The Sun. — London, England, 1844-08-08 00:00:00

GREAT ANTI-CORN-LAW LEAGUE MEETING 4T COVENT-GARDEN THEATRE. The last meeting of the Anti-Corn-law League for • :season took place last evening at Covent-Garden I 4MI 4 , The meeting was advertised to commence !half-past seven o'clock. The doors were opened tseven, and within ten minutes afterwards every _part of the theatre was crowded to exams. There has not been any meeting of the League in this theatre so numerously attended as the meeting of last evening, since the memorable occasion when Mr. O'Connell attended, immediately after the conclusion of the State trials in Ireland. A great number of ladies were present in the boxes. At half-past seven o'clock G. Wilson, Esq., Chairman of the League, took the chair, amidst loud cheering. He was accompanied into the theatre by R. Cobden, Esq, T. Milner Gibson, Esq., M.P., W. J. Fox, Esq, &Tries Wilson, Esq. (of London), and several other leading members of the League. These gentlemen were all loudly cheered. Among those present we observed—George Wilson, Esq. in the Chair ; Richard Cobden, Esq., .141. P. ; Hon. d. P. Villiers, M.P.; Thomas Milner Gibson, Esq., M.P.; Benjamin Smith, Esq., M.P. ; Arthur Pattison, Esq. ;W. J. Fox, Esq. ; R,. G. Welford, Esq. ; Colonel Tucker ; Rey. Dr: Louis ; Rev. Robert Philip. Messrs. W. A. Wilkinson, P. A. Taylor, G. Poulter, S. Harrison, Fearon, J. P. Burnard, John Bickers, John Walker, H. Leavors, J. Faulkner, James Henry Lewis, T. B. Farren, Jarvis, J. P. Williams (Manchester), Myles, L uke Elcoate, B. W. Cheshire, Owen (Man theater), Rogers (Margaretting, Essex), Press Gringer, 11. T. Stainton, A. Fordati, Joseph Lindley, . W. P. Knox, Joseph Ralph, James Phillips, J. C. Worthington, H. Ashton, J. S. Thompson, T. B. - Warren (Bristol), J. Ridge, Delmire, Whitehead, Blunt, F. Oliver (Cambridge), Dr. Sewell, W. J. Adams, R. Bell (Leeds), W. C. Jay, H. Hogard, . C. W. Cobby, James Wilson, John Blakeway, Ri chard Ware Cole, Thomas Leslie, J. H. Const, Ben jamin Thorne ' Robert Davison, Jones (Northampton), William Coo ke, Joseph Lambert (Leeds), Henry Pritchard, J. halmers, Jaines Butterworth (Roch dale),* Thomas Chadwicke, John Poulton, Richard Tress, Edward Harman, J. P. Delafous, W. Geesin, J. Kingsford, Thomas Lattimore (Wheathampstead), John M'Cartney (Manchester), James Crofts, Henry R. Claypole (Liverpool), Henry L. Keeling, Robert V. Smith, David Price, Thomas Tebbutt, Joseph Phelps. Capt. Whitehead (Nassau), Rev. A. M. Walker, N. Overbury (Westbury, 'Wilts), William May, Esq., (Mayor of Ipswich). The SBCEETART having read the minutes of the last meeting, which was held on the 4th of July, it was moved by Mr. James Wilson, seconded by Mr. Arthur Paitison, and carried unanimously, that the minutes be confirmed. The'CHAIRMAN then came forward to address the meeting, and was greeted with loud and long-con tinued cheering. When the applause had subsided he spoke as follows :—Ladies and Gentlemen,—Aftei an interval of five weeks we are again assembled here to resume, for one night more this season, the business proceedings of the League. It becomes my duty to state to you what are the operations in which the Council of the League have been engaged since we last met, in order that you and the public—at least that portion of the public which takes an interest in an alteration of the corn-laws—may be enabled to judge how far those operations are likely to contri bute to the settlement of the question which it is our • sduty here to dispose of.—(Hear, hear.) I do this with a greater pleasure, because many persons are apt to believe that when the proceedings of the League appear to be less prominently noticed, or, rather I should say, when they occupy less space than usual in the public journals, that there is a corresponding di minution of effort on the part of the League—that the t. League is, in fact, suspending its labours. Such an . idea, however, would be most erroneous.—(Cheers.) Our first business is not so much now to educate and instruct the people, as to act upon the electoral body generally.—(Cheers.) As was stated by Mr. Villiers at our last meeting, this important question has made greatrogress in the House of Commons, but still the House of Commons, as at present constituted, presents no reflection of the public mind on this question at this period. It therefore devolves upon us, as our bounden duty, so to stimulate the elec.. toral body, that when.they are next called upon to act, they may do it after due and timely prepara tion.—(Cheers.) The League, therefore, proceeded like men of business, to consider the best mode of carefully attending to the borough registration throughout the kingdom.—(Cheers.) They selectel 140 boroughs, in which they thought there was 'a reasonable expectation that an impression might be made. They selected as agents to go those boroughs men acquainted with the subject of re gistration in all its parts—men thoroughly qualified to undertake the business, and who would transact that business in as workmanlike a manner as any men.—(Cheers.) The Council sent these men down to the boroughs ; they visited them ; instituted inqui ries, and reported the results of those inquiries to the Council. In some instances, they found. that the registration had been totally neglected. In many, that it had been only partially attended to, and in others that it was entirely in the hands of legal agents— that is to say, that the boroughs were completely in the power of the bribers. In a few instances only ' had. it been found that the subject had been properly attended to. These agents immediately set about to remedy these defects ; they formed committees in places where now had hitherto been formed, and had exacted pledges from the free traders of the different boroughs, that the subject would be attended to. Now, although this is a work of very great importance—a work which cannot be brought to perfection in a single day—l believe that the first great impulse has now been given to put in array that constituent body in whose hands is the destiny of the country, and who alone can de termine the fate of this and of all other monopolies. When, therefore, you hear it asked what the League have been doing, you can say that the Council will be occupied, at least until after the revision courts, in devoting their whole attention to the question of re gistration in all its branches and in all its parts.— . (Cheers.) I do not purpose to enter into details on this subject at the present moment ; but I will simply state that, in the City of London a registration asso ciation has been organised, and the success which has attended their efforts is such as will effectually provide, even now, against the return of any mono polist to Parliament for that city. In South Lan cashire, also, a registration association has been organised, the results of which have been equally satisfactory ; and I firmly believe that, do what they will in the shape of objection, I believe that that county is effectually wrested from the hands of the monopolists, and that, with ordinary attention on the part of the free traders, no monopolist candidate can ever be returned for that division of the county. — (Cheers.) But although the subject of registration has occupied the greater part of the attention of the Council, it is by no means to be understood that we - intend to relax in our attention to the holding of public meetings at the proper time for holding them. Since our last meeting in , this theatre, meetings have been held at Gravesend, attended by Mr. Bright; at -Preston, attended by Mr. Thompson and Mr. Moore; ut Salisbury, attended by Mr. Moore and Mr. Thomp son ; at York, attended by Mr. Moore, Mr. Thomp son, and Mr. Falvy ; :at Newcastle, at Carlisle, and, 'though last not - leot, a meeting had been held at Northampton on Monday last.—(Loud cheers.) Now it has often been brought forward as h matter of complaint against the League that we. do not throw open the doors_ of of this theatre, or of the Free-trade Hall in Manches ter, to the opponenti of our principles. Our answer s, simply, that we have never yet been able to find accommodation sufficient for our own members at these our meetings, and when we have accommo dated all' our own members, and have room enough to spare, it will be quite time enough to decide who else shall be admitted.—(Cheers.) But let it not, therefore, be sußpoped that the League have sought to shun discussion. Last year, Mr. Cobden held thirty meet' in the air, open which were open to till the world, and at w hi c h the opponents of the League might have met him had they chosen. — (Cheers.) On Monday last a similar meeting was held at'Northampton. That meeting had been con vened by requisition. Twelve hundred freeholders had sired a requisition to Mr. Cobden and Mr. Bright, calling upon them to come and address the 'freeholders in the open air at Northampton. A requisition had also been sent to Mr. Stafford O'Brien, the Member for that division of the county, by the freeholders who had supported him at the last election, requesting him to meet Mr. Cobden and Mr. Bright on that day, in order to discuss the, question at issue. Another requisition had been pre sented to Mr. Feargus O'Connor—(Hisses and faint eleering)—signed by 1,250 freeholders, asking him to attend also on _that occasion. Now there was hete no mystery—nothing like packing a meeting. It was an open meeting, known to all the world, held in the open air, with proper notice, and consequently afforded the best possible opportunity of ascertaining the public opinion of the county of Northampton. Well, the meeting was held, Mr. Stafford O'Brien declined to attend.