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Northern Star (1837-1852), 5th August 1843, Edition 5 of 5, Page 4, "SIGNS OE THE TIMES."

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    • THE NOETHEEiff STAR SATURDAY, AUGUST 6, 1843.
    • 35mjiertsJ ^Parliament.
    • "SIGNS OE THE TIMES."
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      HOUSE OF iOKDS—Tdbsdat , Axjgbst 1 . The Royal Assent was given by commissioB to ifae 'Woollen Manufacturers' Bill , the Loan Societies Act Continuance B 3 L , - the " Bridgea ( Ireland ) Bill and ss-veral prrratejKus . ! Dh £ Commissions for Taking Affidavits in Sootland and Ireland Bill was leads second time , and ordered to bs committed on "Thursday . »^ - » The Dake of Wseokctos presented papersTelating to Scinde by command of her Maje 3 ty . Taeir Lordships then adjourned to Thursday .

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      m - HOUSE &T COMJIOKS— Mosdat JCI . T 31 . Mr . Htths wiftdrew his motion for ordering the AsTOBJtET-GESEBii . io prosecnle Messrs . vfxsD and "Whkissos , the agents of Lord Dckgakkox at the election for . Itarham . Several BHlswerB : read a second fame . On the motion of Mr , Christopher , an order was issued for committing io Kewgate a man named Samuel Potts , for affixing forged names to a petition presented totheHonse . The Order of the Bay for the second reading of the Scotch Church Bill -was then read , and Sir J , Gbabxh went into a long statement of the objects of the Act , -wishing that the general principle of not opposing the second . readings *> f 3331 s that hsre

      passed the other Honse might be observed * a the present occasion . - Mr . Wailace opposed the second reading . He denied OiatthisiBfll had been brought in at the suggestion of the General Assembly of Scotland ; it ¦ was dear that It originated ai fee snggesfion of her Majesty ' s { sOTerament . Ho tooid state many things to show how sincere the secession from the Church of Scotland had been . It had created the greatest degree of admiration thronghont the conn try , and he believed if this Bill passed into a law , great ananbers more would flee ; from the Established Church , and flock to the Ire © Church . He moved that the Bill be read a second time that day six xaonths . Mr . B . Cochraxe Eupporied the BID . Mr . Hctkebeobd ivas sorry a Bill so important

      should haye been bronght forward bo late in the session ; he condemned it as disregarding the Act of Union , as an invasion of the rights of patrons , which ¦ were now to be jpven to a Church—to a priesthood , who were the worst depositories of such a power . lord J . IIcssell pointed oat the confusion that prevailed thronghont the Bill , between the declaratory and enactive clauses , stating that clauses of theformer description wersmost unwisely introduced , and made » -dangerous precedent . Mr . Fox Mahzx said the ministers who had ieft the < 3 rareh had seceded more in sorrow than in anger . " Had tkey , as hjw been alledged ,- been desirous of securing more power in the Church to themselves , they would have had nothing to do bnt to haye accepted Lord ASEEDKEfs Bill of I& 40 . But the present Bill and that AeFwere nol the same . He objected to the present Bill that it threw too

      lunchpower intoihehaads-of the Church . Sir B . Peel closed the debate , in a speech of no great length . He said it appeared to him that many of the obBerrataonBhehad heard during the discussion had 310 direct bearing on the measure discussed The great and main gnesfem was , whether the Bonse wonlfl agree to this measure , or abandon any attempt to legislate on the subject . On the division that took place on the close of Sir K . Peek ' s address , the irambers were- ^ For the Second Beading , S 8 ; Against it 80 ; Majority , 18 . The House then proceeded to some of the other Imsiness on ihe paper . The Earl © f lavcosn postponed till next session ihe Metropolitan Buildings ± 511 . Ihb Theatres Regulation Bill and the Slave Trade Suppression B 21 were read a second time . The ihird reading of the Irish Arms B 3 P was postponed till Thursday ; and the Honse adjournedat two o clock .

      Tuesdxx , Avecst 1 . The Honse ^ had a morning sitting , the chief bnsises 3 of which consisted in discussing the London Gial-whippaHs'BBL At the afternoon sitting , Colonel Rbshbbooxb EiDTed file issue of a sew writ fox the borough of Sndbnry . Mr . BLACKSTOHEmoTed , as an amendment , that leave be given to bring in a bill to make an effeotnal inquiry . into- She bribery and corrupt practices alleged rto exist in ihe borongh of Sudbury . ' Considerable discussion ensned , but ultimately the Boose divided , when ihe amendment was carried by 238 to 25 .

      Mr . Wj . sd brought on his motion : — " That an humble address be : presented to her Majesty , representing to her Majesty , that , in the opinion of ibis Honse , it is not by measures for the "repression of local violenee thai Use disoontents of Ireland e&o be allayed , bat by removing those grievances which have formed for many years the subject of recorded complaint and remonstrance between the two countries . That amongst the most prominent © f these i » the law by which the ' whole eeclesiasii--c * l -property of Ireland is assigned to the clergy of » -cr ^ n section of the population ; and that this Honse , deeply impressed with the belief that such a law is net conformable to reason , or to ihepr&clies of any Christian , pledges itself , after providing for existing proprietary rights , and lor the claims

      of her Majesty ' s Protestant subjects , cordially cooperate with her Majesty in effecting such a settlement of Church property in Ireland , as will remove all just ground of complaint , and give satisfaction to the Irish people . " He supported this motion by an able and elaborate speech , tracing xavch of the existing condition of Ireland to the established Church . Ireland had been only partially conquered when ihe Reformed Church was introduced ; grsEpiiyc- clergymen were sent over- from Engl and , who , as Spenser complained , looked simply to their own temporal interest j and that great instrument of the- -Reformation , prayers in the native tongue , was neglected in Ireland , for to this hoor the English Liturgy had sever been translated

