The Sun. — London, England, 1839-01-29 00:00:00

RURAL POLICE. We find the following letter to the Early of Derby, Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire, in the Lancaster Gazette of Satur day " Whitehall, 11th 'January, 1839. My Loan—l wish to call the attention of your Lordship and of the magistrates of the county of Lancaster to the state of the constabulary force in that county. " The number and efficiency of the regular constables in many large towns, inspire no confidence, and upon the slightest apprehension of tumult the magistrates are induced to swear in special constables, and likewise to call in the aid of troops. The former measure is often inefficacious, the special consta bles having no method or discipline, and being often either unwilling to undertake their duties or timid in the perfor mance of them. The latter expedient is one which is objec tionable on many accounts ; it has the appearance of govern ing by military force; it harasses the troops, and often puts the discretion and temper both of officers and men to the most severe trials. I enclose some extracts from letters of the Lieutenant-General commanding the northern district, in cor roboration of this opinion. " The Acts of Parliament by which any additional civil force can be procured, are the 3d and 4th William IV., cap. 90, entitled An Act to repeal an act of the eleventh year of his late Msjesty King George the Fourth, for the lighting and watching of parishes in England and Wales, and to make other provisions in lieu thereof,' by which the rate payers can tax themselves for the purpose of watching. The act Ist and 2d William IV., cap. 41, (amended by the sth and 6th William IV., cap. 431, entitled, An Act for amending the laws relative to the appointment of special constables, and for the better preservation of the peace,' by virtue of which, on apprehension of felony, or breech of the peace, special constables, may be sworn in, and paid out of the county rate. " For carrying into effect the provisions of this last men tioned Act the magistrates might obtain assistance from the metropolitan police, or from the police of any corporate town in the neighbourhood. " But it appears to me that, both for the ordinary adminis tration of justice, and for the extraordinary occasions when the peace of a district is threatened, it is most desirable to form and maintain an efficient constabulary force, which may be placed under the direction of the magistrates, and kept in a constant state of discipline. Such a body might, according to the wants of the county, be distributed over many districts, or concentrated so as to meet a special emergency. " Should such a body be formed in the county of Lancaster for example, it appears to me that its formation and govern ment should be confided to the magistrates of the county, but that it should undergo a regular yearly inspection, as the yeomanry corps now do. But before I enter into any de tails, I should be glad to learn from your Lordship whether the general proposition would meet with the concurrence of the o-'agistrates. " I have the honour to be, my Lord, your Lordship's obe dient servant, " J. RUSSELL." " To the Earl of Derby, &G., &c." EGYPT. (FROM A CORRESPONDENT.) ' ALEXANDRIA, DEC. 31,—A great number of events have taken place in this country of late, showing what progress is leaking in practical and substantial improvement. On the 3d of this month a steamer built at Boulag (the port of Cairo), Was launched on the Nile, and is intended to ply on the river. Th e shipwright was Mohamet Effendi—the engines arc made in England. Ibrahim Pacha has sent to the West Indies in el-der to ob tain the best assistance for the cultivation of the Sugar Cane, Which has become of late an article of great importance in Jamaica, Two Englishmen has in consequence arrived from "an' 4 iee, and are gone to the Pacha's sugar grounds at Rada 'noun, while another Englishman, an horticulturist, is de 'patched to the Brazils, in order to bring home specimens of the Sugar Cane, and to report on the vegetable productions of South A mer ica, which may advantageously be introduced into Egypt. The Pacha, who arrived at Cartoon, at the confluence of the Blue and White Niles, on the 26th of Novemher, has de termined to despatch an English surveyor up the White Nile, in order to follow the river to its source. Thus one of the most interesting of geographical problems will probably be solved under the auspices of Mahomet Ali. The Pacha himself was proceeding to the Fazoqlow gold Ines, which are in latitude 10 40 N., and longitude 35 E,. b t out forty m il e s to the south of the Blue Nile. The Pacha much a t heart to re-establish the trade which formerly ex isd between Nigritia and Egypt, and is endeavouri n g to come t r ° seine understanding with the negro tribes for the regular de spatch of caravans. He will probably return to Cairo by the end of February. ABOLITION OF THE CORN-LAWS. At a public meeting of the inhabitants of Great Yarmouth, held at the Town Hall on Thursday evening last, Simon Cobb, Esq., Mayor, in the Chair; the following petition was carried by a show of hands, with two dissentients only : " To the Honourable the Commons, &c., the humble Petition of the Inhabitants, &c. " Siseweth—That your petitioners are convinced that any legislative enactments controlling free trade are founded on erroneous principles, 'lnasmuch as they tend to limit the resources, contract the energies, waste the capital, and destroy the general prosperity of the industrious inhabi tants of this kingdom. 6 ` That all taxes on the necessaries of life are unjust and impolitic, jarticularly the tax on bread, produced by the Corn-laws, as it creates a monopoly of the worst description, operating alike injuriously on the moral and physical characters of the poorer classes and on the general prosperity of Great Britain. " Your petitioners therefore most humbly, yet most earnestly, entreat lour Honourable House to repeal all those enactments which impose a duty upon corn imported into this country, and by so doing, to confer upon the community at large the blessing of a free trade in the first Inecessary of life. " And your petitioners will ever pray." The• Meeting was most numerously and respectably attended, nerrly 'AO persons being present, amongst whom were many of the leading k erchants and shipowners of the town. The resolutions were moved 4 .4 seconded by Messrs. David Abraham Courlay, John Cufaude, 4 °Seph Bayly, and Benjamin Cobb; and the petition founded on them 'as moved by Captain Love, and seconded by Mr. E. N. Clowes. The t Wo dissentients are Tories, and highly respectable timber.merchants, "h 0 probably foresee in this agitation the forerunner of what must in. "itably follow with regard to all monopolies, and tremble for the fate of C anadian timber, in which they are extensive dealers. This article is Protected by a heavy duty levied upon timber imported from the Baltic; th us We are compelled to send 3,000 miles for what we could get within I . °o o, of better quality and at a less price. THEATRE ROYAL, COVENT- GARDEN. TO THE EDITOR OF TILE MORNING ADVERTISER. St R,—You will much oblige me by permitting me to rectify some ril ts..:tatements which appeared in a Sunday paper, relating to Covent- Rarden Theatre and myself, and calculated to have a very prejudicial effect. I am charged with an indecorous want of attention on the occasion of her majesty's late private visit to this Theatre. Having received, last season, from the proper authorities, an intimation of her Ma jesty's desire that no ceremony should be observed on such occasion, and that no attendance, beyond that of the ordinary servants of the Theatre, should be given, I thought I best performed my duty to her Majesty by i mplicit obedience to her commands. May I trespasi further on your indulgence to state, that the assertion r especting my engagement in the United States is made without the shadow of foundation ; and that the circumstances of my contract for this Theatre are also misrepresented.—l remain, Sir, your very obedient Servant. Jan. 28, 1839. W. C. MACREADY. [We have great pleasure in inserting this letter. The English pub lic cannot spare Macready, either as an actor or a manages. It is a 'disgrace to the English public that he has been so feebly supported as h e has, in his great and classical undertaking.—Editor of the Morning -40vertiser.) OXFORD-STREET EXPERIMENTAL PAVING.- On Si ittarday at the usual meeting of the Marylebone Vestry, Mr. Jack son broueht before the notice of the Board the situation in which the Public were' placed with respect to certain portions of the experimental Paving which had been laid down in Oxford-street, and wished to know if any steps had been taken towards repairing it, or at once removing such portions as had already shown themselves to be a decided failure. The portion he more particularly alluded to was that of the Parisian bitumen laid down at the commencement of the experiment at Charles. street. The asphalte altogether appeared to be a failure, but the expe 'iment at the commencement had attained a most deplorable state of c alapidation ; in fact, it had worked in holes at various parts to such an extent, that omnibuses and other vehicles passing over it, from the ex_ tesoive jerking it caused, ran the risk of snapping their springs, and e ndangering the lives of the public. He thought, therefore, that some eastires ought to be adopted by the Vestry with respect to it. Mr. 