The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-02-27 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD

OASTLER'S RECEPTION IN YORKSHIRE.

On Tuesday last, a Shrove Tuesday which will long be
remembered by the factory population of Yorkshire, this
distinguished and long per,ecuted friend of the working
classes made his pnoN: entrance into Huddersfield, so
long the seat of his piiilanthropic labours, and by whose
population he was twice nearly elected as their representa-
tive in the House of el/Mt-nous. It was fixed for a pro-
cession to meet him at the Brighouse station and escort
hior into the town ; and at an early hour numerous bodies
of the factory workers and other operatives were to he seen
wending their way from the surrounding districts with
bands of music, to the place appointed. It had been pre-
viously arranged. by the committee that ro banners or flags
should be exhibited on the occasion : notwithstanding,
several union jacks were carried, and scores of children
carried small white flags having inscribed upon them
" Welcome, good old King," and many more with the
lines—

Our King is restored, the captive is free,
Long may he live, and blest may he be.
The several crowds from the neighbouring townships
seemed to vie with each other in their enthusiasm as they
arrived opposite the Railway Hotel. Owing to the fine.
ness of the day many ladies graced the scene with their
presence. Mr. Oastler, who had arrived at the station
on the previous day, maintained comparative privacy
during the greater part of the morning ; rest and repose
were absolutely necessary, and his friends manifested a
praiseworthy spirit in refraining to a great extent from giv-
ing him those personal congratulations which they other-
wise would have paid.

At about half-past one the committee met and agreed
upon an address, which was arranged to be presented to
Mr. Oastler before the procession left Brighouse ;. and,
accordingly, that respected gentleman was introduced to
the meeting by the Hey. Mr. Bull, it being urged upon
him, on account of his health, to refrain fro n addresaing
them at that time. The introduction is described as a
scene not easily to be forgotten by those who were privi-
leged to witness it. Old men,—weather beaten hardy
veterans, were overpowered ; they strove, but in vain, to
restrain their feelings ; the struggle was a doubtful one,
and at last, fairly:overcome, they burst into tears. The
young and more susceptible caught the infection, and for
a while the restored and ransomed captive gazed silently
upon his friends and deliverers, and then sank in a chair
overcome by his feelings. _

The address, a most affecting one, having been presented,
Mr. Oastler, though requested to refrain, replied briefly,
labouring evidently under strong emotion ; after which
the procession was formed and moved away in the direc-
tion of Huddersfield.
The weather was at this time brilliant, and what with
the enlivening strains'of muile;airct the joy-that beamed
Upon every countenance, the scene was one of unrivalled
character. In his progresi, the sight of Woodhouse
church produced an evident effect upon one who in years
gone by was wont to worship within its sacred walls.
Upon entering the town the procession halted for a few
minutes, in order to re-arrange the various bodies com-
posing it.
On passing the Collegiate school, the boys, who were
drawn up in front, gave a hearty cheer as the procession
passed by. Near the National Infant and Sunday School
a blue flag was hoisted, evidently the work of juvenile
hands, and inscribed " Home Trade."
As to the numbers who escorted Mr. Oastler into Hud-
dersfield, it is next to impossible to make any precise
calculation. It was estimated that from 10,000 to 12,000
congregated around the hustings to hear the speech, but
we should say that at least that number left the meeting,
being unable to hear one word that was said.
The place selected for the delivery of the speech of Mr.
Oastler, was the spacious area in front of Druid's Hotel,
on the Halifax road. A small hustings was erected, and
suitable accommodation provided for the gentlemen of the
press. The procession did not arrive upon the ground
until after three o'clock, and as it advanced up the street
it presented a most imposing appearance.
J. Scholefield, Esq., having taken the chair, the Rev.
M. L. Howarth read an address of the inhabitants of
Huddersfield and the various towns and distric's in the
West Riding of Yorkshire, congratulating their patriotic
and philanthropic friend upon his return to his native
county, and expressive of their sense of his public and
private virtues. Of this address, which breathes through-
out a spirit of deep love and veneration for Mr. Oastler's
person and character, and gratitude for his return to re-
commence his labours for the amelioration of the con-
dition of the working poor, we cannot here afford space
for more than this bare mention. One paragraph, how-
ever, we are tempted to extract entire for the contempla-
tion of our contemporary the Mercury, who may derive a
useful lesson from observing with what execration the
slanderer of an imprisoned man is regarded by the men of
Yorkshire. Thus runs the passage in question :
" We have witnessed with extreme disgust the conduct
of a portion of the press, in seeking, by the most atroci-
ous calumnies, to deprive you of public sympathy, and
prolong your captivity. The result, however, has proved
that the effort was as powerless as it was base. Prostituted
journals, bought up by an anti-English faction, for the
dissemination of falsehood and the propagation of fraud,
can have no hold upon the minds of the mighty mass of
Englishmen, by whom they are detested, scouted, and
despised."

