The Sun. — London, England, 1844-06-06 00:00:00

GhAN D WEEKLY ANTI-CORN-LAW LEAGUE MEETING ~; ,r;), - Ai a AT COVENT-GARDEN THEATRE The usual weekly meeting of the members of the Anti-Corn-law League was held last evening at the Theatre-royal, Covent-garden. The doors were opened at seven o'clock, and within five minutes af terwards the theatre was densely crowded in every part. The attendance of ladies in the boxes was greater than it has been on any late occasion. The pit and galleries were, as usual, devoted exclusively to the accommodation of registered members of the League. Shortly before the commencement of the proceed ing, General Briggs, the late free trade candidate for Exeter, accompanied by Mr. George Thompson, en tered the theatre. Both these gentlemen were loudly cheered. At half-past seven George Wilson, Esq., the Chair ' man of the League, took the chair, amidst the most enthusiastic plaudits. Mr. Wilson, on entering the theatre, was accompanied by the Hon. Edward .Bou verie, the newly-elected ALP. for Kilmarnock ; John Bright, Esq., M.P. for the city of Durham ; and several other stanch advocates of free trade, who were all loudly cheered as they made their appearance. Among those present we observed—George Wil son, Esq., In the chair; the Earl of Radnor, Hon. Edward Pleydell Bouverie, ALP., Richard Cobden, Esq., M.P., Thomas Milner Gibson, Esq., ALP., John Bright, Esq., M.P. ; Benjamin Smith, Esq., M.P. ' • General Briggs, Colonel Tucker, Dr. Cooke 'Taylor, Dr. Epps, George Thompson, Esq., Robert R. It. Moore, Esq., Provost Henderson (Paisley), Bailie Murray (ditto) ; Messrs. W. A. Wilkinson, P. A. Taylor, J. Booth, S. D. Driver, li. It. Stainton, Charles Tysal (Manchester), W. Thornborrow ' H. Day, Wm. Lockett (Salford), John Kay (ditto), IL Franklin, H. White, W. G. Gover, Wm. Austin, Alex. Carruthers (Macclesfield), J. Joulthard, 11. 11. Stansfield (Leeds), 'l'. E. Ward (Sheffield), J. Moir Ware, It. Palmer, J. P. Bar nard, J. Ridge, Press Pranger, W. P. Longdill, Win. Macmullen, Caddell, Eversley, Win. Cunning ton (Devizes), W. Butterworth, Felch, Geesin, G. Aldeney (Ealing), T. Aldeney, P. Stuart (Liver pool), Charles Horsley, W. D. Starling, W. M. Warden, Charles Marshall, &c. The CHAIRMAN then advanced to the table and was received with cries of " Bravo, Wilson," and loud cheering which lasted for some minutes. The whole house rose and greeted the worthy Chairman with three times three and one cheer more. After the audience had resumed their seats the cheering still continued for a considerable time, and nothing could exceed the heartiness of the welcome with which the Chairman of the League was greeted after his long absence. Silence having been in some degree re stored, he proceeded to address the meeting as fol lows :—" Ladies and Gentlemen,—You have lately , had such a number of distinguished individuals oc cupying this chair and presiding over your meeting, that an humble instrument in the cause of free trade, like myself, who am merely a fellow labourer with you in the glorious cause, may be well excused for feeling some slight degree of trepidation in again as suming an office, the duties of which have been so much more ably discharged by the Noble Lords and Hon. Gentlemen, who week after week have sup plied my place.—(Cheers.) But if we are to take all for granted that the monopolists and the monopolist press have lately been in the habit of stating from day to day, it is not of much consequence who takes the post of presiding over our meetings for the short time which they have allotted for our existence.— - (A laugh.) If we are to believe what they state, the League if not already quite extinct, is on the very verge of dissolution—its treasury is exhausted, its candidates have been defeated, and in every respect it is quite a different thing from what it formerly was —(Cheers and cries of " No, no")—in short it is only talked of as a thing of yesterday. Now, although it may be presumption to call in question the truth of assertions made by such great authori ties, I confess that, after a careful inspection of our position, I see no reason to believe that we have not wined ground since I last had the pleasure of meet ing you in this place.—(Hear and cheers.) It is true we may net have money sufficient in our treasurer's hands to carry on the war against the monopoly to its extinction, but we have more money in hand now than all the protection societies have received, or will receive, for the next twelve months to come.— (Cheers.) We may not have carried every election in every county and in every close borough, but yet we can bring abundant evidence to show that when ever an election has been lost it has been attended with such results—such traces have been left, such in fluences have been set to work as must prodlice fruit, And secure to us the victory at the next election.— (Cheers.) South Lancashire is no exception.—(Loud cheers.) At the first contest for that county, in the year 1837, which was a party election, two mono polists were returned to Parliament. At the general election in 1841 no one could be found to come for ward to contest the county on Liberal principles. Now, what took place at the last election ? The county is divided into ten polling districts. In six of those districts we have now a majority.—(Cheers.) At the general election in 1837 we had only a majority in two districts out of those six. In 1837 in those districts the Liberal candidate was defeated by a majority of 200 votes; at the last election in those six polling districts we had a majority of 800 on the poll, showing a change of opinion to the extent of 1,000 registered electors in those districts ai compared with 1837. In addition to this, in three of the other polling districts we have reduced their majority as compared with 1837, and in one district only, the Ormskirk district—a purely agricultural districas which is quite out of the in fluenee of trade or manufactures—in the Ormskirk district alone have they increased their majority, and in that district the voters have not changed their opi nions, they have changed their owners.—(Hear, hear.) The property which qualifies them to vote, and which was formerly in the hands of a Liberal, has changed owners, and is now in the hands of a Monopolist, and those very same tenants who in 1837 voted for a Liberal voted at the late election for a Monopolist.— (Hear, hear, and cries of " Shame, shame.") So com pletely are these people under the domination of their landlord, that if the steward had gone to the return ing officer and told him to write off the names of the tenants without going through the farce of an elec tion, the thing could not have been more completely managed. But let us turn from South Lancashire to Kilmarnock.—(Cheers.) What do the monopolists say to Kilmarnock ?—(Hear.) It is true that the League lost by death one of its oldest and staunchest supporters in the late Member for Kilmarnock.— (hear, hear.) In the House of • Commons, Mr. Bouverie will only vote as Mr. Johnstone voted before him.—(Cheers.) But in 1841, Mr. Johnstone, the free trade candidate, was returned, after a severe contest, by a majority of eleven votes. At this last election there were two free trade candidates in the field, and the monopolist hoped to slip in between them, but he had been beaten by Mr. Bouverie by a majority of ten votes, while the other free trade can didate had polled ninety-seven votes, which ought to be added to Mr. Bouverie's majority, to show the change of opinion which had taken place among the electors of Kiltnarnock on the subject of free trade since 1841.—(Cheers.) I might go over other grounds to show the progress which we have made. IVe wanted the election for South Lancashire in order to know the strength which we shall be able to put forth at the next general election. We have torn down the monopolist flag in six polling districts out of ten—(Cheers)—We have lowered the monopolist flag in the the three re maining districts, and I have no doubt whatever but that at the next general election we shall be in a con dition to clear the deck, and to return two free-traders to Parliament.—(Cheers.) Let the monopolists re joice over their victories. Let them boast of our de feats—let them talk of Exeter and Salisbury, and Hastings, and South Lancashire. Our reply is, Not tingham and Durham—(Cheers)—and Kilmarnock anti Kendal, and though last not least London— (Loud ch eers )— which i s more than a receipt ' in full for all dem an d s w hi ch the monopolists may-have on the League.—(Cheers.) There are other proofs of the progress of free trad e doctrines to which I will briefly refer. Memorials have been presented from various constituencies to their representati ves , solicit ing. them to support th e t o t a l and immediate repeal of the corn-laws, and to vo t e f or Mr. Villiers' motion on that subject.—(Cheers.) These memorials have not been got up with a view of awing Mem bers. They are intended as a respectful, but most earnest request on the part of the constituencies to to their Members, without reference to party, to support Mr. 