The Sun. — London, England, 1839-12-21 00:00:00

EVENING EDITION. " No, no.") Let them look at the party who had been agitating this question, and then let them ascertain their chance of effecting any good or not, as a party, and especially upon this question.—(Hear and laugh ter.) With much that had fallen from Mr. Phillips he agreed ; but he did not drew the same conclusion from the same premises ; and he would always have them bear in mind that when this party spoke to them of free trade in corn—(Groans)—that we were prevented from selling our manufacturers abroad, in consequence of the high price of corn caused by the Corn-laws—(Hear, hear, and cheers)—it was non sense to understand this in any other sense than this, that were the Corn-laws abrogated wages would be re duced.—(Cheers and groans, and " No, no.") It was downright nonsense to talk in any other way, for he should like to know how a manufacturer was to sell his produce for less unless it cost him less, and how it could cost him less unless the difference was in the price of labour.—(Cheers and hisses.) Then, again, he stated boldly and distinctly, this, that so long as we could have moderate prices, our best customers were our home cus tomers.—(Much hissing, laughter, and confusion.) All their expenditure consisted in the productions of the country in some way or other—(Cheers and ) laughter)—either in agriculture, the produce of the la bourer in the country, or in manufacturers ; whereas if ' they were to buy a given quantity of manufactures, he could prove that this would not cause so great an ex change of manufactures as would be demanded for home consumption.—(Roars of laughter and confusion.) Then again, supposing that instead of hiring agricultu ral labourers in their own business, they were thrown out of employment by a free trade in corn—(Hear) — he would ask them whether they would not then bring agricultural labourers into- competition for employment with the manufacturing operatives, and thus reduce wages ?—(Hear, hear.) He would ask whether the Corn-law agitators had brought such a Bill as this into their account ? Was it of no consequence that corn should be cultivated in Ireland ? Was it not better that they should find employment there than come into competition with the labourers in the market of this country ?—(A voice, " Drop the rents.") Then on this subject he should like to ask them what was Mr. 1 Shell's opinion—he who bad recently been made the Vice-President of the Board of Trade, on what was certainly deeply connected with this business ? Whe ther his appointment to the office he now held was in consequence of that speech he would not say, but he knew that it was not long after it.—(Hear, hear.) And then Lord Melbourne strongly objected to it too.—(Loud cries of " Question, question, and no politics." So much as to the disposition of the Govern ment. Then as to the probability of their co-operation. Was it not important that we should have a Govern ment that would look to Wales, and that would look to Ireland ?--( Laughter and hisses.) So much for our own position. Let them look abroad to the East and the West--(Loud cries of " Peterloo, Peterloo")—and see the support that was given to our commerce. Let them look to the river Plate ; were we not excluded from the important traffic there—(lmmense cheering and laughter)—and why ? Because we had an incompe tent Government.—(Groans.) Now, he thought he had gone through every point in his amendment—(Laughter) —and he begged leave formally to propose it.—(Cheers, laughter, and groans.) Mr. WM. READ rose to second the resolution pro posed by his friend Mr. Birley.—( A voice, " Get down, you are as bad as your master.") He thought that every important topic, like the one they were called there to discuss, as affecting, and that deeply too, the most important interests of the nation at large, ought at all events to be dispassionately considered, and as most materially affecting the future income of the labour ing classes, he thought that they were more essen tially interested in the question—(Loud cheers,—and that they ought to demand a patient and fair hear ing on both sides of the question.—( Hear, and cheers.) He should net have taken the liberty of appearing be. fore them there it he did not feel it to be Ids duty, as a man engaged in trade, to denounce so infamous a fallacy as that by which they had on that occasion been at tempted to be hoodwinked.—!Cheers and hisses.) Ile reierred to a bill which had been posted on the wall. It was stated in that bill by those who had issued it, what was to be the great watch-wof d of the anti-Corn law men. It was this : they were to "read, mark, and learn."—( Loud cries of " Question, question," much groaning, hissing-, tattering, and confu s io n .) B u t t h e writers of that placard had ' taken care to omit that they were to " inwardly digest" Eiglish corn.—(Groans, and cries of " Question.") It was stated in that placard that our population—(Much interruption)—was increas ing annually half a million a year.—(Laughter.) But they did not at the same time tell us how much land there was every year being brought into a state of tillage in order to meet this very difficulty. They stated tfiat the land of En g l an d did not increase one inch in 100 years, whereas the public and official returns made by Government proved that every year there were many thousands of acres redeemed from waste, and capable of yielding corn for the support of the increasing popula ton.—( Cheers and groans.) Mr Phillips lied admit ted—(Great interruption)—Mr. Phillips had admitted what must inevitably confound the whole question. He admitted two things, the first of which was that wages would be diminished, that they would sink—inevitably sink—(Cheers and' groans)—and though they might use bread enough to save to the amount of Is. 6d. a-week, their wages would be reduced to from 3s. to 45., so that this part of the subject was a mere fallacy, a rank staring faliacy, which only required to be brought to the ears of Englishmen for them not to see it—(Roars of laughter)—in a moment. Mr. Phillips admitted, too, that there might he and there must be an increased demand for labour. What did that mean but that the man who laboured sixteen hours a-day would be compelled to labour eighteen hours a day for the same amount of wages.—( Hear, hear.) It was impossible to deny the inferenee—(Roars of laughter.) There was not a greater fallacy put forth in this question then that the present distress was caused by the unfavourable operation of the Corn-laws. Had we not the Corn-laws in 1835 ? They put out a state ment that this distress was occasioned by sending abroad machinery, and now those consistent gentlemen were assigning the distress to the Corn-laws alone.—(Groans and uproar.) He contended that their wages must be broken down to Continental prices. They must be so to enable them to compete successfully with the foreigner on the Continent. They were now obliged to have a certain amount of capital invested in trade ; let their wages be broken down, and the same capital would go proportionately further. Therefore it was an argument of the rich in favour of the poor—(Cheers and laughter) —it was solely in favour of the rich—(Renewed laughter)—and against the poor. But then, again, her Majesty's Ministers were very decided on this question —and against it..--(" No, no," " No politics," and " Off, off.") I have great pleasure in seconding the amendment, being satisfied that the more the question is examined in the face of the Corn-law agitators themselves, the more the public will see it in its true light, and throw it into utter contempt.—(Much laughter, hisses, and cheers.) ___ Mr. JAMES `Yaws then stepped forward to move a a second amendment, which he thought would have a tendency to reconcile a great number of jarring inte rests ; and at all events he thought that if his amend ment were carried, there would be no fear of a repeal of the Corn-laws. He would read it to them, and afterwards address to them a few wards upon the sub ject of it. It was— " That this meeting is of opinion that no permanent relief will be afforded, nor the distress under which the people of this country are labouring be effectually removed, till the taxes on corn, malt, hops, sugar, tea, coffee, kc. —( Cheers)—and all other necessaries of life, be re pealed—( Loud cheers)—and the revenue reduced to what it was in 1792." It was his opinion, that without a resolution of this kind were carried, and without Parliament did something to the amount of his amendment, that the repeal of the Corn-laws alone would not give that relief which Mr. Phillips and his friends se eme to expect.—(Cheers and hisses, and " One thing at a time.") Some person called out " One thine at a time." He had not the least objection to get one thing at a time, but his opinion was, that if they did not ask something along with that " One thing," they would not get half a thing.—(Cheers.) He petitioned aeainst the passing of the Corn-laws. They were passed contrary to the wishes of the people of E ngland, but they were there now, and could they get them off? He would tell them that by adopting his amendment they would, because they would then ' take the whole of the agricultural and middle classes with them.--c Lee _ r and " No, no")—but let them go only for takin g off the t axes n corn, and then they would find that the whole country would set them and the manufacturers and their . petition at defiance, as they did last year ; and the House of Commons would do so too, because a great portio n of the constituency had not joined in the agitation. Now let them not be twittering the thing away in the shameful manner they did last year ; if they were to do anything let it be effectually done. They must have millions o f taxes reduced. If they were to compete with foreigners they mus t b e placed upon the same principle on witich they were placed in reference to general taxation.