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Northern Star (1837-1852), 29th May 1841, Edition 5 of 5, Page 7

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    • ^rtfftnal Csrregponfcence. __ _
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      jO THOSE WHO LOVE FREEDOM A $ D HATE SLAVERY . j ( T Ibiskds , —Allow me to repeat a sentence from ^ rtpetch upon opening my Radical eommision at g ^^^ t , new nearly aix yean since . I t h ^ iJd- — « j { y object iJ to make yon all of one will , and oat j tfa ± will to form the basis of yonr future constatu S ^ . The auction day will imw , whea both partiet , 21 bid for yon according to yonr Talae ; to increase -norTal ae and to prepare yon for the auction , shall be JJW Such irere my words six yean ago , and now

      be-THE HOCK COMBTH . yea , tbe day of anction ia at hand , and who will bid ggfall Talae for public support is now the question , j will buy in the first lot for another season , if the ggjstt bidder offers a single doit less than " the ichcle I h » T 8 never placed one single crotchet before the . ^ gt I have not allowed the public mind to be disced fey s adden changes and convulsive throes . I kite adhered , throogh years of stormy abuse and ^ jp osiion to the one , the single question , Universal Bsgage . I hvre told yon that the figure which I was gagged , with others , in completing , could not be pruj ^ tly exhibited until the several parts were ready for fejsg pat together . They are now " tried up , " and mij for being '' put together . "

      IfrjlKu frman , Irishmen , Scotchmen , and Welshmen , B * eyes of the world are now upon yon . The French pas , till now silent upon popular feeling in England , feeot with remonstrances against resisting the popular , & This is BoveL The press of France , as the press d Britain , is the mere organ of a faction ; and the jjgid ! journals fear the infection ot Rn gK « h opinion . Be people of France , any more than the people of gghsd , hare no organ . The Ministry of France » obM join the British Ministry to suppress all popular fading ;; but , thank God , the will of the people is now too strong for all factions .

      My Mends , the crisis has arrived , and may God jnnl that we proTe ourselves equal to the emergency ! HTBarsbrsTe and determined , we cenqner . If we at eowrdly and w&vsring , we fan . Behold the stake— "LIBERTY ! " The gift of God ; Bb noblest possession which man can enjoy . Liberty to the people ia death to the tyranny of frBSon s . if , then , we resolve to be free who can impede us in our course ? That we may be valne * , let u pases ill that is most valuable in ™ m- Let us be w ^ ett , consistent and brava .

      When I reflect upon the great stake now to be played to , I shudder lest one false step should lessen our dance of winning . It is a noble thing—a holy sight , to see tbe " poor oppressed" fighting against the " . rich oppr essor ! " The balance of power is now in our hands —that ia acknowledged . With us , then , the considerv gjc should be , how to use it for ocb . otx bexetit , iboOy regardless of both factions , and , aboTe all , of the iaimduvl interest of camp foUouxn , who will rWm pcoHir title to public confidence , and ask us to make exceptions to our general rule of action in their particufercase . I say no exception . If our rule be good , let it to critically followed ; if bad , let it be altered .

      Befcold , then , oor petition . The Whigs , the stand ns stand us

      "Moodiest" faction that ever hell in its wrath sent ipon earth , are on their knees licking our feet , while fte desolation which they hare caused rings through every ereriee of this sea-bound dungeon . They hare Nome bankrupt , and would accept any amount of jromise-to-be-paid , after convenience , well knowing Botthey had no intention ever to meet their engage-BBfitS . Let bis ask yon one question . Can yon trust them after nine years of sad and melancholy trial , when you nfisct that their greatest assaults upon liberty were mde in the days of their greatest strength . '

      Bet upon what question do they vainly hope to arouse jeKk sympathy ? Why , upon a set of problematical waits , which , should they terminate to the full extent tf their anticipation , would but injure every working sbl , while they would serve every man of fixed nouns—every placeman , pensioner , state pauper , and aimed official . Theirs is the battle of the csnfec-8 a » , the grocer , the Cuba and Brazilian slave-owner , & * fnndholder , the architect , the ship-builder , the a&aet-m&ker , the timber-merchant , and the corn-factor , ajainst labour . No wonder that Joe Home , a large fptdholder , should think " brown bread good enough

      for the Spitalnelds weaver , " while he would cheerfully pcrohase his own hot loaf for less money , produced it hqhz LiBori . What does he care where it comes from , provided he has it ? Do not the " anti-monopo-Isti , " as they whimsically call themselves , know full well that if all the articles of life are made cheaper , jaiges , placemen , pensioners , and persons with fixed tawrmen , will be so mncb the richer ; and d o they tempt either to reduce their salaries to the " sliding aals , " er do they propose to lessen the general burdens

      dthe country ? No , in faith ! but , curious enough , the Jwdly vaunted measures have sprung out ef State ¦ e eessty . It was not because the people wanted relief fc ^ her Majesty ' s popular champions proposed their tn " tarifiV' but because , without it , they could not V * nges ! and this is called patriotism , and the act "GREAT COililERCIAL REFORM ! " And they P » pose " free trade" with untaxed countries , that is , to make you run a race with fetters on your legs , » nfle yonr competitors are unshackled !

      But mark their real love of the prinripla While the Mn&ng press echoes " free trade , " there is a Bill passbf through Parliament to rob 160 of the poor op-J *^ fey depriving them of a eommon , to enrich ttuuiT-Sve rich oppressors . Tea , " Wbaddon Chase ' ' i beag stolen from 160 poor men , by twenty-five rich •^ The 16 * poor men have beggared themselves to fe&aa their right , but have failed ; and tliis , Jos Ebbjs would call " freed trade . "

      ** t meput a question to you . Would you have * H ! sd , for a moment , to a single speech made in m * Bwae of Commons upon the subjeet , at a parish * ** i , without bestowing copious hisses upon the Sap-tap speakers ? No , not to a single one . The qaes" ° a then is , are we , who fight for principlej and * » have suffered so much in our struggle for prine Pk > to be caught in the new Whig ministerial tap ? Tney ssy , they -would set the captive free . I IBlT er , let me rot in prison rather than my liberty ,