'Villiers' motion in the House of Com mons. Leeds is one of the places from which a me morial has been transmitted. In 1841, at the general election, Leeds had returned one, with the mono polist at the head of the poll. The monopolist on that occasion polled 2,076 votes. Now, the constituency have . presented a memorial to him and to his col league, praying them to vote in support of Mr. Villiers' motion. That petition was signed by 2,700 voters, being an actual majority of all the registered electorsof 521, and 720 more than was polled by the highest candidate at the last general election. I might refer to many oth er places where the change of opinion in favour of free trade is equally satisfactory. I will allude to the Falkirk boroUghs, the registered voters of which amount to 1,000, of whom 720 have signed a memorial to their F l ex; esentative re ques ti ng hi m to vote with Mr. Vil liers whenever thatgentleman shall bring forward his inotien.—(Cheers ) i lt' Great Yarmouth—in Brad 1. fvoiard,sTsitnlimieshaire--.-in fuddersfi^kl, and in many other r results have been obtaitaed.— ( Cheers.) • ee , s . I - I never knew of any great principle that ever yet' addressed itself to the good sense of the people that failed. It is impossible but what it must succeed at last, and I feel convinced that the principle of free trade is a principle so just and so great, that it must ultimately be triumphant.—(Loud cheers.) The Secretary then read the minutes of the last meeting, which, on the motion of Mr. Bright, M.P., seconded by Mr. Aicknett, were confirmed. The Hon. E. BOUVERIE, M.P., then came forward, and was received with loud cheering. He thanked them for those cheers, and felt gratified by them — not that he took them peculiarly to himself, but be cause he looked upon them as intended to testify the gratitude and sympathy of the meeting for the free traders of the sister country, Scotland—(Cheers) —especially for that portion of them who had re cently returned one whom he thought he might con fidently say was a good free trader to Parliament. — (Loud cheers.) The opinion of a constituency like that of Kilmarnock was, perhaps a far bet ter test of public opinion, f the feeling of the country, of the individual judgment of the con stituencies throughout the country, than the result of such an election as South Lancashire, or such elections as those which he had fought twice on the same ground at Salisbury, because in the coun ties in England and in many of the boroughs situated in the agricultural districts of England, the ex pression of opinion by the constituency at the polling booth was not their honest and real expression of opinion, but the expression of the opinion of those who at present had the majority of the House of Commons, and who would maintain that majority unless the people were determined to get what they had a right to—(Cheers) —and if they were so determined depend upon it they would have it.—(Continued cheering.) He had heard nothing at Kilmarnock of those complaints which he had heard at Salisbury ; he had had no voters coming up to him and saying, " We wish you well—we agree with you in opinion on the subject of free trade—we believe the corn-laws to be unjust—we are desirous of their repeal, but we dare not vote for you. He had heard nothing of the kind at Kilmarnock. There were no squires and no squires' ladies there to drive into the town, and tell the tradesmen " You must vote this way or that way, and not as you like your selves."—(Cheers.) But there were honest, hard working, intelligent, industrious weavers there, who thought deeply, and who, having formed their judg ment, acted on it.—(Loud cheers.) It was an uni versal feeling among-that intelligent class, that the corn-law was a crying evil, and one which ought be at once repealed. It was too true, and the result of the South Lancashire election did not prove the con trary—that in the battle of free trade they had not gained the victory. Much was yet to be done, but much was not to be obtained from the present House of Commons. When he had last addressed them in that theatre it was on the eve of the meeting of Parliament, and he had ventured to prophecy that little would be done on the part of the Legislature of the country to advance those principles which they met weekly in that place to advocate, or to advance the prosperity of the great mass of the population of the country. If they looked back for the last three months, they would find that he had been no bad prophet. In the first place Mr. Cobden had brought forward a motion for the appointment of a Committee to inquire into the advantage of protection to the farmer and to the agricultural labourer. It might have been thought that those gentlemen who took an active part in support of the corn-laws—who called themselves the farmers' friends, and set up for being the agricultural interest of the country, although they had no more to do with agri culture than any of those present, they being merely possessors of the land, and having nothing to do with its tillage—(Cheers)—it might have been thought that these gentlemen would have been but too glad of the opportunity of showing the country the advantages of this law which they so stoutly main tained, as they said, not for their own benefit, but for the benefit of the farmer and the labourer. Surely it could signify nothing whether the motion were brought forward by Mr. Cobden or by the Duke of Buckingham. An opportunity was offered for inquiry, and they refused it because they knew that if that inquiry were granted, it would show the ab surdity of maintaining protection for the benefit of the really agricultural class. Inquiry would have exposed the delusion. It would have shown that protection was of no benefit to those classes—that it was a plundering of the public for the benefit of those gentlemen—(Loud cheers)—therefore they refused inquiry—to them ignorance was bliss, and they loved darkness be ter than the light—they dreaded the light because their deeds were evil.—(Loyd cheers.) But there was another measure which to a certain extent tested the sympathy of the House of Common's for the wants of the people—he meant the Factory Bill ; and while they found a majority of the House of Commons affecting a sympathy fur the wants of the labouring classes, and v o ting in support of a pro position which said " the people are over-worked— they do more than is consistent with the health either of their bodies or of their souls—we see women and children who are terribly over-worked, and therefore we must vote for a law to limit the hours of labour"—that very majority was the ma jority which maintained a law which com pelled the people to work in this manner.— (Cheers.) It was the corn-law which said to the la bourer you shall not have the same means of subsist ence as you would have if the trade in corn were free.—(Cheers.) The corn-law said to the labouring man, you shall not have the means of employment. The corn-law ground him to earth, and prevented him from earning his daily bread by the sweat of his brow, and compelled him to exert himself beyond his strength to earn a scanty subsistence.—(Cheers.) But that was not all—the majority having voted that pro position from an affected sympathy for the wants and sufferings of the labouring classes, no sooner found that the Minister declared that he would stand or fall by the measure which he had introduced than their sympathy disappeared.—(Cheers.) There was no question as to the wants and sufferings of the work ing classes—they looked only to the continuance of a certain set of men in power, and at once voted that that which had been black before was then white.—(Cheers.) But they had some alterations in duties on articles of con sumption. They had made some little, faltering steps in the good road. They had made an attempt to curry favour with those who supported the doctrines of free trade, by proposing somp slight alterations; but these were merely the tithe of mint and of rue, and touched not the weightier matters.—(Cheers.) The people should reply to the House of Commons— " These things ye ought to have done, and not to have left the others undone."—(Hear, and cheers.) They had made an alteration in the duty of currants. —(A laugh.) They were entitled to the gratitude of the lovers of pudding and cake for this reduction in their currant expenditure—(Cheers and laughter) —but there were other ingredients in pudding and cake besides currants.—(Cheers.) He believed flour was essential.—(Loud cheers.) That was a much more important matter than currants, for many per sons were affected by the tax on flour who would never dream of currants from one year's end to the other. Then he believed sugar was required to make them. —(Cheers and laughter.) There was to be an alte ration in the sugar duties, but it was not in the right direction.—(llear, hear.) He would not say that the change would be productive of no good, but still there was a duty of lOs. per cwt., or a tax of 2,000,000/., to be levied on the people of this coun try, not to go into the treasury, but for the benefit of those who were interested in the sugar monopoly, who were maintained and supported by the present majority in the house of Commons.