'caice.• (the surveyor) observed that he did not conceive the road at pre sent in a dangerous state. Mr. Jackson conceived quite the contrary. . Mr. Kennett said that Mr. Robinson, the projector of the first exp,ri ment, .had admitted ir. was a failure, but had been to the Vestry to get permission to repair it, as lie alleged that some of the other projectors had done so. .After some further discussion, the surveyor was directed to write to the v a .rious projectors, forbidding any of the experiments to be touched again ; and it was agreed that the Committee should take proper steps to reme,ly the evil complained of. TRAGICAL OCCURRENCE AT BATH.-BATH, • 'JAN. 0 6.—The city of . Bath was yesterday and this day thrown into a state of consternation st Nom witnessed by a tragic scene, fortunately not often heard of in England. Early,yesterday morning the alarming intelligence was spread tha, Mrs. Tugwell, wife to the senior partner of the Bath Bank, ha d po i son ed her children, and committed suicide. The deceased Mrs. Tugwell, win,' was about thirty-one years old, about twelvemonths since, at her confiCement. suffered much from an at_ back of milk fever, and, as we undet.`tand, had never since heen per. fectly sane. On Thursday last she ca.me from her residence, No. 1, Whitcombe-crescent, with her husband at.'d children into oath, where, after proceeding to make purchases in vasious shops, she was seen walking along the bank of the canal, act.aimpanied by her chi!. dren, as late as three o'clock in the afte.""on she then, it appears, returned home, and desiring the butler to her a decanter of sherry, took her children into a summer-house in t:.'e garden, saying she was going to give them a treat. Having proceeded th.'oe, she mixed some prussic acid with the wine, which she administere d to the whole of the three children, and then took sonic herself. Fortunately, the boy, 1 0 years of age, did not like the taste of the wine, and drank only _e h a small portion, which, as he says, caused him to sleep, and upon awa keni N 7, found his mother sitting apparently asleep, with his two brothers, ho were twins of eight years of age, the one bing at her feet, and the oti, eT across her breast. Finding himself very ill, and having in vain trim to awaken her, he rushed to the door, which he found was locked, but at length lie succeeded in alarming the house. when the servants found their mistress and the children dead. No cause can be assigned for this mclancholy act, but the lady must have been for some considerable time meditating upon it, as she had procured several bot tles of prussic acid, and hail taken the precaution to destroy the labels. A portion of one of the labels remained, which, from its dirty state, indicated that it had been some time in the house. Mr. Tugwell being in Bath, the coachman proceeded to inform him of the intlan choly fate of his wife and children, a shock which nearly overcame him, having only two days before buried his f they, and his friend, Mr. Davis, druggist, having p o i sone d hi mse lf l ate i n t h e t act w , e k . A n inquest has been held on the bottles, and the jury have returned a verdict of insanity. B I RAI INGHAM. (YESTERDAY.) GREAT ANTI-CORN-LAW MEETING AND THE CHARTISTS. (FROM OUR OWN REPORTERS.) A resolution having been passed at a meeting of the Town Council, held on Monday, the 15th instant, recommending a public meeting to be held for the purpose of taking into consi deration th propriety of petitioning Parliament for the repeal of the Corn and Provision-laws, a requisition, most nume rously and respectably signed, including men of all shades of political opinion, was addressed to the Mayor, William Schole field, Ecq., who appointed yesterday for holding the meeting, in the Town Hall. The proceedings excited much interest, in consequence of the Chartist patty having, on a former occasion, defeated an attempt to get up a petition on the subject; and, it basing been understood that they would muster in great strength on the pre sent occasion, for the purpose of moving an amendment in fa vour of the People's Charter and Universal Suffrage. At one o'clock the (hors of the hall were thrown open, and the immense crowds who were outside ruched in so rapidly that in a very short time the body of the hall presented one mass of human beings. tremendims shouts were immediately raised for Universal Suffrage and the People's Charter, which were responded to from various remote parts of the building, 5 , 2 v eral females who were in the galleries exhibiting "national rent'' tin boxes, which they rattled with great vehemence. At, a quarter to two o'clock there was not a spot unoccupied of the vast area of the hall and galleries, which we calculated to contain about 8,000 persons. The great bulk of those in the body of the hall appeared to belong to the Universal Suf frage party, and evinced very frequent and noisy manifesta tions of approbation and disapprobation as those gentlemen who were known to be favourable or adverse to their opinions, presented themselves on the - platform. Among the gentle men present, we observed—Joshua Scholefield; Esq., M. P. ; Alderman Hadley, Alderman Muntz, Alderman Betts. Reverend J. Abbots, Reverend T. M. M'Donnell, Mr. W. James, Mr. J. Sturge, Mr. Ryland, Mr. W. Red fearn, Town.clerk, Mr. Mark Perkins, Mr. John Rodway, Mr. R. H. Douglas, of the Birmingham Journal, Mr. G. Edmunds, Mr. Um. Morgan, Mr. T. C. Salt, Mr. S. A. Goddard, Mr. E. Sturge, Mr. T. E. Lee, Mr. Boultbee, Mr. S. Beale, Mr. Martineau, Mr. R. Harris, Mr. R. Webb, Mr. C. C. Scholcfield, Mr. C. Shaw, Mr. James Room, Mr. Francis Room, &c. &c. At two o'clock the Mayor, WM. SCHOLEFIELD, Esq., entered the Hall, and was received with loud and general cheering. Having taken the Chair, he said—Fellow-townsmen, in as suming the chair on this important occasion, it is not my pur pose to detain you by any lengthened observations of my own. ( Hear, hear, and uproar.) First of all, because lam by no means sure that you require any detailed arguments to con vince you of the impolicy and the injustice of the Corn-laws; and, secondly, because, if such arguments be needed, they will be addressed to you with much more effect, with more ability, and with much greater success, by many of the gen tlemen by whom I ant surrounded.—( Cheers and interrup tion.) What may be the course, my feliow-townsmen, which this momentous discussion under your guidance may this day take, it is not for me to say. I know not whether you coincide with, or disagree from the opinions of the immedia.e promoters of the nit sting —( Interruption.) I don't mean by these re marks to imply that lem by any means indifferent to the results of this meeting—in that result I, for one, feel a deep anxiety and a warm and sincere interest. Gentlemen, I can not see our commerce and manufactures leaving the shores of this country for lands more highly favoured, without deep alarm, and an earnest conviction that not a day should be lost in cur endeavours to rid ourselves of the fruitful source of so much present and prospective misery.—( Cheers, groans and hisses.) You cannot but remember, my fellow-townsmen, that if you pay but ss. a quarter more for grain than you ought to do—and you often pay five, six, or seven times more than ss. a quarter—hut if you only pay ss. more a quarter in consequence of the Corn-laws, you pay on the whole a tax wrung from the industry of the people, of twelve millions sterling a year. You cannot remember this astound ing fact without feeling that every hour these laws are per mitted to stain the statute book, they entail upon us a natio nal disgrace, and perpetuate our national wretchedness and degradation.—(Hear and cheers.) Whether you coincide with me or not, lam sure I shall have your hearty concur rence in endeavouring to procure for every gentleman, what ever his political opinions may be, a patient, attentive, and impartial hearing. —( Loud cheers.) It is the very soul and essence of public meetings that the opinions of all parties should be heard with fairness and impartiality. In all the meetings of my fellow-townsmen which I have had the honour to preside over (end they have been many), they have always done honour alike to themselves and to this principle, by a studious observance of it; and I trust, as I con fidently can, from all my former experience of Birmingham meetings, that you will abide by this principle on the present occasion.