—(Great cheering.) They would beat us , do as We would. If we only repealed the Corn-laws, then would come down the grinding of the peoples wages ; then would come down the shopocracy, and ultimately th e r i cher classes would get i n to the ° G aze tte to a fearful ext ent. (A voice—" They are in already.") He granted t h ey were ; and why was it so ? Because the present system was all a s y s t em o f ex p e di enc y. If they would come for ward fairly and add these things to their petition, they would then have a united people alcrig - with them—. (Hear.) If these eentlemen were really sincere in their wishes to benefit the poor—and he would not say that they were not sincere—but if they were really sin cere, let th em s h ow t h e i r s i ncer i ty b y a ddi ng to t h e i r petition the matter mentioned in his amendment, and then no man can say but what they really did wish the working classes to be raised to the station in society to which from their industry and ingenuity, and everything else connected with t h em, they were so r:eldy entitled. They were now screwed down to the lowest point. Ile would never oppose the repeal of any tax, but he would I vote for the repeal of all taxes upon labour, and every indirect tax was a tax upon the labouring man. He would now leave his amendment in their hands. If any gentleman felt disposed to second it he should feel much obliged to him. He hoped they would take the thing seriously to heart, and remember that at a future day if they did not vote for a reduction of taxation they would have to repent of their supineness.—(Cheers.) The Rev. Mr. SCHOFIELD said he had great pleasure in seconding the amendment upon this question of the repeal of the Corn-law as now read by his friend Mr. Wroe. Individually, along with Mr. Wroe, he was a repealer, and his opinion was, the sooner it was repealed the better—(Cheers.) In that let them be united at all events.—(Cheers.) He also would wish to point out to them one special item in which they were all equally interested, and that was, when they had got the bread they should have butter to it. Now, the duty on butter was 251,6651. Why not then take the tax off butter as well as from the bread ? The duty which corn produced seemed only to be 186,0001. But there was another thing. He was no drinker of malt liquor himself ; he was a teetotaler—(Laughter)—but let them look to the malt. If they would have beer, have it good and have it cheap. Now, then, the duty on malt was 4,982,0801.! What was that to the duty on corn?—(Laughter.) Let them, then, go unitedly to gether for the repeal of the whole. He should wish that the amendment should be united with the Corn law motion as one, and then Members would be able to support it in the House of Commons, as they had sent their petition from a united people. Let them be one at all events in the repeal of all taxes. They went for the repeal of taxes ; and if they were to have a tax at all, let it be an equitable tax—a tax upon property. A loud cry was now made for Mr. Cobden, where upon,_ - Alderman RICHARD COBDEN, Esq., presented him self, and was received with renewed shouts of applause, waving of hats, and clapping of hands. An attempt was made by the Tories to hiss, upon which another burst of cheering was sent forth, which completely overwhelmed the noise of the opposing party. When the noise of the applause had subsided, Mr. Cobden said—Fair play, and nothing more, was what he asked from all parties. —(Cheers.) As there might be many present who were not very well acquainted with the present position of this question, he would just briefly tell them how he thought it now stood. There was a motion before them declaring that the Corn-laws were contrary to the laws of nature, and to the designs of Providence.—(Cheers.) There was an amendment before them declaring that we should not petition for a repeal of the C ‘ orn-laws because her Majesty's Ministers were unworthy of their confi dence, and they had a further amendment before them which declared that they ought to add the articles of malt, tea, coffee, tobacco, soap, candles, and all the rest of it, to the original resolution. Now he should say but a very few words upon these questions, and if they would be kind enough to hear him without interruption, they would the sooner get home to their families.—(Hear.) Mr. READ (the tobacconist)—Tobacco was not men tioned.—(Laughter.) Mr. COBDEN—Now, then, as to Mr. Birley's amend ment. He should not say a word respecting it on this occasion, because as his remarks had reference to what took place in another quarter, he invited him to meet him at the next meeting of the Chamber of Com= merce, and he would be prepared there to meet him.— (Cheers.) Now, although, according to the state ment of Mr. Birley, Ministers were not much inclined to go far with theca in effecting a repeal of these laws, was that a reason why they should remain still while these laws, according to the admission of the gentle men themselves, were undermining our trade ? (Cheers.) Because Mr. Shiel was made the President of the Board of Trade—and he looked upon it as a mockery to place a man so completely infatuated on that point at least, in such an office—but because Mr. Slid was advanced to that post, still were they as mer chants, as citizens, and as men, to forget their duties to themselves and to those around them ?—(Hear, and cheers.) He should not condescend to say another word upon the amendment moved by Mr. Birley.— (Heae, and laughter.) He left it in their hands to do with it as he knew they would, for he knew perfectly well that they would go with the Chamber of Commerce for the total and unconditional repeal of these laws.— (Deafening cheering.) But Mr. Wroe and the Rev. Gentleman who had succeeded him had added other articles to the original question, and he should be as glad as they could be to see the taxes reduced upon every article they bad mentioned, and placed upon property as it ought to be.—(Loud cheering.) But he would endeavour to show that Mr. Wroe and the gen tleman who succeeded him, laboured under considerable misapprehension as to the effect of these laws. Mr. Wroe had told them that the duty on corn was only 180,000/. during the last year. That however was merely the duty received by the State for the benefit of the country.—(Hear.) But how much had been put into the pockets of the land-owning aris tocracy ?—(Cheers.) Let them bear in mind that they had every one of them an interest in considering this. Let them bear in mind that the Corn-laws were imposed not for the purposes of revenue, but for the exclusive benefit of the proprietors of the acres of this country.— ( Immense cheering.) Other taxes had been reduced. In 1810 our taxes on gold—and he mentioned this to satisfy those gentlemen who had scruples on this subject —our taxation on gold was 31. 155., and at the present moment it was 31. 17s. There had been an immense amount of taxation taken off : but were the labouring classes better off than they were in 1810 ?—(No, no) — and if not why was it, when this immense amount of taxation bad been reduced ? Why simply because the very same hands that took the tax off property had thrown the whole burden of taxation upon the bread of the poor.—( Hear, and cheers.) They had passed laws which should prevent the importation of corn, until it had arrived at so dear a price that it was quite beyond the means of the poor man to buy it.—(Hear, hear.) It was estimated that the produce of this country was about 50,000,000 of quarters ; and it was esti• mated that the meat, the sheep, the pork, beef, aad other commodities which were produced from the land, and.which:the land supported,would amount to 50,000,000 of quarters more, making what was equivalent to one hundred millions of quarters of grain raised from our soil. At the most moderate computation, suppose it were Bs. per quarter upon that amount of corn of foreign growth—until that amount of Bs. per quarter upon these one hundred millions of quarters had found its way into the pockets of the landlords, the corn of the foreigner could not be almitted into this county. — (Immense and deafening cheers, which were several times renewed.) Well, Bs. per quarter on one hundred mil lions of quarters was forty millions sterling per year; and he maintained, in the face of those great political economists,, Mr. Read and Mr.:Birley, that the creditors of this country, composed chiefly of the working class, paid forty millions sterling every year into the pockets of the landlord.—(Hear, hear, hear.) Now, this was a reason, and a strong one too, why this tax ought to be taken off, that the labouring man might have cheap bread for himself and his family, which constituted three-fourths of the food which they consumed.—( Hear, hear.) They were told that the working classes in the agricultural districts would go with them if they" would go for a repeal of the duties on sugar, tea, coffee, soap, and other luxuries.