—(Hear, hear.) Therefore the alteration in the sugar duties was, in his opinion, a fallacious one. Besides, every altera tion of this nature was looked upon as a settlement of the question for a certain time; and when a change was made at all, it might as well be upon a sound principle as on a wrong one. He would not detain them by dwelling on the distinction which was made between slave-grown sugar and the produce of those countries where labour was free. The fallacy of such a distinction had often been refuted in that place. There were some humane individuals who thought such a distinction ought to be observed; hut it was out of the question to carry it into prac, tice, and they would boggle by legislating on such un sound principles.—(Hear.) Even if the principle were sound, where, he would ask, were they to stop ? (Hear, hear.) Were they to inquire into the moral and social condition of every peeple with whom they had commercial transactions ? Why, a great portion of the corn admitted into the country came from Rus sia, where slavery to a great extent existed.— (Cheers.) He was surprised the Protection Society did not make use of this as an argument in favour of the protection—that the repeal of the corn-laws would he followed by a great increase of slave-grown corn i'rom Russia..—(Hear, hear.) Slavery was an evil which produced a degradation in morals amongst the people subject to its influence, and he was sure that most of the countries with which they carried on condition. co mmercialtransactio nslfthey v‘ mnt e l l s' e t. roe make ea inquiries dega de d moral of this kind, there was a country se at no great distance from cheers)--to which they ni shoul them on the other ofd directt e C h theiran Channel—(Loud e l (L attention.oud There was a country with a large industri ous tio physical, wh o , a n b d y all m o r a a e i c o c ti o n n t , s i t i w o n e . r e Hee aw v a es r y r ede graded - book written by a most intelligent traveller, who stated that in Poland and Livonia, where so much wretchedness existed, there was not near so much destitution as he found in Ireland.—(Hear, hear.) He supposed the protection folk would also try to prevent the introduction of Irish corn and cattle, and oatmeal and labourers, as they would pro hibit Russian corn. The distinction between slave grown produce and the produce of free labour was absurd, and the public ought not to be imposed on by those who made it. It was a very good debatable THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EY subject when the present Government were coming into power, and they could not afford to lose any part of the miserable rag of consistency they had got, and, therefore, they stuck to this absurd distinction, the reasonableness or truth of which the country would not admit. He, therefore, thought that he was a true prophet when he said, that not much was to be got this session. But the remedy was in their own hands. —(Cheers.) The question was, whether they would submit to the existing corn-laws, which they knew to be injurious and oppressive to the industry of the country, and allow themselves to be taxed for the be nefit of a small portion of the community.—(Hear, hear.) They could not stop where they were.— (Hear, hear.) The country had risen to great power and wealth by commerce and manufactures. Pro• gress, was the law written in the history of the na tion. They now came to the end of their tether, under the present law, and if they did not get free trade they would retrograde. They might be cer tain that would be the case. Commerce had made this great city, it had filled their ports with ships, and called into existence numberless towns through out the country.—(Hear, hear.) If that commerce were allowed to decay, where were they to find sub sistence for the people of the country ? Why, if the principles of the protectionists were true, they would never have made the advances they had made. No spur would be given to industry, and they would at this day be clothed in skins, and have their bodies painted blue, like their ancestors.—(Hear, hear, and laughter.) That was not the case ; but if they wanted to see everybody well employed, and to be told the families of the working classes were well maintained, they must have free trade, other wise they would go backwards instead of going forwards, and would run to misery, aye, and rebel lion, be might say, for nothing would stay the in stincts of the belly.—(Hear, hear.) Misery, suffer ing, and lawlessness would be the consequence. They must contemplate those things and express their opinions loudly, and if they did so their voices would be obeyed, and the consequence would be that pros • perity would revisit their shores. If manufactures and commerce were prosperous their prosperity must re-act on agriculture.—(Hear, hear.) Such would be the effect of free trade ; but though the Ministers professed the truth of free trade principles they seemed to have no faith in them. The great prin ciple was that free trade would be beneficial to all classes, without distinction, even that very class which it was fancied were benefited by monopoly. Huskisson, indeed, had faith in this principle, and to show how sound it was he would give one ex ample. That great commercial Minister altered the duty on silk, and allowed foreign manufactured silk to be imported at a low duty. This was in 1825, and it was said that it would destroy the silk trade of the country. Well, what was the result ? In 1840 it was given in evidence that the town of Manchester alone, which, previous to the alteration, employed only 3,000 persons in the manu facture of silk, employed at that time 30,000 persons, and the value of their labour, which, at the former period, amounted only to 450,0001., rose in 1840 to 1,600,0001—(Loud cheers.) That was a good evi dence of the soundness of the principle, and had Mr. Huskisson lived, he would have rejoiced to see its truth thus verified. What he wanted to impress on them was, that they should have Ministers—and they had it in their power to make them—(Cheers) —who would have faith in the principles of free trade, and who should work it out at their bidding fully and fairly. (The Hon. Gentleman sat down amidst loud cheers.) Mr. M. GIBSON, M.P., then came forward, and was received with loud cheers. He said he rejoiced at having an opportunity of meeting his friends that evening, after a temporary absence, to discuss the great and important question of commercial freedom. —(Hear, hear.) He rejoiced to hear there was no disposition on the part of their Chairman to abate his efforts; and when he addressed him he meant to ad dress him as the Chairman who represented that large and important association in the country—the Anti- Corn-law League. He rejoiced that there was no desire on its part to abate its efforts till it had accom plished the great object for which it was first associated. He rejoiced that they felt strong in the consciousness of the justness of their cause, and he knew that this Association and those meetings did not spring from any sud len impulse—did not arise from any temporal and passing interest, but had its foundation on the broad and eternal basis of immutable justice. He be lieved that the cause of commercial freedom was not a mere question of pounds, shillings, and pence, but that it invo:ved the civil rights of free men, that of buying and selling where they pleased — the right to have the full reward of their own indus try—(Cheers)—and he knew of no higher object for hich government was instituted than that a man should have the power of living by his own industry and his own exertions.—(Cheers.) It was true, as had been remarked, that there was not the slightest ground, not the small:lst shadow of a pretext for a feeling of despondency as to the progress of their cause.—(Cheers.) This was not a mere party poli tical question—it was not one as between Whig and Toryl; and when they got rid of that—he appealed to any dispassionate mind—to any man of whatever party, whether he could look around him and not observe the steady progress of public opinion in favour of the relaxation of the burdens on industry.—(Cheers.) Let them look to what was the course of the Con servative Ministry when they came into office in 1841. The cry at the elections was " no surrender— no alteration in the corn-laws." They were raised to power through this cry, and though the Minister had a large majority to support him in any measure, yet he was compelled to come forward from a sense of a necessity to propose something of a relaxation in trade, and an alteration of the corn-laws.—(Hear, hear.) There was great distress throughout the country. The commercial and manufacturing dis tricts were suffering great privations, and if pro tectian, as it was called, to native industry, was the true mode to promote the prosperity of the country, why did the Minister, with this large majority, come forward and attempt to relieve this distress—not by increasing protection, which, according to the pro tectionists, was the real source of the prosperity of the nation—but by partially removing the fetters which cramped the industry of the country, by the alterations made in the tariff and in the corn-laws ? If protection was the true remedy, it should have been made more stringent—they should give more of the dose, if this was the true medicine.