On this page

• Departments (3)
  • 
  • 
  • 
• Text (10)

  Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

  • 

    Untitled Article

  • 

    Untitled Article

  • 

    Untitled Article

  • 

    Untitled Article

  • 

    Untitled Article

  • 

    Untitled Article

  • 

    Jpwtrs*

  • 

    THE NORTHERN STAR. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 2«, 1841.

  • 

    iwal ans Cr*n*raJ ZnUUitence.

  • 

    Untitled Article

• Transcript

  • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

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

    Untitled Article

    TO THE CHARTISTS . On , countermen , on to the fight , The straggle tat freedom most dear , Hurl down ob the tyrants the blight , Of the heart * their oppression doth se » . Forget not the honest tad brave , Who ia tyrant Whig * dan&eons are east , And jndignantiT apom the bue slave , Who "with abater their fair tune would blast Be not hired by the treaeberetu smile Of bue traitors , who seek but your fall ; - They'll employ every bus , Whig-like guilt , To divert y » n trom liberty's calL Sons or Albion stand firm to your port!—Befpoed to fair liberty ' s sigh—That despite of the tyrant ' s red hosts , Your Charter youll hare , or you'll die . C . Wsstbat

    Untitled Article

    THB BADICAL'S LITAXT . Proia nobles thai at court do sit , To role our laud as they see fit , ¦ jfio m many a beggar could onfrrit , Good Lord deliTer us From independent gentry , who Consume our grain as locusts de , And rob the labourer of his due , Good Lord deliTer us . From honours being conferred , all ¦ Upon the rich , both great and small , Though with skulls thick as China ' s wall , Good Lord deliTer us . From Clrareh established by the law , And tithes enforced to glut the maw Of erery idle strutting daw , Good Lftrd deliTer us

    From bishops and all procuration * , Synodal * and confirmations , And erery such like botheration , Good Lord deliTer u . From foul hypocrisy and cant , And selfish minds of Yirtue scant , And juggling Methodistic rant , Good Lord deliTer us . From that cnrsed thing the New Poor Act Which Tories sanction , Whigs exact , Of hellish \ ieeds the most compact , Good Lord deliTer us . From bailie * , beadles , with their crew Of hellish miscreants , Whig and Blue , Whose greatest joy ' s the poor to screw , Good Lord deliver us

    From lawyers , policemen , and spies , That deal in fraud , deceit , and lies , "Whose deTilry the world ontTies , Good Lord deliTer us . From suffrages of brick and mortar , likewise electee bribe and barter , With all that's hostile to the Charter , Good Lord deliTer us . ALEXAKDEB . HCISH IHey , F « b . 14 th , 1 S 41 .

    Untitled Article

    ENIGMA . In gothic towers and palaces I dwell , In the deep recesses of the hollow'd cell , In gloomy caTes where man ne ' er dar'd His form to trust , my plaintiTe voice is heard , 'ilongst hollow rocks , I tike xiy airy flight , My form secluded still from mortal ' s sight , Bred by the offspring of the human mind , I to the worJd an instant passage find , Yet short the space of time my life can boast , Bam in one moment , in another lost , I , once a nymph , spwrted on the plains , The pride and glory of the neighbouring swains , Ell cross ed in loTe J left my BatiTe glade , My form eoasam'd , and dwindled to a shade . w . c

    Untitled Article

    CASLISLE . —Scdde 5 Death of x Yxvvzb kt oeb teet Scspiciocs Ciecckstaxces . —An inquest was beid before Mr . William Carrick , coroner , on "Wednesday , the 20 £ h instant , in Water-lane , on view of the body of John Caplin , aged twenty-one years , lying dead at the Bog . The result of the enqmr ? was , » exonerate Mr . Nicholson , Burgeon to the Union , and Mr . Routledge , keeper of the poorhouse , from any blame is the distressing transaction , ' though we tore little confidence ia the evidence produced , which consisted of thai of relieving-officers , and others , interested in patching up the affair , backed on ; bj a number of paupers themselves , who were under the painful necessity of slating what

    May were mssracted to do . The following is the eorrec ; statement of James Caplin , brother to the deceased : —John Caplin , my late brother lay sick with me for eight weeks , when , owing to my distressed circumsi&noes , I applied to the parish for relief for him . I received half a crown per week for the space of three weeks ; but , on the rslievingoffieer calling to see him , he found him standing by ike fire ; inconsequence of this , the allewsnee was stopped , and uy brotker was ordered away to \ h * workhouse , where he remained six days ; but during this time he was set to break stones in an open yard , bi 3 own clothes were stripped off him , and be was eiothed in the workhouse dress . Prom the severitr

    of the weaiher , be was Tery much starred , and applied for some of his own clothes to put under the Cfther ; but this request was refused , and he was compelled to continue to break stones , though in a rery poor aad unhealthy state , and the weather being Tery seTere . He lien , came back to me , and I seat for Mr . Reeves , surgeon , who examined bin , ¦ when I asked 'him for a line to the relieving o&cer ^ but he said it would not be attended to ; he then aid if that man ( pointing to my brother ) dies , I will hold Dr . Nicholson responsible for ni 8 death . I wonder what son of a man Nicholson can be , to order ihat man to work . " My brother died in a few days afterwards . The doctor then came to me , and

    « s £ ed me what I intended io do , as the disorder my brother had previous to his going to the workhouse , was not whit he died of , and that there ought to be * coroner ' s inquest . la consequence of this , I ordered an inquest to be held . James Caplin . —This statement was contradicted in evidence ; more especially that portion which is attributed to Mr . Beeves , surgeon ; and also the statement as to the Iat « John Caplin having been sent to break stones ; how to reconcile this conflicting testimony we know 1 « t . Were we called on to give an opinion , it would be to place as mnch reliance on the statement of poor Capiain , a 3 those of the relieving officers and miserable paupers , who dared not say a word , however true it might be , derogatory to the character of

    those they are under . One thing is clear , that Caplin was in a very unfit state to be put to work a vhe open air , and which , if correct , would doubtless be the means of greatly accelerating his <« ath . We would caution those entrusted with the hTes of the infirm and poor , to be cartful how they ¦ se them , lest they may be chargeable in the eyes < s the public , with practising a harshness towards * hem , which the law itself will not justify , mncb less humanity tolerate . There is one circumstance , * aicii we had almost forgot to mention , and that is , * report that Mr . Nicholson , or some of the party , seated the paupers , who gave evidence , with spirits ; » circuinsi . ance , if true , ol a very suspicious charac-* sr , for it ia certainly not a common practice with keepers of workiumses , so to act towards a parcel « paupers .

