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Northern Star (1837-1852), 17th July 1841, Edition 4 of 5, Page 1, Untitled Article

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  • Departments (4)
    • yo JflE LlNBLORBS'OP IRSLiLND. LETTER II.
    • Cfcarttjst 3StttdIi' s*nf*.
    • SERIOUS CHARGE OF FORGERY.
    • YORKSHIRE SUMMER ASSIZES
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      Yo Jfle Llnblorbs'op Irslilnd. Letter Ii.

      yo JflE LlNBLORBS'OP IRSLiLND . LETTER II .

      „ l tros labourer earns that be eats ; yet * that be -la- ove » w > man hate ; enviesnoman * happiness ; j ! i of other Hisn ' s good ; content under his otto priva-* TZ j . and hi » chief pride is in the modest comforts of ££ condition . "—Shaispean . jf v LoaDS akd Gestlbkek , —In the outaet I ^ 4 thai I bid undertaken a difficult task , yet I Dad that I k * d n ° t ealcolaied upon one half the ob-^ pjc tioni vbkb . power , custom , social and class or--niotion , ignorance of passing drcom » tances , national ^ r ^ tons prejudices , ( not to speak of political bias , } _ jgj jll its train of wedded absurdities , had thrown in ^ m ; ; each meeting me in my progress , or hKOQUog _ j in the hour of reflection .

      uy Lords aad Gentlemen , —An anxious dear * to ^ jjf the ease of my client , the labourer , before you , « t * s early a period aa possible , hat induced me « jjnst , landably , if not prudently ) to rererse the _ jef of classification , which should hare been : Firstly , y material , or barren surface of the soil , representing ngr title to representation : Secondly , responsibility , ex - j ^ tore of capital , and tenancy , representing the jjjojijing tenant ' s title to representation : and , jkipjly , labour , which renders the soft , by cnltiTafcion , jjjjable to man ' s nses , and its title to representation .

      jf y Lords and Gentlemen , I trust that in the word ^ presentation , you will not recognise any infraction of xj conditien to treat my subject without the introducjjan of polities . I * o not use the word here in » p » Ujjal sense j ani before I hare concluded , I hope to pro-re that a wise , a prudent , a just , and beneficial cercise of your social power , and a honest exercise of roar trust , as landlords , would haTe Tendered political representation almofct an obsolete tern . A . demand for political representation has increased in exact properton with the abase of social power .

      My Jtarfs aad Gentlemen , 700 will hare learned by uj quotation from "the great Poet , " thatlmean to jifctfc theTery strongest of your prejudices at onee .. And tethis . my fire upon you must be hot When the mind ji treak the prejudice is strong ; and judging from the bs ; you hare made of a long and uninterrupted possession of power , your mind must be weak indeed . yonr greatest prejudice is against the labourer . The taazst yon can in some wise fetter to yonr will ; bat

      jb the labourer of the tenant and in his foriom state _ j , recognise your on oppression and misrule , and Andder lesi the Ticfcim should come at a knowledge of jkcae causes which make him a stranger in his own bans ; , an alien in his own country , an outcast from his « tb borne , and a wanderer upon the face of the earth fe * areb of some resting place , or market , where God's jft ( strength to labour ) may be conTerted into man ' s m «« an of sastenanr * .

      foff , 5 f I . ""ho hare only witnessed the injustice , kg -ray irarm when iwiting upon the subject , as I jsnrs yon I do , what must be the f efclrngs of ihose -who are heirs to the same susceptibilities as mystlf , and Tic haTe drunk deep of the cup ? ¦ RTat iJ your greatest folly ? Let me explan it to too . Ton fear to place the labonrer in a comfortable is ( j independent condition , lest from that state of « xi » l comfort and independence should spring a desire

      to be politically great Ton mistake causes tax efiects . loo KOppcae thai the power at preseat wielded by ; Hie Roman Caih # fcie clergy emanates from popular bostnuy to ycrar order , your religion and yonr posjesaons . It does no such thing . It is an emanation bom your neglect , yonr persecution , and your injusgae , u well towards yourselTes as towards the people . iemore the causes , and the removal of the effects riD very speedily follow .

      Bat whOa yon are thus keeping np a struggle between your social power and thfl priests' political power , yon do not see that yon yourselves are aiding Bd abetting in tfce Tery change , to prerent which joa hare drroted all your energies , namely , a transfer of all political power from yonr hands' to the laad * of fi » Eomaa Catholic clergy . Poiefc # ai a Angle popular rice and I wiD trace it to fa parent aristocratic folly ; juiced , I should reverse fee terma rice and folly—the -rice is yours , while the jitescpi of the people to counteract it from failure , is oiled lollr .

      HaTe you ever known a working man in Ireland , with csrtain eafiojmesa at fnghtpmw a day , and jisid , to be charged with an act ef dishonesty , ridenee , «¦ outrage ? I haTe not ; and my experience goes far to that respect I haTe beard scores of magistrates admit the same . Do you not then , in the onenltivated state of your lauds , and in the unemployed state of the people , discoTEr all the errors of society , and see just tuise for self-reproach . When I come to treat of a farmer , I shall show jart and KSdentcausjforthepoorman'spreference of the priest to ihs l&adlord , in nine cases oat of ten . Kay , I will go father , ana assert , that out cf nme cases in every ten , hsdionb ivoZ -with a jealous eye upon & thriving tenant , especially if his improreiEent is conTertible into an increase of rent

      Uj Lords and Gentlemen , I beg of you te keep this me fsst in new : it is that I haTe a meaning in every fins T write ; and well knowing that your grand objection to a subdmsion of land arises from a dread of creating s numerous tribe of agrarian suitors for political power , I hare called the great naturalist to my aid , in the hope of conTincing you of the little cause you hare to fear in the event of such a result and its m&atida , tbat your property would suffer damage , « r jocr position in society any inferiority .

