The Sun. — London, England, 1849-08-14 00:00:00

44 18 28 24 Sir ief, the the lay f'or ()11 re& PARLIAMENTARY AND FINAN- CIAL REFORM. ASSOCIATION. The first aggregate meeting of the Metropolitan Par liamentary and Financial Reform Association was held last ni g ht within the walls of Drury-lane Theatre. The east edifice was crowded to the roof, and additional ac coinnaodaticn was provided for several hundreds of per- Eons at the back of the stage and behind the speakers. A considerable number of ladies occupied seats in the boxes and pit. The arrangements for the preservation of order wes enforced by a number of stewards wearing rosettes and carrying wands. The chair was taken at seven o'clock by Sir Joshua Walmsley, M.P., President of the Association. Among the members and friends of the association upon the platform were Lord Nugent, Lord Dudley Stuart, M.P., Mr. C. Lushinwtor, Mr. F. O'Connor, M.P., Mr. G. Thompson, Count Puiski, the Rev. T. Spencer, M.A., Sir F. Knowles, Bart. ; Mr. C. Gilpin, Professor Mahpqn , Oberlin College, Ohio, Unitei States; T. Price, LL.D., kr. S. Harford, &e., &c. The CHAIRMAN, in opening the business of the meet ing, read the followrg letter from Mr. Cobden, M.P., expressing his regret at being unable to attend the "Eastbourne, Sussex, Aug. 7. "Sir,—Will you be good enough to express to the c ommittee my regret that absence from town will pre teat my being present at the next meeting of the Mstro- Politan and Parliamentary Reform Association? You nave many years of good work before you, und it Bill not, therefore, be amiss to keep an army of reserve for another campaign. In the mean time you are doing battle Lerotcally, and "I remain, Sir, ye ur obedient servant, "E. Whitty, Esq. "RICHARD COBDEN." A similar letter cf apology was read from Lir. game, M.P. The CHAIRMAN then said, that amongst the verieus Vrrjects of congra t u lation arising out of the present brillia n t and important meeting, not the least signifieant Was the, presence of so unusual a number of their fel low -countrywomen.—(Cheers.) It was an evidence of the rectitude of their prieclplos and the peecsfulness of - t heir policy, and it spoke volumes in favour of their early, and complete success. He only echoed the sentiment of every gentleman present when he thanked them gratefully icr their countenance. — (Loud cheers.) It was honourable to the metropolis that this association had so rapidly developed the neces. thy of uniting ail classes iu the attainment ol a larg,, eubstantial, and permanent measure of reform. In the short space of six months they had succeeded in inspir• b ag cent fence where distrust formerly existed, in unit ing those who had long been alienated, and in giving f orm and consistency to the demand for civil rights; and f roth their pr esen t pl ace of meeting might go forth a na tional rallying cry which would end in the extinction of abuses and the elevation of the masses to the rights of citizenship. —(Cheers.) For this early efficiency they Were indebted to the zealous, untiring, and earnest labours of their Council. They were told the middle c lasses were apathetic, and the messes chilled into iedif ference. They applied the test of public meetings to the assumed fact, and the result had been that no building had Set been found sufficiently capacious to receive the thousands who had thronged to give their adhesion to the cause of freedom and advancement.— (Cheers) " the great feature that distinguished the Present movement from all others in the his lory of political agitation was the n:o:nentcuis fact that the link was broken, and, thus separated, the Vvo great classes had ngain been welded firmly, ono 4e trusted for ever, for the just purposes of social and elevation,—(Cheers.) .By means of this union t he associati on h a d a lready become a " great feet,"— (Cheers)—but to be really powerful for good the sphere ° I its labours must be extended, its members z. sinus in t he support , pport of their cpiniums, and the principles for Which they were associated, carried out in a fearless and uncompromising spirit. The objects they sought were worthy of the effort. The wou emanciate their f ellow -men, restore tho spirit of the constitution, place Property on a safe and permanent basis, and make that ! 1 fact which had hitherto been purely a fiction, by caus . rr the institutions of the country to live in the breasts a nd affections of the people.—(Cheers.) At present their Politiaal ex i s t en ce was a perpetual turmoil, un tosd the habits and genius of the people.—(Hear, he ar.) The masses throughout the country were every- Where sullen and discontented. The middle classes rttratted un d er t h e p ressure of unequal and unneces sary taxation.—(Cheers.) There was an antagonism between the people and their representatives of so it. traordinary a chracter, tht no great social or po aieal am e l iorat i on s could bo n a chieved without an or- Z c ixed agitation, destructive alike to the time, the sera.) ns, and the energies of the country.—(Hear, and c h atl e eou -) A glance at the Parliamentary history of this Iltry would conv ince the most sceptical of the neces -1? for a th oroug h re f orm o f the representative system. ° °IIIY great national measure which received the issetetion of the Legislature during the entire of the last t he `it 3 n was that crowning act of tree trade, the repeal of navigation -laws—(Cheers) —nor did this arise from Wlar ge of exertion on the part of the Members rep r esenting t t r ge con s tit ue nces. Mr. Cobden's motion for placing Warlike establishments of the country on the basis of ~73 5, after 20 years of peace , an d thus savin g 10,000,0001., W as rejected by 275 to 78 ; Mr. Hume's motion for the ei tt clenclment of the national representation b y 268 to 82 ; "Lor. Berkeley's, for the ballot, by 136 to 85. Mr. O'Con tor's motion for the Charter met a similar fate, and was thr own out by 224 to 15. Nor was Mr. Osborne's motion for a Committee to Inquire into the Irish State C hurch viewed with more favour ; it was refused by i 7 u s 0 to en 103. In fact, every measure to relieve the burdens or elevate the condition of the people was treat e d as visionary and out of place, and would con 111lue to b e so treate d unt il t h e H ouse o f C ommons b ecame not e s °ale' in name, but in reality the Commons' House. e would conc l u d e by reminding them that there Wer e few objects of higher, purer, or more ennobling in terest" than th ose f or w hich they associated. It was for theta to determine whether they would continue to allow a territorial oligarchy to subvert the entire spirit of the e24stitution, or whether by the exertion of their moral and th ey would vindicate t h e ma j est y of the peopl e , a insure peace, happiness, and contentment to every porti on of the empire.—(Loud cheers.) eat` act rep or t was t h en rea d by Mr. G. THosersoN. We act the following passages:— hav e It la with the utmost gratification that the Council mete her t° announce to the first aggregate meeting of Mete ,B the indi s p u t a bl e succes s of the association. With After repeated deliberations, and having consulted tbk the leaders of all classes of reformers, it was re u'ved to advocate the following reforms:— le Such an e xt e nsion of the franchise as will give to le ery male occupier of a tenement, or any portion of a ceme n t, for which he shall be rated, or shall have cla imed to be rated, to the relief of the poor, the right to e registered as tin elector. `,` 2 . The adoption of the s y stem of votin g b y ballo t. t hree 3. The limitation of the dur a t i o n of P a rli ament to years. "4. Such a change i n the arran g ement of the electoral a "'slriets as shall produce a more equal apportionment 01 representatives to constituents. 4 1 ,5. The abolition of the p ro p ert y qualification for "'embers of Parliament. , p; " The plan of agitation hitherto pu r su ed has been to " S it in succe ssion the various boroughs ; and pub li c meetingsf,,s have been held in Lambeth , Fi nsbur y , Mary uotle, the Tower Hamlets, Greenwich , Southwark, an d West L on d on ; which, with the meeting now held 11 Westtninst , r, will include every section of the rce .ropolix. :` With a desire not to exaggerate, the Council can t il ,! l 'elY assert th a t they have been everywhere enthusias j°4llY greeted by cro wded assemblies, held invariably Ll the largest buildings available in the localities. the It a exertions ti t o h n i s would be idle to attempt to conceal that much of of success which waits to reward the persevering efforts a o e f eiation must be the result of the individual the people. Two great practical modes of Should be ever borne in mind—the existing registers must be closely watched and purified ; the county constituents must be enlarged by the vigorous and simultaneous working, in every locality, of freehold q u alification societies. "In this movement the men of Birmingham set the e xample, which was speedily followed by the midland counties. In Manchester, and in almost all the other larg e towns, freehold land and building societies have also been formed; whilst in the metropolis this Council has aided in the establishment of one for the emancipa tion of the home counties. _ By the aid of these societies the 403. franchise is brought within the reach of every industrious man placed above the struggle for the merest necessaries of life. A judicious investment of 201., which may be subscribed at the rate of ls. a week, will thus se cure an ann ual return to the subscriber of at least 10 per c ent. upon his outlay, and place him upon the register for the coun ty in which his qualification is situated. "The amount of individual aid thus brought to the co mmon cause will be the fairest test of the sincerity and public spirit of the great body of reformers; and the h .gour which the f re ehold-qualification movement has hitherto di s played affords every reason for a confident "Pectation that it will constitute one o f the most most effi cient m eans f o r the attainment 01 political rig . "The movement having 'focal now become a fact of unequi • import, and having insured the support of the me tropolis and its environs, the Council, in obedience to the necessity • of its position, and in compliance with repeated Inv itations from many of the largest provincial towns, no lo nger hesit a t es t o extend the operations of the associa . - . t icn to th e w h o l e ki ng d om . Its scope, likeits object, is now national ; and the Council earnestly calls upon the enli ghtened reformers in all parts of the country to u nite With this great movement for the extension of popular li g ht 4.