steal , or starve , as they made it an invariable rule never to give me a morsel upon sight 3 ihat I returned empty-handed ; and there is the greatest difficulty in avoiding detection , as , when a chap knows that he is to get nothing to eat if he brings aoik'ng , if he is imprudent , he will be apt , towards evening , to run risks and chances , rather than go to bed hungry . But 1 had , even when I was hungry , after a long day ' s tramp , always the fear Of bringing disgrace on my parents and family , if I was found out ; and many and many is the time that that very feeling kas made me prefer a hungry belly to the chance of injnriDg my dear parents .

      The pot selling was but a mere cover-for thieving without being suspected , but I did occasionally sell and always ob ? ained good prices . Besides fowls , I was expected to bring tome anything that came in my way , such as little pigs , a lamb , or a sbe « p , if dark , and that I had notliiDg else and we were in a lone place and slack of provisions . Nothing came amis 3 to them , however it was procured , and 1 believe that the vaJne of anything ¦ was very much increased by the danger that we ran in stealing it .

      At nigsi , when it was quite dark , bnt never Woro , the whole force of us , that Is tne men and myself , used to start out upon a regular system of plunder . When we were near a market town and met a person , whether walking or on horseback , we inyariibly stopped him and robbed him of everything he had . We touk care never to be less than three together , and we always had pistols , knives , hand-staves , and bayon-ts at the end of the pistols —in short , we could not be better armed , and were always ready , while the weight of our arms , in case of surprise , did net , in the least , impede our retreat . We always made for a lonely place , and would scamper across the fields , and along lanes and roads , in view of a person on a good horse , till we dogged him to some lonely place , and then we met him and robbed him . I have never known one to escape .

      Though I never saw a man shot by any of tee party , yet I hava frequently seen men s&verelv hurt by my companions , and left on the roa-J for ' dea-i . They used to stab them with knives and bayonets and strike them with their staves , but . they were very cautious of firing , for fear of giving alarm , and were very particular in never committing any depredaiions near the camp , where the women and children were . The exactness with which they found the "way on

      dark nights to strange encampments , in a lone country , struck me as being very curious ; but I found out that they used , at first , to hold horses and donkeys grazing on the road side , for a few days after they took np a n ~ = w poshion , and thus became acquainted with all the lanes , cross-roads , and lone houses in the neighbourhood . Beiat ; so light aad nimble , I was always employed in picking the pockets of those we robbed , while they were on the greutd , or as best I couid manage to ge : at them .

      These robberies , upon a large scale , took place generally about once or twice a week , and the amount of niODey stolen was considerable , I have known £ 153 lo be got upon one occasion , never more than , that , and the ? um thus obtained varied in amount from £ 100 to £ 50 , £ 40 , £ 5 , and down to £ \ , just according to what the parson happened to have about him ; for we always got all , and tome of his clothes , if they were worth having . I have never , in any instance , known them " ail of bringing home some cash , srolen in the ma-aner I have described , from persons coming home from market . I have many times seen persons so attacked , hurt and wounded to that degree , that I thought they were left for dtad . I cannot say whether or not any of them actually died . Sometimes a regular resistance woxld take place and a fight would follow , thea my companions always used their weapons without mercy , and strack without any heed or care of the consequences .

      The master of the gipsies we always called by the name of " Dick Sellers . " There was another man among them we called u Brummagem Jack . " The women cohabited with , the men ; they also went out hawking pots , as I did , and returned home some with fowls and other booty , like myself . The threfe little boys , who I oiten thought were stolen , though I never knew it for a positive fact , used to be employed in collecting sticks to kindle the fire with . They used to be very cheerful , for the-men and women took care always to gire them plenty to eat , eweets , and fruits , and everything thai was nice and good .

      They never remained more than a week in one place , and when we removed we went about ten or fifteen miles , or sometimes twenty miles off , aad then invariably began at the same kind of plunder that we had ¦ jost left . The men used often to bring stolen horses home at night , which they could so disguise that it was quite impossible for any one to know his own . They used to fire them ,- clip them , bore a hole through their ears , suorteaand pall their tails , hog their manes , and disfigure them by other contrivances , so that a man would boy his own horse without ever suspecting him to be the same . These horses they would take ont of the fields at dark , and sext morning , very early , at three or four e ' clock , they would take them to the next fair or market , aad dispow of them as early at possible . 1 never knew any ef them to be taken np , or suspected of stealing hones , or anything else , although stealing was their regular trade . We have often had as many as seven good horses and some donkeys at once , and all stolen .

      The men would sometimes blacken their faces , and disguise themselves in other and various ways , eo that no one could ever know them again . One man « the party was a regular blackamoor . ! They always had plenty of money , and used to speafl it very freely when in town . I have every reason to tn 5 ik that they frequently robbed gentlemen a nonaes of plate and other valnable articles , as I have often known them to change such like articles for gla ? s , china , pots , and other things , as a cover for traffic ; but where they got them I could BOt guess at , as I suppose they were afraid to take jBexperienoed persons to rob housa for fear of being