      into Irish . Reviewing the history of the countryihei spoliations , -confiscations , penal enactments of earlier times , and the straggles , ^ efforts , Insnxxeotaons , and concessions of more modern days—he showed that our whale policy in Ireland was as absurd and Tuinons as itwas crneL The tithe system , which seemed as w contrived by the devil himself to frustrate the eifbrts of the Church , and to bring the reformed religion into contempt , was maintained Trith pertinaciouB stnpidity , and enforced with all the rigour of law among a people who did not belong to the establishment s and even when at last the necessity of relieving the people from this burden compelled Parliament to legislate , it was preceded by a fierce party

      struggle"With reference to this ioplc , iie entered into a review of his own labours in this field j the breaking up of Sir Robert Peel's administration in 1835 by the "appropriation clause ; " the ultimate ab&ndonznent-of that principleby the "Whig Governmentand party , ¦ vcMeh h& xegaided as a sreai calamity , inasmuch as it brokefaitn with thepeople of Ireland , and threw doubt on the honour and faith of public men . The main evils which afflicted Ireland were to be traced to the statcte-bcok i probe these evils , and the Church would befoand at the bottom . Who "was the author ofihejereat u moral miracle /* taeUanperaBce moTement . l Jfot the Church ; bnt one of those humble men , on whose head the wisdom of our ancestors would have set a price a eenturv ago .

      Taking the census of the population and -the last report of the Ecdesiasdeal Commission , he stated the episcopal population of Irel&od a . t 752 , 000 -whose religiousingtruction cost fifteen Ehillings per head , while that of the PiesbyteriaiiB was only Is per head , ihongh he had never heard that the one was the-less moral or religions than the other ; while nothing was reserved ibr the instruction of the Roman Catholics or Dissenters . After giving « qme amusing reminiscences of the secelar and political spirit in 'which ecclesiastical preferments \ from humble chaplaincies to bishoprics , were legaidedandjobbedin by-past times , he proceeded to the present condition of the Cimrch In Ireland , adnolting Hoi much improvement had taken place , hot pointing ont those unions

      oT ^ preferments which Still continue the opprobrinm of its . ecclesiasticalgovernment , and rounded off this portion of his speech by giving extracts from fee « orrespondenca-witb . which be had been faToured by one or two Irish elfiigyinen , e-rincinje thai the old feeling still eristea . The Catholics were now eight mifiions ; they wmldDolongerbejreatedasaBeparate community , or regarded as the " -hewers of wood and drawers of water" which Dean Swift described them to bp . Let them break Tip the Irish establishment ; get rid of Its eumbrons machineryfpre to Ihe -ssiple Irish eommuni ^ an equal and &ir share in ihe distribution of the titbejfund ; vest it in the hands orconaaisaoners for this purpose , respecting Tested rights , aBoBine an eonal « nm i «

      proportion to the population , to the three idigionB and , by a bold and fear ] ess policy concfliate a peosle who still smart under » deep sense of immiDafion and long ^ confinned Trrong . Yxzotx and Spain iud tried the exterminating policy , and had lost the choicest of their population . By-obstinately refusing concession , we lost the United States . It was only by yielding to the people of Scotland on the wore of their national religion , that ihe union ¦ r oihihat country was obtained and completed ; and from » 11 these examples he called on the House to be prudent in lime , andsubEtitate a wiBe , a g enerons , and a confiding policy , for the narrow and jealous spirit in which we hare hitherto acted towards Ireland .

      Mr . C&bew seconded the motion Is a neat and Efifietr * e address . " Lori Eiaor characterised Mr . "Ward ' s mofion , when txpennded by his speech , as being at ones bold and definite , which brought them at once to an iEsneon the question of too . maintenance or subversion of the Iktabli&ed Cbarch of Ireland ^ Irithonta pledge for its-security ,, theiJJnipn -would jnot aave bees acccmplisfiid ^ -por . eiaancipation schiCTed ; and ss he saw no diffcfeoce- , l > etW 6 Qtt a Protestant Sovereign and a Protestant ; Ghnrch , Eohe conld not admit ihat the ^ emovil pf lhe ? oi » jw&ont the other Tvould plate the Roxaaii Catboliei ^ on -lha desired

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      footing of egnaEtv with their other fellow gabjects , Tho inviolability " of the IriBh Protestant ; Church was a leading idea in that resolution relating to emancipation traced by thedying hand of Srattan ; and the advocates of that measure , the most opposite in character , Plnnket , Cannine ; , and Castlereagh , all enforced -sbs same opinion . The Protestant people of England and Scotland were not yet prepared for the spoliation of the Irish Establiehmeut ; nor was it yet come to the alternative of that spoliation or civil war . Mr . O'Connell now held opinions on the subject different from what he and other , leaders expressed when emancipation was granted ; and without a distinct compact , not all the influence of the Dake of "Wellington and Sir Robert Feel would have sufficed to carry that measure . ¦ On the eonelasjon of Lord Eliot ' s speech , ! the debate was adjourned .

      The Noetheeiff Star Saturday, August 6, 1843.

      THE NOETHEEiff STAR SATURDAY , AUGUST 6 , 1843 .

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      THE CONFERENCE . The necessity for the assembling of this body is bow universally felt , and all bnt universally acknowledged . On the point of desirability , therefore , nothing more need be said . The "very general expression of opinion , almost thronghont the whole oountry , settles the point that we must have it . Nor is there much disagreement as to time and place . Birmingham is , by a great majority of localities , fixed upon as the most likely place ; and we think an examination of the votes come to and recorded , will shew that a great majority are for deferring its assembly to the first week in September .