—(Laughter.) There was not one man present in that room who would repeat that laugh when he read to them a few brief words, written by an agricultural labourer in the county of Sussex, ad dressed to the Poor-law Guardians, describing the de plorable state of himself and his family. He (Mr. Cob den) was a Sussex man, and he would vouch for the accuracy of every word in this report. He would read the letter to them, and they should then judge whether soap was a luxury to the poor agricultural labourer : To the Right Honourable the Commissioners of the New Poor-law Amendment Act. I now state to your honours, that I sin a labouring man, belonging to the parish of Guestling, in the county of Sussex. I lived in the parish of Brede for nearly forty seven years, and I oftimes applied to the Hastings Board of Guardians for some assistance to support my family. But they alway s denied to give me anything. But they told me they could not relieve me unless I was in my own parish, and then they could relieve me, as I have a family of nine children, and six of them lay on my hands for sup port. I hired a cottage in the parish of Guestling, in the Hastings Union, and I moved into the parish of Guest ling on the 17th of June last, when I had but one shilling in the world ; and I sent one of my children to the shop with that one shilling to get food for eight in family, and I went to the relieving officer, and told him the distressed state I was in ; and asked him to relieve me—but he would not relieve me ; and, on the 20th day of June, my wife went before the Board of Guardians, and asked them for relief. But they would not relieve us at all, a nd we was all in a strange place; and I hav e oftimes appl i ed to the Board of Guardians since—but they always deny me. They say they do not dare to relieve me, for the Commis sioners will not let them relieve me, or else they would be happy to relieve me. The Guardians of Guesilin,,r , parish tells me they should be very happy to give me four or five gallons of dour per week, if they d are d to give it me—for you, the said Commissioners, would not let there relieve me. Please your honours my shoes are quite worDou t t h , i3 7d my feet go on the Guardians and have done for weans. I have applied to the Board of uairdra pairianso of the Hastings Union, for this last three weeks, o half-boots, and some flour or money to help support may famlly ; but they will not give me neither . sh?es,nor say , nor money. They deny to relieve me in anyway, and that you, the said Commissioners, will not let them. Please your honours, when I work all the week I earn . 123., but I oftimes lose a day or two in a week ; but, if I . work the whole of my time, my income is only I:2i. pet week for eight in family to subsist on, and we are all so weak and feeble that we are troubled to get about, and I °''' very much troubled to get to my work. Ple vrieek .. , a a se na vo: lil h on o re n obm o u t te irs, the flour that I require for my family is your gallons at 13. sd. per gallon, and thet amounts to I Is. 4d., and the rent of my cottage is 2s. per wwictehkt,hatloluera,unroent t g a e n t d firi fi n t g in u tz n , der 2s. per week, wuico, amounts to 15s. 4d. per te is r_ o_ n n o ly sii l23. per week, and how can I pay ins. 4d. with 12s. ? And then we have nothing; for m.i..at, cheese, ~ .far nor tea—and my wife a chiA to suck, and no tea nor sugar, it is a very hard cas e, and not asixpnnce for clothing, there. And I most sineorcly hope teat you, the !tight Honourable Commis sioners, will have the goodness to return me a few. lines in answer to this, so that I may kuow whether the laws of England are for a working indostres, and sober man to go bare footed and allmost starved, or not. Direct to me to Thomas Turner, Guestling, near Hastings. November 18th, 1839.-1 remain your honours' humble subject. THOMAS TURNER. Now, after such a letter as that, he thought it would appear pretty obvious that the labouring classes could not feel a very great interest in having the taxes re duced on such luxuries as soap. This was, indeed, im portant, and it was a luxury, too, but there were other, and, if possible, much more pressing wants.—( Hear, hear.) They were reduced below the means of getting molasses. They could get no tea, coffee, sugar, or butter. If they could only get bread enough for their families, it was the most important thing that they seemed to desire.--(Hear, hear.) And what was the condition of Ireland ? There were seven millions of people with nothing but potatoes to live upon ; and when they could scarcely get lumpers and sea weed, was it to be supposed that they could feel an extraor dinary interest in repealing the duties on tea and sugar ? Then there was another point which came nearer to his own case. They had been told by those great poli tical economists, those lights of Manchester, they had been told that if they got corn cheap their wages would be reduced. Now, unfortunately for this assertion, they almost all of them lived in the year 1835, when flour was not about one half its present price, and he was sure There was too much sense among a body of men, like those there assembled, to adopt any body's theory, when they could resort to their own experience. Now he would ask them whether their wages were lower in 1835 than they were at present ?—(" No, no," and cheers.) Then he would ask them, was not the sd. loaf in 1835, taking the quality of ;the meal into account—was not the sd. loaf then fully equal to the 9d. loaf now ? (" Yes" and " No," and cheers.) He had had an op portunity of knowing in his own trade some facts which were of importance in illustrating this question, and he would briefly refer to them. He had paid, during the last seven years, more than 20,0004 a year in wages, and they were paying now precisely the same wages in 1839 which they were paying in 1835.—(Hear, hear.) He appealed to others who knew the fact ; and he chal lenged any body to deny that whilst the men, in his trade, in 1835, were almost every one of them employed and getting full wages, there were immense numbers of them now unemployed, or only half employed, while bread was nearly double the price it was in 1835. (Hear, hear.) Mr. WILLIAM BUTTERWORTH asked if this amount of manual labour had not been superseded by new im provements in machinery ? Mr. COBDEN replied in the negative. But he had promised he would not speak at length, and he would fulfil his promise. He took his stand there as an advocate for a sufficient supply of the necessities—the dearest necessities of the poorest of the poor of the country. He did not talk of the taxes upon tea and sugar now ; but whenever a motion could be made, and petitions signed, he would be one • that would petition for the taxes being taken from such articles, and a property tax substituted in their stead upon the rich.—(Loud cheers, which were continued for some time.) But if anything that he had said on that occasion should have had the effect of convincing Mr. Wroe, or the reverend seconder of his amendment, that there was some reason for the course that was pur sued—of getting a repeal of the bread tax in preference to all others, then he had sufficient faith in their can dour that they would withdraw their amendment— (" No, no," and cheers—and then they might come to the issue with the other party, who, although they pro fessed to be anxious for a repeal of the Corn-laws, were so warm, so energetic and zealous upon the subject, that they could not take a single step because Mr. Sheil was President of the Board of Trade.—(Great laughter and cheering.) He put it to Mr. Wroe to withdraw his amendment.—(No, no.) Then he must warn them that if upon this occasion the direct attack upon this tax was got rid of by any side wind, he was sorry to say it would be industriously put forth to the world that it was mot rid of because they were not feelin g s o ea r nes tly, thein matter as they ought to do. He would add no thing further, but would leave the matter in their hands. —( Renewed cheering.) Mr. ELIJAH DIXON next proceeded to address the meeting. He said he remembered being in that room A few years ago when a meeting was called to take into consideration the distressed state of the people of Man chester, and on that occasion almost a thousand causes were assigned for the distress of the people of this country. Mr. Potter himself, the present Mayor of this borough, together with many others, were for an alteration of these laws for the benefit of the working classes. They proposed their measures, and he then moved an amendment to the effect that they could enjoy no effectual relief until they had reduced the taxation of the country to what it was at the peace establishment of 1792. That amendment was carried against every half measure that was proposed. Had they become less honest now than they were then ? Would they give less proof of their growing intelligence during the painful years that had transpired since that period ? He trusted they would show that their intelligence had grown with their sufferings, and that they were still the same, willing to remove the common distress of the country by a "long pull, a strong pull, and a pull alto gether." He would tell them that if one party pulled one way and another another, they would pull the old ship Britannia to pieces, and they would all go to the bottom with her. Then, if they would pull all one way they would pull at the true cause of the distress, both of the agriculturists and the manufacturers, and they would do right.—(Cheers.) Now let them exa mine this matter. They had been told that the land lords of England paid forty millions a year as a corn tax. Why all the rent put together that was paid did not amount to more than about forty-five millions—that was it did not average above one pound an acre, but 18s. 6d. was nearer the mark. Now suppose the land lords were to make them a present of this ; why that Government would take more than that ; and the rea son why they were distressed and oppressed, and could not meet the foreigner in a foreign market—the reason was, that our Government was so enormously more ex pensive than any other Government. It was vain to say that the landlords pocketed forty millions a year out of the profit upon corn, when the rents altogether were only forty-five millions. This was nonsense ; and he would ask Mr. Cobden what had brought him away from an agricultural district to print cottons, if the profits were not less remunerating than those that arose from printing calicoes ?