The Sun. — London, England, 1844-02-22 00:00:00

k ets of the world, and give employment to her own People. ,„ -- (Cheers.) Now how could she give employ -,ent to her own people, except by increasing her tanufactures 2-(L ou d c h eer i ng.) I t should b e re reeled that not a' singe additional pair of ttands had been employed in agriculture. It was in eallufactures alone that the increased population could e lad e PP l Ved•-(Cheers.) At another meeting . w h i; - aeen held last week, an agriculturist had said that co r n o uld see no reason for their complaining of the l l 4 avv, because at the present time corn was not ;f ig t in Price than it had been at the commencement present century. But it should be recollected t‘haet,w.bile the price of corn had continued the same, h rrice of manufactured goods had been lowered one 44. Then let' them inquire what became of the fund Produced by this difference between the relative value of at at and manufacturino• produce. Was the . - ,,, 4 , 4) of the labourer improved? 'Certainly not. Has wet at that time were 125., 165., or 18s. a week. They la! t : nc ' w 88 ., 95., or perhaps 10s. Were the farmers more e i e- Perous than they had been ? On the contrary, OM 1 ..„1 were ruined. If they found that the farmers were , and the wages of labourers lessened, what had 0 1,„ ° ,,, r4 of the residue ?-(Cheers.) Why, it simply re it'', '' ll itself into rent.-(Cheers.) It was obvious, va, e : t er° re, that thelaudlordpossessed two pre-eminent ad am a i r , ; in the first place it was increasing his rent ; ist i ,, toesecond place he was profiting by the &min : eh:u•price of all the commodities which he had to pur derse,--(Cheers.) The labouring population were un- I whir° di sadvantages ; their wages were diminished, ' of ti e i the agriculturist claimed to fix for them the pr o i n ce . t end e Ileces&aries of life.-(Cheeri.) What he c the 14 ed fur was that if agriculture were exposed to the r ae pri • ' t,,,, fait nciple as manufactures-if it were exposed see the ' and open competition-they wollld iviii,kaaloe improvement taking place in agriculture (Ch - t ,„"ud already taken place in manufactures : - th e ,„ --. 4.) He contended that without free competition wi t , ' Co)old never have that improvement in agriculture alo'' le p h tin th eY had a right to expect; and it was-only by ti t i o g the p rinc i ple of free exchange and open compe -1 pfri n t Itnat they could ever hope for a comete dove l ° t - V of' the resources of that country.- pl (Cheers.) jai w ' s most fallacious to 'contend that an increased d export of food would not be attended by an increased ty-P,,°:101 Manufactured articles, the produet of. the Indus . - Ivai'n'e People. What would they be the better, it Sell %ell t i sK ed, for importing their food, if they could not 1 14 ., eir labour ? Governments of other. coun a tr d ie s s i , leh ''''l b • centlldtd, had met us with hostile tariffs, .n ti4B,,,nue to be the case, even were the im,porthae eo`Pod from other countries permitted. Now goC i „'"ted that it was impossible 'for us to deal with any /113' without that country dealing with us. bYtit ' e lho speaker was interrupted for some a minutes preai; bou ts of th e p eo pl e w ith ou t, a n nounc i ng the p- -4 (4 1 %. O'Connell The cheering, which lasted olee Inflames, w as di st i nct l y h ear d w ithi n th e theatre. , elie4i. n itudie nce caught the enthusiasm, and commenced Th e when 'tnoe,-cifatitmAN came forward and a said-I have to eigh t ",ee th at M r. O ' Connell will be here little before .° e,pek. Ze te re i tuoidWrtsoat then continued his address. They that if they did import food fro 14 countries, those countries would not take their e 4 4i, l ite e in return. Now, the facts which . had occiusrras '4l'4 th e lAA five years completely disproved this ' w ,hic i l l ' i ,' We had relaxed many of the heav3, duties whil ",41 previously been imposed on French . produce, kis ' l'atice. had continued to maintain the i most lt , tent tariff N "th regard to the produce of England. ' bad vl modified our tariff ' with regard to 1 ea c h greatly 'iaki goods. We had lowered the duties on silks, we Ite trtnitted the importation of raw silk, dutfree, ,„ (14 tli a41 „P ; laced the wines of France on the same . footing , gtiff o r , es of Portugal, and yet, in spite of the hostile . ,`Na t ,,,i x ranee, our exports to that country had_ ni .... - aa l i n . clerk,- s the last twelve year o s from hal t f s 1 1 ° , I f n ,ahnually to five millions, while oil! . eiTor `at V' th e re -t of the world had diminish . ed.. beWe Q i ci n the other hand, let them look at the Brazils ;_ had with that country ' a most favourable treaty , of k,,eke---aone-sided treaty,in fact-and yet whi e o t. u l ttriiP to France had increased, in spite of the hostile I t4tl( tn '° u- ur "rPorts to Brazil had diminished, notwith. ..,' 4 1 ( 1i„, 6 . the favourable treaty. Our exports to Brazil '' l lst , 4 ;.'lnished one-hull and why ? Because we re t'kluc-e° b ta 'k eil e .. he produce of Brazil in exchange-that i ptl t t li t e 0,„,„ 1 ,, the article next to corn the most necessary 1 , Tort meant sugar. of the labouring classes-he . p t l '' I, s w -P h P i lY of sugar wad the same now that it was in Olt , i e our population had increased. While the im o : t71111,ti6:4 as had increased by tvve . nty-two millions . I 1 4 '. 4 e t ,,1 b ly, while the importation of coffee had in ,,,liia, Y twenty-four millions of pounds annually, the . ' l s. i ll '3 " C , a ngar was the same as it had been in 1811. it t ali l ! ii '? s'o gl ra La . t le e neugh that the merchants of London and k'lli 1 '•' persons who upheld the sugar monopoly, ihN 4_ 4 ' •'lllB moment be petitioning the Parlia );',o44:o red uce the duties upon tea-(H t. ear, hear)- 4 1 ' 1 111, ! ,0 increase the consumption of it. Did they th ')'. z „'y People to drink their tea without sugar, or did 4?.,ZP.,P; ‘ ) , e the lagenuity_of the . ladies was to have no of .'a:i,„! ~-,neers.) Their ingenuity . had already been tk ti l j 3 Y taxed ; and he would advise the gentlemen ‘ V c Ili g - lane and Liverpool, before they petitioned to 4t itas eli llnent to reduce the duty on tea, to pass a re I t at, ,'; thatit wouldbe also expedient to adopt measures 1 1, 1 ' 43 4' e an additional supply of sugar .-( Cheers.) ]at, tip .:rssary for two purposes,- to procure for us qett - ,v,vallgar-to our manufacturing industry, k i„ . e cr , ,belie best market in the world . The excuse qo'lll pf ~,Government for the . exclusion of sugar was le ' that Party which, during fifty years, while .. the !oil, Pilknthropof the ern growers was ' itgagea in "1, 1) " , 1 .,,i' t° ,,, sh a:se of the shackles o the slave, had uniformly ~„ e. efforts -( Cheers )- that h aet - -4 ukiose ff ( Cheers) - that party, at length, ^Jly ant' e for mono- N i ! id that F. "lit t ) raise4 ‘aver Y could be made the excus %tr,_, sa.---(Cheers.) iiehis a e ny at t a n slaz t er s y ery.-(Cheers.) He did not looked over the red phre:dludedfrom changing I,(' the the Rouse of Commons and had found N I 'the present Premier of the- . country had um ni,gi l' recorded his vote in favour of slavery.-(Cheers.) ' i c k pti .. .o Hon. Baronet chose to change his opinion, % ra. e. Or Wil§On) copld have no objection ; but when 01114,1 c:..thanges became so frequent., he could not con to 43 e opinion a the Right Hon. Gentleman as enti es, Ott dared considered subject value.-(Cheers.) When i t th e 4 aered this he could not but feel disgusted l' 1 het elusiv e hYpocrisy which had been practised on 0 4 , , after all, we did purchase the Brazil sugar. (~tl 4l ) sent out 114 ships to Brazils last year; 24 of i,,t t r ti i out with cargoes to this country; the 11 1, 4, l i taken cargoe s of cheap sugar and cheap coffee kt aj , .'sgtl countries, English ships, loaded with cheap t, ti t i' t a tt sugar and cheap Brazilian coffee, had arrived I ko' i l s t 4 .', at an at St. Petersburgh, and other tr ik t rt ` In arkets,. thug supplying cheap produce to the tlOi mi r , of those countries who were to come into 1 5 t " I°4 with -. ovr own. If it was a .sin to buy ~ 4 4 ktgar \l l l4 'pi °f the Brazils, it was equally a On . y Y them with - the means of selling •it. It was 'kik 4 : sil l to refine it, to bring it to London and L'ef thjiNO i,, and Bristol, to keep it there in bond, and to r 7 p lt to other parts of the world. But ' coffee was t holi ' v Produat f d et they h a d reduced ~ ti. ty ~ ... e ~ o slav e ry, an y 4 44 u ltv,-`'. 'co by the tariff. They had alio - reduced 'la t ; P l r' copper - ore; that was also a '` , l ) l r,41°4 nothing could exceed s the cruelties product which' of e to,. -° "" .1 in Cuba, on the-Slaves employed in., the : Ni tt It i 10 ii Vet cii,4°lnielit Mr. O'Connell entered the theatre, t ,"„k 4 e th " the was of Covent-garden re-echo to ‘ i,,,r 1 i 4 1 . Nl l.l l,`' °Castle cheering as that which greeted the col 4 i tneJ: troc dGentlerna s -n the instant he made his 1, eli the The whole house rose en ma sse, and, lc t '4 - , w e vin of hats and handkerchiefs, commenced 4 ' tl e ai i • t i k kao. e ,,, L. e' Hon. -and Learned 'Gentleman, who i l 'hi'' '' t ngly well, came forward and bowed re- I 4 ti 4 kk ' Vt er the lapse, perhaps, of five minutes, he k ti e 'll t • 1, 11 G, 'las 3' as e cheering, however, continued-as enthu '4io. ( , i . ...a Ter from every part of the house. Nearly 4ir Ti l j i .,,d, vil an' hour had elapsed, and still the cheering ,fi o pit Ali 11 :? 11 , atlength___ Nth 4 1 , tl 'Lail then announced that, on the conclu• k lt h ' Wition's speech, Mr. O'Connell would '4l) P • IV e ta, they 11 ,-. i nt o, -(Loud cheers.) t h'elv OA then continued.