      We take it , then , as settled , that a Conference there must be . We take it , too , that it is ; nearly settled where it is to be holden , and the lime it is to meet ; for whatever contrariety of opinion may have existed as to these two hitter points , every one will give in to what is the expressed wish of the majority . It is time , then , now that all preparations were duly made . The delegates are to be appointed . The fknds for their expenses are to be raised . The subjects for their deliberations have to be considered , and general instruction ? given . And a scale of Representation has to be determined on .

      On the latter point , we may say that it will not be needful for the Conference to be a very large body ; not so large as the one that assembled in Birmingham in December last ; nor so costly . We deem the proposal of ottr South T . annashirg jrieadg , for a large district representation worthy of great oonsi sideration . By eantion and prudence in the selection of delegates , this course may be made to answer the intended purpose best . A small nnmber of well-informed business-men-, active , intelligent , and pTudent , » will be far better for all good ends , than a large number of persons selected withont regard to these essential qualifications . A

      small committee always performs more work , and better , than a large one , even when . personal qualifications are equal . In this case it is iusincss alone that is to be attended to . We want men of aptitude , to take up the floating mass of proposals and suggestions for Organization , and oat of the Whole form a riislem . aivz . ed plan : one that shall be perfectly legal ; secure to us the T&vrscnox dv the law ; be , withal , workable , and easy to be naderstood ; having the duties of all , body and head , members and office-bearers , plainly defined . This is what is wanted to be done in the first instance . This Is the main -work .

      Now for this purpose a " smallish" number of wise men , well and judiciously selected , will be fax preferable to a large body heterogeneonsly mixed f together . The question of expense is also deeply involved ; and it fortunately happens that the least expensive mode will answer best for all other purposes . This is not a trial of strength between two opposing parties , where it is needful that ; each should put forth its full measure of power , to sway public opinion on its side . It is a meeting for bufiiness , to give national sanction to the best , most comprehensive , le ^ al , and workable plan of Organization that can be devised . Do not these reasons and : considerations , then , support the proposal of our Lancashire friends for larae district representation I

      At the same time great care will be requisite in the appoiatment of delegates . These should be chosen for their business-talents and prudent devotednesB to the great cause that will be . entrusted to their care . They will not need to be " orators . " Speech-makin / j will not be the aork the delegates will sent be to perform . Ability to speech-make alone , therefore , is no qualification for the ofice . Sound , practical , discriminating common sense is what will be mainly required . ; To these matters , then , we now invite the immediate attention of the Chartist body . Look out your men- Determine on the scale of representation . Prepare your funds . Agree upon , and give your instructions .

      There is another point , to which sufficient attention baa set yet been devoted . It is in our opinion all-important ; and we have waited to see whether it would be taken up by the Chartists generally , without being pressed upon their notice . It ; has arrested a glance here and there ; and a word or two have occasionally passed respecting it . Bui not enough has been either said or done in relation to it . We mean the question of Scotch Usion with the English 1 Is it net desirable to effect suoh an Act of Union between the two bodies of English land ScoWh Chartists , that shall work so well that neither party shall wish for ** Repbax" ! Why should they be disunited 1 Is there any benefit

      to be derived from it ? Is there any benefit in disunion ? If it be needfal for the English Chartists , and for the Scotch Chartists , to have separate general Organizations , because of the advantages sconcing from general action and systematized movement , surely it would be not less &dTsniagecma to bare » real < 3 eueral Union for all , which should fromote feelingB of amity , induce oneness of purpose , and direct energetically the whole force of public opinion uponany one given point ? This is an ** Extension of Commerce ' in good works that even we think would be beneficial i Could sot it be effected 1 Is it not worth the trial ? Should we not endeavour to accomplish it ! We

      think every sincere Chartist will , with alacrity , say " yes" ! Then let ns to the work . s Let as to the endeavour . SCOTCHMEN , what sat tod I Give the proposal due consideration . Weigh well the advantages to be derived to yourselves , to your English brethren , and to the common cause , by such a junction . Reflect well on it and let as have your decision . ENGLISHMEN , what sat tou ! Ib theaotive and prudent co-operation of your untiring unswerving ** brither Scot " worth the Beeking ! Is it not worth courting W 21 it be nothing to unite with a body of people who have stuck true and steadfast , through Hood report and through evil report , and conducted their

      affairs-without one mishap 1 SeetheSeld « exerfion widen before yon , and see the number of well-drilled working labourers ready toj do their part in gathering in the rich and ripening harvest I See too the extended range I of selection for first-office-bearers that opens bnt . Many parties fear the experiment of another Executive . They fear that envy and jealousy may be again at work , and produce more division and disunion than -we even now have , or have had . Would kot this in a great measure be prevented , by bringing in new parties to act 1—parties who have bo partisans —who have not at their backs those who will be dissatisfied if they do sot get in ; and others at . their heels who will he dissatisfied if they do . f

      To the Chartists of both countries we commend these considerations , Weigh them welL They are deserving of jour every attention . Accomplish the work , and yon will find that it will be of the utmost service io the movement , giving it an impetus that will amply satisfy for the pains taken . * Let oner Scotch brethren look to this matter well . If they decide in its favour , no donbttheir English brethren will be happy to meet them at the Conference , to ioEsummate the dearable object . If the place of meeting is inconvenient , the Scotch people

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      have hut to say so ; and we are sore that every effort will bemade to accommodate them , compatible with convenience to all . Having considered the question of the Conference and its labours 1 in a somewhat circumscribed sense , we shall now take a more general view of ihe whole question , and indicate several other matters which will of necessity urge themselves on the attention of the assembled body ; and which it will be well to canvass over some little beforehand .