—(Cheers.) He saw around him strong proofs of the advance of public opinion towards free trade; he saw it amongst the agricultural classes, amongst whom he lived. lie did not mean to say they would advocate a total and immediate repeal of the corn-laws. No, but they began to think that those men who induced them to vest their capital in farming, did so for their own benefit. They began to discover that the landed proprietors acted the part of faithless men, who, for their own pecuniary advantage, were resolved to risk the future safety not only of their own tenants, but of all classes of the country, induced them to invest their capital on a rotten and unsound basis. What was the conduct of the landed proprietors ? After the war they did not give time for prices to settle, and to accommodate themselves to an altered state of things, but at once, and without a moment's delay, they proceeded to enact the corn-law, and told their tenants they might rely on the price of corn being kept up to the amount at which it sold before the war. The farmers accordingly invested their capital, and that of their families, on this unsound and pre carious basis. But what he wished to observe was, that the farmers would prefer to enter upon farming operations now on the principle of free trade, rather than have protection, and rely upon natural rather than artificial prices. But the pinch of the question was, how they were to get out of the difficuties in which they were placed by the representations of the landlords ? He could only say those difficulties were the necessary and unavoidable retribution of bad laws and bad legislation.—(Cheers.) The landlords had passed the corn-laws under protest from the manu facturing and commercial classes, who, it should be recollected, were not then represented in Parliament, the representatives of the people being, to a great ex tent, returned by rotten boroughs. They sent strong memorials to the Government of the day, and for warded the most earnest protests against the pass ing of the law, but in the teeth of those protests, with a full knowledge before them that the law would be repealed the first moment the com mercial party had the power to do so; and if, under these circumstances, the farmers suffered themselves to be deceived, they could not sympathise with them ; but they should look to the landed proprietors for compensation.—(Cheers.) They had strong claims for compensation on the landed proprietors, but they bud no claims on the manufacturers or the other classes of the community. If A did a wrong to B, it could not prejudice the rights of C, who protested against the transaction. If, after C protesting against a certain course which would be ruinous to him, A and B persist in pursuing it, in consequence of which one of the parties was a sufferer, he had no claim on that account upon C.—(Hear, hear.) Now, he oh-. served there was a want of confidence growing up between the farmers' friends and the farmers in the country. His Hon. Friend who spoke last alluded to that want of confidence with great justice. He per ceived the farmers began to think their great friends in Parliament had a disposition to make use of them for political purposes.—(Laughter.) There was a growing suspicion that they had not been fairly dealt with by their leaders in the House of hereditary legislators. There was the case of the Duke of Buckingham. He would not, for the world, say that the Duke had done anything to perfect his claim to the confidence of the protection party; but, somehow or other, he was now undestood to be de posed.—(hear, hear.) Ho was no longer the leader. He was supposed to have come under that peculiar influence —he (Mr. Gibson) did not know wnat it was—which Governments contrived to obtain over gentlemen with whom they had connexion —(Hear, hear)—and his Grace the Duke of Richmond was now the professed leader of the protection party—at any rate, he was the President of the Central Society for the protection of British Agriculture. Now, the Morning Post—(Great laughter)—he really felt the greatest difficulty in quoting from that newspaper, because there was always a predisposition to laugh when the name was mentioned—(Laugther)—the Morning Post of that day contained a letter which took the Duke of Richmond to task for not having pursued a bolder course in reference to the duties on foreign wool. These duties were to be totally and immediately repealed ; and it was said that the fact of the Duke of Richmond's relative having received an appointment in the Treasury had had the effect of influencing his Grace's conduct. 'That was the sort of insinuation thrown out. He did not believe that the Duke of Richmond had been influenced by that circumstance, and he would tell them why he did not believe it. He had been a sup porter of the Conservative .party ; his brother had been a supporter of the Conservative party, and there was nothing at all improbable in the circumstance that his brother should have an appointment given to him.—(Hear, hear.) But his reason for bringing forward this case was to show the disposition which there was amongst the farmers and the protection party to suspect the farmers' friend.—(Hear, hear.) The moment any circumstance took place which had a prima facie appearance of suspicion, although it might be without the slightest foundation, the protectionists immediately began to think that they were betrayed.—(Hear.) There seemed to be a sort of disposition amongst the agriculturists to suspect that the great leaders of their party had not dealt fairly with them in Parliament. lie did not mean to say that if the Anti-Corn-law League had some places to give away there might not be an in fluence produced by that circumstance, even amongst the protection party.—(Laughter.) He should be sorry to hint that they would act so directly at variance with all their professed pledges, as to sanction any sett of political_ bribery whatsoever—(Cheers)—but they could not disguise from themselves the fact that, in some way or other, Governments did contrive, when gentlemen got to London, to obtain a kind of influ ence over them which was very remarkable, and which led innocent and simple-minded rustics to believe that they were betrayed, and that justice was not done to them.—(Hear, 'leer.) Now the Duke of Rich mond had in former times expressed very strong opinions—and he believed he held them now—against the repeal of the corn-laws. He said, "If you abolish the corn-laws, I'll go out of the country altogether."—(Laughter.) " Well, but," it was said, "if you do, you can't take the land with you."—(Laughter.) Let them consider in what position a person placed himself who made such a declararation. "If you abolish the corn-laws I'll go out of the country altogether." Now, what were the corn-laws ? What was the nature of them ? It was simply this —that certain parties in this country, dealing in the articles of bread and beef, having shops open to supply the community with those necessary articles, were very unwilling that any body else should open shops of a similar descrip tion.—(Laughter.) Now, his Grace, together with his friends, was extensively concerned in this victual ling business.—(Laughter.) His Grace, in fact, wanted to be a sort of licensed victualler.—(Great laughter.) Now he (Mr. Gibson) contended that one Englishman had as good a right as another to supply the market of the coun try with provisions, provided he came by those provisions honestly.—(Laughter.) He had a right as an Englishman to supply the market with corn by the operations of trade, just as the Duke of Rich mond had a right to supply it by the operations of agriculture.—(Hear, hoar.) He contended that trade was as legitimate a calling as any other branch of in dustry, and that if it pleased him to send his capital to the Continent to turn it into corn, and to bring that corn into the English market, in order that he might thus olstain a profit by the employment of his capital, there was no earthly reason why he. should not be permitted to do so.—(Cheers.) If, however, he proposed to bring corn from the Continent to Lon• don, and to sell it, he was told that he must not do so. Why ? Because, if he did, Some gentlemen in this country would not get so large a pecuniary return from- their property as they otherwise would do.---(Hear.) Well, but what claim had those gentlemen upon him ?—(Hear, hear.) He was not aware that there was any account between them-- that they had any right to control his actions, or to make demands upon his industry.—(Hear, hear.) Putting it in this light, how monstrous an interference was this corn-law with the civil liberty of her Majesty's subjects.—(Hear, hear.) What were Governments for? The only object in Government should be to prevent men from encroaching upon one another, to prevent the several classes of society from invading the rights and property of each other. —(Hear, hear.) He had a right to follow that branch of industry—namely, trade—which Providence had placed within his reach. That was his property, and Government ought to protect him in that pro perty.—(Hear, hear.) But what had Government done in this country ? It had assisted a class in this country to invade this property of his, this freedom of trade, this right to exchange his industry in any quarter of the globe he pleased, and thus it had completely departed from the true functions and the true end of all government.— (Cheers.) He trusted that he was not dwelling upon this point too long—that he was not becoming tedi ous.—(No, no.) He did feel, however, that this was the most important view of the subject which could he taken.