      Untitled Article

      detected if the alarm was given , and all were not able to retreat . Tt ^ women were all evidently loose girls that h ^ Wn on the town , and it never once struck w fa * , they could be the mothers or tne tnree children 1 have before alluded to , because the children appeared to be much better bred np than the women , and hid signs of respectability in their usual talk , mode of address , ice , so that I never had a doubt but they were the children of respectable parents , stolen , or enticed from their families by the womea when strolling about the lanes and paths in lonel y parts of the country ; which may be very easily done by taking them from servant girls , the one stealing the child while the servant u having her fortune told in a lone bye-way , by the other , of which , and by which means , they make much money , and get

      a great deal of infonnatwn about the neighbourhood . No one will believe how resolutely these gipsy women will stick to a point , and how stealthy and cunning they go about anything they have a mind for . When they are seemingly apart , yet two or three are always ia sight of each other , and as they are less suspected than other people , from their dress and their forwardness in coding towards you , iastead of turning awav when they are seen , it makes them very bold . ' They always appear to be doing something , and always have something t * sell . I have frequently pitied th » poor little children , and often wondered what their parents must feel fcr their loss . Indeed , I wanted one of them to go with me , when I was about leaving my gang to join another party of gipsies , bat as he woild not come , I pat off going abo .

      It was a very common thing to see them ante to the eamp at night with a heifer or a cow ; they would burn letters on them for a disguise , aad take them to the nearest market next morning ( n Bale , same as the horses , also sheep and calves ; but we did most business in korses and beasts , as they travelled best . We went in various direction about tb « country ; at eoetime we were within thirty miles ef London , and our farthest trip to the north was within about twenty miles to the north of York . We were also in the neighbourhoods of Manchester and Liverpool , frequently where we did a great deal of business in the way of thieving ; bat oar best trade was in the

      neighbourhood of Birmingham , as we found , in that town , a much readier quit for our stolen articles . At Birmingham , a thief may sell or exchange anything with safety . In this way I spent about two years , in picking pockets , stealing and thieving everything I could lay my hands npon , killing fowls , and , in short , committing plunder in any way that opportunity offered . All that I received for this was my actual support among them , and that according to my activity and service . As to clothing , I was fitted out just like all the rest , and upon the same terms , with tho cloth that we used to steal from the cloth hawkers in country towns . So it W&S with our blankets and everything else in the way of clothing

      or covering . In summer time the men would sleep at a publichouse , or at tbe most respectable inn in a town , for they were well dressed , and would pass for respectable footmen , servant ? , chaise-boys ont of place , or various other businesses , which made the people not suspect them . These houses they invariably robbed of everything they could lay their hands upon , and , if met by the inmates , next day , they never would know them . In the winter we all camped together , and tbe men and myself went out prowling all night Jong . ( To be continued in our nexL )

      The Northern Star Saturday. April 17, 1841.

      THE NORTHERN STAR SATURDAY . APRIL 17 , 1841 .

      Untitled Article

      THE YOUNG LIAR OF THE NORTH . It is now twenty years or more since the immortal Cobbktt so appropriately christened our fallacious neighbour " The Great Liar of the North ?' and , as ill weeds grow apace , we had every right to expect some produce from the parent stock . We knew that the Leeds "Nkddt , " and the Manchester " Flanders mare , " could not remain so long within reach of each other without producing a jennet of some sort or other . We are now happy to tell the naturalist that our hopes have been realized in the full development of its ancestral propensities ! by a little dirty brat yclep'd The J nli-Corn Law Circular . Indeed , if our friend doesn ' t look sharp , the child will beat its papa .

      It is not only a shame , but a sin to " spare the rod and spoil the child ; " and , in truth , we take no small blame to Ourselves for not having sooner chastised the little reprobate . In its musty tale of last week , " the Young Liar of the North" chatters something about Chartist leaders being hired by the bread-taxers , which , co donbt , the bread-eater had heard his parenti , or guardians , or nursemaids talking about . See , ftfen , how fooliaii to talk before children . The little rascal patche 3 up a lamo story from the evidence of another Patche , who was examined before a

      Committee of the House of Commons , npon the Walsall election , with reference to the slovenly manner in which the two late honourable candidates bribed , and committed sundry other aristocratic pranks ; and it appears that one iNiGHTi . NGALB , from Manchester , in company with one Peteb Wiikins , ( another of Cobbett ' s christening , ) was hired by the Tories to spout or them ; and then the brat says that Nightingale is a Chartist leader , and he concludes his nonsense thus : — " Nightingale is one of the heroes of its Ohe Northern StarJ pages , and his exploits at Walsall were the theme of its loudest plaudits . "

      "i ou lying little monkey—you dirty little brat ! Can you find the name of Nibhtingale four times mentioned in the Northern Star in nearly as many years ? Can you find it once mentioned as a Chartist , or even hinted at by us in connection with the Walrall election \ Answer that , Young Neddy- Jack-Taylor ! Yon know , you young imp , that NIGHTINGALE is not a Chartist leader—never was a Chartist leader , and never will be a Chartist leader .

      i ou mistook the pages of the Star for your papa ' s lying journal , wherein was published Mr . O'Cox-5 EU / S "plaudits" of Mr . NiGHTr . vciLE . You must go there , you cripple , to look for Mr . Nightingale ' s character . You know that no Chartist leader has ever been hired by Whig or Tory , withonz being instantly drummed out of the Chartist camp . Witness the " Russians . " You know that the

      Chartist leaders , who have defeated your whole army , have been , one and all , working men , and you naturally feel the smart of your humiliation . You little cur ! your masters have tried to hire Chartist leaders , and they couldn ' t get one ! they picked up one Mosley from the ranks , and what has become of him 2 Thii has been their only purchase , and they had a lob in him ! We wish them joy of him and you !