-He would detain them lat ki e ha,,, rents longer. He would only impress on 12, 14 ;e tit,to';l; importance of the subject they were that to Oti t ,,,eir %It,* cuss. -(Hear, hear.) He only wished 11:5 1 a1 4 , to , 4 tit'e'r once more to the efforts that were t, l a ,'°ll ll o t • rice these great principles into the lqttt h ?' this country. Unfortunately for V e th' t kW' - they had hitherto found that its flt, u„!, 3nunercial interests had not been al t,,pro k ., t ot r aable to the bulk of those to s ti t V oth4 . -slation of this country was entrusted. t L0 t 1 4 ,4 4 countries the pursuit of commerce was 14)114"--•pri,Ill, honourable calling ; in other countries, 1::y f ee, 44 e.. "! s and rulers, but nobles, fostered trade, t 1,4 k f l,' t 1 1,4 1 aianufactures ; here, and perhaps it was i t t „ t t) , t hat it was so, trade and commerce had t(1 N. 4 3 1 N et.„- foster th emselves. -,(Hear, hear.) Had t" 1 1, q lia;,"`ql nerce been agreeable to the Legislature. I ' 4 l/ o t t li k , ll Y NZ t been difficult to have found among 65 . 8_ Biq ti"tv7 ) would have supported any Prime - MI- Vtt,artttit) iroposition so absurd as that relative to ratankl4`l--,(11`.1 i rade, which they had just con, „ 4 qatia b ' Ir, hear.) It would be difficult to conceive b 4 ll *, t " tbi', 4 men should have been elected to Parlia- Ca tt .r e q , test for it h s- lli.-Pta i.-;___ ~.. , w o could have supported I thig'it t inr it :."un• He should not be able to find a 1 11 i t e pi tt l? tb "on of the position he had stated, than 1a 6, kit 3 hiStOry of a pound of that little, pure, . 1; 411 (ltill%tit''-xl '7 such held by the owners of land in K‘ l4 tl i NI; • contempt, from its growth to its I t : 1, 4 311. Though it was nurtured and plucked tiPrt ,‘: e 1,,,, lids. of slaves--a circumstance he N,lA ie , A t ;3:. individual present would as much Vnt , t " it 1 , ; =tight Hon. Premier himself-yet the uses q4 l , v a tti, :8 turned, were not the less on that ac t ti a ,,%Y t 011 13 . , benefits to the great human family. tie 3,,,... .sidered in the first instance the rnagniti k"ki; ' i th , ,`, l l T e r a ed in conveying it across the ocean ; Aarl44 th e lit Princes' engaged in disposing of it t iaa a 4 4 T waiber of persons it employed in its a ga r, 4 ; tile, castin g e otofert around the hearths of it:4t.; t i „otey ,:; 'gain converted into rags, and 'again into :1,1:4441x,, i t st confets its importance.. That paper „ 11 ,f rei i i by the hand of intellect with the cha okioVhc, CA v i e a u "n and civilisation, was again by the aid t Imirn..tnerce diffused over the whole world. Att, him , r ri", s aid, before the Hon. and Learned ale ' l On 'al( addressed the meeting, they would 't' l tli'qaii t° sa Y that the appearance of that Hon. 'beyitlatt• Itinvtnoontg.ththein was by no means a new feature \,, 4 ,ati t y l l i r " !ver helde Anti .Corn-law League.-(Cheers.) t!, 1 , 1 14 1 ,:at e r at which aggregate meeting of the League )4 1 ,allit tl .) The i i i : nit-. O'Connell was not present. 1 , , • Iti i „t t a p por j h h ad occasion to thank him for the e gave in the House of Commons to \vl'illvali, e motion 0 4 1: ,) al d the°llheverY session that it was brought further to thank him, because, 11.t°4111vat'itit.4111,411-'4.,,,. -.4P__.ineYdt,,ajogedn: first municipal chair of Dublin ftr,orirth.eonit.gi e C TV a m a p w so L n ea fv u h e o , i , 7 r e was then present-(Loud, c6ers)- THE STN, LONDON, THU DA MORNli\lG:Ft_lttrAßy_,q2, 1844: I and Mr. Moore, went to Dublin for the purpose of holding an anti-corn-law meeting; and that meeting being held, Mr. O'Connell, then the Lord Mayor of I Dublin, presided over it.—(Cheers.) He begged, in the name of the League, to thank him for his consistent support of the principles of free-trade, and had now the pleasure of introducing him to them.—(Cheers.) Mr. O'CONNELL, M.P., came forward. His appear ance at the tattle was the signal for a burst of enthusiasm we never saw approached, much less equalled. The whole audience rose, and, standing, continued to cheer for several minutes. Having at last obtained silence he said—lt was my intention when I came here to-night to lave made a very eloquent speech, but I find that that part of the oratory belongs to another. I there fore begin my- speech by presenting to the League, from a friend of mine who wishes to subscribe him self " A lover of justice"—one hundred pounds.—(lna • mense cheering, again and again renewed.) There is sterling eloquence in that, and if you only get nine hundred and ninety-nine others to do the same, there is your hundred thousand pounds at once.—(Loud cheers.) With giving the money I am afraid my oratory ceases. —(Cheers and laughter.) For how is any human tongue to give utterance to the sentiments of gratitude and thankfulness with which my heart and soul are filled at the present moment 2—(Loud cheers.) It is said that my native Irish abounds with endearing phrases that best express the sentiment of gratitude, but it would be impossible for the language even of the most seraphic affection to detail or describe the pride—the exultation and pride— witt which I witness my reception here to-night.— (Cheers ) It is a generous thing, and therefore you have done it If I have ever felt proud in my life I feel truly proud of such: a reception. There are circumstances at the present period, which, without alluding further to them, I may say enhance my gratification.—(Great cheering.) I have come here resolved strictly to observe that neutrality in politics which belongs to this struggle.—(Hear.) But I may be permitted to say, because it relates to the corn-laws, that the Duke of Buckingham and the Duke of Richmond have begun to suspect that they may be conspirators too.—(Cheers and laughter.) The Noble Dukes have been to consult a sort of " white witch" in the Temple, Mr. Platt, they call him, saying—" Good Sir, pray tell us, are we conspirators or not ?" (Laughter and cheers.) " No," says Mr. Platt, "you are not."—(Laughter.) And I /will tell you why they are not ; they are not conspirators, because conspirators always have a leaning to the popular party, and they are protection men.—(Hear, hear.) " No," says Mr. Platt,"you are not conspirators."—(Laughter.) I would not advise them to try that question on the other side of the Channel.—(Great cheering and laughter.) Yes ; lam truly delighted with. the recep tion I have met with— " My bosom's lord sits lightly on his throne" 7 and my heart exults at seeing such sympathy manifested between the English and the Irish. I have told you that I am delighted with your generosity towards me ; and if there be one natural quality which excels the manly generosity of Englishmen, it is to be found only in Irish gratitude.—(Great cheer ing.) I compare the depth of one to the noble manli ness of the other. Your highly respected Chairman has been good enough to introduce me to you by a short reference, and he did me but justice in saying that I have been the perpetual friend of the Anti-Corn-law League. I am a friend to it, not from preju dice or mere predilection—but from a thorough and conscientious conviction that it is for the good of the people. I was elected to the present Parliament by two counties in Ireland, containing 1,100,000 inhabi tants—the counties of Meath and Cork. I represent in Parliament 750,000 of an agricultural population. Now I had no means of purchasing their votes—l had no power of intimidating them—l had no landlord interest to overawe their consciences. My election cost me not a shilling ; and yet 1,100,000 people returned me to Parliament.—(Oheers.) They all knew my senti ments with respect to the corn-laws. They all knew I was the determined enemy of the heavy tax on the bread of the people.—(Loud cheers.) Knowing I have not only annoinced 'such to be my opinion, but that Ihave.given my reasons for it so often, so convinced are all these people of the truth of that opinion that this has been the result. They have not attempted to hold a single corn-law meeting in Ireland.(Cheers.) • Yes, they , did attempt one meet ing, and they were defeated.—(Cheers.) Lord Mount cashel was there, poor gentleman—he was there, and really he made out a most piteous case of it. He said "We, the nobility, owe debts—we owe moneys—we have mortgages on our estates—we:owe family charges." Well, one of the crowd said, "Why don't you pay them ?" (Cheers and laughter.) What was his answer ? Why, " No, I thank you"—(Great laughter)—" I will not pay them, but the working-classes of Englishmen shall. I will maintain protection, and get a higher price for my corn. I am disposed to be a good landlord, if I could afford it ; but as I ewe money I must keep up my rents, and sell my corn where it must be bought at my own price ; and by the high price thus extorted from the working-classes, I'll pay my debts—when I choose.? There was only one proposition in his speech perfectly certain—that he would extort the highest price for his corn ; the other, the payment of his debts, remained what the scholars call a paulo post futurum—a thing that might happen at some time or other.—(Cheers and laughter.) But, no later than yesterday, out comes the Duke of Northumberland, and he says, in a proclamation —(Laughter)—to his tenants, you must get up leagues in favour of the corn-laws; for, says he, those exceed ingly conspiring wretches of the Anti-Corn-law League tell you that if the corn-laws are abolished, you will have cheap bread. Don't believe a word that they say. Now, I don't believe him—(Cheers and laughter)— and more, I think I can prove that he don't believe him self.—(Cheers and laughter.) And would it not be a mighty pretty thing to see a Noble Duke put upon the table, and obliged to say he did not believe a word of what he' said himself ?—(Cheers.) And I will show you he does not. He wants protection for corn—what is the Meaning.of Abet ?- Protection means the addition of 6d. to the price of every loaf—that is the Irish of it.