—(lronical cheers and laughter.) Mr. Feargus O'Connor attended, and the sup porters .of Mr. Stafford O'Brien supported Mr. Feargus O'Connor * in the views which he took on the subject. Now the issue was taken in North ampton, the least favourable district for the discus sion of such a subject, because it is well known that in•Northamptonshire the extreme suffrage principle has obtained a supp;:irt perhaps beyond what it has ob tained in any other town in the kingdom. Mr. Cob den, however, carried his resolution by a considerable majority—(Cheers)—and this fact was testified by the chairman—a man of great influence in that part of the country, but one in whom the Chartists placed unlimited confidence.—(Cheers.) So much for the the charge of packing. But while we are thus mak ing progress, I regret to allude to the losses which we have experienced among our supporters since last we met. We have lost Mr. Scholefield, the Member for Birmingham, and Mr. Travers, the excellent chair man of Mr. Pattison's Committee at the last election for London. I am sure that the loss of those two most consistent supporters of our principles will leave a void which it will be difficult to fill. No men were ever more beloved in private life, or by their virtues more secured the esteem and friendship of all who had the pleasure of their acquaintance.— (Cheers.) But these men possessed talents beyond ordinary men ; for, while they conducted great com mercial operations, they at the same time felt the strongest interest in the well-being of every other class of the community, and did their duty by those other classes—(Hear, bear)—and the best wish he could offer to Birmingham and London was, that a double portion of their spirit might rest upon each one of their remaining citizens, and that when they died their memory might be respected by as nu merous a body as that by which the memory of Mr. Scholefield and Mr. Travers was now respected. This, then, is the 24th, and last meeting of the League, and I venture to say that the League is very differently estimated now, compared with what it was when we 'held our first meeting in Drury-lane.— Where is the man now who would charge us with being abettors of • assassination ?—(Cheers.) And yet the Prime Minister and • others scrupled not to say as much.—(Hear) Where is the man now who would dare say so, or where are the organs of public opinion who would say so; and, above all, where are the persons to be found who would believe either him or them if they so charged us ?—(Hear, hear.) It is true we were threatened with opposition by the Society for the Protection of Agriculture. Where is this body now ?—(Cheers.) Had they accomplished all those things for which they were established ? Had they increased the wages of the labourer, or made him satisfied with Bs. a-week ? The incendiary fires of Suffolk show that they are not satisfied.— -(Hear, hear.) And if this Society possess the power they profess to have, never had any body a finer opportunity of exhibiting themselves to advantage than those fires presented to them. But they could not check incendiarism there, for they had no hold on the affections of the working classes. .—(Hear, hear.) They knew that whatever mort gages and marriage settlements might be paid out of the proceeds of the corn-laws, they themselves could expect nothing but abject penury and want, and it was on that account that this Society had not made way in those districts in which it might reasonably be expected they would have influence.—(Hear, hear.) It will require greater strength than that of the Protection Society to put down the League. We go on from day to day, and from year to year, gathering strength, sometimes from victory, and sometimes even from defeat; and we are proceeding now steadily to that great point which would be victory itself.— (Hear, hear, and cheers.) This question has obtained a greater progress than any other question ever had, and we must ultimately be successful.—(Loud cheers.) Mr. Gibson will address you this evening.—(Cheers.) I regret to say that Mr. George Thompson is in Scotland, but his place will be supplied by Mr. Cobden—(Loud cheers)—and the proceedings will be closed by Mr. Fox.—(Cheers.) Mr. T. M. GIBSON, M.P., then came forward, and was received with loud cheers. lie said it had been his good fortune to have been present at many meetings of the Anti-Corn-law League, but never had he witnessed a more splendid assemblage than was gathered within these walls this evening, and he said it was justly to be deemed matter for congratu lation that their farewell meeting for the season had received such a signal mark of public approbation. It was impossible to conceive that a cause was retro grading—that a question could be less grounded in the public mind, when they saw such a vast assem blage as that which was now gathered within that theatre. There were many who would lead them to suppose that, because public meetings were not so frequent, and because there had not appeared so many speeches of late in the provincial and metropo litan papers, that therefore the cause of free trade was not occupying that place in the public mind which it once did. There never was a greater mis take than that. It frequently happened that that work was the most telling which was the most quiet, and from the description which they had just heard of the proceedings now being carried on by the Council of the League, it struck him that they were taking that course which must ultimately lead to victory.— (Hear, hear.) He was not one of those who felt very confident in their present electoral institutions.— (Hear; hear.) He was aware that they could not hope for those full and generous effects which they might have from a more liberal representation of the people ; but this he did believe, that the great body of the electoral class in the country were intelligent, and that when they were once awakened to the merits of any question, they would use the power they had of returning a majority to the House of Commons opposed to monopoly; and he trusted in God they would, at the next general election, throw aside all partial interests, and seek to promote the happiness, virtue. and moral and physical welfare of the people, and return a majority to the House of Commons, not to support any particular set of partisans—(Hear, hear) —any particular set of men , whether ins or outs, who might be looking for the sweets of office—but to support the great principle of free trade, and that principle alone.—(Cheers.) Their excellent Chair man had alluded to the efforts of the Anti-Corn-law League, and he intimated the want of success on the part of the Protection Society, and that august body the Central Society fur the Protection of British Agriculture.—(Laughter.) Now, it did happen that there were some salient points which might be quoted in proof of the little success of those bodies. It might be shown to demonstration that their progress had been backwards, if there was any truth in vulgar arithmetic, for in 1839, when not half the effort was made by the Protection Society to get petitions sent to Parliament that had been made last year, the number of signatures ob tained was 318,000. What was the number of signatures obtained during the present year ? Why, after all the great assemblages of distinguished and titled monopolists, only 287,000 signatures had Leon obtained ; 4,000 petitions, with an average number of seventy-four signatures to each petition, was all they could get.—(Cheers.) The number of petitions showed that there was no want of zeal on the part of the Protection Society, but the number of signatures showed that there was a deficiency of zeal on the part of the agriculturists themselves, for it was from the agricultural districts that the petitions principally came. It might be said that the Anti-Corn-law League had not petitioned. That was true, they had not petitioned for this very good reason, because they found it was a useless and vain attempt.—(Hear, hear.) It was thought that the efforts of the gentle men connected with the League might be better di rected. It was, therefore, given up, but when the free-trade party had petitioned the Legislature what was the result ? They began to petition in the year 1839, and they sent in petitions with 500,000 signatures. They left off petitioning last year, with 1,700,000 signatures.—(Loud cheers.) This showed a constant increase of signatures on their part, whilst the petitions of the Central Society for the Protection of British Agriculture—(Laughter) —showed a constant diminution of signatures. Let them get rope enough ! He would say no more. But he thought that any impartial man who looked around him and asked himself what were the wants of society—what were the cravings which mani fested themselves, not. only throughout the British dominions, but throughout the greater part of Europe, would find that they were intimately connected with physical want.—(Hear.) He would find that not one of the great wants of society could be met till th e y had first ameliorated- the , physical condition of the great body of the people.