The Sun. — London, England, 1842-02-08 00:00:00

EVENING SUN within n t portion of this sum was collected from that their who T lived were members of Manchester, and it was supposed terest about it had not diminished. The that it should not close Bazaar.—(Cheers.) It was proposed . of other towns who: would contribute their shares to the what was the object of this money to men who drove till they had sent in their donations. But it might be asked the Whigs to a fixed duty, and Sir Robert Peel to abandon the sliding scale.—( Hear, hear.) They should recollect that there were two parties only ruling in the House of Commons, who scarcely ever supposed that there was any other party besides themselves.—( Hear.) The contest between them was, whether there was to be a fixed duty or not, but it altogether slipped from their minds that there was a still larger party than either, who insisted that there should be no duty at all.—( Cheers.) Those parties were contending for half measures, Intt they would be shown by the people, and the determined front they would assume, that nothing short of an entire and romplAe abolition of these obnoxious laws would satisfy them.—(Cheers.) The following gentlemen were th en unan i mous ly a p po i n t e d to serve as the Finance Committee :—William Rawson, Elka nah Armitage, Hamer Stasisfield, Edward Evans, Samuel Lees, and Aytoun, Esqs. The CHAIRMAN said, that as what they had done up to the present time was only preliminary, the real business of the meeting was now to begin—( Hear, hear). The arrangements and resolutions were to be prepared by a Committee. The Executive Committee were preparing resolutions, and they had retired to consider the steps they were to take. The resolu tions would now be moved and seconded by the various persons appointed for that purpose. Having thus explained the mode in which the business had been conducted, he might be allowed to say a few words by way of introduction.—( Hear, hear, hear. ) The last speaker had observed that nothing would be satis factory less than a total repeal of the Corn. laws. In the jus tice of that observation he most fully coincided. He fully participated in the sentiment that they should go right forward to attain that object, and that alone.—( Cheers.) That they should not estimate the merit of the sliding scale or a fixed duty, and decide between them, but that they should re• pudiate all compromise in a cause where all justice was on their side, and in which no modification could be made, without leaving the germ of evil behind.—(Cheers. ) They should make no taxes on food the rule of their conduct.— ( Hear, hear.) These were the sentiments which were all but universal in Scotland.—( Hear, hear.) They were the senti ments of those whom he was sent to represent.— ( Hear, hear. ) They were the sentiments of the Edinburgh Convention and the Committee that managed the business of the League there. They were the sentiments which he was instructed to enforce, and he had no doubt they would be borne to a successful termina tion. He should, therefore, intreat, that in all observations which might fall from the speakers that should be their great theme they should remember that that was the fundamental principle on which the League was constisuted. On that principle they were going right forward, and they were now assembled to - do their best to promote that grand object.— ( Hear, hear, hear.) Consisting, as they did, of all sections of political and religious principles, they should adhere to that one point, disregarding all others, and they should endeavour to impress on their friends in Parlia ment—the Liberal Members who had given them some assist ance—that they were serious in considering this as a great moral question, from the agitation of which they would never depart.—( Hear, hear, and cheers.) Nut that they were wavering between the merits of a moderate fixed duty and a sliding scale, but that they fought only for a total and immediate repeal of the Corn-law.—(Cheers,) Let their friends in Parliament know this, and that they could only expect the support of the; members of this Conference upon those grounds. Those were his, (the Chairman's) views, and he was sure they were the views which would be unani mously adopted by the members of this meeting; and if they were, he for one, did not fear but that public opinion properly expressed would overcome every opposition.—( Great applause. ) Mr. BRIGHT, from Rochdale, could not but acknowledge that he came forward with feelings of considerable anxiety and trepidation, only relieved, however, from a consideration that anything which ought to be said, which he might omit to say, would be more than made up by the speakers who were to fol low.—( Hear.) He felt this anxiety from the great, momen tous importance of the subject which they had met to debate on. He came from a neighbourhood where this question was looked on as one of life and death by thousands of honest men, :and if there were any in that room, as there were many who had no conception of the state of things to which this country was fast hastening under these mischievous laws, he should like them to go with him into the streets and lanes where he could take them, and, if they had any intellect, any heart, he was sure they would go away fully convinced of the necessity of the total and immediate re peal of those laws.—( Loud cheers.) Such being his opinion, he should not be doing his duty at this Conference if he did not do his utmost to obtain the desideratum for which they la boured; and if - they went away without having performed their duties, they would go away guilty of the sin of having neglected the best interests of the country.--( Hear, hear. ) He had a resolution to propose to the meeting, but before pro posing that, he would, with their permission, read a short reso lution passed at a former meeting, held at Rochdale on the Ist of February, appointing him as Delegate to this Conference. That resolution was as follows :—" Resolved unanimously, That the deputation from this Association be instructed to op pose the Corn-laws as a cruel oppression, inflicting grievous evils on the great bulk of our population, as contrary to the most obvious requirements of morality and religion, and a wrong of so odious a nature, as to make it inperatively nt - cessary to insist on its total and immediate abolition." A number of speeches were made at that meeting, and he dared not go back to Rochdale unless he had acted up to that docu ment, such was the feeling there for the total and immediate repeal of the Corn-laws.—( Loud cheers.) The resolution which he now had to propose to the meeting was as follows: " That in the opinion of the Deputies present, representing associations, public meetings, and religious congregations in various parts of the kingdom, the Corn and Provision-laws vio late the national and inalienable rights of man—the right freely to exchange the produce of his labour for the Nod of all other countries, impiously obstructing the circulation of the bounties designed by Divine Providence for the benefit of all his creatures. That the aim of this monopoly of the first necessaries of life is to enhance the price of the produce of the soil of this country, thus necessarily inflicting severe privations, especially upon the poorest portion of the com munity. That these laws in their operation not only ex pose the labouring class to the physical evils of hunger, disease, and even premature death ; but they war against their eternal interests by increasing the temptations to crime and immorality, rendering them less accessible to the influence of religion. That in denouncing the Corn and Provision-laws as a great national sin, the Deputies express their own deliberate consideration, and that of a vast portion of their countrymen, that those laws should be immediately and totally abolished, and the Deputies constituting this meet ing, pledge themselves never to swerve from their purpose, or relax in their efforts until that object be accomplished."— ( Tremendous cheering and waving of hats.) This reso lution said that the Corn-laws violated the natural and inalienable rights of man to exchange the pro duce of his labour for the produce of other coun tries. It appeared to him that in this country there had been an entire forgetfulness of the rights of the labouring classes, in the Legislature. The time was coming when they would compel the landowning legislators to look over the principles on which they had legislated, to see if there were any reason why pauperism should exist in a country which Providence had blessed with inward resources, unparalleled in other lands.—( Loud cheers.) When he looked at the title by which landed proprietors held their land, he did not desire to dispute their title, but he did not approve of the rights which they assu me d t o th emse l ves i n consequence of their possessions.—( Hear hear.) He did not say a man should not do as he liked with his own, but there was a boundary beyond which a landowner could not go. If a Lord or a Duke had a large estate—as many of them had, and very thankful they ought to be for it—(Cheers and laughter)—he could not allow it to lay fallow ; he could not say that no plough henceforth or for ever should pass over those acres ; because there was a right which society possesses, which comes before the right even of the landowners.—(Loud cheers.) He had only mentioned this to show that there was a limit to the rights which they assumed. There was, however, an other property in this country--labour.-_( Cheers.) If a man had made any article by his own ingenuity, no matter what it was, that man had an absolute controul over the pro duce of his labour; and under no circumstances had Govern ment a right to say that he should not do what he pleased with the produce of his labour. If a weaver, for example, possessed the materials of which cloth was made, and produced a piece of cloth, in his (Mr. B.'s) opinion, that cloth was more ab solutely that man's property than any land could become the property of any man.—(Loud cheers. ) If that man then, went over to America, where his brother, perhaps, might have been tilling the land, and had produced a number of sacks of flour, they were undoubtedly the property of that Anglo-American, and he (Mr. B.) could see no reason whatever why an interchange of those two' properties should not take place.—( fleas, hear, and cheers.) If the Englishman and the American, wished to exchange what be longed to each other, and they made the exchange, he held that the flour was thenas much the property of the Englishman, and he had as entire a right to dispose of it as any landowner had to his acres.—(Loud cheers.) Seeing that then to be just, why should they have a law to say that he should not carry it home for the consumption of his wi e and children, whom he is bound to cherish and support? He was persuaded that no man, of whatever party, could say that such a thing was just ; and that was one of the first principles on which the resolution was founded, and which had from its object, the providing of cheap bread and meat to the hundreds anti thousands of their fellow -creatures. They should look at the state of society throughout the coun try, from the Monarch down the squirearchy, and to the very poorest classes of the people; see what the state of famine is—see what a deplorable condition the lower classes of the people are in. The aristocracy and the squirearchy feel nothing of that famine. The Delegates who composed that meeting felt nothing, of it, so far as the food and clothes they used were concerned, but if the condition of the poor people was considered, it wou ld b e f oun d that the immense and fright ful amount of destitution and suffering to which they are sub seceed, are infinitely increased by the operation of the Corn laws—( Hear, hear)—in the neighbourhood in which he (the speaker) lived, the trade principally consisted in the manufac ture of flannel. He was not himself interested in it in any way, but he knew the extent to which the Corn-laws had operated against that trade.—( Hear, hear.) There were several thousand persons who lived by it in his neighbourhood s and they, in consequence of the operation of those laws, were driven from their country. In consequence of the glaring evils of those laws he had turned his attention to them day and night, and he was firmly convinced that there was no point of view in which they could be considered that did not show their evil operation, and call for their total an d i mme di ate abolition.