—(Hear.) What tempted him to leave those fields in his native country to come here to be a printer. Profitable as agriculture was, it was a great deal more so to print calico.—(Hear, hear.) He asked them plainly and honestly to think on the subject as if they were interested in giving an honest decision in the sight of God and man, for they might rest as sured that they might promise themselves success ; but if those promises of success were not based on those eternal, immutable, and unalterable laws of our being, we should have increased taxation for our pains. Now let them look at this matter. It was notorious that within these half dozen years the productive power of machinery in Lancashire had increased sixfold. It was equally notorious that we might go on making machines until there was no power on earth to supply the raw produce to satisfy those machines, much less power to to supply the mouths of the population if the machinery did not exist. Now as corn rose and fell in value, as it was plentiful or scarce, he would ask whether the labour rose and fell by the same law ? Now, he would tell them that in 1835 they had much more money, and corn was half as cheap again.—(Hear, bear.) But the Corn•law did not make it cheap. The cotton tax had been taken off, and the Ameri cans actually gave us less cotton for the same amount of cloth than ever they did.—(Hear, hear, and cries of " Question, question.") The Americans, therefore, had discovered the secret of our weakness, and they would as surely find out the secret of giving us less corn for our cloth, unless we could have as cheap a govern ment as they have. He supported with all his heart the amendment of his friend Mr. Wroe, and he would also prophecy and warn them. Mr. SMITH—A prophet has no honour in his own country. Mr. DIXON_I am aware of that ; but if you at tempt to gain an advantage in the mere exporting of the cloth for grain, merely to benefit the manufacturer, God in heaven will avenge the wrongs of your brother upon you —(Hisses, cheers, laughter, and groans.) MARK PHILIPS, Esq., again advanced and observed— With respect to Mr. Birley's amendment, he had been pleased, in proposing it, to deal largely in opprobrium upon her Majesty's Ministers. But he would ask Mr. Birley, or any other gentleman present, whether he ever knew of any Administration which had so many Members in it that would vote for an alteration in the Corn-laws, as there were among the Members of the existing Government ?—and if Mr. Birley would show him a Ministry more intimately connected with the landed interest who would do more for us, he should be . extremely glad to listen to what they had got to say ; and he thought it meat probable that they would have his vote along with them. Now, he had nothing to do with p ar ty i n thi s ques ti on , for it was no party question. He h a d one remar k to ma k e in c onnection w ith what had f a ll en f rom M r. R ea d ; h e w ould put it to the can dour of t h at gent l eman w h et h er h e thought it was alto gether f a i r f or hi m to trave l ou t of his way to make an attack upon M r . P ou l e tt Thomson ; because he c ou ld assure him that h e was i n error respectin g t h at gentleman.—( H ear, h ear. ) I t was Mr. Thom son who made th i s an open quest i on i n the Cabinet : and he (Mr. Philips) k new t h at h e was prepared to hav e b roug h t f orwar d a mot i on i n t h e H ouse i c M r. Commons for a m o d erate f i xe d d uty, an d Ile believed hi s O pinions were i n f avour of a cont i nua ll y d ecreas i ng a duty.--(Deafeningl cheers.) AD—On .our authority I shall be happy to m il ' i r L h L o i n :s s —Titere:l lave been a great many on all th e a ll owance b e c l a i ms. speC l a r h . es P made for the landed int erest . I h ave on ly to urge you o any of t h ose specious addresses v..hich hm:e been delivered on th e present occasion.— g.ntiont cr t ainly is .ourt be turned asid e from that which cer es.f, by (Cheers.) It is truly a question of subsistence ; and all I can say is, that so far as I have the power, so long as I have the office, and so far as I have the strength to cal ry your wishes into the House of Commons, I will faithfully endeavour to obtain for you a remission of that t tax which, of all others, I am convinced presses upon you the most heavily, and the most fatally.—(lmmense and long continued cheering,) The CHAIRMAN then took the sense of the meeting on the motion and amendments, when there appeared for Mr. Wroe's amendment about thirty or forty hands ; for Mr. Birley's, from fifteen to twenty ; and for the original motion, a forest of hands appeared, which was immediately followed by the most enthusiastic cheers, waving of hats, and clapping of hands, for several minutes. The decision of the meeting on this resolution being all but unanimous, the greater portion of the factious party walked off, and left the rest of the bu siness to be proceeded with without interruption. ALFRED CHARLES WALKER, Esq. (amid loud cheers), was then called upon to move the next re solution : That the Corn-law violates the sacred principles of religion and morality, by interposing a barrier between the bounties of Divine Providence and the wants of the industrious millions of this country ; thus depriving them of the means of indep en d ent su b s i stence , an d sub jecting them to the evils of disease, demoralization, and premature death. The Rev. W. GADSBY was introduced as the se conder of this resolution. The Reverend Gentleman, being aged, wore a dark-coloured velvet cap. He said he hoped they would excuse him for wearing his cap while he said a few words, for it was one in which he designed to pass sentence of condemnation upon the Corn-laws.—(Laughter and cheers.) He considered them directly and immediately opp o s e d to the word of God, and the introduction of them was plainly telling God to his face that they would not have him to rule over them.—(Hear, hear, and c h eers .) H e did no t stand there as a political man. It was well known to them that he was no Tory—(Loud cheers)--and if the present proceedings of the Whig Ministry were true Whiggism, he was no Whig—(Renewed cheering)— and if the proceedings of a great many who called them selves Radical were true Radicalism , he was no R a di ca l —(Cheering)—so that it puzzled him to find out wh a t name he must give himself in political matters, and perhaps they could give him a name better than he could do it for himself. In reading the word of God, in the book of Genesis, it was said " And God said, behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed which is upon the face of the earth."— Mind that—" and every tree which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed : to you it shall be for meat." Now, that was God's Corn-law.—(Cheers.) But the aristocracy made a law which said : " No ; the labouring and in dustrious people of England shall not partake of all the fruits of the earth, if we can help it ; for we are deter mined to pocket the greatest part of the labour ourselves, and we will be the gentlemen that shall have the fruits." —(Cheers.) Where did this tax begin ? Really he could hardly tell them ; but. he had looked at one or two of the branches of it. First, it was needful that the carriage of it should be paid to bring it to this country. Secondly, it must be put under what they called bond, and the Lord knew that that was a very good term, for it was bound enough.—(Cheers.) Well, then there must be money laid out to:build warehouses to put it in. Then there has been a tax upon the bricks, and a tax upon the wood to build these ware houses to take care of the corn, and keep it out of poor people's mouths and stomachs.—(Hear.) Then there must be a taxed exciseman to lock it up—(lmmense cheering)—so as to make the " bond" so much the firmer.—(Cheers.) Now, lock at the aristocracy, how they were taxed. They had land, but there was no in surance from fire there—there was no 3s. a hundred there —no, no. Well, then, there was the tradesman. Perhaps he bad saved a little property. Well, there was a tax upon the probate of his will, and a tax called legacy duty. He knew they would like them to call it a duty, but he never would if he was in his senses—he called it a tax.—(Cheers.) Now, if a Nobleman died, he might leave his ten, twenty, fifty, or hundred, or, perhaps, two hundred thousand pounds u-year property in land; his heir took it, and there was about as much tax upon it as there was upon straw.—(Cheers.) Therefore, in all the bearings of this question the aristocracy ruled with an iron hand to tax the working people and the industrious classes of the community.—( Hear, hear.) He was sorry he had detained them so long, but he had a pas sage or two he should like to read, for he must come to the old standard of the Book of God. In Proverbs, the 11 th chapter, 26th verse, it was written—" He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him."— (Loud cheering.) Now, the Lord said the people should curse him that withholdeth corn. Their corn was withheld when it was locked up by Act of Parlia ment.—(Cheers.) He considered the Corn-laws as steadily opposed to every principle of religion and mo rality, and as insulting to both God and man.