      "i ou say that 50 a know the exact sum of money that Nightingale got for his expences to Walsall . What do we care foi that ? Can you tell us how much Mr . Acljlsd got to bear his expences from Hull and Bristol 1 and what he will charge fur a visit to either of those towns , or to Leeds , or the West or East Riding of Yorkshire ? He is one of your leaders ; and he will tell you not to throw stones from his wing of he house , at all events . You call Dr . Wade a Chartist—perhaps you call yourself a Chartist of the right sort . Your praise of Lovett , Vincent , and Collins is rather , unfortunate , inasmuch as the Coavention , of which they were members , resolved that you should be opposed .

      But , young cub , answer us just this one question . You are hare-hunters , whose practice it is to try back when they loose the game ; we aia fox-hunters , whose custom it is to cast a-head . Now , in trying back , why miss a single gap through which tbe game has passed 1 Why jump from 1841 to 1815 , and not try 1819 ! Can you answer that ! If the Corn Laws be unholy , and we admit it , what mu Peel ' s Bill , which was to the moneymongers an equivalent for the Corn Law Bill of the land-mongers ? Why pass that over f There is £ 30 in every £ 90 at once , which requires no abstruse

      calculation , no balancing of foreign and domestic interest , hat a plain question of pounds , shillings , and pence , which every man can understand , and no man can mystify . Why not try that gap 1 Ah ! because it is too plain for humbug . Ought you to kill one of the Siamese youths and allow the other to live ! No , no ; kill the one , whose putrid carcase will soon kill the other . Kill Pkkl ' s Bill , and the other will soon die of stench ; but kill the Corn Laws , and Peel ' s bocomes a hundred-fold evil , it leaves it in the power of every pensioner , taxeater , soldier , einecunst , and state auper . and

      Untitled Article

      mo jey monger , io pnrchase ju ? t three times as much , of the poor man ' s labour for his settled income , as he could before . Begin at the pounds , shillings , and peace , and then see what the Chartist Leaders will 4 xt for yon . Now do this , or for ever hold your gab . There are two ends to the stick , the right and the wrong end ; we have got hold of the right end , and vre axe bo whacking » nd thumping you , you poor wretches , that you don't know whether you stand on your head or your heels , or -which way to turn ; and while yon are essaying to make the Corn Laws a religious questioB , you most religiously commence with a " Lie . " " Young Liar of the North , " we hare taken so much from one leaf of your book , and now we shall proceed to take a sotap from another leaf .

      In the Juvenile Monster ' s Nursery Thoughts upon the duty of the " Plague , " ( come , that's a good mme for tbe League , ) we find the following ( for fceza destructive , but to oar party ) most wholesome advice . In talking of singleness of purpose , the brat says— "They most avoid the error of the goodhearted , bustling Martha , who was * careful and troubled about many things . ' They must seek to discover that especial task which they are fi . ted to discharge , assured that , by directing themsslves to that * one thing which is needful , ' they are rightly serving that end for whioh they were sent into the world . " Thanks , great thanks , precocious youth ! for thy juvenile approval of the identical principle upon whioh the Chartists have acted throughout .

      Now , then , it follows , as a matter of course , that the " one thing which is needful" ia the thing which Bhould absorb our every attention . This limits our labours to the simple consideration as to which of the two questions shall be given up by the Chartists ; as the agitation for one would damage the other , and reduce us to the sad plight of the w good-hearted , bustling Martha . " Upon this subject we fancy there will not , at least among Chartists , be two opinions . So far so good . Now , just a word by way of reply , to the whole M Establishment" in general , and the Anglo-Saxon and " Young Liar of the North" in particular , upon the subject of Chartist interference at

      anti-Corn Law meetings . In the commencement of the campaign , the Chartists attended those meetings , by whomsoever called ; they discussed the several questions and resolutions proposed , with temperance and good taste ; they merely voted for the affirmative or the negative , aye or no ; but when the Chartists discovered that ten pair of kid-ekin glovea , and ten gold rings , upon shop boy ' s fingers and thumbs , under the nose of a short-sighted , swiveleyed Mayor , counted for hundreds of blistered hands , too dark to be Been in the distance , the owners of those English bands began to call oat " fair play , " " fair play . " In many cases , and

      particalarly in one instance , in Glasgow , where those systematic patriots counted their bouse , the people found that the Provosts and Mayors were owls by candle-light , though sharp as hawks by day . Even this the Chartists bore for a long time , until it was discovered that the treachery of ex officio Chairmen caased alarm and discontent in the minds of some of the conscientious Repealers . To lull so dangerous a suspicion it then became necessary to bull ; the Chartists , which was successfully tried at Liverpool , upon a large scale , and as successfully retorted in London , Manchester , Leeds , and other

      places , upon as large a scale . The Chartists were not slow at discovering that this want of vision in Ex-qfficio chairmen , backed by the whole force of the " Establishment , " was calculated to give the ** Pbgue " a triumph at every meeting . Thus was Chartism to have b « en swamped in a Repeal of tbe Corn Laws . For a short period these very circumstances did actually intimidate our friends , and add to the insolence and intolerance of our rampant enemies ; until at length , ( dependants , spurred on by the rode example of their employer , ) Mr . SYPNKT Smith actually had recourse to knocking off bats , and other ungentlemanly violence .