—(Hear, hear, and cheers.) If the home trade alone was looked to would it not be seen that the Corn-laws had a most fatal effect upon them ? If the foreign trade was considered, it would be found that it was almost entirely ruined by the operation of those laws.— ( Hear.) As as instance of their effects upon the foreign trade of this co un t ry , h e (M r. B r i g h t ) wou ld j ust state one fact : Up to 1828 the whole of the flannel made in the neighbourhood in which he lived was exported to the United States of Ame rica ; but in 1828 a very high scale of duty was imposed by the Government of America upon the flannels imported there, and accordingly the consumption of that article was considerably diminished, and the employment given to the weavers of that part of the country, where flannel was the principal article of manufacture, was also diminished. That produced a most ex asperated feeling in . this country. Mr. Addington, the Ameri can Minister, wrote to the Minister of England of that day, to inform him of the state of feeling in that country with respect to the duty imposed upon its agricultural produce, and ex plained that the reason such a high scale of duty was imposed upon English flannel, was, because there was a very heavy duty on the produce of America.—(hear, hear.) The Corn laws were the cause of the high duty imposed on English flannel. —( Hear, hear.) In 1828, the weavers in his (Mr. Bright's) neighbourhood had good wages and constant employ ment, because the duties on flannels, the principal article of manufacture, were low. In 1828, the duty was imposed —the employment of the poor tradesmen was accordingly discontinued; the result was, a great many industrious, honest men were obliged to emigrate from that neighbourhood arid go to America, where they could find the means of employment, which they would have had at home were it not for those laws. —(Hear.) Those honest, industrious men, who could have lived at home in comfort and happiness, were driven to seek a living in a foreign land—were subjected to a species of punishment, and obliged to undergo banishment for the purpose of procuring the common necessaries of life, lie (Mr, B.) had a relative in th^ United States of America. He GREAT LONDON ANTI-CORN-LAS' CONFERENCE• was ;a large manufacturer of flannel, and lived within about 15 miles from Philadelphia. Almost all his labourers and tradesmen came from his (Mr.B.'s)neighbourhood, where those poor men had for mer l y procured abundance of employment before theimpositi on of the duty on flannel, and who would continued to have employment were it not for the operation of the Corn.law. These people were driven in large numbers from their native Country. He (Mr. Bright) would just read what the cele brated Milton said upon such a state of things as that :—" Let the astrologer be dismayed at the portentous blaze of comets and impressions in the air, as foretelling troubles and changes to States ; I shall believe there cannot be a more ill-boding sign to a nation (God turn the evil from us) than when the inhabitants, to avoid insufferable grievances at home, are forced by heaps to forsake their native country."—( Hear.) There were thousands, hundreds of thousands, and millions of the peoples of this country looking forward to the result of this day's pro ceedings, anxiously waiting to see the resolutions adopted at this Conference, and the effect those resolutions would produce upon the country and the Parliament.—( Hear. ) He believed the Parliament most miserably deceived themselves, or were greatly deluded, if they thought for a moment that the Dele gates who composed that meeting, assembled there to ask for a total repeal of the Corn-laws, in order by asking for a great deal they might get something or other, and that the country would be content. No. The people would not be content with anything short of the total abolition of the Corn-laws. — Cheers.) He (Mr. Bright) would tell the Parliament that the Delegat es came to t h at meeting with much higher objects —they had assembled there for the accomplishment of much greater measures—they stood upon a sounder basis than de pending upon any party whatever ; and if he knew anything of the temper of the country, he could say that he was firmly con vinced that no man dared stand up in any meeting through out England and advocate anything like a sliding scale. He knew every part of England, for he had attended avast number of meetings i n E ng l an d , an d he knew the feeling upon the subject of the Corn-laws well enough to enable him to say, that nothi ng lik e a s lidi ng scale would b e sanctioned or ap proved of.—(Cheers.) He was an advocate for a fixed duty, but it was not upon corn.--( Laughter.) He was an advocate for a fixed duty upon every man's mind who had come as a de legate to that meeting, to do his duty zealously, and never abandon it till he accomplished the objects which they all had in view. —(Loud cheers.) After again adverting to the dis. tressed condition of the poorer classes, Mr. Bright proceeded to say that though they had raised a clamour throughout the ma nufacturing districts of England, it should not be supposed that poverty and famine did not also exist amongst the agricultu ral classes, for in fact it was much greater, if possi ble, amongst the agricultural classes than it was in the manufacturing districts.—( Hear, hear.) The agricultural po pulation did not live in crowds as the manufacturing classes did, and consequently the effects of the Corn-laws were not so generally talked over amongst them as they were amongst the manufacturing people. However their effects were gene rally known and felt throughout the entire land, and the people entertained but one opinion that they should be totally and immediately abolished.—( Loud cheers.) The misery and wretchedness created by the Corn-laws was spread all over the country, though the same amount of misery might not offendithe eyes in all parts. One beggar might not be seen, for instance, by a person passing through a particular district of Engl an d ; b ut t h at was no proof of the condition of the people. Then what was the vast accumulation of misery and poverty in the mendicities and poor-houses ?—for instance if the meeting saw the mass of squalid poverty in the mendicity of Dublin, would it:not be atest of the miserable condition of the people there? That meeting had an important duty to perform, and he hoped they would zealously do it.—(Cheers.) He was sure they would. —(Loud cheers.) The people of the country were in danger, they should take the advice of the celebrated Edmund Burke, who said—" Where there is abuse there ought to be clamour—it is much better to be aroused from our slumbers by the fire-bell than to perish by the fire in our beds." It was for that purpose that he (Mr. Bright) had come up to London to hold up his hand in favour of the resolution s adopted by that meeting, and for the total and unqualified abolition of the Corn-laws.—( Cheers.) There was too much reason to fear that the House of Commons would not do justice to the oppressed and fettered people of this country.—( H ear , h ear. ) Look at the resolution he had read, and ask yourselves, did not the system it described oppress the people ?—(Cheers.) Was it not a violation of the rights of man ?—( Cheers.) Was it not a fetter on industry ? Was it not this law that hindered the working man from get ting an honest livi ng b y hi s l a b our ?—(Ch eers.) He had machinery, buildings, and some capital, which did not n um m be u r e h of increase men w nom - underbot forit, this he law, coo d and employ he at gooknevs ad wages, and who could earn a good living under him. His ca,e was the case of hundreds on the one s id e , an d of myriads on the other. It was clear then that the law which was called a pro tection, was in reality an oppression ; and it ought, therefore, to be swept away forthwith.—(Cheers.) The resolution showed that the law impoverished the people, and in so doing demo ralized them. It might be the will of Providence to strike down a man with affliction —such as afflicted Job of old, and such sufferings might be intended for the good of the person ; but it could never be for the good of a whole people that they should be, trodden d own with afflictions and p r i va ti ons laid on by their fellow-men, for such a condition must tend to their demoralization, as it was unquestionable that pauperism was destructive to the fabric of society.—( Hear, hear.) The state of feeling in the country was such as to call for the anxious investigation of every man in authority. Nu Earl or Duke should think himself great enough to shrink from the examination. It was a fact, that in his (Mr. Bright's) neigh_ bourood not a working man would raise a finger in defence of those institutions which we had long been taught to regard as invaluable to the country.—( Hear.) The people were divided into two parties —on one side was a multitude suffering and hopeless —on the other side a vast mass suffering also, but vindictive and revengeful; and if these passions were once to burst forth there was no telling who orswhat would he safe. He would tell the landlords who, under the sanction of the general system, usurped the right that Heaven gave to all, that if they did not take warning in time, they would soon fall a sacrifice to the Corn-laws; and to the false principles which upheld it.—( Hear, hear.) There was not a single estate in England, however extensive, that three years hence, 'would be worth sixpence to its owner under the present law ; but universal destitution would over spread the country—the paupers, like locusts, would eat up every green thi ng ; an d, as they must be maintained, nothing would be left to pay the rents.—(Hear, hear, and cheers.) That must be the consequence, for • no indi v id ua l or nation could prosper on principles t such as were embodied in the present Corn-laws. Wherever r they looked they would see it grinding down hundreds of thou s sands of people by the most horrible oppression. This was ; what he had found, and in thus describing it, and in thus demanding its abolition, he affirmed that he and his brother delegates more truly represented the sentiments of the country than did certain Hon. Members, who were called the representatives of the people, in another place.— ( Laughter.) Let the present representives then consider well their duty. Let them remember that their duty was to demand the unconditional repeal of the Corn-laws. If they could not obtain that, they must return to those who had sent them hither, and declare to them that the Parliament of England was insensible to the call of justice—insensible to the cries of suffering yet innocent millions —and that the people must re double their efforts if they meant to strike down the present insulting and cruel mockery oflegislation.—( Vehement cheers.) Dr. PYE SMITH considered it a great happiness and honour to second the resolution, which was in itself a demonstration.— ( Hear, hear.) He was astonished that most respectable, ami able, and even pious persons should shelter themselves from the demand of justice, which was the demand of a repeal of the Corn-laws, under thesmost flimsy sophistries. Some said that this was a most difficult question—that there werestwo sides —and that much might be said upon each.— (Laughter. ) But lie would remind these people that every midnight robber might say the same for himself, he might say that it was expedient and necessary to his comfort that he should prey upon the country.—(Loud cheers.) Other people would hear no reason at all. But before the present audience he need not speak at length, for he felt sure that every man in that room had a strong sense of the obligations that were imposed on him in the face of God and man, and knew that he must be indefa tigable in exerting every means he could devise to diffuse a right knowledge, and to excite a right opinion amongst all classes on the subject.—( Hear, hear, and cheers.) They were assembled there as servants, by profession, of the living God —of the Lord of all righteousness —of the God who loveth righteousness, and setteth his face against ini quity.—( Hear, hear, and cheers.) If there were any truth in religion—if there were an imperishable principle in virtue and morality—he was convinced of the essential wickedness of the law which they were met there to attack.