      The quesiaon of Organization and the leading features connected : with the subject have been long before the country ; and the further steps which it may be necessary to take , after a plan of Organization is agreed upon , will require some time for completion . The Organization is but the means ; the direction of public opinion , the end . Of course the election of an Executive body , and the preliminary steps prior to such election ; rules for the appointment of lecturers ^ with directions for the government of their body ; some improvement in the slovenly method of holding public meetings hitherto practised ; as -well as means to insure perfect harmony in the ranks , wUl no doubt arrest the attention of the delegates .

      The announcement of the League at Bristol that their battle would henceforth consist in bribing electors to support u Free Trade" principles , will naturally present to Ihe Conference the necessity of adopting some mode by which , the non-elective influence-may be brought to bear efficiently against the elective power upon the next dissolution of Parliament . We must be cautious , lest the denial of "Free-Trade" principles by the League , and the convenient adoption of the Chartist pledge upon the hustings , should lead us into a hasty confidence in our greatest oppressors . It is evident that upon the next dissolution the tactics of the League will be to unite with the Complete Suffragists ; and , in the event of the working classes directing their undivided

      attention to the return of twenty out-and-out Chartist candidates , the coalition will be tried to be effected with " Free Traders , " ready to swallow not only the six points , but name and all ! But tho Chartists must bear in mind , that they do not want to make their principles in the House of Commons a mere secondx&y question ! now and then receiving the lakewarm support of Pree Traders . " Their game is to return an active , talking , business-like , COMMONrLACB-MEASTTBE-OBSTRUCHNG STAFF , who Will flit night after night , and day after day , using the House of Commons in the first instance , as a channel through which Chartist principles eau be inculcated throughout the world ; and , secondly , as a rallying point round which the working classes will master with increased zeal and activity .

      All these are questions which must necessarily arrest the attention ; of the delegates ; while it may take some time after the plan of Organization is agreed upon to bring the necessary machinery into working order . The question of " leadership" has been very whimsically treated by politicians of all schools , they agreeing for the most part in denouncing " leadership" j while every party tends to the recognition of the principle . Arejaot delegates , although instructed as to their course , "leaders" pro tempore * and with the consent of the people ! Are not the members of an Executive Committee acknowledged

      "leaders" ! and what is the object of our re-Organization , but that of recommendiDg and practising caution in the election of " leaders" I What would be the position of a Chartist representative in the House of Commons , but that of " leader" ? How have the minorities of factions been so long enabled to hold dominion over the great majority of the people , except by u leadership" ! Therefore , while we shall be ever ready to denounce the despotism of " leadership , " we shall be equally prepared to defend the prinoiple , as tho best , indeed as the only , means of marshalling political parties .

      Let us trust , then , that the several localities will forthwith put their shoulders to the wheel and prepare for the day of redemption I We anticipate much from the bringing together of the leadess of the people . We live in times when all personal considerations must be merged in the general good . In order to make the proceedings of the Conference instrumental in establishingtbe strength of the popular will , we would strongly -urge upon the men of Birmingham the propriety of making arrangements to give OUR GREAT LEADER , Thomas Ddncohbe , Esquire , M . P ., a public entry into

      Birmingham on some ; day during its sittings , and to invite him as a guest to a tea party the same evening . This will have the double effect of doing honour to the champion who has fought our cause alone , while it will prove that we are thankful for good intentions . If " England has her Attwood , " the Chartists have their Duncombe . Both are presenters of Chartist National Petitions ; with just this difference between them : one raised op the ferment , and was frightened at the monster he had created . He slunk from his post , telling us that all that he meant by the People ' s Charter

      and Universal Suffrage was "Little Shillings " and " One Pound Notes . " The other nndertook his task in far more difficult times , and performed it manfully , and has stuck Io us ever since I Never let it be forgotten that it was Attwood that proposed the National Holiday ; that itwas Mcntz and Dou 6 las that commenced the ? "Physical Force" Movement , when they went to Scotland to establish Rifle Clubs , and sell rifles at 12 * 6 d . each ! And never let it be forgotten that when the first approach of ianger was manifest , the whole squad RAN AWAY , Attwoou saying he only wanted the " National Holiday" for the " Little Shilling" I !!

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      done to society at arge by the precarious mode of leasing Church property . We do not mean that bishops demand a higher rent than lay lords , or the contrary ; but we do assert , that the peculiar conditions annexed to those contracts , and the uncertainly ofj tenuro under them , leads to a lax , slovenly , and negligent system of husbandry , by which the ' largest portion of benefit , which , under better circumstances , would be conferred uponsociety , is wholly lost . Did either of the noble Lords take into account tho property belonging to Trinity College , the hot-bed of Protestant prejudice , and

      theqradlefof Orange principles 1 If we were now settling the account in good mercantile style between party and patty , peradyenture we might be seduced by commercial principles to make a sum of rule of thVee of it , and assume tho calculations of the noble lords to be perfectly correct : but when we oome to view the question as a whole , and to consider ; that this kind of " pepper corn" rent paid to the Church , is not only an injustice as a Protestant imposition upon ' a Catholic people , bat that the amount , be it large or be it small , loses its real arithmetical value ; and instead of

      being looked upon as a kind of ohief-rent , amounting to something short of half a million annually , it is viewed as the foundation of every grievance of which not only the Irish Catholics justly complain , but as an intolerable abuse against which tho whole nation has Bet its face . It is the nestegg upon which every other grievance has been laid . It was the Upas-tree planted in Ireland , upon the conquest of the Irish Catholics by their Saxon oppressors , intended as a badge of conquest , and as the standard round which the Orange faction could rally , summoned by the cry of " the