      Tonr constant cry is , " What ! enfranchise' the kreDers , and thus surrender the power to other bands , * BK of which would be sare to lead to oar immolition , ted a Mmaeonenee of whiea would be tost the Bicred Siin ? called liberty would degenerate into licentiousssb and lead t « a complete social reTolution . " It would lad to a revolution , and a complete one , in the proper aae » f the word ; that is , to a perfect one , and to cne from which yon would deriTe the greatest beseSt

      I have said that as employed Irish labourer is always B& ^ ed . I aver that he is sycophanticaUy so , and laofa upon the contract between him and his master , I 7 Thiea the litter is the great beneStter , as a favour fc > Se * d of & right . In a wholesome state of society the EBetnployed unwilling idlei would be entitled to 1 Sufficiency of everything to make life s blessing , feresder man ' s oppression inoperative , so far as food , aaneat , lodging , fuel , and liberty relate . Bat Irishfiffi , even when at full work , do not enjoy any of those fessinffs !

      Bit let me nsw go farther , and assure yon that so « r from the contented agricultural labourer envying * xt ipparent superiority , he laughs at the follies tB&i by your easy acquirement of luxury . He sees Jbb attempt to do for you-selves what be does better *« yau , and glories in his superiority . He looks at the &t fee , dejj complexion , and straight limb of his « aUaful offspring , and contrasts them with the pale fcrer aud bandy legs « f pampered aristocrats . He

      "fights in seeing the huntsman taken from the cabin , J ^ & S the 2 dd , and beating the hereditary equesf « M . He contrasts the hardihood of his own priestj&tf with the effisninacy of your priesthood . When oahfisrsof his master being « iek , be observes , "TVisha , * 7 pra , its too ranch of them doctors things he doss « 1 taking , but if 1 bad him for a week alongside a me , * & Km cure him . " He is miserable when he is idle , *« never so happy as when at work .

      _ *« have thrown him upon necessity for invention ; *?< a idleness for mischief ; and now you - "vonder that B aistttiifisd , in-Ttutiveand -mischievous . You have *** &a jour political power , and especially that power *~* fee state affords to an ascendant and hostile ~*^ far the purpose of crushing him ; and then you ** * that he should struggle , under the guidance of *^« * hon 6 Ter desert him , for the means , the only v ** ** combatting you . If the Church oppress ~^ y « uie part with the Church ; if the law ^?*« him , you take part with tea law ; if the police j ^*« 7 accuse , or wrongfully treat him , you reject ^ J ^ fe * . and giTe ear to the hired disturber * , : * " ¦ oeeopafion wonld ee&se if yoar datiea were ^• " ^ fctounirteKvL

      t ^~ V ** waecesary expenee in our whole sysjlo ^ Tj trace its origin to some one of yom ^ * kare made'between eight and nine millions of peoj ^ * 8 rpl « population , " in a land capable of msin-^**" ffluae e health and comfort more than fonr Qattuober ; and then you mercifully transport the fce oaal 1 ^ 011 lritlla » little compunction as yon thin * 8 jw efr ° m M OTerBtodted fan "; and these you "rtujtrious portion of society , " never reflecting

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      that thft commendation i » a stigma npon yourselves , for having banished honest industry from its native shore . I shall conclude my comment upon the cheerfulness with which an agricultural labourer bends to his lot when fairly cast , by once more respeating the last sentence from the passage of the great poet , ' ¦ And his chief pride is in the modest oemforts of his Condition . " If ow , my Lords and Gentlemen , in order to raise that honest pride by placing him in a proper and comfortable condition ,. ! shall proceed to shew you the loss ,

      the mighty loss , to society , by your foolish and injudicious management ef yonr estates . With a view to the perfect illustration of my subject , I propoBe to take a small estate of 1 , 000 acres , let to ten tenants , in farms of 100 acres each , to shew the little benefit which society has , and also the t > ad Becurity which landlords have , from such an unprofitable distribution of land ; and then to shew the great bene&t which society at large , and landlords in general , would darive from a more equitable division of land , corresponding with the capital , industry , and requirements , of the people and the interests of society at large , from the Tery highest to the very lowest .

      My iarda and Oentierasn , you wBl have perceived th * fc ray object is to bring your estates from & hB&Ty wholesale market into a brisk retail market Bo not mistake me , and suppose that I hold you to be ignorant of the vast benefit which the change would confer generally upon your order . I knew that you are perfectly aware of it ; but your apprehension is , that laud cannot be advantageously divided for agricultural purposes , without bringing about a corresponding subdivision of political power ; and you prefer the loss of about ten milliona annually in rent , to the loss of more than a hundred millions in political patronage to your families relatives and dependants , made paupers by your cruel conditions annexed to leases and exclusnre dealing in land . To those then , most especially , who augment the great political patron ' s power , by adherence to the vicious system , do I address my

      observations . Again , I say , that I can very well understand the reason why my Lord gives up £ 5 , 000 a-year in rent for a bishoprici , a judgeship , an admiral s or a general ' s commission , the lieutenancy of his county and appointment of magistrates , with some fat livings and minor pickings for his strongest supporters ; but I cann « t tot the life of me reconcile with comm » n sense the blind following of the retired canntry gentleman , not requiring any of those pickings ; and , therefore , to him I appeal .

      A Sbousand acres of land in Ireland , then , I suppose to be held in the most beneficial way ; that is , direct from the proprietor , and upon lease . I should be justified in arguing upon the system from a thousand acres held by . a middleman , whereof eight hundred was sublet , and two hundred held in his own hands , the labour of which is gratuitously performed by the tenants of the eight hundred acres . This course , however , I shall not take , as it is my iBtention to give you

      the best of the system , and to use the most unprofitable results of my system for my argument I lay aside science , and come to plain digging at once ; and , therefore , take one thousand acres , divided into ten farms of one hundred acres -each . JTow then , let us see how this is cultJT&teu ; what it produces ; how many U rapporw ; and what surplus , after cnltiration and support , it leares for expenditure in the manuf&ctariBg and trade market .

      Ic Monster the September rent is paid with the harvest ; and the March rest is paid by the sale of bctUr , pigs , and some potatoes . In Leinster the Septenter rent is paid by a fat e * w , a veal calf , and a tmxV portion of the harvest ; and the March rent is , for tie most part , made np by the sale of Wheat , and Oatmeal , each farmer either turning what is called a meal " monger , " ( the g pronounced harsh as the g in bang , ) or grinder of a portion of his own com into meal , or , having at the door a ready sale for oata t « those who are more extensive in that traffic Here , " stir-about , " is the general food ; in Munster , potatoes . In Connanght , large tracts of feeding ground are held by breeders of sheep and cattle , and the system of serfdom still exists there to an awful extent .