—(Cheers.) The resolution was then put and carried with accla mation. Mr. Alderman CORDEN was called upon to move the next resolution, and was received with deafening shouts of applause. He said the resolution he had to Ind: pose was— " That, at the present time, the baneful influences of the Corn-laws are exerting themselves with peculiar seve rity upon the middle and working classes of the commu nity; :njuring the banker by the derangement of the cur rency ; oppressing the merchant and dealer by the exces sive rate of interest ; annihilating the profits of the capi talists, and reducing to pauperism the industrious artisan and labourer; and, unless repealed, this destructive law will, by banishing our manufactures to other countries, and throwing upon the soil the entire burden of supporting a destitute and idle population, involve the landowners, with every other class, in cne common ruin." —He was glad that this resolution referred to the middle and working classes ; it showed that we were identified in one common interest. It might be that the distress that fell upon this community might teach the working classes that the pressure of the times has been felt severely by the middle classes ; just as in an attack of severe cold we feel it at our extremities before it reaches the heart ; but they might depend upon it that if one class of the community was suffering, the interests of the other must be suffering at the same time, for they were like a chain—so bound that one link could not receive an injury without the vibration being felt throughout the whole. Mr. RANSOM seconded the resolution. The following business was then transacted : Moved by Mr. GEORGE HADFIELD ; seconded by Mr. CALLENDER:- That the following petition, founded upon the forego ing resolutions, and praying for the entire and immediate abolition of the Corn-law, be signed by the authorities convening this meeting on behalf of the same, and be pre sented to the Queen, and to both Houses of Parliament. The humble Petition of the Inhabitants of the Borough of Manchester, assembled at a Public Meeting, duly convened by the Municipal Authorities of the said Borough, Humbly Showeth—That a free exchange of the pro ducts of industry for the corn and food of other countries is the natural and inherent right of the people of every nation—a right clearly recognized by the Creator himself, in awarding to various climes the different productions of the earth for the common benefit of all his creatures. That the Corn-law violates the sacred principles of reli gion and morality, by interposing a barrier between tho bounties of Divine Providence, and the wants of the indus trious millions of this country; thus depriving them of the means of independent subsistence, and subjecting them to the evils of disease, demoralisation, and premature death. That, at the present time, the baneful influences of tho Corn-law are exerting themselves with peculiar severity upon the middle and working classes of the community_ injuring the banker by the derangement of the currency_ oppressing the merchant and dealer by the excessive rate of interest—annihilating the profits of the capitali s t— an d reducing to pauperism the industrious artisan and labourer; and that, unless repealed, this destructive law will, by banishing our manufacturers to other countries, and throw ing upon the soil the entire burden of supporting a desti tute and unemployed population, involve the landowners, with every other class, in one common ruin. Therefore your petitioners most humbly pray your right honourable House, that the Corn-laws be entirely and im mediately abolished.—And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray. Moved by Mr. J. B. SMITH ; seconded by Mr. GEORGE THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1839. WILsoN. That this meeting calls upon their fellow -countrymen in all parts of the kingdom, and of the metropolis in parti cular, to ca-operate with thorn in their righteous endea vours to effect the total and immediate repeal of the Corn laws. DAVID PRICE, Chairman. Mr. Price having left the chair, it was taken by David Ainsworth, Esq., when it was moved by Mr. SANIUEL ; seconded by Mr. G. H. WINDER , and re the thanks o f this meeting be presented to '')l DSTa:eyiel'spl'r‘ih jun. Price, Esq., for his conduct in the chair this day. DAVID AINSWORTH. MORE HOLE-AND-CORNERISM.—The fol lowing " private circular," dated Hereford, Des. 18, has been distributed pretty extensively :—" ‘1 e are desired by the Committee of the Hereford Protestant Association to entreat in the most urgent manner the favour of your attendance at a meeting to be held on Friday, the 27th instant, at twelve o'clock at the Counsel's Room, Shire hall. The Committee are i n poss ession of imp ortant d ocumen t s containing the most painful information on certain subjects, which i they ar e anx ious to lay b e f ore t h e respec table and ntelligent me mbers of the c ommun i t y o f this county. The Com mittee pledge themselves importance and a s to the great and authenticity of th e i n t e lligence they .desire to com municate. The meet i ng w ill be strictly . confined t o s at te n o t f i attention." h.e" foli.v r) gen tlemen who are t h us i n di v idually invited by the C o mmittee, and th ey earnest ly entreat your dispassion_ ate ee appended n u dei unbiassed ase. d thenames deacon Wetherell ; R ev . Thomas Allen ; Chandos Hoskyns, Eiq. ; J. G. B ar ker, Esq. ; Rev. H. SymoncL ; Rev. D. J. Lee Warner ; Sir H. Hoskyns , Bart. ; Rev. otintg this :—Ven. Arch deacon ,‘ docu ments J. Venn ; W. H. Bellamy, Esq. ; Rev. W. HasL;all; Major Coyle ; Rev. J. H. Barker ; Rev. Thomas powe!1; H. J. Lee Warner, E ,, 7q. AUBERS Music.—Auber is an excellent writer of dance tunes, and little more or better. His music always seerns to us intended and . calculated for an an companiment to the dance. Hi 3 choruses give ready made (;"/"Pcs , and his songs are quadrilles fit for use., —Spectator. BIRMINGHAM ELECTION. (FROM A CORRESPONDENT.) All doubt as to the probability of Mr. Attwood's resignation seems at length at an end, although I regret to say that the circumstances connected with the long delayed announcement of that gentleman's final determi nation upon the subject has placed the Liberal cause in no small jeopardy. In the beginning of the week it was generally understood that Mr. Attwood would keep his seat till the next general election, being unsuccessful in his endeavoUrs to procure a per son holding views entirely in accordance with his own to fill his place, Mr G. F. Muntz, who was applied to by the Hon. Gentleman, having distinctly and positively refused to come forward. The field being thus clear, Mr. Sturge's friends lost no time in securing the suffrages of the electors in favour of that gen tleman whenever a vacancy should occur, and in this course they were encouraged by the general feeling expressed in his favour by the great mass of electors in the borough, and the determination to support him against any opposition on the part of Whigs or Tories. Things, however, have assumed a totally different aspect within the last four-and-twenty hours. A meeting of Mr. Sturge's Committee was held yesterday evening at the Public-office, when the following letter from William Scholefield, Esq., late Mayor of the Borough, addressed to Mr. Edmonds, Clerk of the Peace, and one of the Committee, was read to the meeting, conveying the first official in timation of Mr. Attwood's determination to vacate his seat for Birmingham, although it is known that he applied for the Chiltren Hundreds three weeks ago : " Minories, Dec. 19, 1839. " DEAR SIR,—I have this morning received a letter from Mr. Attwood, dated the 14th instant, in which he acknowledges the receipt of my letter of the Bth, which reached him only the day he wrote. He declares to have finally made up his mind to resign, and his address to his constitutents will, I expect, appear, in the Journal of Saturday. " I am, dear Sir, " Very faithfully your's, "To G. Edmonds, Esq. "W. SCHOLEFIELD." No reasons appear to have been assigned by Mr. Att wood in his communication to Mr. Scholefield (or if they were they have not transpired), as to the cause which prevented him from making an earlier announce ment of his intentions with regard to the representa tion of the borough. Mr. Sturge's Committee, how. ever, determined at once to commence active opera tions, and retain the advantage which they have al ready secured. Offices have been taken in a central part of the town, and measures are in progress for making an immediate canvass of the borough. These energetic measures are, it is deeply to be regretted, ren dered necessary, not by Whig or Tory opposition, but by a portion of the Radical interest in the borough, who are getting up a requisition to Mr. George Frederick Aluntz, with the view of inducing that gentleman to contest the election with a Reformer, whose principles are at least as sound and honest as his own. Mr. Muntz will, no doubt, be put up on Whig and Radical influence combined, and, as Mr. Sturge's friends are determined not to withdraw that gentleman from the field, of which they have been so long fairly left in possession, there is, according to the present aspect of things, every reason to believe that the Liberal interest will be divided in the borough, and a Tory candidate allowed to carry off the prize. Col. Thompson is still in Birmingham, and has put out an address to the Radical electors of the borough. The Tories are not idle, they are playing a deep game ; and should Mr. Muntz divide the Radical interest—as he assuredly will, by coming forward—he will be running a tilt against the great principle of union amongst Re formers, which he has often and successfully impressed upon the electors, as the foundation and stronghold of their cause. CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. (From the Scots Times.) The Commission of the General Assembly has af forded another proof to the