      Church is in danger . " It may now suit the policy of the Church-party , grown weak by abuse , to speak in tones of moderation ; but the outory now raised against the Protestant Church in Ireland is uot confined to mere Catholic dissent . It has been forced into the Protestant camp by the Tithe Composition Bill of Mr . Goulbukn whereby the Protestant grass-land , made tithe-free by a resolution of the protestant Irish Parliament , was brought in to gavel and made to bear its proportion of the Church burden . From 1825 , [ the period at which this Bill took effect , the Royal , Loyal , Protestant Landlords of Ireland have been like the Duke ' s daughter and the Moor's

      wife ; hampered with a divided duty : tho one to the Church as loyal Protestants , the ; other to the pocket as struggling , landlords . Prior to Mr . Goulburn ' s , bill , the Protestant landlords , the Protestant parsons , the Catholic landlords , and the Catholic owners of Church property invariably made common cause in resisting tithe agitation ; that : is , as long as the Catholic pauper with an acre of potatoes supported the Protestant parson , while the Protestant landlord with , his luxuriant grass domain contributed not one farthing towards the salvation of his own soul , the people were transported , butchered , and destroyed by the associated defenders of the rights of the Churoh . As soon however as this first

      i&novation was made , there was a quickness in the landlord ' s feeling , which threw his love of Church in the shade ]; and to this act more than to any other is to be attributed the rapid progress made by tb « Catholic Association demanding what was called Catholic Emancipation . Goulbcjkn was the means of carrying Emancipation some years before it would otherwise have been accomplished , inasmuch as the Protestant landlords recognised an injustice to themselves in his Bill , whereby they were taxed for the support of their own Church ; and from its enactment to 1829 we find the ranks of the Catholic

      Association considerably swelled by Protestant volunteers . Lord Eliot , therefore , has made an erroneous calculation , when he considers Emancipation , carried tin 1829 , to have been a fulfilment of a contract made in 1800 ; and he is equally in error , when he would lead us to a belief that , by implication , the Emancipation Bill was a re-acknowledgment of the ^ ct of Union . Wo , then , look upon the revenue of the Irish Church , not only as being unnecessarily large in amount , but destructively so , as a rallying point for all the evil passions for that dominant faction who look upon it as the trophy of

      their party , ¦ won in a war against the Catholic people . Surely , if any portion of the wild Indians looked upon the possession of the Gates of Somnauth as' of national importance , and if a great English statesman acquiesoed in the national prejudice , something is due to the feelings of the Irish Catholics , who in the pillars of Church and State recognise the triumph of the enemy , as well as a barrier arresting their promotion , and paralyzing their energies . What has caused the necessity for a standing army in Ireland iu times of peace , or of a mere Church war in that country ? What has led to an extensive police establishment f What has been the amount of costs

      in the Ecclesiastical Court , iu the Prerogative Court , in the Chancery Court , and iu the Exchequer Court , expended in defending the Catholic defendants against their clerical antagonists Have the salaries of Commissioners , the ezpenoe of citations to Bishop ' s Courts , the costs of bills filed in Chancery , the legal expenoes of Exchequer suitB , the amount of records between the Shepherds and their flocks arising out of actions tried on cirouit , or at ) Nisi Prius , the enormous fees paid at Quarter Sessions by those who have been processed for tithe and against whom decrees , with all their

      subsequent exponcea in execution , have fallen : we ask , have ; these " sundries , " comprising a total three times as large as that Bet down by Lord Eliot as the little Bin of the Church , been taken into consideration I Has the blood shed at : Rathcormao and elsewhere been set down in the account ? Has the ousting of Catholic tenants by Protestant landlords , lest as electors qualified by their land they should vote for an Anti Church Candidate , been set down in the general account 1 And , if not , are we not justified in charging it under the comprehensive head " sundries" ! The noble pillars of the Church ,

      Lords Brougham and Eliot , were too mercantile in their mode of dealing with the Church property ; and having failed to render a satisfactory account , we , to whom it has been referred as auditors , would make the following corrections , accepting the low total of the one , and the slight inconvenience of the other as our data , and we state the account thus : — The Protestant Church of Ireland in account aith the Catholic People of Ireland .

      Credit , ... £ 432 , 123 Dr . The destruction of industry , the propagation of feuds , the shedding of blood , the expense of collecting ' tribute ... , £ 8 , 000 , 000 Interest upph one half of the National Deb ; t , law expenses , Stipendiary Magistrates . &c , &c ,

      &o ., &c , &oM &o . ... 17 4000 . 000 Frightened out of the country by Protestant ; Parsons and their Orange Staff ..- 5 , 000 , 000 Loss from bad cultivation , and uncertainty of tenure ... ... 20 , 000 , 000 £ 50 , 000 , 000 From which deduct ... ... ... 432 , 123

      And we find the balance due by the Church to the Catholic people amounts annually to .., ... £ 49 , 567 ^ 877 In this calculation we are very much under the mark , not having set down any thing under the usual comprehensive head " sundries "; and shall now conclude with a bit of spiritual / if for tat . We Bhall be glad to know then if the noble lords

      consider the complaint too load for the amount of injury sustained ? and if the whole question is to be merged into one of pounds , shillings , and pence , why are the Irish Orange members , and the English Plpmtres allowed to make such a ferocious noise , about a grant of a fow thousands a year to the College of Maynooth ? I We could say much more upon this unholy subject , butas the putrid monster ia in the deaththroes , wo refr | aia from disturbing that quiet which it has ever denied to its victims . When the monster parishes , the onlyiwonder will be that it was allowed