    Tows Hall . —We happened to call in here thp * aer day , to see what the magistrates were engagad with , when a comj » laint wa 3 made against a re- " peciable innkeeper , ia consequence of the imperfect •**** of hi 3 stable , for the accommodation of the awses of two horse soldiers , who had been billeted upon him . A Captaia Somebody said the stalls *** e too narrow , and that pigs -ft ere kept near the awe . The innkeeper urged , that the imperfect * »* e of the Etable had been caused by a wicked jjwse belonging to the same tro « p . Here a long Ges uuory conversation * ook place between the ma-© strsies and the Captaia , as to the right of repairing the injury which had been done by the wicked r *—toe magistrates contending , that the inn-* eeper should aaTe his stable repaired ; bat the j * ptain told them there was no law for anv such

    J ^ S . Finally , the innkeeper agreed to make the o ^ " reP 4 «; ¦ & * ev « o this would not do , as « e horses had been seat to fresh billets ; bo that the " ^ keeper mus : pay the am of twenty- « ight shil-** ag 3 tor oae monch , and his own stable standing un-£ « upied . During the last twelve months there « re not beea less than from thirty to forty com-Pwnu of this kind , whieh hare always be « n listened £ > jina redressed by the magistrates , to the serious * w tod inconvenience of the publicans . Govern-« ea . Bnould appoint inspecwra to see in what £ * a&er the poor hand-loom weavers and their *« uiiesare domiciled and fed , with a Tiwr to see 21 * 9 . wdl housed , weU fed , and well 2 *«» ; for we pledge ourselrea they are far ketler ^ aiore useful gabjects of her Majesty , than a g ^» l of . ary soldiers , whose horses are w £ a * and a ihemsdrei . -CoTTespondent . A&OA A-l £

    J hlS 1 J **^* A J ^ . V ^^< * 1 il TDM t ewW * V v " ^ , and seems to be Terified in the TOona of tke charitable gentry of thii town , who ^ 0 ameetiag in the Town Hall , this week , for the cWf JL P r 0 Tid : ' 3 £ food and fuel for the unem-Wi , 2 °° h * i thii i"ciement season . This is well ; Smrii-Sf 8 been better bad they doae » two S ^ - £ 600 ime already been raised , which kis ttsSdS , " Ule ^^ Of Church cler ^ menscribe W ^ . several persons were willing to subiiJT- ^^^ iy , provided they had the tickets at « wa dupoai , but it was not allowed .

    Untitled Article

    XdS £ tDB«—ExiKKsrrz Robbkrt . —OnToesday last , feaaia named Susannah Scott , was placed before Messrs . SUasfeld aad Hebden , sitting magistrates , a 4 the Conrt-House , charged with having stolen £ 60 in silver , from the house of Mr . John Ayrey , the Old George Inn , Briggate . Mr . Ayrey Ftated , that on Saturday last , about noon , Mr . Matthew Smith , manufacturer , of Morley , gave him a brown paper parcel , ooirtauning the snm named , to take care of , while he was ready to go home ; he was in the habit of doing so weekly , -and Mrs . Ayrey made a practice of locking the change up in a private drawer in the nursery—a room to which the family only had access . On Saturday , - however , Mrs . A . at the time the money was bronght , was giving the breast ^ a ^^ K ^^^^^ ^^ _^ ^_ .. ^_ * s .

    to an infantin thekitchen , and Mr . Ayrey laid it in an open drawer at the side of her , telling her to be sure to lock it np before she did any thing else ; there were at that tim * only the servants and Mrs . Worth , of Rothwtll , in the kitchen , besides Mrs . Ayrey . The latUr , on some account was suddenly called into the bar , where she stayed only a abort time , when she recollected the money , aad . prooeeded to the kitchen for it , when to her surprise aha found it was gone . Enquiry was instantly instituted , and a rigid examination made ; but without , at that time , producing any effect . On Mondaj . morning , handbills were issued , offering a reward o [ five pounds for any information likely to lead to a discovery of the property , and the- eon-notion of the thief .

    Daring the afternoon © f Monday , a servant girl from a beerhouse in Swinegate , kept by Mrs . Booth , went to the George Inn , to inquire for Scott , saying that Mrs . Booth wished to see her particularly . Mr . Ayiej , haying his suspicions excited , went over to Mrs . Booth ' * , and there learnt that his servant had , on Saturday , taken a brown paper parcel , containing money , to Mrs . Booth ' s , and which she said was the amount of a legacy left to her by her aunt , which she had just received ; this parcel the girl fetched away on Saturday night , and Mr . Ayrey then discovered that she had taken it to Mrs . Trolly ' s , in Ebenezer-street , to which place , accompanied by Scott , be went , baring previously

    sent for an officer , who followed them into Ebenezerstreet , where the girl was taken into custody . Mrs . Trolly then produced a rosewood work-box , which she said had been left with her by Scott , and which contained silver to the amount of £ 47 , and Mrs . Trolly said the girl had given her £ 2 8 a , in loose change to lay out for her . ThuB was all the property " , with the exception of a few shillings , recovered ; and the parcels ( containing £ 5 each , in which the Kioney was wrapped ) being Bpoken to by Mr . Smith , as those whieh he left with Mr . Ayrey on Saturday , and the other parts of the evidence being detailed to the magistrates , the prisoner waa committed to take her trial for the offence at the next borough sessions .

