The Sun. — London, England, 1844-05-09 00:00:00

TIT SGNs LONDON, T]TURSDAY JVIORNING, MAI* 9, 1844. believed a more important event could ncit have oc curred in the progress of their cause ; its importance was scarcely equalled by the election for London, and they could not forget what vast importance was at tached to that election, and what a great impression was produced by its result, not only throughout this country but throughout the whole world; for it was hardly exaggeration to say, when they considered what was the single question at issue on that occasion, and what the consequences of it might be, that its vast importance must be acknowledged wherever the influence of British commerce extended.—(Hear.) In foreign countries the result of that election, he be lieved, was looked on as the approaching decline and downfall of that restrictive system of monopoly which was upheld by those who professed tha truth and wisdom of the opposite principle in the abstract.—(Hear, hear.) It formed a leading topic in the journals of Europe and America, and was hailed as a sign that the commercial classes were awakening from the slumber in which they had too long indulged. 'Wherever they had an enemy, the result of that election was seen with regret; and those who wished well to this country beheld it with joy aid satisfaction. To confirm what he said, he would call the attention of the meeting to the notice which was taken of the late London election, by a leading man in the United States—a man of great talent, and a firm advocate of free trade, and who, till lately, had been a candidate for the Presidentship. When he was about retiring from the field, he put forward an address to the people, and alluded to the London election. After professing his attachment to the prin ciples of free trade, he said, " that he would not aban don the glorious principle now that its banner was waving in triumph over the metropolis of the com mercial world.—(Cheers.) No, he would maintain the immoveable ground he so long occupied till he witnessed the great and final victory. A vic tory it would be indeed, and the harbinger of a new, a brighter, and higher civilisation."—(Hear, hear.) That election was an example of what might be done if the people of the country only did themselves jus tice, and exercised their own sound judgment. It would give a stimulus to other countries in the di rection of free trade. He alluded to the London election, because a struggle of a precisely similar na ture was now about to take place in Lancashire. There was, however, this difference—that the consti tuency in Lancashire would be of a mixed character, part being an agricultural, and part manufacturing and commercial, so that if the same result attended their efforts, it would be even more glorious than that of London.—(Hear, hear.) He did not mean to say that the two classes were in conflict. He believed the man was not fit to be at large who thought that the agriculture of the country was not bound up with the prosperity of manufactures and com merce.—(Cheers.) But he had no doubt there were a large class in that country who had no sympathies with the manufacturing and commercial prosperity of Lancashire, because all their sympathies were with domination, and they were jealous of the encroach ment of the commercial classes. That class, he knew, would exercise their influence; but when one consi dered what was their business and occupation—what was the history of the people of Lancashire—it it would be difficult to find an excuse for them if they did not follow the example of London.—(Hear, hear.) The commercial and manufacturing classes understood what was due to their own order and interests as well as any other class in the community, and he hoped they would be wise enough to avoid party spirit and party zeal.—(Hear, hear.) The question of free trade had nothing to do with party. At the very first meeting he attended in Lancashire on the sub ject, he was happy to say some leading Con servatives took a prominent part to further the principles of free trade.—(Hear, hear.) He re membered that just the same thing occurred with regard to the Anti-Corn-law Association in London, a few years ago. The late Right Hon. Thomas Peregrine Courtenay, who had been Vice , President of the Board of Trade, who was a Tory, but who. had always been an advocate for free trade, asked him (Mr. Villiers) whether if he (Mr. (Courtenay) were to address the constituents of a metropolitan borough, as a candidate, the Anti- Corn-law Associations of London would support him. He (Mr. Villiers) had, in consequence, consulted the leading persons belonging to those Associations, and they all stated that they were anxious to give Mr. Courtenay every support, because they considered the country to be in a state of severe distress, and that the more markets were opened to them the greater would be the field opened for the employment of the people. They said they would support any man who would support a repeal of the corn-laws; and that in support of the doctrines of free trade they should be glad to avail themselves of the talents and services of Mr. Courtenay, without regard to his po litics. He could not believe that in the present state of the question the manufacturers, the capitalists, and the employers of labour could be so faithless and treacherous to their principles, or so forgetful of the trust reposed in them, as to return to Parliament one who would vote for the perpetuation of that curse and grievance of which they complained.—(Cheers.) His Honourable Friend Mr. Warburton had alluded to the immense importance of our maintaining our superiority in manufactures. It was more important to Lancashire than to any other county, that this superiority should be maintained. When they con sidered the immense population which in that county depended for their bread upon manufactures, they could not think without horror upon anything which should bring such a disaster upon that place as the destruction of manufactures. The reason why the question of free trade had becorn; one of so much importance was, because they were under the appre hension of losing those advantages by the eager rivalry of other . countries. They were about to try the ques tion at this contest.—(Cheers.) They were about to apply a test to this great manufacturing district. -The manufacturers, capitalists, and the employers of labour would now have an opportunity of showing how far they were sincere in those wishes they had expressed to promote the interests of the industrious classes.—(Cheers.) When they supported free trade and called out against restrictions, they said that they opposed restrictions because, by limiting the field of production and lowering the profits of capital, they compelled them to reduce the rate of wages. The question now was, for whom would they vote ? (Loud cheers.) They objected to limiting the hours of working, by Act of Parliament, because it would have a tendency to limit the number of people to be employed and lower the rate of wages. But let them enlarge the field of production, and more employment and higher wages would be the consequence, and every one who wished well to the working people would refuse his support to any candidate who would not support the doctrines of free trade.—(Cheers.) Never was there at any time less excuse for with holding their support from those doctrines than there was at present.—(Loud cheers.) Many might have doubted as to what would have been the operation of the corn-laws when they were first passed. Many might have doubted when they had no experience, but now that they had had a long and dreary experience of those laws, no man could expect any good from them, and most men had experienced evil. There was hardly a week passed in which some of those who had hitherto supported them did not come forward and acknowledge their error in so doing. Those who were capitalists—in the true sense of the word, cultivators of the soil—(Cheers)—whenever they had spoken out, had denounced the corn-laws as inflicting more mischief upon them than upon any other class. Those who had addressed these meetings had been unanswered. They had stated facts which had been uncontradicted. There had been different opportunities -of answering their statement, but not one syllable had been uttered in reply to them.— (Cheers.) They would be followed to-night by a gentleman, a fanner, who would tell them, as others had done, that no advantage had resulted to him from the corn-laws, and that he was ready to give them, heartily, all his assistance to pro cure the abolition of those laws, and to promote free trade. He had only risen for the purpose of comply ing with the request which the Chairman had made to account for the absence of those gentlemen who would have addressed them, and he would now retire and make way for sonic other gentleman.