The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1843-12-26 00:00:00

MR. OASTLER AND HIS PERSECUTORS.

We are continually told by the whig.radical press that
:re are elevating Mr. Oastler into the ra.)k of a martyr,
when in reality he is only a prisoner for debt. To enable
,nr readers fully to understand the peculiar position of
41r. Oastler, and his strong claims upon Conservative
sympathy, we shall submit to their perusal a brief sketch
if the man and his career.

The father of Mr. Oastler was for many years—nearly
twenty, we believe—steward of the Yorkshire estate (at
Fixby, near titulderstield) of Thomas Thornhill, Esq..
a gentleman po4se.ssed as well of considerable landed pro-
perty in the south of England. Upon his death, the
charge was voluntarily conferred by Mr. Thornhill upon
his son, the present Richard Oasticr, who at once entered
upon its duties, and, as more convenient, by the permis-
sion of its owner, who.never vi-ited his estate there, took
up his residence in Fixby Hall. The estate in question
was one which required his almost indefatigable atten-
tion, containing, as it did, no less than NINE HUNDRED
AND NINETY-NINE TENANTS, such as are to be found
upon property in the manufacturing districts. For this
attention, the salary offered was only £3OO a year ; and
out of this Mr. Oastler dispensed the hospitality of the
hall to parties who called upon him on business, and, in
short, represented his landlord, Mr. Thornhill. That
zentleman knew it—permitted it—and did not contribute
towards it a farthing, in the course of the various settle-
ments of accounts which they had from year to year,
from 1821 up to 1837. He expended money upon repairs
of the ball, in which he liv

and in various other ways
expended his own money—and he had several legacies left
him during this period, besides his earnings from valua-
tions, &c.—to benefit the estate, to relieve the poor, and
to carry out his resolve that " the name of Thornhill
should re

'gain sc

5 own

district, and that Fixby Hall should be once more re-
cognized us the mansion of ' a fine old English gentle-
man.' "

By this course, which was certainly not that of a selfish
man of the worl.l, a debt was in time contracted. That
debt, and the way in which the money was spent, were
k-pt no secret from Mr. Thornhill. It was spent in
performing the duties of the non-resident landlord; and
in the full confidence that, in return, that landlord would
never harshly use his debtor, if such he were—that, in
fact, that landlord would one day repay him for his own
sacrifices. In 1831 it had reached the serious amount of
£2,709 Ils. 41d. At their settlement in that year. Mr.
Thornhill was more than usually kind to his steward,
refused to accept his resignation, and added £2OO a year
to his salary. In June, 1837, at the yearly balance, it
was reduced to £1,741 13s. 3d., a thousand pounds having
thus been cleared of in three years.
But now came on the collision, whose result has placed
Mr. Oastler in a prison. In all his efforts for the ame-
lioratio❑ of the factory system, Mr. Thornhill had fully
approved of his conduct. Nay, so far had he gone as to
furnish him with an introduction to the Duke of Wel-
lington, in order to lay before him the opinions which lie
held, and the knowledge which he possessed, of the con-
dition of the manufacturing people. But, however well
they might agree upon the factory question, they by no
means agreed upon another matter—the new poor law.
Mr. Thornhill was an aristocratic Whig—one of that
class for whom the new poor law was especially devised
—one of those who were smitten with the fear that the
poor were about to swallow un the property of the land-
owners. Mr. Oastler, with hia characteristic charity,
humanity, and true English feeling, and moreover with
that warmth of advocacy for which he is celebrated, gave
to that inhuman law his most strenuous opposition. Mr.
Thornhill was the college friend of Frankland Lewis, one
of the poor-law commissioners. It was the darling wish
of " the trio " of Somerset House to introduce the law
into the manufacturing districts, notwithstanding the
admission that its provisions were totally unfit for the
state of society in those districts. Letter after letter
reached Mr. Oastler, addressed to him from pretended
friends, warning him that, by his opposition to the new
poor law, he was deeply offending his patron, and risking
the loss of his situation. He perilled the alternative,
rather than forfeit his own respect and the integrity of his
principles; and that alternative arrived. He was sum-
marily discharged from his situation as steward, and di-
rected to make up his accounts forthwith.
So far, then, he was A MARTYR to his political princi-
ples—a martyr on account of his love of his toiling and
wretched fellow-beings. But loss of comparative comfort
and affluence was not all which he was doomed to undergo.
A placard, issued by some indiscreet admirers at the pe-
riod of his leaving Fixby Hall (when a procession was
formed to accompany him), was seized hold of as con-
taining, in some reflections which it conveyed upon the
c(4irse pursued by Mr. Thornhill, a pretext for the dis-
p!ay of that gentleman's animosity ; and proceedings were
forthwith taken for the recovery of the whole balance doe
en the face of the accounts. In addition to this, the
most injurious aspersions were thrown out by Mr.
Thornhill, in some letters addressed to the press of
Yorkshire, affecting Mr. Oastler's character, the result
of which was to drive the latter, in self-protection, to a
legal defence. as the only Topping or Gifting the charges made
against him. The venue of the action was removed from
Yorkshire to London, placing the procuring of evidence
beyond Mr. Oastler's reach, on account of the expense of
removing his witnesses. The fixing of the day of trial
was prolonged, over term after term, by which his little
means were further exhausted; and at length the trial
came on in the Guildhall, in London. The defendant
was prepared to establish counter claims, for money ex-
pended for the benefit of the estate; but, his only object
being the clearing of his char•acte.r from the imputation of
wrong doing, on the withdrawal in court of all im-
putations of the kind, lie voluntarily submitted to a
verdict, and threw himself unreservedly upon the justice
of Mr. Thornhill, for which he received the marked
thanks of the judge before whom the case was tried.
Here he imagined the affair was to stop. The vindic-
tiveness of his employer, he thought, must now be sa-
tisfied.