—(Cheers.) To accomplish the objects of the association it needs s carcely /I t o b e sa id t h a t a large amount of pecuniary aid .„, now becom e i n dispensable. Small subscriptions, if Universally contributed, will suffice, but it is necessary that the Council should be furnished with adequate bacans of competing with the compact body of their in terested opponents, who will cling to the abuses by which t , ll ,eY Profit till the united efforts of an earnest and in dignant people shall enforce their relinquishment. " It is not within the object of the present report to dilate upon the results of the proposed change; but the Council cannot conclude without reiterating their con firmed belief that it will tend to the preservation of our m oat valuable institutions, give stability and protection to property, elevate and improve the condition of all 'uses of the p eo pl e , an d consequently raise the king. , i 'cm to a height of prosperity and grandeur which, amidst all its successes, it has never vet attained." Mr. C. LIISIIINGTON acid, he regretted the absence of „._ Hume, who % it had been arras wed, should first have addressed the meet i ng to n i g h t; h u tiis privation, as he has sure every one present would feel is, would enable of to Pay a cordial t r ib u t e t o the transcendent merits h, at excell en t man and admirable statesrati.—(llear, "L en, Mr. Herne remmene«l his ear, er at a time "L" . e e n, accordi ng to the prejudices of the day, to h d vo • Itt, reform was al most to conten d f or treason , hut, . Al though he was reviled by the enemies of reform, he pursued his course steadily, and had succeeded in con ferring upon his country inestimable benefits by the ex tinction of abuses and the reduction of the national ex penditure. Their gratitude was-, therefore, essen tially due to that venerable and consistent reformer. A public compliment was already paid to that Hon. Gentle man by a particular seat being reserved for him in the House of Commons into which no other Member in truded; and when nature should assert her stern and final decree he (Mr. Lcshington) felt convinced that a niche would be assigned him in the temple of public gratitude, where the memory of his patriotic deeds would be consecrated and embalmed.—(Chters.) He (Mr. Lushington) would now turn to the immediate business of tie evening. He believed this was the last iretropoliteu district which had been visited by the Fi nancial Reform Association; but the Council of that as sociation knew that there was in Westminster an appe tite for re'erm of insatiable voracity.--(Laughter and cheers.) He considered that the Council had laid down an admirable plan of eperatiens, and he rejeiced that there had been a union of sentiment and exertion upon this question on the part of various sections of the community entertaining different political opinions—a union which he believed no machinations of the enemies of freedom could succes7,qilly resist.—(Loud cheers.) The middle classes and the great hotly of the artizans of this country hod proclaimed the approaching doom of that offensive and detestable exclusiveness which had hitherto deprived a great proportion of the people of their proper share in the representation. Was not such a combination required? How were the people repre sented in the House of Commons?—(A. Voice—" Not at all.")—(Laughter and cheers.) Where were the friends of the people in that House? He believed the Largest number of Members who had voted in favour of any one reform question ltrid been only 84; and motion after motion for reform had been negatived by large majori nen Of 850,000 electors in tt is country only 1-17th belonged to the industrial classes; and ho thought this was a state of things which ought to be remedied. The fact was that the representation of the House of Com mons wes a mockery; and the people, having no voice in the representation, coold exercise no control over the expenditure which was met from that taxation to which they were the chief contributors. Taking the annual expenses of the nation at 56,000,0001., the working: classes Nvere required to contribute 32,000,0001. of that amount. Under the present system the constitutional right of the people not to be taxed without their own consent was constnotly violated. At the period of the American war Lord Chancellor Camden enunciated this magnificent princihle, " Taxation and representation era inseparably united. God has joined them; no British Parliament can put them asunder. Taxation and representation are inseparable; it is one of the laws of nature that whatever is a man's own is abe-olutely his own; no man has a right to take it without the consent of the prssessor, expressed either by himself or his re presentative, and whoever attempts to do so commits an injory and a robbery."—(Hear, hear, and cheers.) Now, it was an incontestable fact that the people of this country were not rcpreeented—(blear, heir)—nevertbe less they were taxed.—(Laughter and cheers.) There fore, as Lord Camden sail, they were robbed, because they were not allowed to exeicise that control over the public expenditure to is hich they were entitled by every principle of justice. Seven-eighths of the Members 01 the House of Commons were, he believed, altogether op posed to any ref,; t% He (Mr. Lushington) had fre clue ntly been in minorities of eighteen or twenty upon questions of reform; and he believed the smallest 'min tier with which he had voted was npen the " People's Char ter."—(Loud cheers, renewed and continued for some moments.) On that occasion only thirteen Members, •x.id<...s the two tellers, supported the motion—(Cries of " Shame, Fhatti,!")— but in that baker's dozen he was numbered, along with Mr. Hume, and several Hon. gentlemen who were present on this ocraeien.—(hear. noir, and cheers.) He held in his bend a list of 21 propositions for reform submitted to the House o f Com mons, every one of which had been negatived by large inajorities.—(Cries of "Shame!") The people, then, were not duly represented; they were let to writhe in compulsory submission to aggravated abuses, flagrant but unacknowledged, iniquitous but unredressed. The Prime Minister derided the idea of reform—(Cries of " Oh!" and groans)—and seven eighths of the House of Commons opposed ( very emendatory measure. What then was the r mecty for this state of things? They could not rely upon the House of Commons—(llcar, hear) they must rely upon themselves.— (Cheers.) They must secure an amendment and reform of the electoral franchise; they must have universal suffrage. —(Loud cheering, which was prolonged for some moments.) Universal suffrage was proffezed to them by the Finance Association, purified to a small extent merely to protect it from abuse —from the invasion of the common beg.4ar and the common vagabond. — (A voice—" here's the rights o' man?"—Laughter and cheers.) But while they got universal suffrage they must also secure the privileges of the ballot. (Cheers) How had universal suffrage operated in America? It had established peace among the people, and had given universal satisfaction. They never heard of seditious tumults or disturbances against the Govera• ment of the United States, because there the people were their own governors, and would not attempt to destroy their own authority. Then let them look at France. —(A cry of "Rome," followed by hisses and groans.) He did not wish to go into the question, but merely to express his opinion that the exercise of universal suf frage had preserved France from much evil.—(llear.) Ile called upon them to persevere steadily in carrying on their objet', avoiding the minutest infraction of the law, and they would then confound their enemies, who might be still endeavouring to entrap and to punish them.—(Hear, hear.) The honest declaration of public opinion, enunciated calmly, and according to the dictates of the law, could not be battered down by artillery— (Hear)—no six-pounders would lurk in the suburbs; the Horse Guards Blue would repose harmlessly in their barracks—(A laugh)—and the people would achieve complete success, because their sovereignty and their rights would be constitutionally vindicated. He might conclude by observing, with reference to the scheme for purchasing 40s. freeholds in counties, that he was glad a society bad been lo: flied to at cure to artisans and to the industrious classes the means of obtaining by that means votes in counties, and that he hoped the plan would be encouraged by those who had the power of promoting it.— (Hear, bear, and cheers.) The Rev. T. SPENCER observed, such was the power of corruption, that no Prime Minister could remove great evils without the assistance of popular opinion. —(Hear, hear.) If they looked to the past, they would find that every great measure brought to a successful issue by the Government of the day had been carried by the assis tance or the people at meetings of this kind; and he therefore took courage for the future, and believed the great work upon which they bad now entered would in a few years be perfectly arcianpli.hed. Sir Robert Peel had rejoiced at the repeal of the corn-laws, and had attributed to that measure the escape of this country from revolution; but there were other dangers by which the country was threatened besides the want of free trade. 1 - re considered that the great danger to this country, and perhaps to every country in Europe, arose from excessive taxation, and the monopoly of legislation. —(Bear, hear.) They (right to apply to Governmero the prir.ciple of buying in the cheapest market. The , Emperor of Austria had an expensive government, bur it was ,not a good one; the United States had a cheap government, and it was a good one.