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Northern Star (1837-1852), 29th January 1842, Edition 4 of 4, Page 4, Untitled Article

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    • THE NORTHERN STAR SATURDAY, JANUARY 29, 1842.
    • 3To ^eauetff a*fa <&trtvt$$i>t($m\
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      PCBLIC SCPPEB . TO M . B . BEOMERBE O'BBIEX IN THE CHAHT 3 STS' HALL , GOAT lSS , CLOTH MiEB . ET , Xewcasile—About ssventy sat cown to a very substantial suppsr . After the doth was drawn , Mr . Sinclair was unanimously called to tte chair , - who

      eptned the proceedings of the evening in an appropriate address , which he concluded by proposing aad responding to the first sentiment—" The people , the only source of legitimate power . " The next vras— "The btaltLi » f Mr . O'Brien , and may all his tgbits foi tbe got-d tif the people be Eoon crowned with success , ilr . Wiikie handled this toast in a Tery humourous and masterly Etyle . Mr . O Brien responded at great length in his usual prepossessing strain , and was cheered throughoui . " The People ' s Charter ; and may it toon become the law of the land , " was proposed front the chair , and was very ably responded to by Mr . Cockburn , in which he gave some Tery broad hints to the "' new more'" gentry , snd proved their imbecility to frustrate the growth of genuine liberty ,

      notwithstanding their many treacherous attempts . " The Demoerotic Press , and may it 3 iEflueuce speedily oTerthrow tyrajiny all over the world . " This sentiment was ably responded to by 3 Ir . Crothers . " The healths of Messrs Frost , Williams , and Jones , and their speedy return to their fsonilies and hoinea . " Mr . Kempster Rebson « sp-jnded _ in a Tery eloquent acd appropriate stylo . " Tte Epeedy liberation ol all political prisoners , and may they soon find a reward for their sufferings inthe triumphof their principles . " ilr . Coekbum responded in an able manner , but briefly , in consequence of the lateness of the hour . Prior to the health of "Frost , Williams , and Jc-aea , I&r . O'Brifea expressed a desire of

      retiring to rest , baring been greatly mistimed of late , and before he went , he -would propose his constituents , " tha non-lectors acd honest electors of Newcastle , and may their conduct in the last general election be imitated la erery borough , in the Unittd Kingdom . " ilr . O'B . showed what he woulu advise them to do at the next election , and concluded amidst grtat applause "by wishing them all good night . " The illustrious dead , whose tfibrts in the causa of liberty bare rendered their names immortal . " Jlr . Faicclough responded very britfly in constquecee of the late hour . " The health of Mr * Hall , the landlord of the Goat Inn , and the tnanks of IheaasodaUcin , for id $ liberality in fit > . them the

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      use of the Hall , and his unceasing efforts t » further the cause ol universal liberty , " which -was responded to by three nnanimoos cheers . " Mr . K . Bobson proposed the health of the Chairman , and the meeting separated , highly gratified witb the evening * entertainment

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      SOUTHAMPTON " . TRIUMPH OF THE DEMOCRACY OVER THE CORN-LAW REPEALERS . A Tery interesting and spirited meeting took place here according to announcement on Tuesday evening , Jan . 18 th , to adopt the National Petition , to pass a memorial to the Qeeen for the return of Frost , Williams , and Jones , and also to nominate a delegate to the General Convention of the industrious classes . As the " shades of evening" closed there were manifest an nnnsual spirit of activity and

      excitement amongst the working men . As they repaired to the place of meeting , they could be heard in earnest conversation as to its success , which fortunately for their good judgment and their love of the just principles of the Charter , proved to booneot the best lessons ! taught to the Corn Law repealers , we ever had the pleasnre to record . The Chartists were unaware that any opposition would be offered to their proceedings ; but , however , they were prepared for any emergency , and concluded the meeting in a glorious manner .

      The chair was taken by Mr . Gale , who read a letter from the Lady of General Napier , assigning illness as the cause of the General ' s absence from the meeting ; he read letters also from Salisbury , Portsmouth and from Bath , apologising for their not sending delegates to the same . Mr . Palmer proposed the first resolution . He addressed the meeting as fellow slaves ; he considered it necessary t ? apply this term to them , because no man who had only his labour to depend on , and was not represented , was otherwise than a slave . The Chartists had been accused of being levellers , and of wishing to destroy the property of the rich . What a ridiculous idea it was to suppose that they wanted to destroy that which it had cost them so many years of labour to create . They were not so ignorant as not to ~ know that if they destroyed property * they would bring ruin on themselves : what

      they wasted was equal political power , and then would follow a more equal distribution of the wealth which their own labour should henceforth create . It was said that the Government was not to blame for the distress that now existed—that it arose from the improvidence of the working classes themselves ; he threw back with contempt the foul assertion . Those who assumed to themselves to become their rulers set the example of improvidence , vice , and profligacy . Some say the people are too ignorant to exercise the suffrage , and they , on the ovher hand , have not proposed any efficient means to ascertain the precise qualification of the electors , without including the most ignorant portion of society , to the exclusion of . the most intelligent . The Charter appeared to him the only means to establish an honest and upright Government—a Government that will secure to all themostpermaneiit happiness , peace , and prosperity . ( Cheers . )

      Ilr . H briefly seconded the following resolution : — " That this meeting is of opinion that the withholding of all political rights from the working class has caused a spirit of discontent to spread amongst them , which can only bo allayed by allowing the noble and worthy principles contained in the People ' s Charter lo become the law of the land . " It was put from the chair , and passed unanimously amidst the acclamation of the meeting . Mr . Philip Bkaxso . v , from the Isle of Wight , then proposed the adoption of the National Petition . He went minutely into the whole of the sections of the petition , and explained and enforced the principles of the Charier in a powerful and eloquent manner , much to the satisfaction of the meeting . He spoke atconsiderablelengih , and was much cheered throughout his speech . Mr . GooDiux , in a bold and energetic manner , briefly seconded the resolution .