— (Cheers arid laughter.) If he had not protection for the loaf that sells at is., it might be bought .fOr . 6d.--(Loud- cheers.)'. Protection, • then, is - the English for sixpence.—(Great laughter, and cheers.) But it is worse than this—it is the English for an ex torted sixpence. The real meaning of protection there fore is robbery.—(Great cheers.) It is a robbery by the rich of the poor, for what signifies the quantity of loaves that may be consumed in the Duke of Nortlium berland's establishment ; to be sure he pays the addi tional sixpence ; but not a thousandth part of the Duke of Northumberland's expenditure consists of bread. But the working man with a family of Children, or the widow, pay nine-tenths of their means for bread. They pay tenpence for every sixpence expended by him; and' he pockets the difference.(Hear, hear.) But then he is one of the mighty aristocracy of the land. He 'is an exceeding great man—one whose shadow scarcely dares to follow him.—(Laughter and cheers.) But there might come another Leaguer---a man of a League for making bread dear—another protection man—another robbery man, and he says, " Oh, don't make bread cheap—that would be horrible. It would cause less em ployment, and that would cause less wages." Well, let us see - how that is? If we had bread cheap we would get it cheaper by getting corn from foreign countries, where it is grown at a less rate. That corn cannot be imported now. If it could be imported, for every pound's worth of corn imported a pound's worth of manu factured goods would be sent to pay for it, and those nations who had not the means of taking our manufactured goods, then would have the means of purchasing them. Thus, instead of lessening wages, free-trade would in crease employment, and whenever you increase that, it is as plain as that two and two make four, that it must increase wages. The argument then totally fails. I speak, as a representative of Ireland; if the corn-law is of use anywhere it would be of use in Ireland, the agri cultural country—if it raised wages anywhere it would raise them in Ireland, which is a purely agricultural country. Are wages raised in Ireland ? Unhappily you can get a man to work there for 4d. a-day.—(Hear, hear, and shame.) He thinks him a beautiful benefactor who pays 6d. a-day.—(Hear, hear.) He is delighted if he gets Bd.—(Hear, hear.) There is a corn law for you. It is in full force in Ireland. It is doing all that it can do for any country in Ireland ; and such is the rate of wages, and what is worse, there is even very little employment at that. Ir eland, therefore, will not throw any impediment in your way in this parti cular. With Ireland you will have no difficulty. You have Ireland heart and soul at your side—(lmmense cheering, the whole of the audience rising, and continu ing the applause for some time)—and have I not another example I can adduce to you at the present moment ? We have present the Honourable Member for Rochdale, Mr. Sharman Crawford, a very considerable Irish landed proprietor, who, before he re presented an English borough, represented part of his native country, and who was a thorough Anti. Corn-law Leaguer long before he was in Parliament at all. You have, therefore the good sense - and the spirit of Ireland with you, and it will feel no small share of my gratitude when it hears how you have received me to-night. — (Immense cheering.) The sound of that shout will not die away within these walls—(Cheers) —it will sound throughout this metropolis—it will be conveyed upon the easterly wind to the coast of Ireland—(Cheers) — it will be heard re-stcheing along the sunny banks af Ole Shannon, the Nore, and the Suir ; they will respond t o your affectionate kindness, and all Ireland will declare that the people of England shall not be starved by the law of the aristocracy. I declare here that I am overcome with a horror and loathing I am unable to describe of the injustice and iniquity of that aristocracy. Why, if no corn-law were in existence, no Ministry would dare bring forward a tax upon the people's bread. If, as was done in some countries, they placed a man at the door of every baker's shop to insist on one-third of the price , of every loaf as' it came out, is there a man in the country who would endure a tax of such a kind ? —(" No, no," and cheers.) If the Minister said he wanted it for his financial purposes—that he could not maintain the public faith without it, John Bull would roar out an universal—No. Tax anything else, but you shall not tax bread. Yet, by a swindling scheme of protection, they do the very same thing: Not fur the good of the State in which you would all participate — not for protection against foreign enemies, or the pre servation of domestic peace—but for the benefit of one particular class—the rest of the community is faxed ; not for the benefit of the pnblic, but to go into the private pockets of private individuals.—(Load cheers.) Why, really, it is too bad that you should be called a sensible people if you submit to it. Of course I mean you no disrespect, but there is a thick-headedness about it I cannot understand. —(Cheers and laughter.) Duke of Northumberland, you are not my King, I owe you no allegiance—l will pay you no tax.—(Cheers.) Duke pf Richmond—to be sure there have been Richmonds before you, and you may be connected with Royalty, but you are not King yet—l owe you no allegiance ; I will pay you no tax.— (Cheers.) Take you all, we owe you no allegiance ; and against them we are bound to stand together, peaceable in conduct, but strong in determination —in tranquility—but with firmness to tell them we will not be cheated, we will not be robbed, we will not be humbugged.—(Cheers and laughter.) Oh, I should like to see, one of these great Dukes levying his tax in kind. I should like to see him going into one of the lanA of one of our manufacturing towns, entering the house of some poor and wretched family, the father of which, after his day's fatigue, is affecting not to have an appetite, in order to leave a few more mouthfuls of bread for his children ; when the wretched mother, while endeavouring to give nourishment to one babe, leaves another screaming by her side for want of food.—(Hear, hear.) I should like to see a Noble Duke, hung round with his stars and garters, lay 1191 d of the biggest hunch of the loaf, levying his tax in that manner. If he were so to levy it the tax would be in tolerable. Yet that is precisely what he does in another shape. I should have expected better from the ancient nobility of England. I should have expected something higher than this from them—for they are not conspira tors—they are not combined together, for that crime is punished only in the, poor—than their meeting toge ther and determining that any one shall pay more money than otherwise he should have to give for food. I repeat it in the identical terms, for I want to impress on every man the nature of this plunder and robbery. I tell you, do not mind their pretences, their assertions, that these laws increase wages. Ireland is an instance of how they increase wages. If I chose to open the books of political eco nomy, and to give the dates and calculations you have had before from others, I could show you that, when ever bread was cheap, wages were higher, and doubly higher, because of the comparative value that money bore to provisions, and, therefore, doubly useful to the labourers themselves. Yes, and I dwell upon this, be cause it is as clear as the sun at noon day, that though you are opposed by ani mals with two legs, and apparently no heads, as they certainly have no hearts—this must be put an end to. Why, was not the Parliament itself packed by these bread-taxers, who sent into the House two thirds of the whole body, by means of their Chandos clause, and their purchase in the counties? Two sessions ago, I heard both from one side of the House and the other, that there never had been so much bribery in Parliament as at the last election. Mr. Roebuck affirmed it on one side, and Sir Robert Peel confirmed it on the other. They disagreed on everything else, but they concurred as to the enormity of the bribery.— (Cheers.) Yet they are your models of virtue and piety — men who are advocates of church establishments, who are ready to fine the poor wretch who on the Sabbath may not stray from the high road, if he were not going to some place of worship, while they enjoy their own car riage-drives unscathed and free. Yes, these great examples for the morality of the country, turn up the whites of their eyes to Heaven at the enormity of ether men's ini quities, while they, at the same time, are putting their hands into the pocket of the poor wretch to rob him of the pence that would feed his family.—(Cheering.) It is too bad. It ough to be proclaimed.—(Loud cheers.) It is just what ought to be proclaimed throughout the country. The good and the wise ought to congregate to brand ft with suspicion and distrust—aye, with dis gust. If these men will stand by the poor and humble, may every blessing Heaven has in store be poured upon them ; but if they make the poor man poorer—if they make the wretched suffer more—if they make destitu tion augment and poverty increase by the means of this tax on human food, I say, shame upon them for prac tising such misconduct, and shame upon those who do, not lift up their voices, till . the human voice sounds like thunder, and affright the culprits, and set the landand the people free !