—(Hear, hear.) He did feel that they had not sufficiently considered the corn-law question as a question of civil liberty.—(Hear, he ar .) H e con tended that as they had abolish e d s l avery i n t h e i r colonies—as they had totally abolished th e r i g ht o f man to hold property in man in any part of the Bri tish empire, so the same principles, if they carried them out, would lead them to abolish monopoly.— (Cheers.) For what was slavery ? Why one por tion of the community claiming a property in the industry of another portion of the community— one set of men claiming a right to control the actions and to possess themselves of the result of the exertions of another set of men. A n d was no t mono poly mono poly.—(Cheers.) Slavery reco gn i se d an i n h eren t right in one man to possess the mi n d, th e musc l es , destroyed the e same slaveryame and the body of another; the corn-l aws rec ogn i se d a thing they were b oun d t o d es t roy mono sort of inherent right in the landed aristocracy of this country to possess the reward of the industry of other classes of the community.—(Hear, hear.) They were precisely the same in principle. Of what use was it to the planter to possess the slave ? He did not hold him for mere ornament, for the mere pleasure of look ing at him as you would look at a canary bird in a cage; no, he possessed him that he might eat the fruits of his industry.—(Hear, hear.) That was the principle whicih he believed actuated many supporters of the corn. laws ; he believed they were actuate 1 by a desire to possess themselves of a large share of the industry of the commercial and manufacturing classes—a larger share than they were entitled to. Now he had seen, within a day or two, an in stance of boldly stating that there was some inherent right in the landed aristocracy of this country to in terfere with the freedom of trade.--(Cries of " Oh, oh.') He had copied a little extract from a publication called the Quarterly Review. There was an article in the Quarterly Review upon agricultural improve ments, and in that article is found the following paragraph :—" The people forget that the land, and the owners and cultivators of the land, formed the primary essentials; and the mercantile and manufac turing establishments the adjuncts of the State." — (Laughter.) So that they who did not own land in this country were merely adjuncts to the State. They were not to be recognised as free citizens, or as having a claim to equal laws ; they were to be re garded merely as human beings sojourning upon this island ; who were only to have just so much trade, and just so much of the comforts and conveniences of life, as suited the pleasure of the landed proprietors to allow them. That was the principle which was avowed in this paragraph ; but what a principle it was !—(Hear, hear.) Why, when he heard the debates in Parlia ment, he sometimes asked himself, " What, are we in this House of Commons ? Are we employed in mak ing e qua l l aws f or a ll c l asses o f her Majesty's subjects, or are we concerning ourselves with the carrying on of particular branches of business, and making parti cular employments pay ?" Why, what had they to do in Parliament with making lands pay, whether they were in the West Indies or in England ? Were the Members of the House of Commons to be considered as sugar-planters and corn-growers ; or were they to be consid ere d as men d ea ling not with lands andin animate" substances, but with human beings, who de manded of them the discharge of the true functions of civil government ?---(Hear, hear.) If they were to concern themselves with making estates in the West Indies pay, why sit in Westminster? Why not go to the West Indies ?—(Laugh ter.) Why should not the Speaker appoint different Members to be bailiffs over different districts, and to see to the management of the property in those districts ? (Cheers.) This would be a far more reasonable course than sitting there and talking of it. He protested. against a combination to usurp the rights of free citizens. If an impartial being could descend to this earth he would wonder what was the reason of all this phillosophy upon the duties of Governors and the function's of Government, while practical legisl a t ors sa t in P: trliament without v thinking of thei r duty to th sir fellow - subjects, but considering only how it coul d make particular spots upon the earth s surface return ,a large revenue l. to their proprietors. The: corn-law question heard of a very small compass.—(Hear.)- He a of the learned divines, skilled i ti'° philosophy andcapable of ancients, acquainted with mathematics , writing in the dead languages, deci are that the corn-law I so intricate, that was so difficult, so complicated, am NING, JUNE 6, 18 they were really unable to approach it—they could I not touch it.—(Laughter.) Now he was afraid that when these excellent divines of the Church of Eng land—(Laughter) —talked of this immense difficulty, they forgot the maxim which they sometimes made use of when they told them that their kingdom was not of this world.—(Laughter.) He was afraid that the Tithe Commutation Act had had a very curious influence in preventing their coming to that question with that unbiassed power of reflection which they would otherwise have been enabled to give to it. He was afraid that, with some few exceptions, there was an idea among the clergy of the Church of England that if they repealed the corn laws the price of corn would fall very greatly, and that then the tithe rent charge would be lessened.—(Laughter.) if it were not for this unfortunate influence he believed they would have the assistance of all who professed Christianity. The question was intimately con nected, in fact, with the whole code of Christian morals.—(Hear, hear.) Although some had found fault with them for introducing scriptural quotations into discussions, he believed that the best anti-corn law arguments were to be found in the Bible itself.— (Cheers.) He had referred to the want of confidence in the agricultural leaders. lie believed there never was anything so absurd as the views entertained upon that subject. What became of all the threats and grand denunciations in Parlament against the Anti- Corn-law League ? Why they had " died upon the lap Faint as a chicken's note that has the pip." —(Laughter.) No Member of the House of Com mons had been bold enough to get up and say, " I came here to keep up the price of corn, and I won't have any alteration in the corn-laws ;" although that was the language used to the agriculturists in the country. He believed that many of the agriculturists imagined that country Members went to Parliament with only one object, namely, to keep up the price of wheat.—(Laughter.) An agriculturist in Suffolk had said to him that since the prices had fallen lie could not see that their Member had done any good by going to Parliament. Were the great body of the commercial classes to be ruled by farmers ordinaries and market tables ? Rather should they not insist upon the inalienable right of man to buy in the cheapest and sell in the dearest market ?—(Cheers.) The cause was gaining ground fro:n the studied attempts made in Parlia ment to blacken and degrade the manufacturing com munity. They could not read of any meeting of bishops or divines, or persons of that description, without finding allusions to the dreadful vices and horrid state of the manufacturing districts. And shat was the reason of this attempt to degrade the manu facturing population ? Why, they knew that among that population there was a tone of free and indepen dent thought.—(Cheers.) They knew that in that population had been the germ of civil and religious liberty.—(Hear, hear.) They knew that, from the great body of the commercial community, had sprung, and were now springing, those great changes which had freed numbers from intellectual and physical thraldom ; they knew that there were to be found stern enemies of monopoly, and those who had the least respect for hereditary wisdom.—(Cheers and laughter.) And what a mon strous thing it was to talk in this manner of the manufacturing population when the agricultural labourers were in the depth of misery; when incen diary fires were continually taking place in agricul tural districts ; when the cottages were ill built, and ill ventilated, and misery was rife. Instead of en deavouring to degrade the manufacturing population, it would be much better if they would look to the agricultural. Why, these agricultural districts were the fountains from which flowed the population into the manufacturing and commercial districts. The population was increasing at the rate of seven or eight hundred per day; but the land did not increase in extent. There was not one acre more in the United Kingdom than there was fifty years ago, and they had not the means of employing a single indi vidual more in any part of the country, and he asked whether it were possible to suppose that they could much longer restrain the extension of the manu factures and trade of the country ? That trade could no longer employ the increasing population, and, unless they wished to see that love land of theirs, at sonic future day, a formidable scene of convulsion and bloodshed, •it must be unfettered and made free. The present state of things, if continued, would have the effect of upsetting reason, of upsetting religion— (Cheers)—and of upsetting morality; for when a man was reduced to despair—when his wife and chil dren were famishing around him, when he had not the means of existence, he (Mr. Gibson) would ask, of what use was it to that man to have a sermon preached to him ?