      The Ex-officios refused the people tbe use of their own buildings , to take a negative or affirmative vote upon their own resolutions ; and ia many cases , where an Anti-Corn Law meeting was divided , it was discovered that ten , twenty , thirty , and even as many as fifty to one have been against motions , said to be carried by the Ex-oficios . Wo require no proof beyond tbe unanimous testimony of working men to substantiateourcharges ; but , Bhould any bo thought necessary , we saw with our own eyea , and heard with our own ears , at the recent Leeds Demonstration , the grossest ,

      most palpable , and ungentlemanlike cheat ever attempted to be practised . We subsequently saw published , as the resolutions of a meeting of more than 10 , 000 persons , a string of stuff that was whispered , amid a storm of hisses , in the ears of a man who was voted not to be in the chair . Thus , if proof beyond the honest testimony of honest working men be tequircd , we hava bad oral and ocular demonstration of the fact ; add to this the declaration of Mr . Walter , as Chairman , that a protest merely read was carried .

      What alternative had wo under such circamsfauce 3 , but to move an impartial Chairman , and declare our principles , not by a negative vote upon a clap-trap resolution , but upon the affirmative of those principles % How were we to meet" angry feeling , " and " passionate invective , " but in kind ' . Aye , and should the advice of ' Anglo Saxon" be acted upon , we will meet blow with blow , moral force with moral force , and physical force with physical force , when unconstitutionally used . This system was also resorted to by hired and unprincipled lecturere . Just let the " Young liar of the North "

      Look on vnspicture , And then on this . 3 lr . Sytlnty Smith , that It was announced that fearless champion of the Mr . Sydney Smith was to poor man ' s rights , has been deliver an address upon incessant in his advocacy the eulj ^ ct of the Curn ef the cause nearest every Laws , last night at Berpoor man's heart , there- vuomisey , and the working peal of theodious , nnchris- classes considering themtian , ungodly , inhuman selves as the parties most Ctirn Laws . This talented interested in theciiscussicn , orator lectured every night niustered in great numbers , during the past week , to About eight o ' clock the crowded and highly de- lecturer arrived , when Mr . lighted audiences of the Barleycorn took the chuir , ¦ working classes , in differ- and announced Mr . Smith

      ent parts of the Metropolis , to the meeting . Previous and , in every instance , the to the commencement of lecturer was heard with business , Mr . Wall , a tbe greatest attention Chartist , asked the Chairthroughout his able expo- man if discussion would sure of the infernal laws be allowed , to which he ¦ which rob the poor for the replied . " No ; certainly benefit of tbe rich ; and , not ; Vie bills announad a at the close of each moot- lecture by Hr . Sydney ing , the assembled thou- Smith who has engaged the sands retired highly de- room . " lighted with the proceed- Mr . Wall : " Will Mr . ings , after giving three Smith' answer questions times three cheers for their which may be proposed by indefatigable champion . tho meeting ?"

      Chairman : " No ; decidedly not . " Mr . Wall : «• Are there to bo any resolution ! 7 " Chairman : " O , no ; Mr . Smith Is of opinion that resolutions lead to argument , and it la quite necessary that the working men should appear to be unanimous . " Upon the latter announcement , several Chartists about the cnalr expressed tneir disapprobation , when Mr . Smith knocked one man ' s hat off and commenctd a violent attack npon the Chartists generally . How , you scape-grace . ' "how are you offfor soap ?" and Chartist leaders I

      In conclusion , don't forget your assertion ; we pin you to it ; produce your proof of the Star ' s ' loadest plaudits" of Nightingale , or wear your name cheerfully as a Yonng Liar of the North . " In your own words , and directed to with your own hand upon the wall , thus $ &- " We defy you . " The Young Lia * " thus concludes : — 46- " Our friends of the press will , we hope , give all the publicity in their power to the doings of these men , in order to put their deluded followers on their guard . " So say we , Young Liar J" Publicity is all wo want to crash yon to atoms .

      As a matter of course , the Artful Dodger ( ChronicleJ and the Golden Sun have taken the article , body and sleeves , from the " Young Liar . " Will they publish our answer ! Not they , indeedthe dsbves .

      Untitled Article

      THE CONVENTION , AND- THE EXECUTIVE . From the letter of the Executive , whioh we published last week , we fear they have mistaken our previous caution for their protection , and that they mistake responsibility for duty . We object to any responsibility whioli may subject them to jealousy being imposed upon them ; bat wo would still more object to any fastidiousness in the diachar * e of an imperative duty . There is no responsibility in drawiug names from a hat ; but there is a duty

      which somebody must discharge , and for the discharge of which the Exe « utive is , we think , eat qualified . We trust , therefore , that they will call a public meeting for the most convenient and earliest day , to reduce by ballot to the required number the number of persons chosen to sit on tho Convention , in order that we may give timely notice in our next . While we would secure them from responsibility , we would expect a fearless discharge of duty . This is the most simple that could be imposed .

      Untitled Article

      WAIT A WEE . We are near , very near , the beginning of the end . It iB an old and not a bad Baying , that u when poverty comes in at the door , love flies put at the window . " But , alas ! the Whigs make their friends even love by compulsion , for having forced a little " sneaking regard" through the door , they now make their lovers build up their windows for fear of an escape .