      Mr . Hood then came forward , and mounted the platform for the purpose of moving the following amendment : — " That this meeting regards the five fundamental points of the Charter as successive steps in the great march of perfection of the English ¦ nation , and the progression of popular influence ; but that it likewise regards the great question of the repeal of the Corn Laws , as the prime legislative means of the happiness of the people , and pledges itself to further all other means of securing moral and national improvement . "

      A good deal of uproar and confusion took place when Sir . Hood commenced , but by the exertions of the Chairman a hearing was at length obtained and he was suffered to proceed . And after delivering one of the most declamatory and contradictory speeches , in which he alternately abused and approved of the Charter and the Chartists , he sat down amidst groans and hisses . The amendment was seconded by Mr . Natlor . Mr . Bahtlett rose and was received with great cbcerin ? . He contended that if they got the repeal of the Corn Laws by the united exertions of the working classes and the middle classes , some equally injurious law would be likely to- be passed in the following session of Parliament , and then thsy would

      have all the work to do over again . He did not believe all the advantages contemplated from the repeal of the Corn Laws would be realized . In 1835 bread was one-third cheaper tban now , with the same Corn Laws in existence . The increased demand for our manufactures would tend more to give employment for machinery than for manual labour . For how could the working classes work for the same wages , when , on the oilier hand , they have to pay three times more taxes tban any other nation in the world . "Why were the working classes called on to assist in obtaining a repeal of the Corn Laws ? They were out of the pale of the constitution . If , however , the people had political power , thev wonld scon alter the Corn Laws . Let the

      middle classes , then , join with them to get thet Charter , aud they would easily beat the landed aristocracy . Such a union had taken place at Bath -and other places , and would soon follow throughoue the land . There was now , in the tenth year of thn Reform Bill , nearly a hundred majority of Tories it the House of Commons . Tne Whigs could no bwallow that dose , —( cheers)—and within twelve months they would see the timid Whig quietly moving over to the Conservatives , and the Whig Radical joining the Chartists . The meeting had already passed a resolution affirming that the Charter was the only remedy for the evils at present existing , and if they carried the amendment it would give the lie to what they had previously done .

      An arrangement was then made , by which Mr . Hood , the mover of the amendment , and Mr . Brannon , the mover of the original resolution , each agreed to speak a quarter of an hour on their respective ¦ sides of the question . Tln 3 was done , and the opinion of the meeting was then taken , when the original motion was carried by a large majority . The " meeting then gave three tremendous cheers . Mr . Bartlett then read the memorial , and moved its adoption . Mr . Tabget seconded it , and it was put to the meeting , and was adopted . Mr . Palmxb . moved that Mr . Bartlett be the delegate to represent the Chartists of the Southwestern district in the General Convention . This was seconded by Mr . Ikglefjeld , and carried unanimously .

      Thanks were voted ( o the Chairman . Cheers were given for Frost , Williams , and Jones ; for the Charter , and for the people ; and the meeting broke np much delighted with its proceeding .

      The Northern Star Saturday, January 29, 1842.

      THE NORTHERN STAR SATURDAY , JANUARY 29 , 1842 .

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      PROGRESS OF OUR PRINCIPLES . Scaecb a week passea that does not afford some marked and decisive evidence that the policy recommended by us , and acted on by the people , of shewing the Whigs the outside of Downing-strcet , has been attended with most admirable results . Walast week noted , in commenting on Mr . Biggs ' " Midland Counties' Charter , " the insolent assumption by that person , that the people are utterly powerless without the Whig middle classes , while he yet raves and fumes like a maniac because these same people have driven the pets

      of these same Whig middle classes from their roosting place , and replaced them by the Tories Such are the stupid writhing 3 of jolterheads , who , like Mr . Biggs , hold on by their folly till the last moment , and come over to the Chartists , when they are forced , grumbling and making wry faces all the time ; like * n unwilling monkey , who does what he is bid , but grins in your face . Thank God , however , the middle classes are not all Biggses . There are many among them well principled , high minded ,

      and sincere lovers of true liberty , who , in their simplicity , have been deluded by the fair speeches of the Whigs in former times , and have accorded them their confidence from a belief that they were honest in their professions of a desire for good and cheap government . These have time now to thitk . Their attention is not kept always on the rack to devise means by which to save from going down . & government which though far from being what they wished was yet " a Reforming Govern-

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      ment . " These , very naturally , now want to make the dislodging of the Torios the means of installing parties who will do justice and not again disappoint the people ' s hopes . These , while they sought by every means to uphold a Whig Government in power in preference to a Tory one , yet now look out for the safe groun on which to replace the Tory Government , which they perceive , to have beea forced on them by the treachery of their former profcogees . They look round , carefully because honestly , and they find their only hope of success to be in the People ' s Charter ; and hence they become Chartists from conviction and principle , who would have remained Whigs had the Whigs remained in power .

      Grumbling supporters it is true they might have been ; but supporters of Whiggery they would still have been from the very dread of its exchange for Toryism . The accession to the people ' s cause of minds like these , honest , sincere , and influential is a benefit worth having , and marks , we repeat it most emphatically , the wisdom of the proceeding by which it has been obtained . We are led to these remarks by the fact that some kind friend has send us a copy of the Kent Herald , the only liberal paper published in the Archiepsocpal city of Canterbury . In that paper we find the National Petition given at full length in the leading columns of the paper ; introduced and followed with the following

      remarkEt"In the midland aud northern districts the principles of politics to which it ( the National Petition ) refers , are generally understood , but in K < snt aiery great part of the population are unacquainted with the precise nature of a petition which has been thus widely and eagerly adopted . We will place it then on record in eur pages , for whatever differences of opinien may exist as to some portions of it , and nothing can secure universal approval , we feel convinced that it will , in conduction with the People ' s Charter , drawn up belt remembered by a committee of well-known members jof Parliament , for the basis of all future political movements . The Whig Reform of 1831-2 haB been tried , and as a final measure proved an entire and undisputed failure . The Peopled Reform Bill will hereafter be the only antagonastic power to

