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

f p THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, JUNE 6, 1844. G-IttiN D WEEKLY 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, of 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 ANTI-CORN-LAW LEAGUE MEETING AT COVENT-GARDEN THEATRE. 'Mb usual weekly meeting of the members of the Anti-Corn-law League was held last evening at the Th-afre-royal, Caveat-garden. The doors were ~th 3.4? opened at save clock, and w ithi n fi ve m i nu t es af terwards the,„ catre was densely crowded in every part.. The attendance of ladies in the boxes was greatclorrian it has been on any late occasion. The pit aid galleiies were, as usual, devoted exclusively to the. accommodation of registered members of the Lea7ue. Shortly before the commencement of the proceed ingyGeeeral Briggs, the late free trade candidate f o r deter; ;accompanied by Mr. George Thompson, en tered the theatre. Both these gentlemen were loudly cheered. - At -half'pit seven George Wilson, Esq., the Chair mean o a f the League, took the chair, amidst the most vetiatiastic plaudits. Mr. Wilson, on entering the theatre, was accompanied by the Hon. Edward Bou verie, the newly-elected M.P. for Kilmarnock ; John Brigert, Eq., 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. Arriong those present we observed—George Wil son, Esq., in the ch a i r; th e E ar l of Radnor,- Hon. Edward Pleydell Bouverie, M.P. Richard Cobden, Esq:, M.P. Thomas Milner Gibson, Esq., M.P., John , 13rat, . Esq., M.P. ; Benjamin Smith, Xsq., M P..-- General Briggs, Colonel Tucker, 1)r. Cooke Taylor, Dr. Epps, George Thompson, I :se., Robert if. R. Moore, Esq., Provost Henderson (Paisley), Bailie Murray (ditto); Messrs. W. A. Wilkinson, P. A. Taylor, J. Booth, S. D. Driver, Stainton, Charles Tysal (Manchester), W. Thoenhorrow, H. Day, Wm. Lockett (Salford), John Ray (ditto),, - 1-1; Franklin, H. White, W. G. Gover, .Austin, Alex. C arru th ers (Macclesfield), J. ooulthard, 11..11. Stansfield (Leeds), T. E. Ward (Sheffield), J. Moir Ware, R. Palmer, J. P. Bur nard, J. Ridge, Press Pranger, W. P. Longdill, Win. Macmullen, Caddell, Eversley, Wm. Cunning ton (Deviates); W. Batte rwor th, F e l c h , Geesin, G.. A:danev (Ealing), T. Aldeney, P. Stuart (Liver pad), :Ow* - Horsley, W. D. Starling, W. M. Wraielen, Charles Marshall, &c. 'The CRAIRNIAN then advanced to the table and was received with cries of " Bravo, Wilson," and loud cheering whiCh lasted for some minutes. The whole house • ro.4e, and greeted the worthy Chairman with three liar three and one cheer more. After the audience had resumed their seats the cheering still coatin-ued 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 1,4 h ,- eeec. Silence having been in some degree re zatered, he proceeded, to address the meeting as fol lows :—" Ladies and Gentlemen,—You have lately had such a number of distinguished individuals oc cupying thiAhair and . 'presiding over your meeting, that ea:tint - Ale instrument in the cause of free trade, like m'yself, 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 wee k a ft er wee k h ave sup plied my place.—(Cheers.) But if we are to take all tor granted that the monopolists and the monopolist press have, lately 'been in the habit of stating from play to dre f er, itis not of much consequence who takes the poeleof presiding over our meetings for the short timeeWhich 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 th e vet - Y verge of dis Solution—its treasury is exhausted, its canditiateea have been defeated, and in every respect it is quite a different thing from what it formerly was —(Cleeers rind- dies of." No, no")—in short it is only tallied °fees a, thing of yesterday. N ow , a l t h oug h it mu ehe presumption to call in question the truth of assertions made by such great authori ties, Iconfestrthat,after a. careful inspection of our position, see no reason to believe that we have not geined leiroundaince I last had the pleasure of meet ing yoluin this place.-,—(flear and cheers.) It is true eve may - not have money sufficient in our treasurer's hands to carry on . the war aga i ns t th e monopo l y to i ts extinction, but we have more money in hand now than 41 - the proteetion - soCieties have received, or will receivc,..' for the 'next twelve months to Qome.— (Cheers.) We may not have carried every election in every , county and in every close borough, but yet we caw bring abundant evidence to show that when ever an election - has been lost it has been attended with uca tesultsuch traces have been left, such in fluence 3 hare been set to work as must produce fruit, secure to its the victory- at the next election.-- eers.) SoutleLancashire is no exception.--(Loud cheers.)' At the:-first contest for that county, in the year 1.837, which was a p ar ty , e l ec ti on , t wo mono polists wre returned to Parli amen t. At th e genera l electioevfn 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 Annuity is divided into ten polling districts. In six, of those districts we have now a r.nejority.