—(Hear.) They heard of desires to educate the people; of complaints of their ignorance; of their want of moral training in early youth, but what was the use of attempting to educate and sow the seeds of virtue among a people cast down by deep distress, living in a state of hopeless p enury; a people in such a state were not in a conditi on to receive either the admonitions of the preacher, or the teaching of the moralist.—(Hear, hear.) Depend upon it, if they wished virtue, knowledge, and reli gion should take root amongst the labouring popula tion, they must ameliorate their physical condition. They must first endeavour to raise the agricultural labourer from the hopeless condition in which he now seemed to be placed. They would look in vain for a diminution of crime unless that condition were bet tered. The labouring population could not look up to those who held a higher position in society with any feeling of affection, seeing they appeared to be cast by or thrown aside as useless beings, and not treated as well as the brute creatures fed on the farms of.the aristocracy. When they read in the papers of fine shows of agricultural produce at Southampton, and other places ; when they read of the glitter and pageantry at those meetings ; and when they heard of oxen too fat to walk or to be eaten ; they must not suppose that this was emblematical of the condition of the poor labourer in the poor districts from which these fat animals had been brought. They must turn their thoughts from the fat beasts to the lean and neglected peasants.—(Loud cheers.) They must carry their minds from all the glittering pageantry to the incendiary fires and threatening letters, and to all those symptoms of deep and sullen discontent which now prevailed in the great body of the agricultural population. He ventured, a few days since, to mention these things in the House of Commons, and he quoted the high authority of a' clergyman of the Church of England in support of his position that the agricultural labourer wail neglected, and that he was suffering deep distress ; but when he quoted the authority of a clergyman it had the effect, notwithstanding that he was a gentleman of the highest character, of known fidelity in the discharge of his sacred functions, of calling up the Secretary for the Home Department—(Groans)—who said that this gentleman was a ".popularity-hunting parson"— (Groans)—so that when a clergyman came forward from his class and spoke with candour of the wants of. the labouring population, if he ventured to expound tbat text of Scripture, , that the labourer - was worthy of hii hire, he was told that he was a po pularity-hunting parson. He (Mr. Gibson) had sometimes thought it was never intended that they should be in earnest in those matters, that they should not kelp up mbre than a mere show, and be used merely as instruments of the great, and it con vinced him very much that there was some truth in his conjecture, when he was told that a clergyman who came forwaldltrthe purest spirit of the religion he professed, to complain of the wants of the labourers who surrounded him—when he was told that such a man was called in the British Senate, by the Home Secretary of State—that he was a " popularity-hunting parson." The Rev. Godolphin Osborne was the clergy man he alluded to.—(Loud cheers.) He wished most heartily that there tvere more of these popularity hunting parsons.—(Loud cheers.) He wished their Bishops would even- condescend to imitate them.— (Laughter and cheers.) He remembered that a cele brated writer had said that he thought a very good society might be established, and that it was very much wanted, for the purpose of converting the Bi shops to Christianity. (Laughter and cheers.) He was quite sure it was consistent with the spirit of the Christian religion—that it was, in fact, in direct accordance with the Gospel, to advocate the cause of free trade ; and he verily believed that that general intercourse between -nations, which was what was meant by free ti:ade;would be the means of spreading religion and civilisation throughout all the nations of the earth ; and he did not believe that any missionary efforts, however well intended, or that any attempts, however well supported, could be completely suc cessful, while Governments kept nations separate from each other by those barriers in the shape of hostile tariffs, and breathing towards each other feelings of jealousy and not of love—of those mutual interests, which would.be so much promoted if free trade were adopted ; but feelings of animosity, which were easily fanned into a flame, and sometimes ended in open hostilities.—(Hear, hear.) He had heard of late amongst the landed party a great deal of jealousy .of what was called the na tional honour.—(Laughter.) It was extraordinary what extreme'sensitiveness grew up amongst the gen tlemen who dealt in provisions—(Laughter)—as to the importance of. maintaining the national honour. They seemed obe in training to get themselves into a fighting condition.—(Laughter.) What did all this mean ? Why, it meant this—" War was rent." —(Cheers.) He did not know whether the idea went home to their minds.—(Hear, hear.) It did to his. A high price of corn was the consequence of this country being engaged in hostilities with a foreign nation. A great deal of patronage would fall into the hands of Ministers, and those landed gentlemen, the victuallers—(Laughter)—would have a large slice of However much the community might be im poverished by taxation, however great the woe might be to the nation at large, depend upon it, in case of hostility with a foreign country, the landed proprie tors would be the parties, if any body, who would profit by it. _They also said they would get rid of the surplus population. He believed in his conscience there was a large party, represented by that well-known periodical, the Morning Post, who would give anything to create hostilities between this country and Prance, in order that the price of corn might rise. What signified it to those gentlemen ? they did not fight ! They sent others out to battle, but they got a high rice for corn; and when the war was over, they would endeavour, as they did before, to maintain that high price by a new corn-law, and they would have the old thing over again. —(Hear, hear.) Another thing which led them to be so jealous of the national honour was, that it would direct public attention from certain popular movements, which made them very uneasy. They thought that a good war would be a very good diversion, and he had been told within a few days by a distinguished individual, whose name he could not mention at a public meeting, as he had not authority to do so, that notwithstanding all that was said about the miseries of war—notwithstanding all that mo ralists and philosophers wrote of the evils of na tions being engaged in hostilities, he verily believed a good war was what the country wanted to relieve them from their difficulties.—(Laughter.) That was an old doctrine, but he believed they would have the utmost difficulty in getting the country to engage in hostilities; for he believed there was that good sense in the country which would prevent them from engaging in so foolish a thing.—(Hear, hear.) It would take a great deal to convince the great body of the people of this country that it was worth their while to submit to excessive taxation, and to all the evils which war brought about, for the sake of playing the game of courts, and of enabling an al ready wealthy aristocracy to fatten still more on the woes of the community.—(Cheers.) The Morning Post had discovered, in order to prepare them, he supposed, for hostilities, that they could do without lade and commerce. Now, who would believe that, in the nineteenth century, a metropolitan paper, of lome circulation, should have a leading article in it to tell them that England would be in a better condi tion if her manufacturing system were altogether abolished ?—(Hear, hear.) There was one hand of commerce indeed tbat the monopolists did hold out to hem—it was the trade in guano.—(Laughter.) They .aid, "We are to have an enormous importation of guano; which -is to be spread over our acres, and is to grow food for 'our increasing population." We have actually seen a calculation within the last few lays, of how many ships and sailors would be em ployed in order to bring this guano to their shores. It had struck his excellent friend, Mr. Cobden, that the ships and the money might be quite as well oc cupied, if they brought the wheat itselfr instead of the guano to grow it.—(Renewed laughter.) But then there was to be another step taken in order to make this guano available. They said that the guano contained elements which people were not aware of.—(Laughter.) They said that chemists were at a loss to ascertain what were the elements that composed this guano, and that it was necessary to knaw_what those elements were, • in order to apply it successfully to different kinds of land ; because what might suit one- species of land, would not suit another—what might be beneficial to the heavy clay, might be prejudicial to the burning sand, so that the chemists had got first to analyse this guano. But the thing was not then half finished. The most difficult part of the operation remained to be per formed; fur when the chemists had satisfied them selies, they had got to teach the farmers ; the worthy agriculturists had to go to school, to inform themselves in the mysteries of organic chemistry.