—(Laughter.) It was quite unto cessary to spend 54,000,0002 a year upon the government of this country.—(Hear.) The President of the United States received 5,0001. a year, and the Secretaries of State 1,0001. a year each, end they did their duty quite as well as Lord J. Russell—(Laughter and groans)—or any minister of state in Great Britain. He (Mr. Spencer) did not mean to say he would reduce the salaries of the Ylirdsters of this country to the amount of those paid in America--(A voice " I would, though," laughter)—and he thought the public expen• dituie in that respect might be very considerably di ' minished. He considered that there was no good rep son for giving Queen Adelaide 100,0001. a year!—(" Oh, oh" and a laugh)—for allowing Lord Brougham 5,0001. a year—(Laughter)—and for giving to descendants of the illegitimate children of Charles 11. large sums of public money.—(Cheers.) He was convinced that, un less a reduction of taxation was effected, they could not look forward to a continuance of peace in this country. —(A voice," What about the bishops?") Then there was alto the danger :rising from the discontent of every man v,ho had not a vote. It was not in human nature for six men out of every seven to stand by at an election and see themselves counted for nothing. —(Hear, hear.) These two objects were united by the Financiel Reform Association, and he (Mr. Spencer), therefore, commended it to their support. He might be told that, as a clergyman, he ought to re commend every man to be quiet and contented, and not to " meddle with thoao that are given to change," and that it was his duty to preach peace and good-will among men. Well, he believed the course he took was the best mode of fulfilling that mission. —(Hear, hear, and cheers.) He never felt that he was doing his Master's work so much as when he was endeavourineto diminish the sum of human misery —(Hear, hear)—and he be t t fi ha li t t h h e et made a n d ea e rta men lieved the will o f Al m i g h ty God was the happ i ness o f a ll men; withjoy not t o starve,and gladness,o r to be slave:, giving tut o them all things richly to enjoy; and that his will was that the Government should live for the people, and not that the people should live for the Government.—(Hear, hear.) One of the " powers ordained of God" in this country was the House of Commons, which was sup posed to represent the people at large; but the working man, and the taxpaying men, who created the wealth of the country, were not the persons who elected the House of Commons. That House was indeed filled with naval and military afficers, pensioners, and the sons of the nobility, and it represented anything rather than the Commons of the realm. Lord J. Russell had said that the people had no right to un i versal suffrage, had the right to be well governed. That a l t h ou gh they seemed toforget that a great d ea l Noble Lord, however , the persons who had to answer the ques tiondepended upon . q was • and as a member of the what good government ~ thinkthat • Lord might it was aristocracy the Noble enough it one person in every four, five, or six possessed the elective franchise. But the question was, what the people of England would think? He was in the United n a country States some time ago, and he had never seen bearing the marks so peaceful as that, or a sat of men so . He of cell-respect, int!epeadence, and manly bearing. . t had seen elections at New York and Boston, and so elute and orderly were the people, that unless he had been told, he should not have known that elections were in progress. Well, then, as universal suffrage and vote by ballet were working so well in America, why should they not work well here?—(Hear.) Were the people of this country ink rior to those of America? did they not come from us? A few years ago the directors of railways ob jected to expressions of opinion on the part of share holders respecting the management of their affairs. 1 They said, " Let us alone; we will manage the railway poperiy foe you.—(A laugh.) It you put a question to us we will resign." Well, the shareholders were good boys, and did not interfere. But, by and bye, it was discovered these men had played the rogue, end the shareholders found it necessary to take the management of their affairs into their own bands. The people of England were now the shareholders, and the aristocracy were the'railway directors, who said, " Leave us alone to manage everything, and don't you interfere." But the people had found that they did not manage very eel!, and they were determined to take their affairs into their own hands. The working man was taxed 50 per cent, the middle class 25 per cent. Now, they would rather see every man pay according to his property. He believed there was not a single working man who would wish to escape all taxation—(Cheers) —and they were all ready to pay their shilling when taxation should be ren dered fair and equal. He believed that if the people would meet in such assemblies as the present, Govern• ment would within two years say, " We cannot stop them ; we will take the matter out of their hands; and have it they shall.—(Tremendous cheers.) The CHAIRMAN then introduced Lord Dudley Stuart, whose presence he especially hailed, as a member of the aristocracy who had stepped out of the ranks of his order to aid the cause of the people.—(Laud cheers.) Lord Dudley Stuart then presented himself, and was greeted with enthusiastic and prolonged applause, which was increased by a gentleman on the platform exclaiming " three cheers tor Hungary l" when the vast audience en masse, by shouts and waving of handkerchiefs, testified l i their enthusiasm in the cause. The CUAIAMAN here announced that Count Pulzzky was on the platform, and this again excited the enthu siastic cheering of the meeting. Lord D. STUART proceeded, at length, to say that this was, indeed, a great moment for him. The cheers which ' the meeting had given, not for his own name, but fur that of IJungary—(Renewed cheers)—would resound from the banks of the Thames to those of the Danube ' and the Theiss; end he prayed that they might urge on the gallant patriots—not in their struggle against op pression, but in their hour of triumphant victory.— (Great applause.) But the meeting had not been as sembled to discuss any topics of foreign policy, although the enthusiasm which reigned in their hearts for all who, in whatever clime, were struggling for their rights, had burst forth in a noble strain, and for a moment diverted attention from the object of the evening.— (Hear, hear.) It was not fur him to return thanks for , hat noble ebullition of feeling. The Honourable Chairman had announced that there was present one of Hungary's noblest patriots—(At this point the en thusiasm of the meeting was greatly increased by the chairman pointing to Count Pulszlei, who was forthwith called in front of the stage, and accommodated with a prominent seat)—who before they separated would probably express his feelings at this noble episode in so magnificent a meeting.—(Great applauSe.) After the many eloquent speeches upon the subject of financial and parliamentary reform, both in and out of Parliament, and the able writings that had been circulated upon it, he bad not the vanity to suppose he could adduce any new arguments in favour of these important objects. But none were necessary. Every person of reflection in the kingdom must feel that financial reform was necessary, and that the means of obtaining it lay through reform in Parliament.—(Hear, hear.) What need of argument to show that financial reform was le quired when every schoolboy was aware that the expenditure of the country was now ten millions greater than it was ten years ago.—(Cheers.) The great evil of this country was excessive and unequal taxation.—(Cheers.) The remedy fur the evil was Parliamentary Reform.—(Renewed cheers.) There mutt be unequal conditions in every country. Every person could not be rich or prosperous ; and no legisla Lien could place a man in the receipt of a hundred a year in as good a position, in a worldly sense, as a man who enjoyed a thousand a year. But we need not have a system of taxation pressing more hardly upon the poor than upon the rich.— (Hear, hear.) We might nave a more equitable system ; we need not have every article consumed by the poor highly taxed. By the as sistance of a leegue, similar to that which they were now re-:sernbled to promote, the will of the people had been made known, and the tax upon the stuff of life got rid of ; but there were other articles, consumed by the poor, which were heavily taxed—tea, tobacco, beer (through the malt tex), and light and air, through the window-tax.—(Hear, hear.) And he was sorry to add that, in the metropolis at least, water was also subjected to a heavy tax—a tax which might not be paid to the collector of the Government, but which was a grievance the t the inhabitants of the metropolis, and of must towns in England, laboured under, and which he hoped, ere fcrg, would he removed.—(Hear, hear.) It was to re move grievances of this sort that the association had been foi med ; and, knowing that the present meeting was to be held, he could not have been satisfied with pointing to the votes he had given in the House of Commons for the motions of Mr. Cobden and sir. Hume. He therefore thought it is duty to be present, being desirous of taking part in this great, sound, and wholesome agitation. It was by agitation that all great ends were to be obtained, and by agitation only, at least he trusted so, in this country. It was only by such agitation as this association would persevere with that they could effect the purpose of relieving the people from the crushing injustice of unequal taxation. He had himself been a strenuous opponent of the income-tax, and it might be said "if you mean to take off such taxes as you have mentioned money must be raised to meet the obligations of the country, and you must come to direct taxation." It was per fectly true that he had opposed the income-tax might and main, but he had not opposed a property-tax.