Having accepted the address, Mr. Oastler proceeded to
address the immense multitude assembled, nearly as fol-
lows :—Men of Huddersfield, it is now my high privilege
to address you as more than friends—you are now my
benefactors, and I am your purchased advocate. Think
for a moment if you can of the feelings under which I now
stand in this town, the scene of so many of our labours,
and at a time when you have not only emancipated me by
opening the prison doors, but when the mind of England
itself is being emancipated, and those rights for which we
have endured so much obloquy and so long pleaded—are
now advocated by almost every civilized country upon the
face of the earth, and when our own government are not
only proceeding to adopt those changes for which we have
so long contended for the protection of factory labourers,
but they are also—thanks be to God—receding in that
grasp with which they have seized the poor of England,
and are moving backwards with the poor law bill. (Cheers.)
Allow me, my friends, before I proceed to explain myself,
and to explain ourselves—for the people of England are
listening to what shall proceed from these hustings to. day
—(cheers)—allow me in your presence, to thank that God
by whose power I have been sustained while in prison,
and have been delivered from captivity. And here, whilst
I gratefully acknowledge that it is of Him alone that I
have been preserved and delivered,
i, I am bound to love
you the more, recognising you as his nstrumentsa d his
servants;mbriosuthoft and
morepra
y most
m
i e a
e yoensg ofm
heartily
thosetha %. that He
havee a
been whohast
he
onceprejudice
me
e from the
truth.hitherto (
otipepsors,ehdetsor,uasi,,dancdheemrasy.) guide
tis urnsyidnuttyhetopinaftohromf
you, that whilst I have been in prison, I have lost all that
feeling of animosity which was wont to occupy a portion
of my mind ; and I rejoice to stand before you, not only
purchased by my friends, but also by many of my political
opponents. I am, therefore, bound not only by every 1
sense of honour, but by that willing homage of the heart
which yields to the spirit of love, to waive every expres-
sion which would give offence to any ; and whilst I stand
before you animated by the same spirit, pursuing the same
object, and believing in the truth of the same principles,
passion shall be supplanted by reason; and though I may
differ from many who have assisted in obtaining my de-
liverance, I shall do so in such a way as to have their per-
sonal respect, and thus obtain more notice for those argu-
ments which I may unfold than has hitherto been the case.
(Cheers.) Allow me to make one observation with regard
to those insinuations which have been spread among you
whilst I have been in prison, and whilst efforts were making
for unlocking the doors. There was a time when I should
have thought hardly of those men who endeavoured to
imprison an Englishman in an English prison for life. I
thank God that on this occasion 1 felt no animosity to
any one. The only effect produced in my mind was this,—
I said, " now I shall test the truth whether God be for
me or my enemies ; if they succeed in checking that spirit
which is spreading over England in my behalf, then I shall
believe that he has work to do for me outside." One more
observation about matters appertaining to myself and I
have done. It has been asserted that when I came out of
prison, I should come to spread fire, and hatred, and
malevolence, and stir up strife upon a certain estate in this
neighbourhood. I wish to inform all those tenants upon
that estate who are now listening to me, and I know there
are not a few, that my advice to them is that they love one
another, respect their stewards, honour and venerate their
landlord ; and I should rejoice to increase that bond of
union if I had the power to do it. (Cheers.) I have
come ou of priscin without a single enemy. It is impos-
sible for me to blame those who have been instrumental
in sending me there, when 1 tell you I have learnt more
in that prison than I could have learnt had I been any-
where else. (Hear, hear.) Mr. Oastler then proceeded
to review the condition of the working classes around hint,
and to explain the measures which he conceived most ad-
visable to ameliorate that condition. In a prominent
rank amongt these was a Short Time Bill, the necessity of
which, he remarked, had already been acknowledged by
those manufacturers who were proposing to limit the
hours of working their factories, in order to defeat specu-
lations in cotton. He would struggle, as he had done in
time past, for such a measure, confident that the only
safety for a country lay in the existence of a happy pea-
santry and contented workpeople. I have had the oppor-
tunity, continued Mr. Oastler, whilst I have been in pri-
son, of exchanging thoughts with the wisest and the best
of men ; men of England, men of Europe, and men of
the United States of America ; men of letters and men of
thought ; and I am happy to inform you that from their
lips I have learnt that those truths upon which they are
endeavouring to establish the manufacturing system in
their own country. And I rejoice to tell you that whilst
I have been in prison I have been instrumental in com-
municating to foreign powers and to the governments of
foreign powers, the danger of permitting machinery to
take hold on them as it has taken hold on us. (Ap-
plause.) And I rejoice to tell you, that my advice has
been adopted, and that resolutions have been come to,
that in foreign countries machinery shall be a servant of
man, and that man shall never be the slave of the machine.
He congratulated the meeting that government had
n
already take some steps in the right direction. They
were mitigating the rigour of the new poor law ; but they
must be pushed further than this. Mr. Oastler then pro-
ceeded—The leaguers and their opponents are about to
meet in battle array ; and I suppose I shall be expected
to take a part in the matter. (Laughter.) 1 rather
think that I shall be expected at some of their field days;
i but I pledge you my honour that f I do go, I'll do my
duty to those principles which have been so dear to us in
H uddersfield for so many years. (Cheers.) I under-
stand these two questions I think as well as most people;
and I have no interest, no personal interest in either the
one or the other. And I shall endeavour to prove to
those persons who march from Lancashire that they are
wrong ; and I shall endeavour to prove to those that
match from southern counties that they are wrong, be-
cause I think them wrong. ([fear and laughter.) But I