country of the determi nation of the majority of our State Churchmen to remain in rebellion against the authority of the civil powers. The Presbytery of Strathbogie having, con ' trary to the injunctions of the General Assembly, resolved to obey the law of the land in proceeding to take on trial Mr. Edwards, the presentee to the pa rish of Marnoch in terms of a decision of the Court of Session, the Commission of Assembly met on Wednes day, and suspended the majority of the Presbytery, pro hibiting them from exercising the functions of the ministry in their respective parishes, and appointing others to do duty, ad interim, in their stead. This extraordinarystretcb of power on the part of the Commission has necessarily ex cited a great sensation, and must inevitably be followed by important consequences. The remarks of our Contempo rary of the Chronicle on this subject, are equally pointed, and appropriate. " Talk of Chartists !" says he, " here is Ha Corporation fostered, pensioned, sustained by the .State, .setting itself in opposition to the judicatories of ' the land. This state of things cannot last. The Queen- and Parliament must be the ruling power, or a knot of sectarians will take the place of the judges of the people." We do not see how the General Assembly, through its Commission, can be longer overlooked by the civil power. The suspension of the seven ministers of the Presbytery of Strathbogie, involves depriva tion of income, and when taken in connection with the late decree of the Court of Session, can be viewed in no other light than as direct rebellion. The poor misguided Welsh Ch a rti s t s h ave o ff en d e d the law, and a Special Commission has been appoint to examine and punish. And here is an assembly of learned gentlemen, influential from their station in so ciety, setting the law openly at defiance ; why should they not be brought at once to submission ? Our Whig Ministers have dealt too mildly with these people. The public are instituting an unfavourable contrast between the treatment of the Chartist rioters and the Clerical conspirators. The poor, the ignorant, the unhappy in worldly circumstances, and the excited, are thrown into prison, while the cool calculating plotter for the exaltation of ecclesiastical over civil power,—for the subversion, in fact, of our present constitution in Church and State, in order to pave the way towards a sacerdotal despotism—are permitted to go at large. We observe that Mr. Henry Dunlop of Craigton has had the imprudence to second the motion of the Rev. Mr. M'Candlish, for suspending the ministers of the Presbytery of Strathbogie. We are sorry that Mr. Dunlop should have put himself so forward. It ill becomes the Chief Magistrate of the second city in the island to take a lead in opposition to the law of the land. But punishment must follow, and if Mr. Dunlop will allow himself to be led into rebellion, by those who surround him, he must take the consequences. The vengeance of the law may be suspended for a time ; but in the end its majesty must and will be vindicated. The hasty rebellion of the Welsh Chartists is nothing comparable to the cool and decided rebellion of the Churchmen. (From the Ayr Observer.) The plain and simple duty of the Presbytery was to obey the mandate of the Ecclesiastical Court. The Church may he wrong—egregiously wrong—in contend ing with the law, by adhering to the Veto Act, but it assuredly is not the province of an inferior court, under any circumstances, to set aside the rule of a superior. It is absurd to vindicate the Presbytery —as some of our Contemporaries have done—on the ground that, placed between two evils, they chose the least, by obeying the dictates of the civil tribunal in preference to their own supreme judicatory. So long as they formed a constituent part of an establishment, . governed by its own laws, and to whose legislative as sembly they were accountable, they had neither the power to act independently, nor were they, in anysense, held compe,ent to entertain the question between the Civil and the Ecclesiastical Courts. We regret as much as any one that the safety of our venerated Church Establishment should be endangered by inter nal feuds, and speculative notions of independence. We regret the violent course which has been adopted : but now that the Church has chosen her position, and so long as she is supported in that po sition by a Legislative majority, we cannot hold them true friends who seek to widen the breach, and attempt to throw obstacles in the way of an amicable adjustment with the State. The Church has no doubt misapprehended her rights, though it must be admitted that there is much weight in the reasoning of Dr. Chalmers. The error on the part of the Assembly exists, not in the end sought to be obtained, but in the course adopted for its accomplishment. if the Church has presumed on an authority which the State denies her—but which the former holds to be indispensable to her welfare—and is prepared to sever the bonds of union rather than veil her independence, common pru dence ought to recommend conciliation. The State is assuredly not in a condition to discard the Church. (From the Belfast Nezus Letter.) There can be no doubt that the conduct of the Presbytery, in preferring the injunctions of the law authorities to those of the Church, rendered it impe rative upon the latter to maintain its spiritual juris diction, since it must be evident that if inferior Courts, whether in Church or State, can with impunity disregard the commands of the superior, all subordination would be quickly at an end. Considered in itself, therefore, the decision of the Assembly Commission is undoubtedly, right, with reference to the intrinsic power of the Church itself over its own members, hut its expediency in relation to the whole of the case at issue is far from being evident. We need hardly premise that it is the duty of Churchmen as well as others to obey the law, and if they knowingly and wilfully set themselves in opposition to it, they put themselves into a false po sition, by violating the allegiance they owe to the State from which they derive their temporal emoluments. It is:no excuse to say that the law of patronage is a bad one—we freely admit it, and hope to witness its speedy abolition, but neither the Church of Scotland nor any other Church can be permitted to usurp the functions of Parliament and to set aside a positive statue of the Wererealm by the resolutions of an Ecclesiastical Cour t. such a doctrine as this sanctioned in any . case, would bring back the days of Papal despotism, when mo narchs were content to wear their crowns by the spe cial grace of the Holy Sec. The only intelligible, ra tional course for the friends of the Church of Scotland to pursue is to avoid all further collisions with the Courts of Law, and to endeavour by constitutional means to have the the Patronage Acts modified or abolished by Parliament in the regular form. It is manifest, that, unless this be done a schism will be gradually provoked within the Church itself, as Ministers cannot be expected to incur the ruinous consequences of withstanding the secular power. It may also happen, that if the quarrel shall be prosecuted to any great extent, the Church may be dis established, as the State cannot be expected to conti nue emoluments to a body of men who refuse that obe dience and submission to the laws in consideration of which those emoluments were originally granted. The cause of the opponents of patronage is a noble one, but it has been unhappily damaged almost beyond remedy by the unconstitutional and even illegal mode in which it has been attempted to be enforced by Dr. Chalmers and his supporters in the General Assembly. They have not only multiplied the inherent difficulties of the case, but have driven the Church itself into an attitude of rebellion against the State, and have thus exposed it to a danger incomparably greater than any by which it has been threatened since the Revolution settlement. (From the Glasgow Chronicle.) 'The most important question, merely political, which is at the present day before the public, is that of the re lation which the State and the Church bear towards each other. It is this :—Whether is the Church, as a Corporation supported by the State, to be allowed to set the State's laws at defiance? We are not disposed to underrate the services ren dered to the community by the Church of Scot land. These services have been too marked—too well known—and too generally appreciated,—to be thought lightly of now. But still we hold that the Church should hold her own place—and that so long as she receives the emoluments of the State, she must submit to such arrangements as the State chooses to impose. So long as the clergy only talked about their " equal and co-ordinate jurisdiction," few troubled themselves about the matter, but since they have begun to practise on such theories, it is found ne cessary to prune their luxuriance. The difference be tween the two parties is simply that the one can de clare, the other can act. The Church can fulminate opinions, to which only those according with them will dream of paying obedience ; the Civil Court has mes sengers-at-arms to enforce its dicta on the disobedient. (From the Glasgow Argus.) A recent decision of the Court of Session has placed the General Assembly in a new posture of helplessness ; its Veto Act is anticipated ; its communicants are gagged, and their veto is, not questioned, but suppressed before it is uttered. Bitterly will the General As sembly repent its defiance of the law on which it de pends, enacting the part of that" astute old gentleman in the caricature, who is sawing away the beam upon which he sits. We find the following account