The Sun.
London, England, 1842-10-06 00:00:00

one and all declared, that the golden opportunity now
vi. hin our grasp shall not pass away fruitless ; that
the chance of centuries, afforded to us by a wise and
all-seeing God, shall not be lost; but that we do now
universally resolve never to resume labour until is -
bour's grievances are destroyed, andprotection secured
for ourselves, our suffering wives, and helpless chil-
dren, by the enactment of the People's Charter."
Here was a resolution, as they said, upon oath, that
the whole commerce of the country should be sus-
pended ; that thousands of workpoople should be
thrown into misery, distress, and want, till the laws of
the land should be overturned, and a new law esta-
blished upon the dictation of parties like these. The
placard then continued—.

" Englishmen I The blood of your brothers redden•
the streets of Preston and Blackburn, and the mur-
derers thirst for more."

They could not be-ignorant of what this alluded
.to.
The civil authorities in Preston having been scoffed
at, abused, and resisted, called on the military to act ;
and no doubt the military did their duty under the
direction of the authorities of the town. They dis-
charged their fire-arms, by which one or more lives
were lost ; and the wonder is, that their forbearance
was so great, and that more lives were not lost.
These men were called murderers. The placard
continued—

"Be firm, be courageous, be men. Peace, law,
and order, have prevailed on our side • let them be
revered until your brethren in Scotland, Wales, and
Ireland, are informed of your resolution: and when
a universal holiday prevails, which will be the case
in eight days,. then of what use will be bayonets
against public opinion ? What tyrant can then live
above the terrible tide of thought and energy, which is
now flowing fast, under the guidance of man's intel •
lect, which is now destined by a Creator to elevate his
people above the reach of want, the rancour of des-
potism, and the penalties of bondage ? The trades—
' (by which is meant, the union between parties to
carry out their system for keeping up the rate of
wages)—a noble, patriotic band, have taken the lead
in declaring for the Charter, and drawing their gold
from the keeping of tyrants. Follow their example.
Lend no whip to rulers wherewith to scourge you.
Intelligence has reached us—(so that the.,were not
ignorant of the state of the country)—of the wide-
spreading of the strike; and, within fifty miles of
.
Manchester, every engine is at rest, and all still,
except the miller's useful wheels, and friendly sickle in
he fields."

And how had every engine been brought to rest ?
" Our machinery, is all arranged, and your cause
will, in three days, be impelled onward by all the in-
tellect we can summon to its aid."

Yes "intellect" was the suggestion; the word was
used that it might not be said they were recommend-
ing physical force.
"Therefore, the whilst you are peaceful, be firm ;
whilst you are orderly, make all be so likewise ; and
whilst you look to the law, remember that you had no
voice in making it, and are therefore the slaves to the
will, the law, and the price of your masters."
They were particularly to remember that they had
no voice in making the laws.
" All officers of the Association are called upon to
aid and assist in the peaceful extension of the move.
went, and to forward all moneys for the use of the
delegates who may be expressed over the country.
Strengthen our hands at this crisis.—(Why should
these men call upon the people' to strengthen their
hands ?) Support your leaders. Rally round our
sacred cause, and leave the decision to the God of
justice and of battle."

If there were any word or expression in that docu-
ment to show the ultimate meaning of the parties, he
thought that last word would clench it. This placard
was produced at the meeting ; there was no dissent-
ing voice to it ; the sentiments of this document
were therefore those adopted by all present, and
therefore they were all responsible for that which was
conveyed by it. The address, from which he had
read extracts, was proposed; it appeared that an
amendment was proposed, differing from the resolu-
tioa in phraseology, but to the same purpose, viz.
That the information laid before this Conference
does not warrant the people in mixing up the Chartist
name and movement with the present strike for wages ;
which was originated, as this Conference believes, by
the Anti-Corn-law League."
The Court would find that the meeting approved of
what had been done by the Executive Committee in
preparing this address, and wished it to be carried
forward. After almost every one else had spoken--
(and be believed every one did speak)—it was put to
the vote, and the original motion was carried by a
very large majority. Therefore, whoever originated
this movement, it was palpable to common sense, as
well as law, that those who sanctioned it, being a case
of misdemeanor, were equally guilty with its first
promoters, and became, in fact, the promoters of it.
Its illegality had been discussed the preceding day ;
r-id Mr. O'Connor mentioned as a proof that his .opi-
nion of its illegality was correct, that, as he said he
had just heard, the printer of the placard had been ap-
prehended; and so, in fact, he had been ; therefore
there was proof, from these expressions, that this pla-
card had been the subject of discussion on the pre-
ceding day. It then came forth for the approbation
of the other delegates at this conference, where the
illegality of it was again brought under their notice;
yet after this, the meeting requested that Mr. O'Con-
nor would insert this address in his next paper. Ac-
cordingly, in that next paper they had, in the way of
comment, the very expressions used in the address
presented by Mr. O'Connor, and assented to unanim-
ously by this meeting.
" _Brothers, these are not the times to hesitate.
* We are fortunate in having an accredited exe-
-1 cutive, bearing the confidence of all, at our head.
They, too, have called upon you; you will read their
address ; it breathes a bold and manly spirit. We
1 cannot withhold from them our support. * * From
unanimity alone can success be expected."
Therefore, the acts of the conference and the exe-
-1 cutive, at the very time, were published and approved
by, their authorised organ, the Northern Star ; this
address was published, whichi was prepared and re-
ceived by the whole assembly, which approved of
what the executive had done, and of the " manly
spirit" in which it was drawn; and, consequently,
they were all clearly participants in the guilt of origi-
nating, approving, and publishing that placard.
Without further observations, he proposed to call
the witnesses.