—(Cheers.) At the general election In 137 we ha.d e enly a majority in two diltricts out of these six. In 1837 in those districts the Liberal candidate was defeated by a majority of 200 votes; at the ldat election in those six polling districts we had a majority of 800 on the poll, showing a change of apirnon to the extent of 1,000 registered electors in those diAriete as 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 egrictiltirral district, which 'is quite out of the in flueneO of trade or . manufactures - in the Ormskirk 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 wore 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 protectimi 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 better than the light—they dreaded the light because their deeds were evil.—(Loud cheers.) But there was another measure which to a certain extent tested the sympathy of the House of Commons 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 for the wants of the labouring classes, and voting 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 (Ch 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 coin - gelled 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 elassei—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 du - ties 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 some 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 currantexpencliture—(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 froth 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.—(Hear, hear.) He would not say that the change would be productive of no good, but still there was_ a duty of 10s. per cwt., or a • tax of 2,000,0001., to be levied on the people of this coun try, nut 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 ;hose countries where labonr 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; but 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 people 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 eiisted.— , (Cheers.) He was surprised the Protection Society did not make use of this as an argument in favour of the pr o t ec ti on — t h at t h e repea l o f t h e corn -l aws wou ld lie followed by a great increase of slave-grown corn from "-Russia..—(Hear' hear.) Slavery was an evil which prod uce d a degradation in morals amongst the people subject to its influen ce , and he was sum that most of the c oun t r i es with which they carried on commercial transactions were in a degraded moral condition. If they wanted to make inquiries of this kind; thee was a country at no great distance from them on the other side of the Channel—(Loud , c hesi-e),---to which they should direct their attention. There was a, country with a large industrious popula tion, who, by all accounts, were in a very degraded physical and . moral condition. He was reading a book written by a most intelligent traveller, wh o 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 . . .listri3t alone haVe they increased their majority, and in that district the voters have notchanged their °pi llions,- they have changed their owners.—(Hear, hear.) The protterty which qualifies them to vote, and which was f6,rnaerly 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 Lilier - .41 voted at the late election for a Monopolist- 7 (Ilear;.hear, and cries- o f - " shame shame.") So corn ))lctoly are these people un d er the domination of their :landlord, that if the - steward had gone to the return ing olaic-er and.fol4 him to write off th e names o f th e tt , nants Without goiug through the farce of an elec tion, the thing could not have been more completely managed. Bat let - us turn from South Lancashire to Kilmarnocir.—(t;heers.) What do • the monopolists sly to liiilmarno(k,?—(llear.-) It is true that the Lca.lari- lost by tkath one"of. its oldest and staunchest ) . 4•ters in the late Member for Kilmarnock.- 4 - hear.) in the House of Commons, Mr. -6r:ly. vote. as Mr. Johnstone voted But in 1841, Mr. Johnstone, tit ~H:= _ . . ..r , ...!.! trade .entdidate, was returned, after a severe contest, hv a majority of eleven votes. At this lait -- 'ior there were two free trade candidates in the ;:and the monopolist hoped to slip in between _.,- 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 al•frled to Mr. Bouverie's majority, to show the elran4e of oviuiOn•which had taken place among the electors of Kilmarnock on.the subject of free track; sine,' - I.B4l.—(Cheers.) I might, go over other grould3. -to sh,w the progress which we have made. We iviti!cd the. eleciion for South Lancashire in ordt-r. to know.' the strength which -we shall be Lb. le 'to put forth at the next general election. IVe 1 ha% e torn . do n . the monopolist.. flag in S. - polling districts out of ten—(Cheers)-114 hax.eirovered the nfonopeliit flag in the the three re rna uung (I.l4Kicts i and I have no doubt whatever but tha . t at tltc next geaeratelection we shall be in a con dition:to clear . tlit', , -- deck.; and to return two free-traders t.) l'ehliainc.,ut-,--(L'heers.) - Let the monopolists re -,_re tle:r v!ct,..'s. Let them boast of our de `. fheol -.tari of Exeter and Salisbury - , and ar2,lE,oath Lancashire. Our reply is N0t :..1 Durhatn:-.7(Cheets)—and Kilmarnock ' er, lal, aio -.