—(Laughter.) They must know something of these elements. It appeared to him that when gentlemen talked of vision ary theories they should look at home, and ask them selves whether this rising trade which they were pro mised in the iMportation of guano from the coast of Africa was likely to be so beneficial a thing to the population of this country as they had represented ? —(Hear, hear.) Let them try Mr. Cobden's experi ment, and bring in the wheat itself.—(Cheers.) Let the ships and the men be employed in bringing the produce of every foreign clime to the shores of Eng land, that the population of this country might enjoy the greatest possible amount of the comforts and ne cessaries of life, which their own industry would en able them to purchase.—(Great cheering.) That was the 'true policy. Away with guano ; away with chemistry. Let indUAry take its own course. Let them not attempt to direct capital into the particular channels in which .inter ested men chose to think it would be best for them that it should flow; but let them leave each and all to enjoy, through their own industry, that full reward which Providence had placed within their reach.—(Cheers.) The Morning Post contained a _passage which he would read to them, lest it should hest escaped their notice.—(Hear.) The Editor quoted Dr. Southey, and in quoting him adopted his opinion," Dr. Southey,' he said, " always had the sense to see, and the courage to declare that ofir4saispfacturing system was a mon strous evil for the people, and he always wished that foreign countries might, from some cause or another, cease to buy manufactures from Great Britain."- (Laughter.) Why, if foreign countries ceased to buy manufactures from Great Britain, he should be very glad to know how -Great Britain could purchase all the comforts and all the luxuries which the people of this country now enjoy - ed.—(Hear.) • He would like to know where the Morning Post professed to find the gold and the silver about which so much apprehen sion had been expressed of late, lest it should go out of the country to pay for corn. Would they find this gold and silver in the cellars or in the safe boles of the Central Society for the Protection of British Agriculture ?—(Hear.) Where did it come from ? Why, it came from the mines of the Brazils—it came from distant regions. And why did it come ? Because it was purchased by their manufactutes, not by their wheat or their barley, or their turnips. No ; the assistance even of guano itself would not enable them to purchase it.-- .(Laughter.) It was the manufacturing system which had enabled the population of this country to be even as well off as they were.—(Hear, hear.) Look to countries which were purely agricultural. Look to Poland. Ay, look to Ireland. What a wretched population, so far as the enjoyment of the comforts of life was concerned, they found in Ireland—a popula tion capable, as they knew, of everything of which man was capable—(Hear, hear)—a population infe rior to none—(Hear, hear) --and whose great leader, or endeavouring to obtain redress for some of the op pressive grievances under which they had for cen turies laboured, was now suffering impri3onment.— (Hear, hear.) Let them look at -that. country, and TILTS gITN:"LONDONs THURSDAY EVENING, AtTOTTST 8, 1444. ask themselves, whether agriculture alone could bring . about a happy and prosperous condition for the great body of the popnlation.—(Hear, hear.) It was unnecessary for him -o dwell in that intelli gent assembly on such an absurdity.—(Hear, hear.) Time was when every little Baron was a sort of bandit in the county in which he lived, when there was no law to protect the weak from the aggressions of the strong, when commerce bad not civilised society, and knit them together by the ties of a com mon interest. Then was the time of a purely agri cultural system. It was too late in these days to bring back what would soon be forgotten, or will, at least, have passed away with the relics of feudal bar barism. The corn-law was the last of those relics— no, not the last, but it involved the abolition of all the rest; it was the keystone which, once removed, the arch of monopoly, restriction, privilege, and unfair legislation, must inevitably fall.—(Cheers.) They professed in the House of Commons to take great interest in the cause of the agricultural la bourers. They told them that they had been amending the new poor-law. The amendment might or might not be beneficial, but the great point at which the Anti-Corn-law Association and free traders in general aimed was to prevent men from becoming paupers.—(Cheers.) It was good to be charitable, but it was better to be just. They wished justice to be the pervading principle of the laws, and they believed that if men had the opportunity of supporting themselves, they 'would not see such an amount of pauperism as now alarmed every thinking man who took up any of the reports of the Poor-law Commissioners, and calmly meditated on their contents. Let them look at the condition of the poor, notwithstanding all the attempts to improve it. It was strange sort of policy, to say the least, to make the pauper better off than the independent labourer, and, indeed, such was the condition of the independent labourer that they could not, without absolutely starving the pauper, bring him into a worse condition. What was the scale of living in this country among the working population, or among a number of different classes who did not enjoy any good living? Pirst in the list stood the trans ported thief; second, the convicted thief; third, the suspected thief; fourth, the soldier; fifth, the able bodied pauper; and, last of all, came the independent, protected labourer.—(Hear, hear.) That was the present state of things in this country—the present scale of food.—(Hear, hear.) The transported thief had a greater number of ounces of substantial food than the convicted one ; the convicted thief had more than the suspected ; the suspected thief had more than the soldier ; the soldier had more than the able-bodied pauper; and the able-bodied pauper had a great deal more than the poor, protected, independent labourer.— (Hear, hear.) He believed that the calculation was that the transported felon had 330 ounces per week of substantial 'food, and that the average of independent labourers did not get more than 122. He could not accurately carry the figures in his mind, but he was no t far out in his calculation. Was it to be wondered at that when the labouring classes were informed of this fact they should begin to suspect that there was not much sympathylon the part of the more powerful classes of the community with their Condition ? What must be the reflection of a hard-working man uhen he saw that with all his toil and with all his willingness to earn a livelihood, he could not place himself - in as good a position as a felon who was sent out of the country, perhaps for the worst of crimes ?—(Hear, hear.) Such was the plain fact—it defied contradiction. They were told, as he had already mentioned, that a great deal was being done for the poor, but how did their opponents meet this staggering fact ? When the subject of the poor was before the House of Commons, he was told that he had been enjoying himself in the country whilst others were working hard to benefit the labour ing men, by amending the New Poor-law. There could be no doubt that Ministers had a great deal of hard work, especially when they reflected that their mornings were occupied in inspecting the correspon dence at the Post•office.—(Cheers and laughter.) When his Hon. Friend the Member for Stockport told the Ministers of his successes in the country, he dared to say it was no news to them. They had read it all in the morning.—(Cheers and laughter.) When a messenger repaired to the Foreign-office to commu nicate some important intelligence to Lord Aberdeen, it was no news to him—he had read the eontents of the letter in the morning.— (Renewed laughter.) If this, indeed, was the occupation of Ministers—if this were the occupation in which the people of England desired that Ministers should be employed—(Loud cries of "No, no,")—all he could say was, that they had a groat deal to do and some excuse to offer for doing so little for the poorer classes in the Legislature. He must say he had observed since he had had the honour of being in Parliament, that a complete apathy was exhibited whenever the subject of the distress of the labouring classes was brought under its conside ration.—(Hear, hear.) Gentlemen, had been so long in the habit of dinning it into the ears of the country that the corn-laws were maintained exclusively for the benefit of the agricultural labourer, that they did not know where they were when the alarming statement was made that, notwith standing the protection given to the agricultural la bourer, he was in as bad a condition as any human being could be to exist at all. It might be supposed that he was exaggerating : he did not say that such a description would apply to every part of the United Kingdom, but in Wiltshire and many other counties he believed the wages were absolutely insufficient, whatever might be his industry and diligence, to ene'ale the labourer to bring up his family and keep him from the necessity of applying for parochial relief. It appeared to him that they had now arrived at a position in that question in which it was very important that they should direct their attention exclusively to the agriculturists.