—(Cheers.) The CHAIRMAN then announced that Mr. Gibbs, a Buckinghamshire farmer, would next address the meeting. Mr. Grins then came forward, and was received with loud cheers. He believed that the stage of that theatre had furnished this large metropolis with a great deal of information and a great deal of amuse ment for many years past—a variety of different characters had there been presented before them; but he thought they would see a fresh one there that hamshire farmer. He er. He was a na ti ve d n w i va g cs h e t d a . — t Bo ( Cu themc h k e i e n r g s ha a as n m d as h l ßi a r u ue g e k h f ai t n e r g r m .) He had been intro and resident of the principal town in the county, living under the immediate and heavy influence of the great Duke, who had been so often brought before them —( Loud cheers and laughter.) He had been introduced to them as Mr. Gibbs. It was rather a delicate matter for him to introduce himself to them, but it was necessary that he should have some further in troduction. He must therefore lay aside all coy ness, and appear before them as a straightforward, plain-spcken man ; and he hoped that he would be allowed a somewhat greater latitnde in speaking than was usually 4opodea to those who addressed them in that assembly.—(Cheers.) There were two reasons why he should give them a history of his life. The first was to encourage every young tradesman; and the second was, to _. show the meeting that they must not expect anything from him but plain Buckingham shire facts, in plain Buckinghamshire language. — (Cheers.) About 33 or 34 years ago, he first became a commercial man—a man of business, under rather adverse circumstances. He was pot a large farmer, be merely Armed in a small way to provide food for business was in another line, He stood before them as a character which had hitherto been considered as one of their greatest enemies—he was rather .a large land agent.-- - ---(Checrs.) He was employed to dispose of the stocks of farmers; to help one unfortunate farmer out and his successor in, until the successor should again stand in need of his as sistance. (Laughter.) He had commenced his public life, and his trade, in the county town of a county under the monster foot, which covered the whole Of Buckinghamshire. )Every little privilege was given unto those only who deserved it by such means as he would not stoop to do.—(Cheers.) He would not go back to his ancestors, but he would merely tell them that his father was what was called a Jacobin. He himself was proud (of being called a Radical, which was, perhaps, a softer term for the same thing. He, however, had always had the hap piness to resist temptation. He had kept his inte grity, and had never sacrificed his political principles to the profits of his business ; and he_would venture ,o say, that there was not a great Protectionist in that neighbourhood who wished to have his pro- perty turned into cash, but shat had full confidence in him, and would employ him as readily as any other person. Solomon had said, " Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." Ilis eldest son, who possessed better advantages of education than himself, was now Editor of the Aylesbury News. In his gaper he advocated the doctrines of free trade. The meeting and he were now getting better acquainted. He had at first felt some diffidence in addressing them, but he had now got rid of it. He would content himself with stating some facts in support of his opinion, and a statement of facts he considered the best sort of oratory. In considering the question of monopoly, he always looked at it in a broad light, and lost sight of many petty reckonings. He took a broad view of the effects of the corn-laws. God Almighty, by his bountiful providence, had supplied the earth with fruits of various sorts. Man, by his ingenuity, had invented the steam-engine, which had shortened dis tances, and brought the ends of the world together. All men had a right freely to interchange the pro ducts of their industry, and trade in all articles should he free. He knew of no reason why any man should ask for protection.—(Cheers.) He had seen an ad vertisement in the county paper for a meeting in the County Hall at Aylesbury of agriculturists to pray for protection. He had sent an advertisement to the same paper, calling a meeting of tailors on the same day, at the same time, and in the same place, also to pray for protection.—(Cheers and laughter.) The agricultural meeting took place; _and there were se veral excellent speeches reported as having been made at the tailors' meeting. Those who clothed the back were as well entitled to protection as those who filled the belly. He meant no disrespect to the tailors in what he had said, but merely to show the folly of any class asking for protection. What would they say to him if, in the event of his business falling off, he were to apply to Parliament for protection, and to ask them to raise his commission to 10 per cent. ? What would he be called ?—(Cheers.) He would now advert to the state of the agriculturists. What was the real state of the small farmer ? No man knew what was the state of the small farmer better than he (Mr. Gibbs) did. The small farmer, for the last few years, had been tolerably well off. Some who had deprived themselves of the common comforts of life had made money. Others, who had not denied themselves the ordinary comforts, were on a level. Last year the scale turned another way, and those who had not laid by anything were obliged to move off. The labourer was not paid, because the farmers could not pay him ; and the labourer who, with a large family only got from Bs. to 10s. a week, and had to pay 2s. a week rent out of that, could not be supposed to make a very decent appearance. The repeal of the corn-laws would raise the wages of labour. If manufacturers had abundance of cheap food trade would flourish. One of the greatest evils the country laboured under was a surplus population.—(Hear, hear.) There were plenty of well-disposed able bodied men who were now asking for a day's work and could not obtain it. Those poor feellows, who were chiefly agricultural labourers, in strolling along the roads sometimes stole a hare, and sometimes only half a hare, as in a late instance, and for this theft they were sentenced to two or three months' impri sonment, and by those who called the hares the pro perty of the land.—(Hear, and laughter.) He would not encourage poaching—far from it—but he believed every man would have a hare if he could get it. Ile was now about to speak of the state of the tenant-farmers, and the Tory editor of an Aylesbury paper, who was the unflinching advocate of mono poly, had let the cat out of the bag about a fortnight ago. In supporting monopoly he declared against the attendance of the agricultural population at agri cultural meetings, for it was manifestly to the ad vantage of the monopolists to keep the people in igno rance. A little Radical newspaper in that county to which he had already alluded had done a great deal to remove the foolish prejudices against the repeal of the corn laws which had previously existed. An attempt had been made to burke this little newspaper, as one which previously existed had been put down, but " John Gibbs" started one on his own responsibility. An endeavour had been made to crush it, but the very first week, the sale of the Aylesbury News wat• three times that of the other local papers, and had continued so ever since. —(Hear, hear.) In a certain village that belonged to the great Duke of Bucking ham, there was a certain agent that reported every little circumstance to the Duke, free trade discussion was prohibited, and free trade pamphlets were like " the forbidden fruit," to be avoided, and like the for bidden fruit, too, they were the more anxiously de sired, because of their prohibition ; this agent gene rally made his " rounds" of a Sunday mornincy, when the farmers were taking a sly peep at tl7(. Aylesbury News. When the poor farmer heard him coming lie slipped the News into the dresser-drawer, but immediately plucked it out upon his departure, and began to con it over more anxiously than before. —(Laughter.) The moral condition of the Buck inghamshire farmers was not to be envied. The ques tion of free trade had been very ably argued by their friend, Mr. Cobden, among the Buckingham shire farmers. A meeting had been held there, and he believed Mr. Cobden was as much gratified as sur prised at the reception free-trade principles' had met among them.—(Loud cheers.) An impudent fellow had presumed to style a meeting in favour of protec tion in Aylesbury, which they called, a meeting of the Aylesbury electors. The meeting was addressed by a Dr. Sleigh. The Doctor spoke in a fine, flowery way—he gave them plenty of what was called " soft soap"—(Great laughter)—and he effectually turned the stomach of the few friends he had.—(Renewed laughter.) The Doctor said enough to get himself hooted out of the room, and bonnetted, too, in going out.—(Roars of laughter.) It was needless for him to discuss the causes of the moral condition of the farmers of Buckinghamshire—the well-known con dition of the tenant-farmers, and the farm-labourers, spoke more than words could say.—(llear, hear.) The present system threw numbers of well-disposed poor men out of employment; they could get no re lief, and had no alternative betweenthe prison and the workhouse—there was not even out-door relief. He firmly believed that the repeal of the corn-laws would be beneficial to the la bourer—(Hear, hear)—for it would give them that employment in manufactures which agriculture at present denied them.