Current:

Northern Star (1837-1852), 16th December 1843, Edition 5 of 5, Page 4

Page 4
Page 4
4 of 8

On this page

  • Departments (1)
    • THE NOETHEIlff STAR SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16,1843. THE PAST AND PRESENT.
  • Text (7)
  • Transcript

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

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

      Untitled Article

      PROGRESS OF THE MGYEMENT . £ J _ JJIKG OF THB SOCIH XOKDOS CHAltTIST T 3 . XVL The above spadous Hall , caps ' ole of holding one thousand « x hundred persons , w _ i opened on Monday erenicg , the llth inrt ., by tke folding of a grand festival andbaiL The placards coirvening ike " gathering" announced that Alderman Humpfcery , Esq ., 1 LP ., would take the chair . Befor / j the commencement , he sent a -written apology by ' oil deck , Jttating that he should not be able to-atte 7 , d until half-past seven , aa 2 _ was detained at the OL 7 . Bailey Session—At seven o ' clock , M _ O'Connor entered the Hall , sod proceeded to the platform , amid the acclamations ¦ of the assembled _ ulti > . nde , who rose to receive him . Immediately after te& , Mr . Edwards , of the Louden Boad , -was called to the c _ & , and gave , 'without comment , the first i-s&st , as follows : —

      ¦ ** The people , tie legitimate sotrtce o £ _ 1 power ; " sncl called on Mr . B . fj'Brien to respond . He said the toast he proposed ifaonld at all times command respect 3 n consequence of the vast of " Bovereignity" the people perish in the midst of plenty . In other assemblies the "Sovereign Queen ' would have been given first ; but _ e trusted they " would always hare the good sense to jespect tbemsfclTes and toast the " source "' He need ztoi ten tbem , t _ rt from the Tract of the popular soTereignity , every m&n -was in debt 1 » fore he "was fcorn ; and although natives of-a beautiful soil , not a sod of it "was theirs . It was so every ¦ where . In Pads the want of it canted 60 , 000 soldiers to be kept to keep the people -quiet . If the people possessed power it -trosld sot be so . When hostile armies

      threatened to arerawe Prance , the people tad power and had food -, -when they lost power they had so bread to eat ; they were starring . In England a woman had threehalfpence for making a shirt That did not look _ cuch like sovereignty . " He hoped they would soon leeolve tote " sovereign . '' There was but one way to accomplish it : at the next general election . The sovereignty of the people meant oca Toice for one _ & _ &nd _ o mere . Ibe msjoritr aboald make no laws but such ai would be binding on them as well as the minority . Act justly wi ttr _ 1 men . Snow no man when be comes before yon ; hear all alike ; and then the sentiment he had the honour to propose , '' the sovereignty of the people , * -would become a reality . The toast -was then siren ~ with the nxual b , ono __

      Tbe CHArRMAS then gave the second toast , * a follows : — "The People ' s Charter ; mayit speedily become the law of the land . " He called on Mr . O'Connor to respond . Mr . O'COXXOK rose amid enthusiastic plaudits . He « sid it Was the custom that a religious house ahoold be consecrated bj a —_ bop ; and liefer did Bishop feel _» e * e pleasure In coneecratjng a chorea to Gad , than he did in consecrating that Hall to the service of the people . It was < raite right , on such an occasion , that men of - various political opinions should be invited ; and it was no fault of theirs that they were absent . When they looked around , and feusd their principles snore popular than others , they bad & tight to say—** We are the majority . " Wales had a turnpike gate ,

      and Ireland an agricultural . Committee of Inquiry , issued by Government . In England ha thought they should have a commission of lunacy on the Government . At the commencement of the revolution in Fiance , the objection was not against the rule of the King ; it-was against the Ministry and their corruption * . So in Snglaad . The Minister £ ad divided and subdivided the plunder , -wrong from the sweat and blood ef industry , among his followers . It was against osnnptions of this sort they contended . Mr . O'Connor then took a rapid survey of the emigration and ether remedies proposed by Whigs and Tories ; "but , " said Hz . O'Connor , " give us the Charter ! That Is the great Precursor ! Prom it temperance , morality , honesty , peace , aid prosperity would flow - — { great cheering ) .

      He attached great importance to the coming elections Prom the exhibitions of power they had seen , mud might be done . _ friend asked him , as he -was about to enter that Hall , what was going to be done with Ireland . He could sot answer that question ; but he COUld give an Opinion . Well , then , these was sow perhaps , what there never - were before , a great majority in England in favour * of the rights of Ireland ; and lie thought such an expreseicm of public opinion irresistible —( lend cheers ) , — and , therefore , muchjmlght be expected . Chartism was practical Republicanism—( loud cheers ) . He hoped at the next election to show that they were n » t Tory-CbtrtiMtM ; bat tbataaSjey iad thrown out the Whigs , they would be able to easfconfc the Tones—( load cheers ) . How was it that the Members of Parliament , and the

      other promised visitors were not there ? Because they found this would be a purely Chartist meeting—( hear , hear ); and it did not suit their purpose that the opinions spoken at such meetings should go abroad . The press joined with such men and kept silent . They had much to contend against , and still -would tare . For himself he mneh liked opposition to himself- He trotted that while they gave a fair hearing to every man , they would stick to their principles , same , and all—{ enthusiasticcheering ); and if they did so , depend emit "the Charter was theirs when they liked to letch it . " He felt - very great pleasure in being present at the opening of that hall ; and if at any time their necessities placed it in any danger , and his purse was sot long enough , his awe » t , -which bad often been found an { ffident substitute , should be at their