—(Cheers.) In conversing with persons connected with trade, he (Mr. Gibson) was continually met with the complaint of excessive competition, and the great difficulty there was in find ing employment and situations for the younger branches of families. lie heard this complaint amongst all professions—in the law, and even in the Church itself ; and amongst all classes, there was that one complaint—the great competition, and the struggle that there was for a man who was not of an inde pendent fortune to obtain a livelihood. Now, he did from his conscience believe that it was the restrictions upon trade—the interference with the freedom of action—to which was to be attributed all this diffi culty.—(Cheers.) They had all natural advantages, and Providence had, he fully believed, provided the means of comfortable subsistence for all classes of her Majesty's subjects. On the other hand, he thought that it was the cupidity of a certain interest and class, who had interfered with the distribution of the pro duce of the industry of this country, which prevented a large portion of the people of this country from ob taining the advantages which Providence had placed within their reach.—(Cheers.) Commercial freedom contained within itself all the objects which a philan thropist could desire to see attained.—(Cheers.) It contained within itself the means of diffusing freedom, not only through the United Kingdom, but over every other part of the globe. Commerce would spread blessings which nothing else could accom plish. Opinions upon slavery—opinions upon all those great questions which influenced men's actions, could only be spread through the instrumentality of commerce. If they desired to see in Brazil and Cuba the slave trade abolished, the best means of doing so would be by opening communication with the various parts of the world in which slavery did not exist. What was our act when we were slave-owners— when even the very Bishops were the advocates of the slave-trade—what was our act ? Why, having abo lished slavery in St. Domingo, we passed a law to prevent any communication being had between St. Domingo and the West India colonies, for fear of the introduction of freedom into St. Domingo spreading to the West Indian colonies also.—(Cheers.) They had at that moment the Emperor of Russia in England—(Groans and hisses)—and they had also another crowned head here. When they spoke of the Emperor of Russia ' he thought they ought not to carry their feelings beyond the mere circumstance of his coming to this country as a simple individual man, and he thought they ought not to carry their ideas into Russia. They were expecting a visit from the King of the French, and they were told that the visits of all these monarchs to one another forboded peace throughout the world.—(Cheers.) It might be so, and he was glad to see such friendly communications existing, If, however, they wanted really to main tain peace, he believed that the best recipe was by uniting nations together by a tie of common interest, for that would prevent outbreak, and would prevent the existence of jealousies between different Powers. —(Loud cheers.) Emperors ands diplomatists might do something by communicating with each other ; but let them depend upon it that they could' do nothing so effective as that feeling of interest amongst nations which would arise by the ties of commercial intercourse.— (Cheers.) If they were to adopt this principle, it would not then be in the power of emperors or am bassadors to create war between two nations. He thought no despair ought to be felt on account of the progress of free trade principles. No one that he had heard of considered the corn-laws settled, except Mr. George Robins, the auctioneer. (Cheers and laughter.) He—small blame to him, as th ey sa id i n Ireland—in his advertisements, when he wanted to sell an estate, said " the corn-law question is settled in consequence of the declaration of Sir Robert Peel during this session that he does not contemplate a change."—(Cheers and laughter.) Mr. Robins advised persons to sell out their stock, and give an additional price for an estate in consequence of Sir Robert's contemplations.—(Cheers and laughter.) He (Mr. Gibson) must say that he thought that the contemplations of that distinguished Minister were not very good security for capital.--(Laughter.) He (Mr. Gibson) should give as much for the estate with out the corn-laws as with them. He certainly would not recommend gentlemen who thought the corn-laws were necessary to maintain the value of an estate to place much reliance on the contemplations of the Right Hon. Gentleman at the head of the Go vernment.—(Laughter.) He (Mr. Gibson) thought they might with truth apply to the Right Hon. Gen tleman the term which the late Lord Grenville applied to monopoly, that "he was the parent of uncer tainty."—(Cheers and laughter.) He (Mr. Gibson) believed that the Right Hon. Gentleman congratu- . lated himself,but it must not be mentioned in public— (Laughter)—on the progress of the Anti-Corn-law League.—(Cheers.) He (Mr. Gibson) had known a case himself in which a Minister had been anxious to resist some job, who gave encouragement to the Oppo sition to oppose it in order that he might have an excuse to his friends not to adopt the job._ (Cheers.) He believed that was the position of her Majesty's Government now. They wanted forcing—they were inviting the Opposition to force them—and the more they put on the screw, the more the- Government would give. He was persuaded that at no period of the history of the country had there been such a number bf direct invitations to j agitating and forcing as had been given by the pre sent Minister of the Crown to the Opposition. A I Minister frequently carried his measures not by his own supporters, becruse they were generally dupes, but by the influence of the Opposition. —(Cheers.) The Minister would say to his sup porters, with respect to the corn-law question, " Those gentlemen who are connected with the free I trade party are making a great noise; we really cannot maintain these laws any longer—you must give way; the country is in danger, and if you do not give up these laws, you will have to give up something better worth keeping. You cannot make a Government from the Central Society for the Protection of Agriculture, nor can you make a Government from the Assembly in Jamaica; and the pressure of the free-trade party is so strong that I will not let any considerations of consistency stand in my way. You must have free trade, or you must part with me." That was sound advice to give, and he (Mr. Gibson) said that they • were taking a proper course in endeavouring, as far as in them lay, to bring this subject prominently before the public, because the advice the Minister would thereby be led to give his friends would be that, unless they gave up the corn-laws, they would have to give up something better worth keeping; for they all knew the expression that was used by the Rev. Mr. Hall—" If there is a taint of rottenness at the root of society, it will wither the highest branches of the tree, be they ever so lofty."—(Loud cheers.) Mr. R. R. MOORE then came forward t, address the meeting, and said he came before them instead of Josiah Hunt, a tenant-fanner. He would much rather that Mr. Hunt had been there himself on that stage to address that meeting as he had done before, in proof, from his own experience, that the corn-laws had neither benefited him, nor any tenant-farmer that he had ever been acquainted with.—(Cheers.) He (Mr. Moore) did not know any class that he would rather be the advocate of in that cause than the tenant farmer; for he did not know any other class that had suffered more continuously and more deeply from the corn-laws—(Cheers)—nor did he know any other class that would sooner reap the benefit of their total and immediate abolition. Ile was always glad to ap pear as the farmers' advocate against the corn laws, because in the, name of the farmers unjustly and falsely was the law passed, and was continued.— (Cheers.) As Mr. Gibson had said, the supporters of this law stated that they maintained it for the benefit of the farmer, and farm labourer, yet on no other class of the community had more bitter dis tress come than on the farmer and farm labourer of this country.—(Loud cheering.) But he was not going to speak of the farmer and the corn-law with respect to what might be called the agricultural view of the question. He was not going to argue that an impulse to competition would give rise to an improvement in agriculture, and would give a spur to the exertions of the landlord and the farmer, and. would lead them to call to their aid all the dis • coveries which science had made, and which might be brought into practice for the increase of agricul tural productions; nor was he going to speak of the farmer as being oppressed by the pauperism of the labourers, made paupers because there was no work for them to do in this corn-law protected land. No, he was going to 'speak of the farmer as a serf—as a man who was not allowed to have an opinion—as a man who, if in secret he cherished an opinion, after having read a paper upon free trade, that the corn-laws had been a curse to him—had stolen his customers from him, and had given him paupers instead of beef and mutton eaters— dared not express that opinion in public. He (Mr. Moore) had lately had some share in the South Lancashire election, and this had taught him to hate the corn-laws more than ever;• for,' under the cloak and cover of protection the electors in that dis trict had been coerced into giving a vote against the opinions which they conscientiously held.