      There are comparatively few cultivators in Connaught upon a small scale , that is , tenants ; and the poorest class of harvest men to be seen in England , and in parts of Leinster and Ulster , are the miserable cottiers who hold a sty for themselves and the pig . What is most disgraceful to Irishmen , is the fact , that this class of their countrymen are scouted and hooted in Leinster and Ulster , while they are invariably kindly treated by the English people . They are called " spalpeens" ( penny mowers ); and are maltreated for competing with the resident workmen in harvest'time . They pay the rest of some potatoeground and of the sty , with the pig , and what they can

      S 3 T 6 from harvest w « rk , leaving the potatoes to the family during their absence ; and when scarcity occurs , tie mother nails op tie door , and -with her little bag , accompanied with the young blood of Ireland , ( perhaps seven or eight younglings , ) takes to the road , barked at b ; the rich man ' s dog , and fostered by the charitable of her own class . In Ulster , the small farmers are much better off My Lords and G « ntlemen , I have thought it necessary to sUte so much of customs , for the purpose of exhibiting Ireland to your eye at a glance . Let xu now dispose of a farmer holding one hundred acres of ground . I will select the county of Cork ; Limerici

      being mere of a grazing county , and Tipperary , Clare , and W&terford being feeding , and corn-growing counties . K .= rry , very much resembles Cork ; and some parts of it send forth their emigrants in harvest and potato-digging time , in the same manner as Connaught . Ten farmers then , holding one thoasand acres of laud in the county of Cork , and living upon those farms for twentyfive years , ( a time -when the family becomes marriage able , ) -will not , unitedly , have spent £ 20 per annum in the manufacturing msrket . They live very little , if anything , better taan their labourers , with whom they breakfast and dine six days in the week ; breakfast being potatoes , and thick milk , " blue , ' from sixty to eighty-four hours old , sometimes boiled into curds and whey , and sometimes cold ; and they have the same for dinner , from the 1 st of January to the 31 st of December .

      If th 9 farmer can hold possession , and keep the stock together , and if , in the twenty-five years , he has scraped together £ 259 for his children ' s portions , he considers himself right well off We will suppose him to have three sons and two daughters . To the daughters he gives ^ x « e each ; the second son he marries to another farmer ' s daughter , with whom he gets his one hundred pounds ; the tldest son remains for some time unmarried , and when his parents meet with a suitable match for him , in their old age , they , with the gossoon ( the youngest son ) give up the farm to the heir , ( with his Honour ' s consent , and something mort , ) and live themselves upon a few aeras of which the son pays the rent ; aad the fifty pounds spared after the daughter ' s portion remains for which ever shall be survivor , to live with the youngest , who seldom or never marries during the life of the old couple .

      My Lords and Gentlemen , the law « nature , which thus implants the duty in the child of taking care » f his aged parents , is in my mind far preferable to the law of primogeniture settlement and entail , which makes the son dread his mother brothers and sister * , and quarter-day . A letter with ft black Kal and mourning edge from the family mansion , is a G « d-send to tha pining heir , made idle from expectancy ; while death is an unwelcome messenger to the poor xum ' i bouse , from which , thank God ! system-made rumanism has not as yet banished all natural feeling .

      We now come to . eo »» der how these one hundred acres are cultivated . They are , for tie most part , disposed cf as follows ; potatoes , ten acres ; wheat , ten acres ; oats , ten acres ; remainder in a transient state between weeds , and their next turn for potatoes . Upon seventy acres twenty wretched cows and four horses , or three bones and a colt , are supported ; it is

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      cultivated In the Tery rudest manner ; I mean roughestfor spade culture is literally the rudest , but jet the most excellent , mode of cultivation . When I come to write a plain system for the poor man ' s industry , and show exactly wherein his inheritance lies , you w'll be astounded at the ignorance of your system , and yonr consequent loss . The potatoes are good ; no better ; the best in the world , because the flavour is not destroyed by sharp manures . The wheat for the most part is good as to produce , but miserable as to sample ; the produce depending on the land , the sample

      upon the tenant , or rather upon the landlord , whose duty , whose especial dnty , it is to Bae that above all other things , sound , clean , and suitable seed be sown ; by suitable , I mean that upland seed from a distance be sown in swampy and stiff ground , and vice versa ; by clean , I mean that ft peck of weed seed should not be sows with a bag of wheat seed , thereby exhausting the land and producing an expenditure of much unproductive labour in weeding ; not that labour is unprodnctively expended when crops require weeding , but it might be altogether saved , and more beneficially applied .

      The cows produce scarcely a hundred weight of butter a bead ; they- are mode , to calve unseasonably for wont of sufficient shelter ; and tbus much ia tart by renewing the stock . A farmer tries to send bis COW for service , so as to calve when the season will suit him ,- but the cow is obstinate and will only be in calf when she thinks proper . By this arrangement seventy acres , which would support thirty-five caws well , merely keeps twenty miserable things alive ; the land , while

      in grass , being a mere oaput mortuum , and may be considered as sacrifkd to the thirty seres of badly cnltivated crops ; in a stata of probation , waiting fe * its turn to be ploughed , having " seven years ' skin npon it , " which is necessary for producing good potatoes and wheat ; the necessity being created by a want of the best manure that ever was , or ever will , or ever can be applied to land , man's arms and feot , with a spada at the end of it .

      Our next consideration is the number of persons which the 1 * 0 acres supports . We will estimate the farmer's family at fire , and he will hare five labourers ; but you know , as in Scotland , the practise is to get single men , or one man and his two sons , and a man and one son ; however I will give you all the advantage of five families , consisting of a man , his wife , and five children each ; thus domieiliatiBg six families , of seven to a family , or forty-two persons , upon the 100 acres , living in rags , as I have described , like pigs { but not

      like fat ones ) from year ' s end to year ' s end , testing at night upon a sop of straw upon an earthen floor , without one single particle of furniture , or any one thing conducing to man's comfort—not one . Is that right treatment , my Lords and Gentlemen , for those who coin the barren surface of your Boil into down beds , costly mansions , a well-stocked larder , and a fine wardrobe ? Ah ! beware how yon longer maintain political power at the expenee of social disorganisation and a reversion of all nature's lawB !!!