      ser-Tioe —( loudand long continued cheering . ) . The sen-: lament was given with three times three . The ChxtrmaS tt jpti gave— "Civil and religions TJberty throughout the world , " which Mr . J . H . Parry responded to : he could bnt re-echo the sentiments of the last speaker , as regards the absence of those invited . If present , theyTrduld hare found . no sentiment of revolutios ; nothing grating ; to their etxsi nothing that any Tnim eould fairly object to ; neth&ijlmt what sras most praiseworthy—ihear , hear )—notkingl but ¦ what even A ^»—» -n Humphrey might be proud of—{ loud cheen ) . They would have learned _ R _ h , and we should have ffuji toe honour of t * »« ' > 'T 5 them . Why then were they absent ? The Charter , as the last speaker said , _ ad a tendency to JermbHeanism ; but there was

      nothing reTolusionary in it . "AH sodety from tnne Immemorial tended to the same great « nd ; They did not ask for anything they were not prepared to give to another—( cheen ) . The Whigs * nd Tories had pri-Tikges ; do they not prise them ? Themoneyocxacy _ &a prmlegeB ; So they not prfis them r But toe momeat tbe -working classes sought similar privileges , ¦ what iras the answer ? Why , " go to your plough ; ^ o » ot meddle with politics . " Then why , he asked , did they middle with polities ? Simply that they might tarn them to their own . pecuniary advantage . He hoped the time was come wfeea "tree opinion " should — . <~ n " tree opinionr *» it was gross oppression to prevent any man from expressing his opinion . He hoped that the freedom given by God would not be

      attempted to he put down by any man ; but that they would go hand in hand , * nd thus be enabled to fight their oppressors foot to foot Religious liberty had its meaning too . Had not the Jpresent establishment been met with persecution in its infancy ? There were also martyrs at the present time , whose martyrdom was earned by that very establishment—( hear , bear ) . There were some there , bo doutt , who thought they had nothing to do with religion at xueh mettfags . B . e tb « ught religious freedom had to do -with an great meetings—( cbeen ) . An infidel was purely a geographical character . A believer here was an infidel in Turkey ; and vice versa . In Ireland political pinion was attempted to be coerced . Why ? Because Englishmen had not the courage to say , " I

      Will not commit murder for one Bhfning a day . " As soon as they poaseesed thii courage , « o soon must coercion cease—( load cheers ) . Ireland demanded her rights , and we ought to say , " Irishmen , you have acted nobly ; " and shake them by the hand , swearing by the God that made us we would stand by them to the last —( great cheering ) . This hall would be of great use in the day of danger ; whether caused by Whigs or Tories . Tbnsit must serve the great cause of " Civil and Religions liberty ** —( cheers ) . He would sot give one fig for . the Charter if they were to stand still afterwards—( beVr , hear > "Onthen , on for ever ; " and when we have won the Charter , there are other fields to be von . He trusted Englishmen would always be foremost in the battle far Civil and Seligious Liberty . The sentiment was given with all the usual honours .

      Mi . O'Connor bere took hiileavB amid thunders of applause . The Chaibxaji then gave "A speady release to Froet , Williams , Jenes , and Ellis , and all political and religious victims , and called oa Mr . Buffy Ridley to respond . _ Mr . RtTFTT Bxdxet said he would But oeenpy one moment in requesting their condolence for those who were drawing out a miserable existence in a foreign land . When they lsoked at that nobl&Moartyr Prart ;

      when they heard he was " never" to return to his native land , was there one who would not sympathise with him ? wasttere one in that haO , who would rest aatisfied antil that •¦ never Jl" was retracted by the xetanj of Frost ana his compatriots to the land of their Brtfc ? ( Cheers . ) . The sound of those cheers he trusted ltould be carried across the waters , and afford some Btfle consolation tothose soble martyrs-who had sacri-I ^ hS ! r ?*^ 1 ^ 6 ^ ^ endeavouring *> Sain their ^^^^ d cheera , The aenttment was drank is

      The CHAIBKAa then gave— " Success to this ana aU ^ S * ^^! f ^* tlank " to those who have -aided ns by tbeir donations . "" Ht- ^ Matiuxd reqwnded . H 8 would not detain them long , but eould set let this opportunity tabs ^ rithost aanking those who had assisted them to tt ^ « arfribntiffl » and otherwise : and thonghhe eould not give the reason why some of those who had engagad to fee pre « 6 iit vere absent , he hoped at some future tone they would explain the reasons lea ihat ab ^ ace . He hoped the non-attendance of the ILP . - b would sot deter them from their onward course ; but that they would rely on their own exertions ; and then they safest net only * nt »>» this * r » -W but build twenty more . AMprm « i Humphrey ^ clerk had hinted that he ( Aldernan H . ) had been deceived , and thought the Hall was coly for "educationa l purposes . " That vu sot correct The Alderman knew very well it was forSemoeratic purposes —( cheers ) .

      A vote of thanks to tte Chairman was carried , and ? ha hall fiftfflTT > c TVCf M ^ under Mz . Snightos as master © f tha eeremoaie ? . The conceit was given in an adjoining locg room . The entertainments were kepi up with J ? irit aod goed hnmosr to a Me hoar .

      Untitled Article

      CORRUPTION v . REFORM . 1 j we compare the prodigious improvements that have taken place within the last half century in the arts , the scienoes , and all the means by which the alow process of manual labour has been compelled to yield to the present subject of an almost magical production , with the cautious , slow and niggardly improvement , —if indeed any has taken place , —in the legislation , by which alone all those vast changes , jompB , and improvements should have been made nationally , instead of Bectionallj beneficial- we shall

      &t once arme at the real cause , not only of the prevailing distress , but of the universally felt and the generally and fearlessly declared contempt for existing inskitrtions . The Reform Bill promised to be , and ought to have been , the medium through which all those great changes should have been made national benefits . The Reformers complained that the whole government of the country being confined to a few lordly and aristocratic patrons , rendered it impossible for the friends of the people to make head against their array in the House of

      Commons . They asked the people to join in a revolution agAJriKt the system of patronage government ! in order that the institutions of the country , being placed under vigilant popular coatroul , might thereby he made the means of conferring upon all a fair and equitable share of those improvements to a participation , in which all were admitted to be entitled . Patronage then was the monster evil complained of ; and to destroy the monster was the object to which the moral and physical energy of the working classes was directed . That they did destroy one description of patronage , —that which placed a large portion of representation in the hands of the f ew , —

      we admit ; while we shall sow canvass the value ef the change to the nation at large . In the olden times , if a borongh had Hb patron , with him rested the sole power consequent upon the monopoly : and thus we may estimate the number of individual patrons at from three to four hundred : while the effect of the Reform Bill , by whioh the power of patronage was to be destroyed , has been to create legions of cormptionists from the ashes of each individual patron that has been destroyed . Hence we find expenses and local taxes , local abases , local bludgeons , local justices , local town councils , and local borough Parliamentary influences , as the result of the single destruction of the old Tory Corporate Monopoly .