      * &ned b y Whig clemency , should procure a t far the ruffians who have trampled upon all * " * 7- I have not lived in solitary confinement " * thirteen months , without learning how to *> fflaie the value of liberty ; neither have I ^ BJt my time U > so bad a purpose as to make my ^* ty more precious than my character . If I can only kin my freedom by an abandonment of my prin-B , then may the loathsome dungeon be my dwelling"C * while life remains I

      1 "Was shocked , and horror-struck , to hear the very •^ San of a compromise at the meeting held last week * 8 * Crown and Anchor , and my principal reason ** - * ritaig now , is , to enter my protest , upon my own *¦* > ysinst such a course . And then , I am told that " >• Twits will set me free . Good Heaven I my limbs , |** Sa strong , would refuse their office when told " *? o » ed their liberty to my country ' s greatest op-* ¦ * ¦ What : be allowed to walk abroad and say , ™ o * e » Ms freedom to tns Tamworth B&ronet ! . '—the

      *» Trhose name stands second only to that of Castle" * & in the bloody book of Ireland ' s sad catalogue of **^ a oppression ! Who has gone farther to set **^ ic against Protestant , and Orangeman against ^*** Iri an , than Sir Robert Peel ? No one . And am ' alk abroad as a living monument of gratitude to " ¦ '*<* the possession of that liberty of -which he has ^ d uiy country ? So , xe ^ er , sever ! KEYEK ! *** Perish O'Connor ! has for the

      ^^ eettpromise sealed my re-T ^ of my dreary imprisonment ! For by the ghost _ " ** J a murdered Irishman , and by my country ' s j jr * ~ k _ rwe * r that if an order for mj liberation come jj 7 ^' froni a Tory government , I will not leave my ^^* ' and they cannot eject me , as my committal ij ^ V ** 11 & * & be held in custody until I enter into ^ v nil for my good conduct for two years . There-1 - ** P ros cribed by this compromise , even by the < ^ « ntion ef it j ^ ^^ l aU do me the justice to admit that , notwith- j Zr *™ 8 ^ 6 Systematic abnae of Mr . n-nnnnnTI nnrt the ' . ¦ ¦ ¦¦¦¦

      "J ^^ M / J ti ^~— —— - v -w » - « - « - ^^*— " ** aom M h pTess > Jet hu not angr 7 { eeUn & > f 0 T ' ^ Bj ^ T Bt ' * Jlo- » ed me to resent personal injury by f ^ connby . Who ever heard me abuse j

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      Ireland , even in the midst of the intolerance of her paid patriots ? - Upon the whole , my friends , believe me , that neither Whig or Tory will allow me to roam at large one tingle hour before tbe 11 th of November next j and then I will pay them twenty-five shillings in the pound nil !! Now , . my friends , let me explain what our course should be . Six years ago , I said I would prepare yon for sale . Two " years ago , I published a plan for your local organisation , and , three months ago I repnbUshed that plan . I was well aware that only in tbe excitement of a contested election would either band of robbers bid for the virtuous people ; that hour baa now come , yet

      are you not prepared with your committees , sub-committees , treasurers , and secretaries of electioneering clubs which I recommended : but as I never fight with my own party , but always try to make up for their laziness by my own extra diligence , I tell yon bow to get your machinery ready . Let . gyery locality have its election club . For Charter membra there is no hope this election ; not tbe slightest ; but this election is tbe foundation of all hope . Upon sov , the people , will depend the result , whether yon furnish to the House of Commons a sufficient number of tools to be used by any Administration for your ruin , or whether you furnish such a House as must be dissolved in less tfn ^ six months from its formation .

      Now , mark me welL If you return as many as 30 0 Whigs , yon will prepare improved machinery for fraud , persecution and tyranny . As our only struggle must be for the Charter , a sufficient number of let-well-enough alone , or any-thing-rather-tkan-a-Radicd-House members will be found to join the Wkigs to carry on with a Tory House without again tempting the st * rm of popular wrath , of which they will get a taste upon the ensuing contest If you return but a few Whigs they cannot form any coalition with the Tories and must constitute oar ' s and the Queen ' s minority .

      Tbe greatest blessing which could happen to us would be the return of 658 Tories ; but that is impossible . If we had a House full of Tories their position would very much resemble that of the Kerry man , who came all the way from Kerry to see London from the top of the monument ; but when he got there he was so dazzled that he got frightened and requested a friend to cover Ms eyes with his handkerchief , for God's Bake , and lead him back again to Kerry . Now , if you had 658 rampant Tory devils they would be frightened at the sound of their own voice , and would imploringly cry " 0 J for an opposition . "

      . It is said that no wife could survive a year if not once contradicted ; I tell you that no minister can survive the want of an opposition . The Tories being better tactitians than the Whigs , actually led them to the altar , and then offered them up a sacrifice to an opposed lust . It was byjiot opposing the Whigs , in their aggression against popular rights , that the Tories brought Whiggery into disrepute . Let us tiierefore benefit by example ; and as the Whigs died of surfeit , let ub kill the Tories by repletion . Let us gorge the House with them ,, and , inasmuch as the struggle , at last , must be between the nominees of a faction and the whole people , it must come to that ; and if we are not prepared , why then , let us at once give up . I say , that with a compact minority , too large for a faction , and too small for a party , at work inside , and the whole people at work outside , nothing can with-. As a matter of course , the " bloodies" will now " pat you on the back , " and ask for your support ; but for what ? Would you , nine years ago , have entertained any one of the great " commercial reforms , " as they are called , or would you have considered them as any part of the great measure ? Assuredly not ; and , after nine years' drilling and training ; after nine years' disappointment ; after nine years' sessions of unexampled tyranny , persecution , lewd sway and distress , are you now to entertain them as a . whole ? Have nine years of tea ching taught us no better than this ?

      My friends , nothing can be more laughable than the complaints and sore things of the Whigs , in their very , very incompetent journals . They really imagine that we are still in leading strings , and that we should be thankful for correction . They still call themselves our natural allies , and the Tories our natural enemies ; and , forgetting that we dissolved partnership in September , 1835 , and set up business on our own account , the ignorant creatures have the folly to find fault . with our tactics ! Well now , can anything be more absurd ? and , when well weighed , can any praise be stronger than this intended censure ?