      Toryism . * . *¦ * -, Those who want the sanction of great names may take courage by reflecting that the principles above advocated were formally and publicly promulgated by Charles James Fox , as Chairman of the Westminster Committee , in 1780 , of which committee were members the Duke of Portland , Earl of Egremont , Earl Temple , Lord John Cavendish , Lord George Cavendish , the Hon . Thomas Townssnd , Mr . R . B . Sheridan , Mr . Sawbridge , Mr . Wilkes , and about ninety other noblemen and gentlemen . The report published by these eminent persons recommended the adoption of Annual Parliaments , Universal Suffrage , Equal Voting Districts , No Property Qualification , Voting by Ballot , Payment of Members , and Poll to be taken on the same day . "

      It i 3 really refreshing to see the cause of honesty and justice thus progressing towards the extinction of Whig liberalism . Being taken up by some from conviction and principle , by others , as in the caso of Mr . Biggs , unwillingly and with an ill-grace—but still taken up as " the only antagonistic power to Toryism . "

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      i ^^ THE MURDER OUT . —THE SECRET OF THE OPPOSITION TO THE NATIONAL PETITION BY THE PSEUDO CHARTISTS OF THE SCOTTISH CONVENTION . So , then ! the shadows in the distance flit before us , and their real forni 3 appear . We have just received the following extract from , the Dumfries Courier of Monday . We have not seen the paper ; but take the statement on our informant ' s credibility . After stating that there was a delegate meeting of the Corn Law repealersion Saturday , the Courier says : — " In the evening a eplendid eoiree was held in the City Hall , attended by 1 . 500 persons , Mr . Oswald , ^^^^

      M . f ., in the chair . The speakers were Mr . Alex . Graham , of Lancefield , the Rev . Alexander Harvey , Mr . Graham , Capilly , the Rev . Mr . Brewster , Mr . Lumsden , Mr . Walter Buchanan ^ Mr . Pattesojk J and Mr . Acland . The only feature of interest in the meeting was the appearance there of Mr . Patteson , who is one of the most intelligent and influential of the Chartut body , and by his appearance and speech gave in his adhesion to the anti-Corn Law movement both for himself and many thousands of followers . "

      Here , then , we have a perfect clue to the opposition of those parties to the National Petition , and their hostility to O'Connor . Thus have these pretended Chartists—these spies from the " League " Camp—been seeking to establish themselves among the unsuspecting Chartists , to sow dissension and division in their ranks—to beget distrust of their old tried and trusted leaders—that the first opportunity might be taken of handing them over , " neck and crop , " to the enemy .

      How very wonderfnlly Chartism does thrive and multiply under "League" fosterage . When in right earnest for the Charter , we are an insignificant fraction of the population—a party without power "; but no sooner is the transfer and the mock confession made , than the "followers" become "thousands" ! And the accession is boasted as

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      a rare accumulation of strength and power . Good , simple leaguers ! Reckon not y 6 ur chickens too early . You may succeed "' in getting over Mr . Pattes < W at the tail of Parsott Beewsteb , but ye'il get no honest Chartist ; with him . They know you too well- ^ they would not trust you for a single yard—and you will by aud bye rub your fooliBh eyes in wonder that the Chartist cause goes on full better for tho Ios 3 of Mr . PATTESONf and that the rejection of your nostrum by the Chartist body , is just as perfect aud decided now that you have him to help you to cram it down their throats aa it was before .

      We congratulate theScottish Chartists on the secession pf Messrs . Bbewsteb and Patteson ; just as we would a coach wheel on the absence of the slipper . We shall not be oorry to record a few more unmaskings .

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      TRIUMPHS OF PRINCIPLE . Wb have only just room to notice the triumphant displays elsewhere recorded of Newcastle , where the six points of the Charter were all swallowed without asy "bockeniDg , " and the National Petition passed by acclamation at a Guildhall-full , with the Mayor in the chair ; and at Hull , where the brave "lads , " of themselves , unaided by a single " gun ^" made the whole army of Leagues glad to beat a parley , and ultimately sound a retreat , leaving the Chartists in possession of , at least , the best portion of the field ; although the meeting was their own , and they had all the elite of the anti-Corn Law camp therp . Hurrah ! for Hull . Stick , lads , by the Charter ! Beware of the bait ! no compromise ! no coalition ! no surrender i

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      WAGES OF LABOUR , AND" EXTENSIONS " OF COMMERCE . The great bugbear that the advocates of "Extension" of our present commerce hold up to our riosea to frighten us out of our common sense when all argument has failed , is " Foreign Trade " and the danger to be apprehended from " Foreign Competition . *' It is really amusing for a by-stander to observe the dexterity with which this bug-a-boo ie [ handled and exhibited , aa a never-failing silencer to all complainers , by the " free-traders" in human misery and poverty .

      Does the workman cry out , and complain that his cottage has been stripped ; that the " meal kist" has been 'dragged out ]!; that his shelves have been emptied ; that his back has been unclothed ; and does he murmur at the system which has used him thus ill , —the fantastically-dressed " boggart" is shewn to him , and ho is warned that if he docs not be quiet " Foreign Competition " will take him '

      Does the wife complain that she has ^ beea dragged from her home , and forced to take her husband ' s place in the factory—to labour there in artificially heated { atmospheres , to earn an existence for her family , and chained so to the wheel , by their poor circumstances , that she dare not leave her work until the labour-pangs physically incapacitate her for performing the hard task ; and does she lament that tho home comforts 6 he onca enjoyed are all departed—bug-a-boo is shewn again , and she is asked , " How is \ i possible to be otherwise , When we have the foreigner to meet in the foreign market' * ?

