THE FLEET PAPERS. Mr. Oastler cannot insert the following, without publicly expressing his thankfulness to Almighty God, who has given to him such friends. May the prisoner's God reward and bless the prisoner's benefactors. "16. Doughty Street, March 17, 1842. “ My dear Sir,—Although it may be repugnant to your feelings to place before the readers of your Fleet Papers the proceedings which have taken place on the subject of a public testimonial to you, yet I feel certain that it ought to be done, and that the readers of your papers will derive much satisfaction on being informed of the progress which has been made in this token of public esteem and approbation. I hope, therefore, that you will insert. in the next number of your Fleet Papers, an account of the public meeting which has been held this day, together with The Address' and the list of Subscriptions. "I am, my dear Sir, yours, very sincerely, "To Mr. Richard Oastler, Fleet Prison." “WILLIAM ATKINSON." THE OASTLER TESTIMONIAL. Trustees-The Right Honourable Lord Feversham; Sir George Sinclair, Bart.; John Walter, The object contemplated by the supporters of this fund, is that of providing for the wellknown advocate of public rights, Mr. RICHARD OASTLER, and his family. Having been impressed very early in life with the extreme importance of those principles which conduce to the general welfare of society, and encouraging constantly in his mind a feeling hostile to every infraction of those principles, Mr. Oastler became a strenuous supporter of the cause of the weak and the oppressed, as well as an ardent opponent of all who attempted to exercise injustice and cruelty. The sphere of his private duties being the great manufacturing districts of England, Mr. Oastler's sympathies were necessarily excited by the sufferings of children of tender years who were employed in manufactories, and the energies of his mind were directed to the great question of legislative regulation of factory labour. To all who have exerted themselves in this interesting and momentous question, Mr. Oastler has given the most efficient support; and those who have watched the progress of the subject are gratified by knowing that the question having obtained the sanction of the legislature of Great Britain, has also been adopted in France, Prussia, Austria, Russia, Switzerland, and a part of the United States of America. Mr. Oastler, as is well known, has also contended for a just and humane system of Poor Laws; and his advocacy of the great and sacred principle upon which all Poor Laws should be founded, in contradistinction to the modern attempt to innovate and encroach upon the constitutional right of the poor to relief, may be characterized as strenuous, constant, and most successful. Although the advocacy of the great public questions before mentioned has placed Mr. Oastler in the position of an influential supporter of popular rights, yet he has not attempted either to increase or to uphold his influence by appealing or yielding to the selfish passions of any section of the community; but he has boldly and emphatically, and often in the midst of great personal danger, denounced oppression and injustice, in whatever quarter they appeared to him to originate, whether it was in the case of the rich against the poor, or in that of the poor against the rich, his object being to instil into the minds of the whole people the great truth of RELATIVE duties, and the paramount necessity of fulfilling them: the source from which he has derived his knowledge of those duties being the will of God, as revealed to mankind in the Holy Scriptures. Thus Mr. Oastler's constant endeavour has been to maintain the principles upon which the British Constitution is founded; uniting the monarchy, the aristocracy, and the entire body of the people in a mutual and just support of each other, that bond of union being the Church of Christ. It will not excite surprise, that seeing systematie tyranny and cruelty practised upon the most helpless of our race in the extent to which Mr. Oastler has witnessed it, he should have been driven, by the enthusiastic ardour of his nature, to utter expressions which those who have not been similarly circumstanced might well condemn; but on this point he has been the subject of much misrepresentation; and also of much wilful detraction; notwithstanding which he has continued in an undeviating course of public duty, not permitting his exertions to sustain the least check on account of opposition and difficulties which would have overwhelmed most men. One very important fact, showing the true and valuable nature of his services, should here be mentioned, which is, that those who have been so placed as to