—(Hear, hear.) They of all parties appeared to him to be the most interested in the total abolition of the corn-laws. — (Hear, hear.), Until the corn-laws were entirely swept away,: the farmer could never carry on his business upon a safe and stable footing, and at the present moment undoubtedly the uncertainty which prevailed was one reason why the farmer was neces sarily prevented from giving the employment to the labourer which he otherwise would de. So long as the corn-laws existed, so long would there be anti corn-law agitation — (Cheers)—so long would there be uncertainty; and therefore he maintained that the shortest road,with reference to those interests of which they heard so much, to a safe and permanent settle ment of the question, was by the total, immediate, and unconditional abrogation of the corn-laws.--(dear.) He believed that it.would be the least dangerous of any steps that could be taken. Anything short of that would still leave some something to be agitated. There would still roman uncertainty, and agriculture would not rest upon that safe foundation which could alone be sound by letting prices depend on the natural operation of supply and demand. If they looked at the moral effect of sweeping away this great injustice, it was impossible to contemplate It without gratifica tion ; when they reflected that it would do away with one of the most prolific sources of discontent that now existed in this country ; that it would bring the agri culturist, and the manufacturer, and the commercial man together ; that so long as this grievous interfer ence with the rights of industry existed, these classes must be separated by an almost impassable barrier ; but that when this barrier was swept away all classes of the community would be knit together, and made to feel that the laws were based in justice, and that all this would • tend to spread throughout the world the blessings of civilisation, and to place them on a good foundation.—(Loud cheers.) Mr. COBDEN, M.P., then came forward, and was received with loud cheers. He spoke as follows : Ladies and Gentlemen, You have heard a great deal of allusion to-night to an organ of the press, which always excites. considerable merriment when its name is mentioned here. But I was reading this morning a leading article in another paper the Morning herald—(Hisses and laughter)—where I see it announced in distinct and leaded type, for the fourteenth time during the last six months, that the League is positively defunct.—(Laughter.) I wish Grandmama was here this evening. Now there is such a thing as a paper being defunct. I have known many instances since we began this agitation in which papers that had announced our death have them selves expired shortly afterwards. There was one paper in Manchester which announced to its readers on one Saturday that the League was extinguished, hands—at e when, on the f o llowing Saturday, that paper itself heard gav that gave up thleately G ghost.—an(Laughter.) Now, e I have all events,- I believe the Herald has been united to the Standard, perhaps on the principle which has been adopted on the coast of Africa, where they collect a very heavy description of wood, which will not float, and they get over the difficulty by tying a log of this heavy wood to a log of lighter timber, in order that both may swim t o gether. — (Laughter.) If the light pinions of the Standard can keep Grandmama above water, its vitality will be greater than ever I have given it credit for. No, the League is not defunct.—(Loud cheers.) The League is living—(Renewed cheering)—and it will live— (Continued cheering)—just for that length of time during which it is necessary that such a body should live, in order to accomplish the mighty object for which it was originally formed.—(Loud cheering.) It was not in the nature of things that an association which was intended to obtain a repeal of the corn-laws —to bring down the greatest monopoly which was ever maintained by a powerful aristocracy, whose power alone could ever have given it the effrontery neces sary to maintain such a system—it was not in the nature of things that such an association should ac complish so vast an object without the lapse of a con siderable periOd of time.—(Cheers.) We have to 1 , teach not merely a whole people—we have to teach two generations—those who are passing away and those who are rising up, in order to enable both pro- 11 perly to understand the question. Nay, more! we had to secure the experience of all classes on our side, ' : oand experience can only be gained by time. What is experience to one class of the community is not so to another; while some are already convinced it may require another cycle of years to prove to all classes of the community that the corn-law is an evil which presses down the energies of the nation. We began our organisation five or six years ago in the midst of unparalleled manufacturing distress. That distress was said to arise from a sudden scarcity of food ; creating an artificial famine. I would ask, whether the price of wheat, rising forty-five or fifty :er cent in some instances, was not sufficient to de range the whole commerce of the country ? We were told of joint-stock banks, of speculation—of a market being closed to us somewhere in Central Asia, and all sorts of things ; but it was denied that a scarcity of corn had anything to do with the manufacturing distress. Well, we came round again to a time when L'rovidence in His bounty gave a plentiful supply of corn. We came to that period when there was a comparatively natural price of corn—not probably entirely natural, but nearly natural, and the conse quence was a continued, rapid, and steady rise in the prosperity of the manufacturing districts. And you have seen that just in proportion as the price of pro visions, and the cost of the first necessaries of life diminished in the country, so did the condition of every man in the manufacturing, mercantile, and commercial community tend to rise into comparative prosperity. We are now coming to a time when, unless the elements do now at a most critical moment greatly disappoint us. We are now coming to a time, and within six months, when we shall have an opportunity of appealing to the farmer whether the last three years of his ex perience of the corn-laws have not been sufficient to satisfy him that protection to agriculture, as it is called, has been any protection to him. I say, unless the elements do not greatly disappoint us, we have on the earth's surface—we have in these islands, such an abundant crop of wheat, which, if all gathered, will, in my firm conviction, in sit months, bring down the price of wheat lower than it would be if we had a perfectly free trade in corn. How will the farmer be situated ? There will be a rebound—a re- action from famine and distress—amongst the manu facturers—a re-action—a retribution brought home to the farmer himself—and how will he like that position? Will the landlord tell him to wait for a year or two when he would have prices up again ? Why, what will the farmer say ? We had prices up before, and you put up our rents, and we had those rents to pay when prices were low; but the very fact of our having high prices and scarcity for three years has caused distress and ruin to our customers ; and when we are now blessed with plenty, our customers are without the means of consuming our produce. And if the farmers have that intelligence, which I would fain g ive them credit for, they would say to the landlord, The remedy you pro pose for our distress—another scarcity—another artificial famine—will only prepare the way for future distress, by again ruining the customers on whom we depend, when we are again blessed with a plentiful harvest. Now, Ladies and Gentlemen, a great deal has been said about the condition of the agricultural labourer at the present MOMenC. lie is said to be badly off. The monopolists speak of it as though it was something new for the agricultural labourer to be badly off.. lam prepared to maintain that when we in the manufacturing districts were badly off—during the three years of high prices and continued scarcity—the agricultural labourer was then as badly off as the manufacturing labourer was ; hut owing to a sudden climax of distress occurring in the north of England, a cry was raised in that densely populated district, which stifled the cry that would have sprung from the agricultural districts, if no such agitation had occurred in the north. I mention this, mind you, with an eye to official documents. The proof is to be found in the poor-rates. The poor-rates increased in the agricultural counties more in propor tion in the dear year than they did in Lancashire, or the West Riding of Yorkshire themselves. The agricultural labourer never benefited by a scarcity of food. The farmer may, perhaps, when there is a scarcity, by selling his corn for a higher price, be benefited for a year or two, but the agricultural labourer never can. No working population, in any country, can ever by possibility be benefited by giving to that country an artificial scarcity of the first neces sary of life. Now we are taking our leave of you to•night, and turning our back upon this scene. We shall drop the curtain for at least six months. It may be well before we leave, for us to anticipate a little as to what we may expect will be going on during the next six months in the two sections of the community, the agricultural and the manufacturing. Now, in the manufacturing districts, if provisions re main at the moderate price which they were even last year, but especially if the present harvest should be favourably gathered in, then- the prices must come down, and in that case you will hear of great activity in all the branches of our manufactures. Yoit will hear of great activity in the iron districts and amongst the manufactures of cotton, in woollen, and linen— and you will hear of great activity in the shipping ports, and amongst the home traders generally. You will hear of strikes for advance of wages, when only three years ago thousands and tens of thousands of la- boureis were asking for work on the roads, and ob tained subsistence only from the parishes. We have already had two strikes in Lancashire; both of which have been successful.