      Let us now see what surplus after such support the farm leaves for traffic and supply in the consuming and manufacturing markets . We take a year ' s produce : — £ ¦ . « . 50 bags of wheat at £ 1 5 s . pet bag 62 l « 0 is cwts . of butter , seconds and thirds , at . £ 3 5 s . per cwfc , 52 0 SO barrels of oats , spared from horses , at 10 s . per barrel 10 0 0 10 fat pigs at 2 £ cwt per pig , at £ 1 per cwfc 25 0 Spared potatoes 21 0 0

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      £ 170 It 0 £ m . d . Rent , ay 20 a . per acre 100 6 0 Tithe and county rate 10 9 0 Paid to five labourers , besides diet 20 0 0 Renewal of cattle for dairy , It © Wear and tear , smith ' s work , and additional men at harvest 20 0 J Laid by for children 10 0 Spent in manufacturing market 0 10

      £ 170 U 6 Now , what interest has the farmer for his capital employed as follows ?— £ 8 . d . Price of 20 cows at £ 7 a-head 140 0 t Four horses at £ 10 each 40 0 6 Carts , tackling , ploughs , harrows , tec 20 0 0

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      £ 210 0 0 What interest has be for that which requires £ 10 a-year to keep it up , by the renewal of dairy stock to its original value ? He has just the £ 10 a-year , which he lays by , if all goes well . And what it his remuneration ? Just the amount of comfort that I have shown him to be partaker of ; and thus , for twenty-five years he and his family undertake great risk and responsibility , and at the end of that time are more than happy if remunerated with his Honour's bond for £ 250 .

      Come , can you deny my position ; and will you say I do not considerably exaggerate my statement In favour of the ] farmer ? If so , take stock of that class ; and I pledge myself that for one farmer holding 100 acres who has saved £ 250 after twenty-five years toil , that I will find four at least in arrears , with their cattle marked for rent , and without a fraction in the world . In fact a farmer with £ 250 is a " rara avis "—you call him " a strong man . *' My Lords and Gentlemen , this is the week for trying the system-made-rogues and murderers in Yorkshire ; and as the paper for which I write is expetctd to

      chronicle their trials , I must now take my leave , with a caution to beware how yon allow your brains to be haunted with the new science called " political economy . " It is , believe me , but a phantasm which haunts the unpractised fool in his airy dreams of artificial beatitude . It is a delusion all ; a proposed corrective for social disarrangement ; a substitute for social economy ; which means the most pleasant , the most easy , and the most beneficial application of man ' s labour and ingenuity to the conversion of raw material , and above all of the land , into produce for man ' s sustenance , support comfort and enjoyment

      My Lords and Gentlemen , believe me , that you must take the whole system into calculation , before you can arrive at a just conclusion as to the probable result to be produced by passing events . You must look at all the circumstances , and from the whole , and not from any nattering or fancied portion of them , you must draw your conclusions . Let me assist you . Take Class Legislation and gunpowder for yonr dividend , and Political Economy for your divisor , and the result in your quotient will be a large Burplus of fictitious money ; a large surplus of manufactured goods ; a large " surplus population , " rendered useless by machinery ; a large surplus of non-consuming , unregulated , producing power ; a large army ; a large navy ; a large

      church-establishment ; a large law establishment ; a large police establishment ; a large regal establishment ; a large poor law establishment ; a large oligarchial pauper esta- . Blishment ; a small centralised , gorged slave-owners establishment ; social ruin ; an empty exchequer ; little trade ; discontent ; crime ; insecurity of property gaols full of " political offenders ; " starvation ; and revolution . As a superabundance of fictitious money press « a hard upon and reduces the value of real capital , so does fictitious labour press bar ! npon and reduce the value of real labour . And as the bankrupt fail * in tbe midst of surplwa wealth , B » does the peratlve starve in to « midst of frbudanee , neither having th « means of acquiring the drug . Tins yon see merchants failing in the midst of affluence , and the people starving in the midst of plenty .

      In my next I sh % U shew that the l . OOt acres subdivided into the too-largo allotments of ten acres each , would maintain in afiuencetwofor one , compared with your present system ; would increase your rents ; and in twenty-five yeaw , those 1 . M 0 acres alone would cause an expenditure of more than £ 50 , 000 in the manufacturing market , after having furnished to society a much larger quantity above consumption , than the same 1 , 009 acres now furnish altogether

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      X would make man to a certain extent bis own prc dncer , manufacturer , and consumer ; thus relieving th wholesale market of its slaves , and at the same tim creating a vastly increased demand in the home marke for those articles which the husbandman could no manufacture , and other articles which from the ad vantages of machinery , he could purchase cheape than he could make .

      You must return from an artificial to ft more natural state of society . You must givo to the labonrer the power of regulating tha supply of his own produce according to demand ; and , above all , if his elevation in society be in truth your object , yon must let him see the sterling labour-stamp upon his handy-work , instead of finding it effaeed by the counterfeit enterprise and speculation stamp of " merchants , " " OUR traders , " and «• OVS . slave owners . "

      My maxim to-day is the same as that which I laid down for you in 1831— - " A fair day ' s wage for a fair day ' s work . " Give that . anA use your political power for the conversion of machinery into man's holiday instead of being man ' s curse ; and then , iu the eloqnent and Btatesman-like words of Mr . Butterworth , one of IDS illegally Incarcerated brethren , you may - *"• $ » t * becr by steam , risa by steam , and dress yourselves by steam , provided steam does not take the bed from the poor man , and leave him without clothes to dress with . "

      My Lords , and Gentlemen , many a half-witted fool has gained even ' a posthumous fame by one sentiment not containing a twentieth part of the philosophy of the above . Search all your writers upon " free trade ' " political ec « no » y" and " commerce , " and I defy you to equal it from the catalogue of their united folly , or from the heap to pick one such grain from the chaff . My Lords and Gentlemen , " political economy" has no " finality ; " and , believe me , that the political economists will never rest satisfied tiil they make yon tenants In your own bouses , stewards to your own

      estates ; and beggars from the Pole , the Turk , the Russian , the Prussian and the Americas , upon your own land . They wish , to place you upon the shop-board , making breeches and coats which the foreigner mayor may not purchase , according to convenience ; "while they would make you dependants upon the foreigner for that which you must have three times a day , or starve , or do that which I am quite sure you never could bring yourselves to , as you have transported thousands upon thousands for the same—STEAL .