— (Cheers.) Ile had not been told by the Government, •‘ We will take off the window-tax, abolish the duty upon tea or tobacco, to enable the poor man to buy his comforts and necessaries at a cheap rate; but he had heard them say, "We must have an income-tax of live per cent. to meet the necessities of the State." — (Hear, hear.) Let it be remembered than an income tux was not a property-tax; but he believed the best thing that could be done for the people would ue to take off the taxes he had mentioned, and es tablish, not an income-tax, but an equitable property tax.—(Hear, hear.)—Ho believed that the same amount of money which was now raised could be raised by less oppressive means. Reduce the duty upon tea, and the revenue would be equal to its present amount, whilst the poor would be benefited. It bad been so with coffee. Cite duty had been reduced, whilst the revenue derived ;row it was the same, if not greater. So it would be h every other article which the poor consumed. — (Hear, hear.) How, then, were they to urge financial reform? By revolution, anarchy, and vio ence?—(Cries of "No, no.") Such a remedy would be worse than the disease. The real remedy was Par- Uamentary Reform—(Hear)—for until the House of Commons was made what it professed to be, a real re -1 presentation of the people, it was vain to hope for any .melioration in our condition. This, then, was what .he association proposed to effect. First, it would ex tend the suffrage by extending the right of voting to any wan who was rated, however small in amount, or who chose to claim to be rated. He did not know how far .nch an extension of the suffrage might give universal satisfaction, but it would be a great and a most import int step towards improvement. It would at least effect .no purpose—that, whereas the electoral body was now only a minority of the adult population, and the non oleetors a large minority, places would be changed. The electors would be come the large majority, whilst those excluded would be the minority; and atter all, if this was not found sufficient, it would not prevent the people going turther.--(dear, hear.) He had alwa) s been for p: ogressive reform. Long ago he had voted for what was called the Reform Bal. Now he voted for what he called the Morin 13111 of the present day, as proposed ny the Hon. Gentleman in the chair.—(Hear, hear.) The next point demanded by the association was the ballot, which might be called at once the greatest and the least of the points. It was the greatest because the most necessary, and the most important of all at the present day; perhaps it would be the least important at ter all the others had been secured. Although he had voted again and again for the ballot, and should do so again whenver it was proposed, he confessed he did not tike it. He did not like doing things in secret. He migt,t then be asked why he voted for it? He would say why, for the same reason that he built a wall round his garden—to keep out intruders. It was his right to be secured; it was his right that no man should come in and trespass upon his grounds to steal and carry away that which belonged to him; and although he would much rather not be put to the expense of building a wall —although he had much rather it was not necessary to protect the voter by the ballot, he was determined that the voter should be free. Therefore it was necessary to afford the voter protection, and therefore he voted for the ballot. The next point of the asso ciation was that of shorter Parliaments. On this point he had always entertained strong opinions— stronger than those of many good and earnest Re formers. Nothing was more important than to have short Parliaments. The people could not continue to be properly represented without them, for if there was all the extension of the suffrage that could be desired, and they were protected both by their numbers and by the device of the ballot from improper interference, they would have no security that their representatives, however fairly chosen, would continue properly for any length of time to represent their opinions. Three years was the time proposed by the association. Some per sons might think that too long ; but he said, "let us try that first." The fourth point of the association was, that of more equal electoral districts. It was not necessary to explain in many words upon that point ; for who could think it right or just that a city like Westminster should have no more Members to represent it than a little fishing town like Harwich, and other places of no greater moment ? Upon all these points, then, he agreed; and he was anxious to promote their being passed into a law. He was also in favour of the other point urged by the association—the abolition of the pro perty qualification.—(Hear, hear.) One word more re specting the association. It had for its object and its effect to unite the working and the middle classes. Henceforth they were united for a common object. Union was strength; by union they would obtain their object; and those who wottid attempt to sow disunion among them were their greatest enemies. —(Hear, hear.) Those who bound the different classes together, and amalgamated them, as far as possible, all into one, were a nation's greatest benefactors. But the greatest of all its enemies,l in his mind, were those who, by pro moting class legislation, gave to one class of the people and n d h is r u n n n i i o n n , a right to b e b an d e d toget h er in aversion and dislike to thisa lasting a sso and. another clas s , w h o esta bli s h e d in a country discontent not malady.as a Therefore transient evil, butas honoured ciation, and wished to support it, because it sought to destroy all class . legislatio n — a ll l e gislation for the benefit of one set of men in the country and not for the benefit of all. He was happy to do whatever lay in his power, however humbly, to promote such good and righteous ends; aid sure he was that this great move ment, begun under the auspices under which it had ap peared—ttiat was, emanating from the people, would progress from day to its day, from wee k t o wee k, and from mo:,th to inuLth, until it becam e; tri um ph an t in the at tainment of noble objects.—(Cheers.) How soon that might be he could not foresee. Futurity was wropt in clouds, end he might Dot lire to see these great reforms wrought out. Yet he trusted they would be achieved in a very short time, arid that an impatient people would not have long to wait. But whether he lived to see their triumph or not, if he had contributed ever so little in promoting it, he might feel that he had not elose.her lived in vain. —(Cheers.) Lord NUGENT said this was the first occasion on which it had been his good fortune to take part in the proceedings of the Financial Reform Association. It had been said by a great man that " When bad men conspire, good men must combine," and he thought they ought now to sink all minor differences end combine to make head against the corruption, the self-interest, and the tyranny which was endeavouring to stop the course of reform.—(Hear, hear.) He must confess that he did not concur in one sentence of the report, which recom mended that the franchise should be thrown open to all persons who paid even the smallest rates. Now, he was an advocate of complete universal suffrage—(Great cheering)—and he had never been able to see the common sense of what was called a money qualification. Every man who consumed bread contributed to the taxation of the country; and so long as a duty was paid upon any article which related to the produce or import of corn it could not be said that bread was untaxed. He (Lord Nugent) would act upon the maxim of Lord Camden, which had been quoted to-night by Mr. Lushington— that taxation without representation was robbery. He (Lord Nugent) would call no man a robber, but be might ne permitted to soy that if, Kith his opinions, he ever found himself in the House of Commons voting for a tax or a grant of public money, and he was not prepared on the same night to vote fur universal suffrage, he would certainly consider himself a thief and a robber.—(Great laughter and cheering.) He could not understand how a property qualification bore upon the question of the suf frage. He knew that in the early period of our Parlia mentary constitution it was assumed that a money qua lification was a hied of test of a certain amount of in telligence and independence.—(Laughter.) The vote was given for the intelligence and independence, the money being only the test ; but now they did not look to independence or intelligence in voters, but merely to the money qualification.—(Hear, hear.) He differed slightly, on the question of the ballot, from the Noble Lord who had just addressed them—one who was noble not only from the name he bore, but from the manner in which he had associated that name with a noble cause.—(Hear, hear, and cheers.) The Noble Lord had said that if human nature were more nearly advanced towards perfection, and if the difficulties thrown in the way of independent voting were less manifest and powerful, he w ould not be disposed to adopt a system of secret voting He (Lord Nugent) would not dislike secret voting even if human nature were much nearer perfection than it was, and it no attempts were made to destroy the indepen dence of voters, and for this reason—Was the secret kept by the voter when he put the ball into the ballot box an unmanly secret ? The voter had a right to keep that secret, and no man was entitled to ask him how he voted.—(Hear, hear.) If his opinions and prin ciples were asked, the voter would at once avow them ; but if a candidate asked for his vote, ho might reply, " My vote is my property, to be given for the general benefit, and I have as much right to put my ball in the ballot-box without saying for whom I vote, as I have to keep my will sealed."—(Hear, hear.) The ballot had been called unmanly and un-English, but it was no more so, in his opinion, than the proceedings before gland juries. He (Lord Nugent) had taken the oaths as a grand juryman to keep secret his own and his fellows' counsel ; and why was this done? To guarantee the jurymen against corruption, oppression, or vio lence.