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the public taxes, they certainly | thus advised, instead of being adhave brought the evil upon them-vised to subscribe a pitiful sum, selves by advising the King to not amounting to, perhaps, one subscribe, and by setting subscrip- hundredth part of what will be tions on foot themselves. This expended during the present year was a tacit declaration that the on parks and palaces; if His Madistressed manufacturers ought jesty had been thus advised, both not, or could not, rely upon the the rich and the poor would have poor-rates! This was a very dan- been looking to the law of the gerous notion to inculcate. This land; would have felt steady connotion, so hostile to the settled law fidence in that law, and not have of the land, was one of extreme been hunting after subscriptions danger to the State itself; for, and government grants. while it induced landlords to endeavour to slip out of the maintenance of the poor, it unsettled the minds of the poor themselves, and made them banker after a something wholly unknown to the law, while it took from them that confidence in the law which never ought to have been out of their minds. In times like these, the greatest possible care ought to be taken to avoid every thing like innovation; and I am very certain, that if the Government, or, rather, the Ministers, instead of advising the King to subscribe to the relief of the distressed manufacturers, had advised His Majesty to issue a proclamation, strictly enjoining all Overseers and Magistrates to be particularly attentive to the discharge of that part of their duty which relates to the relief of the poor; if His Majesty had been

To conclude, it is worse than the most miserable nonsense; it amounts to a proof of drivelling, and even of idiotcy, to believe, and it is a proof of downright roguery to affect to believe, that when money is sent from London, to the Parson and principal proprietors of any parish, to be distributed amongst the distressed poor, it is perfectly monstrous to affect to believe, that such money will not go to supply the place of poor-rates. In the first place, the overseers of every parish are bound to provide for the poor. If they neglect their duty, there is the Magistrate. If both openly neglect their duty-if both dare to set the law at defiance, are not these pretty people to send subscription money to? And, if they are already providing for the poor before the subscription arrives, is

it not almost beastly to pretend to Lancashire to bear it in mind), believe, that they will not deduct there is law to compel even Mafrom the parish allowance, which gistrates to do their duty; or, to they already make, an amount punish them for their neglect of equal to the subscription which such duty.

they have to distribute? Away, then, with all the nonsense about subscriptions and grants! The law has provided an ample source of relief; and to that source, all persons in distress ought to apply. -It is possible, indeed, that the Magistrate will be so daring, and so inhuman, as to refuse to do his duty; but, while this is, I hope, next to impossible, there is justice for the Magistrate, if he refuse to do his duty; but of this matter I shall say more, in my second Number of the Poor Man's Friend, which I intend to make a complete treatise, on the subject of the rights of the poor.

WM. COBBETT.

P.S. From something I have heard, since. I began to write this, I think that the subscription which would be most likely to cause the poor to be properly relieved, would be a subscription to raise a few pounds, in order to send some intelligent person into the Northern Counties, just to see a little what the Overseers and Magistrates do, when they are applied to for relief; for (and I wish every man in

TO MR. LAWLESS.

Kensington, 10th August, 1826.

DEAR SIR,

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the article inserted in your paper,
As to my late complaint about
which article was dated at PRES-
TON, and pointed out, in your
paper, as
very curious," I had
complete right to express my
anger in the strongest manner;
and, in a much stronger manner
than I did. What was it to me,
that the article was taken from a
London paper, if that really were
the case? That circumstance was
not mentioned in your paper, which
gave the article as coming from
Preston direct. But, no matter;
it was given as authentic; nothing
was said to call its correctness in
question; no observation to induce
your readers to suppose, that you
had any doubt of the truth of its
facts, or of the soundness of its
opinions, and the justice of its sen-
timents. To judge of the conduct
of another, in a case like this, one
must be in the place of that other;
or, at least, must bring ourselves
as near as possible into that place
by our imagination. Imagine your-
self, then, at the end of a contest
like that which I carried on at
Preston; imagine yourself read-
ing in the Register an artful tissue