—(Great cheering.) Yes, you are mustering well, and I am convinced that their attempts to counteract the exertions of the League will have the directly contrary effect. We are ready to argue with them, for bring them once to reasoning, and you have them surely defeated. We are ready to meet them foot to foot, and point to point, in debate with them; and the more they bring forward at these meet ings the greater chance is there that truth will spread. The intellect of the farmer class can no longer be de luded. If they had the interest of that class at heart, would they notmake leases, and enable them to live and to feed their labourers, and to assist in any charitable act in their neighbourhood? But no. They must overawe everybody. Their name is Behemoth. They must s wallow all. You are engaged in a glorious struggle, and I am proud, to be allowed to take part in it.—(Cheers.) It is a de light t; me to lend my talents, feeble as they are, and the sound of my voice, which ought to be pretty nearly worn out by this time ; but such as they , are I lend them heartily to your sacred cause.—(Cheers.) I may venture to say for myself that I have been found upon the side of liberty on every question which has been agi tated since I entered public life.—(Cheers.) I care not of what creed, or caste, or colour, any human being is, I claim for him the rights of a man—l claim for him the privileges of a man—the suffrage of a man, and the protection due to a man ; not the pro tection of robbery and spoliation, but protection against every iniquity, however high its position.—(Cheers.) I come therefore, humble as I am, to cheer you on what ever be my own fate—whether it be a dungeon or even the scaffold. (Here the vast assemblage—pit, boxes, and galleries —rose, and the theatre rang again with cries of "No, no, never," and when the excitement had somewhat abated, the cheers and cries of " Never." burst forth anew and were continued, accompanied by the waving of handkerchiefs from the ladies, for several minutes, till hands and lungs at length became at rest from exhaustion.) The Hon. and Learned Gentleman proceeded. I am quite convinced, if it were left to your votes, how you would decide it. But whatever my fate, it is no reason why the natural merriment of my temper —(Here the Hon. and Learned Gentleman was inter rupted by an exclamation from the boxes, the purport . of which we were unable to catch. Mr. O'Connell re plied " I hope you're honest."—He then went on.) It gratifies me that I am engaged in this struggle with you. I know all the bearings of the question. I know all its value. I know how its success would increase your commerce, by giving you consumers that are unable to buy from you—it would increase your comforts by giving you employment on the one hand, and food on the other.—(Hear, hear.) I know how it would take down the iniquity of class-legislation.--(Hear, hear.) For the great and weighty reason why class-legislation exists to the prejudice of the poor and humble in this country is this very corn-law. It is the ground of all, the evil, and stimulates its adherents to every iniquity. They know the injustice of their position, and they want to fence it round with all the formalities of the law and the powers of the Legislatnre. But it won't do. —(Cheers.) The public eyes are becoming open—the pnblic mind is aroused. and England never willed and willed in vain. —(Cheers.) She had the folly to go extraordinary lengths formerly in working out her will. She brought to the scaffold the head of a foolish monarch. That was a foolish as well as a wicked thing, for it scared away the mild disposition of the law, and resulted in violence, which ended, as violence always does, injuriously to freedom. That man's son outraged the rights and liberties of the people of England, but the people of England got wiser, and did not cut off his head, but they sent him abroad.—(Hear, hear.) It is a folly, therefore, to trespass upon the rights of English men. Those violent remedies are no longer necessary ; they are not suited to the times. But public, open com bination is necessary—the electricity of men's opinions— yes, that electricity of opinion shall spread through all Scotland as well as England. The manufacturing classes are already all arrayed, and the labouring classes find that their interest is identified with the question. The farmers understand the chicanery of the great pro.- prietors, and the great proprietors are making that kind of bustling noise which rats make when the stack is about to be thrown down about them.—(Cheers and laughter.) Yes, the movement is progressing—it is ir resistible. They may delude a miserable constituency in one place, and overrule a constituency in another; but the public intellect is upon its march, like the mighty wave of the ocean with the in-coming tide. The tyrant of old bade the sea to stop at his mandate, but the waves came on and overwhelmed the vain tyrant, who thought to resist its progress.—(Hear, hear.) We do not want to overwhelm those men—we will only wet their feet a little.--(Laughter.) No: the progress of this great cause is .rnag,nificent. On what country on the face of the earth could they - do what you did last year? You - raised 50,000 L—the income of two or three of the sovereign princes of Germany. This year you subscribe 100,000/., and, if necessary, next year double it.—(Hear, hear.) It is not double or win, but double and win. —(Cheers And. laughter.) Yes, the movement is on its majestic progress. From day to day new re cruits fill your ranks, and we, who are the veterans in the contest, are able to look on with delight at the ra pidity with which our ranks are augmented and our peaceable troops swarm around us.—(Cheers.) The force of public opinion is manifesting itself every where. Even the vilest despots of the earth, with the exception of the monster Nicholas, do not any longer dare those things which they formerly perpetrated. The sentiment of England is awakened and abroad, and it will never sleep till the poor are righted, and the rich compelled to be honest. (The Hon. and Learned Gen tleman sat down amid deafening and protracted cheers.) The CHAIRMAN next introduced Mr. GEORGE THOMPSON to the meeting. When the applause which greeted his appearance subsided, he said, when I entered this house this night to be a wit ness of the reception given to Mr. O'Connell, I did not cherish the remotest idea of being called on to address the meeting; nor do I now feel, standing in the posi 7 tion which unhappily I now occupy, that I can be any-. thing other than that shadow of which Mr. O'Connell spoke, which was almost 'afraid to follow its mighty master. Ladies and gentlemen, this is to me a most exhilirating spectacle, from thecircumstance particularly that fur the last. 16 months I _hive been absent from this country, and during all that period travelling over countries where no such scenes or sounds as those I have now witnessed were ever exhibited. Though I have travelled a distance of 15,000 miles from the spot on which I now stand, I have not travelled any distance so great as to preclude me from the' society of those who had a knowledge of the proceedings of this gigantic body, which is now guiding and directing the ultimate triumph of public sentiment.—(Hear, hear.) It has been my privilege, if not to be intimately associated in labour with the Anti-Corn-law League, at least to possess a knowledge of its progress from the commencement, and to number amongst my earliest and best friends those who have endured the burden and heat of the day. I cannot, on returning to my native land, but contrast the condi tion of the cause this night with its condition, when I took my farewell at a meeting in Manchester, convened for the very same purpose as that which brings you within these walls to-night. I knew the League when it consisted simply of 1,200 persons; I now meet its mem bers within the walls of this building, which is the largest in this metropolis, and which is capable of con taining at least 6,000 individuals.--(Cheers.) I left you in a struggle with silent opponents, depending almost entirely on their rank, and station, and wealth, to oppose your progress. I meet you now in open combat with this, party, their silence broken, their plans disconcerted, their hopes thwarted, and their glory diminished, compelled at last, in self-defence, to have recourse to precisely similar measures on their own part to those which they have condemned you for adopting. Do I anticipate any injury to your cause from the circumstance that your opponents are now banding themselves together, and occupying themselves with considering the plans which they must pursue for the purpose of thwarting your intentions ? Nothing of the kind.—(lfear, hear.) I think it a most hopeful sign of the times, that you are now able, every morning, to learn what is said in every part of the country—that you are able now to grapple freely with—if they may be so called—the arguments of those who will, as long as they are able, both in Parliament and out of Parliament, endeavour to sustain and maintain a monopoly of which they are the patrons, and by which they live.— (Hear.) I congratulate you on your mighty progress. I congratulate you on the having induced, by the ex cellency of your principles, the 'nost enlightened and intelligent of the nation to become members of the League. I congratulate you on hiving now arrayed around your standand, all that is excellent and estimable, or nearly so, in the land.—(Cheers.) I congratulate you upon the prospect of a glorious and peaceful triumph over the party with which you have been long contend ing.—(Cheers.) Mr. Thompson then went on to say that wherever he had travelled, whether in England or in India, he had found the deepest interest taken in .the proceedings of this Association.