A Eulogy for Feargus O'Connor
Delivered by Stan Newens at Kensal Green Cemetery, 31 Oct 2009
Although the right to vote of all citizens over the age of 18 is today taken for granted and not even exercised by many who possess it, that right was only achieved by means of a great struggle and at the cost of immense suffering over a period of nearly two centuries.
The man around whose grave we have gathered today played a central role in part of that struggle and all of us who value democracy should remember the great contribution he made and honour his memory.
Feargus O'Connor, born in 1794 in County Cork in Ireland, who died in Notting Hill in 1855, dedicated the best years of his life to the struggle for the vote for working people, and without his self-sacrifice achieving universal suffrage could have taken years longer than it did.
In the early 19th century, only 1 in 40 men and no women had the vote in Britain, and Parliament was totally dominated by the rich landowning class. For example Old Sarum, 2 miles north of Salisbury, returned two MPs to the Commons. There were only 11 voters and the Earl of Caledon who owned the site chose them both. Or New Romney in Kent which returned 2 MPs but had only 8 voters. Sir Chomeley Dering chose the two MPs. Or Orfod in Suffolk which had 2 MPs but only 22 electors. The Marquis of Hertford nominated the representatives. Or Harwich in Essex which had one MP and 32 voters. The Treasury selected the MP.
At the same time, Birmingham, Manchester and other great industrial cities had no right to elect MPs. But the steadily growing popular movement which began in 1770 and was fiercely resisted during the Napoleonic Wars reached fever pitch by the later 1820s and the Tories fell from power.
The result was a Whig government that brought in the 1832 Reform Act, but while it abolished the rotten boroughs and the most flagrant abuses, denied the vote to all property owners -- £10 householders and £50 leaseholders. The Reform Act even took away votes from working men in places where they had votes like Preston.
It took time for the movement to organise anew but in May 1838, the London Working Men's Association published the People's Charter specifying six demands, the first of which was universal manhood suffrage.
The person who more than any other pushed the Charter and won over mass support for it was Feargus O'Connor. He embarked on a phenomenal round of speaking engagements throughout northern England and as a charismatic figure of immense dedication attracted myriads of people who were totally captivated by his arguments.
Feargus O'Connor grew up in Ireland where his uncle, Arthur O'Connor, had been a notable rebel. Claiming descent from the ancient kings of Ireland, O'Connor began his political campaigning in Ireland and was elected to parliament in 1832, only to be unseated after the following election on the grounds that he did not possess sufficient property to be an MP -- a reflection of the exclusive parliamentary system which still existed after the 1832 Reform Act.
Feargus came to England and embarked on his crusade for working class voting rights. He stood for Oldham where he could not possibly win and then began his totally committed campaign. His main target was the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 that aimed to deny the poor any relief outside the workhouse. He organised a movement on this basis and launched a newspaper, The Northern Star, which rapidly became the outstanding voice of the Chartist Movement with a circulation of 10,000 copies.
Throughout the latter part of the 1830s all through the 1840s, Feargus was at the helm of the Chartist Movement, everywhere galvanising working people into action. But his character and speeches did not win universal approval even within Chartist ranks. The radical MP John Roebuck, who helped draft the preamble of the Charter, denounced him as 'a cowardly and malignant demagogue', and 'a reptile beneath his contempt'.
The moral force sector of the Chartists was deeply suspicious of the encouragement he gave to those who thought armed force was the only means of securing the Charter and the right to vote. But no amount of denigration can detract from the fact that he was the most outstanding, charismatic and dominating figure in the movement and the fact that his oratory rallied the mass of ordinary people to the support of the Chartist cause.
After the tragedy of the Newport Rising in 1839 -- an ill-conceived attempt to win the Charter by armed force which utterly failed -- the Commons turned down the Charter by 235 votes to 46, a reflection of the strength of the citadel of reaction and upper class contempt for the rights of common folk. With many others, he was prosecuted for seditious libel, found guilty and sentenced to 18 months in prison, which he spent in York Castle, still turning out articles for the Northern Star.
After leaving prison, he devised his Land Plan to raise money buy issuing shares and buying arable land to provide workers with smallholdings. It was not successful but the estates survived and in some cases exist as highly sought-after dwellings in an idyllic setting to this day.
Feargus, however, did not neglect the campaign for votes. In 1848, the overthrow of King Louis Philippe of France and the creation of the Second Republic, initially with universal suffrage, inspired the Chartists in Britain anew. Feargus threw himself into the organisation of a new petition to put before Parliament.
He had now gained election to Parliament as MP for Nottingham in 1847 and he took the chair at a huge rally of 150,000 people at Kennington Common which was organised with the intention of marching on Parliament to present the petition. The authorities, however, blocked the bridges over the Thames and realising that it would lead to a huge clash, Feargus agreed that the petition should be delivered in a fleet of hansom cabs.
Afterwards the press, as reactionary on the whole as today, ridiculed the petition and the fact that it did not contain as many signatures as the Chartists claimed and included a few forged signatures. And again Parliament refused to accept the call for reform. By this time Feargus's health was breaking down. He behaved irrationally on a number of occasions and was committed to an asylum in 1852.
He died in poverty at his sister's home at 18 Notting Hill and there was not even enough money to pay for the funeral. However, the money was raised by public subscription and an estimated 50,000 people attended the burial in 1855 that reflected the huge esteem in which he was still held.
Feargus was, of course, only one of those who contributed to the struggle for the right to vote and democracy. Some of the others are listed on the Reformers' Memorial in this cemetery, which I helped to refurbish when I represented the area in the European Parliament.
Feargus O'Connor's contribution was however huge and although he did not live to see the triumph of the democratic cause which was not achieved until the 20th century with the winning of votes for women, the movement in which he served paved the way. We are therefore right to honour his name and remember his contribution. In the past, I hoped to initiate a fund to refurbish his grave but I was diverted to other causes. It is to be hoped that the movement will in due course repair this grave that is a memorial to the struggle for the emancipation of humanity and the creation of a fairer and more caring society.
As we face the challenges of our day and seek to uphold the cause of struggling humanity, not only in Britain but across the world, let us remember to honour those who went before us and devoted their lives to our cause. Amongst these, with all his faults, stands a towering figure, that of Feargus O'Connor, a champion of the people's rights and a great pioneer in the never-ending struggle for the emancipation of human kind.
Stan Newens
is an author, journalist
and former MEP
For information on the
Alliance for Green Socialism
http://www.greensocialist.org.uk
mailto:info@greensocialist.org.uk
AGS, FREEPOST 5794
Leeds LS7 3YY
07811 384888
| 