—( Cheers. ) Persons who, wrapping themselves in ignorance, could refuse the demand now made in the name of justice, might with equal reason refuse to comply with any principle of moral law ; they might refuse to comply with any principle of virtue or piety; they might, in fine, abandon all religion ; but they must remember they had an arduous task before them. It was an old tree, which had struck its roots deep in the soil, and it would be difficult to eradicate it. Let them remember that prayers and offorts must be used together, and then their labours would be successful. He was proud and happy, and he felt it an hono ur t o a dd hi s little mite of approbation and i entreaty n support of the present eloquent resolution, which spoke most important truths that ought to be circulated in , every direction, and impressed on every mind.—( Cheers.) He had but another word to say. He could not hope to attend I any meetings after this, and would his dear friends allow him to observe, this intention was not from insensibility, but because it had pleased God to afflict him with a privation of the power of hearing, so that he was altogether incapable of hearing any ; thing that was said; and of course, therefore, incapable of taking a part in the proceedings of a deliberate assembly. Still lie had the consolation to add, that there were some duties which he was still able to attend. He trusted that the fact he had now stated, would be a sufficient apology for not again coming forward in public meeting.—( Hear, with feelings of regret.) Chairman said as the resolution was proposed and seconded, Mr. Falvy, a working man from Macclesfield, would speak to it, that he would represent the opinions of his brethren on this subject. It had been thought advisable not to pro pose a number of resolutions, but that a clear resolution was proposed to the meeti ng th at t h ey might affirm a definite pro position, a simple resolution that every one could understand. Mr. FALVY sa id, if he were only to consider his own feel ing?, he would expres s th e grat i fying, yet anxious sentiments wan which he availed himself of the honour of addressing an assembly, consisting of the wealth and intelligence of a portion of the . community, who have left their homes and their busi nhus and d r s % pc . tress or der to take into their consideration the best means of hFe r ae e l am n sse o ae v sst i o n ;a g rbaeolar t v h dree is hae e leni l t a cooa w t the he e.tohma numbers,mt ewrhcee when tt t hh h . ee e h alel i na c tkd h h ieonpnrett wealthy trade dm h ee e ea a sa v iore i , f l ds y on the working intelligence,country ; b u a t n h d e t hhea intellect a t e l higher f the e d w o h r o k l n e l holier duty m e n to w h p o e s r perform; o d r e m i e a h te e middle and working classes had become subject they could and would give law tornteheulnandimous on this been falsely put forth to the country landowners. It had tion of the press, that the industrious sasseswere irltlfflmg this great qu es ti on , ,but the publi c meetings, the lateCo n ent on fer re held at Ma nc h es t er, contradict, with ono stern f e a n c c t e this assertio n . The workmen knew an d felt tha i their own interests and that of their employers were bound up indissolubly together, that the interests of both had arisen t 'inust decline and fall together,and that if trade falls,Eng land falls. He was proud to have the honour of supporting this resolution,and declaring the:principles which actuated his con 6- tuents, and the only opposition he had met with in advocating these principles was the assertion that the middle classes would compromise these principles,but this reselutionwould contradict that. It was said that land should be peculiarly protected, bt t he asked, what made the soil of England more valuable than that of the Continent ? It was the trade and commerce of England. What comprised the wealth of nations ? Ac cumulated capital, representing the accumulated human abour which acquired it. The industry of man was that which had made the land of England what it was ; and he said that industry should above all things be protected in its operations, and allowed free scope; all he wished was, that land should not bear a great artificial value at the expense of the operatives. Land would be best protected by reducing the tax on the food of the people. When a repeal of the Corn laws took place, more land would be thrown into tillage, and there must then be extra employment for the agriculturists, and they would not come into towns in numbers to compete with the hard-earning operatives. When these laws were repealed we should have a better home trade and a better foreign trade. This meeting was a marked sign of the times, not to be passed by or overlooked by Sir Robert Peel. In 1839, when the remains of barbarous usages oppressed the Catholics, and excluded millions from their rights, the Duke of Wellington wro • te to Bishop Curtis, intimati n g th a t if time were given their grievances would be redressed, but what was Bishop Curtis's answer ?—That it was more than his statics in society was worth to advise such procras tination, or put off the question. And what was the result ? The conqueror of Napoleon was forced to abandon his position, and yield to the opinion of the people. H e was glad to find that they had determined to tell the great Duke that it was more than their position in society was worth to go for anythin g l ess t h an a total abolition of the Corn laws.—(Cheers.) They had been branded as agitators, and the working men of the country had been taunted and ridiculed for daring to become politicians, but it was because politics had been hitherto confined to one class. But what was the principal cause of the working-men becoming politicians ?It WAS the injury they had sustained from the aristocracy.— (Cries of " Hear, hear.") They feel that their families want suppport—that they want education for their children—that they want religious instruction, and unless provisions were placed by their price within the reach of their wages, in stead of being educated and moral, and religious and happy, they must be just the reverse. That was what had made the working men discontented and wretched. They knew very well that it was an unjust attempt, on the part of a tyrant king, to levy 20s. ship money from John Hampden, that brought about a revolution which all men must be desirous of averting. Yet because he refused to pay that unjust demand, the nation joined him, and rose, and put down both the tax and the King, and the principle of legitimacy and the divine right of kings. Ho did not wish to see such a state of things again— no Englishman could wish to see such a state of things, because, in all revolutions, their misery pressed the more heavily on the humble and the poor, inasmuch as they were the least able to support it. But if the attempt to take 20s. •hip-money from John Hampden without the consent of Parlia ment,brought about a revolution, surely ,it was incumbent on them to resist an unjust tax on the necessaries of life.—( Cheers. ) He remembered to have read a declaration made by the Earl of Chatham, in the House of Lords, against the at tempt made by the Government of the day to tax the Americans. He said, " Rather than unjust principles ehould hold good, let confusion reign for ever."—(Cheers.) If such a declaration was made by Chatham, a name revered by every patriot, honoured by every friend of his country, how much more ought they to press on the country a resolution asserting that the industry of man—( Hear)—that the industry of Englishmen in particular, ought to be free to he carried into every market of the world ?—( Loud cheers.) It would be tedious for him to go into all the authorities on the subject. Dr. Johnson, in his blunt manner said, " the man who would tax the food of the poor speaks like a savage, and ought to live among savages."—(Cheers.) Mr. Bright had told them that he was in favour of a fixed duty, that he thought it was the " fixed duty" of every Englishman to do his part to wards carrying out his views. He would tell them in the same manner, that he was for a " sliding-scale."—(Laughter.) That was a " scale" that would " slide" steadily and constantly throughout all the fiscal regulations with which barbarous no tions had surrounded our commerce, till it stood perfectly frt and unrestricted.—(Cheers.) The good sense, the intellieence, and the industry of the working classes were with them.— (Cheers). He knew that attempts had been made in various parts of the country to disturb their meetings; he knew that there had been paid agents of the Duke of Buckingham ; that there had been itinerant lecturers distributed throughout the country for the purpose of dividing them; but the good sense of the people of England had over ruled all ; they had seen through these schemes, and had avoided that state of things which would have brought them into collision with the middle classes.—( Loud cheers.) In the strictures he had made on the landowners of England he wished to say that he knew there were exceptions, noble exceptions, exceptions that adorned humanity —instances of gentlemen and noblemen willing to give up any selfish interest they might have in the question, in order that the communitt might live, and that the poor might have bread. He stated they he had received a communication from D. Davenport, Esq. , one of the largest landowners in Cheshire, in which he states that even the landowners derive no particular benefit from the Corn-laws, and that it was only the ignorance and stupidity of the shopkeepers and others that prevented them from joining in with the exertions of the Corn-law Re peelers. His reply to that was, that if the Corn-laws benefited neither landowner nor farmer, nor labourer nor manufacturer, he thought it was high time they should be abolished.—( Cheers. ) He was sent to London to tell the Prime Minister—(Laughter and cheers)—the views of the working men assembled at Manchester. He had no doubt he should cut a ridiculous figure in the presence of the Premier, but no matter for that ; if he told him strong and stern truths—if he told him the opinion of " his constituents"—Peel was not such a bold•hearted man as to stand against the united voice of the . people of Eng • land—(Cheers). He had yielded before in the face of previous declarations, and in the face of meetings like this, and if the country determined to remove this obnox ious impost, he would yield again.—( Loud cheering.) A great deal had been said throughout the country as to the working-men being in favour of physical force ; this was a libel on the people of England ; it was not corre c t ; h e was deputed from a t own f amous f or th e manufacture of silks, and when we speak of repealing the Corn-laws, the Government says, " Oh, you are protected by a duty of 30 per cent. ;" but this was a nominal duty only, as they were cheated, as they always would be cheated, by the foreigner. But how did the landowners deal with them ? They refused to remove the Corn-laws, but they were always nibbling at their little protection. A Member of the Govern ment had defended, to a friend of his, the right of going to the cheapest market for the manufactured silks, and by the same rea soning what was good for one was good for the other, except that silk was a luxury for which the rich might afford to pay a high and increased price, while corn was the great necessary of lite. Out of a population of 40,000, they had now a petition ready, signed by 6,000 adults, which was a proof that if they derived any advantage from prohibition, it did not amount to a set off or an equivalent to the injury they sustained from the Corn-laws. All they wanted was a clear stage and no favour, and in those circumstances Englishmen could compete with the foreigner in any market of the world.— ( Cheers.) It was only untaxed food they wanted; they had increased in their skill—they had improved their machinery till they almost left time and space kehind—they were famed throughout the world for the enterprise and integrity of their merchants, and renowned for the skill of their artisans, yet they allowed themselves to be the contempt even of barbarians, for permitting themselves to be ruled by thirty thousand land owners.—(Hear, hear.) It had been said that they were too hard on the landowners, that after all they were but a class ; but they were the class by whom the laws were made, and they had therefore a right to condemn them. He considered the good feeling that had prevailed in their ex • ertions to procure a repeal of the Corn-laws, a proof that Britons were entitled to enjoy every privilege to which they had a right, and apologised for taking up so much of their time, by stating that he was anxious to express to them tho opinion of his constituents.