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      to live so long ; and when it is interred , the proper epitaph upon its dry tomb and unhallowed memory will be : — [ " Here lies the Irish devil ! The list reptile That rnfesied the land . "

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      prices low , and pbices high I ! I Would they hare asked for "free-trade" to make our " FIXED burdens" more burdensome still , through reduced means ; and also asked fox One Pound Notes , to BAisE prices to a " range ADEQUATE to oui FIXED engagements" ! Would working men hare done this ? And yet those who despise them ; those who ape " intelligence "; those vrho assume airs of superiority ; those who affect to prate of "

      ignorance " , and d ^ ny the producer of wealth all part or lot in political power , " because they are not intelligent" ; those who have the vote because low cunning and a disregard of moral obligation has given them , ** wealth '' : these men not only made such an exhibition of their incapacity to understand the commonest principles of political economy , bat they actually proclaimed their wonderful want of knowledge to the whole world , saying to aU , ' * see what asses we are" !

      God helpthee , poor ill-used country , did thy redemption depend upon the " upper and middle classes" ! Fortunatel y , it does not . While these are driven to and fro , beguiled by every WiU-o * -ihe-Wisp that shows itself ; running after every nostrma that is propounded ; attaching themselves to every species of quackery and empiricism , the working people are steadily applying themselves to discover the cause of the evil that afflicts all- and as steady

      looking for the rehedt . Assuredly as they do this , and acquire the knowledge , bo assuredly will they acquire the power to apply that knowledge to practice . England will be saved ; but her salvation will be effectuated by those who have fared the worst , endured the most craal treatment , suffered the greatest indignities , been the most despised by the gaudy painted butterflies that the corrupt maggotty system has so numerously engendered .

      Of the kind that is actively at work amongst the workers , tho following address is evidence . Its operations are not confined to the Trades of Sheffield . These are but acting in common with the rest of their brethren . The tide of thought has set in ! The rippl © of the waves is distinctly seen ; and ere long the dry and parched beach of politics will becovered with the waters of life ; and . beauty and order displace confusion and turmoil . Here is the address of which we have spoken : — " Fellow Workmen , —In a late address we particularly pointed te two of the hydra of evils , which have a strong influence on your trade—namely , the vast increase of machinery , and the trashy articles

      that undermine your credit and character . With respect to the former , we again say , that notwithstanding the injury it has inflicted , it has conferred many benefits on mankind , and might be productive of a many more under a wise and humane system . As to the iajury resulting from it , it would be some consolation if that was confined to our shores ; but ; the vast exportation of it to foreign countries ( and we believe at the present time we are exporting more than ever ) must , ere long , tell with fearful effect upon our commerce , and cannot be passed over without exciting the most painful feelings , asifr must be evident we are doing all in our power to enable foreigners to close their markets against us .

      Nor axe the trashy articles we send them calculated to allay those feelings—as we are quite certain , that the only way to eave us and the town from ruin , must bo by the excellence of our productions . To enumerate all the evils arising from bad and low priced articles , would occupy too much space ; we shall , therefore , notice those which are made of cast metal , and the commonest steel , which is very little better for purposes of utility . The trades that are suffering ihe most from cast metal articles , are the Fork , the Scissor , and the Table-knife branches ; and those that are great- sufferers , in consequence of common steel articles , are the Razor , the Saw , and Penknife branches . There are ft

      many other trades that feel the baneful effects arising from this double cause . Indeed , as far as the town is concerned , it is of such an alarming magni tude as behoves all classes to take the matter into serious consideration . The following facts are strikingly illustrative of the * ¦ . . nation of the employed and the employers in the aforenamed trades . In the Bork Trade , for instance : —such is the overghrtted state of the- market , in consequence of cast metal trash , that the far greater part of the manufacturers of steel forks are reduced to a state of poverty and want , in consequence of the low selling prices . The condition of the poor Grinders is still werse , as it is impossible for them to drag on any other than a

      most miserable existence , working as they do at a trade so destructive to the human constitution , that the late Dr * Young once emphatically declared—* That , under any circumstances , it was a . punishment adequate to the crimes of the blackest dye to make the perpetrators of them work at fork grinding the remainder of their lives / As to the other grinding branches—and in particular the razor grinders—the . poor artizans engaged therein are but very little better in circumstances to the one just named , ia consequence of Buch a system , while the respectable manufacturers see , with the most painful emotions , their trade gradually dwindling away . The shopkeepers experience similar

      effects , by being deprived of a portion of their customers ; but the crowning evil is the loss of our credit and character as a manufacturing town . We talk of an Extension of our Foreign Commerce ! but we ought in the firstj place to redeem our character as manufacturers of genuine articles . At this moment large quantities of cast metal articles are wending their way to the Chinese market . Thus it appears , after butchering a great number of tho inhabitantg , because they would not tamely submit to be poisoned with opium , we are increasing the disgust they have conceived against us as a nation , by sending them the most abominable articles that can be manufactured ; and Sheffield , it appears , ia to stand the foremost in such a base transaction .

