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CHARTISM. sthonie of reform under six specific titles: (1) The rijilit of votiii}; to every male and every naturalized foreigner resident in the kingdom for more than two years, who should be 21 years of age. of sound mind, and unconvicted of crime; (2) e<iual electoral districts; (3) vote by ballot; (4) annual Parliaments; (5) no property ijuali- lication for members; and (ll) payment of mem- bers of I'arliament for their services. The Ke- form Bill of 1832 had failed to satisfy the work- ing classes, and after a terrible period of com- mercial depression and want, an unsuccessful attempt was made to institute a greater reform in the House of Commons. whereu|)on six mem- bers of Parliament and six workinginen drew up the charter, which was hailed l)y large num- bers of persons with t'lithusiasm. Immense meet- ings were held tliroughout the country, many of them attended by two or three hundred thousand people. Fiery orators fanned the excitement, and. under the guidance of extremists, physical force was spoken of as the only means of obtain- ing justice. The more mo<lerate were overruled by the fanatics, and the people, aroused by suf- fering, were easily wrought into frenzy by those who assumed direction. The Chartist propa- ganda was vigorously carried on by Feargus O'Connor in the Northern .S'f«r, an organ which attained phenomenal circulation. In the autumn of 1838 torchlight meetings were held. Their danger was obvious, and they were at once pro- claimed illegal. Some of the leaders were ar- rested, amid intense excitement, and imprisoned. A body calling itself the National Convention, elected by the Chartists throughout the kingdom, commenced sitting in Birmingham in ilay, 1839. It proposed various means of coercing the legisla- ture into submission, recommending a run on the savings banks for gold, abstinence from excisable articles, exclusive dealing, and, as a last resort, universal cessation from labor. During its sit- ting a collision took place with the military in Birmingham. Public meetings were forbidden, and alarming excesses were committed by the irritated mob. In June, 1839, a petition in favor of the charter was presented to the House of Commons, ostensibly signed by 1,280,000 persons. The House refused to name a day for its consid- eration and the national convention retaliated by advising the people to cease from work through- out the country. Tliis advice ivas not followed, but the disturbance increased, and in November an outbreak took place in Newport, which re- sulted in the death of ten persons and the woimd- ing of great numbers. For their part in this insurrection three leaders were sentenced to death, but their punishment was afterwards com- muted to transportation. In 1842 great riots took place in the northern and midland districts, not directly caused by the Chartists, but en- couraged and aided by them aft<'r the disturb- ances began. In the same year an attempt was made by .loseph Sturge to imite all friends of popular enfranchisement in a complete suffrage union, but he only succeeded in dividing their ranks. In 1848 the turmoil in France created great excitement in England, and much anxiety was felt lest an armed attempt should be made to subvert the institutions of the countri-. Two hundred thousand special constables were en- rolled in London alone, among which number was the subsequent Emperor, Napoleon III. A serious outbreak was expected in London on the day O'Connor named in Parliament as the time when he woulil counsel violence if his demands were not met. On the fateful day, however, he ad- vised the assembled multitudes to disperse to their homes, and thenceforth lost his influence with the masses.

In the language of Charles I. (r|.v.), the opponents of Cluutism denied that men as such iuid a right to vote; their right was to be well governed, and universal sullrage was more likely to destroy society than to confer happiness or insure justice.

From 1848 Chartism as an organization grad- ually died, owing to the improvement in the circumstances of the people which followed the repeal of the corn laws. The principles of the charter were not new, and since then the chief points have become law, for which consumma- tion a certain amount of credit must be given to this agitiition.

The Chartist leaders included Feargus O'Con- nor, Attwood, Lovett, Stephens, Vincent. Ernest Jones. Thomas Cooper, and others. Consult : Life of Thomas Cooper: Ah Autobiograph;/ (Lon- don, 1880); Carlyle. Chartism (London,' 1839) ; Kingsley, Alton Locke (London, 1S5(J) ; and Gammage. History of the Chartist Movement (London, 1894).

CHARTISTS. See Chartism.

CHARTRAN, shar'trax', Theobald (1849 — ). A French painter, bom in Besancon (Doubs). He was a pupil of Cabanel. In 1872 he exhibited at the Salon his first picture, "IjC corps de Monseigneur Darboy expose en chapel le ardente au palais de I'archevOque de Paris." which was much praised. In 1877 he obtained the Prix de Rome. Afterwards he painted reli- gious and historical pictures and many portraits. His coloring is always fine, and his portraits have >a characteristic distinction.

CHARTRES, shiir'tr' (Med. Lat. Caniotum, Lat. Carnutum ciritas. Gall. Autriciim). A city of France, capital of the Department of Eure-et- Loir, and seat of a bishopric, 47 miles southwest of Paris (Map: France, H 3). It is built partly at the base, and partly on the declivity of a hill overlooking the river Eure, here divided into two channels, one flowing within and the other with- out the former ramparts, which have been con- verted into agreeable promenades. Chartres con- sists of an upper and a lower town connected by streets almost inaccessible to carriages. The upper town has some good streets, but the lower is ill-built. Jfany of the houses are quaintly gabled, timbered buildings. The cathedral, one of the largest and most imposing ecclesiastical structures in Europe, with its lofty spires, one of them towering to a height of 413 feet, crowns the top of the nill. It has numerous stained windows, the workmanship of which is unsur- passed, if indeed equaled, elsewhere in France, and many of them date from the Thirteenth Cen- tury. It is also famous for its sculptures. This splendid edifice was the source of inspiration for .Tames Russell Lowell's poem "The Cathedral." The Cliurch of Saint Pierre and the obelisk to the memory of General Marceau are also ob- jects of interest. Chartres has manufactures of woolens, hosiery, and leather, and is the great cattle and grain market of the depart- ment. It has two teiichers' colleges, a lyceum, a library of 80,000 printed volumes and 1796