—(A laugh.) This might be called the People's Parliament; there was a Landowners' Parliament, and they had a right to a little Par liamelat of their own. The question was too serious for them to indulge in jokes and levity upon ; but they were justified in being gay as well as serious, in pour ing forth ridicule as well as su bl imity, on the heads of those who taxed the food of the - people. If the King of Prussia had visited the cellars of Manchester—( Hear, hear)—if he had visited the manufacturing towns of the North, he would not have left our shores with an exaggerated notion of cur greatness and our wealth. But how could he form a correct notion of England when he was ushered from his first landing from palace to palace, witness ing nothing but splendid mansions and costly domes, and seeing nothing but the highest degree of luxury ? He ought to have seen the dark side of the picture—he ought to have seen the perishing poor—the naked fathers—the weeping mothers, who knew not where to get bread for their children— and then he might have felt proud in knowing that in Prussia the condition of the artisan was superior to what it was in free and enlightened England.—(Cheers.) Yes ; England at present presented a strange anomaly in the history of the world. We have extreme luxury on one hand, and extreme misery and distress on the other.—( Hear, hear.) The dis tribution of wealth had not been in proportion to its accumulation, and why ? Because the selfish interests of a few had been placed in opposition to the interests of the masses, and of the great bulk of the community. lie was proud to see the wealth and the respectability of the country arrayed in this manner on the side of the suffering poor—(Cheers)—and that it was their determination to see justice done to the people.--(Cheers.) The manufacturers had been abused ; they had been called Cotton Lords, and Silk Lords, and he knew not what Lords. He thought those were terms of which the manufacturers ought to be proud. —( Loud cheering.) It showed that they had acquired their wealth, power, and station, by honest industry, and not by cutting down the people in wages. It showed that they had acquired their wealth by legitimate means, by th e l a b our o f their own hands, and in s o doing they had added to the true dignity of the nation. What had been the state of England before she became a commercial nation ? She was conquered by the Saxen, by the Dane, by the Norman. She was the prey of every marauding State which chose to attack her, but her commerce arose, her navy was fitted out, and now she defied the world. The bread-taxers had recently been loud in their abuse of machinery. They might abuse machinery as they liked. lie would tell them this, that Watt, and Stevenson, and Arkwright had, by their mighty inventions, contributedmore to elevate and improve the condition of the people of this country, than ever the landlords had done to degrade and depress it by their laws.—(Loud cheers.) The Premier had talked of over-production--( A laugh) —of machinery as a cause of distress. How could any one tell that over-production was the cause of the distress until every man, woman, and child in the kingdom had food anti clothing enough ?—(Loud cheers.) Let them give to every man, woman, and child in the kingdom sufficient clothing; and then, if they found they had too much, they might, if they wished, stop the mills for a short time. —( Cheers, and hear.) It was mere childishness to talk in such a planner ; it was language unworthy the honour of a mighty nation, and fit only for the nursery. Of one hundred million human beings, which was the population of the world, England could only pro duce manufactures sufficient for sixty millions. Let them re verse the landlords' position, as had been done by Mr. Greg, the late Member for Manchester. Was it just, was it like a statesman, to make use of such ridiculous language as had been done by the Premier, ?—( Hear, hear.) We possessed immense powers of production, but with a limited sale. Let them reverse the case, as Mr. Greg, the late Member for Manchester, had done. Let them stis i ios? that England was a Continent, with no steam power, anti with a limitedwater power—manufactures would then increase in value as the population increased, and the inhabitants of the country would want manufactures then as they would food now. That was the true state of the case. It was said that England could prod uce f oo d enoug h f or her own consumption. He would not dispute that position as Repeal the Corn- laws, it produc e food enough ?.......(Cheers. ) an abstract theory, but did Id compel the k.nd land into operatrun. lords t o b r i ng th e powers o f the t capital the improvem ent of t.rthen anti that wou ld b e t h e way to snake England procluce food enou g h—(H ear )—b ecause it would It would f orce th em t o expen d that land they might in som e let corn be cultivated on the land instances. Th ey re f use d to of the land, w hi c h t h ey now spen t o n the Co men (Cheelrs.) They would no t now cu l t i va t e a ll the because they could no t ge t the price they wanted fo r it, wher eas , if the Corn-laws were repealed, it would be their interest to produce as much, and at as cheap a rate as pos s ibl e . —( Loud cheering. ) Then there was another argument which had been urged by the bread-taxeers d s in the a b o li t i on of ne ro slavery.—( with great in What should we do i n time of war, .) The w •er o e t ac , l m er - in they a s k e d ? It was necessary for the safety of the ' country t o be independent of foreigner s for a supply of food d ur i ng war. His answer to that wa s i n the first p l ace, that commerce w of preventi ng war altogether. —( Ch eer h sdifferent) Nationsen examplea a Governmentstn goodmr' the ri s n tted by m uc h t h e same mot i ves as individuals. If you vex o m f e E l u % ;op ili e ' .. ex E3.(n)ugland had Sowas se it t a w g it l h or t i h o e us nations of Europe had followed it — ( Cheers.) Let h er now set them the example of removing restri e ti o , as from the f oo d o f t h e people. (Immense cheering.) [A cry was raised at the end of the room that Mr. O'Connell was coming, and the Right Hon. and Learned Gentleman imme diately made his appearance. H e was greeted with lona cheering as he walked up to the platform, on his reachirsg, which some one in the body of the meeting called out, " Three cheers for Mr. O'Connell." This call was responded to with the greatest enthusiasm. When the cheering had somewhat subsided, Mr. Falvy continued.] He wa no believer in witchcraft ; he was not a superstitious man, yet he could not but hail it as a happy omen that at the moment he was complimenting them upon their success in abolishing Negro Slavery, the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor of Dublin should enter the room.—(Hear, and much cheering.) Theis cause must prosper.—(Cheers.) s every accidental circumstance told in their favour.—( Cheers.) He was telling them of the glorious example they had set in the abolition of negro slavery ; let them set another, and never rest until they had obtained the abolition of taxes on food. —(Loud cheers.) The landlords did not think of being independent of foreigners, when they wanted their silks, their carpets, their spices.—(Hear, hear.) It was only where the food of the people was concerned that this excuse was set up. Now let them look at the fact. We were at war in 1810 with France, and with all Europe, and although the ports of the Continent were then shut against our com merce, yet those who wanted . our manufactures took them, and we obtained 300,00 A quarters of wheat from France alone—from France, the country with which we were at war during that year—( Cheers)—and we obtained during that year 1,500,000 quarters of wheat from the rest of Europe. This showed that where it was the interest of nations to trade together, it was not in the power of despotism to prevent them. Even the haughty Napoleon, in highest power, was unable to pre vent it. He would not take up inure of their time and attention, but conclude by cordially thanking them, on behalf of himself and of the operatives of England, for the position they had taken up that day. They were by their conduct adding to the sta bility of the empire, and they would transmit their names to posterity as the benefactors of mankind.—( Cheers). Ile begged leave to add that he gave his most cordial support to the reso lution.. The CHAIRMAN then read the resolution, which was as I follows :—" That in the opinion of the Deputies present, re• presenting associations, public meetings, and religious congre gations in various parts of the kingdom, the Corn and Provi sion laws violate the natural and inalienable right of man— the right freely to exchange the produce of his labour for the food of all other countries, impiously obstructing the circulation of the bounties designed by Divine Providence for the benefit of all his creatures. That the aim of this monopoly of the first necessaries of life is to enhance the price of the produce of the soil of this country, thus neces sarily inflicting severe privations, especially, upon the poorest portion of the community. That these laws, in their opera tion, not only expose the labouring class to the physical evils of hunger, disease, and even premat ure d eat h, b ut t h ey war against their eternal interests, ,by increasing the tempta tions to crime and immorality; rendering them less accessible to the influences of religion. That in denouncing the Corn and Provision-laws as a great national sin, the De puties express their own deliberate conviction, and that of a vast portion of their countrymen that those laws should be immediately and totally abolished ; and the Deputies con stituting this meeting pledge themselves never to swerve or relax in their efforts until that object be accomplished." The resolution was then put from the chair, and carried amidst loud and continued cheering. The CHAIRMAN next said, that the Executive Committee to whom they had committed the power of regulating the order in which the business would be brought forward, had come to a preliminary resolution. It was to the effect, that for the orderly conducting of the business of the Conference, the Committee recommend that each person de sirous of addressing the Conference should send up his name to the Chairman ; that each person be called on in the order in which their names were sent up, without at the same time ex cluding the right of each member to address the Conference. The CHAIRMAN next observed that it was the better course, that as this was the first day of the Conference, the proceed ings should n o t b e p ro t racte d to any great length ; he would, therefore, call on Mr. Dixon, of Carlisle, to move an adjourn ment.—( Cries of "Mr. O'Connell," " The Lord Mayor of Dublin," and much cheering. ) Mr. O'Coiesrest. then came forward, and was received with the most enthusiastic cheers. On the restoration of silence the Right Hon. and Learned Gentleman said, that he felt too much flattered by the kindness of that call to be able to resist it; yet in truth all he ought to do should be to make his bow and thank them. —( Cheers and laughter.) He had come there with a different intention from that with which he generally attended public meetings. He gene rally attended to speak, but he came there to lis ten, and they seemed determined he should listen to him self.—(Laughter and much cheering.) That was rather cruel of them, and for this simple reason, that no person could sup pose he was a prophet, and without being so he could not know what to say to-day. On Thursday next he would be able to tell them something. Peel had an easy job, before him. All he had to do, was to give the operatives cheap bread, and the landlords high rents.—( Laughter.) They seemed to think that that was not quite so easily done as said.—( Laughter.) Now, if he did not do that, and only took up one of those measures, he (Mr. O'Con nell) pitied him very much as to the other. He (Sir Robert Peel) had, however, one refuge. He would give them plenty of words. He would give them plenty of figures, and he'd bother them with the figures entirely.---(Laughter.) His (Sir R. Peel's) struggle would be to do as little as possible and give them as many words as possible. His endeavour would be to raise a cloud and create confusion. Their course at present was straightforward and distinct.--( Hear.) They wanted cheap bread, and that they must have.