of villanous discolourings and are, and with all your usual force misrepresentations of your con- and ability, congratulating the duct, your deportment, and your country, on the failure of the facharacter, and also of the feelings mous project for disfranchising which existed towards you, and the forty-shilling freeholders. I further, of the prospects of your will, before I go any further, inutility in future; imagine yourself sert from your last paper some rereading this tissue in the Regis- marks of yours, made in the way ter; knowing not only how false of preface to a speech which Mr. the whole thing was, but knowing, LAMBTON delivered at the late at the same time, that it was the election for Northumberland. Your work of a rascally Reporter, al- remarks were these:-"The folways half drunk, or studying how "lowing speech, delivered by Mr. he could extort money; at once a "Lambton during the late strugrogue and fool; a scoundrel of "gles in Northumberland, dispretended feeling, and capable," plays the same generous, manly in all human probability, of shed-" feeling for Ireland, and for civil ding innocent blood; just as false" and religious freedom, which disas blarneying; as base, as mer-"tinguished that gentleman during cenary and malignant a wretch as "the Parliamentary discussions in ever belonged to those corrupt ad- 1825. Mr. Lambton was one of venturers, which the devil seems those leading men who resisted, to draw across St. George's Chan-" with honest indignation, the efnel for the purpose of dishonour-"fort then made to deprive the ing unfortunate Ireland; imagine" poor people of Ireland of their yourself to happen to know the best defence. We shall never monster and his motives; imagine" forget the severity with which yourself, with all this knowledge," he felt compelled to turn upon to be reading his article in the Re-" one of his most valued friends, gister, and to find in it an observa-"Sir Francis Burdett, on account tion, that "LAWLESS, for the" of that Hon. Baronet's advocacy FIRST TIME IN HIS LIFE," of the Forty-shilling Freeholder SEEMED HONEST AND" Abolition Bill. Whenever the SINCERE!" Imagine yourself" attempt shall be made to disarm reading an account like this in the "the Irish nation of this tremenRegister; imagine me letting the" dous weapon of defence. as well Register go forth and reach you, "as offence, there is little doubt without sending you a letter pro- "Sir Francis Burdett and Mr. testing my innocence of the inser-" Lambton will be found contendtion. Imagine all this; and when" ing in the same ranks for the you have so done, your surprise" best and most valuable priviwill, I think, be, that I expressed leges Ireland possesses.' myself in so moderate a manner.

Having pen in hand, I cannot bring myself to refrain from saying a few words to you upon your extraordinary perseverance in applauding Sir FRANCIS BURDETT; while, at the very same time, you

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"Your reasons, Jack, your reasons," as the Prince says to Falstaff. Your reasons, my friend, for believing that, if another attempt be made upon the fortyshilling franchises, the Baronet will be found contending in the

made to deprive the poor people. of Ireland of their best defence"; and, if BURDETT was the man, who, above all others, made this

same rank with Mr. LAMBTON, in man to resist "the effort then favour of those franchises? You appear to me to be getting into a hobble here; for, if the Baronet do join Mr. LAMBTON, he will be guilty of manifest "inconsist-most wicked effort; if this be so, ency"; to which, by the by, you and even the hired Rump cannot seem to be urging him; and you deny it, what is to justify you in ought to know that the Baronet calling this an “honourable man,” piques himself upon his "con- and an "excellent person"? sistency". He told his toad-eaters What is to justify you in telling once, at a Crown and Anchor us that this man will, in future, be dinner, that, whatever else people the defender of the rights of these might say of him, no one could poor people of Ireland? His say that he was not a "CON-twenty thousand acres do not alter SISTENT Politician"; where- his character or his conduct. upon his toad-eaters proclaimed Upon what ground, then, I should him to be," Westminster's Pride and England's Glory." He was then for universal suffrage; last year he was for cutting off the forty-shilling freeholders, and you, who call him a "valued friend" of Mr. LAMBTON, who, at the risk of being suspected of irony, call him an "Honourable Baronet"; you, who, upon another occasion call him an "excellent person"; you have now no doubt that he will in future be a gallant and mortal enemy of all attempts at disfranchising forty-shilling freeholders!