      What is our object ? To destroy Whiggery , and establish Chartism . Well , then , are Whigs likely to be much , in love with any course which tends towards the accomplishment of that desirable end ? Bo they ask ns for " advice , as to how their proceedings are to be conducted ? No , in faith . What would any one of you think , suppose you sat down to a game cf cards , and that your adversary , after vain endeavours to win the game by fair play , said , " 0 , but you must shew me your hand , and play

      your cards as I direct you ? " What , I ask , would you f yirik of such a proposal ? and yet it would not be » ne whit more ridiculous than the appeal of our Whig opponents , to play our game as they direct us . My friends , so long as we did play this fast-and-Ioose game , so long were we a laughiiig-s' . ock ; but the moment we played one hand in Birmingham , in 1839 , according to our oven judgment , thai moment did our advers-iries say , " 0 , these felleics play the game too tceli , and tee must bludgeon them ; pack the cards , and run off vcilh the stake J . ' !"

      Well , up to that period , we were the ridicule of all parties , and despised by all ; but since then we have played our own game , and now we have arrived to " the dignity of being hated . " We are no longer despised ; -we are now hated , because we are dreaded ; and no political party can be great till it is hated . Thank God , then , we " are all bated , and I the most . ' O , how I enjoy Whig and Tory hatred ! It is balm ! cordial !! consolation' . ' !

      But what has made you great ? The things that have made you hated , of course . What are they ? The pertinacious manner in "which you have npset every clap-trap meeting ; the noble consistency you have evinced in standing by your friends and year Charter , through unparalleled persecution , insult , and distress ; your "useless displats" and manly expression of " . jlUGri feeli . ng" have done the job ;

      and hence "was it a principal object of Mr . Joseph Hume te lull you into qokt and calm ; into " non-resistence and passive obedience" before the hour arrived for treating Whigs on the hustings as they treated us in the House . Is it not self-evident that conduct "which would entitle yeu to Whig praise , would subject you to popular suspicion and censure , and having welleirned a " large stock of Whig hatred , we are justly entitled to a large share of popular approval .

      For four months this dissolution has been in cogitation , and during that time the " leading Chartists " have been " saturated" with letters to subdue Chartist " angry feding * at public meetings , and to set their faces against " useless displays . " Our duty then is , for the present , to fill the House with Tory poison ; yea , to load it to the very muzzle , so that it may explode and blow them all up , and then will come our turn !

      Xow , my friends , as I have never waited upon public opinion , but have always " come out" upon principle—at once , and , in the outset , I say , " down with the Whigs ;" and , in every instance where you have the power , return Tories in preference to Whigs . Do so for this reason—Because you will thereby beat one of your enemies . By returning Whigs you cannot , in the slightest degree , weaken Toryism ; inasmuch as Whigs in office are mere Tories . What have we to expect from the Whigs in the way of reform ? Have they not already ruined themselves in their endeavour to ruin you ? In depriving yon of your wages have they not left an empty Exchequer , and themselves without their salaries , to insure which they must now play a game at thimblerig ?

      In God ' s name , what have you to do with Sugar Duties , Corn Laws or Timber ? Will it be any consolation to you to know that you have cheapened bread , sugar , and timber , for traffickers and consumers with fixed incomes , while , to accomp li sh it , you have lessened tbe price of jour own labour , and thereby deprived yourselves of the means of purchasing any portion of the cheap sweets ? Tie humbug ! and they know it ; and they can only hope to cram it down your throats by bribing your leaders ; and just giro me leave to ask , why these immense collections by the " Plague" just now ? Agitation costs them nothing . Beware , Beware , Beware of Mr . Gold , ' -

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      Let us just see the principle upon which all the wealthier classes are now marshalled on the Government side , in support of the great" Commercial Reformers . " The foolish mill lords imagine that they can buy cheaper and sell dearer , and still preserve peace , regulate demand and supply , and stop gambling ; therefore they are bottle holders to the Whigs . Tbe bankers know that their discounts will be increased by an increased demand for paper to gamble with—your labour and liberty being the stake . Tbe Insurance Offices know that their business will be increased at your expence . The grocers and bakers , —poor silly fools ! —think that they will be enabled to buy very much cheaper , and perhaps Bell more !

      The judges , parsons , barristers , solicitors , placemen , pensioners , fund-holders ; in abort , all those with fixed incomes ; the whole swarm of lice on the beetle , imagine that they will be enabled to do twice as much with their fixed salaries , and yet that order and peace will continue ! Tbe poor fools of shopkeepers and tradesmen , imagine that they will be enabled to sell just as much and to live cheaper . Silly , silly men ! They can only

      live cheaper by making labour cheaper , inasmuch as that ingredient forms nineteen-twentieths of every thing they consume ; while their whole means of consumption is fnrnished by labour , and labour alone ; and when labour is reduced , they most be reduced . In fact they are all mad . The Whigs have literally persuaded them that poor John has yet something in him , which the " Great Commercial Reforms " is to extract ; but they will all find . themselves mistaken , and that ere long 2

      I have shown you how the Whigs have fought their battle , constantly changing their position and tactics without reference to us . I havo shown you how the Tories have fought their battle with reference only to their own party purposes . And Daniel O'ConneU , being another corporation , though a corporation sole , let ns see how he propones to fight his battle ( Ireland ' s battle ) , without reference to any earthly object but keeping himself in place and his hands in poor Paddy ' s pockets . I shall not lose much of my space in finishing this eavtontimorouminos ( " self tormentor . " )

      Pray ! pray ! pray ! mark , learn , and inwardly digest , the mode by which this charlatan proposes to redeem all his pledges to unhappy Ireland . Firstly , observe , Repeal is the watch-word of Ireland , as the Charter is that of Britain . Secondly , bear in mind , that a Parliament elected favourable to Whig principles would have , at least , a six years' lease of office , as friends of the Queen ' s youth .

      Now , how , think you , the begging rascal proposes to snatch Repeal out of the fire of party , or even to make the god-send a stepping-stone to Repeal ? Wfay , HE POSTPONES IT FOR THE PRESENT ! lest its lntreduction should injure " the base , brutal , and bloody Whigs "—the " West Britons , " the coercers , the police enactors , the arms ' -bill enactora , the appropriation concocters and abandoners , tbe rascally Whigs !