be best acquainted with his motives and his proceedings, have proved themselves to be his warmest and most constant public supporters, as well as his private friends, amongst whom may be reckoned proprietors of some of the largest factories in the kingdom. The great efforts which Mr. Oasiler has made for his country, have, however, cost him much. No considerations of private interest have ever restrained him in his endeavours to fulfil that which he conceived to be his public duty. This great, benevolent, and patriotic man is now the inmate of a debtors' prison; debarred the full exercise of those admirable faculties of mind and body which are so well adapted to procure an ample provision for himself and family. A most earnest appeal is made to those who are attached to the cause of British Constitutional Government to contribute towards raising a fund for the purpose of placing Mr. Oastler, his wife, and their adopted daughter, in comfortable circumstances. The money which is raised will be under the controul of the Trustees whose names are before mentioned, who will decide on the best method of fulfilling the object intended. The projectors of this Testimonial beg to suggest to all the friends and supporters of Mr. Oastler's principles, the necessity of proceeding immediately to form themselves into Committees for the purpose of canvassing their respective neighbourhoods, and communicating the results to the Honorary Secretary; for it should be particularly remembered that the well-being of ad who obtain their living by their daily labour is especially included in this cause, and that many of them feel a warm interest in it, whose contributions, however small, will be equally esteemed as those of much larger amount. Subscriptions will be received by Messrs. DRUMMONDS, Bankers, Charing Cross. London; and by the Honoray Secretary, Mr. WM. ATKINSON, No. 16, Doughty Street, London, to whom all inquiries and communications are to be addressed. Extracted from The Times of March 18, 1842, THE OASTLER TESTIMONIAL. Yesterday a meeting of the friends of Mr. Oastler was held at the British Coffee-house, Cockspur Street, for the purpose of promoting the subscription proposed to be raised in commemoration of the exertions of Mr. Oastler in the cause of the labouring classes. Amongst those present we observed the Right Hon. Lord Feversham, Mr. Ferrand, M.P., Mr. Walter, Mr. J. Perceval, Mr. Wing, the Rev. J. S. Cox, Mr. Underwood, Mr. Grant (from Manchester), &c.-On the motion of Mr. WALTER, Lord FEVERSHAM was called to the chair, and, on assuming that position, his Lordship said that it afforded him great pleasure to have the honour of filling such a post on such an occasion. It would not be necessary for him to state at any length the object for which they had been assembled, because they were all fully aware of its character. They were also well aware of the situation in which their friend, Mr. Oastler, had been placed—he had been an inmate of the Fleet Prison for a period of sixteen months, for a debt due to Mr. Thornhill. During that time, Mr. Oastler had undergone many hardships, and his health had been considerably impaired. At the same time, however, be had received the visits of a number of his friends, and he enjoyed the sympathy of a Jarge body of the public-two facts which had tended very much to alleviate that distress of mind which he would otherwise have undergone. (Hear.) The immediate object of the present meeting was not merely to effect the liberation of Mr. Oastler, however desirable that object would of itself be, but to further a subscription which had been instituted for the benefit and future comfort of that gentleman and his family. (Hear, hear.) Of course it would be an after consideration amongst the subscribers and contributors generally as to the particular way in which the money collected should be appropriated. If a fund could be raised sufficiently large to enable them, after having gained Mr. Oastler's liberation, to place him and his family in a comfortable and independent position, it would be extremely gratifying; but, at all events, the first anxiety was to rescue him from his present confinement-an end which a very large proportion of the people were most urgent to attain. (Hear, hear.) He had known Mr. Oastler for many years, and it had been a source of great regret to him that he should have been placed in his present painful situation. (Hear, hear.) He most sincerely hoped, however, that the day was not far distant when they should have the satisfaction of accomplishing his liberation. In the meantime, let him (Lord Feversham) press upon the meeting, and upon all the friends of Mr. Oastler, the necessity of