—( Hear. ) Was there anything yet ever so simple? A talented operative had addressed them a while ago, and when there were so many men of such talent among the operatives, the higher classes could not long maintain their monopoly. Should the poor man come into a market with the price of his skill and la bour, for the purpose of obtaining some of the necessaries of life, he meets (continued the Right Hon. and Learned Gentle. man) a person called a landlord, who says to him, " You arc going to lay out the produce of your labour in purchasing bread, but first give me 2d. out of the price of the loaf for giving you leave to buy it." That was a system which could not last. It was criminal in its operation, villanous in its intention, destructive to the commerce and manufacture of the country. It was attended with all the grievous consequences which robbery and villany could have, and they were now wanting to see what the monopolists were going to do for them.— (Loud cheers.) He remembered once reading in an old romance, a story of a knight, who for some crime was placed at one end of a church, and upon the middle of the church was a common needle; at the other end of the church was placed a sheaf of wheat, and he was allowed to feed himself with all the wheat which might be blown through the eye of the needle.—( Hear, hear.) That was somethin g like the plan of th e monopo li sts . Th ey would not give you the sheaf of wheat to blow through the needle—(Laughter)—and- they tax it before they know how to pot it in a proper position. B u t th e country was roused.—( Hear, hear.) England had spoken out, and Scot land had spoken out, in a tone that was not to be resisted ; and they would be aided by a good strong Irish brogue.—(Cheers.) From others they would get, nothing but words. He re collected a story of a person called Daniel Isaac Eaton, who said he was a printer of the "swinish multitude," a phrase, which they said, was taken from Burke. But he was prosecuted, and put into prison for four years. And when he was inside the prison walls he put up the following motto : " Since times are scarce, and solid food is rare, The swinish herd must learn to live on air ; Wheat and peas no longer do abound, A feast of words is in the hog's-trough found."—(Loud laughter.) Now Peel was the Daniel Isaac Eaton. He would not give peas or wheat, but words, words, words.—( Hear, hear.) He ( Mr. O'C.) wished to prepare the people for what was coming, but he knew the people would not be put off with delusion. No trickery. Bread was bread; and if they did not get bread, they would take nothing else.—(Loud cheers.) A sliding scale was a very slippery thing, and a fixed duty was a fixed injus tice.—( Cheers.) What they wanted was perfectly simple and plain.—( Hear.) They wanted the markets of the world to be opened for them, for the purpose of' getting provisions. They did not want to rob or steal, but they wanted that England should have that food which France and Spain had to spare, after paying the proper price.—Hear.) The thing was plain, but he knew the dexterity of the high conjuror they had to deal with. Delusion was the object, for what else could be the meaning of the Duke of Buckingham retiring from the Administration ? He wished forsooth to be called the " Farmers' Friend," and he retired from the Government ; but he said that he would support them on every other question except that of the con templated alteration in the Corn-law. But if he gave up his office on principle, why support an Administration that was wrong in principle ?—( Cheers.) Did it not give them an in sight into the secrets of the closet, and show what alteration might be expected? The thing was a complete delusion, and the Duke knew what he retired for.—( Hear, hear, hear.) The thing was a clumsy humbug. But he could promise them a strong phalanx of Irish force.—(Cheering.) There were four of his own family who would vote for nothing less than extinction of the Corn-law —but he was wrong—he would vote for a good instalment to be able to come at the others.—( Cheer s. ) Half a leaf was better than no bread.— (Cheers and laughter.) The cry for cheap bread had been raised in Manchester, and had travelled through the land. They should not let that cry die away, for when the cheering ceased, the hunt was up.—( Cheers and laughter.) If they failed, they would lose every thing. This was not a Tory or a Whig, or a Chartist question.—( Hear, hear.) It was a ques tion for cheap food, and in which the whole nation was con cerned not to allow one class to tax the bread of every 'other.—( Loud cheers.) This was not a question of the propriety of raising taxes for the support of the State, but it was a question whether the poor were to have that food which Providence had so amply provided for them, if it had not been stopped from them by iniquitous legislation. The necessity of the demand was so obvious that it would be a mockery to detain the meeting any longer upon the subject. There was no person who came from the manufacturing districts who had not his tale of woe and misery to detail. These laws had entailed upon the people depression of every sort. Wages had been diminished—poverty had increased. It was now fast, and now slow. Misery had increased, and the wretchedness of the manufacturing districts was the consequence of the law. Foreign rivals were beating them out of the markets —even in their own markets they were now being undersold ; and he would ask, were the people of England to be led by the magic of palavering'words to submit to such a state of things ? ( Hear, hear.) No, the people were too strong to be laughed at, and too much in the right to allow themselves to be deluded. They would have the victory if they were determined on it. If, there were Tories amongst them and he supposed there were, he would beg of them not to allow their prejudices to interfere betwe en the sa l va ti on o f t h e poor, the good of the nation, ; . and the remedy for their evils. The Whigs.were in favour of a fixed duty, and the Tories of a sliding seale—hut let them not be deluded by one or the , other, for a total repeal was the only measure which could bring lasting good.—(Cheers.) They had not suc ceeded last year because their cry was not strong; but now it had become too universal and too extensive to be mocked. He would entreat of them not to allow the spirit of folly to come amongst them, which would make them satisfied with delusive and deceptive promises. Let all parties be unani mous, and let them raise a general cry,. and it would he answered in such a way as to relieve the poor from their misery and wretchedeess, and place England where she ought to stand —above' and beyond a I rivalry in the career of competition The moment the struggle reached its height, Englishmea never shrunk. Englishmen never knew how to be beaten. —(Laugh ter.) It was a secret they had never discovered.---( Renewed laughter.) Let them not find it out now in a crisis of the most vital importance.—( Hear.) They could not be beaten if they were true to one another—if they continued united in their efforts to get rid of that abominable monopoly, that incubus on their trade—the present Corn- law.—( /fear.) Let them stand together front and rear, and they would be sure to triumph.— (Loud cheers, amidst which the Right Hon. Gentleman retired from the meeting. ) Mr. DIXON, of Carlisle, came forward amidst cheer s t o move the next resolution.He would not have attempted to address them on that occasion, were it not for the long anti deep interest he had felt in the manufactures of the country. He had been for years connected with our cotton manufac factures, and he was well acquainted with the state of that branch of our commerce throughout the country. He knew the great sufferings which those engaged in that trade had lately been subjected to : he knew that those suffer ings were in a great measure attributable to the present Corn laws. He had from the moment of the enactment of a Corn law in 1815, protested against such a measure, because he fore saw the evils to which it would inevitably give rise. Nothing could have given him greater pleasure than to have witnessed the unanimity with which the meet ing had adopted a resolution expressive of their determination not to compromise that great question.—( Cheers.) No com promise would do. Their case was based upon the prin.. of justice, and with anything short of justice they should not be eontent.—( Hear, hear.) He felt sure that if they per - levered in their righteous efforts, even Sir Robert Peel, net s, , ithetanding the mightly phalanx by - which he was supported, mast bow to them. And why ? S - mply because they advo cat. Id a just cause. They wished to interfere with the rights of no man ; and he believed that if that great quest 'ion were once settled, all parties in the State would be THE CORN-LAWS. T 0 THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. - SIR—I mo s t ent i rely concur in all that you have written upon the iniquitous Corn-laws, and would now more particularly direct your attention to the subject. In three short days the Ministerial plan will be deve loped, and we must carefully watch any alteration in the mode of taking the averages. Let it be clearly and distinctly understood, that any alteration which will lower them will be a benefit to the landlords only, but an injury to the starving people. I was in the Park when the Queen went in state to open Parliament, and heard the cry of " We're all starving," and it is these starving people whom it is our duty to relieve. I am very glad the subject has now become a reli gious question. We are told in Scripture that, "he that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him," and cursed will those Ministers be, who act contrary to Scripture. The Duke of Buckingham complains that the farmers will not exert themselves, and he can do nothing without their assistance. The fact is the far mers begin to understand that high rents neither be nefit them nor the public. But alas! our selfish and ignorant Tory landlords have already done irreparable injury to our trade and manufactures, for no repeal of the Corn-laws can now restore a portion of our lost prosperity. Our best artisans have left our country in hundreds, and we have compelled the Americans and other nations to manufacture in self-defence ; and though the disorder may be checked, it cannot be cured, even by the great Tamworth physician himself. Your most obedient servant, A WHIG LANDLORD. l'eb. 7. The King of Prussia arrived at the Palace of Lacken, near Brussels, at a quarter before two o'clock on Sa turday. The train had left Ostend at a quarter before 10. A diligence was ready for 32 persons on the King's arrival. EVIENING SUN ei essentially benefited. A large portion of our farmers and oar agricultural labourers were deeply interested in the solution of LA MBE T H . •-• . bab ialo that great question. Our agricultural population were in ning of the in , 800 A public meeting was held last eve . . reality most injuriously affected by the present Corn-laws. The s e Scho° - 0 ' CORN-LAWS.—MEETING I° of the Borough of Lembeth, at the Brin _ a , o _, :e , ire men of the north, the men of the borders—men as hardy, as George's-street, Lambeth, for the purr ose of adopting{ willing, and as able to work as any others upon earth—were tion to Parliament for the abolition of the C ° IO the An new in a state of the deepest suffering, in consequence for the purpose of appointing two delegates ' st . of the depression of our trade and the low rate law League. gee 0 , I of wages they received for their agricultural labour. Even a large body of our farmers were advocates for a total the meeting was called for the purpose . e e e t .Messi e : x and immediate abolition of the Corn-laws. On a former oc- Mr. RICHARDSON took the Chair, and, in : d e g ine Pi to the House of Commons to repeal toes ,'7whiO, casion the Convention, had asked of Parliament to be heard at petition did not mean the Corn-laws merely, but r!il,":7 ii i the bar of the House. That prayer was refused. They next rated in preventing provisions coming mt they iaels' asked to be heard before a Committee of the House, and that request, too, was not complied with. They told them they the laws which restricted the importation of coe d tog b 7oo , When they asked for the repeal of the food laws, '' s ,: e e ii j should hear from them aeain and they had heard from them again. He wished to congratulate their , dried and salt provisions, could be supplied in . g an . 'i ron T o every description. Pigs, sheep, and other cattle,neat a _ Hon. Chairman on the state of the movement in Scotland. The Scotch people had made up their minds upon the sies- from the neighbouring countries, more esPeel l ihat if ,a tion; and Scotchmen deliberated before they determined.