      The World , upon the subject of Dan ' s last letter , has these few pithy lines : — "With much contained in it we coincide ; while from other parts we totally djsseht . Mr . 0 'Connell we think perfectly right in not recommending that a Repeal candidate should be started , at this juncture , where his chance of success would be doubtful " Aye , • where his chance , of success uvuld be doubtful " —there ' s the rub ; and that one scorpion sentence will render the return of a Repealer doubtful in every part of Ireland ; and that is the sole , and only , object of the deceitful stuff

      But , suppose he had said , " men of Ireland , now is your time . 0 > "ward to Repeal . Every Repealer may be relied upon as an opponent to Toryism ; let us have men of double force—first , anti-Tory , and then pro-Repeal , thus do we effect a double purpose at one and the same time . Kill the enemy and resuscitate our native land , " Suppose he had said that , what would have been tbe effect ? Why , just this ; that in many cases , where tbe order will render the return of a Whig doubtful , the course which I recommend would have rendered the return of a Repealer [ certain . But what is the fact ? Why that those very Wbigs , now to be returned , will be Ireland ' s bitterest enemies , and the very stancbest anti-repealers , and that's the secret . —that's what O'ConneU wants , a stumbling

      BLOCK IN THE WAY OF THE MONSTERS OF HIS OWN CREATION . But then , a bit of religion , —the old seasoner of all dishes , —is brought in . By heaven ! it is enough to make any man -wild , and tOBtt an Irishman mad to think ot the barefaced villany of this old woman . Well , my friends , thus they all act , as they profess to think , beat for their interest , and without consulting us . How , let as , withoui reference to any ot them , do the best we can for our Charter . Let us , wherever we can give , give 20 , 30 , 40 , 50 , yea , a hundred of either devils for one Chartist O , how easily Glasgow could return my dear friend Moir , by giving them 20 Tories , or 20 Whigs , for Scotland for this one honest Chartist That is , suppose Dundee , Donferndine , and several other

      places , were to make common cause with Glasgow , and that the Chartists of those places were to say " 20 Whigs , or 2 t Tories , " " which you please , my dear ; choose your devil , and your devil ' s colour , and have him in exchange for one Chartist angel . " Leicester , Hull , and Nottingham could do this ! Leeds , Bradford , Halifax , Huddersfield , and York could do likewise . Rochdale has its out and outer—honest Sharmanglorious Sharman—amiable Sharman . Manchester , Stockport , Bolton , and Chorley could do likewise . Oldham has the two best men to be found—who will dare to oppose them , I should like to know ? Then you have a little knot of Chartists well able to speak upon the hustings . I fe * T I should be considered " despotic " if I was to particularize , so you must judge for yourselves .

      Now , my friends , to the point " Caesar ' s wife should not only be virtuous , but should be above suspicion . " No man shall ever suspect me , and , therefore , although solicited by many constituencies to offer myself , free of expence , where my return may be considered certain , as all and every sacrifice would be made in a whole county to insure it , I have como to the settled resolution not to accept a seat in the nest Parliament , if offered to me—not to allow myself to be put in nomination anywhere , and for this simple reason , thht my recommendation may stand discharged of all selfislinesss .

      Our time for returning the whole House is at hand , believe me , or a bleody revolution ; one or tbe other is inevitable . I must keep my conscience clear , and my friends clear . I "will not offer myself for any place . I will support a Chartist everywhere , at all hazards , and will join in returning a Tory in preference to a Whig , where the contest lies between tbe Devils and the Devils in hell . I do this from my bitter and unconquerable hatred to the Tories , from the hope that they will kill themselves .

      Now my friends , as to any compromise for my liberty , I will not owe it to Peel , even if offered ; but believe me , that on to-morrow night on Duncombe ' s motion , he wi ll indignantly repel the assertion made at the Crown and Anchor . No , no ; Sir R . Peel is too cold-blooded a politician to bear with temper such a taunt , as being charged with an act of justice ! I will not come out of my cell at all upon a compromise . —I will break the contract—I have been no party to it

      As to my getting out just now , you shall judge from the following true " unvarnished tale , "' whether or not it would be justice to me to enlarge me at the present moment , when so much would be expected from me , and when I should not be able to take any part whatever in public affairs . When I came here first , I kept my voice by reading aloud about two hours every day . This I practised till the winter

      compelled me to have fires , and then my cell chimney smoked to such an extent , that , by degrees , I was obliged to give up not only reading aloud , but speaking above my lowest tone . I could net speak without pain . When spring returned , it brought no charms for me . I tried , when the smoke vanished , to read aloud again , but found that I always spit blood , when I made tbe attempt , before I got through many pages ; so I gave it up .

      Now , I ask you , would it not be certain death to place me upon a public hustings or in a pubHo meeting ? Never was man treated as I have been l not one single restriction has been taken off since June 1 st , 1840 . to tbe present moment , but several fresh ones

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      have been added . I pay for every thing I use , even my eoals I and I pay £ 10 8 a . a year ' s rent for one of the condemned cells ! Every letter I receive is read ; every letter I send through the post is read ; every visitor is accompanied , for five minntes , by a turnkey , and every word we say is reported . I am in solitary confinement l and shall be in the fourteenth month on Tuesday week , a punishment unknown to the law !! In one of my recent letters , I stated that it was such a punishment as no man had ever endured for any crime since England was discovered ; but some one altered it to had ever before endured for libel .

      Now , again , I tell yon that the law Inowa of no such pnnishmenfc ; and the Judges dare not , nay could not , sentence to such a punishment for any crime : and having borne thirteen months of it , unjustly , shall say , " tkank yon , " to the scoundrels who made me un < justly suffer , and , if guilty , would now UNJUSTLY liberate me for their own base ends ? No , —damn them !—never— "JVb surrender . " " The Charter , " and "down with the ' bloodies . '" Ever yours , Fbabgus O'Connob .