exertion in the obtainment of contributions, so as to effect that object; and he trusted that the funds collected would, as he had already intimated, be so large as to enable them to place Mr. Oastler and his family in a position of comfort and independence. (Hear, hear.) Mr. ATKINSON (the honorary secretary) having been called upon by the noble chairman to state what progress had been made in the business, said, that early in the last year he had become personally acquainted with Mr. Oastler, and during his visits to that gentleman in prison he had had occasion to observe his great exertions for the public good; and at the same time, unluckily, to remark that those exertions of mind had impaired, and made great inroads on, his health; and eventually, in the month of July, he was confined with a severe fever. It had also come within his knowledge that he was suffering the greatest anxiety of mind upon the subject of the situation of his family, and of others who were dependent on him for support. In consequence, he had written to the noble lord who that day so kindly presided over them, knowing that he had been a friend of Mr. Oastler. Eventually the noble lord and himself had had an interview, in the course of which it had been arranged that this scheme for accomplishing Mr. Oastier's liberation should be put in circulation amongst his old friends at the earliest moment. But previously to that having been done, it was deemed prudent that he should visit some of the chief manufacturing districts; and accordingly, he had gone to Coventry, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Bradford, Huddersfield, Leeds, Sheffield, Nottingham, and Leicester, and in all those places he had met with the most cordial reception, all parties manifesting a warm anxiety for the success of the undertaking (hear); and, moreover, each expressing a desire to contribute towards the proposed subscription. (Hear.) He must here say, that in the progress of the plan the public press had displayed an anxiety to further the cause, and most nobly and effectively had they supported it by their writings. (Hear.) On his return to town, the first step adopted was that of framing the scheme which was to be sent forth to the world generally, as well as to the private friends and admirers of Mr. Qastler. (The worthy speaker here read the paper to which he referred, which has already appeared in our columus.) He might add. that the noble chairman, Sir G. Sinclair, Bart., Mr. Walter, Mr. Fielden, M.P., and Mr. W. Ferrand, M.P., had accepted the office of trustees. (Hear, hear.) The amount of subsciptions already received was 5507., they had that day been favoured with a cheque for 501. from Mr. R. Fountayne Wilson. (Hear, hear.) They had also received 100/. from Mr. Tatham, of Nottingham, and 257. from Mr. William Tatham, of the same place, and 5 guineas from the Editor of The Courier. (Hear.) He could assure the meeting, that the country, especially the manufacturing districts, were quite alive to the subject, and that being the case, there could be no doubt of the speedy accomplishment of the object they had at heart. (Hear.) Mr. WALTER said, that in recommending the resolution which had been intrusted to him to propose to the meeting, he thought it would be unnecessary for him to occupy the attention and the time of those around him by any lengthened observations. Such a course, indeed, was rendered the less requisite by the candid and full statement which they had just heard from the noble lord who had done them the honour to preside over them on that occasion (hear, hear), and to whom he, in common with all the other friends of Mr. Castler, felt extremely grateful for his kindness in taking the chair that day. (Hear, hear.) With respect to Mr. Oastler, those whom he had the pleasure of addressing were as well acquainted with that gentleman as he was himself. They all fully appreciated his merits and his worth; many of them, probably, had had greater opportunities of knowing him from the fact of having resided in the neighbourhood in which he had lived, and they were all equally earnest with himself in their desire to obtain his liberation from prison. (Hear) He knew not of any better plan to accomplish that object than that of a liberal subscrip tion on the part of his friends and admirers (hear, hear); and although the amount they had as yet received was not large, still the sum was highly respectable, inasmuch as it had nearly reached 6007. (hear, hear), and that, too, without any efforts having been made in the manufacturing districts, where Mr. Oastler was far better known and esteemed. He sincerely trusted that the endeavour to raise a subscription would be