    Fire asd Loss op Life , —On Saturday morning last , about six o ' clock , a fire which might have beeu attended with the most serious results , broke out in the drying-room , at the flax-spinning mill , occupied by Mr . Wm . Hill , at the eorner of Lady-lane and Mill Garth-street , in the rear of the extensive premises of Messrs . Jacksoc , tobacco-manufacturers , to whom the property belongs . It appears that an old and respected servant , named John Sharp , had the care of the drying-room , the floor of which is composed of iron grating to admit the heat , and it is entered from the boiler-house by means of a trap door , fastened down by a padlock , and the supposion is that Sharp , on going to unlock it , had his lamp in bis hand , the flame from which came in

    contact , by some means , with the yarn by which the grated floor was covered , and by which the entire room was soon in a blaze . Sharp gave an instant alarm , and proceeded with the engine-man into the room , to endeavour to extinguish the flames ; in this , however , th * y were unsuccessful , and the engineer , seeing the danger they were in , got through the trap door and called upon Sharp to follow him . Thi * the poor fellow was unable to do , in consequence of the lire gaining upon him , and having already communicated to his clothes ; but a bucket of water being thrown through the grating , so far cleared the fire as to enable him to see his way out , and he ftU

    down the trap door , dreadfully burnt . He was removed to the Infirmary , where he died the same night . Some engines were soon after upon the spot , and the fire was got entirely tinder before seven o ' clock , having done damage to the amount of ^ 100 , the whole of which is covered by insurance . On Monday morning , an inquest was held upon th » remains of Sharp , before Mr . Blackburn , the coronor , when , after hearing the circumstances detailed , the Jury retnrned a verdict of ** Accidental death . " Sharp was sixty years of age , a widower , and has left seven children , most of whom are grown up ; he was highly respected .

    GLASGOW . —The prosecution of theshopocrate of Glasgow , and its suburban districts , is still going on with unabated rigour before the Justice of Peace Court . Since my last communication , those persons appointed to examine the beams , scales , and weights have visited Tollcrosa , Parkhead , C&mlauchie , Drygate , Toll Green , and Blue Vale , and ha-ve had a goodly number of the honest tea-farthing , rigidlyrighteous , and ten-pound-wise shopkeepers of these villages fined for cheating and robbing the ignorant nrintih multitude oat of their hard-won earnings , with light weights . In these districts the crime is , if possible , of a still deeper dye , as the population is composed principally of hand-ioom weavers , whose average wages do not amount to more than four or fiTe shillings per w » ek . I have made a calculation of the fines of about 150 , taken at random , and

    I find the amonnt to be £ 197 Ss . ; besides , a number of these have been amerced in expences . Who now " will haTe the audacity to doubt that Johnny Finality , the champion general of the Church by law established , the throne , and the aristocracy , has not shewn bis great wisdom in thus selecting the shopkeepers as his electoral standard of intelligence and honesty , in his humbng Reform Bill ? There is only on » law for the rich and the poor , it is said . What arrant nonsense , when we see the contrary every day I A poor girl , working in a steam-loom factory , was sent to Bridewell for sixty days , and her name made public , for purloining about a yard of calico cloth out of the factory ; while these middle-class mtn , who have plundered the public of thousands of pounds , get off with a paltry fine , which they can easily afford to pay out of the plunder , and sacri-¦ fice noae of their luxuries all the while .

    —Correspondent-WAKEFTJZTaD . —At the Wakefield Debating Society , on the l » th instant , at the Temperance Hotel , Wegtgate , an excellent paper was read by Mr . D , Swallow , on Co-operation ; after which a debate , took place , which was conducted in the beet of spirit for and against . At the conclnsien , it was annuonced that there was a Co-operative Society just . formed in Wakefield , which held its meetings every week , at the house of Mr . Wm . Swallow , Kirkgate , for the purpose of transaciing the business of the society , and enrolling new members . It was also anennced that there will be a tea meeting on Shrove Tuesday : after which several of the members will address the meeting .

    LONDON . —Scndat Meetisgs op the Workixg Classes . —A large meeting of the above class was held last Sunday evening , at the Working Man ' s Chapel , Dock Head , Berinondsey ; when , after a comfortable tea , two hard-working men addressed the meeting on the difference between true Christianity and the Christianity of the present day ; and also an inquiry into what was truth , and Ehewed , in a very forcible manner , that the peopie , instead of paying the priest some two or three hundred pounds a year for thinking and praying for them , must , in order to arrive at truth , do the work themselves , by employing the facaJties God has given them . The meeting " was highly delighted ; and we hope , that , although the priests and the religious bigots are np in arms at this attempt to enlighten the people , it is only the commencement of a great movement ia this wicked , priestriddea Bai > eL—Correspondent .

    Untitled Article

    Ladies Repelling Burglaks . —The Misses Cox , of Newton , two maiden ladies , who live on their property , and farm in * small way , displayed great courage * in repelling Eome burglars . They were awoke by the villains presenting themselves at their room door , one of whom levelled a pistol at the sister who was in bed next the door ; the object of his attack fainted away . The other sister , alarmed at the noise , rushed oat of bed , and struck the man who had the pistol , which she knocked out of his hand . A struggle ensued , and the lady actually

    sneceeded in thrusting Ae felio-. v out of the room . She , however , ultimately became exhausted , and was forced back into the Toom , being so dreadfully beaten with the pistol on the arms j shoulder , and face , as to be incapable of further resistance . The noise of the struggle awoke the servants , one of whom escaped down stairs , and succeeded in reaching a cottage immediately adjacent . Miss Cox was on the point of giving up her purse , containing a considerable amoimt in g « ld , as the <» ndition on which their liTes should l > e spared , when roices were heard outside . The burglars then made off .