      Now , do not think the picture over painted . Do not reject the advice beciuse it comes from a " "Destructive . " Do not despise it because it comes through the only paper in England which dares to support the labonrer against his every enemy , from the monarch on the throne who gives assent to laws for his ruin , down to the policeman who executes those laws—do not . And ever bear the alternative io mind , REFORM

      or TRANSFER . That you may come to a righteous , a just , and a sound conclusion , is the devout prayer of Your obedient , And very humble servant , ' FkaBous O'CoNNon . York Castle , Condemned Cell , 14 th of fifteenth month of solitary confinement .

      Cfcarttjst 3stttdii' S*Nf*.

      Cfcarttjst 3 StttdIi ' s * nf * .

      TORS . —On Wednesday evening last , Mr . G . J . Harney , the talented advocate of the People ' s Charter , delivered a lecture on the rights of labour ,, and the principle * of the Charter , in the large roon ^ gL ^ association , Bitoate in Pttsgate . Mr . DetnalM ^ in ¦ fine ' thair . The room was crowded to excess , and hundreds bad to go away disappointed , being uti * t >) 9 > v ^ ' £ i& admittance . Mr . H . spoke for upwards of two hours , fully exposing both factions , and concluded by calling npon the men of York to unite for the attainment of their political rights . The worthy lecturer was loudly cheered during his address . The following resolution

      was proposed by Mr . Cordeux , and seconded by Mr . Gill , and carried umnlmouJly : — " That it ia the opinion of this meeting , that great changes are necessary in the system of Government In this country , ia order to improve the condition of the working classes , and we are of opinion that no confidence can be placed on the factions which at present misrule our country , and we pledge ourselves never to rest satisfied until we are fully and fairly represented on the principles of the People ' s Charter . " Three tremendous cheers were then given for the " Caged Lion ; " three for Frost , Williams , and Jones , and three for the Charter , after which the meeting separated .

      ASHTON-TJNDER-1 . YNE . —The cause of Chartism is progressing very rapidly in this town . The members of the Association held their usual weekly meeting on Sunday last , to hear Mr . Storor , who had been delegated to tbe County Council Meeting ; but it being late before he arrived , the election news and O'Connor ' s letters were read from the Star , with deep interest , and all present were struck with astonishment on hearing ot the base treachery of Dover and Edwards . Andrew Newton was elected to the Council , in room of John Slater . About nine o ' clock , Mr . Storor entered tbe room , and gave a very satisfactory account of his mission ; after which , the meeting broke up .

      BRADFORD . —The Chartists of this place having learnt that threats are held out by a few Whig hirelings against their leaders , called a public meeting on Wednesday evening last , at which the following resolution was adopted : —That this meeting regrets the misconduct of certain misguided individuals during and subsequent to the election ; but the Chartists of Bradford , determined to maintain that reapeot for tlieir character accorded to them in the Commons * House ot Pariiaaent by Fox Maule , that they are both intelligent and forbearing under circumatanees of the most extraordinary excitement , do recommend every effort to be used for the restoration of that general good will which hitherto has existed in the borough . "

      STJB&XN . —Tbe Universal Suffrage Association of this place held their weekly meeting on Sunday last , in their great room , No . 14 , North Anne-street , Mr . Thos . £ ee in tbe chair , who , in a neat and forcible speech , argued the necessity , utility , and right of the producers of wealth to a voice in tbe staking ot the laws by which they are to be governed ; that nothing short of the spread of political knowledge , and a union of sentiment and action between the people of Great Britain and Ireland , could ever emancipate them , for as tbe one rises or falls , so muBt the other . The meeting was also addressed by Messrs . Wood , Bropby , and Patrick O'Higgins , ia support of the principles of

      Universal Suffrage , Vote by Ballot , Annual Parliaments , Equal Representation , No Property Qualification , Payment of Members , and Repeal of the Legislative Union , which are the objects of this association . The meeting was a crowded one , and never was there more anxiety evinced , by any meeting , for their principles , than at this , on account of the defeat of O'Connell and Hutton . Several went away exclaiming , " Sure that ' s the very thing we want ; what fooU we have be « n . If those are the principles of the Chartists we are all for them . " Several new members were enrolled , and notices of others , who may be enrolled on Sunday next , were given . This association meets every Sunday evening , at six o ' clock .

      Serious Charge Of Forgery.

      SERIOUS CHARGE OF FORGERY .

      Yesterday , Mr . Christopher Robinson Bell , of Bedford Place , Leeds , and Mr . Thomas Brown , of Manchester , were charged , before Messrs . Goodman and Cadman , at tbe Court House , with having forged the endorsement of Messrs . York and Sheepshanks , ef this town , to a bill of exchange for £ 194 153 .. with intent to defraud Messrs . Samuel Appleyard and Co ., manufacturers of lastinga , &c , of 12 ,

      Marketstreet , Manchester . Mr . Shackleton , solicitor , appeared for the prosecution ; Mr . Natlob and Mr . Bowd attended for the pr iBonera . Mr . James , police-officer , stated that he was sent for to the Golden Lion Inn on the previous evening , where ( he prisoners were given into his custody , on the charge of having forged a bill , of which the following is a copy : — u £ 194 159 . Od .