Witnesses were accordingly examined at great
length to convict the parties charged with concoct-
ing and publishing the placard. They consisted
chiefly of police-officers and a reporter of the
Northern Star, a Mr. Griffen, by whose combined
evidence it was traced, to more of the parties impli-
cated. The witnesses were subjected to a cross-
examination by Mr. Cobbett for most of the prisoners,
and by Mr. Bernard M`Cartnev for himself.
At the close of the examination Mr. FOSTER, the
Chairman, said—The general nature of the charge
brought against the parties who are here under a
warrant, has been clearly stated in the opening of the
case by the Learned Counsel for the prosecution.
The case laid against you is this, that, after these dis-
turbances had arisen, you met together, and approved,
in the first place, of the strike, and evinced a
desire that that strike should be continued, and
pledged yourselves further to do the utmost in your
power to promote that object ; and you resolved, that
that cessation from labour shoal cOntinue, in order
that it might' enforce what you call
ithe People's
Charter. Now, that that object was an
llegal object,
and that any agreement to
means of a general cessation from labour, or by
keeping up
the cessation_ from labour which had
previously taken
place—that that was an illegal con-
spiracy there can be no doubt. There are four pri-
soners who are not identified by the witnesses ; and,
as to these four, there is no evidence before us, nor
are they included
in the decision which the Court' is
about to give. With respect to the elder Scholefield,
we find that this meeting was held in his house ; that
he was present during part of the meeting, giving
certain information to that
object
meeting ; and that a pla-
card connected with theof that meeting was
posted on his premises. It is impossible to say
that he is not implicated in the charge. With re-
spect to his son, the evidence against him does not go
directly to show him to be in concert with any
of the parties—the evidence against him is slighter
than perhaps that against any of the others ; but
when one finds him
placard,there at the time posting this
and that
that resolution immediately
after, and on this day
come to, one cannot. do otherwised
than commit himw2s also to take his trial for the alleged
offence. With respect to Hill, the ground taken by
his advocate is, that he opposed the passing of the re-
solution in question, and so he did, but we have the
reason given why he did so ' • but we have also that
which is much more material, that, though the reso-
lution was carried by a large majority, it was also
resolved that the minority should be bound by the
acts of the majority; and, after that, several parties
pledged themselves to go to their respective localities,
and carry out the objects of the meeting. Therefore
William Hill is liable for the acts of that party whom
lie opposed ; and our judgment is, that the parties
have all, with the exception of the four not identified
by the witnesses, done that which makes it our duty
to send them for trial.
The following persons were then committed for
trial, but admitted to bail ;—James Leach, two sureties
in 2001. each, and himself in 400/. ; John Camp-
bell, two sureties in 300/. each, and himself in
ROL ; James Scholefield, two sureties in 400!. each,
and himself in 800/. ; Christopher Doyle, two sureties
in 2001. each, and himself in 400/. • Bernard Wart'
ney, two sureties in 200!. each, and himself in 40c11.;
Richard Ottley, two sureties in 250!. each, and him-
self in 5001.; George Julian Harney, two sureties in
2501. each, and himself in 5001.; John Thornton,
two sureties in 150/. each, andiiimself in 300/. ; John
Masses-, two sureties in 150/. each, and himself in
300!. ; Robert Brook, two sureties in 200/. each, and
himself in 400/. ; William Hill, two sureties in 4001,