      " Another evil , and which has been partly caused by the breaking up of the Cutlers' Corporation , is the great number of little masters , who have done a great deal in producing the present state of things ; —still we cannot attach much blame to them—the fault lies entirely with the system . If nine-tenths of them could only have obtained living wages as journeyman , they would never have commenced manufacturing . Necessity , which is above all laws , has compelled them to it . Dr . Holland observes in one of his excellent works , " that their credit seldom extends beyond the duration of a week . ' And , we believe , in a great majority of cases , not so much . This renders them an easy prey to the factor

      or capitalist , who are always on the alert to profit out of their necessities ; and the dealers in hardware , act upon the same principle . Indeed , it is a well-known fact , that a coalition exists between . thorn . and many of the factors—their object being to force the little masters to ssll their own labour , and that of others , for almost nothing . Can we , then , be surprised at the present state of our workmen , when their labour is thu 9 sacrificed at the shrine of such unfeeling and grovelling selfishness 1 Is it possible that property , in wheels , in shops , or houses , can maintain its value , under a system which forces multitudes to barter their labour for the first necessary of life , and not a sufficiency of it 1

      We again repeat , that we do not blame the little masters for such a Btate of things , as they have the Barae equal right to a livelihood with any member of the community ; and the only way to prevent them from manufacturing , must be by finding them employment whereby they can live respectably as journeymen . This is a matter that particularly interests the workmen and the respectable portion of their employers , if they mean to save themselves from impending ruin . We could point out other evils , but shall refrain from so doing , on the present

      occasion . we therefore close this part of the subject , by giving a quotation from a letter of a gentleman , of unquestionable veracity , who has travelled into many parts of the world . His language is as fallows : — 'A traveller , alive to the honour of bi 3 country , and jealous of any impeachment of its principles , cannot but be sensitive to the reproaches of foreigners complaining of English razors that wUl not shave , or strops that take off the edge ; of scissors that refuse to cut ; of knives that presently break . '

      " Fellow-Workmen—You will perceive from what has been already stated , that your position in respect to your trade , is far from b « ing enviable . It seems as if you was receding fast back to a primitivestate . In fact the degrading system leaves no room for the expansion of the human intellect . To remedy this partly , we again urge upon your serious attention the necessity of diverting a part of your labour to another pursuit ; and there is none more worthy of your notice than that of the lanp . The most strenuous advocates of this measure contend , ' that the principles upou which if , and the preceding sabjects are based , are widely distinct—the one being political economy , the other moral economy . Tie chief consideration of the political economist is

      production , leaving distribatwn to regulate itself . The moral economist would unite both , so as to produce the' greatest happiness to the greatest number . ' The political economist calls for great production for export , and estimates the happiness of tho country by the amount sent apnually away ; uot considering Whether the masses aro benefitted by the return . The moral economist looks to production as only valuable in proportion as it increases the happiuess of the producers . If w admit the moral axiom that 'labour id the scarce of all wealth , ' it ought to follow that tne producers of the same shouJd be proportionately elevated in society in the ratio of their usefulness , and the idlers , or non-producers , the reverse . For under a wise system of distribution few distributors

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      THE SHEFFIELD ARTIZA . NS . Below we present the reader with a most important address which has within the last few days been published by " the Delegate Committee of the Associated Trades of Sheffield , " important not only for the Bound truths jit enunciates , but also on account of the parties from whom it emanates , the leaders of the Sheffield Trades . These men have hitherto had the reputation of being the mere tools

      of the " Freebootery , " and as such have often been daubed with the praises of the pot-organs of Sheffield Whiggery , the Independent and Weekly Chronicle . But a " change { has come o ' er the spirit of thef * dream . " They af pear to have discovered the blessings ( 1 ) of former " Extensions of Commerce , " and are no way desirous of having a renewal of the dose ; consequently no approving paragraphs from the pens of I the Xeadees and the Ward ' s will now , as heratofore , reward

      their toils . And no wonder ; for , from beginning to end , the address ia a complete refutation so far as Sheffield is concerned of all the fanciful theories on which the "Freebooters" found their system of chicanery and humbug . Machinery and the " Devil'sdust" system of exporting tkashv articles , are alleged by the authors of this address to be one of the main causes of the present distress so prevalent ia Sheffield . What will the " Extension" men say to that ? What a picture , \ , oo ^ of the Sheffield profitmongers the addressers jpreseat us with J See "the cast-metal articles sent to China ; " the " razors that

      will not shave ; the strops that take off the edge ; the scissors that refuse to cut ; the knives that presently break" ! Theaej " cast-metal" gentry are the " respectable , " " chapel-going , " "intelligent , " ani therefore the " electoral" class of the community . Will the Independent , th ' at along with the rest of the " Liberal" ours yelped so loudly at the heels of Mr . Ferrand when he made ] his famous " devil ' s-dust " exposures in the House of Commons ; Will this base Whig hack dare to defend the characters of its w _ w ---- — . - - — --- — — _ v- * -v ^ wa ww

      ** pious" and " religious" patrons against the damn * ing charges preferred aguinst them by the addressers ? It dare not attempt the hopeless task < It knows well that the accusers are parties that Cannot be misinformed , for they are the parties who are compelled by the present accursed system to toil at the making of these " cast-metai" deceptions , which are fast rendering the name of Sheffield a bye-word and a mockery from the Thames to the Ganges—from the Rhine to the Mississippi .

      It will be seen that , instead of " Free Trade , " which was wont to b « the cry of the Sheffield trades , " The Land" is the remedy for existing evils argued for by the addressers . This is most heart-cheering ! It tells that the thinkers among the working classes —those who must always influence the mass of their order , are thinking to some purpose . ' —that these thinkers are beginning to ] look for the restoration of their own heritage in the land of their fathers as the means of restoring themselves and their order to a state of well-deserved ] comfort and prosperity . They are right as to the end— The Land . THE LAND , THE LAND is the only effectual remedy for the wrongs of the suffering poor .

      But what are their proposed means for attaining that end ? The union of [ all the trades . Good , as far as it goes . A general union of the trades for purposes of experiment and partial relief will be productive of good ; and God speed them is our cry . But would they really achieve the independence and happiness of their class by again resuming their stand on the soil , something more than a general Trades Union will be necessary . They must struggle for the right of self-legislation I they must ESTABLISH THE PRINCIPLES OF THE PEOPLE ' S ClIARTER ! THE * MUST WlJf THE POLITICAL , TO ARIlIVa AT THE SOCIAL RIGHTS OF MAN .