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      ^ T TO THK EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN STAR . Dear Sir , —I have to enclose the following resolution passed at eur meeting of this day : —" Thatin consequence of the letter received this morning from the Executive at Manchester , a letter be sent to the said Executive , and to the editor of the Northern Star , requesting them immediately to transmit to Mr . John Cleave , Shoe-lane , London , our unanimously elected treasurer , all moneys which have been sent to them for the use of the Convention or committee . " I am , &c , 55 , Old Bailey , Thomas Wail . 21 st May , 1841 .

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      ^^ HOW TO STOP THE BANK TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN STAB . Sir , —In my letter to you of the 5 th instant , I ask , " whether yeu think , if it were notorious that the Chartists really had the power to stop the bank if they pleased , such notoriety would be likely to be of any service to them in their efforts to obtain their Charter 1 " In your Star of the 15 th instant , in yoar notices to correspondents , you say , referring to my inquiry , " We certainly think that such , notoriety would be likely to be of service : will he shew us the ftctc ? " I will endeavour to do so , and thus I proceed . , Let every Chartist who can save at least one penny per week begin to imitate my example , and let him never discontinue such imitation until either tbe bank be restrained from paying its notes in gold , or the People ' s Charter have become the law of the land . But before I proceed to state what I do myself , and what I want everybody else to do , I think it right first to state what I do not do .

      In the first place , then , I do not lend my little savings to the Government , by depositing them in any Savings ' or other Bank ; for , by so doing , although I might receive a paltry dab of interest for my money in the course of a year , 11 should only be enabling the Government to appropriate the principal , or , in other words , to expend my own money in buying swords , and pistols , and bludgeons with , to < but , and shoot , and knock me about with . I , therefore , and for another reason , do not lend my money to the Government . That other reas « n is , that if I were to lend my money to the Government , or to my employers , or to any private individual , it would remain in circulation ; whereas it is part of my scheme to withdraw it from circulation , and to have its place supplied by constant drains upon the coffers of the Bank of England . I , therefore , not only do not lend my money to the Government , but I do not lend it at all ; I keep it myself : I hoard it , and in gold and silver , and not in bank notes of any denomination .

      I will tell you how I manage . Every Saturday evening I drop into my " savings'box" ( of which I have constituted myself sole and exclusive governor , director , treasurer , and secretary ) as much out of my weekly earnings as I can possibly spare ; sometimes , it is more , and sometimes less than others ; but as it is not lent out at interest , nor spent , but hoarded , you must ( I think ) perceive that that money , however email in amount , is yet so much money withdrawn from circulation ; it being distinctly understood all the while that I hoard nothing but metallic coin , gold , silver , and copper , but no paper money : tor if I were to hoard paper money , the place ef tbe identical notes which I had so withdrawn from circulation would not be supplied by gold and silver from the coffers of the Bank of England , but by other notes , which the local bankers there at

      Leeds , where I am living ) would instantly and at no expense fabricate and put in circulation , whereas the place of the gold and silver "which is hoarded must eventually come outof the coffers of the Bank of England , as I will presently demonstrate . I have now told you what I do not do and what I do do , and I have stated my reasons for not doing the one and for doing the other , and having done so , I beg further to observe , that to what little money I have already hoarded up , it is my intention to add weekly until the People ' s Charter becomes the law of the land . The money so already hoarded up and to be added to , as I have before stated , I do , and always shall , consider to be a sacred fund and dedicated to the Chartist causo ; and it is my firm and unalterable determination not to touch it or any portion of it until the People ' s Charter be tbe law of the land .

      Such is my plan or scheme , and I do firmly believe that if the Chartists would individually begin now , each according to bis respective means , to imitate my example , and would persevere in such imitation , tbe Bank of England would suspend cash payments before the last day of the year , ( and I think so for reasons which I will explain in my next , if you should agree with me in the opinions expressed in this , ) and whenever that event does take place , from no matter what cause , it will be attended by at least on immediate , and most extensive and sweeping Reform , of the Commons House of Parliament . I have already shown that

      the hoarding of paper money does no good , for it does not annoy the local bankers or the Governors and Directors of the Bank of England . But the hoarding of gold and silver to any considerable amount would not only annoy but would absolutely terrify as well the local bankers as the Governor and Company of the Bank of England , for it would cause a drain to be made upon the coffers of tbe Bunk of England for a sufficient amount of gold and silver to supply the place of the gold and stiver so hoarded , and consequently withdrawn from circulation , aa I will now endeavour to show .

      Let us suppose that the average amount of gold and silver constantly in circulation here in Leeds is £ 10 , 000 or thereabouts . We will next suppose that in this town there are one hundred persona , eack of wham , upon reading this letter , is determined , according to his respective means , to adopt the principle here laid down for his imitation . We will further suppose , that at the end of three months , each of those persons has hoarded up £ o in gold and silver which would otherwise have remained in circulation . In that cose these one hundred persons would not only have withdrawn from the circulation £ 500 in gold and silver , but would be in possession of it themselves , which they would not otherwise have been . Ia that cose also , the ££ 04 so hoarded up would be missed and felt , if its place were not supplied . There would evidently be a want of a

      sufficiency of small change for the daily purposes of life or business , its place therefore would be supplied ; but bow ? We shall soon see . A tradesman , a butcher for instance , finding that his customers did not pay him bo much gold and silver as usual , but more £ 5 notes , leaving him to pay himself and give them tbe change , would every now and then send a package of £ o notes to the different bankers here , who had issued them , and get them exchanged for gold and silver , fer the accommodation of his customers . The baker and all other trades people would do the same , until by that process tbe place of the £ 500 so hoarded up would be supplied . But those bankers -would then have in their tills £ 500 less in gold and silver to honour their notes with than they had before the hoarding commenced ; and they would thsn scrape together £ 500 in