—(Hear, and cheers.) It must not be said, then, that the ballot was they h un-English osourulnden com bineanly until they were prepared to a bandon trial by jury. — (flea a r. t ) thi l s t t w im 'as e min ost t p n p e o c r e t of ssaryliberalthat principles, because they had to encounter a powerful oppositi en. The Whig Government—(Loud groans and hisses) —opposed Par liamentary and financial reform, judicial reform, and colonial reform—(Hear, hear, and hisses)—and with such a Government the Liberal party could not act. — (Cheers.) He did not wish to speak with disrespect of absent persons, but he would allude to one member of the Administration who had hitherto kept the character of the Government from disgrace and degradation by refusing to become an accomplice to the tyranny of other powers c f Europe.—(Cheers.) There was one who had not allowed himself, either hastily or by mistake, to call the most glorious struggle that had been made for cen turies "an insurrection," but who had termed that struggle " the war between Hungary and Austria,"— (Great cheering.) The meeting perhaps might not be aware that Lord Palmerston, by his conduct, had raised himself to the glory of being the subject of an intrigue intended to cast him from his position.—(Hear, hear, and shouts of " Shame!") At that very time an in trigue was proceeding—(Cries of " Shame!' and cheers) —fostered by the criminals who had been ejected from their own countries by revolutions —fostered by the Met ternichs—(Groans and cheers)—the object of which was to undermine Lord Palmerston with his colleagues, and to substitute in his place a Foreign Minister of a Met ternich choice—(Hisses and cheers) —who was thought a more fitting associate for a Whig Ministry.—(" Hear, bear," and cheers.) Why, then, did not Lord Palmer ston appeal to the people and throw himself upon them? —(Lend cheers.) The period, perhaps, had not yet arrived for such a step; but, if Lord Palmerston was what he hoped and believed him to be, the time was not far distant when they would see the result of the struggle between the Noble Lord and his opponents. He (Lord Nugent) would say—" Up with Lord Palmerston, and down with intriguers."—(A cheer was called for and given for Lord Palmerston, and immediately afterwards three hearty cheers were given for " Gallant Hungary.") The Noble Lord in conclusion exhorted the meeting not to forget the cause they had to-night met to promote, but to recollect that it was the beginning of a combina tion which they must carry out with determined per severance until they had obtained entire Radical uni versal reform.—(Loud cheers.) Mr. E. MIALL considered that every subject of the realm, contributing to the support of its civil and political institutione, was entitled at least to an elementary share of political power; and he therefore gave in his humble but hearty adhesion to this movement. After a few other observations, which were delivered in a low tone, and were inaudible to the great body of the meeting, the imuatient interruptions of the audience in the upper boxes and galleries prevented Mr. Miall from proceeding; and 2, after expressing his full concurrence in the objects of the association, he resumed his seat. Mr. F. O'CoNNOR, M.P., was received with rapturous cheering by the Chartist portion of the assembly. He said he supposed he might regard the present assembly in Drury-lane as " Lord John's bespeak "—(Cheers and laughter)—because the Noble Lord said, at the close of the session, that he was always prepared to yield to the pressure from without. He was delighted to see the present assembly. He would not have fraternised with mere wealthy men, because he would not cooperate with, money-jobbers any more than with land-jobbers; but he liked to see the fraternisation of mental and manual labour.—(Cheers.) He was glad to find that their chairman, and the other members of the associa tion, had taken the greater portion of the five points of the Charter; and he hoped they would at last think that every one of the six points depended upon the other.—(Great cheering from the Chartists.) For example, some of his friends on the platform would like to see working men iu Parliament; but how were they nowto ge n t 0 t hdeirffee re w n i c t e h s o ü b t et t w h e e e n payment i d d o l f e a m n e d m w b c o r r s k ? i n — g (Cheers.) lie rejoiced it would g o f or th t h a t t h ere we re classes, and that they were determined to unite to obtain the justice that had so long been withheld from them.— (Cheers.) He had laboured long, ince ssan tly, and ardently, for the purpose of procuring something for the people, and if from vanity and ambition he were to tell them that this association would do nothing for them, he should mislead them. He told them to get what the association were striving for, and then they might carry the rest afterwards if they pleased. He saw happy days for England in the prospect now before him. Political parties were divided now, not into Whigs, Tories, and Radicals, but into Liberals and Illiberals. A small minority should no longer control the will of the over whelming majority. The Chartists had never thought of war and bloodshed, although Lord John Russel] and Sir George Grey had tried to force them into war. —(Hisses.) Where was the class of people who had so strong an interest in the preservation of the peace as the working classes ?—(Hear, hear.) He wanted the association to develop the labour question, be cause by the profitable cultivation of the soil and by developing the resources of the country a working man ought to receive 30s. or 40s. a day instead of ss. or 6s. — (Cheers and interruption.) He was happy to see the present combination of parties, and the prospect of see ing the people's grievances redressed. He trusted t hat the evil prejudices entertained in many quarters against the working classes would vanish, and that the more in fluential members of the association felt that they would be better represented if the working classes were allowed to vote for Members of Parliament.—(Cheers.) He regarded the present meeting as a fair representation of the mind of the working and middle classes. He would bury the past in oblivion, and with it all the persecu tions, and prosecutions, and slanders he had been ex posed to; and he would say he had not worked in vain if he had brought about this happy combination be tween the veritable;working and middle classes of Eng land.—(Loud cheers.) Mr. CLARK, the Chartist candidate for Reading, next addressed the meeting. GEORGE THOMPSON, Esq., M.P. for tho Tower Ham lets, then came forward to address the meeting, and was received with the most enthusiastic and rapturous ap plause. When the cheering had in some measure sub sided he said—Mr. LChairman, Ladies, and Gentlemen, I have the satisfaction of informing you that I .am the last man.—(Laughter.) I am merely called up to pro nounce the benediction, after the solemnization of this alliance between the working and the middle classes to night, in the cause of national reform; and, Sir, I can only repeat what has been said by the last speaker, that I congratulate you upon the proceedings of what I think I may describe as an unprecedented assembly within the United Kingdom. I believe there has never before been such a gathering or exhibition of a collusion of elements hitherto estranged the one from the other. Now, ladies and gentlemen, lam going to ask your permission to retire from this platform without delivering any speech.—(Loud cries of " No, no.") Well, then, gentlemen, what must I say ?—[A voice—Tell us something about Hungary.] A gentleman says, "Tell us something about Hungary." Sir, I am sure the exhibition to-night must have been sufficient to have demonstrated to cur Hungarian visitors here that there beats in every British bosom a feeling of the most per fect sympathy with those noblemen who are struggling 1 for their rights in their native land. Sir, in the cause of liberty we_ cannot help sympathising with all in every clime who are struggling for the same object. We con gratulate ourselves upon the aspect of the world at large. " There is a voice on every wave, A sound on every sea, The watchword of the brave, The anthem of the free : From steep to steep it rings Through Europe's many climes, A knell to despot Kings, A sentence on their crimes. Where'er a wind is rushing, Where'er a stream is gushing, The swelling sounds are heard Of man to freeman calling, Of broken fetters falling, And like the carol of a cageless bird, The bursting shouts of Freedom's rallying word." (Cheers.) Well, Sir, let us, in the middle of all this commo tion,cougratulate ourselves that we are not obliged to resort to the weapons which other oppressed nations are cilled upon to use for the purpose of winning their just rights; and let us nut, in our aspirations alter a larger measure of political power than that which we have enjoyed, be unmindful of the substantial blessings with which we are favoured. We are thankful that we live in a country, in the metropolis of which we can assemble as we have done to-night; we are grateful that at least we have it in our power to rebuke, from this platform, those who are our rulers, and who, as vie think, have not sympa thised as they ought to have done with the people whom they govern. We are thankful that, though ne have not gained at present what I hope we shall speedily gain, a removal of all taxes upon the spread of knowledge— (Hear, hoar)—yet at least there are the pens of reaey writers amongst us, who will multiply the speech( s of to-night, and cause what has been said here to go forth to the most distant portions of our empire, not only stimulating the people of England, or the children of this soil in every other land wheresoever they are cole nised ; but I hope that one effect, flowing from this movement, will be to lead the' people of our colonies firmly and sternly to maintain their rights, and to dis miss from their shares those that have been billeted upon them, to the. exhaustion of their resources, and to the country's impoverishment.