      These normal institutions were the means by which the Whigs hoped to work the small wheels of Government ; the power by which the greater ones were to be kept in motion . As with boronghs , so it was with counties . There , too , the patronage of an individual being destroyed , the triumphant party were compelled to have recourse to a division of corruption as a means of preserving their influence against their beaten bat etill influential opponents . A similar system of multiplying patronage and cermption , so that a political ascendancy might be secured , was the canst , of the French Revolution . When tha French showed the first symptoms of revolt , no European Prince stood higher in popular esteem than the reigning monarch ; bat so artfully

      had the aristocracy of that day secured to themselves a monopoly of the government of the country , that France presented the anomaly of a popular , or rather inoffensive king , and a people infuriated and driven to revolution against the institutions of the country . Such is precisely the situation of the Queen of England , amid the generally prevailing contempt for all existing institutions . She travels through the country enthusiastically welcomed by all who are allowed to see her : while evea a majoritjof the favoured spectators openly express their contempt for her Ministers and the institutions of the country . Thus the anomaly that presented itself at the close of the eighteenth century in France is now quickly manifesting itself in England ,-that of a popular monarch and unpopular institutions .

      In like manner , if - » e tarn to Ireland we find that the Reform Bill , which was hailed in that country as the means of destroying patronage , has led to sach an extension of local corruption that the Irish people are bow as anch arrayed against the

      Untitled Article

      power assumed by thoBe new patrons , rendered necessary for the insurance of "Whig ascendancy , as they were against old abuses , which although poshed more prominently forward , yet by no means COn * stituled an equal ground of complaint . We do not strain the point when we assert that this system of tranpfer from individuals to Clubs , has had the effect of giving us more than one hundred greedy patrons for every gorged one against whose power the Reformers waged their war . Add to this multiplication of tyranny the fact that the old 'Squire or tho old Peer was not omnipresent : and if he had

      the inclination , had not the power of working very general-evil ; while , having no interest in the depression of wages as a Magistrate and a Legislator , although politically arrayed against the politioal rights of the people , he at least administered justice between'the employer and the employed . He was satisfied with such honours and distinctions as the Sovereign , through his ministers , wag Willing tO confer upon him for the political support given to his party . A garter or a ribbon , although expensive

      baubles to himself , and although insigniis of his own weakness and folly , cost the working classes nothing . He contended for a biahoprick , for a ship , for a regiment , or for a commissioner-Bhip for . his family : bat as long as we are blessed with bishops , regiments , ships , and commissions , the appointment was comparatively unimportant to the working classes . He shared the amount of patronage , whioh under the established system 0-eorruption , was necessary to preserve ministeria harmony and party ascendancy : and he shared no

      more . In truth , it was enough ; but we are showing that it was patronage that was to be destroyed by Reform : and that the patronage substituted for the same purposes is of a more extensive , expensive , and destructive character . The Clubs of patrons are omnipresent . They hare a direct and a continuous interest , not only in resisting the people ' s demands for political rights , bat in the destruction of their every social enjoyment .

      True , their ambition does not as yet lead them to aspire to a cross , a garter , or a ribbon ; but it does lead them to hopes and aspirations , the realization of which are much more expensive to those over -whom they exercise their newly acquired power . As employers they establish the rate of wages ; as magistrates they punish for resistance to their own decrees ; as corporations they have increased the taxes upon the people , in many instances three-fold , and without conferring a particle of benefit upon the

      unprotected portion of the tax-payers . They do not contend against any Bingle practical abuse which the Reform Bill promised to destroy , but which has been { allowed to continue ; while they would still inflame the national mind for the purpose of conferring upon themselves increased powers , although We have shewn that their substitution for the olden enemy has been the means of multiplying , instead o £ destroying , corruption , distress and grievance .

      The general effect of ths Reform BUI has been to create two active enemies against the working olasses - , while each party now possesses a certain description of power , equally Hostile to the rights of tho people . The Tories have the distribution of all that remains after paying the expences of the country ; whilst the Clubs , however constituted , whether of Whigs or Tories , have the power to raise , in their corporate capacity , a larger amount of money than the whole revenue enforced by the Government amounts to . Not only do they thus more extravagantly tax the people , but they

      furthermore use the funds so acquired for the purpose of increasing their own power , and of destroying that of the people . Moreover , the most deadly resalt of this transfer of power , has been to bring every act of tho unrepresented working classes more immediately under the watchful eye and powerful arm of the olass immediately above them , and who have the greatest interest in oppressing them . This extension of corruption and these increased powers vested in the bands of the newly created Clubs , has had the further tendency of bo balancing the two contending factions , that henceforth their title to

      power must rather depend upon their means and capability of extending patronage , than their desire or ability to reform the institutions of the country . Under these circumstances it is to tho vigilance , the onion , and the united action of those who have suffered from the extension of corruption , as a means of carrying on political warfare , that we must look for the destruction of that power by whioh this double evil has been achieved . And much as the two satisfied parties may deride the attempts of the now wholly shorn and unenfranchised people ; and however new and

      stronger causes may have arisen to induce a union of Whig and ToryagainBt the rights of labour ; we tell them that so general , so odious , and so extensive has their corruption become , that like a foul disease it must ultimately destroy them , although there was no visible opposition from the Chartist body . That opposition , however , from the causes we have Btated , is daily and hourly gaining strength , not more from the sternness of our party , than from the dissatisfaction beginning to manifest itself , not only against the acts of the political Minister , but also against the cruelty , the tyranny , and oppression of our local and irresponsible rulers .