-flinu g h 'last not last, London--:- - _ ,. .. - .) , vbieh 'i fnol'e than a receipt in full . .1..1...,:1ni,, v. 451 t the trionopolists may have on —(C:'e:.rB.) 'T Thereare other prGors of s (T free trade doctrines to which I will . ,•:' i. it lernorinls , have been presented from JO c..1-;.ll:St:tileneks tD, their representatives, solicit. ,g Cti c i is to s;; - i )loi't the total and immediate repeal of the earn-Jaw:4, and to vote for Mr. 'Villiers' motion oir iliat subject.—(Cheers.) These memorials have t not - tc'erl f.;ot up with a view • of awing Mem bers' 7 iThey ':>-•, ii`P - ul-d as a respectful, but most ':)i - - `-' - earnest request on the part of the• constituencies to to thel:: - .l\4z.inher.s. \sit - bout reference to party, to .6pp'Ort Mr: Villieirs-l—snotion in 4lte fuse of ColP ni.on4.'''heeds is ot3e,of :the places from which a me. morrarbtie'beenleansmitted; In .1841, at the general elec(ithi, Leee had returned one, with the _anono- Polist."O r K head of the poll. The monopolist on that occasion - pelted 2,076 votes. Now, the cf_mstituency iii.ve presented ,a, memorial to hint and to his col lengue, - prayipg-thetri to vote in support of Mr. Villlers' laofion.. ,; Tbat petition was signed by 2,7 00 voters,,fq,jot' einactual majority of all the registered selectors ofd? 1, and 720 MOM, than • was - polled by the liglicYreandidata at . the last general . electi:m. 1 flight "refer ::to .many other places wlere tl:c chmigt; 'cif opinion in favour of free trade 'APlTVlWlttilitivy._ I. will allude to the Falkirk 47"7,- 2 ~ o , eel Voter's of which amount. to _ 0..a.:..4..,,,4tive fine a . memorial to the . ir iriaiviie.iiit'ei'-ila` t i - 4 g ( null to vote,.ynth:lN,lr. VII '?: 1 . 4 ..t.44.i i ..„. bi4 - N .. , -e hltkeix._g, ftr ward his / cr ~ - 'v''':: '7' 11, 2" :.j Great' T ar,tntiutfl . ;:in Brad: ..,.,.,,_. . .. --...-1...1. Idersfield, arra Iri man other k1:i2, , ,:4 - ,: 7 10,6:1;A..if:..:4ti" have been obtained.—(Cheers.) el field, them pa, fe 11 .1 (11, tic bri: 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 stack 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, he 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. )Jr. 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 oisilk, 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.) Me. M. Gisscea, 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 Assoliation and those meetings did not spring from any sudien 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 riot 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—t(Cheers)—and he knew of no higher object for which 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 smallest 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 Toryf; 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. He 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 ifig 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 ob 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.) ,Thera was a growing suspicion that they had not Wen 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 ,p:sed.—(Hear, hear.) He 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 oder 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 !'fiat 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 tEe 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 L there was amongst the far:ners 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. He 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 sort 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, hear.) 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, hear.) 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 obtain 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 doso. 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. —(Fear, 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 be taken.—(Hear, hear.) lie did feel that they had not sufficiently considered the corn -law question as a question of civil liberty.—(Hear, hear.) He con tended that as they had abolished slavery in their colofiies—as they had totally abolished the right of 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 thepor tiodnui3otfryof communityot he iatiinwing a property in the io of the community— one set of men claiming a right to co n t ro l th e ac ti ons and to possess themselves of the resu lt o f th e another portion exertions of another set of men. And was not mono poly the same thing ?—(Hear, hear.) If they had destroyed slavery they were bound to destroy mono poly.—(Cheers.) Slavery recognised an inherent the muscles, s recognised a andright the in body one m of a a n o to ot hpossesse t h e e o Ina d w , sort o f inherent right in the landed aristocracy of this country to possess the reward of the industry of other (Hear, h ear .) They wer e preciselyclasses of principle. Of w h a t use was it the the same in community.—(Hear, Y 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 which he believed actuated many supporters of the corn- laws ; he believed they were actuate I 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 turipg establishments• the adjuncts of the State."