—(Loud cheers ) Sir, I venture to predict that our friends, the Whigs --(Hisses and groa'is)—will be prepared with some measure of reform for the next session ; but if not, -----.—. unless I am much mistaken, they will have to make room for better naen.—(Cheers.) My friend (Mr. Clark) has alluded to the elvction at Reading. The Government in London—the Treasury and the Reform Club—gave their countenance to a man without any political character, who went to Reading with a sheet of white paper in his hand, and said, " Only let me be your member, and I am svything you pleasel"—(Laughter.) I felt it my duty ter take a humble share i❑ keeping that man out of Paeliameut.—(Hear.) In so doing I acted in co-operation with a very large section of the Liberals of that towu, who are prepared to tell the ledgekw knee nomineee e w lt a lh t cue: your ht hre great Treasury,se hiur principlesis shrine. e ur soe or the votes,hu down, althoughaoe t w he n de , e Whigs, once fur all, " Never more will we bow the e hereni Reform Club ; let bias be a man refusing to acknow a minority of 150, or give them to a man who truly - shallnig h t b , e a and i d represents the cause of the people."—(Cheers.) Well, Sir, last week, as you know, in company with Mr. Tindal Atkinson, I had the honour of attending a great public meeting at Northampton as the representative or the association, and wbat spectacle did I witness there? Almost every leading,•--I will not call them Whigs—but every leading Liberal was upon the stage of that theatre, which was crowded as wo witness this house to-night, and yet the Whig paper of that town did not not give a single name of the gentlemen upon the platform, com prising nearly all who take a leading part in the elections there, the editor, I suppose, being so startled with the length and character of the list—(Laughter)—that he did not insert a singles name except that of myself and the gentleman who accompanied me as a deputation. Now, Sir, these are some of the signs of the times. They are significant, and I say to those who have been accus• Corned to manage elections that I believe it will come to this, that unless they allow the earnest, and what are called extreme Reformers to have a share in the se lection of candidates and in the conduct of elections, they must expect to find their milk-and-water Govern ment supporting candidates go to the wall; and, if it must be so for a time, to see even a whiskered Protec t. candidate to-night, w t, of tt hh ee tionist going into Parliament, whose chief recom meneatiun was, that he would have been an admirable addition to Jullien's band.—(Cheers and laughter.) Sir, since you placed yourself at the head of this movement there has been more done to bring about a friendly union between the working and middle classes than was ever dune before; and what result is that, lead ing to? Why, to this, that the middle men will soon begin. to look upon the working men as being as good as themselves, and es much entitled to the vote as they are. We shall not have to argue the justice of universal suffrage by and bye, or to appeal in its behalf, or combat with any prejudicee against it. Let but the middle and working classes be brought together, as they now are, and those who were opposed before to their admission to the franchise will be the first to demand that it should be extended to them. I was walking a few paces the other day from my hotel at Reading, when a man came up to me, and after apologising for addressing me, proceeded to say that he was quite of my way of thinking, which of course at once gained him ,my willing ear.—(Laughter.) " But, said he, " I quite agree with you, that the franchise ought not to uepend upon the amount of rent a man pays. You see," said he, " I just pays 3s. 10d. a week, and be cause I only pays that saw, and not 45., I aint consi dered intelligent enough to vote; but," said he, "if I could only make up my mind to deny myself of a pot of bLer a week, to make up t'other twopence, I should at once be intelligent enough to give a vote for one of these Members of Parliament. So you see it comes to this, that it all lies in the 2d."—(Laughter and cheers.) And really it does alllie in the twopence.—(Laughter) 13ut the absurdity of making a man's vote dependent upon those vicissitudes in life which now place him in a house of 201.:a year, and then reduce him to a garret or cellar at at ; eighteenpence per week— I nay that absur dity has been most ably exposed to-night.— (near, hear.) Sir, there is only one other observation that I wish to address to the meeting. I grant you that the suffrage is an important trust, and that the franchise should be used wisely, but when I am told of the ignorance of the people being a bar to their right to the vote, I answer, while you deny them the fran chise, and the right of saying who shall be their repre sentative oace in every three, five, or seven years, you yet allow them from day to day, week to week, and year to year, to exercise influence upon society, in comparison with which the title to vote fur a representative in the House of Commons is insignificant and contemptible. —(Cheers.) Why, Sir, if the enfranchised classes of this country were as ignorant and vicious as they are described to be society could not hold together.— (gear.) Not all your policemen, nor all your bayonets, uur all your innumerable ball cartridges and sandbags, would be sufficient to preserve the peace of this country if such a statement were true. We have the vicious amongst us, it is true, and temptations and often - misfortunes create men who are disobedient to the laws of their cuuutry; but I contend there never was a society in the world so prepared for unlimited suffrage as that to which we have the privilege of be lunging—(Loud and prolonged cheering.) In what relationship is the man—a most important member 01 society—in that of voting for a Member of Parliament, or in his connexion as a tether and a neighbour, in his family or in his locality? Why, Sir, if there are mil lions of men in this country who are not fit to have the franchise, there ure millions who are not fit to be at large.—(Hear.) Tell me that a man who is a trusty porter, an honest shopman, a discreet and upright fore man, an ingenious mecha-sic, a toiling and thrifty weaver —tell me that that man is not competent, when candi. dates have made their speeches and declared their prin ciples, and resorted to every imaginable means to make themselves known, that that man is not competent to say which of tnoso is most fitted to represent him in Par liament! Why, Sir, such au assertion is a libel upon the industrious classes of this country. Sir, I saw at Reading the other day a sight that nearly turned me sick. There are a great number of men in that town who have votes but are poor, and, I am sorry to say, very comeatable.—(Laughter.) I saw those men, for my at tention was drawn to them, strutting about, bearing blue banners, and having tickets in their hats, describing them as " the messengers of Mr. 8.," or " the messengers of Mr. S." Now, every one of those men had a vote. and yet I fancy I did not son, in the countenance of one out of half-a-dozen of them, any symptoms of sagacity. —(Laughter.) I mingled in the market-place and other parts of Reading, with men not only of intelligent coun tenances, but highly intelligent minds, belonging to the working classes of that town; and while these drivelling and corrupt wretches were strutting through the street, straggling after a band of music, or degrading themselves by bearing the standard of a candidate who could say scarcely anything on the hustings, except that he would marry one of the Reading ladies if they would only elect him.—(Laughter.) I saw these intelligent men shut out from the franchise. I weut to see the candidate brought in with bribes, and the constituency overpowered by those despicable elements, which exist in every town of small dimensions, which are used by the candidates to serve their own interests and purposes. I contend. therefore, Sir, that to say that the people of this country have not intelligence sufficient to exercise the franchise is to calumniate them.—(Cheers.) But, Sir, the secret of the opposition is, not that the aristocracy arc afraid of the people's ignorance, but that they dread their in telligence.—(Hear.) A man is never ignorant if he has a vote.—(Hear.) As the candidates go round among the most thaw-bacon men who happen to be electors, then how " intelligent" they are!—(Laughter.) How " independent " they become! Then, for the time, their wives are angels and their children cherubs; and the obsequious candidate will court a man to-day whom, as elected Member, he would not condescend to spit upon to-morrow.—(Hear.) The audience which these candi dates most dislike is such an audience as you will collect whenever you allow the people at large freely to attend meetings; but let such an audience have confidence in the man who speaks, or let them but know that they have in that assembly a right equal to that of every other man, and I, who have had twenty years' experi ence of the working classes of this country, am here to declare that they are the beau ideal of an audience for an honest man to address.—(Loud cheers.) Sir, I am glad that the council of this association have taken the resolve of making this a national association.