be glad to know, is it, that you hold him forth as a man for the people to rely upon? He has never done any thing for the people; he never will do any thing for the people; not a man in England is there more afraid of seeing Reform in Parliament than he; he is as fast a friend of the paper-money system as there is to be found in the whole kingdom; he knows well that that which would destroy that corrupting system, would instantly shove him from his sinecure seat; in all England there is not a man that has a more deadly antipathy than he has to all men of spirit and of talent; and, Mr. LAWLESS, call him excellent as long as you please, he is just as musty and despicable an Äristocrat as any in this kingdom. And, even to this hour, while he affects to talk about

Why, Sir, if one can believe this, one may believe any thing There is neither rhyme nor reason for what you say in favour of this inconstant, this fickle, this capricious, this shilly shally, this wholly inefficient and useless man. What! you ascribe generous and manly feeling to Mr. LAMB-liberality, he is as proud of his TON; you call that "honest in- antiquity as any Welch or Scotch dignation" in him which made beggar, or as any of the old him resist the disfranchising pro- French Noblesse, that used to be ject. The indignation was honest, seen with their coarse shirt stickI dare say; or, at least, it might ing out at elbows, and with a sixbe so. But, if that were "honest penny small-sword hanging by indignation", which induced a their side. This hero of yours is

holders!

by no means deficient in point of present, or possible, that would, judgment, when his own interest in my opinion, be equal to the is at stake; and he knows, as well disgrace, the indescribable disas he knows any thing, that his grace of submitting willingly to Aristocratship will live just as the guidance of impostors such as long as the paper-money, and no those to whom I have been alludlonger; that is to say, his Borough ing. The fact is, that the excelMongership; and that the moment lent conduct of the Forty-shilling the paper-money goes, that mo- Freeholders of Ireland; the exment go Old Sarum and the cellent conduct of the Catholic Rump. In the meanwhile, he Priests; the noble example which would, if he could, and as he told has been set upon this occasion; you and the rest of the Deputation these have been, in some meahe would, take away the right of sure, tarnished by being made a voting from all the poor people ground for the new, the half-cunin England as well as Ireland.ning and half-mad tricks of these He told you, and the rest of the impostors, who could not let the Deputation, that he would do this thing alone, who must needs mix if he could; and yet you tell us; themselves up along with it; and you, who heard him say these thus blast, if possible, the reputawords, tell us to expect him to be, tion of those who deserve the in future, an undaunted Cham- praise of all the world. The plain pion of the forty-shilling Free- truth of the matter is this: these impostors first came to England, and endeavoured to take the right of voting from the Forty-shilling Freeholders, by asserting, even on their oaths, that they were the most corrupt and base wretches on the face of the earth. The Fortyshilling Freeholders, by their recent conduct, have given the lie to their shameless calumniators. These latter, therefore, now turn round, and, with a quack-like scheme, are endeavouring to put themselves at the head of these same Forty-shilling Freeholders. Having, in short, endeavoured in vain to destroy them by their calumnies, they are now endeavouring to destroy them by their praises, hoping, and not without reason, that the latter will be more efficacious than the former: all very natural; and the only wonder is, that they should have the support of Mr. LAWLESS, who went from England, carrying with

In conclusion, Sir, I must confess my surprise at hearing these things from you, and at seeing you now engaged in supporting the new and ridiculous imposture, called the "Order of Liberators;" and seeing you condescend to be the agent of a man, who is a child compared to you, in point of talent, and whose inconsistency and want of principle, you have so ably exposed. If the people love to be imposed upon by such impostors, let them take the imposition and its consequences; but let not those who despise the imposture and the impostors, condescend to assist and uphold them. Of one thing, I beg you to be assured; and that is, that these impostors, these BUTTON-men, these ORDER-men, will never succeed in getting anybody in England. Great calamities are, I fear, in store for this country; but I know of no calamity, past,

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