— ! laws were repealed, he should not be asserting ia burgh ; and it was not too much for him to says that) welch (Hear, hear.) The people of England had long ago made up beyond proof, when he said that the very heet.in 1 . vo ' A their minds upon the subject ; and he believed the people of Ireland were also pretty unanimous with regard to it. He had been himself entrusted with a petition to the House of might be supplied at the rate of 2V e d. or 3 u P_ e ,....a1l of 1 j porta ticji d i Corn-laws, but all laws prohibiting the free o t c , h i m * 0 Commons, signed by 5,000 inhabitants of the town of Car- ! (Cheers. ) They therefore asked not only fora . Terse food.—(Hear, hear.) Those who were to follow allude to l' lisle, which he then represented, and that was a pre go more minutely into the subject, or he might e n ''' r, ponderating majority of the whole population of the city. He earnestly hoped that the other cities and towns of this great ! the duty almost amounted to a prohibition. , °:.,,„ eioe: o commercial country would imitate their example.—(Hear, ; articles of tea, coffee, sugar, &c., and other articles,„nee be i hear.) The Hon. Gentleman concluded by moving ihat the ;addressed them, a remark had been made meeting should then adjourn till eleven o'clock to-morrow, JOHN BROOKES, Esq., of Manchester. came forward amidst people ~ _t joist, not unchristian, and he thought it became ';, ece ' icing 'e general cheers to second the resolution. He had reason to ; such a fact. Laws which prevented the t s is h e auld e 0,141 know something of the Corn-laws—for a man generally knew most of his own business.—( Hear, hear.) He had been him- I which saith, do; unto others as ye would they _e„ilsee '''''t ; appeared to him to be in direct contradiction t self engaged in the corn-trade for the last thirty-three I return was moved for by the late Member for Leee t ' bro aL you in the same circumstances. They would role; u o rtle,, . years, and he had been a shipper for thirty-six years ; ascertain what number of quarters of wheat es ere of V ol but during that time he had never purchased any foreign corn. The uncertainty and the instability of the trade had ' rters into the river, and from that return made to the "" tad prevented him from doing so. Purchases must under the pre- I mons, it appeared that several hundreds of qua near t 0 acv thrown into the river Thames and into the sea b l' i g iv,...., e , sent system be made in a hurry ; and it was impossible •to Was it not unchristian to throw that which God i n t of 1 1,: t o calculate on a regular and steady trade. He had been in the food to man into the sea? He knew not the inea n eee ,est/ Ifs habit of bringing hides from Monte Video, but he had never tianity, if that was not an unchristian act. f t ` je je s a r i e h brought the flesh of animals in consequence of the high in the City during the late election, and a g ,e l ,', 0 hoped 0 1 rate of duty. The flesh was left to be de up and addressed him (the Chairman), and st i '6 l .ltitt stroyed, and could be turned to no use whatever. were striving in Lambeth for the repeal of tb- Che";4 o l pb He had lately had a portion of this beef transported to this that gentleman related an anecdote to him ( t h e see , ' :1 01 1t country, and he found it cost him but 1 3 / 4 3. per pound. which he would repeat to them, and then leave the. 0 , 1 lie could buy beef in Buenos Ayres at the rate of 93. for whether these laws were unchristian or not. 7 00 wi . ,, 25 lb. ; and a friend of his had lately bought sheep he had been into a shop—a baker's shop—and .o e:sriV at 2d. and 7d. a-piece. In June last Sir Robert Peel had de there a little girl of about ten or twelve yeer a g ;„„.. ; Kit # • dared at the hustings —the hustings was the place to catch into the shop for the. usual quantity of e ,'" -- , e seel e them—(Laughter) --that a fixed duty of Sc. did not appear to week for the family. The baker asked her what Se him to afford a sufficient protection to the farmer.__( Hear.) The Right Hon. Baronet went on to say that they must con- had, and she replied she had brought the ee ee tha t t e The baker said she must go back and tell her rem', bselj sider the burdens to which land was subject in this country. less she sent so much more mone she could Ile os ee'' t y He would have them look at the amount of poor-rates on land, usual quantity. The child returned', and: prettanl ee 0 1 ,0 and see who paid the Church -rates, the Highway -rates, and again, saying that her mother had no more Ine_! e f e 'sbe et , the Tithes. These, he said, were paid by the landed occupiers. baker was therefore to send as much flour as the panne) ',le Observe what Sir Robert said. Not the landed proprietor would purchase. Was that not unchrstian ? Lett a„ ... .cl or ier eo but the landed occupier. The fact was that land would let themselves and say, when their children were erYl e sver e e e for more money with the Corn-laws on it than it when they had no opportunity of supplying thertnif th igeta n isi would without it. He (Mr. Brooks) remembered when he in existence which prevented food from coming int! en ., l o3 f bie , was at Harrowgate, there were sixteen Tories there and only ought these abominable laws to be suffered to r,ter pl.; two Whigs ; they were talking about the Corn-laws. He would not detain them longer ; others would 0(7:4 e gree ose (Mr. B.) asked there one question. He said—Suppose he and propose resolutions which he hoped they efe w teer e 0 ° 4 4 had two houses to let, one furnished and one unfurnished, for He believed in his conscience that if these laws i r e Wed which would he get the highest rent ? They answered—" For pealed, England's greatness would assuredly fall. 2; otir.o, the furnished house, of course ;" and so it was with the land. too that the- industry of this country could rit li: - ,,, Land well furnished - would bring more rent than unfurnished itself against the competition that was offered ee s e .me e land. Well, Sir Robert continued, and if you let in corn pro• were he her" He believed further that these laws duced by other countries, not subject to those burdens, it would , denou l4o. olis the . ° 1 f be evidently un j us t to t h e growers of this country. But as they were crue l an d oppressive ino what had we t o d o w i t h them ? Nothing at all. The fact the public w ou ld r i se as one man and and (Cheers.) He thought that unless they wer e ,. e s O l e o was, they were cheating them.—(Cheers. ) He never yet taken into consideration, the country would deelti a ln_ 4s , found a man who could justify the Corn-laws. Some say, why r o i we only get 2/ per cent. fo r th e money w hi c h we have i nvested stead of empl o y men t b e i ng g i ven to the industr ieu' o e as hitherto, they would have to emigrate to othe:ftietheito in land ; he replied, that they were not bound to buy land if there to seek employment. He would not trespaa eseo lot pi they only got 2/ per cent. for their money. He had had the their time, but call on Mr. Miles to move the first,T o est) honour of putting a question or two once to Lord Stanley, Mr. MILES rose to move the first resolution. 't o ys P r i e and that Nobleman admitted, without any hesitation, that land the Corn-laws for the last twenty years, and, n e as ° lel ' let higher with the Corn-law upon it. There was an that prices were about half as high again in Eng in- e we/; V admission for them. What right had one section of the corn- Continent. Nor was it the case with corn o gue'," munity to tax the other? It was a fact that there was a Corn it was the same with meat also, thus placing th t . .,, eoel,rie law, and it was equally a fact that that law had been made for bourer in a situation which rendered him unable redact' est. e' i y , a certain purpose ; what then was that purpose? Was it to with the foreigner. Perhaps they thought the reth7 o , l el ii, prevent foreign corn from getting into England? It was— prices of corn and provisions would cause a recl ee n e c peel e d they could not deny the fact. He was not surprised at that part amount of wages.—( Hear, and cries of "We . 0 0 r e d of Lord Stanley's story, but he confessed he was surprised at his Lordship's s en ti ments with regard to foreign trade, when he mingled with consid era bl e uproar, which laste d for soleo foreign trad e . I t was the duty of Members of the House of # said that they must ta k e care of their colonies, and not mind the He had taken the t rou bl e to ca l culate the amoun t °; 10 that parish alone i n th e art i c l e of meat, if the prie oO t I n „, Commons to rep resent t h e mercantile interests—if such were same as on the Conti nen t, w hi c h sav i ng would 1 ,, v t he f i y their duty h e (M r . B.) would say that Lord Stanley was as fit less a sum th an 263,485/.—(Loud cheers.) •` for the office he held as h e (M r. B.) would be to fulfil the du- able Gentleman then proceeded to state tha` sd•+ t; ties of a Bi s h o p. —(L ou d cheers.) He (Mr. B.) knew that collected for that parish amounted to 65,938/. 35 ' d ete mercantile men had mo re i n t erest i n the foreign trade than in greatest part of whi c h wen t to t h e salar i es o f ela! support of our establishment.—(Cries of " ThatS is site:‘ , the Colonies. He himself had 249,000/. in the foreign trade, tion," and great uproar, which continued throughout the fnoi and only 38,0001. in the colonies ; and yet they were Gentleman's speech.) He concluded by proposingeetiCi, to sink the foreign trade for the sake of what ?. ing resolution :—" That it is the opinion of this 01 , 0 109 That the sons of the aristocracy might reign over them. taxes upon the people's food are oppressive, eroefe e . ioa'e) The fact was, Lord Stanley belonged to the aristocracy, and he and destructive to the commerce and na tiv e ess° ' backed them through thick and thin. He must tell them one of the country, and alike repugnant to the dictates of rel i g ilo thing—they must sink Whigery, Toryism, and Chartism, and humanity, and the highest principles of the Christienoto bind themselves together never to give up, and then they Mr. WILLIAM HAWES rose and was received , gr l d should see whether they were to have their rights cheering. He said he was totally unprepared to a sh pd or not.—( Cheers.) Hundreds and thousands of people were that evening, as he had not the slightest idea when thef espt e o ei being converted to their opinions, and he hoped the time was not that room of being called upon to do so, but standing 0 far distant when they should obtain their rights. He remembered being called forward as the advocate of the principle s r eilie a story about one Billy Whittaker in Lancashire, which he in the resolutio n , th a t i t was crud, unjust, and -4? Pis to , would tell them. Thi s Bill y Whi ttaker owed a great deal of tax the people's f oo d, i t was qu i te i mpossible f or n t he 0 ;4 , money to different p eop l e i n t h e town, yet when any the opportunity give n t o hi m t h at n i ght of express K e eke one went to the p u bli c- h ouse, there Mr. Billy might moots and feeling s with w hi c h h e h ad ever v i ev red . te . . o ef, be seen drinkin g an d smok i ng with the merriest —(Cheers.) The tax es on f oo d were oppress i v e, eSteeD of them ; no one t h ere so comfortable as he. D A person said t o hi m one d ay, " I wonder to see entirely deprived th e p oor man o f tak i ng h i s ]about- ro, possible market, w hil e h e was compelled to 1 ) 0 1 tlle d i you here so com f or t a bl e ; . i f I were in your at prices fixed by the seller. The Hon. Gentlernaelioolo circumstances, owing so much money, I could not sleep in my luded to the late notice of Sir Robert Peel in th,fieter e ss bed." " Ah !" said Billy, " if I were the people that I owed it to, then I should not sleep in my bed; as it is I sleep soundly." Commons. He (Sir Robert Peel) could not sureir do s e enact over again the farce of 1829 ? He thought ef iThens The aristocracy of this country are all Billy Whittakers— the talents of Sir Robert Peel ould not palm off laleiele (Loud laughter)—they think the people were asleep ; but they will soon see that they are wide awake—(lncreased laughter specimen of Jim Crowism. c oTh Hon. Gentleman r -- 4 0 long and eloquent speech by seconding the resolntir;iedlf Mr. HIND rose to propose an amendment. ge ' beg? and cheers)—if the people slept at all it must be with one lye open.—(Laughter and cheers.) - that -discussion as a large cake, The Chairmaiiieif I i Mr. Brookes*coucluded, amidst loud applause, by seconding the resolution which was put from the Chair, and unanimously nibble at the side of it, and was followed by the o / tield adopted.had pretty nearly nibbled all round the cake." (ma y of Mr. HENRY Asnwormr, of Bolton, next addressed the He (Mr. Hind) would show them, if they 70e1 d meeting—He said there was so much intelligence, and spirit listen to him for five minutes, that he W iiieri A ii and energy, displayed by every individual at the meeting, that right through it.