      Newcastle , 1 st July , 1841 . " Two months after date pay to our order one hundred and ninety-four pounds fifteen shillings . W . & J . Good . " Accepted—James Harrison . " The indorsers purported to be W . & J . Good . Tbos . Harrison , York and Sheepshanks , Wm Greenwood , Bray , Brown & Co . Mr . Samuel Appleyard said he received the bil from tho prisoner Brown , Bell being present attsw

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      time ; the endorsement of Bray , Brown , & Co . was there written by Brown . The bill was paid ia part payment for goods sold to the prisoners jointly , fe > the amount of £ 259 12 s . Od . They said they represented the firm of Bray , Brown , & Co ., and would send the balance of the invoice in cash . The bill was endorsed down to the name of Wm . Greenwood , when it was presented , and Brown wrote on it the names of Bray , Brown , < fc Co . Two papers found in the pocket Of the prisoner Bell were then put in ; one was an exact copy ( in pencil ) of the bill , without the acceptance , and the other was a similar bill , unfinished , written on a stamp , but for one hundred pounds . Mr . Sheepshanks deposed , that the endorsement of

      the bill purporting to be that of York and Sheepshanks , was not his ; he had no partner ; nor had he ever authorised any person to use his name . He had no transactions with any such bills . The prisoner Bell had been formerly in his employ , and though he could not swear positively , he suspected the writing to be his . He had had no transactions in business at any time with any of the endorsers on the bill . Mr , William Kirk , auctioneer , Leeds , knew the handwriting of the prisoner Bell , and had no hesitation in swearing that the signature of "York and Sheeprfjanka" was his ; Thomas Harrison ' s signature lw « MfNi | was written by the sam « haa < L though more diBguiBed . He thought the bill haa been drawn by Bell .

      In cross-examination by Mr . Naylorub said he first saw the bill that morning ; he had been fetched to the Court House , and was told on the way that Bell was in custody on the charge of forgery . It was two months since he had seen Bell write , but he knew his writing perfectly well . Mr . Shackleton was present when the bill was shown to aim . This being the whole of the evidence at present obtained , Mr . Goodman said , the Magistrates taking into consideration the convenience of the prisoners .

      they should remand them , to go before the Magistrates at Manchester , in order that , if they decided upon sending the cause for trial , it might come on at Liverpool , this present Assizes , instead of being deferred till March next , at York . Mr . Naylob then obtained from Mr . Appleyard , in reply to questions , that ho and Mr . Shackleton had had an interview with the prisoners , that morning , in the gaol , when he said , that if they could raise the money the prosecution should be abandoned .

      Mr . Bond , on the part of Brown , was instructed to say that he had an excellent defence : toSthe charge ; but , as the magistrates had decided , ( and in the propriety of that decision he concurred , ) on sending the case into Lancashire , he advised that the defence should not be then opened at all . Mr . Naylob was of the same opinion . The prisoners were , therefore , removed , in order to be sent to Manchester . ^ We understand there are other charges of a similar nature likely to be brought against them , this not being the only bill to which the endorsement of Mr . Sheepshanks has been forged .

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      Death dyDkowniag . —On Thursday evening last , an inquest was held at the Court House , Leeds , before Mr . Hopps , deputy coroner , on the body of John Hargreaves , a little boy six years of age , residing with his mother in Swinegate . He was at play on Taesday evening , when , by some means , he fell into the King ' s Mills Goit , and was drowned . The body was not recovered for nearly two hours . There being no evidence to shew how he came into the water , the Jury returned a verdict of " Found drowned . " Game Licences . —At a Special Petty Sessions , yesterday , the following persons had licences granted to them to deal in game for the ensuing year : —Ann Firth , North-street ; George Palfrcyman , Briggate ; Ann Stead , Briggate ; George Ward , Upper Albionstreet : and John Kitson , Woodhouse-lane .

      Fatal Accident . —On Thursday evening , an inquest was held at the Court House , before Mr . E . C . Hopps , deputy coroner , on the body of Henry Watson , a cloth dresser , thirty-six years of age , who , on the 24 th of June , whilst engaged in his employment , and in the act of putting an end of doth on Wliqa , worked b 3 tjjW ( ohjjaer . y , was by some means thrown between twp ^ okwieok His left thigh was | 8 U 0 Jiv 5 erated ,. ^ pmiKjjBOt it was then thought to W tMog liko % -WoWJextent ; he was , however , advised to go to the Infirmary , and after being some days an out-patient , it was thought expedient that he should remain there , not that there was immediate danger , but because of the sloughing of the skin stillness was deemed requisite . Here he did well for some time , and the wound became healed ; but fever from the effect of the wound supervened , and he died on Thursday morning . Verdict— ' * Accidental death . "

      Goal Sessions . —On Thursday last , a Court of Gaol Session was held in the Magistrates room , York Castlo , when the following resolutions were p assed : — "That the plans and estimates proposed by the architect , and approved by the Judges of the Northern Circuit for increasing the accommodation in its courts of justice for counsel , solicitors , and suitors , for facilitating the dispatch of business , and also for affording additional accommodation to tho pubii . e are approved by this court , and to be forthwith carried into effect under the direction of

      the visiting magistrates , the estimated expenee to amount to £ 1 , 100 , " " That the following gentlemen be appointed visitors of the goal , viz : —B . Hague , Esq ., the Uev . T . Dayrell , J . Tweedy , Esq ., B . Agar , Esq ., and Sir J . L . Kaye , Bart . " " That the clerk of the gaol sessions do draw drafts payable to John Swann , Esq ., treasurer of the three Ridings , for the proportionate part of the sum of £ 2 , 500 to be advanced to him on account of York Castle , for payment of salaries and miscellaneous expences . " The Grand Juiiy have left in the hands of the Governor of York Castle £ 15 14 s . 6 d . for obtaining the discharge of poor debtors .