      Does the child complain ; that it has been forced from the mother ' s hearth into the din , and noise , and stench , and heat of a manufactory , and compelled to take the place of an adult in attending upon the dangerous revolving machinery—compelled , in many instances , by that attendance , to travel daily over a space equal to fprty miles in length ; that it is debarred from all chance of schooling , except suoh as unfits it for thetduties of life : that it

      is maimed , and diseased , and deformed , and decrepit , and in too many instances exposed to a violent and horrible mode of death ; and does it ask for a modicum of protection ; does it beg of men and fathers not to work it to death ; does it implore for " leave to toil" but ten hours & day , the boggart—is again exhibited , and the cry of ^ he infant is drowned in the strange jabber respecting "foreign trade" which is immediately set up .

      Does the philanthropist direct his attention to the condition of the workers engaged in our manufac . tories ? Does he mildly set forth that misery and destitution and disease is their lot % Does ho show that cellar-dwellings , absence of drainage , want of proper food , indiscriminate huddling together , and the absence of all moral tutelage , produces ^ a race tf beings unfit to be the progenitors of another generation I Does he prove that the species are becoming physically deteriorated , and that morality has neither name nor being amongst us \ Does he ask why thesa things are so , when we have in our

      possession the means of producing wealth illimitable ? And does he earnestly plead for a slight alteration in the regulation of our national and economical affairs , so as to ensure plenty , comfort , and well-being to all concerned , either in the production or distribution of wealth ? And does ha point out the simple means by which this may be easily effected , —the boggle is again stuck up , and he is met by pertinacious repetitions of the question , " What is to become of our foreign trade ? " " Youjwould not injure our foreign trade ?' "How are we to maintain our foreign trade ?" " What shall i we do , if we lose our foreign trade ?"

      And thus the "free trade" party expect us to be put off ! By such means as these they think to frighten us from an examination of the evils attendant upon and engendered by our commercial system . By these means they expect to be able to resist all attempts to regulate machinery and protect the workman , and induce us to aid them in procuring another " extension" of their power , and another and further prostration of the workman ' s condition . By means like these , they hope to compel us to lay aside reason , inquiry , comparison , and judgment , and to deliver ourselves up into their hands , bound hand and foot together .

      To this mode of procedure we demur . We require something more satisfactory . We have no notion of being frightened at this time of day , with " boggles" andi " pad-fooits . " The monster shown us may be hideous and frightful enough , dressed up and painted as he is by the men who exhibit him : but we feel inclined to ask , are the clothes his own ? Are the features shown us , his real ones ? Is he as formidable as you make him appear to be ?

      And we shall not be contGnt merely with asking these questions . We shall endeavour to answer them . We shall endeavour to examine into this matter , in a plain common sense manner , denuding the subject of the mysterious jargon with which the " oracles" have invested it . We shall endeavour to make our examination homely and telling ; not " scientific" and hard-wordish . What , then , is the amount of our Foreign Trade ? t . e . what i 3 it worth to us in Pounds , Shillings and Pence ?

      What is the amount of produce we have to give , now , for the amount of money or goods we receive in . return , compared with the amounts we gave and received forty or fifty years ago I i . e . how much does the labour of the present period bring u 3 in , compared with the amounts brought in by labour , say in 1798 ! The real value of the produce and manufactures of the United Kisgdom exported during the year ending Jan . 5 th , 1841 , " was £ 51 , 406 , 430 . That is to say , the value in money or goods , which wereceived for the whole of our foreign trade , as far a our own produce and manufactures is concerned for the last year of which we have any return ( the return ' s for the year ending Jan . 5 th , 1842 , not being ; yet pubHshed ) was £ 51 , 406 , 430 ;

      The amount raised from the people in general taxes , over and above their local taxes and charges , was £ 53 , 122 , 651 . . ¦ : Thereal value of British produce and manufactures exported during the year 1798 was 433 , 000 , 000 . ¦ ¦¦' ¦ ¦ ¦

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      The official value of produce and manufactures exported in the year ending January 5 th , 1841 , was £ 102 ^ 02 , 372 . :- ' :: ~ , ; \ vV ¦ :: ¦ - ; . ¦ ¦; . ,. '¦ . . " > The qfficiaivalue of the produce and manufaoturea exported in 1798 , was £ 18 , 000 , 000 . The di fference between the two rates of value , official and real , is that the for met sets forth the quantity exported , and the latter the value of that quantity , according tothe ( invoice prices of the exporters ¦ ; , ¦ ¦¦ - ¦'¦ ¦ ' . y- \ ¦ ' . ¦'¦ '¦ "¦' : . .: ; -Y ; '¦• / ' ; :

      By keeping this explanation constantly in-new we shall be enabled to estimate , pretty accurately , the value ot our so-mttch-vatinted foreign trade ; and we shall also see what has been one of the many astounding effects of , pur / former " extensions of commerce . " T Official vahce , then , the reader will bear in mind , relates solely to the quantities exported . By

      oomparing the ofiloial value at any one period , with the real or declared value at the same period , we shall learn how much the exported produce of labour of that period brought in ; and we can compare this with the result of a similar comparison at a later period ; and thus arrive at a correct conclusion as to the relative value of labotjr at any two periods we please to take .

      This mode of taking the valuations of exported produce has existed for more than 150 years : consequently we can not get wrong . In 1798 , then , wo exported , in quantity ; , £ 19 , 000 , 000 worth of British produce and manu * faotures ; and we received for it , In money or goods , £ 33 , 000 , 000 . in 1840 we exported , in quantity , £ 102 , 705 , 372 worth of produce and manufactures ; and we received for it £ 51 , 406 , 430 . : we

      That is to Say , in ^ 840 exported much more than FIVE TIMES tho quantity of raw ' material and labour , than we exported in 1798 ; and that we only received for this immense increase of foreign trade about £ 18 , 500 , 000 !!! In other words , we have increased our foreign trade to more than five times the quantity we had in 1798 ; while for that five times the quantity we only receive a little more than one and a half times the price !! J