—(Hear, hear.) If the corn laws were to be repealed to-morrow he assured the meeting he would take a lease of land at present prices —he would sign the lease with the one hand, and with the other sign a petition for the repeal of the corn-laws.—(Hear, hear, and great cheering.) He would have no hesitation whatever in engaging in the culture of land—arable land. Ile believed the repeal of the corn-laws would produce protection, but a na tural protection ; it would give fresh life and vigour to manufactures, and promote prosperity in trade ; it would drain off the surplus labour, and the people of this country would then be enabled to consume that corn, the produce of foreign countries, which was of late years suffered to rot, and had been thrown into the sea while the people of England were starving.— (Hear, hear.) lie knew several farmers—he did not speak of landowners, but of the yeomen of Bucking hamshire—not those wearing red coats or blue coats, but of the good honest stout-hearted yeomen, who were in reality in favour of a repeal of the corn-laws. The farmers were not so much opposed to a repeal of the corn-laws as had been imagined. They preferred that the question of the corn-laws should be settled on a sure and solid foundation. He would give them a proof of the truth of what he said—facts were stub born things—as stubborn as the League itself.— (Laughter.) A farmer had come to him not long since—he was his agent, and wanted to give up a farm. He introduced himself by saying, " Well, I must leave my farm, and I must ask yo u r a ss i s tance to get me out." The conversation turned on the state of agriculture and on the agitation of the re peal of the corn-laws; he stated that twenty-five years ago he took a farm in the upper part of 13uckinghamshire ; an Act of Parliament had just then been passed, and by that Act he had been guaranteed, or assured he was g uaranteed, ten shillings a bushel for his wheat. Upon the faith of this promise lie took the lease, but for many years after wheat was only six shillings a bushel. In fact, protection to this man was false, , ruinous, a n d deceptive, as it had proved to many.—(Hear.) H e w o uld not go into the details of prices as other speakers had done, but he believed he did not exaggerate when he said that the prices of corn were 30 per cent. lower than the farmers expected when they took their leases ,(ilear.) At the same moment that he was talking to this farmer a deputy from the League came into the room with a petition in favour of a re-: peal of the corn-laws n his band, and asked them to sign it, and he was happy to inform the meeting that both of them signed this petition, and they further agreed to sign a requisition to the League to furnish them with a free trade candidate at the next election. —(Cheers.) He believed the motives of those who op- fine. seen, krrd. Ha- -Sid. st In* . 22d, adoes inves ler ons s , for Vera slip?, ha' CT/, a II star- iro for mbay; °thing Eucle* Sid. Elayti; Coul" d from iengeri _Tam - March► Lu 13th Dour •il, Tin t Aprilo are for i serons of gold Paris• dollars ;d about ,assage; ere two lerniuds .e Mus e Ws* , real the at Vert; Mareb „ ii. pt air) , • he Cow extra, . d Luck 10 out Of action ati din l duo elligers e s„ dren- 41 ; Live Isnot ROYAL ACADEiIIY EXHIBITION. r This popular exhibition opened for the season on Monday last. The crowd, as usual, was tremendous, filling every room to overflowing; and it was scarcely Possible to do more than just take a hasty, superficial ance at the different pictures. So far, as we have yet been able to form an opinion, the Exhibition, on the whole, is a good one, and vve are glad to see that there are fewer portraits of anonymous gentlemen t han usual. Among the first paintings that catch the spectator's eve in the east room, is No. 13, The Otter Speared, which is from the prolific pencil of Edwin Landseer. The animal is represented as held up in the air at the point of a sportsman's pole, and an immense number of otter dogs are barking vio lently, and ma ki ng f ru itl ess e ff or t s to reach him. It is astonishing what eager, natural expression the artist has contrived to throw into the attitudes and countenances of his dogs. 49, Portrait of 4'APartero, is a passable likeness, and deserves praise for the richness, vet pereect chasteness, of its colouring. 67 , Portrait of her Majesty, is by Newenham, and it h as been painted, it seems, by direction of the Junior United Service Club. The resemblance is good, e specially about the mouth, and, what is still more re markable, there is no courtier-like flattery about it. 182, Portrait of William Charles 211acready, by the late H. P. Briggs, represents the tragedian striving 141 *( 1 . but with a success by no means commensurate With his exertions, to look contemplative and senti mental. The likeness may be recognised at a glance, even though it has the fault of being too youthful. 18 7, The Day after the Wreck, is one of Stanfield's 'Pirited sea-pieces. 203, A Scene from the Decameron Boccacio, by Chalon, is in the courtly, graceful, an highly finished style of Watteau. 351, Sancho reenz-a in the Apartment of the Duchess, is less suc th:tful the management of the principal character, of . 'anch° , than we should have expeqed from sueh a careful artist as Leslie. The squire is much that g rave hi his manner, and we altogether miss he sl y, oily expression of humour for which e . was so famous. The countenance of the grinning negro in the back-ground is capital. 332 1 Shoeing, is one of the most masterly pictures in the exhibition. The tone of colouring throughout is t e ll but perfect, and the muscles in the hind leg of the 4 t r se, as the smith holds it up for the purpose of s 'aing, are developed with a spirit and anatomical 4ee aracy of which Landseer alone is capable. 379, . t r a lcthornden, is a most romantic scene, whose colour 4eg, and well disposed lights and shades, exhibit the skill of the artist, Sir William Allan, to great advan e. 3 88, Trial of the Seven Bishops, is an am bitious hist or i ca l pa i n ti n g, by Herbert. The design s pirited, but* the picture is deficient in strongly harked character. 426, the Ploughed Field, is one tif t . Lee's sweet, homely, sylvan landscapes. 428, p ortrait of Thomas Carlyle, is an admirable likeness, and the colouring is full of force and depth. 430, Venice t (644, Ducal Palace, is one of Turner's grotesque pro ductions, The utmost we can say for it is, that it pr is o ductions,ei quite so confused and unintelligible as some that we have seen lately from his pencil. 581, Scene on 13 0 , 3 a Steam er , i s re pl e te with truthful and humour -1;14 expression. Th e coun t enance of the dandy, who JU4t felt the first qualms of sea-sickness, expresses Word , of melancholy anticipations. 552, the Tomb of .:, "rid, is one o f Danby's splendid poetical concep t4als, Which please, in spite of the absence of all bature. In the Sculpture-room, there is a graceful and highly-fini s h e d bust of the late Mrs. Oughton, Y Sevier, and a clever group in marble, by Gibson. GRAND WEEKLY those very principles which they now carried into effect, the Government did not supplant their preciee INTI-CORN-L A.W LE IGUE I cessors. It was better that those who advocated the reduction of those duties should not mix themselves MEETIN O up with any party considerations.—(Cheers.) Let N.--X them endeavour, by their reasons, and by the mode- IVENT-GARD - FN THEATRE. ration with which they proposed them , to gain friends AT CO to the doctrines of free trade from all parties whatso - The usual weekly meeting of the League took ever. By that course they were most likely, within place last night at Covent-Garden Theatre. Long a reasonable space of time, to carry their principles before the hour appointed for the commencement of into effect. The greatest opponents ti who t i F n they ki had, c her s e e g s ret I regretted h d ttoe wr say, the business the theatre was filled in every part. At olNr.keirnega da se s c ses on w o ,i f th . t e he w m or idd n l g las e half-past seven o'clock the chair was taken by H. classes, were unanimous in opposing those diffe- Warburton, Esq., M.P. for Kendal, who was receive d rential duties and sliding scales the thing would with loud cheers. Among those present we observed— be done at once.--(Cheers.) He could not conceive The Hon. C. Pelham Villiers, M.P. ; Benjamin by what process of reasoning a portion of the work- Smith, Esq., M.P. ; Richard Cobden, Esq., M.P. ; ing classes persuaded themselves they were benefited Professor Lieber ; Robert R. R. Moore, Es q . ; Hon. by monopoly. It really came to this sort of argu ment—the greater tne quantity of any commodity. E. P. Bouverie ; Colonel Puckett; W. A. Wilkinson, that was to divide among the whole of the com- Esq. ; P. A. Taylor, Esq. ; W. S. Burton, Esq.; munity, the less a part of that community would William Hawes, Esq.; William Graham, Esq.; John have. It would be just as if he were to say to them, Evans, Esq. ; Dr. Cooke Taylor ; T. Sherwood, the larger the space in which that assembly was Esq. ; G. Dunn, Esq. ; Chapman Esq. ; J. C o stl - col l t e i c e te l d a , r the i le i d s less a room ti t l h e e m r e . would o h n e e for ro a pn n o : s ' itdi one oifn was . thard, Esq.; C. J. Browne, Esq.; T. P ou lter, Esq. ; pa ' ro just as absurd as the other. There was p John Lalor, Esq.; William Leaf, Esq. ; Maj or Reid ference whatever between them. If there was a Revell ; Press Granger, Esq. ; Rev. E. Muscu tt ; J. larger quantity of corn, sugar, and coffee, to divide B. Scott, Esq., Manchester ; Thomas Allen, Esq.; among the millions of which the population of the c o e m m tea greater d facility nc t for introducing more of those h James Clarke, Esq.; Thomas Browne , E s q . ; John United Empire consisted, and if there was every Gibbs, Esq., Aylesbury ; William Starli n g , Es q . ; 3,ar William Elliott, Esq.; Samuel King , Esq.; W. A. grthat ear abUndae would reduce the price, and Smith, Esq.; Michael Seward, Esq.; Samuel Wat- the purchasing of any given quantity would be brought more within the reach of every member of son, Esq. ; A. Colquhoun, Esq.; J. Chalmers , Esq . ; John Brown, Esq., Wareham ; Richard Forest, that population.