—( Cheers and laughter.) ' i le t etc,l prized a large loaf as well as any man, for he was n se el l ei it was impossible for him to add anything to what had been and he liked plenty of tea.—(A Voice--." With ru" - t esl ts i already said ; he would merely suggest, as he was sure ever one of the Delegates had come charged with intelligence from Y —(Loud laughter.) The Chairman hid told theta to t d would have certain resolutions. He had told the nl et eeslq their respective districts, that each of them should prepare might get, by the repeal of these Food-laws, meat al 00 0 1 's something like a statistical detail of the matters that might pound ; but did he not know that there were t hn e.e o, 4 ought to he submitted to the meeting, and that that labouring men, both agricultural arid manufacetue7 to detail should be left with the League, to be used afterwards a were unable to procure meat at all, and who 11 7 : 0 O d d was thought best. He had himself gathered a good deal o s f under the present system ?—(Loud cheers.) "P -the of argument from many of the newspapers, and had collected a price of meat to the poor weaver of Carlisle. or great deal more from the facts stated at the meetings weaver of Leeds, who had but about 2leide ( 0 ., held at Leeds, Manchester, and other places. He had for the support of his children and himself? '''' t ,i r 4 them all collecte together, and he would submit them to the How was that man to- get two or three pounds ds ill eyea u ee League. If each of the Delegates collected the facts relatin though it were but 2/d. a lb., while he could no t fev . Ser to his own district there was no doubt but a greatdeal of inter! esting matter would be obtained. The Delegates might for in- bread, and while the present system lasted he neve r , /t r t e , (Cheers.) The Chairman had further said, the ef e ,ef stance sit down that evening and contrast the present state of their standing all the demonstrations made to Parliament' 'if districts with its condition a few years ago ; and in that way, by showing it in a statistical detail, most interesting and iiim:e• starvation prevailine ; notwithstanding all this Pri, A askla 4 would not repeal thine laws. He (Mr. Hind) eg u n is eel ;Of portant information might be had.—(Hear, hear.) ther the present Parliament was more likely to r el e -yl - 00, merely mentioned the matter to the meeting, in order that than the former one ? He then alluded to the 7 of the Delegates might adopt the suggestion if they thought used at the late election, and stated t ,7: eiti it of use.—( Loud applause.) Petitions against elections. This country was in the o f t ie were at that time sixty cases before Pa'sfreerce, The CHAIRMAN said the meeting had heard Mr. p_ Ashworth's suggestion, and he was sure it was worthy of ado l ion as France before the Revolution by the sYst.tee:rsst tion. The Committee had,i yesterday, waited on Sir R. Peel, to legislation.—(Loud cheers. ) Look to Louis the s, - 4 - Oiiti obtain an interview with him, and they were in expectation of time and his glorious wars, together with that of hi btas Louis the Fifteenth. At that time the nobility we o f 1114 receiving an answer every hour. It was the wish of the Com • mittee that the entire of the Delegates should wait upon Sir the land, and contributed nothing to the taxes, a" - Fos Robert Peel, if he granted the request of the Conference. It was therefore most desirable that they should be al in at- fell on the people. The aristocracy of this country l' o t tendance punctually at e l even o ' c l ock to morrow on i n the same way, and soon they would place Eng' „,, 0 morning. All the petitions for the abolition of same position as France was then..--( Cheers. )He ogles the Corn-laws should be presented to Parliament the agricultural population had been for the last fil t i l e sor ieo 3 as early as possible; and those petitions brought to London b a state of starvation.—( Hear.) He had been in s ess t ot the Delegates, should be each given forthwith for presentatior')-', last autumn, and he was then in a village ; and h e, o it er e with such complaints as these—sc My husband has u ;: p kti'. o by each Delegate to his own Representative, provided that that Honourable Gentleman were favourable t work for the last nine weeks ;we are starving"'" e the object of it. But if not, then the peCt . ° were hundreds of such cases. Talk of the Christi/pt! r should be left with the Executive Committee, who would Itawkne let them have justice !—( Hear, hear, hear.) The Miate. r os law people were under a mistake. If the Corn-lasle 11 ;14 means to have it immediately presented. The Chairman then pealed to-morrow they would have bread but a tee," said he could not allow the meeting to separate, without cheaper, they would only have the amount of food , 4 pot.,, of expressing the very great satisfaction it afforded him to not produce themselves —( Hear, hear.) They o n ' ? serer' to see the tone which they had taken up, and the deter- ploy all the world for that. What they wanted was a 0 j illh d urination with which they were disposed to act.—(Hear ) the system which enabled the Peels and the ga r e .. 0, 00 This was a simple point that every one might understand. Let accumulate millions while others are left to staeYee got, e t them keep by this principle till the last, regardless of all p - sition, and they might depend on it that the force of üblice"-oPp°i- not prevent a man dying with six millions of ta un '•loo 4 ' . el cheers.) He would not give a farthing for a sYste l l ,,' °,7 •o l ( a the same time prevent another man dying of star itn ei leo•o-A nion so expressed would be found irresistible.—(Cheers.)P Mr. SIDNEY SMITH said it was important to inform the voice, " Could you ?") Yes, I could, (said Mr. 9 : 4 06 Ole Conference before it separated that several Metropolitan Anti- I not told you how, you blockhead ?—(Cheers ties - flie S e ete Corn-law districts were desirous to receive deputations from laughter.) The amendment he had to propose waas anon the Conference to address meetings in their respective bomb- feeling of the meeting is decidedly hostile to all '''- per. ties. To carry out this object he had therefore to re nest Whether in commerce or legislation, whether in co, rr ! b ini' that gentlemen from those districts would leave their n q ame iti th on a s t ,pa t tr h ol e geiamt Cor heenrt n ;w -l i a ag . t w: i ? iare :: .s e ore er f sugar, or in the religious and civil institutions.. • •Pm j ; '.' t he and the places to which they belonged below stairs, and als: sugar is d passed therefore an d b o y f the times and places where they desired the addresses to be de livered ; and also that gentlemen, Members of the Conference r n o i usurping t h ' n ib ' timber alP p i willing to deliver their addresses, would leave their name; monopoly, and ought to be t o t a ll y and uncondi.r refi o of below stairs with the E xecut i ve Committee. They would pealed; and to p revent any future enactment of f 0 17,1sii then most effectually ag i tate the question.—(Hear, hear.) similar perniciou s scheme, fon' - are It was desirable th a t t h e i r friends in the metro alts that, in order t o prevent this, and s ave t h e peoPl this meeting is further of el s" should hear their f r i en d s f rom the country. A perfect unifier':isoPP,2 s Pe !o standing betwee n th e cap i ta l and the provinces would be thus le g isl ation , radical reform in Parlia ment is mended. That a ll present evils and future one!'" T t e established, and L on d on wou l d resume the station she heldvented by no other machinery than the adoption - spot when this abominable law was passed.--( Hear, hear.) dear, and comprehensive document the PeopleV , g , o Mr. SMITH then read over again the list of the Executive Mr. BROWN seconded the amendment in a very l o r''bet_ A Committee, to which the following gentlemen were added : M. HUOOETT proposed a counter arnendeneen"pd e'' ' The Rev. W. W. Williams, and Mr. Evans; the Chairman and ainendinent of Mr. Hind, after a . great deal o f u proar Secretary of the Welsh Anti-Corn-law Conference ; Mr. W. fusion, was carried by a large majority re Ibbotson, and the Rev. T. Bailey, of Sheffield ; the Rev. W. - A resol • titian I : o otni ° Roaf, of Wigan. resolution was then proeosed to ado t a pena, v Up to three o'clock, between 500 and 600 Deputies had m end for the repeal of the Corn-laws P e ris ; but an an' PO givni . passed in their names. adopting the people's petition, a li as the The meeting th en a dj ourned until 11 o'clock to-morrow. Charter, in its stead. AO 6 the cite Three Chartist Delegates were then chosen for - for Corn-law League, and after three cheers had been g ive. % O'Connor, the sepa ra te i ee Charter and Feargus meeting ' ' ..,.e confusion. .. -. 0 v ~e MELANCHOLY INSTANCE OF . ~,,,S " -V - i.a .e DEATH.—Last evening, Mr. I' held inl- 0 a i r ' r. aynean e s e b e r Crown, Blackfriar's-road, on the body ofH. "11.° Mrs. . i " ~..a . „ aged 25. From the evidence of deceased's husbalw;seser,. witnesses, it appeared that for a long time she ha d .. atelle r' ject to spasmodic pains in the stomach. A sotoullie cool gate last summer relieved her, but in October hot , leu elie„: quence of ill-success in trade on the part of h er on Oa'', her old malady returned in an aggravated form. al prec,,'" - , day last she was out in the Parks, to see the floY iter • bier • sion proceed to Parliament, and next morning , e se e isiink be fast, she complained of headache. While so color 0 4 4 • young daughter of hers fell into the coal-cellar, an oirote;•• child's screams at first frightened deceased. he e paella nance changed its hue, and shortly afterwards "_ o,We7 s , , was in great agony, and that the pains she felt t eo eseise , to those produced by parturition. She was no , eies tees, eres-r s we in a state of pregnancy. Fomentations, Tel's. ere not, AA , leeches, and medicine piescribed by a surge n' on fr up- i - cessfue and she died shortly after four o'clok, e• Jo" h er e! , t considered leir s Sir. Hussey, a surgeon, who was called in, chor the c it Di a dangerous one from the first, and believed that o u. $ was crisea e of the liver, andprobablydeath was the - bon? caused Ya . the bursting of an abscess in that organ, her child's screams. Verdict—" Natural death." ___ 0 , 0 j eer On Wednesday morning last, at elev,e,n ono , Qubs; ~ the reception, of Miss Mary Quin, daughter of a t if elafe e 0 0 Esq., of William -street ( Town Councillor), tome l'i. 4o „see aPi; Presentation Convent, Sexton-street. The yottngem , throl o peered most healthful and very interesting, and W „ill ifs, t the formula of reception with heroic firmness- - I, _,'; at lf.r second daughter of Air. Quin that has taken the Y 7 - ''. a ton-street. —Limerick Reporter. 2 , 7 of _,„ 1; DEATH FROM THE EXTRA CV° kloyiPP Tooen.--A few days ago a young man in Edinbur der os ; had occasion to have one of his teeth drawn, went t, , , !...„,i' o len! . . , perfOrnie a Ifeipp . for that purpose. On the operation being hemorrhage immediately took place, which it wee - i' dea# l -t'' led to Ii; sible to stanch, and the young man actually h a ils tin. -- Cases of this kind, we are informed, are by to •In 4it t ' ampled, and persons of a hemorrhage tendency oug ht of coif • i„, 0 1. peculiarly careful of having recourse to the extractio ns , st , , mat" " teeth, in almost any circumstances.