    DlSTKESS AH 056 THC RlBAJTD WeaTEKS OF CoTEKxht . —T . Here are , it is supposed , in Coventry alone , between 40 , 0 * 0 and 50 , 090 inhabitants at this time , of whop lpwards of "i 0 , 000 are journeymen riband weaver * . Since the protecting duty has been taken off the imp " > rted manufactures , PYeneh ribands have inundated i he market , which by some means or other not on- ' y compete with , but entirely take the lead from , th s English factors in the home market . When in full work , it is computed that the poor wearers do not earn more tban 7 a . or 83 . per week at the very exirej ne , and many of them hare wives and large famili « . Go which way you will , distress stares you hard ia tne b ^ * an < * ' ^ P ° Tetebe 3 all axeund are lit . * " * % it&rving to death ! A man a day or two since . iied of starvation in Combermereclose , leaving a » ife who was enceinte , and a ltrge family too . Last k eek the ont-relief for the poor of the parish of Coventi 7 » ion « wasbesJewedaponabout 1 , 0 * 0 poor families .

    Untitled Article

    . Harwell Ltjjutic A 8 T 1 XJM . t-Mt . Ewart has entered a notice on the Commons' books , that on Thursday , the 15 th instant , he will more the appointment of a Seleet Committee "to inquire into the general maaagemeat and medical treatment pur * sued in the Pauper Lunatic Asylum at Hanwell , Middlesex ; and to report thereon . "—A most useful inquiry , and one that , if well pursued , cannot fail to elicit much valuable information . An UflDBKiABL * Fact . —A fellow was bronght up t « Marlborough-street Police-office on Saturday , charged with stealing handkerchiefs from a shop id Burlington Arcade . On being charged with the theft , the prisoner had nut out of the shop , bat was captured . He denied that he had taken the miBsing TT . __ "Y . ____ a - *_ ^ JT— Ti ^ ¦ ¦ * ^ . _ _^

    handkerchief . Mr , Dyer asked why he ran out of the shop . The prisoner replied that he was Tery suddenly " taken queer , " and he bad been obliged to run for it to save his reputation . This part of the prisoner ' s story wag corroborated by- a fact " little thought ot % which ererybody who had a nose in Court was fully competent to bear witness to . The prisoner was remanded till Wednesday . Cathouc Asststakcb to a Protestant Clergtkak . —A letter from the county of Sligo gires an account of a fire at the residence of Dean Hosre , which , but for the untiring exertions of the Roman Catholie parishioners , daring an entire mght , would hare totaUr destroyed the house , out offices , and the I F ^ . 1 I I !

    oom and hay in the haggard . Nothing could exceed the seal of the peasantry on this occasion . If it be said that the Dean of Aohonry owes his popularity to his Liberal political principles , then we Bay that inasmuch as it cannot be denied by his most nrulent opponents than Dean Hoare is as good a Protestant , religiously speaking , and as active and diligent in the performance of his duties , as any of bis clerical brethren , this affordB an eridenee that if the Protestant clergy be not nnirersally belored by their Catholic parishioners , it is owing not to their religious teal , but to their riolent political animosity towards the Roman Catholics .

    Untitled Article

    THE CHARTER SUFFRAGE versus THE PARLIAMENTARY H-O-U-S-E . " Will you be kind enough to point oot the difference between my definition of Household Suffrage and the SuftHge of the Charter ?"—Johh Coliihs . " We wilL "— Ed . N . S . As the adrocaey of our principles is an undertaking from which we have never yet shrunk ; and as we have fearlessly thrown down the gauntlet in defence of the principle of Universal Suffrage , as laid down in the People's Charter , against every other description of franchise , we now proceed to point out the striking difference between Universal * Suffrage and any definition which can be given of Household Suffrage . Howersr imperceptible the distinction may appear to some , the difference is as great as between a chesnut horse and a horse chesnut .

    There is no mention of , or bint at . Household Suffrage , with any qualification of residence , from the beginning to the end of the Charter . The word " Household'' is only once mentioned ; and , io that one instance , it clearly , specifically , and unambiguously points out the distinction intended to be made between an elector and a householder . Nay , it assigns to them separate functions as regards the question of franchise ; but we will bunt up to it from the very preamble . The document is entitled : —

    "Tue People ' s Charter , being the outlive of an Act to provide far tha just representation of the people of Great Britain and Ireland , In the Commons House of Parliament : embracing the fhikciplks of Universal Suffrage , " and so forth . After setting forth the objects of the Charter , it proceeds thus with its enacting provisions : — " Be it therefore enacted , that from and after the pasting of this Act , every male inhabitant of these realms be entitled to robe for the election of Members of Parliament , subject , however , to the following oonditionB : —

    " 1 . That he be a native of these realms , or a foreigner who has lived in this country upwards of two years , and been naturalised . " 2 . That he be twenty-one years of age . " 3 . That he be not proved insane when the lists of Toters are revised . " i . That be be not conricted of felony within six months from and after the pasting of thii Act . " 5 . That his electoral rights be not suspended for bribery at elections , or for personation , or foi forgery of election certificates , according to the penalties of this Act . "

    Now , such are the provisions of the Charter , as far as the principle of the Suffrage is involved , and we incline to think that nothing can be more plain or more simple . The first mention which we find of a "house" is in the 2 nd clause , defining the duties of the registration clerk , and having no earthly reference to the vote . After other matter , it states , that the clerk shall take , or cause to be taken , round to every dwelling-house in his parish , a printed notice of the following form : —