—(Cheers.) Let them be high or Ec"; Henry L. Keeling, Esq.; Rev. Richard Tod- low, if there was a greater quantity divided among man ; Rev. 11. Miratn ; Lawrence Rawatron, Esq., the whole of them, was it not clear every one would con lassess of Manchester; Henry Rawson , Es q ., Manchester; h m a ,. v i e eh m e o e r r e t . , ain I s re ec t, tio it ns w o a f s t th ha e t w o o b k vi i ous proposition Samuel Harrison, Esq. ; James Brotherton, Es q . ; l'' vinced themselves, he knew not by what proces William Henry Burke, Esq.; J. T. Burke, Esq., reasoning, to be unfounded. What effect could the introduction of a greater quantity of coffee, sugar, or Tottenham ; Thomas ' Turner, Esq. , B rid g ewater ; 11. R. Marriott, Esq. ;W. Thornborrow, Esq. ; W. corn have in depressing money wages ? A great Geesin, Esq. ; John Macfarlane, Esq., Edinburgh ; authority—Sir R. Peel—had, on one occasion, said S. Holbein, Esq. ;R. 0 . Fuller , Esq.; Robert Ba g- that wages were determined by the competition of all Shaw, Esq.; Rev. W. J. Massie , Mancheste r. the labour of the world ; and that was the case. It was manifest that the price of any article of general Mr. Warburton, on taking the chair , wa s loudl y consumption was regulated by competition. It was cheered. the same with labour as with other commodities.— The minutes of the last meeting having been read (Hear, hear.) There was another fallacy which he and approved of, regretted found advocates among a portion of the The CHAIRMAN proceeded t o address the assembly. middle classes; not with many, because the greater mass of the middle classes were with them. But He said that, although this was the first meeting of those to whom he alluded thought that a very large the Anti-corn-law League in that place which he proportion of the prosperity of the middle classes had had the honour of attending, yet they depended upon the high rents of gentlemen of large were not to suppose from this circumstance fortune. It was easy by an arithmetical argument to that he was a novice in opposition to the corn • settle that question. What proportion to the whole laws—(Cheers)—for ever since the year 1826, population did gentlemen of easy circumstances, who when he first entered Parliament, he had never failed lived upon their rents and incomes without following any labour, business, or profession, bear—what was on every occasion that presented itself, from express. their per centage to the whole population? Why, ing his decided hostility to those laws.—(Loud cheers.) 3 1. It was easy to test that by the population As this was the first opportunity he had had of meet- of 27 counties, partly agricultural, and partly e ir r e e n o m r e ing them since he had been returned for the b orou g h manufacttiring,.ofwhich_the detailsiht therefore, fre s , tan pre- tho of Kendal—(Hear, hear)—he would beg to t hank the s r n o u m g e h l t ) 1 r l at i n a y s e s t t h e „ o s a e t e g d T he en tleme y n m in g easy y e League, thus publicly, for the sympathy which they formed only 3-1- per 'cent. of the whole populetion had evinced during the election in his fav our. Not of those 27 counties, the proportion could not that its aid was necessary, for he was happy to say be very different in the population of the whole that the electors of Kendal were such decided free- empire. Could it then be supposed that the i traders, &c. depended upon prospe traders, and had so great an abhorrence for the co rn- rity of all the shop-keepers, the custom of only 3, per cent. of the whole laws, that he believed any candidate who had co me population .It was really too absurd a propo forward as a free-trader would have been success - saw , n to require refutation.—(Cheers.) The argu ful ; but, nevertheless, he was deeply sensible of went of persons who so reasoned, was very much the sympathy which the League had manifested like the argument of the boy, who having in his favour.—(Hear, hear.) The meeting had robbed his master's till, when brought been so often lectured on the history of the corn- up for judgment, said--: C h Did I not lay out my t he e e rasr argument e n l t a laughter.) e h d t e by . y ) laws, and all their abominations, that it was diffi- thi e v preciselyin s o a f t t te your sa m s e h o kind'ss was ( cult to find any new topic connected with the subjec t those wclo would persuade them to let the landlords on which to address them. He well recollected the rob them a little more, as they could get back the introduction of those laws in 1815 ; at that time, greater portion of it by charging them a higher price . when peace had just opened the ports of the Conti- when they got them to become their cu stomers.— nent, and when it was expected that the price of im- (Hear, hear, and laughter.) There was another fal ported corn would naturally be much lower than it lacy whi ch, however, had a certain port i o n of truth in it. It was said that the agriculturists—meaning had been during the war, the general belief of all thereby, he presumed, rather the landlords than the thinking men, when these laws were introduced was, farmers—and manufacturers and traders of the country that they were introduced for the purpose of throwing had all one common interest, and that, if by any al teration of the corn-laws, one class was rendered a impediments in the way of the importation of fo little poorer, it necessarily followed that the other reign corn, of giving an unjust monopoly to the classes were rendered poorer. Why, certainly, if growers in this country, and he was not aware that they all thoroughly understood their own interests, the thinking men, from that time to this, had seen any and acted up to them, he would admit that, in that sense, reason to take a different view of the matter.—(llear, they had all a common interest. So England and hear.) He well remembered the agitation which France had a common interest. They ought to re mainres a thi f they foolishly peace, e nt t theo w commonarwitheach that i nte - had been put in motion against those laws ; to tof f both that agitation he had lent his best assistance, and other.--(Hear, hear.) But no one could with he had never relaxed in his opposition to them from reason contend that France could not reap ad that time to the present.—(Hear, hear.) The con- vantages in which England could not par duct of the landlords on this question reminded him ticipate, or that England could not reap some of the saying of a certain General—" Give me advantages in which France could not participate. money, and I'll get men : or give me men, and I'll I n n tthhee morew i de r r s e e s n t r s i e e , t ed their sense, interests they were were the diff s e a r m e n e t ; but t get money ;" so with respect to the great landed could not be said that one party could not be robbed, proprietors ; their large possessions gave them in- and that another party might not receive the proceeds fluence over the acts of the Legislature, and of that robbery.—(Hear, hear.) It could not be said their influence over the acts of the Legislature but that inns and other establishments on the mail they made use of for the purpose of adding to coach roads were impaired by the formation of rail their property.—(Cries of " Hear, hear.") The wa y s. It was in this more p articular sense that their ovle %einterests,r, to were see ere that not a very quite e theosnasrahmidee.ille and import of ew.ashapopy, agitation against the corn-laws went on for a number h of years, till at length, in 1840, the League a ro s e, ant section of the landed interest, headed as it ) was and gradually extended itself among the middle by such great names as that of Earl Spencer— (e) —Lord Ducie—(Cheers)—Lord Kin- Cheer He in every town in t he em p ire.—(Hear, hear.) (CheerV h —Lord Fitzwilliam—(Cheers)—Lord Rad- He was very glad to find that the p roceedin g s of the n m ai r rd ( cee o r n s d )—(Cheers) p t r h o e long A e l d arq e u h is e o in f o— W w es r t- League had excited antagonist p roceedin g s, and that minster— (Lthere had been formed not only a n Anti-Lea g ue League, be g innin g to unders tand theirintereeste own er but that protection societies had established them- Why, even it was lately promulgated, that it was in a e l farming im world selves among the farmers, for he knew that the more c c o u n .t s u e r q a u l en p e r e od of uc t e he f i r m e t at decline in in the price oernfreeangtr—i-the subject was discussed, the better for the League ; I thought of nothing but agricu e w lt ' u o r l prevented that drainage was going on, and that th p e r y ov w e only let the question be reduced to argument, and porting manure even from the other hemis a p s he i r i e l . a — ll im the League would triumph.