— Glasgow C (THIS DAY.) The Delegates from the different Anti-Corn-law Societies composing the great Anti-Corn-law League of the United Kingdom, held their first Conference this morning, in the large room of the Crown and Anchor, in the Strand. The Delegates began to arrive shortly after ten o'clock ; lout al though the meeting was advertised for half-past ten o'clock, it was half-past eleven before the proceedings commenced. DUNCAN M‘LAnEN, Esq., was unanimously called to the Chair. The CHAIRMAN thanked the meeting for the honour con ferred on him, and trusted his conduct would give them satisfaction. Messrs. Joseph Hickey and Sidney Smith were then elected Secretaries to the Conference. The Executive Committee was then appointed, the follow. ing gentlemen being nominated members :—Mr. James son, London ; Colonel Thompson, ditto ; Mr. P. H. Taylor, ditto; Mr. Sidney Smith, ditto; Mr. Scobell, ditto ; Mr. Kershaw, ditto ; Mr. Wm. Rawson, M anc h es t er ; M r . W. Evans, ditto; Mr. E. Armitage, ditto; Mr. A. Prentice, ditto ; Mr. S. Lees, ditto ; Rev. J. W. Massie, ditto ; Mr. J. Bright, Rochdale ; Mr. L. Heyworth, Liverpool ; Mr. Stausfield, Leeds; Mr. Milligan ' Bradford; Mr. Clayton, ditto ; Mr. Dix on , C ar li s l e ; 31r. Ashworth, Bolton ; Mr. Joseph Sturge, Birmingham; Mr. Bell, Coventry.; Mr. M'Laren, Edinburgh ; Mr. Aytoun, ditto ; Mr. Wm. Bu chanan, Glasgow ; Rev. J. Border, Stroud ; Mr. J. C. Symons, ditto; Mr. Biggs, Leicester; Mr. Ackroyd, Hali fax ; Mr. Batley, Huddersfield. Amongst those present we observed—Mr. Cobden, M.P., Mr. Seholefield, M.P. ' Hon. C. P. Villiers, M.P., Mr. T. Milner Gibson, M.P., Dr. Bowring, M.P., r. A. Johnstone, 31. P., Mr. Heathcote, M.P. for Tiverton, Right Hon. D. O'Connell, M. P., the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Rev. Dr. Wade, Rev. T. Spencer, of Hinton, Col. Thompson, Mr. Boultbee, Mr. Ashworth, Mr. Heyworth, Mr. Joseph Sturge, Rev. Dr. Pye Smith, Mr. 31untz, M.P., Birmingliame.Mr. Prentice, &c. Mr. Asiswoften proposed the appointment of the Finance Committee. The Rev. J. SPENCE, of Hinton, near Bath, in seconding the motion, said he would, with the leave of the Chairman, ad dress a few words to the meeting instead of merely confining himself to seconding the motion. He would not take up their time by urging of the repeal of the Corn-laws, as he took it for granted that all the gentlemen present had made up their minds that the present state of distress was mainly owing to the ope ration of the Corn-laws, in diminishing trade, and lessening the supply of food. Wheat on the Continent could be pur chased tor 20s. a quarter, and yet with such a supply within our reach our people were suffered to perish of hunger. They were suffering from want of employment; they would fain earn their living honestly by their industry, but they were prevented from doing so by the Corn law monopoly. The foreigner who possessed this corn said, " if you will take our wheat, we will take all the goods yon have in Manchester. We want these goods, but we have no money ; we can only pay you in what we have—food ;" and the Corn-laws prevented us from the taking their food. He had been on the spot, and knew that these people had no money to send; and when they asked us to take what they had to send in exchange for our manufactures, we said " No." Now those who would not accept the only terms on which employ ment could be given to our labouring classes, in effect said the poor shall have no employment—they shall have no money — they shall not have food—they shall not have the means of living honestly, they shalldie, beg, become paupers, or steal.—(Hear, hear.) There was one point, however, to which he was de sirous of directing their attention, and that was the state of the agricultural districts.—( Hear, hear.) He had considerable experience of the state of those districts from the state of his own parish. He had recently attended a large meeting at Southampton—he had afterwards read a long account of the meeting in the Times Newspaper, and he would take upon himself to say that scarcely one word in that account was true. He was fully aware of the deep distress existing in the agri cultural districts, from the state of the labourers in his own parish. Had it not been for the operation of the allotment system, he knew not how the poor labourers could have subsisted during the bad weather. He had asked the shopkeepers in the neighbourhood how the poor people were off, and they all re plied that they had never known such a winter. Not only was bread dear, but every other article of consumption had risen in price in proportion. The shopkeepers had told him that they had sold the loaf for 5d., and the same sized loaf now sold for led. When the loaf was at 5d., cheese was clid. a lb. ; now the loaf was 10d., cheese had risen to 10d. a lb. also. Bacon, which was sd. a lb. when the loaf was 5d., was now 10d. a lb. ; so that as bread doubled in price, bacon and cheese doubled in price also. The shopkeepers said that it was almost dangerous to sell these thinga.—( Hear.) The wages of the agricultural labourers were 9s. a week, and in many instances only Bs. On wet days the agricultural labourer only received half-pay, so that during a wet week his wages only amounted to 4s. 6d.—( Hear, hear.) He (Mr. Spence) knew of farmers having 300 acres of land each, who hail not, for six weeks toge ther during this winter, more than one man employed on their farms. That was pretty generally the state of things in his own parish of Hinton, and what had happened there occurred in other parishes. Such a state of things arose from the distress which existed in the manufacturing districts. Much had been said respecting the Conference at Manchester. Of that assem bly he must say that it commanded the respect and reverence of all save those whose own selfish interests were involved in an unjust opposition to the objects which it advocated. lie (Mr. Spence) had taken the trouble to ascertain the sentiments of people of all classes on the important subject of the Corn-laws, and he found that at least two-thirds of the individuals whom he addressed orrthe matter were in favour of a repeal of the present system. In his own parish, out of 144 of its inhabitants 96, at least, were in favour of free trade. Many who had been opposed to repeal of the Corn-laws had, he found, altered their minds on the subject. Those people, most of whom were farmers, said that they had been deceived on the question—that they were told it was a farmer's question, and not one having reference to all classes of the community-- that a fixed duty of its. would be ruinous to them. Well, what did those people now say? Why, that they found they could be easily worse off be any of the plans proposed, than they could by a fixed duty—that, according as they got a high price for their wheat, so did their rent become higher, and that consequently they derived no benefit from getting a good price for their wheat. It was stated, some short time ago, that if the Corn-laws were repealed, the land should go to the devil.—(Laughter.) That was a fallacy. It would be found that their principles were the best for the ma nufacturer and the Operative, the farmer and the labourer. Nay, before long, it would be seen, too, that their principles were best for the landlords themselves. Those who sought the repeal of those mischievous laws would never consent that the land should go to the devil. But there was no fear of such a result.—( Hear, hear, hear.) It was thought desirable, some time past, that a Conference of the districts of Hampshire, Dorset, the Isle of Wight, and other places in the south, should be held at Southampton. A meet ing of Delegates from those districts was accordingly convened at that place. It was very numerously attended by persons anxious to hear the statements of the Delegates. But there was in the neighbourhood a landed gentry who thought it not conducive to their interests that those statements should get abroad. They accordingly hired 200 or 300 men, at 21. a day, to enter the assembly, and, standing in front of the platform, to perform one single service. And what did they think that service was ? Was it one that required talents or ability ? No ; far from it. The business those men were hired for was to make a great noise ; to interrupt as much as possible the proceedings of the meeting. That was the duty imposed on them by the landed gentry, and well did they perform their duty. Would that every man in the kingdom would so well discharge his duty as did those misguided hire lings. The Earl of I'adnor presided at that Conference in Southampton, and nothing could be more desirable than that the sentiments and language of that Noble Lord on that occasion should have got abroad ; but the hireling disturbers continued the - r diabolical uproar for two hours and a half, and com pletely prevented the hearing of a single word. The as sembly was therefore dissolved. The Delegates then went in a body to the Magistrates and Mayor of the town, they represented to those gentlemen that the people of Southampton paid heavy rates for the protection o f p erson an d property, and that they ( the Delegates) expecting that they would be dist url ed wherever they assembled in the town, claimed, in conjunction with the towns-people, the protection to which they were entitled. But what was the reply of the Magistrates? Why, that if they (the Delegates) expected disturbance they might avoid it by not assembling—by not going to the meeting. There was logic. If they feared danger let them shut them selves up in their houses and they would avoid it. There also it was agreed that Mr. Thompson should deliver in Southampton a lecture on the subject of the Corn-laws. On that occasion several thousand persons assembled, and such was the feeling of the towns-people that they would have risen in defence of the Delegate if it had been required. At the meeting in the York Hotel a resolution was come to for the purpose of setting the pnblie right as to the quarter from which the disturbance proceeded. There were several Chartists present at the meeting, who were most anxious to give a calm Bearing to the Delegates. But it was apprehended that it would be sought to lay the disturbance at the osssd door of the Chartists, and accordingly before the s o sso meeting separated, the resolution alluded to was passed. : 11 - 'The Magistrates refused to enforce order within the assembly, ut they said they would preserve the peace of the town. The Delegates had accordingly no alternative but to adjourn to an other place ; they therefore assembled at the York Hotel, and in that place were expressed those sentiments, and those docu ments were read, the publication of which was so much feared (Mr. Spence here read the resolution from a Newspaper. It was to the effect that the Chartists present at the meeting did not in any way participate in the disgraceful and deliberate disturbance caused by a few individuals in the assembly, but that it was solely attributable to the instigation of persons in terested in the existence of the present Corn-laws, who hired ignorent and intoxicated men to frustrate, as much as possible, the objects which the Conference had in view. He was very glad the Conference did them that act of justice, —(Hear, hear.) He would not make any further remark, but to show the effect of the Corn-law in his own union. When a union was first established they had only 350 members. This he knew to be correct, because he was himself one of the Board of Guardians at the time. But they amounted now to 700 . — (Hear, hear.) There were in his union 3,000 rate payers, rated at 91. a-year, who found it difficult "to provide honestly for th emse l ves i n the sight of God, " and these were t axed,thou g h suffering themselves from th e res t r i ct i on o f trade, b to pay f or 7 00 paupers. He had been present when read was contracted for at 4 3 / 4 d. the loaf, and when the same was contracted for at Bi s id. the loaf. Then taking the difference between 350 inmates and 700, and multiplying it by three, the increase cf th e price of bread in the weekforeach pauper, it would be found that the expens e was b e t ween three anti four being thousand pou n d s, t h ere 1,800 loaves consumed in the week. —( Cheers. ) Phis was a matte r o f importance to every guardian, and he was sure thataf. . petitions would be forwarded from the Boards of Guardians i T i ere not said by th e Com missioners that it wa s a matter in favou r w of theit ch )o t o h r e - aw, and b Guardiansedid had the nothing to do. He was not care who knew it, but Poor-law passed the Corn-law should have been repeale ( Loud c h eers .) As a Poor-law Guardian he adv oca t e d the repeal — of the Corn- . law—as a 31inister:of the Church of England, bound to give ewr to the cries of the suffering poor, he was against the Corn -law --(Cheers)—as a Christian who was bou n d t o feel for his-feal low men, he must oppose the Corn-law—( Cheers)— as a per son wishing to see all artificial distinctions bet ween men done away with, and desirous of seeing the great family of man united together—as a person anxious to see the chances of war diminished, he was hostile to the Corn-laws.—(Loud cheers.) Mr. PRENTicv, of Manchester, in supporting the re so l ut i on, said he would say a few words en the subject of the finances of the Association. It was well known that there was a splendid demonstration, called the Anti- Corn-law Bazaar, and that as large a sum as 8,0001. had been collected there.—(Loud chiers.) But the Bazaar was not Z4. . o "`lds He was happy to say, on the contrary, that the in- 1 THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY B, 1842 bk t • _ `; "%, C, t ".. . • ,tea ~:._ d i, v.; ~~,~, ~~c, *j ~ ~ .:; ~"~tR, A . ~ I :-. 11 'l4 , vc Of i 1 tb . gc