dont understand how the landed interest can talk about
protection for their property, and protection to the tar,
property, when they support the new poor law
(cheers) that talva away the protection of the poor man.
(Renewed eller rs.) I will have all cr none—either pra-
tection for the rch and protection for the pool, or I %sill
help the other party who want protection for tawdy.
(Hear.) Now do you understand me? Bur let there be
ho mistake: it I were to help the other party I would tell
them how foolish they were in seeking their own deatruc-
tion by establishing a principle which must issue in their
fall. (Hear.) And now, my friends, I think you p-r-
-fectly understand mr'—that my principles are what they
were, but that I am determined rot ho occaTion to have any
personal quarrel with any individual of any class or of any
party. I will support any man who will support th : coo-
stitutior_al, the Christian, the natural rights of industry.
I will support no man who denies them. (Cheers.) You
know also, my friends, for I am bound to tell you on this
occasion, that I have not altered in my old Tory views of
the rights of the different classes and different ranks of
the peopie in this country. As boldly as I would-support
the rights of labour, so boldly would I support the rights
of the crown, the rights of the aristocracy, the rights of
the middle classes, and above all the rights of the clergy.
(Hear.) MI object is to get all classes in their right
places, the places which tbe constitution of England has
provided for them ; and then I know that all classes
would move together in union and in peace; and that
there would be no want amongst th • industrious any where.
(Cheers.) And now my friends, I must bid you all fare-
well, thanking you. as I do most heartily, for the attention
with which you have listened to me, and for the liberation
you have wrought out for me. Whether I shall hereafter
be a public or a private man, does not depend upon me.
Both I never will be again. You now know the princi-
ples which it shall be my object to teach, and it will he
for you, my friends, and for the public, to judge whether
the propagation of those principles will be beneficial to
the people of England, and whether I shall be an efficient
propounder of those principles. (Immense cheering.)

CORRESPONDENCE.

WATCH COMMITTEE.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

SIR,—A letter. signed a Shopkeeper, appeared in the
Albion of yesterday, stating " that it is the practice of the
Watch Committee to pay the wages of the Police Force
in light gold, and that the wife of one of the officers had
just offered him a light half-sovereign in payment for gro-
ceries, and further assured him that this was the fourth
time her husband had received, a light one in payment of
wages." He then says, •• this is really too bad." I must
admit, if this was the fact, it is." really too bad." ; but I
am bound in justice to the committee, if not to myself,
(through whom the money is paid,) most distinctly and
unequivocally to deny the assertion ; every piece of gold
is carefully weighed, and of the full value before it is given
to the pay clerk, but it is no uncommon circumstance for
the policemen to return to the pay table and say that the
shopkeeper with whom they trade says the sovereign, or
half sovereign, as the case may be, is fourpence or sixpence
short in weight; but in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred,
when the gold thus brought back is weighed, andin their
presence too, it has been found to be of the full standard
weight. 1 am quite satisfied that such a course of pi-o-
ceeding would not for a moment be tolerated by the com-
mittee, and that any statement of the kind being made to
them byany policeman would immediately be investigated.
I am, Sir,
Your obedient servant,
CAPES ASHLIN, Secretary.
Watch Office, 26th February, 1844.