      Truly , Whig courtship is an odd thing . A rural ruffian forces " lumps of love" upon us , and Frank Basing niches it up like the frail sisters of old ; so there we are , like a horse with a cart tied to bis tail , —no escape ; if he kicks he only hurts his hocks , and if he runs away he drags his load after him . Well , never mind . We have heard much of the grand effect of pressure from without , and now let us have a trial of the effect of pressure from within .

      w It is an ill wind that blows nobody good , " says the proverb , and , in good faith , our kind rulers very much resemble some Irish liberal landlords , who , we have heard , enable their cottier tenants to pay high rents for low hovels , by placing them as " brokers" or " keepers , " as they are termed , over the more wealthy . * The Whigs , for tea years , hare tried the system of feeding one section of the community upon

      another , section . Tbe landlords got a slice of the parsons and the peasants ; the parsons got a slice of the solid , or ' oonBolid , " or " oonsolidatsd fund , " which literally means " the calf in the cow ' s belly . " The mill-owners got a slice , and a fat one , of their slaves ; the people got a slice of the sabre , and now the pensioners want ten per cent , of a slice of all ; and , in order to effect this , the joiners and masons will get a slice in shutting out Whig daylight .

      Wo hear of nothing now but meeting the tea per cent ., and what may follow , so that presently , in good earnest , John Bvll ' s house will not only be his castle , but his tomb . This is the pressure from within . Now , all this workB marvellously well for us ; every poor beggar who has been niched off may be numbered among the killed , or cut off , Of the enemy , ; while those who have been built out are sure to join our ranks . Our corps is getting Tery strong ; and why not , with such a recruiting service , with General Baring as our recruiting officer , tho Treasury our depot , and the honourable corps of pensioners our staff ) Good lack ! what a country of rogues and * paupers 1 !!

      When Mr . O'Connor was defending himself at York , he said that if the reduction on newspaper stamps was not actual repeal of the law of libel , it was , at all events , a virtual extension of license to all political writers , as they were supposed to write u plain language for a common sense community ; and he taid , that the Stamp Reduction Act was the beginning of Reform . We believe it sincerely ; but the misfortune of the times is , that the Whigs always put the horse ' s head where the horse ' s tail ought to be . They bring their produce into the world wrong end foremost . Now , if the people had get a cheap

      press in 1826 , tho Reform of 1832 would have been a substantial , instead of an ideal reform , and instead of repairing the old road , in common with others , as we should have been engaged in doing , from 182 ( 5 to 1832 , we are now compelled to fight , single-handed , against the whole community , for a new right of passage . Instead of dragging a light load ou a , plain , &nd with help , we are obliged to drag an over-weight , in single harness , up an almost perpendicular kill , and iu which we should utterly fail but for the kind assistance of Baring and Company .

      Again , " out of evil comes good . " In 1839 , when tho Penny Postage was in high favour , Mr . O'Connor , in addressing the people of Newcastle , said , 14 You contemplate great things from the Penny Postage ; let me tell you what your share will be . Just the right to make up almost one million annually of a deficit saved to merchants , traders , bankers , and so forth . " Now , while the melancholy tale before us shows that Mr . O'Connor was not far wrong , let us endeavour to eke our share of good , certainly never intended , out of this evil .

      Under ihe old system , then , we devoted about ten columns weekly to what is oalled local news , that is , to mere matters which happen within the cheap circle of newspaper acquaintance . Men at a distance would not pay two shillings , and two and sixpence , for a double letter containing matter of the utmost importance , and wo would not release it unpaid in utter ignorance of its contents . It will b& borne in mind , that many notioes proelaimed those rejected addresses , tbe more post mark furnishing our correspondent with our only knowledge of him , and our refusal as our only apology . When the

      postage was reduced to fourpence , our circle of acquaintance ) became considerably enlarged ; and upon the " penny trumpet" being sounded , our office has been literally a little post-office , as we stated before , sometimes receiving more than a hundred letters by a single post , which hundred letters would not have been writton undor the old system , and which , if written , and paid for by us , would break us , horse , foot , and dragoons , fn twelve months . Sixty pounds a week would fall far short of paying our present

      receipts , according to the old rate , and now behold our paper . It is England , Scotland , Wales , and a peep at a bit of Ireland , at one view . Bradford , Leeds , Huddersueld , Halifax , and our nearest neighbours , are now but a . portion of the great Radical world , while formerly they constituted nearly our entire circle . Many will now venture a penny , even upon chance , aud hence we not unfrequently receive two or three reports of the same meeting , . written the one in ignorance of the other .

      Hence , then , the impossibility of ever again " gu ling the natives ; " hence , the proof that the knowledge was there , if not dammed up with a golden quicksand ; and , above all , hence our conviction that an organio change now , with such pioneers , sentinels , and telegraphs , must be a change of measures , and not a meie substitution of one set of puppets for another . The penny postage is a national tell-tale ; a cheap di 3 «! oser of secrets ; an . alarmist ; as Junius says , " a hue and cry , which puts the neighbours on their guard , by announcing the thief ' s approach . " The penny postage has given Chartism a shove behind , which has nearly sent it up " Constitution HILL f and now , we defy any designing knave to cut the tight trace and let it down again .