—(Cheers.) The South Lancashire election, above all others, had made him hate the monopoly of the corn-laws. In America, in the Southern States, for every five slaves the slaveholder had a vote for a member of the Local Legislature, and for Congress. A man's feelings some what revolted at the idea of another man having the quantity of his votes regulated by the number of heads he could count, but he (Mr. Moore) wished that were the case in this country. It was less degrading for them, as independent Britons—for the bold pea santy, their country's pride for Britons, who " Never—never —never—would be slaves" —for it would relieve them from their present degradation, if the landlord had a vote for every five of them. He asked them to take this oppressed and degraded set of men, the tenant-farmers, under their protection, and suffer them no longer to be dictated to and degraded. It was no light matter that men should he so de graded—that men looking like yourselves, having the same sympathies, the same right to independence of action, should be told you must vote for Mr. So and So at the next election—not the candidate, but the steward of my Lord's estate.—(Hear, hear.) If they wanted anything to make them more earnest to carry the repeal, South Lancashire was the spur. He (Mr. M.) went round to the voting places in that county— he had spoken at meetings at which there were large numbers of farmers, some of whom had spoken to him in private, and when he asked them why they did not vote for the free trade candidate, their answer was, " Why don't you bring our customers—those to whom we sell our milk and butter—to solicit our votes for your candidate, and let them tell us that they won't buy , from us in future unless we support free trade principles ; and then, having your dictation against the landlords' dictation, we will support the anti-corn-law candidate."—(Hear.) But he said, " No—we will not use such means, but we will put down this landlord-dictation ; but you should assist, and you should even at some peril support those principles, the operation of which would be so advantageous to your fellow-countrymen and ultimately to your selves.— (Cheers.) You should take courage, and, however inconvenient, throw yourselves under our protection, instead of the landlord, and we promise to treat you better than they have done. We will neither drain your pockets nor coerce your con sciences. —(Cheers.) We will set not only trade free, but the farmers themselves. They had been called " accidental adjuncts of the land"—well, as they were so, they should be acquainted with the great means by which the League proposed to effect a repeal of the corn-laws. Those means were the Registration Courts. They in London were well versed in the mode whereby they could have a voice in the selection of the candidate, and they should never omit to use those means. It was not merely when an election came that they should exert themselves—it was not enough for them to make a close canvass, but they should urge every man in a position to record his vote to record it on the first opportunity— (Hear, hear.) It was not when the struggle came they should commence—it was not when the battle begun they should examine their weapons. They should lose no time in seeing that their taxes were paid, and that their names were on the registry, that they were duly enlisted under the banners of free trade. It was an important right, that of voting —it was a sort of safeguard, whereby they might de fend. themselves from the landlords levying oppres sion upon them—levying ; in fact, a tax upon the towns and upon industry.—(Hear, hear, and cheers.) The mode of dragooning and coercing the tenantry, practised by the landlords in South Lancashire, was almost equivalent to the landlords levying a tax upon trade, and collecting it from door to door. They had plundered the people of their dearest right, the con scientious exercise of their opinions.—(Hear, hear.) It was a bad thing this monopoly. It was not a mere visionary speculation or abstract—not a mere name— a bug-bear; but it was a crushing, griping, biting, reality—it was that which made dear food, scarcity of employment, ruinous competition in trade, and still more ruinous competition of labour—it was the 'cause of low wages and high rents, of increasing shops and diminished customers, at least of diminished means of those customers—in short it was an active principle of evil, which shed its baneful influence over the whole community.—(Hear.) It was not enough for them merely to come to meetings such as these, and spout and cheer in favour of free trade, but they should ask themselves when they went home, "Now what can we do to advance the repeal of the corn-laws ?"—(Hear, hear)—and they should forth with proceed to act upon their opinions. They should consider in what position the House of Commons at present stood—they should recollect that Parliament would last but two years longer, and that it rested with the country to say who should be the Members of the new Parliament. If the people were well taught, and really in earnest, there was little doubt but they would have a majority in that Parliament ; and the very first session of that Parliament, monopoly would have received its death-blow. But if the people were not yet thoroughly taught, they would again send to Parliament men who would only squabble and make paltry compromises.—(Hear, hear.) They must bring their representatives to a plain declaration of their sentiments, " Are you for a repeal of the corn-laws —eye or no ?" Promises equivocal— general promises —were good for nothing— they should have men of principle—steadfast uncompromising principle, who would support Mr. Villiers' motion ; th e y should do these things else they might at once retire from the field, and make room for stauncher men. He held in his hand the answers which had been sent by Lord Seymour and Mr. Baldwin to their constituents in Totnes. One hundred and thirty electors of this borough had re quested these two Members, their representatives, to support Mr. Villiers' motion for a free trade in corn. He (Mr. Moore), without meaning to cast the least reflection on these Hon. Members, would read to the meeting the answer of Lord Seymour, which was ad dressed to Mr. Ferris:— " Spring-gardens, Friday. " Sir--I have received you letter with the inclosed memorial. With regard to the question of the corn• laws it may be remembered that in 1534, when I first addressed the electors of Totnes, I told them that my opinions were in favour of an alteration of the corn• laws, and I should vote for any motion tending towards greater freedom of trade in the admission of e e '., doe that time no large party in the House a greed t",. e the . views, and no association existed in the country 1 0 , in , . purpose of advancing them. The question is . 0 " aoe d ' very different position ; the Government, hafi a g e a law which is in my opinion very insufficient to ,em , de , the evils which were before complained of, seem )e 5 : 104 termined to go no further • the party calling the% D o the League declare that they' will be satisfied W.l_lol other measure than au immediate and entire abuneee all duty. Their mode of proceeding, which ha s _ f the uiettil in leading to more general consideration t o f tte question, has not apparently won the gurr r .. e d e fest manufacturing and commercial classes, since the" . . s no t in South Lancashire seems to show that thert ...,,, even in that district any great confidence in theiri,ctp posed measure. I think that by their mode ° f w a d o ptl 3 to the country this one measure, to be at once, ss ite as the criterion of political wisdom, and at I .