      These facts clearly prove that any change produced by the middle classes will be merely with a view to extend patronage to their own ranks ; and that the people have nothing to hope from—nothing to expect benefit from—nothing to rely upon protection from , but their own Charter , which will destroy expensive and unnecessary patronage , by throwing the Government of the country into the hands that pay for its support .

      Untitled Article

      THE COLLIERS . A MOST FOUL AND DAMNABLE CASE . We refer our readers to a copious report given in another place of proceedings whioh took place before the Durham Magistrates , in connexion with tha present differences between the Coal King Tyrants and their worse than BlaveB . Before we eater into any consideration of the merits of this case , we shall offer a brief observation or two upon the imperious , the insolent , and authoritative manner in which the worthy chairman of the Bench dealt with the proposed question- of

      compromise . : As a matter of course the tyrants being the complainants , any compromise that took place could not have saved them from Magisterial punishment or the law ' s vengeance ; as being subject to neither , they did not stand in diead of either . No m&tter how the stinging truths forced from a reluctant accuser may have placed the prosecutors in the wrong ; no matter though the bond be illegal , and enforces penalties from which a court of law would release the bondffmen ; no matter though the conditions , one-Bided

      as they are , have been violated by the wealthy contractors ; no matter though the implied contract and the legal contract has been violated ; no matter though it has been admitted by the chief oath-man of the Coal Kings , that it was bat just poss&le foragoed workman to earn an existence , if the conditions of the bond were enforced ; no matter although those who have tried it , swear that it is not possible to earn an existence ; no matter although thousands of honest hard-workine Englishmen are prepared to

      swsar that they prefer the prison , with all its horrible diseases , to the boad with its still more horrible inflictions : no matter all this : neither one , nor all , of these considerations weighed with the village Dosbhrbizs , who tendered aid to the tyrant masters to enforce a reluctant compromise from the men , under threat of victimising them to that state of M turbulence " which exists only in their own brains , and whioh can be brought about only by the denial of justice . After Hearing the ease , the Chairman spoke thus : —

      " After some further discussion , in which some warmth waB shown , and angry expressions exchanged between the Bench and Mr . Roberts , and propositions of adjournment and of

      Untitled Article

      agreement between the masters and men were made , tbe case was ultimately adjourned till Friday , at ten o ' clock , in order togive time for the parties tocome to some arrangements or to proceed with the case j the Chairman at the same time * lfeelaring f that in a case like this , where large bodies of men were banded together in defiance of the law and of the peace of the district , and after what had come out in the case , the Magistrates would still not hold themselves bound by any compromise which the parties might come to . " " Open defiance of the law" indeed ! " danger to the public peace "; and all " proved by

      what had transpired during the hearing of the case" ! Yes , yes ; we admit that facts strongly urging to such anticipations and convictions did transpire : but then the masters are the law breakers , and from their tyranny only can any breach of the peace arise . What ! " danger to the peace" from men , who declare that they are ready to go to prison ! The "illegality" of men who ask for compliance with the pro visions of an Act of Parliameat ! The " turbulence" of a body , the members of

      which , —as a man Bkilled in oppression say 8 , —* may possibly earn a livelihood ! and yet the viewer who swears it arrives unmolested , swears without dread , and retires without molestation ! Pooh 2 pooh ! The whole thing is nonsense ; foolish nonsense ; ignorant nonsense ; insolent nonsense ; nonsense , however , whioh is pre-eminently calculated to bring about those sconces of disorder and turbulence whioh the men dressed in a little brief authority thus hope to Isheck by taking time by the forelock and the law by surprize .

      We will now examine the case a little more in detail , commencing with the justices . Prior to entering upon the hearing of the casej " Mr . Roberts applied to the Bench for summonses against a viewer to answer why he had not paid Luke Shaw and another , 26 s . a fortnight , to which they were entitled under the bond , because they had refused to work upon a rope which they considered to be unsafe . " To this application , made in the very nick of time ; made at the very proper time ; nay , made ak the , only time when it Bhould hare been made , the dispensers of justice say " that they have met for an

      especial purpose and cannot therefore comply with the application . " Thus the case opens with evil forebodings for the men ; while we think we do not ask oar readers to strain their powers of credulity by joining with us in believing that if a similar appeal had been made upon behalf of the masters , the speoial proceedings which they had met to enter ugon , would have been delayed for that then more important purpose . However , tinder Buoh auspices the proceedings commence . Mr . Mabbhali . opens the case , and calls one Heccles , a viewer , to substantiate his several allegations ; and it is therefore with this man ' s evidence that we have most to do—that the magistrates ought to have most to do , and upon whioh public opinion

      will bo unhesitatingly and unanimously expressed . Should any charge of intemperance , turbulence , or violence be made against the colliers arising out of the present disagreement with their masters , let the evidence , the direct testimony , of Heccles be read . Not the damning barefaced crimes , the commission of whioh was dragged from him by tbe able and searching cross-examination of Mr . Robebts ; but let his own testimony , pourtrayiug the constant practice of tyranny pursued by the masters and their subordinates ; let that be read , and every unbiassed man who reads it will arrive at the same conclusion as Mr . Roberts , that the masters should have ; been in the dock and tho men in the witness box .