      Go it , Frank ; go it , you cripple ! Ten per cent , more upon windows , customs , and excise , by all means ; nay , why not twenty jit is only a figuro . Tax our livers as you have taxed our lights—nothing like it ; for every squeeze you get from the pressure from without , give your friends a squeeie rom tbe pressure from within . Mister Babisg , the indirect magic of Exchequer harlequinism is gone . Whoever the wand now strikes , he is nailed for the reckoning . Poor John has no more—you cannot get at him , directly or indirectly , dead or alive—there ia no blood in a turnip .

      Untitled Article

      Indeed , your only mode of taxing the poor , now , for the benefit of the rich , would be by a tax on trains . ,... . ¦ ¦ ;¦ , : ¦ . .: - .. - . '¦ ¦ : , ' Frank , be assured , that nature cut you out for a ploughman , bat the Devil ran away with the pattern , and Dame Fortune passing by in a frolicksome mood , made a gentleman of yoa ia fua . Go , go , to the Upper House ; go .

      Untitled Article

      REBELLION , SHIP-BURNING , SMUGGLING , AND RIOT , JUSTIFIED & RECOMMENDED BY THE ¦ ' " CHRONICLE . " We Rive the following treasonable article from the Chronicle of Tuesday last , and we demand the Attorney General ' s interference : — "A pamphlet la Incirculation , entitled ' Bally Bread . ' which recommend * to the indnatrlomi poo * a new species of practical protest against tbe bread tax , as a likely means of exonerating themselves from its severe and Unjust pressure . The Kheme proposed is for a penny subscription from so large a number of the working classes , aided by the contributions of those who also

      suffer from and are opposed te the food monopoly , aa may suffice to freight one « more vessels with continental corn or American flour , and bring it into some English port On Ita arrival , & distribution amongst the ownera to be formally claimed , and if refused , as it of course would , be , to proceed to tbe public destruction of the cargo . Without passing any opinion on this plan , we wish to fix attention on the fact that such a plan is propounded and entertained . " For ougnt that appears the process would be perfectly legal . There is no law against the Investment of the smallest sums by hungry artizans in the purchase of food from foreigner * The vessel so freighted might

      legally anchor in our ports . The petition of a thousand famishing families for leave to land and eat the food which they bad purchased from their small and . hard earnings might be a most unexceptionable document The refusal by the Custom house authorities , or by their masters on reference to them , would also be legal , and we presume ineritable . Tbe * right of the proprietary would be unquestionable to throw their cargo overboard , though the billows of Goolo harbour , or the waters , of the Thames should be whitened with the spoil ; or though the execrations of multitudes ,

      witnessing the waite while they were pinched with want , shouldbe both loud and deep ; and If tbe hungry and augry thousands broke out into violence , it would then become legal to read tbe Kiot Act , call out the military , and suppress the disturbance at whatever cost of human bloodshed . Whatever the wisdem , justice , or expediency , of any one step of the process , each ia yet free from the charge of unlawfulness . The proposition ia legal , and it is entertained ; that is the gist of the matter , and the fact may perhaps be worth a thought . "

      A pamphlet has also been sent to our office translated from the French , by M . Thiebs , in which the writer speaks of the anchoring , in several British ports , of a number of small steamers freighted with muskets , pieces of ordnance , swords , and accoutrements of all sorts , on their way to America , and let the English people know " that if they take them , they should , as loyal subjects , at once giro them up to the nearest authorities . " Ah ! ah ! vre were perfectly aware that the moral force Whigs , who set fire to Bristol , Nottingham , and Newcastle , and threatened the King with decapitation , and paraded pictures of the Queen in breeches , would never wait for the legal , peaceable , constitutional redress of their grievances , but that our forbearance would drive them into open rebellion .

      How very , very , very , disinterested of our contemporary , the Artful Dodger , to risk life and limb , treason and rebellion , arson and murder , with their consequences , for a people who request them not to take the slightest trouble on their behalf . Is this act a proof that , without the people-, violence alone must be the argument of tyrants ! We most Beriouely and strenuously recommend the article in the Chronicle of Tuesday last to the

      consideration of our Glasgow friends on Tuesday next , and we trust that some bold fellow will , in a peaceful and dignified resolution , propose a vote of censure upon that corrupt Journal , for thus attempt * ing to jeopardise the peace of the country , in order to ensure the success of a favourite project . Wo trust that our Glasgow correspondent will favour us with an early report of Tuesday ' s proceedings , and that such a resolution will be among them . Who , we ask , could oppose it !

      We thought it would come to this at last . Bnt , no , no , Master Dodger ; we are not going to have a few more hangings of poor men , to carry any humbug measures for the rich ones . Will Easthope be one , if we get him a party ! Will he lead them on to the righteous worbTof destroying the cargo 1 Will he do his own bidding \ If so , let him send us prospectuses for tbe Whig plundering recruiting service , that we may distribute them among the traitor middle classes .

      Untitled Article

      THE FACTORY QUESTION . The mass of incontrovertible evidence collected during the agitation in which the lamented Sabler and tho now cell-bound Qastler were particularly distinguished , is not erased from tho msmories of our numerous readers . The horrid system was then unveiled to the eye of the world in all its hideous deformity , and tbe facts then adduced were so palpable- as even to silence the priests of Moloch themselves . Yet , notwithstanding the almost

      superhuman exertions of the gentlemen above referred to and their coadjutors , maugre the enormous expence unavoidably incurred in the struggle to emancipate the immature slaves of Christian Britain , and in spite of the prayers and demands of the people to have this stain obliterated from our national character , our merciful legislators , at the bidding of the avaricious proprietors of the " rattle-boxes , " cheated the people with a law productive of no real benefit to the enslaved operative , nor yet beneficial to the humane portion of the manufacturers .

