Ernest Charles Jones (25 January 181926 January 1869) was an English poet, novelist and Chartist.

Dorothy Thompson Dorothy Celene Thompson (July 9, 1893 – January 30, 1961) was an American journalist and radio broadcaster. She was the first American journalist to be expelled from Nazi Germany in 1934 and was one of the few women news commentators on radio ...

points out that Jones was born into the landed gentry, became a barrister, and left a large documentary record. "He is the best-remembered of the Chartist leaders, among the pioneers of the modern Labour movement, and a friend of both Marx and Engels."

Early life

Jones was born on 25 January 1819 in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

, while his parents were visiting the Prussian court. He was the son of a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

Major named Charles Gustavus Jones,

equerry An equerry (; from French 'stable', and related to 'squire') is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attendant, usually upon ...

to the

Duke of Cumberland Duke of Cumberland is a peerage title that was conferred upon junior members of the British Royal Family, named after the historic county of Cumberland. History The Earldom of Cumberland, created in 1525, became extinct in 1643. The dukedom ...

, afterwards King of

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

. In 1838 Jones came to England, and in 1841 published anonymously ''The Wood-Spirit'', a romantic novel. This was followed by some songs and poems. He entered the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's I ...

in 1841 and on 20 April 1844 he was called to the bar.

Chartism

In 1845, he joined the Chartist agitation, quickly becoming its most prominent figure, and vigorously carrying on the party's campaign on the platform and in the press. His speeches, in which he openly advocated physical force, led to his prosecution, and he was sentenced in 1848 to two years' imprisonment for

seditious Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, establ ...

speeches. While in prison he wrote, it is said in his own blood on leaves torn from a prayer-book, ''The Revolt of Hindostan'', an epic poem. Upon his release from prison, he conducted a Chartist newspaper: the ''Notes to The People'' (1850–1852). He became a leading figure in the "National Charter Association" in the phase of its decline, together with his friend George Julian Harney, and helped to give the Chartist movement a clearer socialist direction. Following the closing of ''Notes to The People'', Jones launched another Chartist publication, the ''People's Paper'' in May 1852. Jones knew

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

and

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ,"Engels"
'' French Revolution of 1848 The French Revolution of 1848 (french: Révolution française de 1848), also known as the February Revolution (), was a brief period of civil unrest in France, in February 1848, that led to the collapse of the July Monarchy and the foundatio ...

were credited to him, he co-authored six more with Jones, and according to Marx, he also made contributions to all articles on economics published in the paper from 1851 to 1852, which constituted two-thirds of articles appearing in the publication. He also contributed 25 articles to the ''People's Paper''. Jones, a strident anti-imperialist, has been credited as an influence on Marx's views regarding colonialism, which shifted during the 1850s from seeing imperialism as a progressive, modernising force to regarding it as having a destructive effect on colonised societies: Jones' imprisonment had come about after he had given a speech in east London advocating for the independence of Ireland from British control, and wrote a series of articles in the ''People's Paper'' in 1853 expressing the hope that the

sepoy ''Sepoy'' () was the Persian-derived designation originally given to a professional Indian infantryman, traditionally armed with a musket, in the armies of the Mughal Empire. In the 18th century, the French East India Company and its ot ...

s of the

Presidency armies The presidency armies were the armies of the three presidencies of the East India Company's rule in India, later the forces of the British Crown in India, composed primarily of Indian sepoys. The presidency armies were named after the presiden ...

would turn against the rule of the East India Company to launch a struggle for Indian independence, prefiguring the

1857 rebellion The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against Company rule in India, the rule of the East India Company, British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the The Crown, British ...

by four years. However, Jones was almost the National Charter Association's only public speaker; he was out of sympathy with the other leading Chartists, and soon joined the advanced

Radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics * Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe an ...

party. Jones was a member of the Manchester section of the

International Workingmen's Association The International Workingmen's Association (IWA), often called the First International (1864–1876), was an international organisation which aimed at uniting a variety of different left-wing socialist, communist and anarchist groups and trad ...

Return to Convention

Afterwards, when the political and social agitation had died down, he returned to his practice as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and givin ...

, which he had deserted, and also wrote largely. He produced a number of novels, including '' The Maid of Warsaw'' and '' Woman's Wrongs'', also some poems, ''

The Painter of Florence ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'', ''

The Battle Day ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' (1855), ''

The Revolt of Hindostan ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' (1857), and '' Corayda'' (1859). Some of his lyrics, such as ''

The Song of the Poor ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'', ''

The Song of the Day Labourers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'', and ''

The Factory Slave ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'', were well known.

Death

He made several unsuccessful attempts to enter parliament and was about to contest

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

, with the certainty of being returned, when he died in

Ardwick Ardwick is a district of Manchester in North West England, one mile south east of the city centre. The population of the Ardwick Ward at the 2011 census was 19,250. Historically in Lancashire, by the mid-nineteenth century Ardwick had grown f ...

in 1869. He is buried in

Ardwick Cemetery Ardwick is a district of Manchester in North West England, one mile south east of the city centre. The population of the Ardwick Ward at the 2011 census was 19,250. Historically in Lancashire, by the mid-nineteenth century Ardwick had grown fro ...