°, 01 time denying to their opponents c ommon s ee ! an d I Common integrity, they have injured the eaus ke tyv therefore do not support a plan which seems en" r iell lead to any settlement of the question. gY ° ev er I can hardly be fully stated in a letter, but whe n ti , big come to Totnes, if any of my constituents wish - 0 ,, them at more length I shall be happy to state the " I am, your obedient servant, mifi.o ~ SEYllln a v , Lord Seymour was in favour of some comy‘r,uour 4 and seemed to think the country were in 1 a ,, 4 10i something less than the total and immediate recr:_the the corn-laws, but where was the e viden rety , slightest symptom of such a disposition ? S li wbere had not been evinced in South Lancashire., 01 was the disposition in favour of a fixed duty • o f 0 would go to Lancashire, they w ould, instead_e for ing any demonstrations of triumph, se e tir to i s l6 titers bitterly lamenting the success of Mr. i ' t OP although they had been driven to suPP ° . t s iii , e If Lord Seymour imagined there was an"f l e elioo a compromise he knew but little of the rii, tli which pervaded the country. The labc' t : e th e l farmers, and all the agriculturists knew that D°' were taken care of quite long enough; end if t SO ble Lord looked over the poll-books of the la s 1 01 0 Lancashire election he would be impressed ot,llee conviction that they were well aware that the Lead` was alone influenced by conviction in the that t ts Anti -Corn -law said they had raised up a giant means Of WI deb knowledge on the subject. He (Mr. Me er % Ve nt " assert that what the League did wa s ,-° stl ° r the people that it was their interest ' e ee d l° the principles of free trade and had P r° te t , are° them the truth of this fact from the pr) / writers upon political econcmy—(Elear!: te 04 in fact, they did nothing more than dissert,obi? labourers, more than doctrines, for the inculcation of which Prtee'c)ilblif: had been established in Cambridge, Oxford, v ia es i,, ba a d gia sta n t t e d pn t iv P re e s s 1 : 6 1 and the other various universities ; and he w o° ti th e , was taught, which e w po hie in h t jiunstifitheed stchieenpereac7iii.cerieoftis andteach e A agriculturists,th i e -C tr o s r d n e r . i s sthhiLopsueeer o ors' d e al l' _ bet s: L i : f : re t tt „ De e gptar taught gmuhtutlgthtahet the people of which professorsbieite ogs, established h in the different universities. ', ttb of thet h a i d n concludew pa h nrg i fruits t e party ha nhotdfah det had aebe t da h ei tre a t n t hl a abpaccused they euuudr suei tical knowledgeop e not ateodbeeoseativiscfiitroin:efor results. They taught the peelli e e : rt it te ‘ 1 ,,, It was e t true u i e n d i it industry was ; o n p e e end r e q i be no pressing down of industry dwrusueh,feetsprmupterarioaonhnt;iyei,dun,;;Tteedi tthitaheehd;iiseAsye:treii,epleuesilleci;:i been taught that all-i m port bere 9 11 , 0a / ' (Cheers.) It was this conviction --a o° l l . sti° '. the whole bearings of the matter —0 „ l c-, 01 , rived at from a deep knowledge and a ' inat le o ol 1 -- n t t h h e at se t64l ,:i c o s i lle* the "one" question of the day, and there i t n o ill r to ° 3 They had witnessed many periods of di stre bt b e 'be sequence h of those restrictions, and he theog oo tila i sown quite enough to prove that ben , o l d t $1 1 0) the " one" question, and the more sow i' el. ti 0,0 one man in the possession of enorluetands sal for which he never toiled, whilst th en II t be hundreds of thousands, were broken (I° ‘ 's Al l beil inonopoly which enriched the others• ke ep t iot League asked was for the monopolists to , 0 hands. off the arms of the vvorking 111;sia,betrt was the " one" question ; and they wu_fr e lf Pi c a engaged in many election contests could i a.: 44 be to " hich st 0, from what they had seen, that it coil" - biatt e js stayed in its progre:,s. He would conclude t he 1 . 11/ 0 1 ,1 what must bring a gratifing conviction 0 10 ite o j ii e s o il m h e ea w re h r e s e , t a h n o d se .thatwho votedwas— tahvatiAnthsiititiol:er4l. yo th fe o ti se who exercised their influence, $1 11 " , the 0 1 1 instances, actually drove the electors ''''' ,ie r tings, would acknowledge that the " L t i etig als ° 11l right ; but, in saying so, he vr e lsts °IV that his only wish was that the mente.tion °it] ) tp li hr v ei e ure l e o i ng enough to blush for their opPesiotoa l ' t y s p t le o s f o t f he f i r r ee fe t i r iv ad n e „ , eo w u h u e t n ry t ru h e e n y' , v i v i , l erer eaP ing Ile w b o f e a n Tls, e , hhr fi eei t egch o u f ue said, t A ut w hmatakael l two uppaor parties :s, l closing ueun isiAtt:ReadAs I,faetiarpt names placed upon the registry ofthe Ci t Y - fOc e ' sl 4 .0 A would go to the Metropolitan Registrioula • - eo ,fie Cheapside, where Mr. Sidney Smit h W illa n " t Or them every information and facility tb i gi s nesi•tbe of registering themselves as electors. )-Attese / n t i c t e le n3th d eeP r i: o b li ,:l° o esl'her i: nouncement was, that the Managing Con l ' - „ o pOli s°. O r Anti-Corn-law League were no 01° " o elf e . 5 ' p et —the Conservative, as they styled thel o dil ) ( 06 some such other parties were about to li tiv a tbeiot/ af i c n o:rk t mei l l i tdr i hu s eii f t t h tnte e hee a xe t yt r o e fv ‘ , w, oet o ueh r led. someAwNauiot, Anti-Corn -law waive their othertuthrhueecrlpaldriebiLt 0 etoca c r e oh ) ort:o:os i t iti iti o tt: : : appoint them ; they were willing tiles , : op pOr ttl t 0° gentlemen should have time, place, a n n n os t l° f,b il because they (the League) were an" a f it. e g tv meeting would, therefore, stand Conservatives should make good Darned go- tit' day fortnight; but whatever fallacies lillg the f o lltos a dj b t 10.0 1 tered at the coming Conservative rneetilieeeeierli rest assured of it, the members and ,"„7 - ipi t o upon the evening to which this Anti-Corn-law League would hear '.... s lueetlug OP journed. The meeting then separated , a fter el, ivi* APj l • m llg hearty cheers for the repeal of the corn -16" free trade. .............................,/ v Of - ---- .'" ROYAL BOTANIC SO Cl°l r 01 0 41 3. LONDON. ,•bitioo,,tieovi On Tuesday took place the second exi' l t y, P`v i. ,tbi tf it and flowers in the grounds of this Se c-- bat n ecwi park, and it •is a pleasant duty to rerrvitialt 11 e to be o g ° could have possibly gone off better and b a ll ort ii, he The kthine m s h h eu o lsd w t im l n v a a tg s hni d is fi e cscoeerunvntetdr description,yl deservedly cknow 1 e sured g e li d s 0 , i a o ec ii 0 f w do to the opinion of judges, any former exh ibit Ls i were v o l ' hibit°ll i 3 ,r Amongst the principal amateur ex grs- ' i 3 ' f i. Mrs. Lawrence, Miss' Traill, gr• Antrobus, Mrs. Wray, of Cheltenham, nos, ;v,O e to Rucker • in the nurseryman's c lasses , 0 1 1 ,0 0 , Cattleugh, Henderson,and oth er " . ea c 1 Games, .,,„, bay s e a's ~,1.4, Nor were ; oi . attractive features of the show were ""- ill bor se air-plants of Mr. Rucker with the flower:njed he it . o o , shooting from the under s'ide of the sun, wa s 'i l 4 One of the most remarkable of this kin".oi, it 0 , 1'; plant of Mrs. Lawrenc Stanbopea tie ° . flo; c r ot l l, o or nine spikes of black and purple ga,,Pnin7inie'snont9istie sembling the mouth of some uncomuw?, in r JO collections of heaths, than a vegetable production. The roses in attracted the particular notice of the 11 gr• v ec tio e ,te and Mr. Storey, that of the latter beiugoill'sideri;iitovr, fifteen or twenty new kinds, and " s i c a rt. l ‘ip 'of a novelty in this department of floraLivera, itch sere them were very fine with yellow fl o v a i n ea, * b se ll, W o iti especially those of tiered 404 man's very large specimen of Ixora c cdnnired,,,,,oi hoe 40 large heads of flowers, was much a giss - 1 ,,ea.,,:i1l three collections from from Lady Antrobus,,,nd gl'tectle-0, Mr. Norman of miscellaneous store and pe.'br plants. There were besides some newlY t r. 11l e , ; 10 0 , from Messrs. Viesch and Son, of E 3e , e ecl f er ic e t lo, notice all the classes which were distlf•doersfuserho'fre tion in this extraordinary gathe ring ° 0 we re tit ~ not find room ; suffice it that gathering . ~,,,, rec ut not "01(1 cinerarias, exceedingly fine pelargculn' or, pansies, ferns, cacti, caleeolarias, &e• o t we e ', A, I V The weather, which until the pr s ee dy' te e i , D eer ; ' proached almost to inclemency, sod attract' r ti e propitious change, and displayed gardens'to such advantage as to cause . ; ftis biou_'',,tif, e o the iheni to ~bie .4 , with a company of the most elegant a! , " , w ho 0,1,;-0g t h e lity, amounting to several thoanuS Anpage,,g, mained until a late period of the evening.cob ! be p ty wore his Roal Highness the Duke _t o . os Vert ; be P oi CI Vels 23(l ' r bs l3l o 'C r quisDuchess u Ao3f.lSutherlandeshury, the and v ue the e s L o s i d t ie 0 v II , 5,,,,ge , 1, Winchester, Marchioness of Cornwa , . p o en, and Duchess of Victoria, the nishl s is, P I P the Earl of W e n 0 gian Ambassador, and Stanhope, Lady Hume Campbell, 147'nirforth' „ e se l 4 l or i in 1 3 ' Asly s , Love, the poly-phonist, is eug n i f ts t it the ee d, IA course f lectures and entertaiurneware reee l t b ese ef to Rooms, Bath. His performances . 8,, , , 01 _ ti d di e first appearance, about three w ec,!eit;ghter;ci Soda tions of astonishment and K eal e s I . T . 0 h ii been C-CP t : his - i°re evening since the rooms ay _ umbe r C co o o t0! doors. On Saturday last a large,;.__.,eo, w er 41 , 0 0 r parties, many of them from . a 1 1 "' tile onter:l-,o`e to return home without witness.mF nearly bp i ., y c - 00 , every seat having been occur : inn i n g; O ne 11! 9 1 g il 4 before the time announced for b:,., . _ ,o tpo n , 0 1 ,5 je has in consequence been induc...cte,f_enit;o: a tis a to to 0 ,, templated visit to Clifton and Ull I' e pr e su re r several more representations in Bathatha be ro o t t reef a J ae r oe the artistes of his class who have , ,_ _te tc and that his entertainments conbtittiosseas 0 .iii , parture. The local journals s _ appear ed 1 4 0 a fs 39 oo of the most gratifying kind, anct Y . la a n, ro use it decided originality. and Baron de I3utna, einbarliedo.)„,!:ls stago erth board the General Steam Naviti• The Earl and Countess if ° o f Sh.ee.trdo, re..oshir, Edward Banks, for Ostend. L a dies The Earl Fitzwilliam and the Fitzwilliara left town on lllondab for Pa"— au We Wa list fit atm Si, ..41