—(llear, hear.) It was hear.) Why, what was this but a proof true that the great landlords, more than the farmers, (Hear, were active in these societies and Anti-League that monopoly in the case of the farmers, League, and that their cry was, "No surrender to others, led to idlenes t s t a h n o d se ig re n a o l ra a n d c v e a , n a ta nd argument ; but let us stick to our rights and privileges." would give them ? eeisea";llhiceharan? But argument would make its way, despite the I t unassistedlva sgradually position presenting itself to their minds that ' weighty influence of the landlords—despite the ma- them from findingo their real advantage w as not to be found in protec jority which their power now gave them in the tive duties, but in the ir own industry and in their Legislature.—(Hear, hear.) Everything showed own enlightened study of that branch of agricul that, however, by slow degrees, the principles of the ture which they were the parties to car v r e y r int s o or e r ffec t t. League were making their way on to a triumphant —(H th ear t , th hear.) He was, n p ho a a , r e t v i e e r s , who very ho- result.—([Tear, hear.) But three years ago, a say, nest , , r thawishedt there eretowseer: the decline of manufacturers — large majority of the House of Commons who thought that by reducing th e ma g nitude of the refused to grant even the insignificant con- manufacturing towns it was p ossible to make of cession of allowing corn to be taken out of England a very Arcadia.—(Laughter.) They were bond, for the purpose of being ground and of opinion that by certain measuresh.wihichvotuhleir wouldthrow gradually couradiscouragement carryT uponi DtO effect, manufacturing baked into biscuits, not for home consumption,industry, they but for exportation. Since that time, however, va- would introduce all the simplicity of agricultural life. rious concessions, most important in principle, if of Now, how was it possible for a country like England no great value in themselves, had been made.--(Hear, to enter into such a career as this ?—(Hear, hear.) hear.) There had been abatements of duties made Why, their happiness depended, in a great degree, which opened up the most gratifying anticipation for t v i v p a o s n d t i h m e i ir is p h o e l d itica o lg e o r we c iLa n n tr d ie i s f that wo I p d o s l i t t e i c a f l 0 rwa r power d the future.—(Hear, hear.) Look, too, at the rece n t and endeavour u to deprive them of the u ma:) , advan budget.—(Hear, hear.) Hypocrisy, it was said, in tages which they possessed as a manufacturing power. counterfeiting virtue, paid homage to virtue ; the mea- —(Hear, hear.) When they looked to the large sures to which the Government had of late had re- masses of the population who were engaged in the course, with reference to the principles of taxation, various branches of mantencturing industry, was it were a clear acknowledgment by the Government and possible for them to throw any impediment in their way without introducing the most dreadful state of the Executive of the truth of the principles advocated pauperism into the country ?—(Hear, hear.) What by the Anti-Corn-law League.—(Hear.) That had were the poorer classes to do ? Tbere was one mode been done with reference to wool, for instance, in which of proceeding for the poor suggested—they might they carried out to the full extent their doctrines of expatriate themselves to distant colonies. They total repeal of all duties bearing injuriously upon the would thus be constantl y called u p on to exercise their long arm, not merelyexpatriation for the of their interest and industry of the country .— ( [Tear, hear.) countrymen, but to defend them 'in distant parts of They had got a material improvement in the reduc- the world.—(Hear, hear.) How were they to tion of the duty on foreign coffee, from Bd. to 6d. afford them that protection in distant places, unless per pound, the duty on British colonial sugar being they were enabled to do so from the produce 4d. per pound. That, no doubt, was going in the of their commerce and manufactures which they ex right direction. As he told them before, it was a ported to distant countries, and which would enable homage paid to their principles. It admitted that a ll them to p a y the expenses of that protection ? They they had been advocating was right. However, it had embarked in a course of manufactures; other only went half way, and it rested with them, by countries had done the same; and if this country continuing their peaceful agitation, to carry out, at lagged behind, those other countries would wrest no distant period, a still further reduction in the case from England the superiority which she now pos of that article so essential to the comfort of the work- sessed—that which formed a part of the character ing classes.—(Hear, hear.) Then, there was the duty of every Englishman.—(Hear, hear.) He believed upon foreign sugar, which was reduced from 635. to that every man whom he now addressed would feel 345. per cwt., the duty on British colonial sugar degraded if he saw this country reduced to the state being 245. per cwt. ; so that there was a protecting of a second-rate power.—(Hear, hear.) Therefore, duty of 10s. per cwt. left upon that article. Still, he said it was essential to the greatness of England however, they must expect a very considerable that her commerce and manufactures should be up reduction in the price of sugar, consequent upon held, and the most efficacious way for them to uphold that partial reduction of duty. There were 200,000 it was by persevering till they succeeded in fully es tons of sugar imported from the British possessions, tablishing the system of free trade throughout the and the whole of the sugar grown in those coun- country.—(Cheers.) tries, from which, under the proposed change, sugar Mr. VILLIERS next presented himself to the meet was to be imported, amounted to 90,000 tons an- ing, and was received with the greatest enthusiasm. nually—nearly one-half of the whole quantity that He commenced by saying that his Hon. Friend, Mr. was imported from British possessions. It was pro- Warburton, had not asked him to address them that bable that, owing to the difference of price between evening for the purpose of visiting upon them a long those two descriptions of sugar, the greater portion of speech on the subject of the corn-laws, which he had those ninety thousand tons would be subject to a too often done before—(No, no) —but in order that higher rate of duty, be imported into this country, he might account for the absence of some friends on and woad have a material effect in considerably re- the present occasion. As they were aware, their Still"AsED MURDER AT HAMPTON COURT PALACE, ~ .Tu esd Mr. `"okley, I\l.l' at the Mitre Tavern, Hamp- i was 1 during the price of sugar t o th e priirsh consumer. There another instance in w h ich Durham, Mr. friend, the Hon. Member for , ..Bright, ton C oo a Y —r. . '•- .1 ' into the circumstances ; nouire ~..n • male infant, por- to congratulate them on ; not only in having their that evening, but he regretted to say that he was pre• itt ,_ _ a rt, held an inquest, L. t i o ' n tti s cl of tit upon the death of a - newlv • o ' - ,, d near principles acknowledged, hut also on having in the vented from doing so in consequence of a domestic . _int). of the price of sugar to the consumer, affliction which had occurred in his family. Other of to th e whose mutilated remains had . ' been' n. i found in .... ti e , ' sewer belongin g to Ham Court Palace. The par- - —.fling the benefit.—(Hear.) He theirearnestfriends weretohavebeen there thatevening, Wsewer belonging reuse—. eklee era y adverted to havin been narrated, n .. nsi pring , " e 'd * all y a the op- and b ee _ . obed that there was g ftl t this child bad - . he thou iii ._amongst them their usual chairman, but they no proo of ia said that because and t snureered, but where a coi • t. West iiL.l..9n pro- I were atpresent • icealment birth . took place, ' a nrospect 01 ition that the landlords and t ~, s , aid in Lancashire, in order to give their _that Was followed b - horrid t: l ee would b that • 3 acts of mutilation, the in- po . s o f free teeede, they , I and devote their best energies to bbl"llichild I\lr. e, it had been killed. He was of opinion victors gave to the principles procure the b 8 not come from the Palace at all ; that ithard ought not to bear too upon a Minister Wii9 Or ' ste.ccess of a free-trade candidate, who had been et ee ten thrown into the barrel of free t ' 4ought ' 44, ra P , IPIP field in consequence of the death lih: Person from drain, and very likely by even but partially carried the principles I t th t of the late itile "le r Tt , rated for coming a distance. The jury, having de- . ff t (Hear hear.) He would not go n 0 9 . . FP ,P • woßld he p.seless he qt4tpliqw k urii . a few minutes, returned a verdict of " Wilful i into eec . I *ion bi opposing AnPolis ile w Pg R s to 4f , ;mit of ONO *OW 14 , c —r agamst some person or persons unknown." I question whether, on a former occii 7 Xll LORD ELLENBOROUGH. ▪ I V foll ow i ng report o f a speec h ma d e by hi s L o rdship at " C and Supper given to him at Calcutta is published in the r e — wa Star. It i s certainly a strange production if the Pon is correct : elteetlsir (said hi s L or d s hip. a dd r essing the President), I thank al f m w the honour you have done to me in proposing my 4l nd I thank all those who are present for the cordial truo r al e ner in which they have responded to your call. It is w it ;what the Honourable Chairman has said, I had power w h L hfitlence in England—there was no measure connected z 40 6. India in which I did not possess thegreatest influence — I t'aPie come to this country to make their fortunes — but ca here to do my duty, and because I deemed that mdia could be of" most service to the coun do..., I have met with opposition. • but I have put duty ll opposition that may arise. I have done sa r I have never abused patronage. I am ready . to for f°rtnne, my life if necessary.