--(Loud cheers.) The spinners in two places have struck for an advance of wages, and they got it. (This sentence was received with a loud and lengthened burst of cheering, intermingled with cries of " Bravo, bravo.") I say " bravo" too.— (Cheering.) I have always given this advice to the operatives of the north—" Never strike when provisions are up—when wheat is 70s. the quarter—because if you do, you will no t succee d. W a it until wheat comesdown to 455. or 503., and you will never fail."— (Hear.) You will hear what we have lately heard of workmen being brought before the magistrate for suddenly leaving their employment, and those men saying—" Well, I'll pay the fine if I can get better work elsewhere." You will hear less of pauperism, less of crime, and less of disease and mortality in the manufacturing districts. You will find "Mechanics' Institutions " thriving and increasing in number. Lyceums will be established, and book clubs will he extensively formed. I see that in Lancashire in one town upwards of 100 fresh members have been added to the Mechanics' Institution in one week.—(Loud cheers.) To-morrow there will be a public meeting in Manchester, with the Mayor in the chair, to devise the means of raising a public subscription to lay out a park and pleasure -grounds for Manchester.— (Hear.) You will find the energy and activity of the masters and the middle-classes of Manchester exerted for the extension of education. You will find similar institutions to the Athenaeum established, together with others for promoting reli gious and scientific pursuits--you will find the manu facturers giving to moral objects that energy and exertion which, during the last three years, have been obliged exclusively to be devoted to the miserable question of getting bread enough for the people. That is what is to be seen now in the manufacturing districts, and do not let our ene m i es say t h at " these Leaguers have been false prophet s ." W e to l d them four that e e s—or highf we care not a b ou t hi g h prices of pr ov i s i ons , or rather prices, if they are natural pric es —th at unnatural prices of food caused our distress ; an d we told them y u ea n r n s at a u g ra o l prices—for that a more natural supply of food would cure the evil. Already they find that we have been true pro phets, Now what is going on in the agricultural districts ? Some of the farmers are selling wheat in the country markets at from 40s. to 455. a quarter. Ere long we shall hear of the farmers rising up in all parts of the country and proclaiming their unparal leled distress. Why are they distressed? Because they have been bargaining to pay rents, calculating wheat at 645. per quarter, and selling it at 403. to 455. They trusted to a law which can for a time cause a scarcity price of corn ; but it is not iii the nature of things that it can permanently main tain it. What will the landlords say to them? Now that is a thing I should not like to turn prophet upon. —(Cheers.) I should not like t venture to predict what the Central Agricultural Society for the Protec tion of Agriculture will say in November or Decem ber next, when its members are scattered over the country, and have to face the farmers to explain what they have been doing in Parliament. Will they throw it all on Sir Robert Peel, think you ? Will they propose to set up Stanley in his place ? They must find some new "dodge."—(Laughter.) My dependence is upon the intelligence of the farmers, who have had their wits ground on the stone of adversity, and I believe that they all begin to doubt the efficacy of this so-called protection. They will see that this protection is only to give the farmer higher prices for his corn, in order that he may pay higher rents. The farmer is now selling his corn at a price lower probably thshit would be if there was a free trade in corn. What excuse will the political landlords use to these farmers ? They have admitted that they cannot by Act of Parliament secure high prices, and I take credit to myself for having extracted that confession from them.—(Cheers.) They have declared that they cannot secure a price for corn to the farmers, and the farmers should turn round and say—" We cannot secure you your rent."—(Loud cheers.) The landlords most likely will say to the far mers, " Oh, rent forms so small a proportion in your outgoings, that if you had land rent-free you could not compete with the foreigner. What do you think they have lately had the assurance to tell the farmer ? Why, the Morning Post says that the British farmer only pays six shillings a quarter for rent on each quarter of wheat sold, because for every acre, which grows about three quarters and a half or twenty-six bushels, he pays but one pound. Now, this was as suming that the farmer grew wheat and sold it all the year round. lam sorry to say—and as a farmer's son I am ashamed to say it—that nine-tenths of the farmers believe this statement of the Morning Post, and they believe anything the landlords tell them. But I tell the farmer, and &good many of them are rather inquisitive as to what we say here—l tell the farmer that for every quarter of wheat that he takes to the market, he pays twenty shillings at the very least to the landlord for rent. Now, you must know, that in a 'good system of husbandry only one acre out of four, sometimes only one acre out of five, is devoted to the growth of wheat for ten consecutive years, yet the farmer still con tinues to pay rent, whether the land be sown with turnips, lies fallow, or is merely green sward. The farmer seems not to have discovered this trick. It has been proved to demonstration that if the farmer paid no rent at all he could sell his wheat at 275. the quarter, get as good a profit on his capital, pay his labourers, and feed every horse about his farm just as well as he does now, and yet the landlord continues to bambooale him in this way. There is one little incident which I think is likely to bring the farmers to a favourable consideration of this question. We have lately had a free trade in wool, and whilst wheat is tumbling down, wool is improving in price. Now the manufacturers do not complain of the high price of wool. They do not complain in Leeds, where so much cloth is made; and in Bradford and Huddersfield they are all getting quite saucy with good trade. They do not complain of the high price of wool, so that it be a natural price, and, in that case, they care not whether it be sd. or ls. 3d. a p o u n d. Now, Ido hope that this wool question may be the the means of opening the eyes of some of the farmers. I perceive that some of the county Members have become some what enlightened lately. I have got a newspaper—a Hertford newspaper—which gives an account of a meeting held at Hemel Hempstead, at the wool fair, which was attended by Mr. Dudley Ryder, whom I never heard in the House of Commons, but who is, I am told, exceedingly valuable when abusing the League. But do not let us abuse him, for Ido not despair of seeing him become a capital free-trader. Mr. Dudley Ryder, and his friend Lord Grimston, attended the wool fair last year, and it so happened that, on the day the wool fair was held, a motion came on in the House of Com mons, made by Mr. Wood, the Member for Halifax, for the abolition of the duty on foreign wool. Mr. Dudley Ryder, on addressing his friends and consti tuents at Hemel Hempstead, said " This very even ing, there is a motion brought forward in the House of Commons, a proposition for lowering the duty on wool. Lord Grimston and myself intend to go back to town by the six o'clock train, in order to oppose that motion ; for I do not think that with 45,0001b5. of wool in Hemel Hempstead, we want much more from abroad."—(Loud cheers and laughter.) Well, back went these two distinguished senators by the six o'clock train, and they arrived in time in the House of Commons not to hear arguments, for that they did not want, but they arrived in time to vote against Mr. Wood's motion for taking off the duty on wool. That was last year, 1843. A few weeks ago, there was another fair at Hemel Hempstead, and attended by the farmers there, and these two Hon. Members attended, I suppose ; but in the meantime the Government had brought for ward a motion for the abolition, totally and imme diately, of the duty on foreign wool, and these two consistent senators had supported the Government in that measure.