. He is believed to have sacrificed a considerable fortune rather than abandon his Chartist principles. His wife was Jane Atherley; and his son, Llewellyn Atherley-Jones, K.C. (1851–1929), was a

and Liberal Member of Parliament.

Works

* ''Infantine effusions''. F. H. Nestler, Hamburg 183
Digitalisat
* ''The Wood-Spirit. A Novel''. T. W. Boone, London 184
Band 1 Digitalisat
* Fergus O'Connor, Ernst Charles Jones (Hrsg.): ''The Labourer; A monthly magazin of politics, literature, poetry & c.'' Bd. 1. Northern Star Office, Manchester 184
Digitalisat
* Fergus O'Connor, Ernst Charles Jones (Hrsg.): ''The Labourer; A monthly magazin of politics, literature, poetry & c.'' Bd. 2. Northern Star Office, Manchester 184
Digitalisat
* Fergus O'Connor, Ernst Charles Jones (Hrsg.): ''The Labourer; A monthly magazin of politics, literature, poetry & c.'' Nd. 3. Northern Star Office, Manchester 184
Digitalisat
* Fergus O'Connor, Ernst Charles Jones (Hrsg.): ''The Labourer; A monthly magazin of politics, literature, poetry & c.'' Northern Star Office, Manchester 184
Digitalisat
* Hrsg.: ''Notes to the People. The Champion of Political Justice and Universal Right''. London May 1851 until 185
Digitalisat 1851
* ''Co-operation''. In: ''Notes to the People''. Nro. 21. September, 20th 1851 * ''Three to One''. In: ''Notes to the People''. Nro. 26 25 September 1851 * ''What Is Kossuth?'' In: ''Notes to the People''. Nro. 31 vom 29 November 1851 * ''Erklärung gegen

Karl Heinzen Karl Peter Heinzen (22 February 1809 – 12 November 1880) was a revolutionary author who resided mainly in Germany and the United States. He was one of the German Forty-Eighters. He advocated terrorist violence against ruling dynasties and unin ...

. Übersetzt von

Jenny Marx Johanna Bertha Julie Jenny Edle von Westphalen (12 February 18142 December 1881) was a German theatre critic and political activist. She married the philosopher and political economist Karl Marx in 1843. Background Jenny von Westphalen was bor ...

. London March 1852, 3rd''. * ''The Coming Crisis and why It Is Coming''. In: ''Notes to the People''. Nro. 16 August, 21st 1852 * ''The Storm's First Thunder''. In: ''Notes to the People''. Nro. 42 February, 19th 1853 * ''A Phamphlet on the „Revelations Concerning the Trial of the Communists at Cololone''. In: ''Notes to the People''. Nro. 47 26. 26 March 1853 * ''Secret Intrigue of Russian Tools, and Scandalous Doings of "Our" Cabinet in the East''. In: ''Notes to the People''. Nro. 86 24. Dezember, 24th 1853 * ''Different Features of Popular Feeling''. In: ''Notes to the People''. Nro. 103 April, 22nd 1854 * ''Discoveries Made Too Late''. In: ''Notes to the People''. Nro. 130 28. Oktober, 28th 1854 * ''The Maid of Warsaw, or the Tyrant Czar: a tale of the last Polish Insurrection''. London 1854 * ''Woman's Wrongs. A series of tales''. London 1855 * ''Evenings with the People. The Franchise and Taxation, an address''. London 185
Digitalisat
* ''Evenings with the people. The unemployed''. London 1857 * ''The revolut of Hindostan; or the new world. A. poem''. Wilson, London 1857owned by Karl Marx. (Marx-Engels-Gesamtausgabe. Abteilung IV. Band 32, p. 357 Nro. 640). * ''Corayda. A Tale of Faith and Chibalry, and other poems''. W. Kent & Co., London 186
Digitalisat
* Communist Party of Great Britain History Group Corporation (Hrsg.): ''Diary of Ernest Jones 1839–47''. Hammersmith, London 1961 (Our history 21)

Notes

References

General references

Attribution

* *

External links

Musings, information & illustrations about the Chartists from Stephen Roberts

* ttp://www.chartists.net/Where-are-they-now.htm Chartist Ancestors: Where Are They Nowincludes an account of Jones's funeral
Ernest Charles Jones: Chartist and Reformer
– biography & selected writings at gerald-massey.org.uk * * * * Lyrics to

' set to music and recorded by

Martin Carthy Martin Carthy MBE (born 21 May 1941) is an English folk singer and guitarist who has remained one of the most influential figures in British traditional music, inspiring contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, and later artists such ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Ernest Charles 1819 births 1869 deaths Chartists British poets British socialists English socialists British male poets 19th-century poets