of the new blow at the Veto Act in a leader• of the Scotsman of yester day, no general report of the proceedings being given : Yesterday (Tuesday), the Court of Session adopted a measure which will strikingly illustrate to the Gene ral Assembly the efficacy of its " separate, independent. and co-ordinate jurisdiction," —an interdict was granted to prohibit the communicants of a parish from tendering their dissents in terms of the Veto Act. The presen tation (to a vacancy in the united parishes of Daviot and Dunlichty, in Inverness-shire), was made by the Crown to the Rev. Simon Mackintosh. Accord ing to the statements in the presentee's note of suspension, the Crown, in preparing a beet for the choice of the parishioners (according to the prac tice lately adopted) excluded the name of a can didate who had been employing improper means to secure the choice of the congregation. The leet finally sent consisted of the presentee and another. The he ritors intimated a time for the heads of families in com munion with the Church to meet them, that they might mutually select and recommend to the Crown one of the two candidates. Three communicants only at tended, and there was of course no choice for the Se cretary of State but to present the person recommended by them. The parish boasts of ten heads of families who are communicants. Seven of these are, it appears, opposed to the presentee, and in favour of the gentle man whose name was not admitted to the leet.The Pres bytery have appointed the 19th December for moderating in a call, whqn, of course, these seven communicants (two of whom, it appears, cannot write) intend to veto the presentee. In the meantime, the latter applied to the Court to interdict them " from appearing before the Presbytery of Inverness, at their meeting, &c., and tendering their dissents respectively, without the assign ment of any special objections to the call and settle ment of the complainer, &e., and that either by each of the respondents, separately and personally, delivering his dissent as aforesaid in writing, or by tendering the same to be taken down from his oral statement by the Moderator or Clerk of said Presbytery." The Court, unanimously and without hesitation, instructed the Lord Ordinary to grant the interim interdict. MARKET INTELLIGENCE. PEACE The nig:let price of Bread in V Lai, Good Bread may he had at PRICES 01 Per Cwt, gcw English Red C10ver...556. 903 Old Ditto Ditto s. —3. —8 New .Foreign Ditto —s, .563. 30s. Old Ditto Ditto New White Clover 655. 70s. Old Ditto Ditto —s. —s. New Trefoil ....... 18s. 305. 01.11/Ato —s. 12s. ‘22s. Trefolium s. 28s. 3 , 15, English 526. 565. Foreign Ditto —s. 50a. 563, Coriander —s 20s. '255. Rapeseed, Engli. h fine (per Lai BITEAD. he Xiet - ropolis is 10!d. for the V) F SEEDS. Per quarter. St. Foin —s. 45e 6G , Rye Grass —s. 40s. nicey Grass —s. —3. - Linseed, tor feeding —s, Ditto, for sewing —s. 545. 5O Ditto, for erushirg -3. 423. 463 Canary — s 706. 80s Hemp —s 33s 10s Per Bushel. White Mustard 11s. OA. 144. I'd. &own Ditto lss. Pd. 19.. Tares ss. 6d 7s. 60. Ist) 251.31/. Foreign ‘.. ) 61. 2SI. PRICES OF LEATHER. Per lb. cl. to d Per lb. 0. to -1 , CropHides,3oto4olb.each 11 1:34 Horse Hides, (erman... 12 22 - -40 50 l2 16 --- Spanisit ... 13 25 ---50 60 ..... Bull Hides ........,• Butts, V.triol ... ---- English . .., 15 2' -- 70 100 -- Foreign !oreign Hides ...,.. ~,,,, 10 12 I-- 5m311..... ..... ' Dressing Hides . . ... ... 11 14 'Kips - --S!aaved.„. 13 1i Basils... 1 Best Saddlers' Hides...... 15 lilt Bellies Horse Hides, English .. 11 15 Shoulders Calf Skins, if rounded 2d. to 4d. por b. inure. PRICES OF HOPS. Farnham Pockets (per cwt.) 0! Os. 0/. N. to Oi. Cu. East Kent Pockets ~ 4l 10s. 51. 153. to 61 O. Ditto Bags 3'. IN. 01. Os. Os. to 4/. es, Mid Kent Pockets 3l. 10s. 4/. 10s. to 5' 12'. Ditty Bags Si. 10s. 01. Os. to 4.!. Ot. Susses Yearlings O/, N. 31. 3s. to 3/. 10., Old /Ads PRICE OF OIL. RveGil,brown, per ton, S-ti. lOs.—Refined, 36/.es ( .inseed(lil, 224 Linseed Oil Cake at the Mill (101)0), 141. Us.—Rape Cake, per t0n,71 PRICE oF TALLOW ' SOAP, &e. per 1121 b. Town Tallow s2s. ed. Yellow Soap —s, ed. Yellow Russia 49s. 6d Mottled —s. ed. White Soap Ditto ....... ...... —s Od. Graves Melting Stuff Ditto Rough PRICE I I , RAW FAT, per stone or 81. p. Price of Tallow (as stated by the Tallow Melters) os Ild. PRICE OF CANDLES. The price of good Store Candles in the Retail Shops is as follows: Candles, per dozen, Bs. Od. ; inferior, 75. Od. ; Moulds, 9s. Od. Sixpence per dozen discount for cash. COAL MARKET. s, d. Chester Holy well Main 2l 0 Lea zes Main lB 6 Walls End Brown's' l9 6 Walls End Clarke and Co 2O Walls End Gosforth 23 0 Walla End Hotspur Walls End Killingworth 22 6 Walls End Newrnarch 2l 6 Walls End Riddell's Walls End Belmont Walls EndßraddyiPsHetton 23 s Walls End Hetton Ships arrived since s. 'd Wz"s End Larnbcon .... 4 0 Walls End Stewart's 24 3 Walls end Whltwell Walls End Hartlepool 24 6 Walls End Barrett 23 0 Walls End Coundon Walis End South Durham 23 0 Walls End Tees Hetton Walls End Victoria Tees Blythe IS 0 Elsicar l9 6 Walton Steam Walls End Devonshire 2l 6 la stmarket-day,t7. (From the London New Price Current of Dee. 20.) SUGAR.—There has been more life in the British Plan ation market this week, than has been the case for some time • this is probably on account of n ex t an d par t of the followingtime; week being a holiday. F or re fi n i ng pur poses a fair demand has prevailed, and we advance our quotations Gd per cwt. Berbice, very low dark grey ish brown has been disposed of at 555, rather better 56s to 57s ; Jamaica, good strong brown 583 6d, good middling yellow 62s 6d, fine middling with a good deal of colour 675; Antigua fine not strong 675; Grenada, low middling yellow 59s 6d ; Tobago, middling to good mid dling 60s to 61s per cwt. Barbadoes good to fine fetched 67s to 68s 6d, middling to good middling 65s to 66s 6d, one lot low middling 64s per cwt. This afternoon the merchants requiring higher prices .hecked business, still there was a good business doing, and prices is higher than on Friday last. 118 hhds Bar badoes at auction sold briskly at previous rates, good t° fine fetched 67s a GSs 6d, low mid and good mid 64s a 66s Gd per cwt. the de - REFINED.—Ther e has been no improvement in the mand for Refined goods f or h ome and consumption , refiners have accept e d 76 s t o 76 s 6d f or standard kinds a 1 Bastards of good qua lity a t prev i ous rates, c are offered at easi er p r i ces . For _ Sugar Treacle crus hed quality 31s to 3ls 3d p er cw t. Bon d o f common at 34s to 34s 3d per cwt. Bastards at ed 183 6d for good at Amsterdam 31s tv t 24s Gd per cwt. quality. Pieces of fine bright For Dutch crushed Sugar on board has been refused, 31s 6d being req ellow descriptions have 111Aunrrius.—Brown and low y . ddling for mi goodand fine commanded previous importersrate ;halve obtained an advance of quality yellow qualities, fine f i ne yellow at 67s to 67s 6d, 6d per cwt ; fin© goodand fine middling 64s to 655, low yellow good 66s to 663 6d ' middling brown 54s 64. - but bright 60s to 6 I,4 l ; s Alling and goodwhite• . . EAST INDIA.-- , •••-' nem tptions of bare ers have with colour ; been compelled to pay Bengal 11 pls. Brown stiffer rates for sm: bulk 46s 6d to sorts at public sale fetched for the b 45s to 48s Gd for very low heavy .„ n „4, 0 ,3 sold at 47s per cwt. Manilla at 193 dabs ; iddling brow 6d to 20s for 92 6d n, and 21s 6d per ewt for low yellow. Java - s to 23s 6ci for low to good strong i . greyisa _.i..ii FoagiG N • Yow flavannab at 26s for good, and 23s 6 d f o r low quality ; 31 chests very soft Bahia at auction, were taken in at 21s 6d to 23s for low and middling greyish white. Old Pernambuco at 20s to 24s for low damp grey to middling white ; and 30 chests Bahia at 21s for fine brown. CoFFEE. — .Prices cont i nue to i mprove f or a ll c l ean qua lities of British Plantation, and they must ba quoted at Is 6d to 2 3 hi gher this week. Jamaica of good ord qua lity has fetched I lOs a 112 s, fine and fine fine ord 115 s a 120 s, mid and good mid 124 s a 1308 ; fine and fine fine ord eoloury Dominica were at 1083 Gd a 112 s 6d per cwt. Java at Is a2s advance, good and fillo EVENING EDITION. ale yellow has fetched 78s a 80 , , a few small lots at auc tion fetched 77s a 77s 6d for good quality. Mysore at the advanced rates of 72s a 74s for pale green, superior quality 78s a 84s, and fine old at 94s a 1003 per cwt. Mocha in small parcels have fetched 1143 for common green. This afternoon there was little inclination to buy Rio at a public sale of 3,167 bags, th e w h o l e o f w hi c h was t a ken . at fair market rates, viz., 45s to 47s 6d for low and good ord, excepting about 250 bags, which were sold at 45s to 47s per cwt. RUM, BRANDY, AND HOLLANDS.—.The market continues very quiet for Rum, but the merchants are not inclined to accept lower prices. The purchases in Jamaica and Lee wards have not exceeded 100 puns at former rates ; 700 puns have arrived. Geneva sells steadily at previous prices. In Brandy scarcely anything has been done for export, but a fair demand has prevailed for home use. British Corn Spirits sell steadily. SALTPETRE,-Rough common descriptions have main tained previous rates ; Bengal refraction I]-4 to 81 per cent, fetched 23s 6d, 51 ditto 24s ; Calcutta .54 per cent refraction of ordinary grey quality at 24s to 24s 6d, and good grey 3 per cent refraction at 25s 6d to 265. TEA.