    " > Ir . John Jones , —You are hereby required , within six days of the date hereof , to fill up this list with the names of all male inhabitants of your house of twenty-one years of age and upwards ; stating their respective ages and the time they have resided with you , or , in neglect thereof to forfeit the sum of £ » . " Here is a duty imposed upon householders , or persons in charge of dwelling-houses , with which the voters have nothing whatever to do . The next mention which we find of the word " house , " and the sole mention of the word " householder , " with the exception of its use in connection with the laying of a tax for defraying the expence of elections , ib in the first clause for the arrangement for registration , and runs thus : —

    " Be it enacted that every Householder , as well as every person occupying 01 haviag charge of a dwellinghouse , who shall receive a notice from the registration clerk , as aforesaid , shall cause the said notice to be filled up with the names , ages , and time of residence , of every male inhabitant in his or her house , of twgntyone 5 ears of age and upwards "—and so forth . Now , from this clause , which appears to have been wisely , jealously , and unambiguously drawn up , after mature consideration , for the distinct and sole purpose of drawing the line of demarcation between the principle of Universal Suffrage , and any definition which could be given to the franchise in connection with a " house" in any shape , we learn the the object of its framers .

    Theframers , to contradistinguish man ' s mahenabJe right from a fictitious and limited substitute , clearly , forcibly , and beautifully point out the difference between animate and inanimate franchise , making the inanimate the mere " locus in quo" and assigning distinct duties to occupants in furtherance of the rights of man . Hence , to provide against evasion , Monopoly , or equivocation , we find the several modes of tenure simplified , by setting forth the different sorts of possession of a house . We find the terms "householder , " " occupying , or having charge of a dwelling-house , " used as regards the

    person who is to make the return ; while the age , sex , and time of residence of the voter is the thing to be specified . Nay , more , to prove still further , we find that the owner may be disfranchised or not entitled to the fraachisfi ; while every room may be occupied by a number of qualified electors : heace does the house become the mere post-office , or place of delivery of the several notice papers , withont any reference whatever to its being held , occupied , or kept in charge , as regards the qualification of the person holding , occupying , or having the charge .

    We prove our position thus : the Charter does not qualify women ; while it directs that a notice paper shall be left at his or her boise . The next striking difference between any property in , or possession of , a bouse , as contradistinguished from the Charter-franchise , will be found in the following clause of p # nalti « s : — That any person who shal fee conricted , aa aforesaid , of wilfully neglecting to fill ap his or h » r notice paper within roe proper time , or of tearing out the name of any inmatt in his or her notice paper , shall , for the first offence , incur the penalty of five pounds , and for the second three months' imprisonment "

    Now , here again we find & duty imposed upon those alwayB on the spot , and connected with the property ; in fact , a kind of trust , for the protection of the voter . All through is this nice distinction kept full ia view .

    Untitled Article

    We hare now , with one single exception , to which we shall presently refer , set forth not only the implied , but the well-defined distinction pointed out in the Charter , between property of any description and the right of theroter . We proceed , then , to argue the principle of the Charter more at large . We hare always declared for the principle , the whole principle , and nothing short of the principle ; in fact , for the , spirit and essence of the Charter ; setting forth Universal Suffrage as the axis , the pivot , upon which the sereral other questions turned . Our friends will award W the justice to _ _ _ .. , ,

    say that we hare most scrupulously avoided enter ing into any minute detail as to the benefits which the measure would confer upon the community at large . We hare * it ! b true , shown how it would uproot rice , and plant rirtne in its stead ; we hare pointed out the anomalies and injustice of several departments , and shown what its effect upon these departments would be ; but we have not attempted to define any set code of laws which the new state of society would require : upon the contrary , we hare ever held and argued that such an undertaking would be presumptuous ; in fact , an individual dicta * say that we have most scrupulously avoided ente ing into any minute detail as to the benefits whic the measure would confer upon the community ) large . We hare * it ! b true , shown how it wou : uproot rice , and plant virtue in its stead ; welw pointed out the anomalies and injustice of sever ; departments , and shown what its effect upon thei departments would be ; but we have not attempt ! to define any set code of laws which the new st * of society would require : upon Jhe contrary , v have ever held and argued that such an undertakk would be presumptuous ; in fact , an individual diet :

    I

    tion to universal opinion . We have , pyer and over again , told our readers that nothing more tended to arm our opponents with arguments and plausible opposition , than the wild chimeras which nndigested opinion may parade as the anticipated fruits of the Charter . White the wisest predictions , with respect to its probable working , are wholly passed over and left unnoticed by the press and itB opponents , the most incoherent anticipations of the most rambling brain are anxiously seized upon as ground of opposition . Our motto has ever been , " arm the people with their rights , and we are ready to obey tne laws which shall result . "

    We take the Charter , in its present state , as the mere declaration of a principle , * and in such form we hare no right to expect to find it more perfect than the Acts of our wise and paid rulers in a similar stage . If a Minister—a paid Ministermores for leave to bring in a Bill , upon a subject affecting the interests of the empire at large , no more is expected from him upon the first , or even the second reading , than a mere outline of its principle . The principle being agreed upon , it goes , after two readings , into a Committee of the whale

    House , with a view to its le £ al arrangement ; and eren in the hands of those of whose fitness the people are " reasonably deemed" incompetent to judge , we find , in nine cases out of ten , that the whole principle , the one thing agreed upon , has been omitted , and a new principle introduced and legislated upon . Of this we cannot gire a more perfect or happy illustration than tbe omission in the Reform Bill of the grand prinoiple , —the only principle for which the majority contended , and which the country carried , —namely , " that taxation and representation should be co-extensive . "