—( Hear, and cheers.) Gentlemen, I conjure you to bring to the consideration of this momentous subject a calm and dispassionate judgment; and, above all, whatever your opinions may be, 1 trust that you will make good temper and kindly feeling towards every speaker the presiding prin• e'ple of your deliberations. I shall now, Gentlemen, read the resolution of the Town Council, and the requisition ad dressed to me for calling the present meeting. The Chair man here read the resolution of the Town Council as to the propriety of calling the present meeting, and the requisition to tl.e Mayor, which was as follows : " We, the undersigned, having ascertained with much satis faction that a resolution has been passed by the Town Coun cil, recommending you to call a public meeting of the inhabit ants of this borough, to take into consideration the propriety of repealing the present Corn and Provision•lavrs, and being of opinion that no time should be lost in bringing this most im portant subject before Parliament, request that you will con -1 vene such meeting on the earliest day possible." I shall now conclude my remarks by calling upon the mover of the first resolution, Mr. Scholefield. Mr SCHOLEFIELD, M. P., then came forward. He was re ceived with cheers and some uproar. He said, Mr. Mayor and fellow-townsmen, never since I had the honour and hap piness of being connected with you, have I felt anxiety equal to what I feel at this moment. This intimation is extremely painful to me.—( Interruption and cries of " Speak up.") No man can speak louder than his voice will reach. I will say, Gentlemen, that my dependence on your good sense in duces me to hope, that the present resolution which I hold in my hand, and which is merely an appeal to your good sense— an appeal to your reason, as a ground for condemning those atrocious laws upon which your Mayor has spoken in terms of denunciation, much more strongly and efficiently than I can, will receive your support.—( Hear and cries of " No.") You cannot feel more than I do, all the people have suffered from the ingenious cruelty of these infernal and wicked laws—these hollow—these fatal—these deceitful and mischievous enact ments, which under pretence of keeping the prices equal—for that is the object in view—cheat you of half the price which you ought to give for your bread.—( Cheers and interruption. ) Eery' man who hears me must understand the fatal effect of these laws. You live seen exhibited before you loaves of three several sizes, and it has been explained to you that if you cross the Channel you can procure for one-third, and in some coun tries for one-half, the price the same sized loaf as at home.— ( Hear, cheers, and uproar; a voice in the crowd, " What is its effect upon wages ?" another voice, " Give us more wages.") The evil does not rest here.—(Renewed uproar.) The evil goes much further. You have not the means of pur chasing bread, because your trade is diminished and will be shortly taken from you altogether by the operation of the Corn-laws.—( Shouting, groaning, and great uproar.) Is it your intention not to hear me.—(The hooting, yelling, and hissing were again renewed and continued for some minutes.) The CHAIRMAN rose to order. Let me ask whether it is the intention of this meeting to hear the parties who intend to address you or not, because of this I am quite convinced—( Up roar.) Will you hear Mr. Scholefield, or will you not?— (Hooting and yelling ) Will you hear me for one moment? If it is your pleasure to hear Mr. Scholefield he will proceed. Mr. SCHOLEFIELD again came forward, but there was a tremendous burst of hooting, hissing, yelling, intermingled with cheering, clapping of hands, rattling of Universal Suf frage and national rent money-boxes, and other indescribable noises, which were actually astounding. Mr. G. EDMUNDS at length presented himself, and at tempted to address the meeting, but the uproar was renewed. He said he should remain there till they were done.—( Shout ing and hooting.) What are you frightened at ?—( Great laughter and renewed uproar.) How long am I to wait here? The interruption and noises having continued for some time, _ _ Mr. T. C. SALT came to the front of the platform, and was loudly cheered. He said, with the permission of the Mayor, he would address a few observations to them ; they were about to vindicate the rights of the people.—( Loud cheers.) They were all there to judge in their own case, and he was sa tisqed they would vindicate it, but they could only vindicate it by hearing fairly both parties before they decided. Their cause was the cause of justice and the cause of humanity, and it must and would be the strongest. There was only one thing he would beg for them, and that was liberty to mark their ap probation or disapprobation of the various speakers during the course of the debate; and he had only further to ask of them, that their marks of approbation or disapprobation might not be continued for such a length of time as to protract the pro ceedings too long.--( Hear, hear.) What was further com petent upon the meeting was, that when any person addressed them, whose observations might appear too tedious, it would then be the Chairman's duty to put it to the meeting whether that gentleman should continue to be heard. He exhorted them upon the very important present occasion to give all rea sonable latitude to all parties. The present was the most important meeting they had ever held, and he hoped that by tlu it conduct on the Fresent occasion they would uphold the name and character of the men of Birmingham.—(Much cheering% ) Mr. SCHOLEFIELD then resumed. lam sure the most tho rough Reformer has not a greater desire that the people should not be chewed out of their just rights by any Corn-law movement than myself. I would rather have my right arm taken off my body than be a party to any delusion, or to any thing that would defraud you of what you insist upon as your ;ust rights.—( Cheers.) But there are very high considera tions before you, and they are those which affect justice and h u manity, and upon which depends the food of your families. If the Corn-laws he not removed, be assured of this—that you will shortly have pinching poverty come upon you—that your families will suffer dire want—and that society will be thrown into a ,state of confusion such as the boldest heart would shrink to to kup'n —( Hear, hear, and some interr u pti on .) I t i s to :void this distcesir.g state of things that I ask you to consent to the resoluti,m I am about to propose to you, and I venture to say that I don't think there is amongst you any reflecting mind, who will not l ive his assent to the proposition which I tVAL i)I! , Ricd us vc• 06C. IS !cCI • (lir( ctior li ,)k , 0104 s of rill' (e auu - c SCCt i°9 " ShV) ill It is a r NlSable': be leg al' the se a ' 'rst break' )1111 13°' constilir Y•) h. Vel e ' r Co lonisi it 20,000 )1 $: fond% n d n l l ittal`" THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 1839. hold in my hand. It is in your power to decide the question, and I beg of you in fairness and candour to hear it, and not to condemn it unheard.—( Hear and cheers; cries of " No, no.") It is a matter of great regret to me that my excellent friend and colleague, Mr. Attwood, is not here to-day; the illness of a member of his family occasions him to leave town, and be is gone to the Isle of Wight, but he will be at his post the day before: Parliament assembles, and I can assure you (for Mr. Attwood is incapable of se,. ing what is untrue) that no man more ardently wishes for the removal of these atrocious laws than he does. --( Loud cheers, followed by cries of "Uni versal Suffrage.") I can tell you also, Gentlemen, that the necessity for the immediate removal of these laws is great— that you in Birmingham are menaced with a greater loss of trade than you are now suffering.—( Interruption.) I went to Manchester last week in order to hear what they were doing at their meetings, and I believe in my conscience that the wealth and opulence of that -town will be speedily changed into a state of poverty from the rapid removal of its trade to foreign countries. To what cause do you attribute this ? To the present system of Corn-laws.—( Cries of " No, r. 0," and much confusion.) Gentlemen, allow me to have my opinion, and you may have yours. I can tell you also, that when the time comes, if I find there is any attempt to cheat 3ou by directing your attention from your just rights, one of which is the right of every man to have a vote in the repre sentation, you will find me ready to stand beside you, as I know 3ou desire to be supported. —( Much interruption.) As you appear impatient to hear other persons, I shall not trespass further on you, but content myself by reading the resolution:— " That this meeting views with alarm the successful com petition of the continental manufacturers in the productions of the country, and more especially in the articlee made in this town and neighbourhood ; being convinced, that notwith standing the peculiar facilities possessed by Great Britain, the absurd and unjust laws, prohibiting the free importation of the food of the people, are tending towards the destruction of the manufacturing interests of this country, a result which must involve every class of the community in one common ruin." I am sure you will all see this is nothing more than a true description of the effects of those iniquitous laws. I will give you my aid here and elsewhere in remedying them, and in obaining all your other just right,.—(Cheers.) The Rev. Mr. M'DONNELL, (Catholic priest), then pre sented himself, for the purpose of seconding the resolution, and was greeted with groans and cries for Universal Suffrage. He said,—Perhaps you will indulge me by giving three cheers for Mr. Attwood.—( Hissing and hooting and a few partial cheers.) Now I will tell you why I asked for them ; it was because I have often heard that great and good—that just and humane man, declare that the great object of all his political agitation was to procure for the people of this country plenty of bread, beef, and beer.