—(Laughter.) Mr. Dudley Ryder, it appeared, had primed himself for a speech. His health was proposed, and in replying, the Honourable Gentleman said—" That the question to which their attention was specially called on that occasion referred to wool. At this moment it was rather an important question ; because, it was known that the G overnmen t had introduced a measure for the purpose of doing away with the duty on foreign wool." He then told them that foreign wool obtained higher prices than our own. I think he must have fortunately stumbled on one of the articles of Mr. Wilson, the economist. For he goes on to state that he " had arrived at the conclusion that it was to our interest to obtain our wools from abroad at the lowest price. It appeared that in Hertfordshire the produce was almost exclu sively, if not entirely, short stapled wool.—(Cries from the meeting of ' No, no.') He went on to say that he did not believe they produced much of either kind." Mr. Dudley Ryder, however, did not seem pleased with the interruption, and he went on in a rather abrupt and brusque manner, saying—" I took the liberty of stating a fact, for, after all, this question must be decided by facts alone, theories might be very fine, but in dealing with a question of this kind, experience, and not theories, must de cide. He said that it was an incontrovertible fact that in proportion as they admitted foreign wool at a low rate of duty the native wool rose in price; and he did not think that that happy union between native and foreign wool-growers ought to be dissolved by a Doctors-Commons fiat, or that the mutual engage ments should be destroyed." Now I call that a rather odd sort of wool-gathering in the course of a year. One little fact is rather striking, that Mr. Dudley Ryder, who was sent up in 1841 to protect the agriculture of Hertfordshire, should not know whether long wool or short wool was grown in that country.—(Cheers.) It goes far to confirm my opinion, formed when quietly stock-taking on the benches of the House of Commons, that the county Members in the House of Commons—there are a few splendid exceptions, such as Mr. Posey, for instance —who are sent up to protect agriculture, are about as ignorant of the political state of the country as any man in it. This Mr. Ryder seems to be a choice specimen of that class, though he was not equal to one I have heard of in a county in the north of England in the course of my tour. A young gentleman was brought down fresh from Oxford to be a candidate ; he rode with a farmer round his farm, who showed him spacious fields of turnips, of twenty or twenty-five acres in extent, in the Scotch fashion. The young gentleman was surprised, and said, " I knew that turnips were eaten with boiled mutton, but I had no idea that people consumed so many of them."— (Great laughter.) But I have no doubt that very great progress in the right direction 'will be made in the course of the next six months, in the agricultural districts, upon one question. A n d we must afford to wait, whether we like it or not ; we cannot pro gress faster than the nature of things permits us. But I am sorry to say that the false doctrines pro mulgated by some of the monopolist organs appear to have had some very serious and dangerous ten dencies in the agricultural districts. I have read a striking instance of it in a trial at the late Suffolk assizes. A man named James Lancaster had been reading the Morning Post, for that was stated speci fically in the reports ; he could read it seemed, but he could not write, and that is just the class of intel lect likely to read the Morning Post regularly.— (Laughter.) Well, he had been reading the Morn ing Post, and there he saw it stated that wages rose as the price of corn rose, that a great abundance of corn made prices low, and consequently made wages low also. Now James Lancaster appears to have had a logical mind, but unfortunately he had applied it exclusively to the study of the Morning Post—(Laughter)---and he determined to carry out practically the principles laid down in that eminent print. He reasoned in his mind thus :—"Wages de peed on the price of corn ; the price of corn is low, because it is' abundant; the only way to make corn dearer, is to make it scarcer; and as we can only get higher wages by making corn scarce, I'll go and set fire to farmer Hobbes's corn stacks."—(Hear, hear.) Now, do not suppose that I am making up this story. I have liot added a syl lable to what has appeared in the public papers ; and Baron Alderson said, with his wig on, and with all the gravity of a Judge, " This is a most strange and ex traordinary application of the doctrines of political economy." But for the people who can read, but who can't write, and who, therefore, only read the Morn ing Post, it was a logical deduction. James Lancas ter had no enmity against farmer Hobbes ; he would not touch his house, his horses, or his cows ; he had read that corn and bread alone regulated wages, so he would not burn his cheese-room or his cellar, but he took his torch and applied it to his wheat stacks, and set fire to them, in order to make corn scarce, and thereby raise wages. I think the doctrine of the Morning. Post may hereafter be called the philosophy of the lucifer match.—(Loud cheers and laughter.) But James Lancaster, it seems is to be transported for the term of his natural life, to propagate the doctrines of the Morning Post in Australia. Now, I want to ask you seriously what the difference is in principle—for I know the law makes a very great difference—between creating an artificial scarcity, by preventing that corn, which the Almighty has given to the nations of the world, and has spread over the whole surface of the earth in bountiful abundance, from coming into the country, unnaturally obstruct ing the supply, and making it scarce by burning Farmer Hobbes's stacks ?—(Cheers.) Their plea, in both cases, is the same. The law-makers, who make a law to keep. out American corn, say they do it to keep up wages. James Lancaster made the same confession of faith, on the treadmill, to his fellow prisoner, while the gaoler of the prison was pretending to be asleep ; and where is the difference in effect between the two principles ? The effect is the same on the poor starving wretch who wants food and cannot get it, because of this law, as if that want was caused by the burning down of Farmer Hobbes's corn-stacks. And I suspect that, in the sight of Heaven, half of the men who support the corn.laws, will stand acquitted less than James Lancaster.—(Loud cheers, several times renewed.) Yes, I repeat it; the men who know what they are doing—and many men who support the system do know, and can see the consequences of what they are doing, for a selfish object —are more to blame than that poor wretch, if he was sincere in the object he avowed he had for his crime. —(Cheers.) You have heard from our worthy chairman that though we are departing, though we are taking our leave of you, and like another class of performers on this stage, we are going into the provinces —vet, do not believe that we intend to be idle during our ab sence from the metropolis. And we hope we may leave with a conviction that those friends of the cause who have constantly attended our meetings, will not, in their individual capacities, either as poli- theyticians or as citizens, f a il in doing w hat they CO advance our great cause, by spreading informat, e iou , and looking after their own and their neighbours giqration, and disseminating sound information Ips every possible way. As soon as this system, be ' thoroughly understood by the people, there no difference of opinion about it, and we are comp! to the time when men will be taking credit to the in v selves for having always been free traders. W, s e know that Clarkson began his agitation for the no" tion of the slave trade in 1786, and devoted Mo se —and, if it had been necessary, his life—to the cornplishment of his holy object; and I say it to t; honour of the town where I reside, that it was uo Manchester he called the fir s t p u bli c m eeting tl; ie was held for the consideration of the sl a ve trade. 'i r was at work for twenty years bef o re he acce de plished his object; and whe n th e s lave tra l was abolished, the conflict was renewed to put d 0 the institution of .slavery itself; but it was tvve°?, ( l, six years before the great work w as accomphsi4 o And now when the work is accompli s h e d, and wu there is no sinister interest to offend in advocat ing the principle of freedom to the ne gro , we seethe lneo who, when these ben evo l en t men were l a b o uring !, accomplish their object, voted aga i ns t th e m on oral ( occasion, even against the abolition of the flogging 0 women, going down to Exeter Hall and s inging Pl e° , over the freedom of the negros in the West Indies. it (A voice, " Hypocrites," Hear, hear.) And map r not happen perchance, that a fe w y ea r s hence--4 e , haps not a very long time eith e r—th e ver y men ti; now oppose us in a cause as holy in its nature, as neficial in its consequences, as heavenly in ev e . i t property as the abolition of slavery itself, w i ere long, look back a n d sa y—th e Le t e i g a g l accomplished this great work ! Th e n they wi",. 