      Let us select , though it is a disgusting duty , some of the scabs from this rotten evidence . w / do not knot * that any man has been fined £ 1 2 s- 6 d . for two days ; but I don't doubt it . I believe men have keen fined 8 $ ., 7 s ., 6 s ., 5 s ., 4 s ., and 3 s . for a day . That declaration has not been made yet , though it is intended to be" What doe 3 the reader think of that open , that barefaced , and unblushing confession ! in an English Court of Justice , and in the Cathedral City of Durham , too ! Why , if justice had not find the laud , and if the Conservators of the public peace had done their duty ,

      and if the witness bad received his due , the justices would have ordered him to be " tied to the cart tail and whipped round the Market-place . What ! earn three shillings a-day , and oat of that pay lie ., & ; ., 7 s ., 63 ., 53 ., 43 ., or 3 s ., for fines ! Strange arithmetical process . O , for such a Chancellor to manage our Exchequer ! The witness goeB on to let out more of the pit secrets . The men are accused of a specific crime ; the whole transactions coanected with whioh , should any be of a mitigating ,

      exculpatory , or even useable character oannot , however , be divulged until after judgment and execution : for the oath-man swears : " We make the deductions only when the wages become due , when the fines are increased . I think some of the men have beenfined , but I cannot speak positively . I think they have been fined , for being absent on the day laid in the warrant . We have not fined them for that absence . They were brought up on the 24 lA oj November , and they were not fined for that day . THE

      PAYMENTS FOR THAT DAY ARE NOT DUE TILL TO-MORROW . " Now the inference , the only inference , that can be drawn from this portion of the evidence is this : that if the case had been adjudicated upon at the then sitting of the magistrates , a judgment of the Court would not have been final ; for the oase would still have been pending , as far as the equity of it was concerned ; inasmuch , as the men could not know their fate until the following day ; and could noi , therefore , urge the further fines and stoppage of wages , for acts previously committed , either in extenuation or in vindication .

      We trust that should the Irish Attobney-Gene-» al requires precedents to prove the practice of English Courts of Law , that he will refer the Irish Queen ' s Justices , to the case of the Durham Coal King Justices ; and they will be found strictly analogous . The copy of the caption may be had by Mr . O'Connell and the other Irish traversers when they have been committed to gaol ; or perhaps , as " with death envy ceases , " the mild and religious Irish Axtobnbt-Gemerai . may order a list of bis murderers to be interred with the lamented Mr .

      TrRRELL . So precisely with the Colliers . They might have been consigned to gaol on Thursday ; and on Friday , fines of whioh they could not complain might have been levied upon them , and abstracted from their little earnings , while they were ekeing out their time in a dungeon . Here follows another portion of the evidence of the oath-man 1— "If the bond be put into full operation it is Possmi . B . / br average men to make a living out of it , provided the men do their duty . " This is DOt the evidence as reported by oca " took" It is taken from the report of the masters' " tool" and

      therefore cannot be supposed to be coloured against them . No matter by whom it has been written , it has been sworn , and that too by a viewer . Let it be read by every honest Colliery-man in England . Let each say to himself— " What , then , does our very existence depend upon a mere possibility * And are we for ever to strain our eyes— -to work our every limb—to distort our body—breathe a loathsome air—liable to casualties against which we cannot defend ourselves—entombed in the bowels of tho earth—our Bufferings shut out from human eye , while the produce of our labour ministers to the comfort of all ; and yet to be told that , by a bond

      bearing the mark , but not the signature , of men to whom it may have been fallaciously read , that oar very existence depends upon a bare possibility , and thai possibility a remote one , depending upon the softening of adamantine hearts ! " For ourselves , we say—Perisb . the bond ! perish the obligation t tear the inhuman , the tyrannical , the life-destroying document in little atoms ! give it to the " wild winds of heaven" ! and should one perceptible fragment of th . 9 unholy hellish contract meet the earth , let it be trampled upon and buried , iuthe hope that with it all recollection of such slavery may perish , and for ever ! If a testator annexes harsh or even uncomfortable con ations to al « bequest , a c * t of . equity will re-

      Untitled Article

      lease the legatee from the performance of those conditions ; and with these bonds , thua stamped as Jew bonds demanding the " pound of flesh , " let Mr . RoBBBxsJi tho able adviser of the CoHierB , go forthwith into the Court of Queen ' s Beach ; and upon the evidence jof Heccles , and upon the face of tbe blood-stained instrument , let the World , through the press , know j the hardships which those who warm ua are subjected to . This will be the way to have a hearing out of the Durham court . This will be the mode of giving it publicity , which will be all that it requires to give it its death blow . In order , however , to 1 show that the oath-man id only the excoutioner of tho tyrant ' s will , we submit the following passage from his testimony : —

      M Mr . Thomas Wood is my employer , and he sanctions these proceedings . " [ MR . WOOD WAS PRESENT , and ; admitted that the whole OF THE OWNERS SANCTIONED THE

      PROCEEDINGS . " ] Upon this j portion of the testimony , we will not , because we dare not , offer a single comment , farther than if Mr . Wood had his due , be would be placed in the stock ? , and pelted with rotten eggs , for daring to make such an admission in an English Court of Justice . No wonder that a gentleman of pride and feeling should have replied with warmth , as Mr . Robebts did ! And no wonder that the whole crew—bench and all , should have mutinied against this honest man ' s honest denunciation of 6 uch heartless and cold-blooded villany .

      As of course the whole case will be read , and read with peculiar interest , we dismiss the evidence of the principal oath-man with a laugh at that part of his testimony in which ho swears that the alteration in the beam was made " to get a greater quantity of coal for the money paid , ' * We can't say that the oatbman did not believe this ; for that would be to charge him with perjury ; but we may say that so far from believing one word of it , wo would lay a

      round wager that Mr . Wood has put thousands upon thousands of money into bis pocket , by uDjust weights and measures . How laughable fa suppose for one moment that a Coal King would pay for more coals than were produced ! If , however , the same beam which was imperfect , weighed the coals for the men , and the coals for tho purchasers , we trust that every purchaser will use the oath-man ' s evidence in an action against Wood and Co ., for deficient weights and measures !