      In other words still , had we been paid in 1840 for the raw material and labour at the same rate we were paid in 1798 , we ought to have received for the quantity exported more than £ 177 , 000 , 000 while we did only receive £ 51 , 406 , 430 I !! Here is a picture of " Extension of Commerce" !! Wo have " extended" our foreign trade more than four times over from 1798 ; and this is the result ! ! We receive about half as much for the whole of the

      increase as we reseived , in 1798 , for One-fifth of the quantity ! !! We have to give to the foreigner , for Is . Gd ., more than five times the amount of raw material and labour that we gave in 1798 for one shilling ! And " Extensions of Commerce" are desirable ! Without them , we shall go to rack and ruin ! For want of them , we are all out of employment ! For want of more foreign trade , wages are low 1 Another " Extension" will set all right Operatives ^ what think you %

      We have not by us , at present , means of reference as to the amount of taxes raised from the people in the year 1798 . We have , however , a return for the year 1789 , nine years previous . By it we learn that the amount raised in 1789 was £ 16 , 000 , 000 . So that the labourer , besides having to give five times the amount of labour in 1840 for one-and-ahalf-times the amount of money he received in 1798 , HAD TO PAY , IN 1840 , MORE THAN THREE TIMES THE amount of taxes that he paid in 1789 . ' ! !!

      Hurrah ! for the blessings of "Extended Commerce" and " Cheap Government" ! Hurrah ! for the wisdom with which our rulers have managed national and commercial affairs ! They have only diminished the workman ' s means three and a half fold , and increased his state burdens three-foid I I Another diminution of means must be of immense service !!

      But this statement of the relative value of our foreign trade , in the years 1798 and 1840 , plain and volumes-speaking as it is , does not fully shew : the real nature of our two trades at the several periods named . In 1798 , £ 16 , 000 , 000 out of the £ 19 , 000 , 000 quantity exported , was from raw , material produced by ourselves from our own soil only £ 3 , 000 , 000 quantity was from raw material imported from abroad ! We then grew our own wool and nearly the whole of our own flax . How is it

      uow ? Why , that in 1840 , more than two-thirds of the manufactures exported wasjtrom raw material which had been imported . ' Therefore , all the profit that this portion of our foreign trade left us , was the difference between the cost of raw material when landed on our shores , and the amount received for it when re-landed on the shores of America , China , or Timbuctoo ? And what a difference this will make to , to the nation at large , between growing its own raw material , and buying it abroad !

      Here , then , is our foreign trade ! What is it worth ? Is it worth having ? Is it worth following 1 Dees it give us enough in return , estimating it in the way the Corn Law League always look at these questions , the pounds-shillings-and-pence way , for the efforts and sacrifices we make to secure it I We have run ourselves off our feet ; we have reduced the merchant and manufacturer to bankruptcy and the operative to beggary ; we have abstracted millions upon millions from the tills of the shopkeeping

      class , and for what 1 to secure a trade which brings us in £ 51 , 000 , 000 yearly for five times the amount of labour and raw material we gavo forty years ago for £ 33 , 000 , 000 !! What is it worth ? What does it leave ? It is a boast that cotton wool comes into the country , at LiverpooL , on a Monday morning , and departs again , in the shape of cotton twist , on Saturday evening . This is very quick . There has not been very much labour expended upon it in the meantime . Yet this article , cotton twist , is a very large item in the list of exports . It serves to swell it amazingly .

      But what does it leave ? What does it scatter by the way ? How much is there out of this , for either master or man ! It is certainly very quick work to import the raw material on a Monday , and export the " manufactured article " on a Saturday : but what does it leave ' i It runs very quickly through the country ; but does it Bcatter plenty of crumbs by the way ? These are questions which must be answered : for it may turn out that our foreign trade may be to the nation what physic is to the body : a scourer out . It may turn out that we lose more than we gain by it !

      But , we could not do without . our foreign trade We should be ruined without our foreign trade What would become of us , if we lost our foreign trade 1 n Softly , good folks ! Remember that the taxes in 1840 amounted to £ 53 , 000 , 000 ; that is to say , to £ 2 , 000 , 000 wore than tho whole we received for our famous . foreign trade !!!

      Five millions are more than sufficient for the carrying on of an honest Government . So that if we lost the entire of our foreign trade , and placed taxation oh a just and proper footing , we should only be worse than we now are by £ 3 , 000 , 000 a-year ; and we should have all the vast heaps of clothicg and cutlery , and other manufactured produce we now export , at home to divide among us , and ' wear'and enjoy !!

      No ,, no . Bugbear foreign trade is not so formidable after all . ! He ha 3 been monstrously dressedup ; but he is not bo very frightful of himself , when we cometo lift the veil ! No , no ; we shall not sink beneath the ocean should we not be able to beat the foreigner in the foreign market 1 Suppose that out of our foreign tiade of £ 51 , 000 , 000 , we received a profit of £ 40 , 000 , 000 ; Suppose ( which ia not the case ) that thisi £ 40 , 000 , 000 was ailprqfit ; suppose this , which is ' . -. a monstrous Bupposition ; yet ^ suppose it ; it would only amonnt to about tbirty shillings per head , per annum , or 7 d .

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      per week , if equally divided amongst on * 27 , 000 , 000 of population !! A terrible thing td make such a splutter about , certainly ! Why , if we oonld by any means enable every one of that same population t <» spend Id . per day more than they now do , that would be worth j to the nation at large , infinitely mobb than the yfhole of our foreign trade Ml ; , V . Reader , we have not yet done with the "foreign trade question . " We shall return to it .