— (Langhter.) 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 iS 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 !—(Bear, 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 equal laws for all classes of 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 considered as men dealing not with lands and in animate substances, but with human beings, who de manded of them the discharge of the true functions of civil government ?—(Hear s 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 philosophy upon the duties of Governors and the functions of Government, while practical legislators sat in Parliament without ever thinking of their duty to their fellow-subjects, but considering only how it could make particular spots upon the earth s surface return a large revenue to their proprietors. The: corn-law question lay in a very small compass.—(Hear.) He had heard of learned divines, skilled n the philosophy of. the ancients, acquainted with mathematics, and capable, of writing in the dead lang uages , declare that the'corn-laW was so difficult, so complicated, and so intricate, that they were really unable to approach it—they could 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. He believed there never was anything so absurd as the views entertained upon that subject. What became of all the threats and grand denunciations in Parliament against the Anti- Corn-law League ? Why they had agitating and forcing as had been given by the pre- ! sent Minister of the. Crown to the Opposition. A 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 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. Moon's then came forward t I address the meeting, and said he came before them instead of Josiah Hunt, a tenant-farmer. 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. He 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 be 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 ?"—(Rear, 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—aye 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 ; they 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 : " died upon the lip Faint as a chicken's note that h a s the pip." —(Laughter.) No Member of the House of Ccm 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 from 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 what 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 thinx 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 loved land of theirs, at some 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. He 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 chili culty.—(Cheers.) They had all natural advantages, and Providence had, he fully believed, provided the means of comfortable sub e sistence 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 t o 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 inonaichs 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 wa s 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 and 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 they said in Ireland—in hiS advertisement s , when he wanted t o sell an estate, said " th e 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 w ith 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."—(Cheeri and laughter.) He (Mr. Gibson) believed that the Right . Hon. Gentleman congratu lated himself,but it must.not b3mentioned in publi c _ (Laughter)—on the progress of the Anti-Corn-law Leaoue.—(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 .h:s friends not to adopt the- job.— (Cheers.) Ire 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 of direct invitations to greater freedom of trade in the adt oission of Co' that time no large party in the Ho asef agreed in views, and no association existed in -the country for.ate; purpose of "thlvancing them. The question is now %ea very different position ; ewe Govern rent, having W oo a law which is in ;iv ()Pinion very indlifficient to ro the evils which were beforc co m p lained of, seem 31° a, ' 10 l termined to go no furti.er • the party calling then's' no the League declare that they' will be satisfied with other measure than an immediate mid entire aboliti: all duty. Their mode or proceedinil., which has ,Pethe oneral msiderati useful in leading to more o f the e question, has not apparently won ;t he gupporto n manufacturing and commercial classes, since their • D ot in South Lancashire seems to show even in that district any great c( eifidencc in their 2,: ne i posed measure. I think that by their mode a dicta' to the country this one measure, to. be at once ado, that there is as the criterion of political wisdom, and at the sofa time denying to ~their opponents common sense .1 1 common integrity, they have injured the cause, A i " to therefore do not support a plan which ',seems unith e 'los lead to any settlement of the question. My own . er I can hardly be fully stated in a letter, bu t when eat come to Totnes, if any of my constituents , wish ' e "- them at more length I shall be happy to state the m " " I am, your ob....client servant, " SEYMOse, Lord Seymour was in favour of some con-W:l°l,f and seemed to think the conntry were in faO u n i o f something less than the total and immediate re p ea the corn-laws, but where was the ev idence -- i t slightest symptom of such a disposition? Surel4o had not been evinced in South Lancashire.W`bo, was the disposition in favour of a .6/red duty? would go Lancashire, they worild., instead of It, ing any demonstrations of triumph, see those I.e;e, mers bitterly lamenting the succesa of Mr. Entw ls . o ," although they had been driven to su pport 1 1 1 . 