—(Cheers.) He had • found the greatest wonder everywhere expressed at the folly and wickedness of those who were endeavouring by the distress, poverty, and the crime of the people, to maintain a guilty prosperity. Men who :were removed from party influence, and who had a domestic personal interest , in this question held but one opinion upon the subject"; They could not traverse regions thousands of Miles in extent, celebrated for the resources they possessed while engaged in ' bringing from the most remote districts of the sea board and thence across the ocean, those commodities which, if they came here would be capable of sustaining those who were nearly perishing —they could not behold such r s, and know th a t w h a t eve r they s sentia a l wouldof h t d comei n c g ou back not s e toee and know them in the these most thingsdeb without standing amazed at the existence, in the present day, of so monstrous and stupendous a robbery as that which was perpetrated in this country. He had never taken but one view of the corn-laws: That was an all comprising view. It was a view of the subject which made him an everlasting hater of those laws which cir cumscribed the bounds of Divine Providence, and said to the gifts of God, which had been scattered so libe rally over the surface of the earth for the benefit of all, " Hitherto shalt thou come, and no further." Even the national view of the subject sank into insignificance in havee solely that his mind when h e contemplated that ' God could never living upon a soil t h at never could be extended should depend nddesigned upon oac teha people. ent everytohwen ingenuity landday f o increasing, c o r fr e oo a m s d i n g_ w , and ht hi t : the the path of th e bravery of the merchant seamen—the fertility of distant lands—the wants of remote nations—and the prosperity of the world—pointed to the dispensations of God, who, in his fatherly care of ma n , evidentl designed that man should exchange the a b undance of one region, in order to contribute to the c om f ort and happiness of anot h er .— (Hear, hear.) To p revent the advantages of such inter course was a practic a l d enial of God's gifts. lt stopped them half-way between God and his creatures, who ought to be the recipients o f hi s b ounty . It brought into existence a famished population, who would commit a crime if they took one grain of the yellow harvest which the Almighty had so bountifully provided for the subsistence of all.—(Cheers.) Let them not talk to him of ancient rights and vested interests, of the title of the aristocrat to his green acres. He would give him his title ; he respected his rank, and, most of all, when to that rank he added that which was more than rank — sympathy with his fellow mortals, which should increase in proportion as God -had been good to him, and seen fit to withhold from them.—(Cheers.) Let the - aristocrat possess his parks, his paddocks, , his hunting grounds, and his those around if he pleased, and let him post he (Mr. a board " Man traps and spring guns set here," he h would Thompson) would not enter upon his manor, to not even look over his wall ; he would be satisfiede hgot to pursue his journey on the dusty road, if, when the end of it, he could share in' the bounty of Providence. preserves ; let him wail The aristocrat asked for protection; he had that . pro tectiontle . vicinity of the fields where his corn "s grownd it to the market where it was sold. He had in the superior fertility of his estate, in the distance of every competing country from his own,--he had it in the hurricanes on the ocean water charges, in the wharf dues, and the warehouse —he had it in the insurance offices, the land charges, the dues—in all those he had a protection lasting as the ocean itself—a protection of which' no man could de in prive him. 'But he sought more—he sought to place an' arbitrary and artificial frice on the commodity which he had for sale, and he would not - allow to poor man to buy p t t h io e n p t e o r o e k en pl w a h ce e , e w a h u i s c e h d , f in ro t m h e himselfwor l d world's market, he h a d but compelled ne t e sell, andhim to nl purchaseonly allowed him to purchase elsewhere when there could be no pos sibility of his being benefited by his withholding the e p n er t m h i e ss c ic h m a . it would be given into the custody of the police if he repeated the annoyance, ceased, and Mr. Thompson • of the corn-laws was so impressed upon his subject for the resumed.) He said—the view he . had taken of the i — rni ll an er in e t s im om a e tin in g te th rr a t t i mind, that it was impossible ingenuity of man to alter it. It was not the patriot who roused his countrymen to a sense of their wrongs that deserved punishment, if any c onsequences that i could )3e re oppressive gretted ever sprang from agitation against unjust an d the framer of th ose l aws oppressive laws. No ! it was _ on whom the responsibility and the right of punishment should fall. Sedition would starve if laws were equitable, and gallows might rot and become fire-wood, if legisla tors were just. If the prosperity of this country was to main tained, justice must be done to the people ; j ust i ce, not be restored, loyalty preserved, and public security only to the coloured men of the West Indies, but the bread of England, and the labour of England, must be free.—(Cheers.) Mr. R. R. MOORE, after stating that he would be very brief, having been unexpectedly called upon to speak that evening, said, that he would give them an outline of the general plan of the measures by which they hoped to carry the question. Their meetings—th e pub lic excitement which they caused — the spread of informa tion, by means of tracts and reports in the publi c p a p ers of their proceedings formed the gen era l means by which they would prepare men's minds to do their work.--(Cheers.) With respect to the plan of details, they asked the country to contribute 10 0,000!. They asked London, as the metropolis of England, to contri bute as largely, at least, as the manufacturing metropolis, Manchester. They proposed to expend the money in teach ing the electors of England that it was their duty to send not party men to Parliament, but men who would vote for liberty and free trade, and for the right of property of the man who, by the sweat of his brow, earned the means of his subsistence. One of the evils which they had particularly to overcome in this country, was the apathy of the electors to any practical question, and their slavish bowing down to the influence of party spirit. The citizens of London, who had returned at the late elec tion Javasis Pattison as their Member, had done more Iservice to their cause throughout the country thaw-they could beaware of.--(Hear, hear.) They owed many of the subscriptions which they had received to the fact of the capital having thrown aside every paltry feeling of party, and returned to the Imperial Legisla ture the friend of freedom and of the poor man. They meant to teach the constituencies to look, in their votes, not to whether the candidate was Tory, Whig, or Radical, not to whether he was a monopolist or free trader. They would appoint canvassers to ascertain the sentiments upon the subject of every Honourable Member, and they would get up a requisition requesting each of them to vote in favour of Mr. Villiers' motion. According as they ascertained, by the answer of each Hon. Member, his opinion, they would record that opinion, and having learned by their canvassers the state of feeling in the district which he represented, they would, at the time of election, know where they were strong and where they were weak, and accordingly under stand where they were to concentrate their efforts. —( Hear, hear.) They meant to contest every borough where a vacancy might occur.—(Cheers.) It was said that the Anti-Corn-law League was an unconstitutional, a re volutionary, and a dangerous body. They were dan gerous to nothing but monopoly—they revolutionised nothing but ignorance. Their whole power was in their power to spread knowledge, and in their resolution never to rest till the people had been taught what it was their real interest to know.—(Cheers.) They did not seek by an enormous array of numbers to intimidate. He repeated they meant to conteit every borough, whether their chance were good or bad. If it were as bad as Devizes, they would contest it. By unfurling the banner of free trade they would give strength to those who were with them, and he would never be the man to say that any place, even Devizes itself, was hopeless for the free trade on some future occasion. —(Hear, hear.) But the greatest work of all which they had to do was to put down that old monster which had defrauded the people, not only of their bread, but of their power to do right— bribery at elections.—(Hear, hear.) That had been the great difficulty in the way. of all advancement.— (Hear, hear.) Men did not come before the public to express their opinions fairly. Efforts were made to tempt the needy, to influence the doubtful, to cor rupt all. The parties who made them had no wish that knowledge should be the power of this country. They had no wish to enlighten men; but they desired to buy the untaught, to corrupt the poor, and to degrade all. Against that degradation of the people, against that purchasing of votes, against that buying of men, and selling of the rights of industry; the League had pledged itself to devote its most powerful energies.—(Cheers.) The matter was not one of mere declamation. The League left it to the judges of the country to put down bribery. They offered, in every place where a contest anise, a reward of a hundred pounds to every one who would give such information as might lead to the detec tion of any party who had given, offered, or taken a bribe. The punishment by law for that mis demeanour was an imprisonment of two years at the treadmill.—(Hear, hear, and cheers.) It was hard to get such evidence as would prosecute men to conviction; but they put down wholesale bribery; they made it dis graceful; they put respectable men out of the list of bribers ; they made it a thing hard to do. The men who bribed knew well that those who were corrupt enough to take a bribe might go-a step further, ar.d try and get the reward of 100/.