    We , take then , the Charter , in its present state , as declaratory of a principle , aad sufficiently explicit for a first reading . Are we asked if the details , as they at present stand , are perfect , or anything like it 1 We at once and unhesitatingly admit , that they are not ; that we could point out , and s * could the men who framed it , numerous , serious , and palpable error ? , which , under revision , would be corrected . No human legislation can be perfect ; but W 6 look to time , and the good working of the great principle which it advocates , as the means of making institutions under its provisions aa wise , as wholesome , as just , and as applicable to existing society ! as any measure can be expected to produce . Nay ,

    we even admit , in the outset , that the Charter , iu its details , has committed the rery blunder of which wo comp . ain in the Reform Bill ; namely , that it not only does not make representation and taxation co-extensive , but it actually leaves the constituent body wholly untaxed , —untaxed for a boon of which they are the especial gainers , —and throws the whole weight of the only tax it mentions , either upon a rery small minority of the electors , or upon those who are deprived of the franchise altogether . Here , then , to prove our assertion , we refer to the other instance in which " householders" is mentioned in the Charter , as if the rery mention of the thing , in any shape , was designed to damn it . The 17 th clause , under the head " arrangem ents for elections , ' runs thus : —

    •• That all the expenco of registration , nomination , and election , as aforesaid , together with the salaries of the returning officer , deputy returning officer , registration clerk , assistants , constables , and such otter persona as may be necessary ; as well as the expence of all balloting , ballot-boxes , hustings and other necessaries for the purpose ef this Act , be paid out of an equable district rate , which a district board , composed of one parochial officer , chosen by each of the parishes in the district , or for any two or more parishes if united for the purposes of this Act , are hereby empowered and commanded to levy on alt householders within the district . "

    ts ' ow , suppose a rural parish to contain twenty thousand acrea of land , with two hundred houses , and the land principally in parks and grazing grounds , there we have the householders liable to distress for the whole expences of the election . But let us suppose a ease where the householder may be disfranchised , and yet hare to pay . This would occur in all cases where houses were held by , in occupation of , or in charge of , women . This sufficiently illustrates the injustice . A nice disputant may handle it thus : " Why , you give a

    landlord a rote out of his ow » house ; while you exempt him from payment of any portion of the tax and lay the tax upon one who has no rote . " This instance would occur in cases which very often happen , namely , where elderly men decline business and let the establishment to a thrifty woman , with whom the landlord becomes & lodger , and , consequently , a voter ; here the landlord would be a voter and yet exempt from tax incurred by the election , while the tenant would be disfranchised and liable to the tax .

    Well , but observe the blunders of our superiors . The collective wisdom actually passed a Bill for the establishment of a police force in Dublin , which received the Royal assent ; and in its local arrangement for operation , what obstacle does the reader suppose presented itself to its good working f Why only the small omission of not making any prorision for the payment of the force , which is not a usual , error with our rulers ; but , in consequence of this omission , unhappy Dublin was , for a year , deprived of the blessings of the " boon . "

    Now , the Charter Committee hare , at all events , thought of the needful , however inconsiderately they have resolved upon levying it . Bat does any sane man ( and the Charter only provides for the enfranchisement of such ) suppose that such an error would be even left for a committee of the whole House to correct ? No , it would strike nine out of every ten working men upon its being re-read . Now , let us see how the Reform Bill played the taxation " thimble rig . " It acknowledged as its principle , that " taxation and representation should be co-extensire" —in fact , Siamese twins . Well ,

    how do they play the juggle out ? Why , thus : — They say " so they are co-extensire ; property is represented , and property only is taxed . " True , true , Tery true ; but who pays the tax ! the owner of the property , or the man whose labour brings it from darkness to light —from unproductive lumber to manufactured . use t The labourer not only pays the direct tax indirectly , but he also pays the enormous profit of two , three , four , and fire hundred per cent .

    which the direct tax-payer indirectly screws from the labourer and consumer . Who pays the increase of ten per cent , laid upon the Kxes by Mr . Baring ! The labourer pays that amount to Government , and four times as much to the masters , or shopkeepers , as their tar and profit upon their liability . We must make this very plain ; we will therefore analyse it in its double bearing . Firstly , —If an increase tax of ^ 200 per annum is put directly upon a master who employs 500 men , he will not stop to inquire what is the

    Untitled Article

    exact amount which , in sach case , deducted from the wages of each man , would balance the loss , but he makes a sweeping reduction to cover losses ; and , in order to expose to the labouring classes the abominations of the system , the 500 men would conelder themselves honourably dealt with if the master said , " I must take a penny a day , or sixpence week , off each man ' s wages to meet this new impositioa . " , Well , what would be the result ? That he , by snob reduction , would fob £ 650 a year , to pay * £ 200 pound tax ; and , as it is much more likely that he would reduce a shilling a week than sixpence , he would make a profit of £ 1 , 200 , in a reduction on labour , upon the £ 200 tax ; and if he employed a thousand labourers he would make a profit of £ 2-500 . *

    We state this thuB minutely for two reasons firstly—To prove that masters are gainera by taies eo long as they represent themselves , and can screw then out of labour ; and secondly—To show the working men tbe items of which their grievances are made up . In like manner , if a shopkeeper has to pay ten per cent increase upon his taxes , he makes his profit , no matter what he deals in , by a rise in his prices . If the Government were to lay a duty of fourpence per pound upon soap , tomorrow , the man who uses it would pay serenpence ; and this is the thing to abolish whioh some of our friends are foolish enough to beliere those very parties would join the Chartists . Fudge *