      Yorkshire Summer Assizes

      YORKSHIRE SUMMER ASSIZES

      CROWN COURT . —Thuesday , July 15 . ( Before Mr . Justice Wighiman . J Edward Marsden , 22 , was charged with having , on the 7 th of March last , at Halifax , robbed Thos . Farrer . Mr . Wasney appeared for the prosecution , Sir . G . Lewin was for the defence . The prosecutor resides at Cromwell Bottom , near Southowram , and is a stone delver . He was returning from Halifax at near twelve o ' clock on the night in question , and had arrived near Southowram church , -when the prisoner jumped over the hedge , knocked the prosecutor down , and kicked him . He got up again , and

      the prisoner then robbed him of six shillings and a silver watch . The prisoner knocked him down again and beat him on the back of the head , so as to cause a serious wound , and he was otherwise injured . Sir Gbegoby Lewin addressed the Jury for the prisoner . He observed that a gentleman named Scholefleld , of Rastrick , near Halifax , had come forward with money to provide for the defence of the prisoner , from a firm conviction of his innocence . Several witnesses were called to prove an alibi , and Mr . Scholefield gave the prisoner a good character . Not Guilty .

      There was another charge against the prisoner for { stealing a silver watch from Thos . Farrer , on the night in question , but no evidence was offered .

      STABBING . Thomas Stone , 17 , was charged with having , on the 3 rd of April last , at Leeds , stabbed John Hitching , with intent to do him grievous bodily harm . Mr . Roebuck appeared for the prosecution , and Mr . Wilkins for the defence . The prosecutor resides at Holbeck , near Leeds , and on the 3 rd of April was at the Saddle Hotel , Briggate , where he drank two glasses of ale . He and two persons , named Fowler and Newton , were going home through Meadow Lane , when they met the prisoner , in company with a young woman , and they were quarrelling . The prosecutor said to Stone , " Hold thy noise , " at the same time taking the prisoner ' s cap off his head , and throwing it in his face . The prisoner immediately struck Kitehing on the right thigh , when the prisoner was taken away by a person named Leach , but he returned

      and struck Kitehing on the right breast . Prosecutor went to Hill ' s Yard , where he became sick and was carried home in a state of insensibility . He went to Mr . Greaves , druggist , between twelve and one o'clock is the morning , and he dressed the wound on the right breast which was a dangerous wound . The prosecutor was confined to his Turns e for about a week , during which time he was attended by Mr . Dobson , surgeon . The wound on the thigh was only slight . When the blows were given the prisoner was not seen with any instrument in his hand , but no other person struck the prosecutor . Mr . Child took the prisoner into custody , and he stated to him that he had struck Kitehing but not with a eharp instrument , and that the prosecutor and the other men had annoyed and insulted every person they had met on the road , Mr . Wilkins ably addressed the Jury for the prisoner , when they returned a verdict | of Guilty of commoa assault .

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      [ assaulhho nut roues . John FothergUlt 2 Zf war charged with bavin * wounded James Child , jwliceman , of Leeds , WriB intent to do him 6 Of » 9 jaierous bodilj hwm . ' Mr . Wilkins appeared for the proeeeotion . and Sir G . Lewin for the prisoner . The facts M the ease , j aa stated in the owning , were a * frUows : —It ap-( pears that on the 30 th of September last , the prosejentor went io tfce house of David Batten , tfa » keeper of a beer house at the top of Marth Lanev I m order to apprehend a man natted NiehoJaaa-I for burglary . That evening the prisoner * attested i by three other men , among whom was Hitbdmm , went into < be beenhop in question , and shortly afterwards Nicbolsoa rot a » oker into th * *« . A

      person took it out , when Niebotarapat ft lot Main and Mr Child and Stnbba , another polienuo , MWfljr afterwards went into the house . J » attempting to take Nicholson rntccBstody , he beesMtf wyjiolent , and resisted Child , and refuse * to % i £$ ! hm and w «* *• P *«> were takii * - Nicholson away , the prisoner said , « D ^ -n & , ^ ' § ° at tb ; em " A ™* 7 vioknt assaolt m * ther , made on the police , and Chad ' s arm w »» £ ? 3 rt . e t 0 ( L k hoId ¦* the P ^ RT . with whid » one of the men who was trwd'at the March Assfaesw was beating him in order to wrest it from hnnv rftWk *^ I P " ? . wifli . » knife , wariy WY ^ ChildV thumb from his hand , that he night rebut his hold of the poker . Although the prilorJhaJ sTtfolSX ^^^^

      At th © suggestion of Sir G =. Lewi * , aad before any evidence was called , the prisoner wa » allowed to plead guilty to a common assault . Tire prisoner was further charged with wounding JobnStHbbB at the same time , but no evidence wae offered . cow stealing m Samuel Cotton , was charged witR having : on the ' ^ l i' ¥ Huddersfield , stolen a cow , the property of Charlotte Shaw . Sir G . Lewis and Mr . Waswev were for the prosecution

      ; the prisoner was undefended . The prose s ' . "Xjresides at Lees Mill , Golcar , near H « dd « rs . new . On _ the eth inst ., the cow was seen in her field s out on toe following morning u was- missed . Tha flow wu eried at Holmfirtb aad © the ? places , iaeoasequence of which it was found that , on the 7 tb . Mr John Beaver , of Thurlstone , had bought the ew of the prisoner for £ 7 4 s ., and immediately he sold her to James Senior for seven guineas . By this means the prosecntrix recovered her cow , aad the prisoner was taken into custody . —Guilty .

      BIGAMY . William Haggas ( 31 ) was charged wkh bigamy , at Leeds . Mr . Hall was for the . prosecution j the prisoner was undefended . The prisoner is-a tailor , and on the 24 th of September , 1 S 33 , he was married at Leeds t » Hannah Meek , and on the 27 th of Febraary , 1837 , he was married at Rothwell to a person named Jane Richardson . He stated to his second wife , and to other persons , that his first wife was dead , but at the latter end of last year both the wive * became chargeable to the parish of Holbeck , and that was the way in which the offence was discovered . —Guilty .