      For this they are not yet prepared . There is no fear but that they soon will be ! They have hit upon the right cube for ihe evils of ihe present system ; AND THBY MUST OBTAIN lit BY SOME MEANS . If Trades Unions will not answer that purpose , the Charter will ! What a glorious " sign of the times" it is to see the associated Trades turning their attention to these important questions . Alone and of itself this single fact is sufficient to j&usiain hope that we shall come right at last , notwithstanding the gloomy prospect that everywhere presents itself when we look at things as they are , and bring to mind the almost universal confusion and dismay that everywhere abound . It is only to the working class

      that the politician and the social regenerator need look for means wherewith to work out his beneficient purpose . The hind ] , and the " physical" to give actual embodiment to that mind , dwells alone amongst those whose souls have not been deadened by the withering ) curse of Mammon j and whose aspirations ! for liberty are not sent through the till , but are pure emanations from nature's self . Of that mind the address we here

      present is au evidence ; and it is the knowledge that mind must eventually overcome and overthrow brute force , that gives rise to tho hopeful conviction that the present system of inequality and injustice will be superseded by one whicn shall recognize in every man a brother to his i ' eUow-jman , and deal with all as the children of one common father . Yes ! England will be saved ! and saved , too , by her despised , derided , degraded , and spitten-upon working people ! Look at all the Other classes ] What are they doing \ What do they know of the evil that is now reaching them ! They Bee their property molt out of their ! arasp . They see that

      all their efforts to retain it are futile . They see ruin staring them in the face . They one by one drop into the bankrupt list , or the insolvent list . They knew that all about them is consternation and alarm . They know that Ireland is agitated to her centre , [ for Repeal ; they know that" Rebecca" is waging successful war ia Wales , and that her " Daughters '' seem to include almost the entire population of the Principality . They know of the " alarming state of the mining districts , " where those who daily go into the bowels of the earth with their " lives iu their hands" to pro .

      cure the means of enjoyment and comfort for the rest of society , are required ] to do so for EIGHTEEN * PENCE-aday I They know that " Chartism" is but in abeyance ; that it is not * ' pat down ; " that it merely smoulders , liable to be fanned into a terrific fiime with the first wind that blows . They know all this , and see all this ; and yet what know they of the cause ? !! What know they of the remedy 1 The confusion that everywhere abounds in the social world is not more perfect , aaor more general , than the confusion that reigns in their own minds .

      Incapable of thinking clearly , it is impossible that they can apply a remedy . They have the power ! had they the mind , they could easily effect the change so much needed , even by themselves , to save their own property from silent but effectual transfer Lacking kind , however , power is useless—nays worse than useless ; for the ; efforts made by these classes , in ignorance , do but { enhance the suffering to all parties , and augment the general turmoil and discontent , until confusion has become worse confounded I

      If a deputation from the associated Trades of Sheffield , had waited upon jthe Premier , te bandy compliments with him about the " general distress " as the Iron-masters of Staffordshire lately did ; they teliing him of what be but too well knew ; and he telling them that he deplored the fact , and COMMISERATED with the sufferers : would a deputaion of working men , had they gone to Sir Robert Peel , have stultified themselves and proclaimed their astute ignorance , by asking him , at one and Borne time , to cake measures to make

      35mjiertsj ^Parliament.

      35 mjiertsJ ^ Parliament .

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      THE IRISH CHURCH . Br our Parliamentary Reports , it will be seen that this vexatious and irritating question has been brought before the House of Commons in something like an understandable shape , by Mr . Wabd ; and his so doing has thrown the church-saints into great dismay . On this question of Irish Charchiam we have often had our say ; having , from the very first existence of this journal , continually shewn the necessity of banishing the last viper from Ireland . It was to little purpose that the good Saint Patrick ,

      • • Drove tilt toads down in the bogs . And bothered all the varmin , " if the land was to be infested by one poisonous monster , who , like the harpy of old , destroyed all that came within its reach .: The fanciful Church-logic of Lord BaouGBAH adopted by Lord Eliot , might have served for the public ear some half century back , or may , even now , do for the outlines of a Magazine Article ; but thoy are tio spiritually-temporal for the ear of the landlords , and too absurd to receive favour from man . Lord Brougham , who has recently appeared as Jhe ' Tory chronometer—whereby

      the youngsters in the Commons may set their time , endeavoured previously to Mr . Ward ' s motion to open the eyes of the ignorant upou the subject of the Irish Church , by ^ assuring the Lords that it was no grievance at all ; that its existence imposed no tax upon the Catholio people ; and that its destruction would confer no benefit upoa them . The Noble Lord appears to look ; upon the revenues of the Irish Churoh as a kindlof chief-rent , payable by the owners of land , and subject to which , tbe land has been transferred from ! time to time . Lord Eliot , in the Lower House , ; takes the same view of the

      question ; and , in the attempt to confine the subject to a mere question of figures , he assures ub , that the total revenue of ( the Irish Caaroh , is only £ 432 , 123 . We believe the figures of the Noble Lord to consist of the aggregate amount compounded for by Church parsons ^ under the compulsory Tithe Composition Act ; leaving out of view altogether the enormous amount of Church property consisting of glebe lands , bishops' lands , and income derived by ** lay impropriaters , " which would reach , negatively and affirmatively , to more than double the total set down as Church revenue by Lord Eliot . By negatively , we mean especially the great iujnstice

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      4 THE NORTHER !^ S T A R . _ ,

      "Signs Oe The Times."

      "SIGNS OE THE TIMES . "

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Aug. 5, 1843, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct943/page/4/