    Now we come to closer quarters with our subject . The people joined the House of Commons' leaders for the Reform Bill , upon the principle which we hare defined . The long denunciation of abuse rery naturally inspired the non-elective portion of the community with confidence in their old leaders—the implacable enemies of Tory abuse . The new system was to simplify ail that was complex . Well , the leaders and people joined were irresistible : they carried that same principle ; but when agitation ceased , and active legislative power was placed in the hands of those who were practically to work out the principle agreed upon , what was the result ! Just this : that confidence lulled suspicion , and popular ignorance and indifference allowed the leaders to frame a measure

    as different from that for which the people struggled as light from darkness , and then the leaders turned round and said , "O ! that ' B the thing we always meant ; and the thing we thought j / ou meant . It is property that is now taxed and not you ; and therefore we have worked out the grand principle . " We mention this forcibly to shew the absolute necessity of any measure which shall be hereafter framed to regulate the suffrage being so thoroughly agreed upon between those who carry it outside and taose who mould it into law inside , as to admit of no mistake . Let any man take a review of a , measure which was to simplify the law as regards

    representation , and he will rery soon find that a great portion of the Government ' s strength consists in tangling the skein and mystifying mystification . Look at Fifty Pound Tenants-at-Will ; Twenty Pound Non-resident Leaseholders ; Ten Pound Beneficial Interest ; Fifty Pound Freehold ; Freemen with their several qualifications ; Forty Shilling Freeholders ; Pitraoasy and their respective Tithes ; Trustees of Property ; Ten Pound Householders , with the notices of application , payment of rates and taxes , description of premises , and so forth ; and aow fifteen new Judges for life to make mystery more mysterious ; and , we ask , is that the Reform Bill , the simple Bill for which the people contended !

    Let our readers always bear this striking fact in riew— that whatever House of Commons may be called upon to pass the Charter into law , will do it against their will , and upon popular coercion ; but , nevertheless , they will be the body who will have to do it : and the Charter being the next change which we hope to see effected , let us ask what favour its principles is likely to receive from the National Petition groaners !! For this reason , then , it is our duty to sharpen public zeal for the furtherance of

    the measure ; to instruct our readers how to insure the application of proper details for moulding the measure into the very thing they hare asked fox , and no other , into law ; to create a becoming suspicion and a laudable jealousy , lest a second miscarriage take place through any misunderstanding between the people and those who shall apply details to the principle ; and , above all , to close every back door , or postage , by which an escape may be made from the principle of the measure .

    No man , in his senses , supposes that the passing of the Charter , as we advocate it , would be pleasing work for any one sibgle member of the present House of Commons . If this be admitted , then upon what rests the people ' s strength of hope for the full accomplishment of the Charter ? Why , doubtJese , upon a conviction in the mind of members that the people fully understand what they ask for , and are fully resolved upon haring nothing else .

    If we were desired to pick from the operative olass , six hundred and fifty-eight men , of twentyone years age , aa ignorant aa our bix hundred and fifty-eight representatives , we should find the thing impossible . The members of the House of Commons know no more about the cause of the present general distress , or of popular organization , than the child unborn . Indeed , how should they ? They read in one book , and the people in another . They fence themselves behind the Church , the army , the navy , the throne , prerogative , law of nations , constitutional power of parliament , and so forth , according

    to their notions of the several influences of those branches ; while the people look upon all those as so many excrescences produced by classlegislation . They never dream that the present distress and discontent arise out of the failure of the Reform Bill . They never give themselves time to think that that measure , in its progression , has gone on multiplying the plunderers , while it has diminished the means of the plundered : in fact , that it haa , by a transfer of power to new hands , and under new circumstances , increased the number of gamblers , while it has diminished the stakes to be played for .

    Formerly , our Parliaments , as trustees of the public funds and purveyors for public service , had the first pull at tbe purse ; and the masters had the second pull out of the residue , the labourers having a pull out of the land , in the first instance , if made idlers by speculation . But , by the Reform Bill , the power was thrown into the hands of the owners of property made by labour ; and the masters , in their oovetousness , are pulling , and pulling , and pulling so hard , and the House of Commons is so completely at their mercy , that , in a short time , our rulers will find that they must be content with a second pull , and that very little will be left them after the gamblers are satisfied .

    Fourteen days now creates a greater revolution in the money market than fourteen years formerly . The raw material is now purchased at Liverpool on fourteen days' credit ; and as speculation increases credit will multiply , but confidence will become diminished , which must also be paid for by increased discount , commission , and inconvenience . On all this the masters , as long as the things bplds , will hare a profit , which labour will have to pay ; and , then , labour will also hare to pay for Rural Police , and all the means of coercion for upholding this unnatural and artificial state of things .

    Hariig said so nuch upon the necessity of a perfect understanding between those who are to ask and those who are to gire , and upon the abuses which are to be corrected , w © again ask if thegambjers are going to allow the stakes to be whipt up all at once by Unirersal Suffrage ! If the rererseof this is conceded to us , we then ask if they are likely to join in the enforcement of any description of franchise , call it by what name it may , which will produce such a result .

    The demand for Household Suffrage is made by two olissea , each haring a totaXLj distinct object in view . Tke wealthy advocates use it aa a means to

    Untitled Article

    smother Unirersal Suffrage , when it shall hare attained such a height as to arrest pablic attention . The more , dependant classes use it selfishly , forth * purpose of enfranchising themselves , and thereby enabling them to obtain , as we before stated , a license to play chicken hazard , while the great gamblers play for high stakes at the great Bell ; and th © result would be , a farther augmentation of players and a further diminution of the stakes played for . The players at chicken hazard would take care thai their means , ishenld no longer furnish funds for those above them ; and they would lustily claim the privilege of plundering those below them , ox the unenfran chised classes . ¦ - . " . ¦ -

    And now for the direct answer to Collins s short question . . . He says— " Will yon be kind enough to point ont the difference between my definition of Household Suffrage , and the Suffrage of the Charter 1 " We will . ¦' . . . There is just this difference : —That there is no mention of Household Suffrage , or House Suffrage of any kind , in the Charter . The difference between Household Suffrage and Universal Suffrage } qualified by residence in a house , is as great , as the

    difference between landlord and tenant ; as great as the difference between fund-bolder and fundpayer ; as great as the difference between ft Protestant parson and his Catholic fleeced flock ; in fact , as great as great can be , and for this one simple reason , if we had no other—that , by any definition , which art coaid put on the term "House hold" Suffrage , not more than one person could vote out of a house , be it never so large ; while fifty may rote out of one house , according to the terms of residence contained in tbe Charter .