10 If Lord Seymour imagined there was anything . 1 , 4 a compromise, he knew . but little of the fell% which pervaded the country, The labourers, 1 that farmers, and all the agriculturists knew were taken care of quite long enough; at. if that nth ble Lord looked over the poll-books of tile las t S° oB w ith 8 Lancashire election he would be impress. -d conviction that they were well aware that Le i , a n gu rye was alone influenced by conviction in the c ,`"" t be they had adopted. His Lordship had stated th at b° Anti-Corn-law party had created a giant powe l. A in' said they had raised up a giant means of sPr ea- 1,;(1 knowledge on the subject. He (Mr. Moore) 14° " - d i assert that what the League did was to tes „t the people that it was their interest to allo t the principles of free trade, and had provela,p4 them the truth of this fact from the Frea)... writers upon political econcmy—(Hear, he3rl t"° in fact, they did nothing more than disseminate 5 doctrines, for the inculcation of which professoreul.rn had been established in Cambridge, Oxford, ?: and the other various universities ; and he vvould,. was there any one point in the science which th professors taught, which justiLied the practice of la r, nopoly ? The Anti-Corn-law League did nothts,lb more than teach the traders, shipowners, mer e , h b rfot labourers, and agriculturists, those same V A - beef' the promulgation of which professors.hiP s "".." go. The Le a nt , established in the different universities. had taught the people not to be satisfied w it ,. ll „ 3 r - c• thing but the knowledge and conviction 01 r": 0 (1 tical results. They taught the people to set a ll conclude that they were entitled to g et d the which the earth produced, provided they re ndere fruits of their labour in return. The Anti -Cor! party had been accused of making this one questiif o f It was true it was one question, because the Pt 01: England had been taught that all-imporian t w ig; l a " Protect industry ; perish party"—that 6.ler e be no pressing down of industry in the soda ) (Cheers.) It was this conviction—a convio:`°:,;„ rived at from a deep knowledge and appliou t c plis the whole bearings of the matter—which 1 115 the "one" question of the day, and there it no si 'ef They had witnessed many periods of distress jo sequence of those restrictions, and he thought h i e 's be shown quite enough to prove that this 7sh° ll ' - 4 .0 1 1 the " one" question, and the more so when th e y one man in the possession of enormous we'd for which he never toiled, whilst thousan ds/ the hundreds of thousands, were broken down 13 , 1 5 r 0 36 monopoly which enriched the others. t h e ir League asked was for the monopolists to ke e p frbO hands off the arms of the working num' was the " one" question ; and they who ba d pr t, engaged in many election contests could safely 0,5 from what they had seen, that it could not be long stayed in its progress. He would conclude by stab Oa ; what must bring a gratifying conviction to the 'l' 01 of his' hearers, and that was—that the time w e 1 ,3 yet come when those who voted against the those who exercised their influence, and who , in has, instances, actually drove the electors to the tings, would acknowledge that the Leag ue 's ag right ; but, in saying so, he would al so !lit that his only wish was that the monopolists 0117.1,6 live long enough to blush for their opposition te j t h principles of free trade, when they, in common ir e the rest of their fellow-countrymen were reapi n g • benefit of it. , be The CLUBMAN said, upon closing the meeteV was requested to make two announcements—tri e t beif of which was, that all parties entitled to hav e n d o e names placed upon the registry of the City of L c) " 68, would go to the Metropolitan Registry-efl ice 'fford Cheapside, where Mr. Sidney Smith would o se theta every information and facility for the Purtroa• of registering themselves as electors. His 0 ' 5 40 0 nouncement was, that the Managing Committee Anti-Corn-law League were no monopolist'•et ves, —the Conservative, as they styled therase'l jog some such other parties, were about to have i t (Ole in this theatre, or some other Owe, and s'`, ° ' were Committee of the Anti-Corn-law Leagrie)eisioo asked if they would waive their right of P c ' s ' to cll s ' for the next week. Now, they did not Wish",otife appoint them ; they were willing those Col ls ` tan io gentlemen should have time, place, and oPP °r ,_, t th e because