attended with complete success. (Hear, hear.) There were many in the room who were associated with the manufacturing portions of the kingdom; and he doubted not but that they would exert themselves most strenuously with a view to attain the object they had that day assembled to promote. (Hear, hear.) He would conclude by proposing the following resolution: "That in the opinion of this meeting, Mr. R. Oastler is entitled to sympathy and support, on account of the unceasing and arduous efforts which he has made, and which he still continues to make, for the welfare of the labouring classes." Mr. WING seconded the proposition with the greate t satisfaction. Mr. Oastler had been one of the most unflinching and zealous advocates of benevolence of his day: he was one whose whole life had been signally marked by a strong feeling of sympathy for the misery and sufferings under which others had existed. Let it be remembered, too, that throughout his exertions in the cause of benevolence, Mr. Oastler's conduct had, at all times, been distinguished by a veneration for the institutions of the country. (Hear.) The resolution was then put, and unanimously agreed to. The Rev. J. S. Cox moved, as the second resolution, That this meeting approves of the scheme which has been proposed for raising a testimonial for the benefit of Mr. Oastler and his family by means of a public subscription," and said, that he had become acquainted with Mr. Oastler through the performance of his public duties; and if it were not deemed unbecoming in a minister of the established church to do so upon such an occasion as the present, he would say that that gentleman had gained his approbation originally by his attachment to that church and by the vast struggles be had made to alleviate the distresses of others. (Hear, hear.) He had derived the greatest pleasure in the intercourse he had enjoyed with Mr. Oastler and his family. That Mr. Oastler's exertions had been invariably those of public benevolence it was impossible to doubt, and they had abundant evidence to prove that those exertions had been attended with considerable success. (Hear, hear.) It was not a little strange, that the manufacturing districts of this country should have been so long left without some legislative check; but such had been the fact, and many circumstances which had come to light clearly showed how necessary it was that some man like Mr. Oastler, a man possessed of a powerful mind, swayed by patriotism and humanity of feeling, should have brought his energies to bear on the subject. (Hear.) The result of that gentleman's labours in the cause, had been that the manufacturing districts had at length become the object of legislative enactment. (Hear, hear.) The successful exertions of Mr. Oastler on the factory question-his endeavours to gain an alleviation of the miseries under which the poor factory children were labouring-were known to all the world. (Hear, hear.) That relief had been in a measure gained by the means of an enactment of which many of the millowners themselves, he believed, were now ready to admit the benefit. (Hear, hear.) Mr. RAMSEY, in a speech eulogizing the benevolent and powerful exertions of Mr. Oastler, seconded the resolution, which was carried unanimously. Mr. J. PERCEVAL then proposed, That a committee, composed of the following gentlemen, Mr. Wing, Mr. J. Perceval, Mr. Sanger, Mr. Underwood, Mr. Ramsay, Rev. J. S. Cox, and Mr. B. Jowett, with power to add to their number, be formed, for the purpose of assisting the undertaking in London; and it is strongly recommended to Mr. Oastler's friends in the country to form similar committees, and that they communicate the results of their labours to the Secretary in London ;" and went on to remark, that in a lengthened intercourse with Mr. Oastler, the only faults that he had had to find with him were, that his liberality was too unbounded, whilst his kindness of feeling had been too fine. (Hear, hear.) Mr. UNDERWOOD seconded the resolution most cordially. He had been acquainted with Mr. Oastler upwards of seventeen years, and a more worthy, a more benevolent man. never existed. (Hear, hear.) He was beloved and esteemed, especially by the working classes, by all who knew him. (Hear, hear.)