      The poor factory children were , in the first instance , sold by the Irish traitor , O'CoNNELL ; and the factory workers generally were subsequently sold by the law makers , to the " bit of a Parliament . " Since the sale , "the humanity-moBgerp , ' as our neighbour of the Mercury would term them , have rested on their oars . Trial has been made of the Act . It has been " weighed in the balance and found wanting , " and , therefore , the enemies of the . monster are again preparing for the combat . We wish them God speed , and shall render them every assistance in our power , as we fully coincide with their views , namely : —

      " That for the last four years , owing iu part to the amazing increase of the number of factories since 1834 , factory employment has become much more Uncertain than it was before this increase of factories Uok place , and that , during these four years , numbers that did work in factories have lost employment altogether ; numbers more have been put on short time , and another portion have been working excessive hours , which has been injurious to their health , destructive to their morals , and has left them no time , such aa rational beings should have , for either education or recreation . "

      " And also that it would conduce to the interest and add to the satisfaction of factory occupiers , as well as factory workers , if the labour performed In factories was better distributed than it now is ; and that no persons should be allowed to work in factories excessive hours , not longer than ten in any one day . " It is well known that the present Act ^ for regulating factory labour , is , in numerous cases , evaded and violated ; and did it possess any salutary properties , they are rendered inoperative by the cupidity of the employer , and the falsehoods of those parents who have a greater zsst for the few pence , called " wages" ( ?) than they have for the moral , physical , and spiritual welfare of their children . We contend that ten hours actual labour per day is as much as human nature can sustain with

      impunity ; and , therefore , we pledge our assistance in the efforts now about to be made . We hear that a petition iB now . in the course of signature , in this town , praying for the enactment of a law restricting all persons employed in factories to fifty-eight hours per week . There is no doubt of this petition being numerously signed : in fact , we are told that more sheets are required than can at present be supplied , all , or nearly so , being already filled up . Exettiocs ate being made in various other town ? , to get up similar petitions , by Mr . Mark CKABTKEE , a known and tried friend of the factory child . To those engaged in the good work we » y—Go on AND PROBPEB . *

      Untitled Article

      ORGANIZATION :-ELECTION OF THE EXECUTIVE . The general Council of the National Charter Association of Great Britain being now eleated i | is incumbent on them to take instant measures for bringing into existence the Executive Committee , that the Association may be folly and fairly in operation . These must , by the new plan of organisation , be chosen from the General Council . W * have had several letters of enquiry as to whether persons were eligible for the Executive Committee , not being numbers of the General Council . Tb » fourteenth paragraph of the Plan of Organisation answers all these .

      "EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE . " U . That the General Council of the Assodatioa shall « hooaefive Members of their own body to Situ an Executive Committee , in manner a » herein follows s . Every Sub-Secretary shall be at liberty to nominate on candidate , on the Fii&t Day of February in each j « r and five persons from among those so nominated than be elected by all the Members on the First day ts March following . " ¦ ¦ -

      From this it will be seen that every Snb-Secritan is at liberty to nominate one person and no more > Member of the General Council , as a fit and prop * person to serve on tbe Executive Committee . Tb » exact form Of nomination is given in the Northern Star of the 27 th of February , aad to save any pej , son the trouble of referring , lest some Sub-Seen . tarie 8 may not fill their papers , we here give ft again : —

      " '¦ To the General Secretary # / the National Charter Aaociation of Great Britain . February 1 , 18—Sir , —I hereby nominate A . B . ( blacksmith ) of ( 14 , High-street , Bath , ) a Member of the G < m « ai Council of the National Charter Assiciation of QnU Britain , as a fit and proper person to be elected » Member of the Executive Committee , on the lit in of March next . Signed , C . D ., ( Carpenter , No . 6 , Tib-street , Manchester . ) Member of the General Council , and Sub-SecreUrt of the National Charter Association of Great Britain . "

      "A list of all the candidates so nominated , shall be transmitted , pet post , by the General Secretary , to every Sab-Secretary , on or before the 10 to . Day of February ; the elections shall be taken on the First OJrt of March following ; and the number of votes shall be immediately forwarded to the General Secretary , vho shall lay the same before the out-going Executive Committee for examination , and by their order pnbliih , within one week ol receiving them , the -whole of such returns ; together with the declaration of tfa outgoing Executive Committee , of the persons dnlj elected . " ~*

      These directions are so plain that we imagine they can need no explanation . It is the duty of every snb'Secretary , upon receiving from the General Secretary the list of all the names put in nomination for the Executive , to take care that every member of the society , residing in his locality , shall hare an opportunity of voting for such five persons out oftblt number , as he may think to be the most eligible to count up the numbers that vote for each candi * date , and make a return thereof to the . General

      Secretary , who will put all these returns together aud publish them . Each place will then have an opportunity of checking the accuracy of the return , because every sub-Secretary will , of course , keep a copy of bis own return , and every member , knowing for whom he voted , will be able with very little trouble to ascertain whether the sub-Secretary has made a correct return . ' The voting for members of the Executive , will , of course , be conducted in precisely the same way as that for members of the General Council . "

      We have several letters enquiring whether the Provisional Executive be eligible for election I Certainly : they are pro tempore , to all intents and purposes , the Executive Committee . The Executive Committee is , on the very face of the plan , part and parcel of the General Council : every member of the present Executive is . eligible , therefore , to be nominated to take his chance of election on theannual Executive Committee . We trust that this business will be immediately proceeded with , and that we shall be able next week to publish the whole list of nominations for the Executive .