—(Hear, hear, and cheers.) He had now told them their practical plan to carry out their object. The only power which they relied upon was the power, through-the funds committed to their charge, to teach the people. It would be a glorious day for England when her people, .being unfettered from monopoly, put forth all their strength and all their skill; and, when armies of industry should be the power with which they made the world their own—not conquering it by battle, but exercising its power to give them every comfort, every luxury which it could produce, conquer ing all its barrenness, all its waste, all its idleness, and making all nations their own, because their skill was the greatest—because their power to produce was the greatest power of production in the world. 0! it would be a glorious day for England when every ship left her port with a white flag flying at the mast-head, a golden wheatsheaf upon it, and the words "Free-trade with all the world" visibly displayed..—(Loud cheers.) Three cheers were then given for " Justice to Eng land and Ireland," after which the vast assembly was dissolved. EAST INDIA HOUSE. Yesterday a special adjourned Court was held at the East India House for the purpose of further considering the papers relating to Sinde. The Minutes of the last Court having been read, The Chairman, Mr. COMER, said, the Court of Directors deplored the course pursued by the Governor-General of India, in relation to the Ameers of Sinde. But they were satisfied that he had acted conscientiously ; and it was the intention of the Court of Directors to give every aid and pro tection to the Ameers, against whom no charges had been . established. He thought it would be the better course to ad journ the Court without discussing the resolutions proposed at the last meeting. . . After this impoitant statement, a discussion upon the point of order ensued, in which the Chairman gave way, and admitted that the resolutions proposed at the last Court might now be discussed. (Want of space prevents us giving the speeches to-day.) No other business was transacted, and the Court adjourned. LLOYD'S SHIPPING. LONDON, FEB. 2L—Wind S.E., with light rain. DEAL, FEB. 20.—Wind N.W. to N.N.W., fresh breezes. —Arrd. John Cooper, Salmon, Calcutt a; Ellen Gillman, Squires, St Michael's; Swiftsure, Tyaek, Cephalonia. Sld: the outward bound, except the Emnore, for Sydney, and Or well, fOr the Cape of Good Hope. Arrd. from the River and sailed, Eliza, Barker, St. Vincent's; London, Freeman, Ja maica; Clarendon, Fisher, ditto; Prince George transport, Bermitida-; Sophia, Starks, Constantinople. PORTSMOUTH, FEB. 20.—Wind N.W.—Arrd. her Majesty's ship Magpie, Mediterranean, and sailed to the eastward. FALMpUTH, FEB. 20.—Wind, N.—Off port, Marie Eliza beth, Fokkes, Buenos Ayres, sailed Dec. 12, and proceeded for Rotterdam., LIVERPOOL, FEB. 20.—Wind, W.N.W., fresh breezes— Aird. Flora Kerr, Kerkman, Calcutta ; Columbine, Crisp, Mauritius, sailed 19th November; Elizabeth Beynon, Lower Lima ; Ann, Cooper, Maracaibo ; Roscal, Reeker, and Walter Boyd, New Orleans ; James Cunard, New York ; Shepherdess, Craig, Genoa. Sld. Hardee, Marshall, Sydney, New South Wales; Texian, Alleyne, Valparaiso ; George IV., 'Stawe, Africa; Parton, Richardson, Hayti; Mermaid, Dale, Ha vannah ; Orlando, Cockerel], Charleston ; Bristol, Hoyt, St. John's, New Brunswick ; Bethel, Curd, Halifax ; Robert Reed, Alexandria; Europe, Bawen, Galatz ; Eleanor Palmer, Harris, Constantinople ; Lotus, Sprague, Genoa; Emma Graham, Fer uson, Oporto. , TORQUAY, FEB. 19.—Devon, Oporto. HULL, FEB. 19.—Arrd. Fanny Allen, Gainsborough, for Milton, to repair damage, having been in contact with the Trent steamer. DOVER, FEB. 20.—Arrd. off, Templar, Calcutta. HASTINGS, FEB. 20.—Arrd. off, Avoea, Harney, Singapore. BRISTOL, FEB, 20.—Arrd. Maid of Cashmere; Palermo. RAMSGATE, FEB. 20.--Sld.• Beacon, Ritchie, Barcelona ; Bedside, Quillebouef. • COWES, FEB. 20.—Arrd. Ludwig, Andre, Odeisa, and pro ceeded for the Mother Bank. Sld. Nautilus, Hamburgh, YARMOUTH, ISLE OF Wiwi', FEB. 20.—Sid. Rebel, Long, St. Michael's. DARTMOUTH, FEB. 20.—Sld. Heroine, Furzeman, St. Mi ehaiirs ; Harmony, Cadiz. • SALCOMBE, FEB. 20.—Ler4 Nelson,. St. Michael's. LrvErrpoor FEB. 20. m —The -Thomas and ARO (Hat), from this port to Beaumaris, is on shore nearithyl, and the Harriet (Flat), is near the same place ;.crews saved.. KINGSTOWN, FEB. 19.—Arrd. Sarah, Seville, under j ury masts, having. been ditmasted in a squall in the Bay of Bay, on the Bth instant. • SHIELDS, FEB. 18.—Arrd. Albert and Alexander, Memel. Sld. Richard B ran d t ; D uckell, Havannah ; Alpha. aples. LOSS OF THE MARGARET. AND BARONET. The following has been received at Lloyd's from the Fo reign-office, dated Feb. 17, 1844: " Sir—l am directed by the Earl . of Aberdeen to transmit to you, for the information of the Chairman and Committee for managing the affairs at Lloyd's, a copy of a disp a t c h f rom her Majesty's Consul-G enera l in Tunis, reporting the wrecks of the British brig Margaret, near Cape Farina, and of the brig Baronet, on tie Island of Galita.—&c. &c. • (Signed) " CANNING. "To Wm. Dobson. Esq., Lloyd's." _ _ "Tuni J 14, 144. " Sir —It is with regret t h at I h ave to rep s, ort an. for. you r in formation that the brig Margaret, Richard Lander, master, on her voyage from Tunis to Hull, was wrecked on the - sth instant, near Cape Farina, to the westward of Cape Carthage, in a heavy gale of wind. • "The brig Baronet,Wm. Wylie, master, on her voyage from Smyrna to Liverpool, was also wrecked on the 9th instant, on the Island of Galita. "I am happy, however, to Say that no loss of life has oc curred, and I have availed myself of the first opportunity to forward part of their crews to Malta, and shall use every ex ertion for the recovery of stores, &a., belonging to the above named vessels.—l have, &e., (Signed) " THOM AS READE." • SACRED HARMONIC SOCIETY, EXETER HALL.— The next concert of this ,Society takes place to-morrow (Friday) evening. With the exception of Handel's Occa sional Overture, the programme consists entirely of works to be performed for the first time by th e S oc i e ty, viz., Handel's Third Organ Concerto, and one of his Coronation Anthems ; Mendelssohn's 'Forty -Second Psalm, and Haydn's Sixteenth Mass. DEATHS IN ST. THOMAS'S HOSPITAL:--011 Tues day Mr. Payne held no fewer than three inquests at St. Thomas's Hospital. The first was that of Joseph Freeman, aged 42 years, a drayman in the employ of Messrs. Barclay, Perkins, and Co. On Friday, the 9th instant, deceased was riding on the shafts of a waggon, loaded with empty casks, over London-bridge, when, in his endeavours to jump off, he slipped and fell beneath the wheels, which passed over his left leg, and fractured it in a dreadful manner. He was con veyed to the hospital, where the limb was amputated. He survived until Sunday morning last, when he died, the house surgeon said, from exhaustion. The second case was that of Elizabeth Callow, aged 42 years, who resided at No. 2, Queen Elizabeth's Cottages, Greenwich. On Sunday, the 11th inst., deceased was in the act of assisting her aged bedridden pa rent, and whilst so doing her clothes by some means caught fire, and she was so much burnt that she expired on the 18th instant. The third case was that of Emily Marshall, aged 16 months, the daughter of James Marshall, of No. 6, Bear lane, Gravel-lane, Southwark, who was so dreadfully scalded by the upsetting of hot water over th e upper part o f h er body, that she died in a short time after her admission to the hospital. The jury returned a verdict in each case of— " Accidental death." STREET-CLEANSING ENGINE.—AR engine for sweeping the streets has been tried for some days in Cheap side and Fleet-street, and the result appears to be quite satis factory. An extract from the prospectus, published by the patentee, will explain its properties and its merits ; and, as far as this goes, those who saw its performance yesterday must admit the truth of what is asserted ;—" The engine is simply and effectively constructed; is enclosed in a case open only at the bottom part of it, to enable the brushes to come in contact with the street .or road, se that neither dust nor dirt can escape from it. The mud or dirt is discharged into a receiving truck travelling in front of the engine ; the truck when filled is easily detached and drawn away to the laystall or shute ; another empty truck is instantly attached to the engine, which proceeds on its work without the delay of taking it from the street with the receiver when it requires to be emptied : thus the engine remains constantly at its work. This is a distinguished ,11144 Plost..4oPortant feature of this engine." IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF COMMONS, Feb. 21. The SPEAKER took the Chair at the usual hour. Mr. LOWTHER brought in the Leeds and Selby Railway Bill, which was read a first time. Sir J. EASTHOPE brought up the Epsom and South Western Branch Railway Bill, which was read a first time. The Hartlepool Dock and Harbour Bill was read a second time, Mr. DUNOMBE presented several petitions from Yorkshire in4l4l . lrham in favour of agricultural pro tection. Mr. ORD presented a petition from the Free Saba. Society of Newcastle-on-Tyne, against any increaeln tho:military establishments of the country. NORWICH RAILWAY. Mr-AVODEHOUSE brought up the Report of the Committee on the Norwich and London Railway. BIRKENHEAD IMPROVEMENT BILL. The Report on the Birkenhead Improvement Bill was brought up. NOTICES OF MOTION. —COUNTY CORO- NERS' BILL. Mr. C. BERKELEY gave notice that, in Com mittee on the County Coroners' Bill, he should move to omit clause 20, granting to county coroners one shilling per mile as travelling expenses. SEPARATION OF MOTHER AND CHILD. Mr. FERRAND gave notice that, in Committee on the Poor-law Bill, he should move the insertion of a clause, enacting that it should not he lawful to separate children under seven years of age from their mothers, provided the mothers resided in the same workhouse with the children; and that mothers should at all times have free access to their children in workhouses. CASE OF MR. POWELL. Mr. CALEB POWELL moved for the production of the correspondence and all documents issued by the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, in which the Lord Chancellor stated his reasons for the removal of Mr. Powell from the commission of the peace for the county of Limerick.