—(llene.) When this fact was first stated to the immense assembled at Northampton the other night, it was hailed with universal and prolonged acclamations. I foresee for this society the honour o t his country.of rCheers.) leading the honest and uncompromising Reformers f I am quite sure that if we put ourshosumldewrislitiloigtftioe wheel during this reecess—and I, for . one, End the cause to the utmost of my pea er— (Lead cheers)—we shall have the country universally with us. All previous reforms have helped to place u — s ( 9 li n ea y r a 'l tne groun d, All those particular reforms which are sought after by certain sections of the com munity, inasmuch as they will he promoted by the accomplishment of our object, will bring into our ranks those who aro associated with thosereforms; for this great movement is but a means to en end, and whether it is that we want to remove that stupendous abuse, the Established Church of Ireland—(Hear, hear)—or very largely to reform the Established Church at home— (Hear, hear)—or to reduce our taxation and equalise our imposts—all who are in favour of any one of these reforms will come to us; and inasmuch as it remains for those particular sections of reformers to confine them selves to the publication of information, it is for this society, by a grand organisation, to bring near the time when there shall be a House willing to discuss all these questions on their merits, without the necessity of having costly agitations of fifteen or twenty years to carry them. I say we shall, by this general and universal amalgamation, carry the objects which we have in view. Sir, again congratulating yuu upon the proud distinction which you enjoy of becoming the head of this movement, and this meeting upon the prevalence of an unanimity most remarkable where there are so many diverse senti ments, I shall take my seat; not, however, without congratulating this meeting upon the fact that, with one or two exceptions, the gentlemen highest in rank who have occupied this platform have been most hearty i❑ their concurrence with the hitherto despised principles of universal sutirage. Ladies and gentlemen, thanking you, not only on behalf of myself, but of those who have preceded me, for your patient and protracted attention, let us now go away into our respective spheres to do our duty; let us be zealously affected in this good work; let us sow our seed in the full assurance that in due time we shall reap, if we faint not.—(The Honourable Gentleman resumed his seat amidst most enthusiastic and prolonged applause.) On the motion of Mr. W. WILLIAMS, late M.P. for Coventry, a vote of thanks to the Chairman wa% then passed; and a cheer (called for from the boxes) having been given for Kossuth, the meeting broke up shortly after eleven o'clock. LOUIS BLANC'S JOURNAL. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. SrE,—The remarks you have made upon the letter I thought it my duty to write in reference to your notice of M. L. Blanc's Review require a few words of answer. In the first place I leave your quotations entirely to themselves. Although they might want a context to be fully understood, even isolated as they are, they cannot justify the severity of your critic. In the first passage, M. L. Blanc's intention is not to establish an opposition between Socialism and order, family and property; on the contrary, he ex presses his astonishment at his antagonists' preten sion : that those are incompatible. In the next pas sage the author merely enumerates the abuses of matrimony, and where is the man possessing the least experience of the world who will not vouch to the truth of those remarks ? The reference made to M. L. Blanc's political life has, I regret to say, confirmed my former impression, that your reviewer had allowed his mind to be biassed by the false imputations circulated abroad on M. L. Blanc's public character. I shall not here undertake to repel those charges ; this I shall leave to himself ; I will merely say that your allusion to his conduct on the 15th of May is equally groundless as that made to Barbes' alleged demand of a tax of a million upon the rich. As to your remarks upon myself, you might have spared them, as altogether irrelevant to the object of this unpleasant polemic. Although momentarily separated from my friend, M. Louis Blanc, I have thought it my duty, without even consulting with him, to protest against what I still consider an unjust attack. Besides my attachment to him as a friend —a circumstance which I humbly admit is my sole qualification to the office I have undertaken to fill— my position as translator and editor was, I think, sufficient to justify my presumption. In conclusion, I beg to assure you that my name, as editor of the New World, was never intended to be made use of as an element of success. lam still, it is true, on the threshold of my literary career, but I cannot imagine how that circumstance can in any degree injure a publication bearing on its title-page the name of Louis Blanc, when the nature of my position is avowedly almost restricted to that of a mechanical translator. I remain, Sir, your obedient servant, P. R. TREHONNAIS. August 13, 1849. TESTIMONIAL TO THE HUNGARIAN REFUGEES. THE HUNGARIAN NATION COUNTS ON THE SYMPATHY OF EVERY NATION WHICH LOVES RIGHT AND Ll- BERTY."—Kosauth's Protest against Russian Interven tion. Subscriptions may bo sent to the following bankers: — Messrs. Coutts and Co. Messrs. Drummond. Messrs. Smith, Payne, and Smith ; or to any one of the members of the committee recently formed to carry out the TestimPnia). **All further Post-office orders to be made payable toMurdo Young, Esq., at the Money Order Office, Strand. Subscriptions already received ... ...812 4 24 Third Subscription from Leicester, per Mr. G. Smallfield, of the Leicester Mercury : Mr. George Viccars, sen. ... 0 5 0 Mr. Merillier 0 5 0 Mr. W. Burden F. Dalby ••• ••• ••• ••• 0 1 0 Mr. Henry Allen, Oxford-street 0 10 0 A Railway Guard ... . . 0 1 0 Mr. J. H. Williams 0 5 0 Workmen in Mr. Clark's Brush Manufactory... 0 3 6 Mr. Thomas Condi 10 6 Nine Framework Knitters ... 0 2 0 James and Jane Mortimer, John Smith, H. Middleton, and John Jones (" working-folk") 0 2 0 A Few Working Men, meeting at the Temper- ance Coffee-house, Llanelly ... 0 8 6 . - Five Friends, Whitby, Yorkshire ... ... 0 7 0 Nicholai (Czar), St. Petersbnrgh, Pseudonym ... 0 2 6 A Few Friends, Lymondsbury, near Bridport ... 0 3 0 From S. and A.'s Workmen, Watling -street ... 0 6 0 Third Subscriptien from a Bristol Liberal ... 0 10 0 J. G., Islington .. ..• ... ... -- 1 1 0 Total £Bl7 9 8; SPORTING INTELLIGENCE. TATTERSALL'S.—YESTERDAY. EBOR HANDICAP. 6 to 1 agst Mr. E. R. Clark's Giselle, 6 yrs, Est 91b —take 7 to 1 8 to 1 agst Captain Harcourt's Ellerdale, 5 yrs, Bst 51b—taken 8 to 1 agst Mr. Stebbings's Malton, 4 yrs, 7st.L—t 8 to 1 agst Mr. Nolan's Blucher, 4 yrs, 7str-taken 12 to 1 agst Lord Eglinton's Glen Saddel, 4 yrs, 6st 71b—taken 12 to 1 agst Mr. Jaques's Chantrey, 3 yrs, sst 81b—t 12 to 1 agst Mr. Medley's Cockermouth, 4 yrs, bit 51b —taken 20 to 1 agst Mr. Bowes's The Knout, 3 yrs, sst 41b —taken ST. LECER. 2`to 1 on Lord Eglinton's Flying Dutchman—taken 15 to 1 agst Lord Stanley's Uriel—taken to 1001. 19 to 1 agst Lord Clifden's Honeycomb—taken 20 to 1 agst Mr. Pedley's Chatterer DERBY, 1850. 35 to 1 agst Lord John Scott's Windhound—taken 40 to 1 agst Mr. Stephenson's Voltigeur—taken 1,000 to 20 agst Mr. Watson's Paul—taken 1,000 to 15 agst Mr. Gratwicke's The Nigger—taken WOLVERHAMPTON RACES.—MoNDAY. The Trial Stakes of 5 says. each, S and 30 added. Once rou nd and a distaree. (4 übs.) Mr. Barnes's Setterley, 4 yrs (Simpson) 1 Mr. T. I'arr's Woolwich, 3 yrs (G. Oates) 2 Mr. Miner's Shropshire Witch, 4 yrs (Darling) 3 The Produce Stakes of 10 sovs. each, and 20 added. Once round. (IS Subs.) _ . . Mr. Copeland's Aldgate, Bst (Marlow) 1 1 Mr. Stagg's Christiana, Bst ..~. . Mr. John Fowler's John Dory, Bst 61b (Templeman) 0 Mr. 11. Wadlow's Sarah, Bst (Tasker) 0 Mr. S - ,,ubb's Glorious, Bst 31b (Denman) 0 Mr. Critchley's Sir Henry Hardinge, Bst 61b The Wolverhampton Stakes of 25 sovs. each, and 100 added. Twice round; the second saves his stake. (36 Subs., 25 of VI hom declared.) , Mr. Meiklam's Snowstorm, 3 yrs, sst 71b...(Arnold) 1 Mr. Giffard na The Model, 3 yrs, sst Sib (G. Cbilde) 2 Mr. Fowler's Zingari, 3 yrs, sst 51b (Wells) 3 Mr. Murphy's Dough, 4 yrs, Bst 71b (Magee) 0 Mr. Parr's Van Diemen, 3 yrs, 6st 31b (41b extra)... 0 Van Diemen threw his jockey. _.. Sweepstakes of 50 sovs. each, h ft. Mile and a quarter. Sir C. Monck's Vanguard, Bst Glb walked over, SURREY ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS.—The annual fete in celebration of the birthday of her Majesty the Queen Dowager took place at these gardens yesterday. The day being also the 18th anniversary of the opening of the gardens, the two events were celebrated withe usual more than usual splendour and eclat. In addition to the and the fire of 13adajouzr, entertainments of other evenings, the view of the wild birds and beasts, the storming four military occa sions, there were the performances2d Lifo Guards, of the works, which were more brilliant tban () o a t. ordinary occa bands, viz., the band of the ti Coldstream Guards, and Horse Guards (Blues)' of Woolwich, the perform ances the Royal Artillery and of the band attached to Theatre, an orchestra of 250 musicians, the ances of the German band and chorus from Drury-lane d b Mr. E. odfrey. The selections of whole conducte s . d music were from the first masters, and made concerted forming with j u dgment, and it would be unjust not to altogether E G say that the manlier in which the wh o le w as arranged and car ried out was most creditable to th e lib era li ty of the pro prietor, Mr. Tyler, to the conductor, and to the musi cians. Aim ngst the solos were Mr. Roberts, the Welsh harper, Ur. Laz trus, the clarionet player, and Mr. Richardson. The Misses Wells and other favourites of the public were amongst the vocalists. The gardens aro in excellent order, both the trees and parterres ex hibit signs of experienced horticultural judgment and good taste, aid noLwithstanding the, at times, threaten. ing state of the weather, during which the company crowded into the new refreshment rooms, there were home thousands of persona present. THE BRITANNIA BRIDGE. We learn from the Menai Straits, that on Saturday the critical operations connected with the lifting of this great fabric to its permanent level, 100 feet above high-water mark, were commenced with great vigour. Considerable delay, inseparable from the stupendous character of the machinery, the care required in ad justing it, and the calculations necessary to insure success in an experiment so vast and novel, have unavoidably taken place, so as to give time for