    Landholder means one person who has some title to , or possession of , land ; fundholder means one person who has property in the funds ; and householder means some one person who holds a house in his or her actual possession . Possession ia not necessary to constitute a landholder ; possession ia necessary to constitute a householder , and therefore , is it even more limited , in legal sign fication , than the term landholder ! So much for the legal definition : and now as to the consequences of agita ting under a defined term , intended to be more comprehensive than its legal or received acceptation would admit of .

    If the word " Householder" is most innocently used as a means of catching the timid or courting the doubtful , it will be most viciously applied by those who are to frame the law , after public opinion has decided upon the principle . We have already shown how misplaced confidence and want of jealous watching , destroyed the identity between the People's Bill and their Leaders' Bill . We have shown how mystery was more mystified , when all thought they" were agreed upon the principle And if to-morrow , there was a measure about to be legislated upon , based upon popular demand

    for any definition of Household Suffrage ; or , if the very name was mentioned , the people would have no juat cause of complaint if they received a Bill , based , upon the legal , the common , the only acceptation of the term , namely , a right to a vote vested in every householder , which means one person wbo holds a house from another , or occupies one of his own . The term would no * even extend the right to occupants , or persons in charge of dwelling-houses ; much less would at

    extend it to parsons residing or lodging for any term ; and , so far from a set of bears tied to stakes and legislating with sick hearts , extending the acceptation of the term " householder , " we should , in about the nine hundred and fiftieth clause , and , when excitement had-wholly passed away , find a nice question ; first , for tbe solution of registering barristers , and open for the judges upon appeal , and then for the " people-, when they had been fairly humbugged out of their meaaures and wearied , into apathy .

    We are engaged in preparing a clear and intelligble case to submit to a dogged and a hostile jury ; the Household Suffrage party are engaged in supplying quirks , quibbles , and points , to mystify the jury , and evade our just claim . We may be asked if residence is not a description of tenure which would operate unfavourably towards the claimants ? We answer , no ; tenure ib a title derived from the superior lord , while residence is derived from the mere occupant , and residence

    is a thing with which no landlord , or combination of landlords , could interfere to , any injurious effect , and for this simple reason : where there is a demand there will be a supply ; and if all the landlords-in chief of a voting district were to set their faces against allowing Chartist voters to obtain a qualification by residence in premises over which they- had controiil , yet would there always be found a sufficient number of householders , independent of landlords , or living in their own houses , to furnish residence to Whig , Tory , or" Chartist who would pay .

    Mr . Collins may say , Why , that's what I meant . " We know it , Mr . Collins ; and therefore hare we treated your question seriously , elaboratel y ^ and respectfully ; but it is not so much what yon mean that adds importance to our coincidence of opinion , as the construction which others may put upon your meaning . And now , to put you in the best position which you could desire , we not only admit the sincerity of your meaning , but we also admit , for argument ' s sake , the truth of it—namely , that your definition of Household Suffrage and the Chartist Suffrage are identical . Then , Mr . Collins call the spade a spade . The false bait won't catch a single mackerel , while it would lose many a sprat .

    If you are still to preserve the principle of the Charter Suffrage , hope not to soften middle-class animosity by the speoioasness of terms , while others ' perversion of your meaning may place a rock in your course . The people are now honest ; they are informed ; they are intelligent ; they are one and all laid upon the right scent : we require no foil to cross it . The rery . name would take hundreds from out ranks in disgust , while it would not add a single convert to our . force . Household Suffrage would represent monopoly ; Unirersal Suffrage would represent porerty .. .

    We trust , that our willingness to answer a question not too courteously asked , will convince those for whom we write , that we shrink not from the performance of any duty which the advocacy of their cause imposes upon us ; while we have , an equal confidence that Mr . Collins will now Bee that ; we had reasons , cogent , fall , and ample , without recourse to any factious feeling , for making that comment which has extracted from him so erroneous an opinion . We do not belong to that class who would prostitute themselves to the support of a mere distinction without a difference for the purpose of maintaining party ascendancy by actioua warfare . ¦

    In conclusion , we beg to thank our friend for being the cause of thus drawing us into a new field ' we feel assured that it will satisfy all parties , that the people ' s cause , requires but a fair stage and argument to prove its justice ; while the happy result will be to unite as all onoe more in a bond of biotherly lore and union , marshalled under the old banners under which we hare been so long accus tomed to fight and conquer . We now , after our two weeks of bickering , tendet the olive branch : but our union and our lore most depend upon a thorough understanding that Uni versal Suffrage means no other Suffrage ; and thai every man who seeks , henceforth , U prove othoswise , calls the Storbia enemy .

    We trust that the . length of this article needs no apology ; it is but a condensation of that knowledge which we hare derived from the "ignorant" people and whieh we thus give back in a more digested form . ¦ ¦ "Universal Suffrage" is otra Tamaro "No Subrendeb" oub Motto . We trust that we hare answered Mr . Coluks in a manly , a candid , and a propel spirit . ,

    Jpwtrs*

    Jpwtrs *

    The Northern Star. Saturday, February 2«, 1841.

    THE NORTHERN STAR . SATURDAY , FEBRUARY 2 « , 1841 .

    Iwal Ans Cr*N*Raj Znuuitence.

    iwal ans Cr * n * raJ ZnUUitence .

    Untitled Article

    THE NORTHERN STAR . 3 h a ' - " - " ¦ ' . - ' - - "

• Citation
  • Northern Star (1837-1852), Feb. 20, 1841, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct844/page/3/