—Agreed to. TURNPIKE TRUSTS. Lord EBRINGTON gave notice that, on the in troduction of the Turnpike Trusts Bill, he should call the attention of the House to the hardships in flicted upon the holders of toll deeds, by the exemption from toll of carriages purporting to carry letters, and that he should introduce a clause for the purpose of remedying that grievance. PENSIONS. Mr. WILLIAMS moved an address to her Ma jesty, that she will be graciously pleased to give di rections that an account be laid before this House of all salaries, pensions, profits, pay, fees, emoluments, grants, or allowance of public money, held and en eyed by all persons, between the sth day of January, 1842, and the sth day of January, 1843, the total amount of which shall exceed one thousand pounds ; spacifying with each name the total amount received by each individual, and distinguishing the various sources from whence the same are derived.—Agreed to. COUNTY CORONERS' BILL. On the Order of the Day for the second reading of the County Coroners' Bill being read, After a few words from Mr. HUMS and Mr. PAKINGTON, Mr. WILLIAMS protested against the principles of this Bill. It was similar to the one which had been brought forward last year, and so properly altered in the other House. An attempt had been made to raise the mileage from ninepence to eighteen pence, but it was eventually settled at one shilling per mile. He thought the remuneration given to coroners was too great, for he knew one county in which thousands of pounds would be expended in the contest for the coronership. In its present state he should most decidedly vote against the secend reading of this Bill. Mr. C. BERKELEY hoped the Hon. Gentleman would not divide the House upon the second reading of this Bill.—(Hear, hear.) He thought the present discussion ought to be confined to the Committee.— (Hear, hear.) There was but one clause in the Bill which related to the increase of mileage to coroners, and he (Alr. Berkeley) had given notice of his inten tion to move the omission of that clause. Captain PECHELL thought it would be much better to postpone the Bill to a future day. Lord J. RUSSELL said that, considering the im portance of the adjourned debate, he thought the better course to pursue would be ',to postpone this Bill for the present. He could not see why the Hon. Gentleman should object to that course. • Mr. PAKINGTON could assure the Noble Lord that he had no wish to throw any impediment in the way of the important debate to which the No ble Lcrd had alluded ; but he had expected when he moved the second reading of this Bill, that there would be no opposition to this stage of the Bill. Mr. \VAKLEY thought the Hon. Gentlemen who had opposed this Bill had not read it—(Hear, hear) —but he supposed that they were privileged in that 'respect. The present Bill was merely for the pur pose of reducing the expense of electing coroners. Everybody knew that the present mode of electing coroners was a disgrace to the kingdom. The poll, when once opened, was obliged to be kept open for ten days, and it would be illegal to close it before that time. The Bill was then read a second time, and ordered to be committed on Wednesday, the 6th of March. HORSE-RACING PENALTIES SUSPENSION BILL. Mr. HORSMAN asked the Hon. and Learned Member for Bute if the Bill relating to the penalties on horse-racing was of such a pressing nature as to interpose before the Order of .the Day for the ad journed debate. This was the second time it had done so. Mr. J. S. WORTLEY said the Bill was of a very pressing nature as some of the actions were being commenced at the assizes. He should, therefore, move that the Speaker do leave the Chair. After a few words from Mr. CHRISTIE, Mr. T. DUNCOMBE sa id t h at if the Hon. Gen tleman was to make the Bill at once what it ought really to be —a private and personal Act to exempt certain Noble Lords and Gentlemen from cer tain penalties to which they had subjected themselves in consequence of their ignorance of the law, he would find no difficulty in getting it passed. His own opinion was, that they were fairly entitled to this indemnity, and there were many instances upon record where indemnity in similar cases was granted. Mr. HORSMAN said if the Bill were really press ing, then he was sure there were many Members who would support the Hon. and Learned Member; if it were not pressing, surely it was a fit subject for con sideration whether the delay now sought should not be conceded. Mr. CHRISTIE said, it might conduce to the convenience of the House, if he stated that the decla rations in these actions were only delivered two or three days ago, and that they would not come on for trial at the Surrey Assizes ; therefore, there was no necessity for thus pressing on the Bill. If the Hon. and Learned Gentleman would postpone the Bill for this evening, every facility would be given to him hereafter. Mr.WORTLEY said he was sorry he could not ac cede to the wish of the Hon. Gentleman. Proceedings were at present going on in these actions as rapidly as possible for the purpose of accumulating costs, and he knew that two of them were ready for trial one at the coming Surrey, the other at the York assizes. Under these circumstances, and recollecting the difficulty there might be in hereafter bringing this matter before the House, with the mass of other subjects coming before it, he did trust that no fuither delay would be insisted on. Mr. CHAISTIE must say then, as no delay would be conceded, sthat he should proceed to move the in struction of which he had given natice.—(Cries of " Spoke, spoke,". " Chair, chair.") The. SPEAKtR declarel that the Hon. Gentle r man, having previously addressed the House on this subject, had • forfeited his right to move his in struction.—(Hear, and a laugh.) Mr. HUME said the Bill now before the House had been altered according to the propositions made, the other night, from his side of the House. It was now, in fact, a Bill simply to stay proceedings. The promoters of the Bill having fairly met them, and carried their wishes into effect, he for one could he no party to the present opposition.—(Cheers.) Mr. BRIGHT said, as his Hon. Friend (Mr. Christie) was debarred moving his instruction, he should take upo n hi mse lf to d o so. R e begged to move that it be an instruction to the Committee to extend the provisions of the Bill to all proceedings of common informers under the authority of any penal statute. Mr. CHRISTIE would second the instruction he could not propose ; and he did so because he thought the measure as now before the House was to throw a protection round a few individuals, which, if desirable at all, ought to be extended to every class. He could not, nor would not, recognise any distinc tion between small bets made by persons in an humble station of life, and larger ones by the aris tocracy and richer classes, neither could he distinguish the difference between horse-racing and any other species of gaming. H e was so con v i nce d i n hi s opi nions upon this subject, that he should offer the strongest opposition to this Bill. The most eminent judges of the land had decided, that under the penal statue of Queen Anne the sport of horse .racing was included, and Baron Rolfe had pronounced a similar decision in the Court of Exchequer no later than the term before last. It had been stated by the Hon. and Learned Gentleman who introduced this Bill that the Noble Lord. the Member for Lynn (Lord George Bentinck) was one of the parties intended to be relieved by the Bill. In making that statement, he said that the Noble Lord was entirely ignorant of the law against which he had offended. No such statement however had been made by the Noble Lord himself. If the No. ble Lord were to say so, of course it was needless for I him (Mr. Christie) to say that he should place im plicit confidence in the statement; but he must say that, under the circumstances, that which had been. -- stated by the Hon. and Learned Gentleman (Mr. Wort ley) ought to be confirmed by the Noble Lord himself. He asked the House to alter the Bill so that the peo ple whom it was desired to benefit should be relieved by the just application of a general Bill ;. and his great object in supporting the instruction was in the hope of superseding all other such proceedings as might be instituted by common informers. Such informations for penalties ought, in his opinion, never to be allowed, except originated by the clerk of the peace or some other public officer. He wanted a broad, general, just, and impartial ap plication of a wholesome principle, a n d that legisla tion in that House should not be for individuals but for the whole people. Mr. C. BERKELEY would yield to no man in his desire to extend every protection to the sports o f the poor, as well as the rich.