      PonGEaY . James Wheldon was charged with forgery at Hull , on the 8 th of July . The first count in the indictment , charged the prisoner with forging a certain undertaking for the payment of £ 1 12 s . with intent to defraud Wm . Pinkney ; the second count charged him with uttering the same ; and the third and other counts charged him with forging the undertaking , with intent to defraud James Wilson and others . Mr . Archbold and Mr . Bain were for the prosecution . The prisoner was undefended . The meetings of the New Moulders Friendly Society are held at Mr . Pinkney ' s , and Mr . Wilson is the secretary

      to the society . The prisoner forged Mr . Wilson ^ name to an order for the payment of £ 112 s . which it was usual to receive , and which he did receive from Mr . Pinkney . —Guilty . Wm . Hartley , 32 , was charged with having , on the 30 th of July , 1840 , at Leeds , feloniously uttered a promissory note , for the payment of £ 25 , purporting to be drawn and indorsed by Smith Brothers and Co ., dated "Liverpool , 15 th July , 1840 , " with intent to defraud Francis Buckle . Mr . Bliss and Mr . Atherton wpre for the prosecution . Mr . Wilkins and Mr . Pashley appeared for the defence . . ¦

      Mr . Bliss stated the case . The prosecutor was a merchant at Leeds , and the prisoner resided at Eccleshill . The prosecutor had known him for several years , and had had business transaotionswith him . After the 15 th of July , the prisoner bought of Mr . Backl « £ 20 worth of wooL and tendered in payment % bill for £ 25 . Mr . Buckle asked the prisoner if he knew the drawers , and he said he did ; they were woollen merchants , residing in South John Street , Liverpool , and that he had sot the bill from them in payment for some good ? . The prisoner , however , refused to indorse the bill , because he said he was in difficulties , and was making arrangements with his creditors , and he did not like his name to be on the WU . Mr . Buckle

      took the bill , but he did not pay the prisoner , the £ 5 until he had seen what became of the bill * Mr . Buckle afterwards paid the bill as a collateral security to a person named Booth . He , Booth , and a person named Water house , met together at an inn , and Mr . Booth refused to receive the bill until it had been indorsed by Buckle and Waterhonse . Soon after Mr . Buckle went to Liverpoolj an , d whilst there ho made inquiries for the firm , but was unable to find one of that name . A policeman made a similar search with the like effect . Mr . Buckle afterwards went to Hamburgh , to see his father who was ill , and he remained thereabout five weeks , and returned on the 20 th Nov . In the meantime , the bill became due and was dishonoured , and after Mr .

      BucKle s return , Booth and Waterhouse applied for payment of the bill . Mr . Buckle having heard that the prisoner was in Rothwell Gaol for deb * went there , and took with him his brother . Some conve sit ion took place , and the prisoner made the same statement as he did when he paid the bill to Mr . Buckle . Frequent applications were made by Mr . Booth to Mr . Buckle for . payment of the bill , but in vain ; and in January the latter became bankrupt . On the 17 th of February , the sale of Mr . Buckle ' s effects took place , when Mr . Booth again applied for payment , but with no better success than before , and ne then charged Mr . Buckle with uttering ; a forged bill , and threatened to get a warrant for him , but did not do so till the 1 st of March . On the 2 nd of that month , the time when the protection of the law with respect to his bankruptcy was removed , he went to Liverpool , where he remained till the 20 th

      of April ( on which day his certificate was allowed him ) during which time he made further inquiries after the firm and ascertained that there was no such firm as that mentioned . He gave notice to Booth , Waterhouse , and the prisoner , that he would return on the 21 st of April and meet them before the magistrates on the charge that had been made against him . He did so , and ho was committed , for trial for the offence , but was afterwards admitted to bail . Mr . Buckley afterwards brought a charge against Hartley for uttering the bill , and on the 23 d he was examined and committed for trial . Neither Booth nor Waterhouse were called to give evidence as to the circumstances above mentioned , and the foreman of the jury stated that he knew a firm of Smith , Brothers , and Steele , at Liverpool , and had done business with them .

      Mr . Wilkins made an excellent speech for the prisoner , and then called witnesses to give him a character . The jury retired about twenty-five minutes , when they acquitted the prisoner . There is , however , another charge of forgery against him .

      BOBBEEY . James Haigh was charged with having , on the 7 th of June , at Emley , robbed Win . Archer . Sir Gt . Lewin and Mr . Hah appeared for the pro . secution . On the night in question , a man , named Benjamin Redgwick , who resided next door to the prosecutor , went to his house , and asked him if he would assist him to cut some grass . He agreed to do sa : and when they were returning from the field , two men , having

      cloth over their faces , attacked the prosecutor , and Hadgwiok ran away . The prosecutor wm severely beaten , and robbed of four £ 5 notes , two half-sovereigns , and a quantity of silver , and tben left him . During the struggle that took place , the cloths fell from the men ' s faces , and the prosecutor identified the prisoner . It seems that James Walshaw went by appointment to Redgtfick ' s field , in order to rob the prosecutor . This fact waa stated by Walsoaw , who had turned Queen ' s evidence , and Redgwick bad not been apprehended . Guilty .

      To-day the Grand Jury were discharged , the Judge thanking them fox their attendance . The Court adjourned about five o ' clock .

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      NISI PKIUS COUBT .-Thubsoat . ( Before Lord Chief Justice Denman . ) The only case of general interest was that of HUQHILt t > . JACKSON . BREACH OP PflOMISE OF MARRIAGE . It appeared that the parties had become friendly about twelve years ago . The defendant had visited tho plaintiff ia the capacity of a suitor , with the consent of her friends for six years , when she became pregnant . Refusing to marry her . he wm

      forbidden all farther mteroonne with her . In eonsequence of this , the parties had no intercourse with each other for about four years . At the end of that time , the defendant contrived to renew the connexion , and again paid his addresses to her professing his purpose to marry her . She became a second time pregnant ; and after the defendant had been several times called upon to fulfil his promise and refused to do so , the present action was brought The prosecution was conducted by Mr .

      Calfs-WKI . L . The Jury found a verdict for the plaintiff , damages il 5 U ,

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      TOL . IV . JTO . 192 . SATURDAY , JULY 17 , 1841 . * " ^ TS 5 ff-, ffgSB ?'"

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      - jj v ^ yv ^ / Jr x AND LEEDS GENERAL ADVERTISER . ¦ ' ¦ ¦ ' ¦ '''¦'¦ ' . ¦¦ - . ' . ; . ¦ . - ¦ ... : ¦¦ " . ¦ ' .. ¦ ¦! , '• ' ,,.. ., 1

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), July 17, 1841, page 1, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct715/page/1/