—( Cheers.) I have heard him again say that he felt no political theory was calculated to better the condition of the people. That has been the golden maxim of Mr. Attwood's political life, and for that he will ever deserve the thanks of the friends of the people and of humanity at large. I beg leave to tell you, men of Bir mingham—and treat me as you will you will never make me anything but your devoted friend—(Hear, hear)—l tell you that that has been my leading maxim throughout the whole of my political career. Let me see the people well fed, and I e ire not by what means (if they be honest) that that happy revolution shall be brought about. I say, men of Birm;righam, it would be a revolution, because you know very well that the people of England are not well fed at the present moment. You know very well that by the iniquitous operation of wicked laws made for wicked purposes, the honest and industrious, and enter prising people of England are in a state bordering on starva tion. I regret exceedingly that man,— " Proud man, Dress'd in a little brief authority, Plays such fantastic tricks before high Heaven As make the Angels weep." I regret that you should be perpetnally summoned from your honest and industrious employment.-4 Here the tumult which had been kept up during the time the Rev. Gentleman had been speaking was greatly increased by some one on the platform interrupting him. After a short pause, however, the Reverend Gentleman, amidst great uproar. proceeded.] I have often heard that the Generals of our army in the Peninsula often Drought their people into dreadful difficulties ; but it was the bravery, the calm, cool, steady determination of the soldiery that extricated both themselves and their Gene rals from calamity and disgrace ; and thus it is in the civil community. Your leaders (that is those miscalled leaders — the Parliament) have been for ever bringing you into diffi culty and into misery, and it is the people that have rescued themselves from the misery and their Governors from the dis grace attached to their conduct. In no respect has this iniquitous system of government prevailed more powerfully and dis gracefully than in the case of the Corn-laws. I am proud to think that the Alderman of Lady Wood ward (Mr. Hadley) that the Alderman of the ward of which I am a Burgess. has denounced these laws in the most severe but just terms of animadversion. I rejoice to know that it was he who seconded the resolution, by which application was made to the Mayor for convening for the present meeting. Hear what he says—" Was there any gentleman present who would tell him that the Corn-laws had not been injurious? Was there a man present who would stand up and tell him that the trade of the town, as well as of the country, had not been nearly ruined by those atrocious, infamous laws? He would ask every merchant present, if two-thirds of the foreign trade of the country had not been already ruined by them ? Alder man Muntz said seven-eighths. Alderman Hadley, an able and extensive merchant, had told them seven-eighths of the trade had been lost, and was it possible they could think of tying up their hands from considering such a gigantic evil?— ( Hear, hear.) No, he could not subscribe to such a doctrine. He thought it was their bounden duty to look the evil in the face, and if possible to remove it." Now I rejoice at this statement of Mr. Hadley. I rejoice to hear that that friend of the people, y Mr. Salt, reproached my friend Mr. Sturge—that he had been ten years engaged in the cause before Mr. Sturge stirred. Whether that was the cause or not I cannot recollect. It is not improbable, because in the year 1828, the Dissenters were endeavouring to procure the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts, and in 1829, the Catholics succeeded in obtaining Catholic Emanci pation ; and it is just like Mr. Salt to distract the attention of the people of this country at that time to other, and im practicable objects.—( Hear.) Now, if he, ten years ago, waged war against the iniquitous law which they call injurious, and some of them infernal, surely he should hail, as a practical man, the co-operation of those men who came to his assis tance now, when the battle is really to be fought. And what can be so noble, or what can engage the sympathies and the exertions of men more than the cause of the lives of the people. I have been told indeed that it is not one in which a minister of religion should engage, and Mr. Salt taunted me on a late occasion with doing so. I feel that if there be any cause that ought to be dearer to the minister of reli gion, it should be the cause of suffering humanity. (The clamour here reached such a height, that although close to Mr. M'Donnell, we comet scarcely hear a word he said.) Mr. COLLINS—UnIess you are silent, Gentlemen, and hear speakers on both sides of the question, the Mayor will dissolve the meeting. There will be speakers on the Resolution and on the Amendment.—( Cheers, and uproar.) Mr. MWONNELL—Men of Birmingham—(Renewed up roar.) Mr. CoLLINS—I am extremely anxious to put a stop to this noise. It would be much better, when there is such a clamo rous noise, if our excellent Chairman would take the sense of the meeting, whether people who rise to address the meeting should be heard or eot. You would then find out what a small number of persons nee capable of disturbing the harmony of the meeting.—( Cheers and laughter.) You may depend upon it that all the sophisms used will be detected.—( Hear, hear, and groans.) For the sake of liberty—for the sake of your town—for the sake of our own characters, hear impartially every one. (Cheers and hisses.) Having heard, decide by your votes, and not by your clamour—and you will gain immortal honour. Never fear that the cause of liberty will ultimately triumph.— ( Cheers and groans ) The CHAIRMAN—FeIIow-townsmen, I fully accord in the suggestion which has been very properly and ably put by Mr. Collins. I will put it to the vote whether you will or will not hear Mr. IM‘Donnell. His Worship then called for a show of hands as to whether Mr. M‘Donnell should be heard, and a small number, appa rently equal on both sides, were held up. Mr. Coeues—The Mayor fears he was not distinctly heard, and has therefore requested me to put it to the meeting again whether Mr. 11I'Donnell shall or shall not be heard.— ( A larger number of hands were then held up both for and against hearing the Rev. Gentleman, but they still appeared to be equal.) The CHAIRMAN—It is impossible to count the hands held up pro and con, but as the division seems to be pretty equal I shall give the doubt in favour of the liberty of speaking, and, therefore, in favour of Mr. M.Donnell.—(Cheers.) The Rev. Mr. MtDoreeeee then proceeded to address the meeting.—When I was interrupted I was about to say that I thought no class of persons were called upon to interest themselves more than the ministers of re ligion in the cause of suffering humanity.—( A per son in one of the side galleries cried out, " Yours is not religion." A gentleman on the platform said " Turn that person out who is interrupting the speaker," and this being responded to by cries of " We'll turn you out," another scene of confusion and uproar ensued. When the noise had in sonic degree abated, the Rev. Gentleman continued as fol lows.)-- I may differ in opinion from some other gentlemen in this room, but upon the principle that it is our duty to en deavour to benefit the people of this country we are all agreed. It is on that principle I now stand forward, to denounce the iniquity of a Legislature that has interposed between the bounty of Heaven and the necessities of man. lam speak ing before one of the representatives of the people. I wish we had a few more like him ; and if I were allowed to speak before the whole of them, I would tell them that they p b n o r, io u rv n di bounty o n tc f oe % H o. a e f r a d v Gs e o n td . e iar They df e ltlhoie are ee u n i t g_ y u c f; y m c oe p fr are guilty of impiety when they interpose thus to int e rcept the t robbery b h a l a y n a and s t t haveh o they done by this iniquitous l e gi s lati on ? Th e y h ave by f the de grees withdrawn the capital from the wealthy manufacturers of this country. It has been well stated by Mr. Scholefield that Manchester, which used to be the abode of industry, of wealth, and happiness, is fast losing its commerce, for Man chesters are being formed in other countries, who have by de grees withdrawn large portions of her trade to their towns. Many manufacturers undersell the British manufacturer in the foreign market, and who actually come here and undersell the manufacturers in our own market.—( Hear, hear, and cries of " Universal Suffrage.") I shall come to that —no man need terrify me. Sly principle on the Suffrage has always been, that it should be co-extensive w i t h taxat i on .— and cries of " Universal ! unive rsa l !") I have al (wCayhseeectserted myself to procure the Suffrage for the people, and I will always do that in the way that it shall seem to me the best adapted for the purpose ; but as I do not wish the people to submit to the dictation of any man, so I will never submit to any man's dictation.