-The resolution was carried. Mr. FERRAND, M.P. begged to move a vote of thanks to the noble lord who had so ably presided over them on that interesting occasion. (Hear.) He was confident that every friend of Mr. Oastler's, as well as that gentleman himself, would feel most deeply grateful to the noble lord for his kindness in taking the chair. (Hear, hear.) He had known Mr. Oastler for twelve years; and the first time he had become acquainted with him was on the day when he had called a meeting in defence of the poor factory children, and as a proof to what an extent had been the attachment of the working classes to the man, and the great confidence they had reposed in him, he would inform the meeting that it was the largest assembly that had ever been witnessed in Yorkshire. The vast masses of the country had assembled that day for the purpose of being guided by Mr. Oastler. (Hear, hear.) In that county there appeared to be one feeling for him; he was beloved and respected by all, and the general opinion there was, that in his conduct towards his master, he had been a sincere, active, and faithful servant. (Hear, hear.) The whole of his life had been devoted to the cause of philanthropy, manifested by a restless anxiety to alleviate the miseries of his fellowcreatures (hear, hear), and if his friends in the manufacturing districts, (every man claiming to himself an interest in the welfare of the factory classes,) exerted themselves, Mr. Oastler would, ere long, again come forth into the world a free man, unfettered by any claim which his late master had had upon him. (Hear, hear.) The hon. gentleman then passed a very high eulogium on the noble lord, whose conduct through life had been marked by consideration for the humbler orders, and whose example he wished were more extensively followed. He concluded by moving a vote of thanks to his Lordship. Mr. GRANT seconded the resolution and stated, that the liberation of Mr. Oastler would be hailed with loud expressions of delight throughout Lancashire as well as in Yorkshire. The CHAIRMAN having, in the handsomest terms, acknowledged the compliment; and urged that strong exertions should be made to effect the object they had in view, the meeting broke up, Printed by Vincent Torras & Co., 7. Palace Row, New Road, Londen. THE FLEET PAPERS. LONDON: PUBLISHED BY JOHN PAVEY, 47, HOLYWELL STREET, STRAND, AND BENJAMIN STEILL, 20, PATERNOSTER ROW. NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. "TORY," Canterbury.-Mr. Oastler is not aware that the Editor of the Chester Courant has noticed his reply (in Vol. 2, No. 7.) to the observations of that paper respecting Sir Robert Peel's Free Trade principles. JOHN JONES, Minories.-His letter is received. The sentiments do honour to his head and his heart. Clement's Lane, is thanked for 2s. 6d., received by Richard Oastler for the Factory Cripple, Michael Hopkins, Leeds. JOHN BROADBENT, Ashton-under-Lyne.-His letter and enclosure are received. Mr. Oastler will be still more obliged if J. B. will furnish him with proof that the man whose name is in the list which Mr. Cobden produced in the House of Commons was fined 201. for being guilty of truck." Mr. Oastler has heard of many of those persons, who tried to whitewash themselves in Parliament. who are verily guilty. He intends to publish the truth respecting them when his list is complete Any correct information on the subject will be most thankfully received. Mr. O. has heard a strange tale about Mr. Brookes having been "hunted" by his workpeople, and about another of the immaculate “double-keying" it. All particulars will be very useful. JOAH MATTINSON, Leeds.-His very interesting letter is thankfully received: it will be very useful. Such information, though truly melancholy, is very useful, to guide one who, in prison, writes for the public. A SUFFOLK FARMER is received. The letter to Sir Robert Peel was, as required, forwarded, after perusal. Notices of Fleet Papers next week. The friends of honesty and justice should be forming themselves into committees, &c., to be ready with witnesses for the Parliamentary inquiry into fraud and oppression. 66 "London, 16, Doughty Street, March 22, 1842. My dear Sir,-A zealous friend of yours at Alnwick has written to me, suggesting the propriety of your friends in the different places in the country forming themselves into commillees, and appointing a secretary and collectors, who may receive subscriptions for the Testimonial which your friends have originated. I will thank you to assure your friends that this is the plan which ought to be, and which I hope will be, adopted generally; and that I shall be happy to receive communications from a great number of such committees and secretaries. "To Mr. Richard Oastler, Fleet Prison." "I am, my dear Sir, yours, very truly, "WILLIAM ATKINSON." ANTED 1,0001. at once, at 51. per cent. interest till repaid. The greater part to be secured on Land, the remainder on Personal Security. The person advancing the same will find his account in it to a great extent in the end. Letters (post paid) addressed to R. O., Fleet, London, will be duly forwarded to the Advertiser. |