      The Petition Convention

      THE PETITION CONVENTION

      We have received intimations from almost all parts of the country , of the resolutions of the various bodies and public meetings of tbe people , cordially concurring m the postponement of the meeting of this body until tbe 3 rd of May . Lack of space prevented the possibility of our inserting the various resolutions , and this general notice of them is sufficient .

      Untitled Article

      O'CONNOR AND O'CONNELL . We were aware that the letters of O'Connor to O'Malley , the spread of Chartism in Ireland , and the dread of its just principles by all humbug politicians , must , sooner or later , be met by the Archtraitor ; in proof whereof , we give the following bit from the Belfast Vindicator , and also the proceedings at a recent meeting of the " Royal Loyals : "" Chartism in Newrt . —The Right Rev . pr . Blake , who is ever solicitous for the welfare of his people , addressed them , on Sunday last , on the enla and dangers of Chartism , and warned them strongly against being seduced into countenancing it . The

      people , we are convinced , will see the wisdom of attending to advice which can have no other object than their good ; and will avoid , as a pestilence , * system which , in England , has brought the working classes to crime and destitution . If the poor man would not be deceived and disappointed , let him look for relief in the reformation of the laudloro and tenant system—in the encouragement of native manufacture—in temperance—in repeal—in a word , Jet him look for it where it is to be found , ont let him not put his trust in a system which has filled tho jails of England with prisoners , and tne poor-houses with paupers . "

      So much for the Vindicator . Now or Dan : — Mr . O'CONNElL again said—Mr . Ray basstated that the next business in order is to bring forward the report of the committee , on a plan for the security of the landlords , and the safety of the tenantry of Ireland , but before I enter into that I wish to allude to another subject . ( Mr . Lethbridge here entered the meeting and was received with loud cheers . When the cheering dm subsided , Mr . O'Connell resumed . ) Wlien we were so agreeably interrupted by the entrance of Lethbndge , -i was stating that there was asubject which I wished w bring before the Association previous to submitting » you the report of the committee in reference to thelanalords and tenantry of Ireland . I read , I must confess , with great feelings of pain , a paragraph which appeared in the Newry Examiner , and which was copied W » some of the Dublin papera , stating that some person * in Newry bad recently held there a Chartist mee « i £

      that borrowing the designation of Chartists * nere . 'rr been a meeting of the trades of that town to estw" ^ Chartism there . If ever there was a period at wwca it was necessary for the people of Ireland to keep perfectly clear of any connexion with Chartism thisU \ v » period . They advocate force and violence . Tne ""*??! we advocate are different from theirs . We advocate w » use of moral force alone , and the concentration of tne opinion of the entire nation . ( Hear , hear . ) It may w > held out by them , as a pretence , that they are »»«»«? violence ( and maay of the CharUsU , I ad" 11 * ' ^^ involved In the criminality of their leaders ); bat tne doctrine of their leaders ia to have recourse , to w « torch and the dagger , and , by the adoption of ««» means , they have not only involved their follower ! 1 w » violation of the law , bnt they have incurred the etrec * of ita violation ; they have incurred imprUonmentaw * other puniahmentfc ( Loud cries of hear , hear , b «* - > w « « nMt ova-look for one moment this attempt w

      sow disunion among the Repealers ©/ Ireland by »• introduction of Cbartiam amongst them ; and I wom » remind them that when an attempt wm before m" » introduce Chartism into Dungarvan , the menjor w » r garvan rejected it . and they not « lr **•? " * & « £ published the letter of the Eagli « h Chartistf > sohdm their co-operation . In that letter , the Engltob CtorW * calls himself a stern Republican . Now , we « " 1 republicans—we are opposed to repubUeaniam ^ 'f satisfied with a monarchy , and we love and »«» ' * monarch that is placed over us , whom may <*> d «>«»? ¦?

      preserve ! ( Load cheers . ) W « get here , Mm « a ™ f y , e our own amusement , Feargus O'Connor * paper , v Northern Star , and I shall read an extract fromi iM £ yon . ( Hear . ) It Is headed " Glorious ¦""^ J'J and fall of the humbug empire , and rite of ® "rHj £ r Ireland : ' - " In Dublin , Newry , Drogbeda , ^™™ £ ( where , I weuld wish to know , is X-wfJ """^! many other part , of Ireland , . ^ e *^* CaMjfcm ^ being adopted and fondly nourished bj * ° « "T ~ „ * new-born Irish . ( The infant Chartism I I wU 1 7 JJJ recollect that phrase . ) We give the following WJJ from a moat respectable penon in Loughcrea to »» /

      Untitled Article

      THE ^ AUTBtEHN STAR . ¦ : ¦ ¦¦ ¦ - ¦• • • ¦ : ' - / " : - V - ¦¦ - - -

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), April 17, 1841, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct702/page/4/