—( Cheers.) I have been speak ing of the 'dreadful consequences of the nefarious legislation we have been denouncing, and what is the unfortunate result ? —( Uproarious cries for Universal Suffrage.) You do not al low me sufficiently to enter into those details which justify the denunciation of those laws on the part of Mr. Alderman Had ley —you do not allow me sufficiently to enter into the details which will justify Mr. Salt for having endeavoured to obtain the repeal of those laws (as he tells us) ten years ago ; but you must allow me now to call your attention to the dreadful consequences as they affect yourselves. The manufam tures of this country have born transplanted to other countries ; the raw material with which those manu factures are made has followed the manufacturers them selves ; the very machinery has followed the raw material, and now the master manufacturers have followed their machinery.---( Hear, hear, hear.) But what do they do? They take away with them their capital—they take away the most experienced and industrious of their men—and they lease lishind them those men who have no means of carrying them selves to foreign countries—who have no means of supporting themselves without their former employment at home—and who are left to nothing but beggary on the highway. Having this important object in view, to give to the Imo; le that food of which they have been robbed, it is most unjust to impute to us, who it is acknowledged are engaged in a great and virtuous cause, bad motives, because they have no other fault to find with our conduct. Some time ago the people of England had n good chance cf carrying an Extension of the Suffrage, the Vote by Ballot, and Triennial Parliaments—they were likely to have carried those measures; hut they have been ithdraw n from the pursuit of those to that wild chimera, which it is very well known they will never attain. It is absurd to pretend that a man may not pursue two objects at the same time. You have already done it—(Cheers) — your ranks I have joined, in the agitation for political Reform, hut, at the same time I never considered myself prevented from joining in the pursuit of the attainment of every other object calculated to benefit the people. Thus, I have endea voured to advocate the freedom of the slave—l have endea voured to advocate the relief of suffering Irishmen, and the relief of suffering Englishmen, and wherever I have done that. I have found Mr. Salt was in the way. Mr. Salt opposed all those efforts and substituted in their place, to the best of his power, some wild visionary scheme which he must have known could never be accomplished.—(Hear, hear.) I know that many of you are acquainted with the sufferings of Irishmen, and when they have been very much reduced in circumstances they are said to have had nothing better than potatoes and salt. Now, you go further than them, and you are deter mined that the poor of this country shall have no potatoes— nothing but salt.—( Cheers and laughter.) Gentlemen, there was a preacher on the continent who denied the eternity of the torments of hell. His congregation and the people of the town rose up against him and expelled him. The King of Prussia restored him, and the people expelled him again. At last the King said, " Since you are determined to have everlasting damnation, take, it as you please. Ever yours, Frederick." I now leave you the salt without the potatoes. --(Great cheering and laughter.) Alderman HADLEY then came forward and proposed three cheers for Mr. Thomas Attwood, which were given with great vehemence and heartiness. He said, Mr. Mayor and fellow townsmen, as I am suffering under very considerable ill-health at the present moment, it is not my intention to address you at any great length. If, therefore, I, who have stood by the people of Bimingham any time for the last twenty years, be worthy your attention for five minutes, I claim that attention at the present moment. I hold in my hand an addition, not an amendment to the resolution which is now before the chair, and which I wish, of course, to add to that resolution. I will read it to you, and I beg your attention to it. I will first read to you the resolution as submitted by your Hon. Member ( Mr. Joshua Scholefield), and I will then read to You what I wish to have added to it. (The worthy Alder man here read the resolution, and proceeded.) Now comes my addition—" and, at the same time that we are perfectly aware of the dire effects of the Food-laws. and fully alive to the dreadful consequences which would be the result of a continuation of them, we feel it incumbent on ourselves to state that, taking into consideration the preponderating influence in both Houses of Parliament of what is commonly termed the landed interest —the general opinion of the agriculturists that property is almost entirely independent of trade and manufactures, not apparently understanding that the destruction of one of the three would inevitably be the ruin of all—taking also into consideration the very small minorities that have hitherto voted for the abolition or even the modification of the Food-laws, and more than all, that the Judge and Jury by whom the question would be tried are personally interested in the decision, it is the opinion of this meeting that there is little probability of the repeal of the Food-laws until the psople are more equally represented—( Vehement cheering)—in the Commons' House of Parliament : that this meeting therefore deems it useless on that subject to petition that House as at present consti tuted." Mr. Mayor, and fellow -townsmen, it will be in the recollection of some thousands now at this magnificent meet ing, that the Brummagen men have agitated this question for the last fifteen years—that on the vast variety of occasions both at public meetings, and meetings held at large houses in Birmingham, that they have expatiated at full length upon the enormous iniquity, Gentlemen, I have a thousand times over explained to you the mischiefs which, sooner or later they must entail upon this great manufacturing country. But we have not only done this—we have not only preached those doctrines in this town, and thousands will prove the truth of that assertion, but, also, my fellow-townsmen, we have spent your hard-earned pennies, for the purpose of circulating this intelligence through all classes of the community, and this we have done a thousand times over. We have endeavoured by all possible means to enlighten the Administration—the manufacturing lords—and the landed interest upon this im portant subject. There have been meetings in former years ; but how comes it that while these ruinous Corn-laws have been in operation 23 years, that the eyes of these Gentlemen have been only opened to their enormity so lately ? Gentle men, I think lam justified, notwithstanding all the intelli gence that has been manifested at Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and elsewhere, by laymen as well as Parliamentary men. 1 think I am justified in attributing either, on the one hand, the grossest of ignorance with regard to the depression of our manufactures ; or, on the other hand, a large amount of utter stupidity, or vicious criminality, in not joining with us at former periods for the removal of the Corn-laws. On either horn of this dilemma must they be fixed.—( Cheers.) Now, Gentlemen, what are we called upon to do ? Let it go forth to the world that the Brummagem men for years, have ex pressed their opinions most unqualifiedly against those laws, although they have been entirely disregarded by those great men, in and out of the House.—( Hear, hear, and cheers.) What are we now called upon to do ? Mr. Mayor and fellow townsmen, I have been too long before the public, to be hum bugged by the parcel of men around me.—( Much cheering.) I shall ask one question at this stage of the business, which is now getting interesting. I ask any gentleman to come for ward. who has ever contributed one shilling to the funds of the Political Union. I believe they would rather wish to put an end to it. I ask, Gentlemen, surrounded as we are probably by a great many Tories—( Laughter)—l know we are surrounded by a great many Whigs, and I was once one myself, bet I ask of these Whigs and these Tories individually and collectively to come forward and tell us whether they have ever assisted us on former occasions with regard to the removal of the Corn-laws, or the attainment of an Extension of the Suffrage.—( Loud cries of " No, no.") I will tell you why, Gentlemen. Be cause there were about three hundred old women in London frightened out of their wits by your agitation in 1832. And yet these are the men, together with the Manchester and Li verpool mill, v‘ho pretend. and I say it boldly, to teach the Birmingham men politics ?—(Tremendous cheering.) Well, for my own part, fellow-townsmen, thank God: I don't think mysdf too old to learn. These men around me say, " we don't want you to give up Universal Suffrage." Will they go with us?