the preparation of all appliances, and the bringing to bear all the engineering wisdom of the day upon a work that is watched with so much interest by the public and the scientific world. Under these circumstances it will be gratifying to know that, under the superin tendence of Mr. Stephenson's band of eegineers, Messrs. E. and L. Clark, Forster, Wild, and Mr. Amos, the designer and manufacturer of the huge machinery, the great tube is now making its way majestically upwards. The raising is going on successfully at the rate of six feet a day, and the machinery acts most admirably. The great agents that work it, and that elicit the enormous pulling pressure of the hydraulic power, and by which the water is forced into the presses, are two steam engines of forty•horse power each, with tubular boilers, as in a locomotive, and it is these acting on the chains that troll up the two thousand tons, foot after fuot. The steam cylinder is horizontal. A continu ation of the piston rod, which passes through both ends of the cylinder, forms the piston of the force pumps, which are placed one at each end, in the same line as the cylinder. The ram of the hydraulic press that works the mass of metal upwards is 20 inches. The simplest and most diminutive, but at the same time the most amazing instrument of power, is the pipe through which the water is forced into the press. It is of wrought iron, and though exercis ing a force over two thousand tons, is not larger than the hollow of a lady's thimble, its circum ference being that of a sixpence. The stroke now daily accomplished by the presses is six feet. This must be understood to imply that the hydraulic power is only empowered to raise six feet at one lift. The tube, when lifted that height, is sustained by the chains until six feet of masonry are, for every successive six feet, built under. Then to obtain a fresh hold the chains are gripped between another set of clams at the foot of the press, the upper set of links are taken off and laid aside, and arrangements made for another hoist. The upper clams are then again closed, and the operation repeated as before. The number of these separate lifting operations required will be about fifteen, and as there will be one a day, the whole operation will take a fortnight, including the process of holding up beneath. Each six feet stroke of the press occupies an hour, and an additional hour is occupied in adjusting the machinery for the next. The key beams employed in the pro cess, and on which the tube rests at intervals on its upward journey, are 24 feet long by 4 feet high, and weigh eleven tons each. The following up beneath with timber and brickwork employs a number of masons. Should not the present plans be modified or altered, the lifts will be confined to six feet a day. It is a grand sight to see the tube as it new hangs suspended in the chains, swinging across the Straits, during the present heavy gales in the Channel, with a cradle like motion. In the mean time the preparations for the floating the next tube are complete, and the operation will take place as soon as the machinery for lifting can be shifted, in order to raise it as soon as it is floated, so that the first train will very soon cross the Straits. MORTALITY IN THE M ANDS- WORTH-ROAD. For some days past a feeling of very considerable alarm has possessed the inhabitants of that part of the Wandsworth-road comprised within the parish of Clapham, and extending about a mile, in consequence of the cholera having appeared in its most malignant form, and occasioned a mortality unexampled in in tensity and numbers, even in the most squalid and ill-drained portions of the metropolis. Albion-ter race, a row of second-class houses on the north side of the road, and situated near the William the Fourth has been more particularly the scene of the calamity, and in ten houses of that devoted terrace, during the course of eleven days, there were seventeen deaths from Asiatic cholera, independent of several - others to left their houses infected, to die elsewhere. In one house, No. 6, no less than five persons died of cholera. The house was in the occupation of the Rev. T. Harrison, a dissenting minister, and with that gentleman and his wife were staying, prepara tory to a departure of the whole of the family to Brighton, Mrs. Henrietta Roscoe, a very aged lady, and Mrs. Edwards, with a cook and housemaid. Mrs. Roscoe was first seized, and died on the 4th instant. Mrs. Edwards, who had attended upon her relative, was next seized, and on Mr. Harrison return ing from the funeral of his aunt, Mrs. Roscoe, on Tuesday last, he found his wife attacked with the same dreadful disease, and that lady expired early the next morning. It appeared that Mr. Harrison, over whelmed with grief, fled the house soon after his wife's death, incempany with a lodger in the next house. On the same morning that Mr. Harrison left his house Mrs. Edwards died, and the cook was taken ill and died the same evening. On the day following, Thursday, the three bodies were taken to Mrs. Roscoe's grave, in Kensal-green, and on the return of the mourners the nurse who had attended Mrs. Edwards was found dead. The remarkable fact of so many persons in one family dying as it were simultaneously, and the head of the house dying from home, created an extraordinary excitement, which was considerably increased by Mr. Milledge, the undertaker who had buri e d th e o th er members o f: the family, receiving the card of a medical gentleman at Hampstead and a note from the landlord of the. Jack Straw's Castle, stating that the Rev. Mr. Harrison had died at his house, after having had his will written out by a young man who had accompanied him. On Friday the young man who had accom panied deceased from his home called on the under taker, and wished some boxes of jewellery and other property to be moved out of the house, saying he would take care of it. Mr. Milledge denied him en trance to the house, when he threatened to use force, and Mr. Milledge said if he did he would give him in charge of the police. The young man then said he would go and remove the deceased's property from the tavern at Hampstead, but as that was known to be valuable, the landlord had been cautioned not to part with it. These I.icts coming to the knowledge of Mr. Harrison's relatives, they determined upon communicating with Mr. Higgs, the coroner fur the Duchy of Lancaster, and that gentleman appointed an inquest to be holden, and a post mortem examina tion of the body to be made. Yesterday a long in quiry was gone into at the William the Fourth, and evidence embracing the facts already mentioned having been given, Mr. M'Donough, the surgeon to the parish of Clapham, was.. examined as to the result of the post mortem examination he had made. He stated that great inflammation existed in the abdomen, stomach, viscera, and thorax, and the heart was very soft. He had placed the heart, stomach, and right lobe of the liver in separate jars for the purpose of examination. Mr. M‘Donough, who had pricked hi s finger in opening the body, which had poisoned was in excessive pain whilst giving his evidence. The CORONER said it was highly essential that this very extraordinary case should be thoroughly in quired into, and the young man alluded to, who would a ppear to have been with the deceased in his last mo ments, must be looked after. ROYAL WELSH EISTEDDFOD.—On Tuesday, the 14th inst., and two following days, a royal Eisteddfod will be held at Aborffraw, in Anglesey. Some of the most influential names in the principality appear on the lists of vice-presidents, and preparations on a most ample scale are in progress to accommodate the vast concourse expected to be present on the occasion; thirty-two prizes will be awarded to the successful competitors; and at a Gorsedd, to be held on the 16th inst., degrees also will be conferred on those who have distinguished them selves for their bardic skill. A grand procession will take place, consisting of the archdruids, druids, bards, harpers, &c., to the marquee in which the meeting will be held. Contests of Penillion, singing, and other essays of minstrelsy will be interspersed in ,the proceedings of each day. in the) last the splendid grounds of this society, wore h situateda n ordinary ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON.--0 II Saturday Regent's-park, musics, reek, 1 o p e e r n fdo l r i , . ai v v e ffi el, afforded d e t e h z d e - C -I i owing to brass band of the the committee, by which excellentt gaiety and anim w at e io re n, in the Gardens once a the scgene ofa new arrangement of Second Life Guards assemblesmembers and visitors, by their Ach selection of marches, executed on the occasion, waltzes, quadrilles, deli g ht to a numerous com gentlemen, to whose numbers the finenessp a n yof o ladiesf the weather, as well as d an o d ubt instrumental in adding. Commo dious r e w a a t s the treat of sweet tents and marquees were pitched through the sounds,and no gardens to shelter the company from the too ardent heat of the sun. The band will perform every Saturday afternoon until further notice. The following are the barristers appointed by Mr. Justice Crtsswell to revise the list of voters for the counties °and borcughs cn the Western Circuit for 1849: South Hants and Isle of Wight, J. Aldridge, Esq. North Hants, G. N. Oxenham, Esq. Dorset, Douglas, Esq.. Holdsworth, Esq. South Devon, J. L. Lucena, Esq., H. T. Erskice, Esq. North Devon, W. Hodges, Esq. East Cornwall, C. D. Bevan, Esq. West Cornwall, J. S. Stock, Esq. East Somerset, J. S. Graves, Esq:, F. W. Slade, Esq. West Somerset, C. Saunders, Esq. South Wilts, C. R. Dayman, Esq. North Wilts, G. Pou'deo, Esq. shadow of lig hesitation_—El w iza CooA's Jou r nal. casts no purl:, a 8 0 baskets f oats , 1 7 0 3 f HANSEATIC PRODUCE. ---The steam-ship Princess Royal, arrived in the Ri ver from Hamburg, has brought 234 cherries, bales s ofof apples,baeoa 2145 ofc asits o plums,f of beans, 280 of peas, 1,377 of wheat, 26 head of omen, 6 hones, and general merchandise. THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVE 'IN G s AUGUST 14, 1849.