—(Vehement cheeering W hoever minutes.) I do not care for any man living. ti rever best serves the State is my friend.—i Cheers.) So it,7v.here is in a strange state. There are peculiarities about th e ' 0 man here is idle, and no man is a politician. When cares of the day are over, we are a social set.—(Cheers.) pelit. e • — ave met to-d a y to be agreeable, and therefore I banishsh eri ". But I say again I have done my duty.—(Great *arllg, and cries of " bravo," "go it.") Hitherto my mea te have all been triumphant and successful. — (Cheers.) I te ,ono credit for that. How far they may continue sue f,4:4l Heaven only knows ; at all events it will not be ll my deserve success—that's a fact.—( Cheers.) 1 e 02' 4 out merit in the army, and rewarded it.—(Loud y „ —r a„) I intend to do so in future. I am come amongst i ° e , - ;‘ ,aa an English gentleman among his tenants. If you A P o - „..• e ,twe politely, well and good; if not, it is your fault, (T t o ,'"tae--(Cheers.) Gentlemen, I drink to you all."— Dia - 14 e off a bumper of Burgundy, amidst rapturous ap ustiord eit h ave been in a state of considerable excitement ile speaking, which is the only way to account for the th:tsgerated tone of his reply. e have beard of more am ' One lady who was rather alarmed at the exhibition, 4 no wonder, when a friend of remarkable nerve and self possession cou l d f i nd, in describing to us his manner, no other ITrallel than that of Coriolanus addressing the plebeians. The physical force is rife throughout the brief address ; .2 1n al ntion is made of the ladies who were present, although aterially aiding in the effect of the compliment paid to b?:dalt),:aker, and certainly the best part of that society assem • _ do .hitn honour ; nothing prevails in the speech but a • br b;aoP4cAtion of eternal I's, and no rhetorical fiure is employed the characteristic metaphor of the vole de faite. I Why the neerof° shim" Pposition—/ have beaten down opposition." wiaieh so much fire ? What is oppose ? Is t hul l ( ) • the dreaded " oppo much is said? Who is there here to at a loss for s tbat he points at ? or—we are fairly a query. ENGLIS H WEALTH.' If we turn o ur eyes within those circles which con titute English so ciety, what a brilliant scene presents itself. tself. We find hundreds and thousands, and tens of thousands, and hundreds of thousands, faring sunip• 1 11 ?oslY every day, and wearing fine linen. The be holder cannot but be amazed at the glittering vast throng, as they pass bef o r e hi m i n th e pursuit of , their pleasures or the t o il s of their business. An d would we ascertain who these goodly beings Ze? and w h a t t h e i r parentage, education, and pre bn!ilms ? The inquiry may b e amusing, and must e o i nstructive. First, th en , i s th e privileged class, a„ nl Posed of the Royal Family, with the bishops 4 others, counting 4,727 souls. What an immensity ;11"ivealth have they at their command ! keeping up I _ u e long, one strong and eternal pull, at the national 1,7 1 L Descending one step, we behold the clergy I, ' general and the Senate, a brilliant and strong I Z, Y , counting 92,857 souls; and the splendour el luxury in which they live tell with trumpet Tnquence of the extent of the national wealth. r „ iti ce another step lower, a. class somewhat diffe rse-Tit seen, namely, baronets and landed gentry, circumstance 356,164. Here again, in the pomp and oltr,eumstance of their lives, is exhibited an *ger gorgeous specimen of the extent of the national Another step lower we trace another nu- Zerous family, designated the army and navy, num kusring 1,444,464. The equipments and continued zutenatice would indeed drain an island so small as so land, were it not that her mines of wealth ramify b e eP l Y and widely. Take another step down the le g gy of the view, and we find a broad phalanx, of s ts s Pretension, but of steadier stamina, ycleped bank 4r,rnerchants, and professions. This host may be num „e4,1,857,163. These ranks are of a more staid, so- O' c haracter but they are princes in their way, and f nature of their daily transactions, and their mode r ?, indicate distinctly the inexhaustible mine from Tr i l wits on they draw their immense diurnal supply. t i a N, lastly, we discover a vast array of other w:Manta on the national store, numbering 2 ,888,88 8 . o e se nia7 be termed the retailers of the nation's their steady, substantial mode and tenor of of e proclaim aloud the depth and breadth of that well v ar ; rie ., h es which can supply a demand so enormous, o p : e,o, and incessant. Then we see a host numbering p —rl Y 7 ,000,000, possessing the power of indulging 4 0 usely in the enjoyment of luxuries culled from t e rr climate of the world, as well as those originated ttai.i7Y t e n o e ini n t a r t y ive producer. A stranger coming . from . a e.Y drew might well ask from what hidden mine their glittering luxuries, and substantial rings, in the midst of which they so wantonly and Ctaft).4' revel? Th ere can b e but one simple answer th e - cinkristr—the secret is to be fou nd in the i., n A otable energieA pf her merchants and manu fac tus ers hacked with the im er-tiring industry of her tifur m ns a i chn gu i st e a ry ined by the mighty pnwpr of her beau. .—Advertiser, posed a repeal of the ::corn-laws were not founded upon patriotism, or worthy motives, but in order to pay of? marriage portions and heavy mortgages. The greatest landed proprietor in the county in which he resided had scarcely an apartment in his native country in his own home, and there were a great many more landed. proprietors similarly situated. In Let, the landed proprietors could not afford to live upon much lower rents than they at present received. An instance of the disposition and motives of land lords lately came under his notice. A poor woman on the Duke of Buckingham's estate had lately be come a widow. The lease of her farm had expired, and she applied fora renewal of her lease. The lease was granted to her, but only on condition that her son should be made a party to the contract. And why was this? In order that her son might have a vote, and that vote should be given in favour of the Duke of Buckingham and protection.—(Loud cries of " Hear, hear.") And, not far from the neighbour hood in which he had resided, twenty or 'thirty voters had been created for the sole purpose of swelling the list of advocates in favour of protection. lie would not enter into a history of the Mode in which these votes were obtained, but he was sorry to say that there was nothing they would not stoop to in order to sustain monopoly. "Satan, the fowler, who betrays The souls of men a thousand ways." At times, the landlord class were much in favour of purity of election, and at times they were altogether in favour of protection. _ " When the Devil was sick, The Devil a monk would be ; When the Devil got well, The Devil a monk was he." The farmers in Aylesbury market, last Saturday, seemed to have been considerably shaken in Sir Robert Peel. They said, " Oh, he has repealed the duty on wool ; he announced himself in favour of the con- tinuance of the corn-laws as they stood, but he after wards proposed a measure for their modification, and the reduction of the duty." "After these things," said they, " what confidence can we place in him ?" He was willing to be the Uriah of the cause. He had stood it for a pretty long time ; their shots were not lead, and their words would never kill any honest man.(Laughter and cheers.) Mr. W. J. Fox then addressed the meeting. He was received with loud and continued cheering. lie said, he spoke to them that evening under the dis advantage of having lost the earlier part of the pro ceedings, from a cause which he must make a plea for their indulgence in what he did address to them —namely, indisposition, which pressed upon him even in the sight of so inspiring and magnificent a meeting as this.