—( Hissing, groaning, and loud cries of " No, no ") These men now, for the first time in their lives (God help their ignorance), now call upon us to go with them for the removal of the Corn-laws. Allow me to say one word more, and then I shall go into the probabilities of their carry ing this most sapient measure. I shall have no objection what ever to have given those men, either in doors or out of doors, a fair hearing. But what is the fact? I was consulted by some of their leading men tais morning, and some of my friends ,were also consulted as to the probable success of the resolutions to be submitted. I told them honestly there was not the remotest chance of their carrying their resolutions. The people know that they have a small loaf, but they know also that both justice and liberty and independence with re gard to the House of Commons are tied to Heaven—they are gone, and there is no semblance of them there. The attempt to bring such a question before such a House (and the Hon. Member for Birmingham knows it as well as I do, for how often has he told us of the impossibility of the cries and groans of the people being heard in it ?)—the attempt to bring such a question before it is altogether absurd. Has not the Hon. Member upon this platform over and over again —and I think it but fair to avail myself of the high authority of the Hon. Member in support of my argument—has he not repeatedly stated in this hall, that it is utterly useless, constituted as that House is, to carry the prayers and the petitions of the people 1 before it? N o w, Gentlemen, what are the probabilities that this measure, which they now cry out for, is likely to be carried ? From a strict and careful observance of the pro ceedings of the reformed Parliament—a reformed Parliament 1 —(Great laughter) —from a careful and strict observance of the conduct of that House, one time facetiously and most vil lainously called a reformed House of Commons, I can state that I do not see any more chance of getting the measure carried now Hear. and cheers.) ‘ehcaitm was thantheduring ri ‘ r v , g Whig j t g he o conductco a l old s i b sot orernoLord _ . Jw . T . ,eh e m n . have R—jsbsee been Russell, taunted, , that precious and,s upon my soul, with great justice, f or h av i ng turned out t h e Tories in 1832—but what did hi s L ordship say at the com mencement of the Sess i on? Why ; that he could never ps, do anything while the old King lived —that he was an impe • dimwit to all good legis la t i on , all liberal views, and all sound policy.—( Groans and hisses.) What was his conduct when the Queen ascende d the ' T hrone ? Did he not delare for the finality of the Re fo rm B ill ?_(Renewed groaning.) This is one of the men you have to contend with. Again, what was his declaration to his constituents at Stroud ? He writes down and tells them that he cannot consent to the repeal of the Corn-laws, but to a fixed duty. Now, what would be the effect of a permanent duty? sure him) e you withoutwill agree with me, that he and Sp rin g Rice i( am help bene fiting the country one shilling, would put into the Exchequer the amount received from that reduced duty. l am g l a d, therefore, to find that the men of Manchester are going for the total repeal of these laws. So much, however, for the de clared opinion of the leading, men of the House of Commons. Again, look at the men constituting the House of Commons. I assert,after having examined the condition and situation of these men, and I hold that nine -tenths of them are connected with the landed interest, or that their property is chiefly in land. The whole of the House of Lords is against it—the whole of the landed aristocracy of England is against it, and we find more over that nine-tenths of the present Administration are against it. And now, Gentlemen, one word with respect to a member of the Cabinet, who is avowedly with us upon the subject. I mean Mr. Poulett Thomson. The same charge cannot be brought against that gentleman. In 1834 he attended a meeting of his constituents at Manchester. At that meeting he was five hours speaking against the atrocious system of the Corn•laws, and he exhibited in that speech a deep, a search ing, and a thorough acquaintance with the subject. From that hour to this that gentleman publicly and privately has been as silent as the walls of the House of Commons. He has never uttered a syllable upon the subject. and when a mo tion was brought forward last year by Mr. Villiers, seconded by Sir William Molesworth, it was publicly declared that this man bolted nut of the House—( Loud cries of Shame and hissing)—so much fur one member of the Cabinet, who knows something of the sutiject. Another spe. cimen of the enlightened wisdom is my Lord Melbourne. What has he said ? When he was asked whether he con templated any alteration in the Corn-laws, he said that he could not consent to any alteration, as it produced unsteadi ness in the i.rices —( Hear, hear, and laughter.) For God's sake hear that. Ask Mr. Joseph Sturge whether the prices have been steady during the last four or five }ears. In 1835 the price was about 40s. per— Mr. J. STuiiGE-365. 7d. the quarter. Alderman iIADLET—WeII, 365. 7d., and the price is now, in 1633-9, 80s. the quarter.—( Hear, hear, from Mr. Sturge.) So much for the wisdom of the head of the Cabinet, Lord Melbourne. lam sorry I dispatched Poulett Thomson so soon, for I have another word to say about this man.— ( Hear, hear. ) Perhaps you arc not aware that he is the President of the Board of Trade, and if there is one man in the kingdom whose more immediate duty it is to under stand thoroughly the whole ramifications of the trade and commerce of this country it is essentially that man ( Hear, hear.) Now this man, whom it has been proved is thoroughly acquainted with these atrocious laws, has permitted them to continue so long; and if they go on for ten years longer, God Almighty knows what will be the conse quence.-(Hear, hear.) Gentlemen, you may cry " Hear him," hut I have shown that such are the enemies you have to contend with, and that you cannot get it. Show me in the [louse of Commons one hundred men, aye fifty men, on whose votes you can calculate. I believe there was on the last divi sion something like ninety-five ; but what is ninety-five i n a House of six hundred and fifty-eight.—( Hear, hear, hear.) Fellow-townsmen, the whole affair is the grossest and most entire humbug.—(Great laughter and cheers.) I say from the first to the last, that you have not the remotest chance of obtaining this. lam ready to take my station as the bravest amongst you. I will live upon bread and water ; and by my soul's hope, rather than be a party to inducing the people to go for a measure which is entirely and absolutely hopeless, I would pluck the berry-bush and use it for food. Those who know me best will give me credit for having felt all my life for the condition of the poor—l am anxious to do all that lies in my power for them, and by I would go to the end of the earth to promote these measures.—(Cheers.) I will not be a party to any delusion that may be calculated to throw them back, but I will go any length to promote the happiness the people so richly deserve. To show you what is the present condition of the present Administration, I will call your attention to what is stated by the Spectator, who is one of the most accomplished politicians of the day, who only a foitnight ago stated that there was scarcely a particle of dif ference between them and the Tories, and he has given an enumeration of the difference between their feelings and sen timents. He says, and most justly—and I should be ashamed if the people of Birmingham were not of the same opinion— that the Whigs have made their friends, in and out of doors, ashamed of them.—( Cheers.) Yes, I repeat it, and he con tends that there is little or no difference between them and the Tories. " There is no difference between them, as they agree with them in almost every thing." They gave the-Queen a Civil List of a larger amount than a Tory Government would have ventured to propose. Will anybody deny that, Whig, Tory, or Radical ?—( A voice in the croud, " A hundred thousand pounds a-year.) They have effectually maintained many abuses of the Pension List ; they have reso lutely opposed all Reform ; and they have augmented the esti mates. What have they done with respect to the consti tuencies?—(Much groaning and hissing.) The Tory system of misrule has descended in all its luxurious corrupt'on. That is an unquestionable fact. They unite with the Tories in suppressing the Ballot, Suffrage Extension, and Triennial Parliaments; they support the Corn-laws, the sugar mono poly, and the timber monopoly.—( Hear, hear.) Did the Tories ever do more, even in their most palmy days?— ( Cheers.) The Church Reform is handed over to the Archbishop of Canterbury—(Loud laughter)—and we know how it thrives in the general distribution of profit. By the influence of the Court alone do they maintain themselves in office.—(Cheers.) Gentlemen, I will not trouble you any further, but beg leave to submit the resolution I have now handed in be added to the pre,ious resolution. Mr. Alderman J, P. MCNTZ—Fellow townsmen, I am not going to give you a speech now—l shall merely second the amendment, and reserve to myself the right of speaking in reply, if I hear any arguments against it.