      We shall give a few extracts now from the case for the defendants gathered from the able , and eloquent address of their advocate , Mr . Roberts . Before opening the legal portion of his case , he makes the following observation , which teaches us the mode uniformly practiced by the justices in such cases He says : "But in every case in which he had appeared , except in one case at Gateshead , the prisoners had been committed to gaol . Was it always to be imprisonment , imprisonment , ' imprisonment , as if the men were all criminals , and the masters all angels t The complaint in this case was

      against the masters , and in favour of the men . He said that in this case the masters had proved themselves criminal in the eyes of the law , and in fact ; and that if justice was done to them , they would | find themselves within the walls of that prison to which they were so eager to send their fellow-men . " That's the way—that ' s the only way to speak to the olood-blooded ruffians . That ' s the great value of Mr . Robebts to the Colliers' Movement . The Masters' cannot buy him off ; they cannot eat him off ; drink him off ; or frighten him ! off : while , from bis very nature , he

      himself cannot separate the feelings of the man from the duties of j the advocate . Let it be observed , that this picture is drawn by the professional man who has attended all the oases , and drawn for those who had been parties in all the cases , and it stands uneontradicted . j But to come to his legal defence for his clients . ; He states three grounds : "That the agreement was unstamped and incorrect ; that the men could not under the bond gain a livelihood ; and that the wages were not paid to the men as

      guaranteed by the bond at ih * time when they were called on to answer . " \ Those are the three points upon whioh Mr . Roberib relies : the first and third being legal points ; and j the second a condition from which a Court of Equity would relieve the contracting parties . We would also direct Mr . Roberts ' b attention to the fact , that only one of tbe partners appears to have signed the . bond on behalf of the masters ; and , furthermore , that it merely bears the marks , and not the names of the men .

      As Mr . Roberts' speech will amply pay for perusal , we now 1 leave the case as far as the law is concerned , and iturn to the consideration of the duties which the circumstances impose upon the Colliers . They have placed Mr . Roberts in a situation of great responsibility and not a little danger ; and it becomes our , duty to speak of him as we gather his character from the press , added to oar owu knowledge of him . I While then we should feel as he fools , and fearlessly give expression to those feelings , it should be understood that when he speaks of the men preferring a strike to the longer endurance of those tyrants to which they are subjected , " that those to whom his words expressed under such circumstances are carried , are not therefore to imply

      that Mr . Roberts either directly or indirectly , has recommended jor given his sanction to a strike . On the contrary ,: he is speaking hypothetically ; and uses the expression merely as a caution to the magistrates , and as an hereafter justification for his clients , if they Bhould be driven to the alternative In this view and no other are his just censures and manly denunciations to be taken ; while upon the other hand the eagerness of the masters to push matters to an | issue , Bhould operate as a caution to the men , and ; tell them that a strike now , would be a master ' s strike to serve the master ' s purposes : a strike , which as announced in the letter of Dixon , and previous notices in the Star , has been concocted by the masters themselves .

      The existing union of the Colliers , if judicially managed , may be made the most powerful auxiliary ever yet developed in thia country on behalf of labour ; while , if frustrated by the machinations of open 1 foe or secret friend , it maybe made labour ' s grave . Independently , therefore , of our strong sympathy for the Colliers themselves , we attach a general importance to their proceedings .

      Theirs is work which cannot be efficiently performed by "knobsticks . " The pickaxe trembles in the band of tbe nerveless operative . The atmosphere is certain death to those who have , been accustomed to the feverish heat of a rattle-box . " Let the Colliers , therefore , tmke care that the " Supply bears some proportion to the Demand" and , in the spirit of w Free Trade' * and Politioal Economy , tET THEM KOI SO DRC « THB MAHKET WITH THEIR

      F&ODPCB A 3 jTO ENSURE A DIMIKOTIOM IN THEIR wages . Witbl a good head , such aa they have , to direct their united body , they have nothing to fear ; and therefore , that all may move in unison and harmonyj | let the body consult the head . If it is possible , thje power of wealth will be arrayed against the power of labour ; while the experiments now being partially made , are merely for the purpose of testing the spirit , the ability , and union of the Colliers . | We truat , therefore , that the support of those who have been driven by the masters into a strike will become the duty of those whose very existence depends upon the sucoesa or failure of those who have been driven from labour . The

      winter lias hitherto been mild ; but a fall of snow , or ! a long frost would open the eyes of the j tyrants to the value of their slaves . So successful has the Colliers uniqn hitherto been , } that the Tailors , inspired by a like energy , are about adopting similar means for the protection of their body . These signs are evident symptoms of the Resuscitation o » Trades Unions , in a more extensive form , and under more practical management than they have hitherto been conducted ; and therefore the Unionists must anticipate a corresponding increase of vigour on the pari 0 ! their opponents . " To be forewarned is to be forearmed . " We jiave means of learning the arrange-

      Untitled Article

      ments and machu ation 3 ] of the masters whioh tha men have not ; and those we have never kepfc secret from them . We truBt that the forthcoming Colliers delegate meeting in Manchester , will be well attended ; and that tbe proceedings concerning which we now write , together with all others that may occur in the meantime , will be taken into the serious consideration of the assembled delegates ; and that none will be appointed to that high and important office except those in whose judgment and honour the whole body , to whom they are known , have entire

      confidence . Again we say , be cautious ; be prudent ; be forbearing even in the midst of oppression which it may be virtue to bear as a means of final correction . The fault of the working olasses ever has been that they have confided the management of their affairs to mere red-tape-and-parchment aUornies , whom tbe masters found no difficulty in seducing from the interest of their clients . In the integrity , the honour , and the manliness of Mr . Eobert 3 however rests their security and their reliance ; while without becoming obedience to his instructions even his services would be fruitless and impossible .