—(Hear, hear.) And what could be more inspiring and more magnificent than these meetings were ? The long series of them, which had now been held with unabated attention and zeal —meetings gathered together to listen either to those elementary and simple truths which every one knew, or to the more recondite speculations and researches of political economy, not often apt to gain the atten tion of multitudes—multitudes among whom every heart glowed with as burning a sense of wrong as ever nerved those who took the field to protect with musket on their shoulder and sword by their side ; yet who had blended this sense of wrong with a patience as wise, and a forbearance as dignified, as ever marked the best school of philosophers—meetings which had made this place the asylum of truth and jus tice, when they had been banished from the mansions of those whose station ought to have made them the leaders of the people, and when those principles had been violated in those legislative halls where they ought to have been held sacred, their advocacy of them here had procured them the blessing of the entire mass of the community. He confessed for himself he was sometimes weary of the statistics of this question. Interesting as those statistics were, the list of deaths, which rose in proportion to the rise in the price of food occasioned by these laws, the long muster-roll of pauperism which kept up a con tinual pressure from year to year, the continual com mittals for crime which bore a constant proportion to the fluctuations in the price of food ; the calculation of the number of poor children who died, above the number of the children of the rich, in consequence of their hard bringing up—not from natural causes, but irtificial laws which aggravated the disparity of con dition ; these, and all the other fearful items in that account, though of a nature to harrow up the soul, yet the continuance of those details drove them back upon the plain and simple truth in which the whole question was involved, and which contained all its merits —he meant the fact that the "labourer is worthy of his hire." In that was the beginning and end of the argument in his view of the question. It was a ques tion of justice, of simple, impartial, and universal justice. The doom of mankind was toil, and " the labourer was worthy of his hire,"—worthy of it un diminished ley trick, or rapacity, or oppression; wor thy of it for what that hire would fetch in the world's market ; worthy of his hire to lay it out with whom soever he pleased, and for whatsoever he pleased; worthy of it undiminished by any interference what ever, except that which took from him his proportion of the national expenditure, his proportion of what was necessary for carrying on the government, and for the defence of the community.—(Cheers.) All other matters were but incidental to this. The great controversy here was this ; we affirm that the " la bourer h worthy of his hire i", but the monopoly that levies taxation upon this class for private, and not for national purposes, in fact denies that proposition, tramples upon it—spurns it away as if it were a mere cobweb, and not one of the primary laws of nature and providence.—(Cheers.) It was one of the accidents of society, that what the manufacturer thought the violation of this law, diminished his pro fits; it was an accident that the landlords thought the ; violation of this increased his rents. But if it benefited the manufacturer, and was injurious to the landlord, the question would be just the same. They must not regard temporary subjects; the consideration here was the recognition of a law, and the recognition of a title as sacred, aye, more sacred, than that possessed by any species of property, or held by any title by which estates were bequeathed or inherited. In the whole history of mankind he did not know of any one class that had been ruined by justice, unless it had deserved that ruin by crime.— (Cheers.) So linked together was the order of things in nature, that the dictates of equity were never vio lated with impunity. Those who had gone upon that road, should begin to look about them and return as soon as possible. Those who held property, those who depended on the peace of society for the security of their possessions, they of all people should be ten der of the rights of the labourer, or their title deeds would be so much waste parchment. A man's right in his limbs and strength was beyond and above any one act of the Legislature. The opera tion of human toil was the first of titles, and those who trampled upon it endangered the entire order of society. They did that which, if carried out, would break down all safety of property, annihilate all suc cession in honours, and even shake thrones to their very foundations.—(Cheers.) It was well even for the enemies of justice—for its violators—that there was this breakwater between them and the toiling multitudes. That they had to deal, in the first in stance, with the League, which combined all classes, and which had for its leaders men of station, of ability, of wealth, and of extensive influence. That they had to deal with this combination, and not merely with the labouring multitudes, disunited from others ; and who, in such a state of society, if left to themselves in the conflict with the aristocracy, by whom they had been injured, would only afford them a prospect of confusion and desolation, who, in that violence, would plunge into ruin much that was the best and most ornamental in the country, and whose energies would not be capable of being driven back and cooped up by all the severity or imprison ment of any poor-law system which the landed aristo cracy could supply. There was no occasion for him to attempt going into details, since, at three or four meetings in succession, they had heard the agricul tural part of the question thoroughly entered into, and at once from members of the landlord class and those of the tenant class of agriculturists ; they them heard statements showing that some am on g t knew their own true interest, and saw that honestyi was the best policy, and felt with thoseh o nihower were c y che 3 r proffered place ing their rights against the body t o i 'nita nomi nally belonged. They had here v the results of that inquiry wine na er n h i o l the had been asked for and su p erciliously refused. The League had held its open had Committee, and on thi s portion of the subject evidencebeen adduced which might well settle the question, and against which they found . no contradictory evide nce f rom the an t ag onist societies. In fact, all the arguments of what called itself the Agricultural Protection Society had evaporated in the production of one tract, chiefly characterised by the disgraceful peculiarity of being the most dishonest publication which had issued from the press for many a. long year.--(Loud cheers.) There was not a position in it which had not been over and over again exploded on these boards. It was false in its logic, false in its history, false in its statement of contemporary fact ; and it was, above all, most glaringly and outrageously false in its attempt to pervert a great authority of this country, its highest name, the name of the pa triarch of political economy; at attempt to bring him into court as a witness for the cause of monopoly. —(Cheers.) An attempt so impudent as that had never been made before in any cause, however despe rate. In the face of the whole tendency of that writer's sytein ; in the face of his principles, reite rated in book after book, and in chapter after chapter, of his great work; the Noble Lords and Gentlemen of the Committee of the Agricultural Protection Society had called, not a false witness into court, but had called Adam Smith, a true witness, putting their false words into his mouth.—(Cheers.) This was beyond the pale of mere literary offences. There was not one gentleman connected with the press, either there or anywhere else, who would be capable of rt ~~.s"—a committing such an act, \"ot :if such - - a could_ be found, who would,'-not-:"_tLislis . cl4O, from his employment, an d deaiii4tiefrOw labourers.—(Cheers.) It was an attempt to idtpi4 on that great cause the highest authority on one side as an authority on the other sid e; an d✓ that individual members of the Committee should say that they dis owned it, and washed their hands of it, as he under stood some of them did say in privat e , was not enough. More than this was - due to a sense of public justice and of public decency. Of the violation of decency he would say nothing ; but it was a stain on the character of British gentlemen, that they should be mixed up in any way with such a subornation of false witnesses.--(Bear, hear.) It had been said that the advocates of a repeal of the corn-laws held out to their supporters the promise that it would be a cure for all the evils of the com- triunity. He denied that the League had held out such a promise. But he would contend that it was no good objection to a medicine to say that it could not heal all diseases, when it professed to cure only one.--(Applause.) A medicine might do much to mitigate disease, although it could not confer immor tality.