—( Loud cheers.) Mr. BLAXLAND then addressed the meeting from one side of the galleries, and in consequence of the distance he was from the platform and the tumult that was kept up during the whole of his address it was with some difficulty that we heard what be said. We understood him, however, to commence by saying that no man in Birmingham had la boured more than he had to abolish the Corn-laws. Their abolition had been the burthen of his morning song and evening hymn, and yet to-day, when he applied for a ticket to the platform he was refused, although he paid a heavy rate for the hall.—( Shame, shame.) He was there, however, ready to do his duty, and to tell them again, as he had done before, that he was of opinion that out of every 7s. 7d. they expended in food, ss. 4d. was paid as a tax. He had struggled hard to abolish these laws ever since he was 19 years of age ; and it was because he was fully convinced of the iniquity of the Corn laws that he was a Radical. What induced him to support Mr. Hadlev's amendment was this, that the tenures by which noblemen held their estates and by the doomsday book, the Aristocracy were liable for the whole of the national debt, and the expenses of' war, and because he believed it was ne cessary to have an Extension of the Suffrage before the repeal of the Corn-laws. To go before the present House of Com mons for a repeal of the Corn-laws would be like trying the accused by the accuser. To appeal to the landowners for a repeal of the Corn-laws would be like the false prophets of old appealing to Baal to rain fire from Heaven ' - and they might as well expect the idol of Juggernaut to have bowels of compassion, as expect the landed Aristocracy to answer their appeals.—( Hear.) There were some gentlemen present on the platform who always opposed the people, although at every public dinner they gave as a toast, " The people, the source of all legitimate power."—( Hear, hear.) He would not detain the meeting longer than by saying they must have no half measures—they must strike at the root of the evil. He would say to them " persevere," and with moral rectitude they must and would succeed.—(Cheers.) The CHAIRMAN then read to the meeting the original reso ltrion preposed by Mr. Scholefield, and the additional resolu tion proposed by Mr. Hadley, and was about to put them to the meeting when Mr. THOMAS WESTON, a member of the Town Council, rose and said—Before, Sir, you put those resolutions to the meeting I wish to make one or two remarks. I believe it is well known to you all that lam an advocate for Reform. I have subscribed to the Union, and have signed every petition that has had for its object the welfare of the people at large, and I claim from you a patient hearing.—( Hear, hear.) I agree with much that has fallen 'from Mr. Alderman Hadley, hut the amendment he has proposed states that there is no hope, or that there is little hope from petitioning the House of Commons—that there is no hope.—( Cri es of " No, none at all.") Now, you know the motto of our excellent leader— Thomas Attwood—is, " Peace, law, order." You know that in all our movements—he above all things recommends to us union—the concentration of our energies into one point—and that we should get with us as many of the people as we pos sibly can.—( Hear, hear.) Now I beg to call your attention to this one point, that we have made some progress in the im provement of our institutions, but we are far—very far horn the rights of the people—and very far yet have we to go. The dark night of suffering and tribulation is passing away—the growing twilight is, perhaps, appearing now while I speak ; but the day of liberty has yet to come.—( Cheering.) The question is, how shall we proceed in order to obtain what we desire ?—( Cries of "by having Universal Suffrage.") I agree with you most heartily, that we must have Universal Suffrage.—( Cries of "we will have it," and a per-oa in the crowd shouted out most vociferously " awe, but when ?") If I am asked when we shall have it, I could not in my conscience say we shall get it to-morrow. I don't think we shall get it this week, or this month. It may be several years.—(l.oud cries of " No, no.") I wish we could have Universal Suffrage this day; but how many of your fellow creatures are now suffering the pangs of hunger and want ? ( Hear, hear.) I ask you in the name of those suffering crea tures, are you willing they should have food in the meantime, until we can obtain for them their political rights. The struggle is going on—shall they live or shall they perish during that struggle?—(Cheers and hisses.) I would beg leave to observe to you, that although the Reform Bill has grossly deceived the expectations of the people of this country, and although it has turned out a farce—yet the Re form Bill was obtained by petitioning the Legislature.— (Cries of " No, no," and "let somebody else speak," and great uproar.) Let the people be united—( Renewed uproar, and rattling of the rent boxes.) After several ineffectual attempts to regain a hearing, Mr. Weston said, if they would not hear the few further remarks which he had to make he would retire. Mr. SALT then came forward to address the meeting, and was received with loud cheers.—_l would not have detained this meeting with one observation of mine, had it not been for some observations that have been made. There was art expression used by the last speaker, that I would take leave to notice. He said, above all things, union I I say, above all things, union ; but where shall we find it? I say, if we are to have union, let it be a rational, not a rash union. All the interests of the people are jeopardized, and the question is how are they to rectify the great wrongs heaped upon them ? Two gene rations have passed away with a cry of distress rising from every quarter of England —ruin threatened at home, and de gradation abroad —and the voice of the people has not been heeded in the House of Comroo,as• All their petitions have been sent in vain ; and will these gentlemen come forward and tell us thin we are to appeal again to a packed jury ?--7(Centineed ebeering)—and to put our cause in the hands of the very judges who have robbed us?—(Cries of " No.") No ; men of Birmingham, we will not do it.—(Cheers.) See how the thing stands at Manches ter, and how it stands at Birmingham. At Manchester the present Corn-law agitation commenced. Who began it ? The Cotton Lords, mark ! and the Cotton Lords talk of humanity, and the suffering of the people, with the Factory Bill staring . them in the face I—(Cheers)—the Factory Bill, that wds to limit the duration of labour of little children from 16 to 12 hours a day. Mark that. And what did they do ? Did these Cotton Lords come forward to say, " These little creatures, and our workmen and workwomen, of whom we are the natu ral guardians, require protection, and we ask for the Factory Bill ?" No ; I will tell you what they did. They see the little cripples infilm and worn out before their time. It had become in England mere matter of calculation what human Ha could endure—what bone and sinew could endure—it had become matter of calculation, and, above ail, we have seen the intellect of these little beings, images of God, swept away from them. We made our appeal, and when the appeal was made, who opposed it—the Cotton Lords. It is a very singular thing to observe who supports this agitation in Birmingham. We now call upon these gentlemen to unite with us. We are ready to forget all that is past, if they will unite with us ; but the question is, will we unite with them?—(Loud cries of " Hear, hear.") Or are they to come up, and bring up the rear rank of our great army ?—( Cheers.) They may stand in the front rank when they desk rve it. Let them back us up, and I will prove and show that they ought to do that. We have, and no one can deny it, been foremost iu the cause of humanity and justice for the people of England, and then many names are put to this requisition as unknown in our cause as the inhabit ants of Kamschat.ka. We have experienced a knowledge in this matter, and this ought to go for something. There are many gentlemen here whom we should be happy to retain amongst us, but I put to them whether fifty yea sis not enough for petitioning? I put it to them, whe ther the proper time is not come when the great National Petition in fav ou r o f U n i versa l S u ff rage s h ou ld' not be sup. potted ? But I shall put it on another ground—l would re mind them of the great agitation on the Slave question.— ( Cries of Hear, hear.) They did the very best which agita tion could do on that occasion. Did Parliament emancipate the slaves? No: but mark this—they made us buy it at a eery great cost : and now I tell you, that if we were to agi tate for the Corn-laws, e e must buy it at an enormous cost. There is another reason why these gentlemen should yield to us—that ee rode the fore horse in 11337, when the petitions of 130,000 of the labouring classes were sent up to demand justice in favour of the suffering people of England.