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      COMittUNICmONS NOT KOTICfcB IS OTO LiST . —Wesfc Bromwich .--7 % e friends here should copy the memorial from the Star ; write it in a plain hand j get as mmy signatures to it as they cdn ¦ and senditprepaid toMT . J . Wilkinson \ Secretary to the Frost , Williams , and iones ' s Restoration Committee , 5 , Grescoe-slreet , Birmingham . For the National Petition ^ their way is to send cash for as niany Petition heads and . sheets as they may needi and go to work- ^/ Ul the sheets as fast as possible with bona fide signatures , -and send it off io the general secretary , prepaid .- —Paneras .. wishes the working men of London to establish a paper over which they would have the complete controul , to effect which he would have the

      subscribers form themselves into an association , each member paying the price of the paper weekly , and a small sum , quarterly , to defray the ex ~ pences of the association , the profits to be appropriated to the following rises : —Tp the publishing of political and other works at a cheap rate ; to the purchasing of a library for the use of themembers ; and to the evgnging of lecturers . — London : Tailors j Three Doves , Berwick-street ^ So \ iO , report that , at their previous weekly rrieetr ing , after business hdd been disposed of , nnhat ~ monic meeting took place , for the benefit of the masons noui on strike ; and that the rooms will be open for this purpose every evening during the strike— Finsbury ; The report of Mr . Waits

      was only received on Saturday *—Birmingham . A letter . received on Saturday from E . Spink , sub-Secretaryy desires vis to announce that the meetings at Freeman-street are holdenonSunday evenings , at half past six ; Monday evenings , at eight : the chair taken precisely at the stated time . —^ Chorley . W . Pitfield , sub-Secretary , sends us oil Saturday the list of nominations for Council of his locality , w \ th a request that'we \ will be pleased to publish iti and to pay more attention to the correspondence : from Chorley ; " of which he says there are heavy complaints among the members . It is no wonder that the members complain . We seldom get anything from Chorley at all , and when we ~ doy it is quite likely to be

      neglected if it come after the papers are printed How often must we tell people ihdt we go toprest on Thursday ? -- Scrathayen . We received from this place , on Saturday , a report of a meeting held on the 11 th instant , at which , among other things , it was agreed : —That e , subscription be * ' entered into immediately for the rearing of a monument in memory of our murdered townsman , James WillsGn , who fell a victim io the ' hellish spy system of ' 1819 arid 1820 , and'that Mcssrsi R . Griffin , provision store , and James Moiv be appointed to receive subscriptions for the sanie . Upon this the writer remarks : —

      . This has been long and shamefully neglected ; the grave of Willson , in Slrathaven church-yard is now level with the common earthy and to all , except a few \ unknown , undislinguishable , amid the myriad graves which lye around . TYhile thousands of meaner name and lesser note have had monuments reared to their memory , no simple stone so much as marks the place where sleeps the ashes of the martyr'd Willson . "— -Leeds Un » employed Operative Enumeration Committee . The disclaimer of this body of all blame on account of the delay incompteting the investigation of the overseers is attended to in our present number .

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      A ' TflE / NQfllBW ^ T ;^ - ' ^ " ^

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      NEWCASTLE . GREAT CHARTIST MEETING IN THE GUILD

      HALL , THE MAYOR IN THE CHAIR . On Tuesday last , a public meeting , convened by the-Mayor of Newcastle , in compliance-with a requisition , bearing the signatures of 615 of the inhabitants was held in tbe Guild Hall , to take into consideration tke propriety of petitioning Parliament for Universal Suffrage , Vote * by Ballot , Annual Parliaments , Equal Toting District * , No Property Qualification , aud the Payment of Members of Parliament—on which occasion the Epscious Hall was crowded in every corner . At twelve o ' clock , Jxues Hodgson , Esq . ., the ilayor , took the chair , « nd opened the meeting by the requisition being read by the Town Clerk , and the Mayor hoped and trusted that every gentleman who rose to address them on tbe subjects set forth for discussion would receive a fair and impartial hearing , and he would now be happy to listen tc any ene who was desirous of expressing bia sentiments .

      Mr . Wh . Btuse rose to move the first resolution , and at great length explained the principles of TJni Trersal Suffrage , -which was briefly seconded by Mx . Thomas Gray , and tarried unanimously . The resolution ran as follows : — " That this meeting believes it to be the inalienable and constitutional right of every man unconvicted of crime and of sound mind , to exercise the franchise in the election of members -of Parliament ; that to give tbe elector the free use -of his franchise , the vot « should be taken by ballot ; tiiat to render the representative duly responsible to his constituents , Piiiliamects should be chosen annually ; that as wealth conferred neither intelligence nor ability , the property qualification in members of Parliament

      fitoald be abolished ; that as want of wealth txclnded masy men of talent from tbe Bervices of the people , members should be paid a limited amonnt of salary ; and , that tbe conntry should be divided into equal electoral districts . " Mr . Byrne then moved the adaption of a petition founded on the resolution , and that it he transmitted , after signature , toThosiasDniscombe , Esq ., il . P ., for presentation to the House of Ccmmons ; which was seconded by Mr . Wilkie ; whereupon Mr . Sinclair moved as an amendment , that a pet-tion , tbe cepy of which he held 5 n Ms hand , ( and which with the permission of the Chairman , lie would read , ) "be adopted by this meeting ; Mr . Wa . Atkins seconded Mr . S- ' s amendment ~ Theu Mr . S . read aloud tbe National Petition , and was loudly cheered by the

      meeting . Mr . Btrne , seeing this , Baid he was not aware cf the intention of moving the petition just read by Mr . S-, or fee would gladly have £ iven place , " and be now begsed leave to withdraw the resolution which be had placed in the hands of the Mayor . Here Messrs . O'Brien and Binns entered tlie Hall , and were bailed with most deafening cheers . The Mayor put Mi . S / s amendment as a substantive motion , and it was carried unanimously . ilr . SlxcLAiii then moved" That the Petition now adopted , after procuring as msxy signatures aa possible , be transmitted to the Con-Tention—the Parliament of tbe working classes—for presentatioH to the House of Commons . " Tbe motion was seconded by Mr . G . Bisss , and carried unanimously .