      Bank of England notes , and send them up to their agents in London to get converted into gold and silver , and that gold and silver remitted back to them instead of the notes . This the agents would very easily do , by simply going to the Bank in Threadneedle-atreet , in London , and there exchanging the notes for gold . There then is a drain upon the coffers of the Bank of England for £ 500 in specie !! But it must not ' be forgotten , that the hundred sturdy fellows in Leeds don't relax in their efforts or their principle , and in another three ^ nonths they have got another £ 509 , whose place would be supplied in precisely the same manner . Hern let me not be misunderstood ; I have merely supposed a case for the proper illustration of my assertion , that if the Chartists were to hoard weekly i \ b much money as they could , the , place of the money

      so hoarded must eventually be supplied by drains upon the coffers of the Bank of England . But I do not mean to assert that there would bo exactly 100 or any other given number of persons who upon reading this letter either would or could hoard weekly , any sum of money which in exactly three months , would amount to exactly £ § , or any other given sum , but I do believe that there would be some such persons here to be found , who upon reading this letter , would hoard up weekly as much money as they possibly could , and therefore I further btlieve that there would be some such persons to be found in every town , city , parish , village , and hamlet in this country , whose united hoardings I do believe

      would in three or four months amount to snob a sum of money as would make on evident diminution in tbe quantity of tbe gold and silver in the coffers of the Bonk of England ; if so , it is evident that the Chartists alone , and unaided and poor as they are , can , if they please , cause such a constant and continuous drain upon the coffers of the Bonk of England for its gold and silver as if persevered in , must eventually end ia the stoppage of the bank . I fear that I have alreadytrespassed upon your time too long , but I cannot conclude this letter without expressing my conscientious conviction that the mere knowledge by the middle and aiistocratical classes of the power which I have con-

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      tended that the Chartists possess , and more especially of their determinatiin to exercise it , would be more likely than any thing else to procure for them the speedy concession of all their political rights and privileges . I remain , Sir , Your obedient servant , A Middle Class Chartist . 22 ud May , 1841 .

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      NOBMANBY AND THE PRISONERS' LIBERATION CONVENTION .

      TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN STAB . *" Sib , —As our interview with the Marquis of Normanby , in regard to the presentation of the memorials for Bronterre O'Brien , has not been correctly stated in the papers , we beg to lay a plain statement of the same before the readers of the Star . At the time appointed by Messrs . Boiler andHawes , that is twelve o ' clock , we proceeded to the Home-ofiice , but found that the Marquis of Norman by would not be there before one o ' clock , and an appointment was made to meet them ( Messrs . Boiler and Hawes ) at four , or something later . We went and found they "were there before us , and were closeted with the Home-Secretary . We waited a considerable time in the anteroom , and were joined by the two gentlemen . They informed us there would be no difficulty in getting the memorials to ber Majesty , as they would , if we would chose , undertake their presentation ; bat this , not suiting our

      wishes , was of course declined . They next told us that the Marquis would see us , but that we were not to enter upon a discussion as to the contents of the memorials ; because that mighttiead to some language which would not be pleasant to either party . With this understanding we were admitted to his Lordship ' s presence , and his Lordship told us that he could not see deputations in regard to criminals , as that would be inconsistent with bis duties as a Minister of the Crown ; but that be would receive the memorials which we then had , and give them bis serieua consideration , and that whatever opinions or arguments which we might have to adduce , he would thank us to put in writing ; and , upon these grounds , he would give oar wishes every consideration . In regard to Mr . O'Brien , he hod caused enquiry to be made , and he found that Ub case was n * t so bad as it was represented to be . This was in substance , nay , indeed , everything which passed between ub and bis Lordship . We are , yours , L . Pitketuly , Morg . Williams , M . Cullen .

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      TO THE EDITOR OF THS NORTHERN STAB . DEAR Sib , —By inserting the following address in this week ' s publication , you will greatly oblige those friends to O'Connor whose names are attached thereto , and likewise your humble servant , Thomas Clarke . Temperance Yard , Hillgste , Stoekport , May 19 th , 1841 .

      TO FEARGUS O'CONNOR , ESQ . Honoured and Patriotic Sir , —We , your fellowcountrymen in exile , and members of the National Charter Association of Great Britain , seeing you surrounded on all sides by numerous and perfidious enemies , take this opportunity af assuring you that we place the most unbounded confidence in you , having seen nothing to lead us to a contrary conclusion , after closely watching your every act , both in tbe legislature , and in your struggles amongst the people , in endeavouring to obtain the universal rights of man ; notwithstanding the call which bos recently been mode by Daniel O'ConneU to his countrymen in England , to form no connection with tbe English Chartists , and also his indirect way of persuading the people to " get rid of you , if possible , " who , we are aware , have been a sore thorn in his side , and a stumbling-block to those whom he so strenuously supports . ill

      We , Sir , have been strict observers of your conduct since you first graced the Senate House of Great Britain with your presence and splendid talents , down to tbe present moment . It is , tiierefore , with feelings of pride , that we Irishmen , in the face of God and our country , unbiassed and uncourted , voluntarily swear or follow you to the death , if required , so long as you persevere in the righteous cause in which you have embarked , in the straightforward , manly , and upright manner you hitherto have done . We tender our most grateful thanks for the past , believing that your exertions and integrity are unparalleled in the history

      of our country , for the furtherance of just principles , and the general welfare of mankind . We consider that we would be guilty of base ingratitude , were we to forget the many sacrifices which not only yon , but also your noble ancestors , have made for our country ' s good . No , Sir , we do not forget that your illustrious , patriotic , and virtuous father , Roger O'Connor , was sent to an untimely grave , for bis devotion to his country ' s cause . Nor are we ignorant of the fact , that your revered uncle , the brava , venerated , Arthur O'Connor , was as cruelly banished from bis home , his family , his friends , and his country , for his honesty and fond attachment to our lovely Green Isle of the West

      We would , indeed , be unworthy the name of Irishmen , if we were to allow this favourable opportunity to pass unembraced , without informing tbe " Rat Catchers" that though you are bound hand and foot , body and mind , from your fellow-men , for committing no crime but that which your charitable feelings and good sense , and the misery of the people , and your sympathy for them , propelled you to do ; and , by-thebye , only a crime in the eyes of tyrants ; and while a contrary line of conduct , though not half so praiseworthy in the eyes of the blistered hands and unshorn chins , would have caused you to have been lauded to

      the skies by the same men who have resorted to tbe arm of the law to paralyse your designs , instead of removing those grievances of which you have complained , and for which you have so indefatigably laboured ; that there are yet Irishmen whose hearts pant , and who wait with longing desire to see , and whose yery blood boils to avenge the wrongs of " their Chief . " And we are constrained to declare that , though you were deserted by all the world , we , though poor , simple , unlettered men , we , at least , are determined to stand or fall with you , and the great and glorious principles which you advocate consistently , honourably , and determinedly .