      Untitled Article

      THE BELFIELD FACTORY MONSTERS . In the Second Edition of our last week ' s paper we gave the particulars of the crowning act of Factory-Lord-tyranny that had ever come under onr observation ; an act , which for malignity and pure dirilism was never yet surpassed . When concluding our remarks we expressed a hope that some kind friend or other in Rochdale would furnish us with the afcer-procoedings . Thai wish has been well gratified . A gentleman connected with Middleton ; one conversant with the whota facts of the case , has kindly communicated with us , and enabled us to lay before the public the additional facts that time has brought to light . We must premise that our informant is nmi a "Chartist . " We believe thai ha does not

      countenance the principles advocated by the Northern Sim . But he knows and feels that gross injustice has been meeted out to an honest and deserving man ; and he has seen that we have appealed to the public against the tyranny practiced upon the MONSTER'S victim ; and ho has with alacrity and kindness furnished us with the additional particulars . We beg of him to accept our best thanks . The following paragraph , " set up" for another part of the paper , is from his pen . We give it here , that the reader may have it more prominently before him ; and judge of the importance we attach to the

      case : — BOCHDALB . —The Hard Case Again . —In our last , we gave an account of an hard case which bad occurred in the neighbourhood of Rochdale , and which was copied from the Manchester Guardian of December 6 th . A . correspondent who has been present every time it has been brought before the Rochdale Bench , and who is also well acquainted with the whole of the case has furnished us with the following additional particulars , via .: —At the Rochdale Petty Sessions , on Monday last , the 11 th inst ., before Messrs . Clements , Royds , Wm . Chadwick , and the Rev . Mr . Cotton , magistrates , and a crowded eourt , Mr . Chadwick , one of the

      magistrates , asked Mr . hunt , Bolicitor , how he had gone oa with the Haslingden magistrates respecting the bard case of Joseph Taylor , weaver , Middleton . Mr . Hunt said he went to Haslingden and Rossendale , on Tuesday last , to Mr . Booth , the inspector appointed under the Worsted Act , who , he found , was the acting constable in the execution of the warrant against Taylor . From him he demanded ( as Taylor ' s solicitor , ) a copy of the warrant , and was refused ; and , from his refusal and after conduct , he found he was a partizan to the complaining party , Messrs . Beneoke and Co ., of Belfield , one nule from Rochdale . He was then necessitated to apply to the Governor of the Gaol

      of Salford , for a copy of the conviction , from which he found the sole charge against Taylor , is not as stated in our last , for . embezzling the work he had in the loom , which bad been stated by John Hudson , alias Hargreaves , putter-out for the above firm , on the Monday previous ; but it was , worse than that ; it was for not bringing in his work , after notice so to do , and which he had been prevented from doing , because the piuter-out had refuged either to allow ot sell him anyvjeft ; and it was Stated by two witnesses that he had declared he would punish him if he purchased from any other person . Mr . Hunt replied that he should meet in Rochdale that day with Mr . Turner , one of the committing magistrates . Mr .

      Hunt did meet with Mr , Turner on Monday afternoon ; and our correspondent waited on Mr . Hunt , and he told him he had explained to Mr . Turner all the facts of the case , dwelling upon the refusal of tbe masters ' putter-out to supply the poor man with more worsted or weft , though he had offered to pat for it , and consequently it was impossible for him to take in the work which the masters were preventing him from completing , and yet they had sent him to prison . Mr , Hunt replied that Mr . Turner appeared to lake the matter into his serious consideration , and promised to confer with the Rev . William Gray , his brother magistrate , on the day following . We understand that if the

      Haslingden Beach refuse to liberate him , the respectable inhabitants of both Rochdale and Middleton will lay the whole of the proceedings before the Secretary of State . Black as it appeared in our paper on Saturday , it was much underrated . Taylor iB a Bilk-weaver and a florist , or small gardener ; and he has maintained bis seven children , and an aged mother , by his weaving and selling plants , Jfcc , without ever troubling the parish for relief . On Friday laet it was found by some neighbours that his aged mother and children were without food s however , poor as the neighbours are , they got them assistance , and applied to the overseer , who instantly gave them relief ; the Rev . R . Durnford has also

      been kind to the children . It is well known that silk-weaving is the principal trade at Middleton , and at this time the weavers have not half employment , and hundreds are destitute . Had it hot been for Taylor ' s industry , in his buying and selling plants occasionally , no doubt but he would have been obliged , long ago , to have had parish relief . Persons who know him declare that he was always a very quiet , harmless , sober , honest , and industrious man . The two cuts were arbitrated on , and the Rochdale Bench ordered payment- a few weeks ago , which

      was 7 s . 6 d ., he having travelled backwards and forwards—that is , from Middleton to Belfield , the residence of his employers , upwards of 140 miles , before he was able to get his wages . There is no doubt but the putter-out , or his masters , or some person , has taken advantage ( if so it may be called ) , in consequence of the Rochdale Bench ordering payment of tho wages . Many persons hava promised to subscribe , in order to bring the guilty party to justice ; and Mr . Hunt says he shall bring the inspector of worsted to justice for his conduct towards him .