—(Cheers.) It was said, that if those harriers were broken .down, other evils would still stand in the way of improvement. He denied that there were any such evils inherent in human nature, or that any such barriers were necessarily conditions of society. So long as there was the most insignificant portion of land in Europe uncultivated—so long as there was uncultivated land in the remotest parts of the earth, so long it was idle to talk of those insuperable bar riers. —(Cheers.) Those barriers would never be reached until mankind had peopled those regions where tho finest fruits «•ere so abundant that the cattle were killed by the eating of too may peaches.—(Applause and laughter.) The friends of free trade might look forward to the period when a change would take place in the civilised world as great as that which took place in Europe upon the shaking off of feudalism—when the position of a land lord became a trade and ceased to be a dignity.— (Cheers.) It was asserted by the opponents of free trade that one effect of it would be to make this coun try dependent upon others. But, after all, what was better than that mutual dependence which gave to countries an interest in the welfare of each other? In modern times, Greece had obtained her independence by her reliance upon her ancient glories—the Low Countries, by their reliance on the rights of religion— the little state of San Marino, by following the ex ample of America, and resisting the attempt to impose taxation without representation.—(Cheers.) But it was left to the landed aristocracy of England to assert the independence of the country through the agency of the Custom house officer.—(Cheers and laughter.) But he would never admit that the strength of the oak depended upon its being rooted in the dunghill of protective duties.—(Hear, hear.) He would say let the independence of England be her reliance on her own power—on the capital which she had amassed—on the indomitable power which marked her children—on that power which they possessed of rendering to other nations services, which, without her, they could not render to each other.—(Applause.) He begged now to call the attention of the meeting to a most important subject—the matter of the regis tration of Parliamentary electors.—(Hear, hear.) In no case had the people attended to the registration so as to obtain from the Reform Bill all the benefits it was intended to place within their reach.—(Cheers.) In London the friends of free trade had succeeded, and he hoped that now in South Lancashire they would again succeed ; but it was necessary that it should be impressed upon their minds, and carefully attended to, that the registration was of the highest importance to their cause.—(Hear.) The Western Times told us the other day, that on the occasion of the Attorney-General's offering himself again as a candidate for the representation of Exe ter, a young workman who had a vote was required by his employer to give it to Sir William Follett. There were six workmen in the shop who had votes. Five of them voted for the Attorney- General, and the sixth, who refused to obey in that respect the command of his employer, was discharged. —(Vehement expressions of indignation.) Such, then, was protection.—(Great cheering.) Such was the protection of the aristocracy in election times.— (Cheers and laughter.) The man might go to the workhouse, and whilst he was there, some monopolist Lord might get up a meeting for the assistance of the distressed needlewomen, of whom the wife of the victim might be one.—(Hear, hear.) He confessed that he viewed with disgust the conduct of those who seemed to think that all principle was super seded by the struggle of an election, and by the prospect of a seat in Parliament, who priced their land, reckoning that land by a certain number of votes—who exercised the cruelty of their authority in threatening dismissal from their holdings of those who were not obedient, who directly or indirectly applied the screw to the tradespeople and the la bourer, thereby demoralising their character, and subduing their spirit of independence. He (Mr. Fox) did not hesitate to say that the poor outcast that walked the Straed for the wages of infamy, contri buted less to the amount of public vice than many persons who were dignified and noble, and who would less pollute by her presence the sanctity of a Court, or the presence of Royalty.—(Hear, hear, and cheers.) He had another thing to say to their friends from the country, and that was, let them take care of the tricks that were practised here. There was thimble-rigging and ring-dropping in other places than at Epsom or the pot-houses of the metro polis. Let them beware of knavish humanity.. (Cheers and laughter.) He would not utter one syl lable to steel any man's heart against a grief that should be felt, or to close his pocket against liberal alms-giving. But when it was attempted to blind the country to the claims of justice by interposing some shadow of charity, by putting forth compara tively imperfect, pitiful, and paltry donations, which were got up in rooms, he said that it was time to cry beware, and to mark the character of the charity which, however aris tocratic the names which adorned the list, was a false and bastard charity—a charity which, at the same time cut down the hours of work in mills, and the worth of wages in the market—a charity which gave guineas to individuals and drew millions from the community —a charity which bestowed half an inch of court plaister for a scratch on the finger of society, while it drove the iron of oppression into the very soul—a charity which gave to hundreds of chil dren a penny bun, while it made millions of men pay ninepence for the sixpenny loaf—a charity which, having set the land in a conflagration of misery and wretchedness, brought its silver thimble to put a drop of water on the flame, and he said that this charity was unworthy of the regard of a right minded man.—(Great cheering.) Let such persona give over talking sensibility and voting monopoly.— (Cheers.) Let them render justice to the poor, and take care of the poor man's children. Let them pay their own work women, and they would do more by that means to benefit the condition of those work women, than ever self-appointed patrons could do. Those who were present then from the country, per haps had some of them come to London in connection with many of those institutions which were then hold ing their anniversaries. They had come to talk of a subject more sacred than that which occupied them that night, but he must say to them that if such were the case, the state of their minds was such as to enable them fully to enter into the spirit of th at meetin g because he believed that the doctrine of free trade was essentially connected with P eace on earth, r to behold the progress Theyand need needed g o n o o d will g r e a into t b h a e minds oobldehe not of dfie et m lhdi a ss n kswei scene nrd were t them when the poor l a b ourers of religion than monopo l y . Le richnesswal heartshould of n heav e n's bbe the d d light, harvestene d w — h e l n e t t t h h e e m g an and they would fin d that as the feelings o f thankful ness rose in the poor man's heart, there came the while suc h a s h a dow' of overgrown monopoly brooding over th e scen e, and interposing between hi m an d hi s share of God's bounty.—(Cheers.) with the l t a h st e ed, p t e h s e s r e e sso w; s ef ould be W an incessant of struggle power. By enter ing into that strife those to whom he was addressing his observations would be only aiding the cause of morality and religion, and they would therefore desire to follow in that long list in which they found such illustrious names as those of Clark son and Howard, for they would be carrying eman cipation to the slave—they would give the voice of gladness to the tongue of the widow and the orphan, and they would place kindly feeling and social order where now was to be found only strife and contention. (Cheers.) In this good work, then, he asked for their concurrence there and their co-operation when they returned to the several places in which they lived. For himself he had to thank them for the cheering sympathy with which they had met him, which in some measure rendered unnecessary the apology with which he had commenced. Whether in sickness or in health there was no cause that laid a stronger grasp upon the heart and mind than did that great cause of justice and humanity. It was one for which the exertions of a life were well spent, and a dying breath could scarcely be poured forth more appropriately than in a last protest against rightgainstthaof h that in sidious system which denied to man lahour, the charter of his being, and the bounty of hie Creator.—(Great cheering.) The meeting then separated. MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF A YOUTH AT WOOLWICH. —On Monday an inquest was held at the Mitre public-house, to inquire into the death of a youth unknown, found drowned. The case excited the greatest interest, from the extraordinary manner in which the arms of deceased were pinioned and fastened. Thomas Ball, of 5, Little Bennett-street, Green wich, said he was rowing past the Justitia convict hulk, of her Majesty's Naval Arsenal, when he saw the body of de ceased floating. He laid on a rope to the body, and brought it ashore. It was now in the same position as when he found it—the arms were tied behind. The jury, after consi derale discussion, adjourned for a fortnight, to allow time t 4 make inquiries. r orb