      Yes , noble O'Connor , you have justly earned , and truly deserve the respect and veneration of all honest men who really know you , and have witnessed your every act We admire the readiness with "which you are -wont to concede to suggestions in the public cause , although , perhaps , in opposition to your own ; that you are willing to acknowledge when corrected , and to give credit where credit is due , even if it may be to those who have not had the chance of receiving that education which is calculated to make them proficient in the most enterprising concerns of life . This , we conceive , is a sure indication that you are actuated by disinterested motives , and a desire for the well-being of every man , woman , and child in the British dominions . The above is not the only token , by many ;

      there are hundreds of generous actions—some private , which the world never hears or sees—besides public ones , "which entitle you to tbe love and esteem of every true lover of his country . We cannot praise you too much for your exertions in dragging before the public , and exposing the atrocious doings of that notorious parson , Rider , alias the " Rathcormac Butcher , " which exposure has been so nobly followed up by the Catholic representatives of "improved Ireland . " We have witnessed your endeavourti for , and on behalf of the Dorchester Labourers , the Glasgow Cotton Spinnors , the Welsh Martyrs , the Imprisoned Chartists , the defence of the Whiteboys , —in short , the unjustly persecuted of every class , clime , or col » ur , have found in you tbe philanthropist , the vindicator , the sympathiser , and a benefactor .

      Honoured Sir , —If you remain true to your professions , which we have not the slightest reason to doubt , having been many times so well tried in body and mind , and never known to flinch , nor ever yet found wanting , your name shall be handed down to posterity , and our children will be taught to lisp it with tbe same admiration and respect , as those of the martyrs and patriots who have gone before , but who are firmly engraven upon tbe tablets of our memories , and though even dead , yet ever living . Tbe immortal

      Emmett , Fitzgerald , O'Coigley , Murphy , Bagnall , Harney , Doyle , Roger and Arthur OCjnnor , and the several other patriots , who fought and died for the rights , liberties , and independence of Ireland . Not the independence evidently sought for by the Exchange patriots , who feed on the misery of our unhappy , ( and , we are sorry to Bay , in fearfully numerous instances , ) deluded fellow-countrymen—men who , in your absence , and in an un-Iriahraanlike and cowardly manner , take every # pportunity to vilify and misrepresent you , the only man who stood by Ireland when it was

      " Treason to love her , and death to defend . " Accept , therefore , kind Sir , the sincere ( better felt than expressed ) and heartfelt thanks of your affectionate and devoted fellow-countrymen , Peter Welsh , Catholic , W . H . Owens , Protestant , Stephen Clark , jun ., Catholic , Edward Cuddy , Catholic , Dennis Lenand , Catholic , William Cunningham , Catholic , Hugh Ewins , Catholic , Peter Fitzsimmons , Protestant , Thomas Webb , Catholic , Dennis Morgan , Catholic , Thomas Cullen , Catholic , James Farren , Catholic , Nicholas Murphy , Catholic , John M'Hindley , Protestant , Patrick M'Guinness , Catholic , Patrick Beawick , Catholic , James Holeran , Catholic , Peter Dunavaa , Catholic , James M'Cawley , Protestant , Thomas Colbert , Protestant , James Starkie , Owen Fygens , Thomas Clark , Catholic

      Untitled Article

      THE CORN-LAW QUESTION . ( Concluded from our last . J "Do you not perceive , do you not feel in "vraata despicable view you are considered ? Were it in their power , they would hinder you from sharing even tha light of the sun . That you breathe , that you enjoy the faculty of speech , that yea wear the human shape , are aubjects of mortification to them . " —Livr . We want Agrarian Laws , not Corn Laws ; feat how are we get them—how can we obtain any good—bow can we remove any evil until the Peeple * Charter gives us tbe power ? Our Gracchi are imprisoned and would have been murdered if the nobility did not fear tbe people . ' . .. ¦ :

      O , say the owners of the waste lands , they are not worth cultivating—they would not repay the expenoe . Would they not ? Many broken farmers , who are wiaer than to emigrate at your bidding , retire with the remains of their fortune to some freehold moor , where they buy and enclose a few acres . I know one near Pickering , who gave eighteen shillings per acre for about twelve acres ; and by his own labour alone , so improved the soil , that in the course of ten years , he increased its value t « £ 30 per acre , besides maintaining himself the while upon its produce . The method

      is this—you pare the moor and have turf fuel which supplies you with ashes tor manure ; you get stones out of the ground , with which yoa wall rouu-i your enclosed space , and set potatoes , or sow oats ; iu process of time , cowslips will spring where nothiug but black heather was seen before , and you will make a garden in the midst of the desert , where the rose will blossom and the thrush will sing . Nature will supply you with almost all things needful , and you will not be troubled with the tax-gatherer . There ia the best herb-gale or moor-tea . In winter time , we make besema .

      Now , if Government would colonize our Engliflh moors—if it would employ felons to drain bogs in Ireland , instead of sending them off at an expence of £ 60 perhead to Van Diemen's Land—if the unemployed poor were set to work to kid the whins that now grow for fox covers , and to clear away underwood , each mas might earn his own . keep , besides increasing the national resources by improving the capabilities of the soil . Who has not witnessed with pleasure the pride ¦ which a "working man takes in cultivating apartion of ground which he cart call his own ? Though he may have been labouring all day in a stone-quarry , he goes at night cheerfully , as he went at morn , and trims his own allotted land . Pity that industry should be lost or go unrewarded . ~ " A time-there was , ere England's w * e $ began ,

      When every rood of ground maintain'd its man . " But our lords want the land for other purposes ; and so they make Com Laws , Game Laws , and Poor Laws They wish the poor . to cease from off the land ; and , as they increase instead , we must have additional soldiers , additional police , and , of course , additional taxes . Id justice Is not maintained at a little cost . We have discontent at home , and the contempt of foreign nations . Tbe people never complain "without a cause ; tht . y are too alow to complain ; opprassion must madden before it will rouse ; they suffer insult without being provoked by it . The Roman populace could be excited by wrongs , and had spirit to revenge them ; but there is no hope for this nation , * except in the infatuation of its rulers , when drunk with impunity .