      One thing strikes us as rather queer about this business . The Manchester Guardian , from whose pages we extracted the original " case ? had , on Wednesday , no further " particulars" respecting it . He has not given the proceedings before the Rochdale magistrates on Monday last . Those proceedings were somewhat important . The " case" has made some noise In Rochdale . He did report it at first ; how came he to omit the " further particulars , " » very interesting to the publio ! Has he " put hb foot in it , " by * reporting the M case" at all ! Was he in the wrong box , xxrosixc , instead of defending , the gross oppressions of the Factory Kings ! Is thia the cause of his silence 1 Has the hint been given him . or his keen-scented nose apprised him , that ho waa not backing-up his friends" ? Whatever may

      have been the cause , certain it is that he ts now silent , as far as the wrongfully-oppressed weaver is concerned . But if he is silent with respect to the man , not so with respect to tbe masters . Though he e » a burke the proceedings before the Rochdale Bench on Monday last , he can give the MONSTERS K explanation" in the following terms : —

      To the Editor of the Manchester Guardian . Sib , —In reply to an article inserted in your 1 » Wednesday ' s Guardian , and headed " Hard Case , " *» beg to state , that Joseph Taylor having neglected to bring In his work , oar putter-out , without any directions from ua , placed the ease in the hand * of the Inspector appointed by the worsted committee , who , afitf bavingr given Taylor the notice required by law , app * bended him and took him before the magistra te * « Haslingden ; fcut we were not aware eitner otW

      warrant being oat against him , or of hk being taken ta Haslingden , until the day following the commitment . We aho beg to state , that our putter-ont positiwlj MnueB us that he never did refuse to sell Taylor weft in order to enable him to cemplete hta pieces , and » Which ke would nathave been short , had he not spo ^ two former pieces . On the other hand , "we are informer and believe he waa urged by the inspector to fetch tOB weft and complete his work , and that the inspector * *? informed him that if be would go for the wett he ««"" obtain it

      We have enly to add , that on Taylor's being re ! w * 4 from conanement , wo shall be glad to have the & * fully investigated . We ate , Sir , your obedient servant s , Pet pto Win- Benecke and Co . F . T . Philiffs . Belfield Hall , near Rochdale , 12 th & «* > l ^ iS-

      Untitled Article

      THB ADDRESS OF THE SOOTH LANCASHIRE DELEGATES TO THE CHABTISTS OF THAT DISTRICT . Brother Democrats , —Ifc is with mingled feelings of plEasnre and regret that we once -more address you . We feel pleasure at the proud position « e oeenpy u an association of men combined together for the high and holy purpose of combating tyranny in all its varied forms , and thereby showing to the world that we are actuated by a pure spirit ef philanthropy and patriotism ; proving , incontestably , that ire have no other olgect in view but tbe emancipation of ourselves and fellow-countrymen from tbe thraldom under which ire and they have so long suffered . But we regret the apathy manifested by the various localities In sot sending delegates to the County Council , whose' deliberatiena have hitherto given a tone to the Chartist movement throughout the empire .

      Brethren , it la not unknown to you that this district b&s been long looked to by the Chartists of England as the best organized and efficient in the movement Bat Lancashire—the renowned Emporium of Democracy—has x > t late been apathetic in the cause . We ask bow this is ? There most be some cause . Formerly the excuse was that we were without a governing bead or Executive Council ; such Is not the case now ; therefore , there must be some other reason for apathy and neglect We implore yon to shake eff this disgraceful inactivity , and arouse yonrselves to & sense of your duty;—that by your united exeztionfi South Lancashire may again assume its proper standing in the great movement for a nation ' s freedom .

      Brethren , the task of addressing you on this important subject has so often fallen to out lot , that anything we can advance , by way of appealing to your love of country , "would be little more than useless repetition . Our business trite you now is to point out the necessity of having your Delegates present at the County Conference , in order to adopt some measure to secure that object which has cost ns so &rach labour , money , and Buffering to carry to its present state , and endeavour to make our association what it ought to be—& truly national one . Brethren , " Coming events cast their shadows before ; " and if ever there waa a time that required the lovers of freedom to be on the alert—this is the Mine .

      When we look around and take cognizuce of what is passing in the political world , we behold a blood-thirsty and liberty-destroying Government endeavouring to take away the dearest rights of tbe British subject—tbe right to petition , by putting a step to the expression of publio opinion in onr sister country . Is this a time tot us t » be asleep ? Know -we not that if they raoeeed in putting a Stop tO the Repeal Agitation In Ireland , that it will be our turn next ? It therefore behoves us to be prepared for the worst , and be in a position to render assistance to our Irish brethren in this their time of need ; also to look to our owa interests .

      Brethren , in conclusion , it is our particular desire ttat each lecaiity will choose a delegate to attend tie South Lancashire Conference , to be bolden in Bolton on Sunday , the 31 « t of December , at ten o clock in tbe forenoon ; when we trust this call will be responded to in a manner worthy of the men of Lancashire , and that each locality will not fail to Instruct their representatives as to what course they would deem it advisable to pursue , in order to carry out the views of tbe Executive Ceuncil as regards tbe sending oat of mission-¦ ar ies to agitate tbe country .

      The cause is worthy of your every energy . The stake we play for is the emancipation of our beloved country from the galling fetters of a merciless oligarchy—tbe cold-blooded aud grasping svsrice of ; the Smokeocracy ; and the blighting influence of a plethoric and intolerant priesthood . And as it is the intention of the Executive to divide South Lancashire into two districts—viz , the Manchester and Liverpool districts , it is indispensably necessary that this Conference be attended by at least one delegate from each locality , in order that tbe districts m ^ y be foimed in the most compact manner , and also tbe machinery prepared for the working of them with harmony and benefit to the cause of justice against injustice , and of Tight against might . Trusting that thi * call will be responded to in a manner worthy of so good a cause ,

      We are , Brethren , in bonds , Yours , In tbe cause of national redemption , C Fitzjmtrick , J . Ashton , T . Bntterworth , D . Donovan , "W . x > arvise , G . Marsden , J . Grime , J . Nuttall , 6 . Johnson , J . Simpson , S . Taylor . a Tatlob , President William Djxoh , Secretary

      The Noetheilff Star Saturday, December 16,1843. The Past And Present.

      THE NOETHEIlff STAR SATURDAY , DECEMBER 16 , 1843 . THE PAST AND PRESENT .

      Untitled Article

      A THE NORTHERN STAR .

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Dec. 16, 1843, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct959/page/4/