But no; such was not the case. It rested for a time,
certainly, during which Mr. Oastler was giving the benefit
of his local knowledge to the new steward ; and, this done,
he was desired to prepare for an arrest. Previously to
this, however, his attorney had been asked if he was
likely to apply for his discharge to the insolvent court, in
which case it would be useless to arrest Ms body; in re-
ply to which, an assurance was given that he was not
likely to take such a course. That pledge has been !cot t;
and hence his captivity from the date of his surrende
to a sheriff's officer to the present moment. Is such a
man, so treated, not doubly A MARTYR.?

THE FUNDS, SATURDAY NIGHT.—The English stock-
market is well and firmly supported, although we have
had very little business transacted. Consols maintain 96
to ; Bank Stock, 1821 to 1831; ExchNuer Bills, 58s.
to 60s. premium ; Three per Cent. Reduced. 96i to ;
Three-and-a-Half per Cent. Reduced. lOn ; Long An-
nuities, 12 11-16 ; and India Bonds, 76-. to 78s. premium.
The foreign securities have been equally devoid of move-
ment, and Spanish continues flat from the non-appearance
of the advertisement respecting the dividend. The Ac-
tives closed this afternoon at 20 to k, and the Three per
Cents, 30 to it. Other quotations are mueh as before.
Portuguese left off 43} to 44 ; Peruvian, 22 to ; Mexi-
can, 311 to j; the Deferred, 911 to I ; Dutch Two-and a-
per Cents., 55i to i; the Five per Cents., 991 to 4 ;
Danish, 851 to 861 ; Colombian, 11 to 1 ; Chillian, 99 to
100 ; Brazilian, 73 to 74 ; and Belgian, 103 to 104.
CORPORATION REFORM--On Wednesday last, a Court
of Common Council was held in London, for the purpose
of proceeding with the adjourned debate upon the report
of the committee on the election act of 11th George I. de-
livered in November last, for the introduction of a bill
into parliament for amending that act. The court was
crowded and much interest was excited.—The Lord
Mayor stated, in reference to Mr. Alderman Brown's re-
marks at a former meeting, that Mr. Vv-ire had endea-
voured to get the matter postponed, but that as the
court wished it to proceed there was no alternative. Mr.
Brown's amendment at the meeting, but not entertained
in consequence of informality, was then read. It was (in
opposition to the report of the committee) to the effect
that it was the duty of the court to protect the freemen in
their franchise; not to admit non-freemen to participate
in it without becoming free • and that it was expedient to
apply to parliament for a reform of evils in the municipal
institutions of the city, unless it should th'reafter appear
that the corporation had power to effect such reform.
This amendment was carried by 113 to 54. Several re-
marks were indulged in by one or two members against
" reducing London to the pitiful condition of Liverpool,
Bristol,.&c."

CHRIST CHURCH NATIONAL SCHOOLS, CHRISTIAN-
STREET —On Thursday last, a public examination of the
senior classes from the boys' and girls' schools, was held
in the fine upper school-room. The children's answers
showed a solid and extensive knowledge of the Scrip-
tures; and the ready simultaneous citation of facts on a
variety of subjects was particularly striking. The exami-
nation included geography, grammar, a music lesson on
Hullah's system, arithmetic, &c. The proficiency of
many of the scholars on mental arithmetic was really sur-
prising—and the answering in general gave great satisfac-
tion to the auditors, and reflected the highest credit on
Mr. and Mrs. Andrews, the excellent master and mistress
of the respective schools. On Friday, there was a nu-
merous attendance at the infant school-room, when a
whole regiment of " little people" went through the com-
plicated manoeuvres of " the weavers," " the cobblers,"
&c., to the high gratification of themselves and their
audience. The more practical part of the examination
showed clearly how much instruction may be conveyed
under the infant school system by a kind and intelligent
mistress like Miss Piddell. The infants (ot whom there
were about 200) were dismissed for the holidays with a
huge bun a piece ; but the rest of the scholars, to the
number of 400, assembled at 4 p.m. in the school-room,
tastefully decorated for the occasion, to partake of sylla-
bub, buns, apples and oranges, provided by the ladies of
the committee and others, many of whom were in attend-
ance to distribute the good things. After a hymn had
been sung, and an address delivered by the Rev. Fielding
Ould, the piles of cake and fruit rapidly disappeared under
the powerful machinery of 400 sets of sharp teeth rigo-
rously set to work upon them, and the children were soon
ready to go below and ;enjoy themselves at various
Christmas games. The ladies then sat down to a well-
furnished tea table, and Ilrojes were given by the masters
to some of the best schola ,immediately after which the
il
whole party broke up at an early hour, highly zratifie4
with the proceedings of the evening.