      ill Mr . B O"Bkie > then rose amidst enthusiastic cheeriug . Us said he had been told that his assistance might be necessary to get the NatioEal Petition passed on the present occasion . He was glad to see that the people of Newcastle could pass it themselves . Tney might depend upon it , that if ever they were to get the Chaitsr , it must be by their own exertions ; -and this seemed to be their own opinion , for of themselves they passed it . and passed it unanimously . He could assure them that if ever he were a member of the National Convention , he would not only give his best attention to the due presentation of the petition , but he would also tell the people generally , that if they desired to pesses 3 their political rights , they niust imitate the conduct of tbe men of Newcastle . Ha

      would now propose a vote of thanks to a gentlemsm who had dons himself great honour in calling this meeting , and presiding over its deliberations . The Mayor of Newcastle , disregarding ail party considerations , had felt it to be his duty to comply with the wishes of a large number of his fellow-townsmen , and-to give "them the opportunity of exercisiujr a great constitutional privilege , under the sanction cf their Chief Magistrate . Snch conduct was highly honourable to the worthy Chairman , and he ( Mr . O'B . } rejoiced to think that a better feeling was springing np in 3 lar ee class of the community , that had previously looked with suspicion and distrust on the advocates of the Charter . The . meeting would observe that a new feature baa been added to tbe National Petition . It

      new prayed for a repeal of the Legislative Union cf Great Britain and Ireland—not for the dismemberment of the empire—not for the severance cf Ireland from the British , crown . The Repeal of the Union simply meant that the privilege of internal government be restored to Ireland . Tht-y were all aware that the American Republic was composed of several States , each of which possessed the privilege of local governrsent , whilst there was also a general government f- r the whole of the United Siates , And it wa 3 this for which the Irsh had betn so long agitating . Well , then , let the Chartists of Great Britain assist them in the struggle , and the Irish Repealers wonld join in the demand for the Charter . Mr . O'B . feit great pleasure in sajing , that the two towns he admired , most

      in the kingdom were tha first that had adopted the yational Petition , in public meeting duly convened by the constituted authorities . Newcastle adoptedit—it had also beea adopted in Brighton . Mr . O'B . showed how the interests of the several classs 3 of the comnlnnity were not identical under the present order of things , and ths necessity of the Charter to place them all on the sane level , & . c ~ , and after , in stiong terms , denouncing the ascursed New Poar Law Bill , he said that a certain local organ , which Mx . O'Connor would call the Coifs Head Obxrcer , had compared him ( Mr . O'B . ) with Sbakspeai ' a Jack Cade , who promised his followers that there should be , in England , seven halfpenny loaves for a penny , that the three hooped pot ihouid have ten hoops , and thathe would make it felony

      to drink small heer . Now in his ( Mr . O'B . ' s ) intercourse ¦ with tie people he had never promised anything more than the fruits of their own labour . He left such delusions to the Whi 2 s aid emigration agents ; he had never spoke : ' , as ibeSetccasHe Courani asserted , uf taking the land from the present possessors and giving it to the people ; bnt if he had done so he would only have been following the doctrine of Moses , who was friendly to the cancelling cf all debts once in every seven years , and a redivision of the land eyerj half century . Were snch a plan to he adopted now , why they , the people of England , would all be whitewashed to-night , and as bu = y as bets dividing the land to-morrow inoraing . Mr . O'B . went on giving the factions , with wh ch we have-to contend , their own with interest for aboot an hour , and ¦ was loudly cheered at the end of every sentence .

      Mr . G 2 AT seconded the vote cf thauks to the Mayor , seu being one of the deputation who waited upon bis ¦ worship with the requisition ; he could speak to the crbanlty with which they had been received , and the readiness with which their wishes had been granted . { Loud cheers . ) Mr . O'Bbies put the motion to the meeting , and it vzs carried with acclamation , after which three times three enthusiastic cheers were given for the Mayor . The MaToR thanked tbe meeting for the honour which had been conferred upon him bo warmly , and also fcr the good order ard good feeling which had chanxteiised the proceedings . The business being now ended the Mayor left the chair .

      Several -voices called on Mr . Biyss to address the meeting , wiich he did , and regretted that so few gents of tha middle classes had attended the niertin £ The preset meeting , he was sure , would do much to ad-¦ vance lb « cause of the people . Is would tend to do away with the distrust of the middle classes , and when once the antipathies of the two dasses were abolished , the success of the popular cause would be tke natural constqaei-cs . Mr , B . ecneluced by an exhortation to ¦ union , sad the peuple dispersed .

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      THE " BABY SPRINKLING . " All the London papers have been full for the last few days , and all the provincials will , of course , be full to-day , with the " Christening . " Not an inch of the full measure of the insult must , of course , be lost . Rejoicings of all kinds have been rife , and loyal laudations have flowed out ad libitum . We have no doubt that our " gallant" neighbour , THE QUEEN-GROANER , will croak loyalty with the best feathered of tho

      Raven tribe . We had , of course , no mind to be out of fashion , much less disloyal ; and were therefore just sitting down to pea a loyal ditty on the matter , when , the post brought us the following excellent commemoration of the "Royal" and M auspicious " event , from a valued Correspondent at Bath , who writes us , that on the day the baby Prince was sprinkled with "holy water , " the following excellent verses were plentifully distributed , and with excellent effect : —

      A STARVATION ANTHES 1 FOR THE BOVAL CHRISTENING Bring forth the babe in pomp and lace , While thousands starve and curse the light I But what of that ? on royal face Shame knows no blush , however slight ! Bring forth the babe ; a nation's moans Will ring sweet music in his ear , For well we know a people's groans To royal ears were always dear . Bring forth the babe ; down , courtiers , down ! And bow your lacquey knees in dust Before a child ' s beslobbered gown . iOur children caanot find a crust )! Wken Christ was born , no servile throng Around the Saviour ' s manger met ; No flatterers raised their fulsome song ; But what was Christ to Albert's pet J

      God , who hast heard the widow ' s moau ; God , who base heard the orphan ' s crj ;• Thou , too , dost sit upon a throne , But cone round thine of famine die 1 Things like this baba of royal birth , Who boast their princely " right divine , " Are but thy parodies on earth—Their ' s is oppression , mercy thine ! Bring forth the babe ! From foreign lands Fresh kingly vampires flock to greet This new one iu its nurse ' s hands ( For royal mothers give no teat ); Bring fonh the toy of princely whim , And let your prayers mouut night and day , For ought we not to pray for him Who'll prey on us enough some day ?