--The market has been in a dull state for several days past, the trade not being inclined to purchase more than sufficient for their immediate necessi ties, and the small parcels disposed of have been at rather lower rates; common Free Trade Congou has been disposed of at 2s 4:ld to 2s 5d ; Twankay 2s 7d to 2s 7 d; Canton Bohea at the Is 6d duty 2s 2d, some of the merchants are not disposed to sell at these rates. For Company's Congou for cash 2s 3d has been accepted the it s present opinion is that the mar k e t w ill cont i nue , in present state until accounts are received from Canton. This afternoon there was very little businessLng in any kind of Tea, and common Free Trade Congou has been sold at 2s 4d, and inferior at 2s 3d; Twankay com mon 2s 5d for cash, 2s 7d with a prompt. COCOA.—British Plantation have maintained previous rates. In Foreign little passing. This afternoon 300 barrels Trinidad at auction were taken in above their value—viz., fair and good mid red at 51s 6d to 54s 6d, low mid grey 52s per cwt.; there were buyers within 6d to Is of these rates. TALLOW.—For Russian Tallow prices have undergone scarcely any variation, fine P. Y. C. having sold currently at 49s to 49s 3d on the spot, and at 48a 9i to 49s for deli very in the early part of next year. For the last three months of 1840 some sales have been made at 47s 3d per cwt. Town Tallow in fair request. OtLs.—For common descriptions of Fish Oils there has been a good demand from the home trade. Pale Seal 311 lOs to 321. Cod has sold currently at 30/ ; and Southern at 241 to 261 for low to good quality ; Sperm Oil 105/per tun for firEt quality. For Linseed Oil 22s has been accepted ; Rape pale at 365, and brown at 35s per cwt; Palm at 34/ lOs to 351, and fine quality at 361 per tun ; 130 tuns Southern at public sale went at 241 to 25/ 10s. SPICES.—The private purchases in black Pepper have been limited, but prices remain firm, common Sumatra fetching Sad : White at 9cl to 10,-i-d for good mid dling. Nutmegs at 3s 7d to 3s 8d for ord first quality; a few lots ord shrivelled were taken in at 2s 2d to 2s 3d per lb. Mace at 3s 2d to 4s 5d per lb for crdinary to fair second quality. Cassia Lignea fetched 645 6d to 68s for low middling and middling false packed. For East or West India Ginger prices remain the same aq last week. Cinnamon has maintained late rates. This afternoon 30 chests Cassia Lignea at auction sold at 67s to 68s 6d for low and middling quality. COUNTRY CORN MARKETS. Wheat. Barley. Oats. Beans, Pe Bls ' Per Quarter. s. to s. s. to s. s. to s. s. to s. s. 5 6 Abingdon— r 4 81 32 48 23 38 40 5 ! 44 Andover. 65 72 36 46 23 32 -- Banbury —37 44 2i3 3s, Basingstoke- 61 78 31 37 24 29 42 46 40 4' - Cirencester LS 75 :8 40 -- 40 42 3- - C.,yewry— €8 42 20 SS 51 ro Day entry —CS 72 33 44 23 34 20 44 - Derby.— 68 80 35 47 23 36 50 25 H wden 73 24 40 42 Hungerford- 57 81 32 42 25 211 36 43 37 46 Malton -- 63 76 33 33 22 33 __--- Nlaidenliead- 61 82 35 4.1 23 32 37 42 - 05 Nottingham 57 79 :=1; 45 29 36 48 53 40 Wantage t 8 80 30 46 21 28 36 46 36 46 32 37 Wor;ester 72 36 29 43 York 89 32 40 22 30 Per Bushel. s.d. 8. d. s.d. s. d. s.d. a. d. s, d, 8, (1,1 s, d, a, d. Birmingham 80 99 46 6 40 5650 MAItKE .—Dee. IS. Oats. Pease. 22s OA. 46A. Od. 23 0 44 0 20 0 42 I 31. Is 4d. )VISIONS Beans. 46 Od 46 0 42 Fresh Butter, lb. s. IN. to 0:1. ;Salt 0 IS 0 11 Ditto, per ess t... 84 0 92 0 Barley. Onto, .OH COlt ‘Vneat. Barley. First 775.0d. 45.: Od. Second 7O 0 36 0 Third 5O 0 2: d' Average price of Whe?At., PRICES OF P 11( B:ef, per lb. Autton--., 6d. 013. 06 0 8 00 1 0 P0rg.....,..---.....,..... 0 6 0 7 !Eggs, per doz.-, 6 0 1 3 Limb, per qr. -- 3 0 3 6 lOatStraw(lct.l.lo 6 12 5 failow, cwt........„40 0 42 0 ' Wheat Ditto.,— 8 6 10 6 9uartern Loaf —, 0 0 0 11{, Barley Ditto -- 6 6 $ 6 Potatoes, 141 b....,,.. 03i 0 0 Hay, per5t.„,...... 1 2 1 4 EDINBURGH MEAL MARKET.—Dec. 17, Per Sack of 28011). Imp. Fit - at Oatmeal Second ditto Barleymeat ll4 0 Peasemeal 1 10 0 Pot Barley from GLASGOW CORN Wheat, ?er s. d. s. d. British, old BSoto2) —new 260 :130 Canada, free — 0 0 Irish Barley, per :32(110 English O5 2 flt 0 Scottish 27 0 31 0 Irish Per Stone of 14W. Irug. First Oatmeal Al 2 2 Second ditto Barleyrseal 0 1 In Peasmieal 0 1 S 3s. to 555. per sack. MARKET.—Dec. IS. Oats, per 26415. s. d. s. d. Irish 2l 0 to 29 0 British SI 0 23 0 Beans, per 2601 b. En g li s h Scottish Pease, Scottish Oatmeal, per 14010 l9O 2 20 Flour, per 25inlb 5l 0 60 0 CORNWALL MARKETS. (Calculated at 24 gallons to the bushel.) Wheat. s. ci. to o. d. I s. d. to s. d. i . c . " -- Crcirlr. rroro... ~ , ...... l—• 0 7 a - 0 4 0— 0 3 2 Helstone - 10 '.` 0 4 4 0 0 0 St. Atutell 0 9 4 0 4 6 0 8 2 Bodmin 0 8 6 6 5 0 0 3 lo Liskeard 8 6 9 0 3 9 4 c 0 3 0 Launceston - 0 53 0 3 ,., ! Carnelford 8 0 0— C 5 , 2 8 a '' Penzance MINING INTI Quantity of Copper urea sold at 11 Average Produce Quantity of fine Copper Amount of Saie,S,C62 . 10.. F,LLIGENCE. Tons.Cwt.f2rs. ccirutli last week 1,1324 21 0 110'7 0 -A vcraf4e Standard,ll6'..2., Od. FORGERIES OF ANTIQUE COINS corres pondent writes to us as follows :—" As I have lately seen, both in Southampton and Winchester, a number of the forged coins alluded to in the following para graph, copied from a Cork newspaper, perhaps you will be kind enough to caution the public against the imposition •"—(From the Cork Constitution, October 17, 1839.) " We think it friendly to warn collectors of coins that a person is now travelling through irelan/1 and selling forgeries of ancient and modern c oins. Fie has been in Dublin, Kilkenny, and Limerick, and im posed his fabrications on various unsuspecting persons, usually calling in the dusk of the evening, when de tection is not so easy. We have seen one lot of about 200 pieces, in gold, silver, and copper, which he im posed on a respectable gentleman as Greek, 'Roman, British, French, Anglo-Gallic, English, and Scotch coins —all false—chiefly casts, as may be perceived by their want of sharpness of outline, when compared with simi lar coins struck in a die, and from a roughness of sur face, occasioned by air bubbles that occur in casting metal ; and when the coin is large, the edges of the piece will be found thinner than the centre. We hope that our brother journalists will copy this notice, to guard the public against the rascality that threatens their purses." We insert this notice, as we understand this person has been visiting this part of the kingdom with his spurious commodities.—Hampshire Advertiser. Last week a barefaced case of sheep-stealing occurred at Downton, near Salisbury. A man named Sne!grove went to the open down at mid-day, and se lecting a fat sheep from a flock belonging to a butcher, he drove the animal into a pit, and there s laughtered and skinned it. A person had observed him and in formed the owner, who proceeded to the spot ; where upon the prisoner hastily decamped, and made his way into the town, and, after washing the blood from his hands, he coolly sat down in a public-house, where he was taken into custody shortly atter. The fellow denied that he had anything to do with the m atter, but the evidence of his guilt remained on his coat an d stocki ngs ; and the county Magistrates, on Tuesday, after hearing the case, fully committed him for trial.—Wilts Gazette. With silver double-bottom ca ses ••,•••••• ............... ,E 6 6 0 PATENT LEVE 3, WA TCHE b. With silver hunting cases ............ ................... 616 6 This celebrated construction _( e , r iri•_ most accurate on which t , , with the latest improve detached escapen.:nt, jewelled in four holes, ments i. C. the hand to mark . the seconds, hard enameldial, and main tainingyttnue o.going a watch can be made) is now ' ff. 1 while winding up, at the above capped, any attention needed at, receive with fixed terms, on which the T. CON SAVORY'S, Watchmaker, Silver and G oldsmin, 47, Cornhill, London, Watcho w l a ways receive (Seven e' sv t a l o rr e an i : doors from Cr _._._,._ _onc_.i aeachurch-street). .......,.0420ee t band Watches purchased in exchange' ---- ----____ -, --------- , ------,r-- - -:-="' price. printed: B TES. On tile 14th i ns t ., at, Paris Tß , the Viscountess Frances Emme line D , u Pin d e l a G uer i vere, eldest daughter of Charles Pur ton Cooper, Esq., Q. C., of a son and heir. On the 20th inst., in Doctors'-commons, the wife of Dr- Haggard, of a daughter. , n the 19th inst., at the house of her father, Dr. Dennison, Margate, the wife of Lieutenant H. Harvey, R.N., of her Ma jesty's ship Winchester, of a (laughter. On the 20th inst., in Portland-place, the lady of T. Vi r • Clinton Murdoch, Esq., of a son. On the 19th, inst., at Clapham, the lady of tie Rev. Cli aries Forster, of a daughter. On the 15th lust. , at Aberdour House, N. 8., the lady of Captain Prittie, 76th Regiment, of a son. MARRIED. On the 14th inst., at St. John's, Holloway, Mr. John Lee son, of Finsbury-square, Surgeon, N Elizabeth, daught er of John Benjamin Nevill, Esq., of Maiden -lane, Cho/1112We. On the 18th inst., at W a l eet Ch urc h , B at h, Henry John Caldwell, Esq., o nly son o f Si r J o h n C a ldwell, Bart., to Sophia Louisa, eldest da ug ht er o f D. R. P a ynter, Esq. On the 18th inst., at Leighton, Beds, Alfred, eldest son of the late Adam Buck, Esq., to Charlotte Conran, third daug hter of Mr. Joseph Smith, o f Leighton. On the 19th inst., at Edmonton, Arch. Green, Esq., of Clifton, Beds, to Miss Lomita Linford, of Edmonton. DIED. On the 18th inst., Mr. Stafford Young, of Sloane-street, aged 55. On die 15th inst., at Scruton Hall, Yorkshire, Harriet, re lict of the late Colonel Foster Lechmere Coore. On the Bth inst., in Cumberland -street, Charlotte, relict of the late Admiral John Leigh Douglas, aged 80. On the 19th inst., at Albury, Oxfordshire, Charlotte, eldest daughter of the Hon. and Rev. Frederick :IBertie, aged 13. . London: Printed and Published by .11.11J11130 YOI3NG; No. 112, Strand, at The Sun Office, 150 112, Strand, in the county of Middlesex.—Saturday, Deronber 21, 1839. ED INBUR,