0 , 0 "' tend our meetings, and take credit for being 1 ;, traders, and, by means of their en vo y s an d ambn°, dors, they will spread free trade principles throu!iii out every nation of the world! Be it so! We ° tB not deny them any honour they w i s h t o particiPn, i , in—and we, who have taken a prominent part in t" ) agitation shall' be forgotten.—("Never !" and cheeti, We may, at least, believ e that we h ave l e ft some M% morial of our existence on th e ear th, by having c° e , tributed something to secu r i ng th e p eace , the Pri":" verity, and the happiness of our fellow-creatur es. (Loud and long-continued cheering.) Mr. W. J. Fox then came forward, spa was fi re n i ceived with loud applause. He said—Their Chairman had introduced the business of the rneetiFft by describing to them the operations carried on b a Council of the League throughout the length a n , breadth of the land, the obje c t o f which If; to prepare a better and more compl , e ch registration, and to le a d th e wa y to t: an electoral effort on the first opportunity of ch 00511 ); a new Parliament as might secure the success ef t o , cause of free trade. These operations, quietly e ° s6 ducted, were as material to the advance of their nae, i as those efforts which were the most conspiceL o u , and although for a time these meetings were to ea' t i o yet to-morrow, when they should have read 10 A. Post or the Herald for the twentieth time that . Anti-Corn-law League was dead—yet those o P e it 'i:l tions going on throughout the whole country o ,' ° " o prepare for a season that would show as obviouslY :ve at the present moment, that the League was all nli e , —(Cheers)—and that its supposed death was so proclaimed, that those who got their information no no other source, must think it s g h os t s till wa lla(' world, working wondrous mischief. These 11 4 1 would find that its death wa s b u t an assume d one,no that of the seed which the farmer put into the gO t to and covered up and buried there, but which, immutable laws of Divine Providence, was g e , r— f o i nating, and in due ti me wou ld spr i ng up ; and e them, as for that seed, th e h arves t- t i me wou ld C 0 fat with a full ingathering of that glorious frnit h , ot o which, as men, they h a d t o il e d an d l a b oure d in w oe years of struggle.—(Loud cheers.) But the Leag. need not be judged eith er by th e operat i ons cod ed on apart from public obser va ti on , or b y th a t fati oo j on which it relied in the strength and certainl i d their principles, and for which, as Mr. C o bden . 0 1 that night predicted, the coming months would br i o the surest of all tests. But not by the unseen or bo future need the exertions of those be tried W it# formed this League, and contributed largely toy success. And his purpose that night In t i o , dressing them was, t o a d ver t t o t h e we of rials which the League had already created lik e itself, and which need not be explored _ A lf hieroglyphics, but whi c h were wr i t t en brna': on the face of th e coun ty, an d w hi c h wou ld f or m l ay terials for the pages of the future historian. -fil dij eve r a direction he found s o m e i m p ress o f w h at t h e 1 0 10 had done. Th e f ew years it h a d ex i ste d ba d 701 marked by two Admi n i s t ra ti ons o f t h e Governnien h ol he country, and both th e grea t po li t i ca l par ties s shown in their policy the influence exercised hl of free trade agitation. It h a d mo difi e d th e P olle the late Admini s tr a ti on , a l t h oug h i t was t h e n ,„/ youth; though at first the head of that Ministri l ; o f disposed to treat as th e meres t ma d ness the t9OO the repeal of the corn-laws ; yet what but that, P o i. close of his administration served him and his of leagues to lay hold of, as the most graceful thing, ' h i which they could reti re f rom office ? They fe l l 96 that, and in so doing made their fall more honoure er , than had been much of their existence in P° %/ o ce —(Hear, hear.) And they h a d th e i r reconlP e o too ; it was the progress which the icb trade agitation had made at that period, wßi o t caused Lord J. Russell to be returned as Membe r bis the City of London, and that gave him nol f r i chance of returni ng t o office, provided he would c _ f 4 "" out the- principles on which he held his seat' ; g ist possessed his prosp ec t s of office. A fixed duty 111. °„if serve the Whigs to fall b y , b ut t h ey could i °v rise by a total repeal.—(L ou d c h eers.) The: 01 fluence of the free trad e ag it a ti on on the , which succeeded it, and on its p o li cy , was ev- / more marked. The men who were in office" on had been for ten y ears conso lid at i ng t h e i r pary 00 the principle of no change, no infringemen'', o ld surrender of the corn-la ws , on w hi c h t h e y . I 'i: h e yield not a jot or a tittl e . It was f or this ..ted rallied their strength, for thi s it was th a t they resjiso every attempt at movement made by those who then s o f office, for this it was th e y move d a vote of wailfer confidence in that party, w hi c h e ff ec t e d t h e ir 41' on throw. What was the language of Sir R. ret'higs the first of those great di v i s i ons b y w hi c h the vi to r were expelled from office, he meant when they i il o , l 'o duced their Budget of 1841, and when Lord Saa w big motion on the sugar-duties gave a blow to the as to Ministry from which it was never able afterwar op recover ? When they gave symptoms of renig i l tp and of resigning too by ma ki ng an aPF'efloritil the people, Sir Robert P ee l t aun t e d thou be resigning on a mere fiscal question ; o re said no Government n e ed res i gn on a 04) fiscal question, yet within three years he ty beaten by his own party on thi s very ques tion 0. 0 to sugar-duties, and he only red uce d th a t par ty ngl° o 4 o , allegiance by threatenin g t o res i gn un l ess that of was rescinded.—(Loud cheers.) On the i noti: hoi ; Lord Sandon, in May, 1841, Si r R. P ee l s poke i l ea he was then looking forward to the change which po t obviously become inevitable, and he said, " el o le° contemplating a re-acce s si on t o office, on 'prie f e i ; s " with regard to the corn-l aws , o th er t h an those j o it maintained in opposition. You ask me then ho g ' o tte possible I can consent t o an y re l axat i on i n o ur e mercial relations, if I am still to maintain the ':O4 laws. You say that now this is the master irat e ' and that it is utterly impossible there can be any s! sion of our tariff, or any relaxation of our cow° 00' code, without also making a revision of the conjor I utterly deny that prop os iti on ; I say that Mr . kisson would have sp u r ne d th e proposition that ' oth sion of our commercial s y s t em was i ncons isteav c or the maintenance of the present system of theoone laws." Such was th e l anguage a dd resse d to the and for polist Parliament, i n 1841. I t was t h en ino du` s a pd , the purpose of election and hustings speeellio„is . when the new Parliament was called, the nevi,.. nra tr . try was formed; and within fifteen months 1 '", tP; time of this very declaration, utterly deneatair proposition that it was impossible to revise,t ue l without also revi s i ng th e corn -l aws, Si r R• P i e r, self revised the tariff and the corn-laws togetbio sp the utter astonishment o f th ose w h o placed no all Downing-street.—(Che ers .) A n d w h e nce on ( these unexpected measures ? Whence ti ll fi ts e s tone, but from this cause—th a t p u bli c epini°7 felt influenced by this agit a ti on th a t Si r R. Pee 0 prudent, notwithstanding h e was chosen 191 0 0 b defender of the great m ono p o li s t b o dy. to 0)0 0 some lines in another dire c ti on , a nd claim. to _, credit as he could for following a free-trade I°o4oo that he might be enabled t o boast that he haa, rio tio o one year, done more to relax commercial res i , ote tea than the apposite party had effected in the IF toot • years they w ere in office, thus making hini!e c ' o ' rn ..l9 o monument of the influence of this an ii t;" C o bde l i / g agitation.—(Hear, hear, and cheers.) l ur ; to I l i in the House of ' Commons, in referenclevoens, own success as the leader of this ll onug ue,,tr might use the language inscribed on tit!, ni i n of the great architect, Sir Christopher 1../ told, if is ,ibni. o,o oc Paul's Cathedral, where the spectator seeks the monument, to " look aroure . oi ss 13 1 , 0 , (Cheers.) A certain foreigner, whose ta . i ct. p o i exactly hit by the form of the dome n i rr see 0 . 03 once remarked, " I do look around, an,a en 10i 9g b g one great fool's cap." When Mr. C7 he Intß r non3 in twc , gr o g o ' a around him in the House of Com n i 3 try, see the influence of the League fools' caps, one for the leader of the o tio „fey_ ti ls the other for the leader of the OpP.°! nac ep.tw,.. caps, fitting the heads of those who nnri o inct.'" enough to see a great, a wise, and a g_71.0 courage there,,c but lacked the consistency, and the "1" tine to adopt, and carry it out in legislation'on th e tra iler ftr themselves on the good sense, andHe had f a rt o h terests of the people for suppoq• t ime, th ° B , - g ie observe, that in a short period u difficultie s t ° 9tr Zoir difdeu f the League had had immense -o we o with, free-trade had obtained in the