      Oh ! who would grudge to squander gold On such a glorious babe as this ? What though our babes be starved and cold , They have no claim on earthly bliss ; Ours are no mongrel German breed , But English born and English bred ; Then let them live and die in deed , While the plump Cobourg thing is fed } Christen tho babe , Archbishop proud , Strange servant of the lowly Christ , Thousands are to your purse allowed—For him the smallest loaf sufficed . Though holy-water's scanty now , My Lord you may dismiss your fears ; Take to baptise the inlaut ' s brow A starving people ' s bitter tears !

      • w-j-j-u- ^ I i ¦ — -x-v--- — We recommend Prince Albert to try and fit the above words to a suitable tune , that they may be introduced into the royal nursery for a lullaby to the Young Prince . . | , , , J « - r t ¦ - - r i

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      Beiee Rules for the Government op all whs write for this Paper . —Write legibly . Make - as few erasures and interlineations as possible . In - writing names of persons and places be more parti * cular than usual to make every letter distinct and clear—also'in using words not English . Write only on one side of ihepaper . Employ no abbreviations whatever , but write out every word iu fuliw Address communications not to any particular parson , but to " Thd Editor . " When you sit down to write , dou't be in a hurry . Consider that hurried writing makes slow printing . Remember that we go / to press on Thursday ; that one side of the paper goes to press oh Wednesday ; that we are obliged to go on filling up the paper the whole

      week , and that , therefore , when a load of matter comes by the last one or two posts , it unavoidably happens that much of it is omitted ; and that it is therefore necessary to be prompt in your communications . All matters of news , reports of meetings , Sc , referring to occurrences on Friday ; Saturday , or Sunday , should reach us by Monday ' s post ; such as refer to Monday's occurrences by Tuesday evening ^ post ; Wednesday ' s occurrences by Thurc « day ' s post ; and Thursday ' s news by Friday morning ' s post , for second edition . Any deviation from tbia order of supply will necessarily subject the matters ss received to the almost certainty of rejection or serious curtailment , and wetdke no blame for it . All personal correspondence , poetry , literary

      communications ., and articles of comment to bei here by Tuesday , or their chance of insertion for that week will be very small indeed ; if not here by Wednesday we don't hold ourselves bound even to notice them . Finally , remember that we have only forty-eight columns weekly for alt England , Scotland , Wales , arid Ireland ; that we have no interest in preferring one town or place to another , because ours is not a local but a national paper ; that we are bound , therefore , in dealing with tha masses of matter whick come to us , to hold the scales of Justice evenly—our first object being the promotion and enhancement , according to our oivn btsl judgment , of the success of the great aud good cause ; and our second , the distribution of our time

      and space so as to give least cause of complaint ; that we are alike boijnd to this course ' of action > y inclination , interest , and duty ; and that , therefore , it is useless and senseless for individuals to fume and fret , ami think themselves ill used because their communications / may not ^ always be inserted , or for societies to trouble their heads and waste their time in passing votes of censure upon us for devoting too much space to this , or too little to that , or for iaserting this thing which they think should have been omitted , or for omitting the other thing which they think should have appeared . All

      these are matters for our consideration , and for the exercise of our discretion and judgment , which , we assure all parties , shall be always used , so fat as we are able to . perceive , honestly for the public , -without fear or favour to any one , and without being allowed to be turned for one instant from its course by ill-natured snarls or bicker ings . Derby . ——The friends of this neighbourhood . having communications for the Star , or other ' wise affecting the Chartist movement , are re-, quested to send them to Mr . ThomasBriggs , care of Mr . John Moss , shoemaker , Plumptre-sguare D ' arley-lane , Derby .

      Money Orders to this Office . —Our cashier is frequently made Jo endure an amount of inconvenience utterly inconceivable by those who have not multifarious transactions like his to attend to , by the negligence of parties to attend to the plain instructioiis so often given , to make all money orders sent here payable to Mr . Johx Ardjll . Some , orders are made payable to Mr . O'Connor—some to Mr . Hobson—some to Mr . Hill' —some to Star Office : all'these require the signatures of the person in whose favour they are drawn before the money can be qot . This

      causes an attendance at the post-office of , some ' times , several hours , when a few miriutes might suffice if all were rightly given—* not to mention the most vexatious delays of payment sometimes caused by it . Several old agents , who < i certainly ought to know better , have often thus needlessly inconvenienced us ; we , therefore , beg that all parlies having money to send here , by ordert will make their orders payable to Mr . John Ardill ; if they neglect this , we shall not hold ourselves bound to attend to themi ; if , there fore , they find their neglect to produce inconvenience to themselves , let them not blame us .

      Robe . rt Walker , a factory youth , suggests , as a means of relieving the Executive : — " That a medalist be engaged by the Executive to make medals , with the Six Points of the Charter on the one side , and .. the Chartist coat / of arms on the other side , same as on our cards . The Executive to fix the price ; and that each person wanting a medal give in his name , together with the money , to the ^ sub-Secretary of his locality ; and then , when the sub-Secretary has got about 100 names , or more , send his order to the general Secretary , the same as Beading ; for cards , only with this exception , tbjit the money be paid in advance . He thinii that when this , plan is carried into effect , there will be some signs of the plan of the Woolwich Cadet coming into operation . "

      The Chartists of Canterbury will be happy to receive communications from their brother Chartistsin other towns of the county of Kent on the subject of a county lecturer . The address of their sub-Secretary will be found elseioheri . Desideratum is referred to the notice already given about portraits . } r WMi JPetbrs . —It is impossible for us to insert reports without shortening them . We should need six Stars . We must be allowed to exercise our own judgment onthebest mode of doins this . . The CbNyENTioN . —We have a letter from Mr . John Maynard withdrawing his name from the list of candidates .

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Jan. 29, 1842, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct739/page/4/