—(Hear, hear.) The Honourable Gentleman (Mr. Christie) said the other evening, that if they passed this Bill, then they would be legislating for a class only. He had offered to support the instruction of the Hon. Gentleman, provided he would consent to engraft on it a pledge to extend the provisions of the Bill to all statutes which relate to the sports of the people. He now, therefore, gave the Hon and Learned Gentle man (Mr. Wortley) notice the, on the bringing up of the report of the Bill, he should move a clause to that effect. Mr. HUTT said, that within the last few years, no less than five or six Bills of a similar character and principle to the one now before the House had been brought in and passed without a dissentient voice from Hon. Members on either side. If the Hon. Member for Manchester and others had not opposed (as he had not) these measures at the time of their passing, it was rather remarkable they should now set their faces so strongly against an ex post facto law which was quite as just and necessary as any of those entertained by the House on former occasions. He regretted exceedingly that he was compelled to dissent from those for whom he felt personally so much respect ; but still he thought some of his Hon. Friends were influenced more by prejudice than cool judgment. After - a few words from Mr. MANWAIRDTG and Colonel WYNDHAM, Captain PECHELL rose, amid much confusion and loud cries of " Divide, divide," and said,. as well as we could catch his words, that he was sure there were many Hon. Gentlemen near him who would wish to hear the Hon. and Learned Gentleman op posite, and the Noble Lord who had brought in the Bill express their opinion on the matter before the House proceeded to a divi s i on . Mr. IVAKLEY entirely disagreed from the Hon. and Learned Member for Gateshead, who had com p!etely mistaken the nature of the present Bill. Its object was to frustrate the designs of certain parties, who were sueing others for the very acts which they themselves had committed.—(Hear, hear.) His principal object in rising was to call the attention of the Right Hon. Baronet to a practice that was preva lent in that town. He alluded to the practice adopted by the stipendiary magistrates with respect to little boys who were brought before them for playing at pitch and toss. It was only two days ago that three little boys, who believed that they had been enjoying a per fectly innocent amusement, were brought before the magistrates and were sent to the treadwheel at the House ,of Correction, for playing at pitch and toss. Now, he thought it would be well if the Right Hon. Baronet the Home Secretary were to intimate to the magistrates that he disapproved of the practice pursued by them, and order these little fellows to be at once liberated. After a few words from Mr. M. GIBSON and Mr. J. S. WORTLEY, • Mr. CHRISTIE withdrew his amendment. Nlr. HUME wished it to be distinctly understood that though he had expressed his intention not to oppose the Bill, lie should consider it a violation of the under standing which had been come to if the Bill which had been sent to them from the Lords was proceeded with. The ATTORNEY -GENERAL said it was clear to him that Hon. Gentlemen were labouring under a mis apprehension in regard to this second Bill. It was simply a Bill of Indemnity to protect from future conse quences the witnesses who gave evidence on the subject of games and gaming before the Committee of the House of Lords. It enacted thai the certificate of the chairman of that Committee should protect a party giving evidence from the penalties he might otherwise be subjected to for acts disclosed by him in that evidence —but it interfered not with the operation of the law be yond those specific circumstances. The House then went into Committee, the preamble was postponed, and on Mr. Wortley moving the first clause, Lord HOWICK said—Unfavourable as he was to betting in any shape, he still agreed in the propriety of the Bill ; but he hoped the House, in passing it, would effectually guard itself against doing anything that might encourage the habit of betting. The measure before . the House went to stop not only the actions which were commenced, but also any that might he commenced. This he could not ap prove of. He looked upon the question of betting which now existed in this country, as most injurious to the character, morals, and happiness of the people. This Bill was brought forward nominally to shelter persons who had been taken by surprise ; but its practical ope ration would extend further. Perfect warning had now been given to all parties, and the House ought therefore to take car e th at any gam i ng which hereafter took place, should have no protection from it.— • (Hear, hear.) With this view he should move that after the word " thereat," in clause 1, line 41, the following words should be added—" Such gaming or • - betting being alleged to hare taken place previous to the 21st of January, 1844." The protection would thus extend to the time at which he (Lord Howick) was speaking, and no longer. Mr. WORTLEY quite concurred with the Noble Lord in his desire to devise means for limiting and re-- 3 gulating betting in this country. He did not think that the Noble Lord was quite aware of the effect of the clause as it at present stood. The Bill itself was only to extend till the end of the session, or for three months, or some other limited time, to be filled up in Committee, the object being to give time to the Committee to sit and report to the House, when the House, doubtless, would frame and pass a measure founded on its recommenda tions for checking and regulating betting and games. If the House did not pass such a measure, the present Bill would drop at the period named for its duration, or at the end of the session, and all parties would be again liable to the penalties which the present law ordained. just as much as if the relief now proposed had nerer been heard of. Lord HOWICK said the upshot of this would be that if the Committee did not report for some time, or if a measure were brought into Parliament, as would probably be the case, towards the end of the session, then, on account of the lateness of the session, such measure or Bill would be withdrawn, and the proposed enactment now befi)re the House'would be renewed in a hurry, and then al lowed to settle down quietly as a permanent law. Thus they would practically protect the betting which they now wished, or professed to wish, to put down or regu late. The object he desired to attain could only be ef fected by the introduction of the words he had submit ted to the House. He thought it fair to state, that if his amendment was rejected, he should regard the Bill as giving facilities for betting, and in that view he should deem it his duty to divide against it in its subsequent stages.—(Hear, hear.) Sir JAMES GRAHAM said he agreed in the general _ principle of disfavour as to betting laid down by the Noble Lord (Howick), and he was most anxious that the whole subject of gaming should be referred to a Com mittee, with the view of de v i s i ng means to p l ace c h ec k s generally on betting. If the Noble Lord opposite was determined to persevere in his motion, he (Sir James Graham) would feel bound to divide the House against him. Mr. lIUME approved of the proposition of the Noble Lord, because it would be likely to guard against future betting. A due notice would be given by this law, that every person who betted did so at their own peril ; yet the Right Hon-. Baronet the Secretary for the Home Department said he felt bound to vote against the mo tion of the Noble Lord. Mr. DARBY said that at the expiration of a certain period—either three months, or twelve months, or two years, parties could prosecute these actions again. Lord EBRINGTON thought, perhaps, it might be as well if an immunity were given for all past transac tions, and leave the . law alone until the C omm i ttee should have had time to consider the matter more care fully. However, he should support the motion of his. Right Hon. Friend, if the House divided. Captain RODS said that, as almost every one now made up a book on the Derby—(Hear, and laughter).— the present measure was of some importance. He thought the Hon. Member for Gateshead had quite mis- • - stated the cases to which he had alluded. He thought the best plan would be to let betting alone, and it would cure itself. What was to be deplored was, that bets. came into a court of l aw . H e thought the Legislature should never have interfered with betting, and as for their injuring the morals of the people, it was down right humbug. Those races he contended had a good influence on the community'; they brought persons of different parties together, and the fury and rancour of party strife was forgotten in the pleasures of the amuse ment.—(Hear, hear.) Lord PALMERSTON professed that he would rather have the Bill as it stood. A Committee was about to be appointed to consider the general relations of the Bill, and he thought it was better to leave the Bill as it was. After a few words from Lord EBRINGTON and Mr. S. WORTLEY, Lord G. BENTINCK said, that no bets on the en suing Derby races could, according to the present state of the law, be the subject of qui tam actions until the Ist of September next. none took place, and the Bill was p The gallery was then cleared . t o b c r ee The clause, as amended, was then agree d to . adeddivision, but i The remaining clauses,were agreed to. thought the line i n th e pre- On the preamble be in g proposed, w ith some verbal alterations, amlrlre.,C•aililielhiSsLitEedsutihdabt he thought parties against whom the lute qui tam actions had been brought, were ignorant that in making the bets respecting which the actions had been brought against them, they were committinc , an illegal act, should be s t ruc k out. .! • Lord GEORGE BENTINCK said he had believed, and he believed still, that in making bets on horse racing he was doing a perfectly legal act. Mr. ROEBUCK said this was a novel principle of t., - - 1