they (the League) were anxious tul Conservatives should make good use of i t 'i th l4 meeting would, therefore, stand adjourned O w nt day fortnight ; but whatever fallacies mig ht , rig,, 14 tered at the coming Conservative meeting, the y o f ttiv rest assured of it, the members and audien ce oer ej Anti-Corn-law League would hear fully sto3noci upon the evening to which this meeting journe The d. 0 . thr ee meeting then separated, after g i v in, tiod for hearty cheers for the repeal of the corn-laws, free trade. ,scewa.as.ars. - ..w.exonssraaa2ers-aw... 0 ROYAL BOTANIC SOCIET Y LONDON. ritl On Tuesday took place the second exhibitionolg.Vnin: and flowers in the grounds of this Society, park, and it is a pleasant d u ty to report that e c of could have possibly gone off better and with 01° t° be 0 . 1 l ne The show was deservedly acknowledged by 31 o t be the most magnificent description, surpassing , - it to the opinion of jud g e s , any f o rmer exhib ition ,lf kind held in this country. ere . tti Amongst the principal amateur exhibitor s ss. .g A -rl ir , Antrobus, Mrs. Wray, of Cheltenham, W s ' an d Mrs. Lawrence, Miss Tr a il, Mr. Noonan, gess ; ri Rucker ; in the nurseryman's classes were , e 00s 5 n os Cattleugh, Henderson, Games, and others. a cur se s attractive features of the show were the gaY f i „ n orn e 0 0, air-plants of Mr. Rueker, wi s h the flowers in ' d ba sl‘Co shooting from the under s id e o f the suspen 3.° t he fr i l l ; One of the most remarkable of this kind was jot plant of Mrs. Lawrence—Stanhopea 10 0* b y e ( or nine spikes of black and purple gaping ,f l° 4 ro t l s o sembling the mouth of some uncommon ano°' - no ts a e than a_vegetable p ro duction. The roses i° 0 11 0 4 attracted the particular notice of the visitorsCoodhe of collections of heaths, especially those of Mr. ll eot ion ite and Mr. Storey, that of the latter being a e iluof fifteen or twenty new kinds, and was considermotror, a novelty in this department of floral a rt. „ v i r . - 144 o f them were very fine with yellow flowers. s°oo man's very large specimen of Ixora coccinea, ," 0 W itt l 40 large heads of flowers, was much admire(oill, three collections, from Lady Antrobus, 3fiss ree nV. r do Mr. Norman of miscellaneous store and g rte cl I ' l 'to plants. There were besides some n ewly-WV/ 0 fin e l i i , from Messrs. Viesch and Son ,. of Exeter., for e X I I IO , notice all the classes which were displaYea 0 410 e i t o tion in this extraordinary gathering of flowe r fos cb 0 , oe r not find room ; suffice it that there wer co t cinerarias, exceedingly fine pelargoniums, a apt pansies, ferns, cacti, calceolarias, &C. h g 0° ee The weather, which until the present w ool e t he proached almost to inclemency, suddenlY ion s °' o , ll propitious change, and displayed the attrita._ til l e gardens to such advantage as to cause theTitouoshie O re , with a company of the most elegant and far o r nost l Y t heo lity, amounting to several thousands, Am ong t fie mained until a late period of the evening • were his Royal Highness the Duke of • r, t he ~0 1 03 Duchess of Sutherland and the Ladies Gcr' e A, t he J j ' l3 ol quis of Aylesbury, the Duchess of Clevenr%onne.cor and Duchess of Victoria, the Bishops F,p Winchester, Marchioness of Corn w allis, j-fo"bl, the Stanhope, Lady Hume Campbell , L ad y PF o rt h. gian Ambassador, and the Earl of wentiv ---- --------=-----2 til en iy Love, the polyphonist, is engaged in Pr es m se lo , l o course of lectures and entertainments at tli ea, 0 6, Rooms, Bath. Ills performances were reee!c, o,claol_rsi first appearance, about three weeks age, 0 1 " la nd eic h l e tions of astonishment and peals of laughter', A tO le evening since the rooms have been crewcifee'shiooll.ll,e'il doors. On Saturday last a large number of ; _,,,,pei 1 :, 5 , parties, many of them from :distance, of; .c`i,raeo`.r to return home without witnessing. the onto: ita0,1,0,,e every seat having been occupied nearly half Leon, before the time announced fur beg,innin; a il " bill oive .00stpen , .41 v..,.. has in consequence been induced to templated visit to Clifton and Cheltenhrir, all a t ; his 711 several more representations in Bath previosufoasf-4.0, parture. The local journals say that he . ±' o r ti r tiv o o the artistes of his class who have appeared 1 % 0 rer t ,f and that his entertainments constitute a r t r lte 1 01 l of the most gratifying kind, and posse" lit " Spring girdens Friday decided originality. A ftg lii i3O " Sir--I have received you letter - With the inclosed . The Earl and Countess of sheA an ~ ~ ffieltt 0300.10 bit memorial. With regard to the question of the corn. and Baron de Butna, embarked, yterde,:mrshiP, laws it may be remembered that in 1834 when I first board the General Steam Navigations st e— 'tb addressed the electors of Totnes,' I told' or opinions were in favour them that my Edward Banks for Ostend. of an alteration of the corn. laws, The Earl Fitzwilliam and the Las IVO° and I should vote for any motion tending towards Fitzwa liam 14 to" 911 241912C1gY' ("1"ili".. 1 I '< 4..., I) t ke