      We cannot blame our present Ministers for thinking of mankind , because they know each other , nor for being indifferent to the Bufferings of human ^ -ings , because they know , that though , exempt from yiuiusb .-ment thenselves , they richly merit it ; but we do blame the middle classes for having so little consideration for the interests of truth and humanity as to support such a Government , and we blame the people for their apathy . If others neglect them , there is nil the more reason why they should attend to themselves . The Government that turns men out of work , should find them food . The country in which one willing working man wants food , and clothing , and education , is badly governed . There are millions of such proofs , that our present Government is a bad one , and tlidt our

      social system is even worse than the Government . Our present Ministers seem . to think that the greatness of their ofiiees is an excuse for any littlenesses -which they may commit in them . Their very method of obtaining office , shews them unworthy of retaining it , much more so their conduct in it They came into power uuder the banners , Reform *! ' Retrenchment ! Peace ! Their reform was to make bad worse—their retrenchtutiiit waat to take from the poor and add to the stores of the rich ; and their method of maintaining peace was to provoke war all over theworldiby a most iniquitous breach of the law ef nature and nations . ' They keep office as basely os they obtained it meanly . Borne into power on the backs of the people , they formed a treacherous alliance with the very enemies whom they were sent to conquer . But they could not thus have degenerated into tyrants , had not the people been sunk to slaves . They are

      supported by a &y stem which makes merit a discommendation to its possessor—which gives that encouragement to vice that should be reserved for virtue only—vrhich punishes the victim instead of the criminal , so that conscientious men have declared that were they to sit in a jnry upon the life of a murderer of their . ' own sons , they could not bring him in guilty , because crime is caused by the system , whose supporters should be made amenable for it . Among the foremost of these supporters are the clergy—yes , when we bear of any atrocious crime , we should thank the Bishops . The worst thieves and knaves justify themselves , and juBtly so , by the example of our Ministers , both , of th * law , and of the gospel . There is now no crime iu the people—their crimes are their misfortunes , as their misfortunes are made their crimes— "in a despotic state there is but one criminal—the tyrant "

      The people ought to be proud of their present advocates—men who have sacrificed all and suffered all in their cause—men whose arguments are unanswerablewho have proved themselves morally and intellectually superior to the people ' s enemies— why do not the people render them physically so likewise ? Why do they suffer their power to be used against them ? Dothe people think with their tyrants that each year should increase its tale of misery and sin—of sighs and groona and tears , of heartbreaks , and failing intellects , and suicides ? " Many an old man ' s sigh and many a widow's And many an orphan's water-standing eye , lien for their sons , vfivps 1 ' ot their husband ' s fate . And orphans for taeir parents' tuneless death-Have rued the hour that ever Whigs were born . " Let us not forget , while we at large ei > joy this beautiful May weather , our dearest friends are pining in dungeons for our sakea . '

      What then must the people do ? In vain you complain , in vain you petition , you threaten in vain . The avarice and luxury of the proud curse the humble with hardship and privation . No greater proof" of your poverty of spirit as well as of purse than that you do not rid yourselves of yutw present rulers—of the tyrants that increase your burdens and weaken you at the same time—that load you and gall you at once . Our Neroes enjoy their follies amid the very miseries which their crimes occasion—nay they taunt the people with being tbe authors of their own miseries—the people ¦ whose complaints they punish—whose redress they pervert . There would have been a mutiny on board of the ship Britannia , and the crew would have had the helm before now , if they had been men ! England ! thy rose withers on thornH—Scotland 1 thy thistle is so closely grasped by the hard haud of tyranny that it cannot sting—Ireland ! thy shamrock is a weed . They would have been the moat contemptible of all creatures that have done this , if we had not suffered it to be done . Britain " Hath made a shameful conquest of itself !" We most redeem the land before we can redeem ourselves . This task is set us to accomplish on earth , before we can hope for Heaven . Let us do it or die .

      " In great attempts , 'tis glorious e ' en to fail J " Let us no longer be villains to ourselves—to our own flesh and blood—to our souls and bodies . Let us swear by God himself that while HE continues to shower his fatherly gifts from Heaven upon our own land , that his free bounty shall not be absorbed or engrossed and abused by rioters and-revellers , who keep both our share and their own—let us swear that there shall be no more hunger , nor thirst , nor nakednesss , nor wandering about night and day to die on the stones in the streets—swear it and do what we swear . Do it for the

      love that God bears us , who is true to us and calls on ns to be true to ourselves . Do it that we may live and not die . Be killed or kill rather than forced from the land that is yours . Live in it , Englishmen—die in it , be buried in it . Mix the asnes "with the ashes of your sires . Let us not constrain you in vain . Doit or die . Liberty first—then all the blessings which liberty confers . Death to heJI-born tyrants , and may their curses go home with them to roost . Life and the land for us ! ' / ' ¦¦' John Watkins . London , May 24 th , 1841 .

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      Worthy of Imitation . —We have received for publication a balance sheet of the proceeds of a valuable barometer , given to the National Charter Association by a friend to the working millions in the Metropolis , to be disposed of for the benefit of the Political Victims . It was disposed of by way of raffle , and the total proceeds amounted to £ 1314 s . Sd . —leaving , after expences were deducted , more than £ 12 for the victims ! This is a most praiseworthy instance of patriotic feeling . Twelve hundred tickets for the raffle were printed , and distributed among Chartists of the Metropolis for sale . They produced from the several localities the following amounts : — £ B . d . City of London 2 11 6 City of Westminster ; 2 3 6 Borough of Maryleboue ... 13 6 Kensington and Chelsea ... 115 6 Globe Fields :.. ... ... 0 6 6 Finsbury and St . Luke ' s ... 116 6 St . Pancras 0 3 6 Tower Hamlets v .. 0 14 6 Bloomsbury ... 0 6 0 Walworth .. ; 0 6 0 WahdBWortb QUO Borough of Lambeth 0 13 O Bermondsey ... 13 6 £ 13 14 6

      ^Rtfftnal Csrregponfcence. __ _

      ^ rtfftnal Csrregponfcence . __ _

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      ^ ^ THE NORTHERN STAR . £

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), May 29, 1841, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct857/page/7/