— ( Cheers.) We went to my Lord Melbourne, and he said, tt Gentlemen, you are come to me to ask me to apply its your behalf to the House of Commons. lam too much of a gen tleman to deceive you, and I candidly tell you there is no use in applying to it. They will grant you a Committee, and they will go into the Committee and make a long inquiry at a great expense. That Committee may or may not make a report, and that would carry the thing on for two years. In the meantime, if I were not too honourable, I would have got rid of you for two years." He said further, that these Committees and the practice of the House were for the mere purpose of getting rid of the petitions of the people. Yes, Gentlemen, so lar as regards these Com mittees, they are mere delusions. I would appeal to your worthy Representatives whether I have not described them rightly—both of them have corroborated this opinion of the House of Commons on more than one occasion, and both of them have corroborated this opinion of Parliamentary Com mittees. I now put it to those Gentlemen, if they be sincere, whether they would advise the people of England to go back with their petitions to that House of Commons or these Com mittees ? But there is another reason—recollect, when you went you went for no partial measure like this—you went for a twofold purpose. You said let the people have cheap food and light taxes, but, above all, let us take care that while the people have cheap food they have plenty of money to buy it. This is a very important element in the matter. In the peti tion these gentlemen say that their attention has been lately attrrcted to the subject. This shows a want of foresight on their parts, and therefore they ought to defer to us. Now, Gentlemen, observe this well—if there is a bad harvest, and that the prices are high, many will hope that when the season comes round they may expect to see bread and other food cover their tables again ; but suppose we get rid of the Corn-laws, and that wheat and meat are at a drug price in the market, and that the labouring man has not a sixpence in his pocket to buy it, what an enormous delusion it will be.— (Much cheering.) What rage will seize the heart of every man, and this earth will be too hot for the people. Gentle men, I am against all tyranny, and I do not wish to see the people with all their passions roused, not only demanding jus tice, but taking a terrible vengeance on their oppressors.— (Cheers.) Another reason why cheap food is not the only thing for the people is, that they want also an abundance of money. We have seen in 1834-5, that according to Mr. Sturge's acknowledgment, wheat was as cheap as if it h a d been e imported. In 1837 wheat was extremely cheap, an d during the severe winter I was so excited at the sufferings of the people, seeing wheat so cheap in the market, and that they could not get it then, that the magistrates met here to send up the placard I had published to Lord John Russell, and request him to prosecute me for sedition.—(Hear, hear.) But recollect there is another element which we rand up for. Not only do we want cheap food, but we want to secure to the people the fruits of their honest industry, in order that they may have pcckets full of money to buy the cheap food with.—( Cheers.) Mark this one thing particu larly—since the war the prices of goods and manufactures have fallen one.half or more, 65 per cent. Out of your wages, fallen in proportion—or rather out of the remnant of your wages—you have to pay the whole of the taxes you paid when your wages were high. Men who were then receiving 30s. a week, and who are now receiving 155., pay as much taxes as before, for none have been taken off. Then, if the tax is taken off wheat, the question is will the land go out of cultivation ? Will they also take off the Malt- tax ?—( Hear, hear.) I s a y that we must have all the taxes off that prey upon industry, and let them be put upon property. If we come to measures which in England will break down all prices, then I say break down all taxes. The fund-lord must be taken down if we go on. First, we have the money-lord and the fund-lord, who, having joined the landlords in th e p l un d er , an d hav i ng sucked out from the people all they could, the former now turn's King's evidence upon his fellow thief, and ex claims, " What a thief the landlord is ?"—(Laughter.) They say " You will join with me in crushing the land lord, for you cannot keep such company with safety." Men of England they have cheated the landlords and will cheat you. Take the affair into your own hands. A gentleman be hind me asks, how arc we to do it, and I will tell you. These men bold power only for the purpose of plunder and nothing. else. If you go to join the fund lord in putting down the landlord, I will tell you what the result will be. I have here to-day put into my hand a statement of the prices in Germany, and the average shows all prices aro one-fifth what they are here, or at all events one-third. Now they say we want to have the Corn-laws repealed in order that you may compete with the foreigner. What ! will those gentlemen say that the English labourer, without one tax taken off, will be able to compete with the untaxed German ?—(Hear, hear.) When the German liveswell upon ss. a-week, will any one say that the Englishman is to be brought down to ss, a-week wages with En g li s h t axes ?—( H ear, hear, hear.)l will tell YOU the conclusions the Northern Star comea to upon this point. Upon the amount of wheat consumed annually we pay six millions, and the amount of wages received even at the low rateof 10s. per week is 156 millions. Now a reduction of price upon wheat on the average of years would be about 10 per cent., which upon six millions would be 600,0001. • but 10 per cent. off wages would b e , upon 15 6 millions, fif teen mil lions and a half. There would thus be a gain of 600,0001., and a loss of 15,500,000/. ; and this is the way the people are to be benefited. I could say a great deal more, but I think I have said enough to convince any honest man_ that he can no more get the repeal of the Corn-laws than we can get justice for the people.—(Cheers.) Instead of our joining them in this worse than foolish, this fraudulent appeal, let them join us ; I have no doubt of the result. I call this Hall the Hall of Victory, for since it was built we never were defeated, and we will not now.—(Great cheering.) I call upon the people here, in this spot, consecrated by so many triumphs, to repel this attempt to disunite us, and your cause will eventually triumph.—( Much cheering.) Mr. WILLATS, as one of the oppressed—one of the work ing classes, claimed a hearing. They were called upon to petition Parliament for the repeal of the Corn-laws, but they might as well command the rolling tide to flow back, as do that.—( Hear, hear.) Why had they not called upon the working men before, if they wished to do them any good ? In the present, as in all their proceedings, it would appear that the object was merely to disunite the people, and then use them for their party purposes. The only principle they could contend for was Universal Suffrage.—( Loud cheers.) They must not turn to the right hand or the left, but go forward consistently with the principles contained in the People's Charter, by which relief would be given to the industrious hut starving people of England. He believed the present was a complete Whig trick. They were now called upon to peti tion for the repeal of the Corn-laws, when the ports had been opened for several weeks.—(Hear, hear, and great uproar.) They had other laws to complain of besides the ' Corn-laws. They had the abominable Poor-law, which separated man from his wife, and tore the innocent babe from its mother's bosom.—(Cheers, and cries of " Ques tion.") Had they not also Universal Suffrage to demand? All of them had different crotchets in their heads—some on the Corn-laws, others on the Poor-laws, and others on the Factory-laws ; but he would call upon them to abandon all these, and go for the great principle of Universal Suffrage.— (Great cheering.) He asked the working men would they go for the repeal of the Corn-laws?—(No, no.) Would they abandon Universal Suffrage?—(No, no.) No, they would not, at least— None but designing knaves, Abject, crouching, willing slaves. —(Cheers.) The people, in fact, had made up their minds to have Universal Suffrage next spring, and he supposed it was now intended to amuse them up to the end of the present Session with the Corn-law question, when a Government duty would be fixed. He hoped the people weuld go on and per severe. They had been frequently told that they wanted no thing but union ; and now that they had obtained it, was it to be allowed that a certain party should come in and sow dissen sion among them ? The people had been taught to respect their rights, and that principle had been sealed with the blood of their forefathers—sooner than yield it there should be blood again, for it was a principle worth living, and a principle worth dying for.—(Loud cheers.) He called upon them to go on, under the sanction and authority of the laws, in the work they had undertaken— Let your strength roll on from shore to shore, Till down comes oppression to rise no more.—( Cheers. ) The CHAIRMAN then rose to put the original resolution and the proposed addition to the meeting, but was met by cries of " Read it again." The resolution and addition having been read, The CHAIRMAN put them to the meeting, when the addi tion or amendment was carried by a large majority. This was followed by tremendous cheering, waving of hats and handkerchiefs, shouting, clapping of hands, and other noisy demonstrations of triumph. On the motion of Mr. R. K. Douglas, Mr. Joseph Sturgo