The Sun. — London, England, 1840-01-14 00:00:00

EVENING E'DITION. eeetion, that numbers have been cheated and duped into , ' , maintenance of this law ; and, though many of our e , public men predicted every evil which has f01,,,,i, , ,,,i, and though the working men rudely re eel its enactment, yet that there have been . e : oands in this country who have been deluded and Oeseeed into the maintenance of this law by the frauds ear', fallacies which have been uttered in its support. I say ' sk en that experience has taught them that they are fel neeies—that every argument that has been urged in favour 1 of this law is proved to be a fallacy, and that those who have opposed the law can now point to the condition of the eteuetrv, and all the events that have preceded it, and state '` • .aat every single g roun d th a t purposed to be of a public h kind, upon which this law was rested, has proved fallacious and false, and that there is no one single public pretext for is continuance. Let any man reflect upon what it is abet he has heard urged as the defence of this law, and , then let him reflect upon what has occurred within his nwn experience, and let him judge whether this law can be any longer maintained.— (Cheers.) Who is it that i has not been said to be interested in this question excpt the ' right ones ?—( Loud cheers.) Have we riot heard the } queetion stated to be a question for the purpose of sup eerting the interests of trade at home? Have we not Ocerd that it is a labourer's question —a financial question a — a question that involves the steady and sufficient supply , of food to the community ? Let anybe dy then, I say, reflect r on what has been his experience of the last three years, and judge what ground there is for supporting the law on such •iguments as this? Where is that adequate, and sufficient, " end steady supply of fond which is to relieve us from de ,l pendence on foreign States? Although, as the men of Sheffield have justly said, every piece of common ground i its this country has bee n Dresse d i nto t h e s ervice, where s 1 that adequate supply that was to relieve us depen dencefrphas upon foreign p owers ?—( H ea r, bear.) Where the dr ficiency of m illi ons b een s upplied from, but from I foreign States? and what is the danger of that depen dence • ut when the supply is rendered by these laws pre. carious, and when, as'it would not be under a system of 1 free trade, the dependence is not made mutual by 1 commerce. We have been told that land and trade ' are of a kin—that land cannot flourish and trade decline ; and the Corn-laws have beenrecommended , that if y o u ma k e land of valuetrade on the gr oun d will flourish. The case iv before y o u —( Hear, hear.) The landlord is rich—he hs eetting richer by the rents secured to him by themselves. Where is trade—how is the trade of the country at this i moment ?—( Hear, hear.) \\, here is that holder of the ' land who is supposed to wax and wane with it? Where iall the capitalists of this country ? Why don't they come aed tell us of their profits ? or if they were so good, wctsii we see thcei seeking the wrest distant and hazardous iiinvestments in order to obtain a greater return than the Corn lees a ill afford them in this country ? Where all the mechanics, where are the labouring men and working classes,vvho depend i upon trade, end have been encouraged to think that if the Corr-laws were supported, trade would flourish and wages Iwould rise? Why don't the men of Leicester, of Nottingham, s I Sheffield, and of Birmingham, conic and meet us here, stet tell us of the connection between their high and cot,- ' tented condition arid the high price of food?—(Cheers. ) But perhaps, it is the peas an t—h e w h ose h ea l t h y and happy ' lot was so ably and honestly depicted in the last Session. --( Cheers.) It was on that occasion a labourer's question. Put where is the labourer —why does he not appear to tell es of the increase of his wages with the high price of food which has rendered him happy and contented, and which , hallowed the enactment of these unjust laws ? What is it we have heard, who is not familiar with the details of the distress of these villagers, who are unable to maintain their families in comfort from the high price of food, and • heir wages nct having increased in the same proportion. 11 I on net mistaken, he who offered thanks for what we • ice received, published in the public papers the propor ten which the reward of the labourer bears to the high Hee of food. If lam not mistaken, he who said grace c-day, published in the paper which has tended su , much to circulate the truth upon this question—(Hear, eear)—that whereas a man with a family under the pre sent high prices of food t illl only subsist upon les. a-week, so advance has been made upon the pittance of 9a. a-week as . 1 ceeivedby him under the Corn-laws. I ask you, gentlemen, ro look at the discussions during the last debate , n the Senate, and what is the most dwelt upon ?—it is that it is a labourer's question. That the man whom our Rev. 1 Friend has declared only receives Os. a week, when to support his family under the present high prises of food 0 he should receive 13s. a week, would lose the reward of his labour if it were not for these laws.—( Hear, hear.) But perhaps it is the Irish peasant—perhaps it is an Irish question—( A laugh)—the Irien peasant, whose reward for his labour never allows him to see a wheaten loaf. and whose appalling distress during the high price of wheat has struck every mart who has regarded the wants, and lias cared for the condition of his fellow -countrymen, in Ireland. The distress in Ireland has never been more appalling than during this year, and the price of food under ' the Corn-laws has never been higher than for the last two years ; and, Gentlemen, do we not see at this meeting, identified with the total and immediate repeal of the Corn laws, that man who knows the condition of the people of Ireland, and who cares for the condition of the people of , that country.—(Leud cheers.) Is he not amongst us, and one of the most strenuous advocates for the repeal of these ! laws ?—(Great. cheering.) But we hive some candid op ponents, rnere are men who have opposed us on this question, 'Rho manfully maintain that the Corn-laws are the bane.of commerce a n d th e curse o f t h e i n d ustry o f t b is country, They say it is a great evil, but that it is a neces , awry ' , evil. They say we have a large revenue to collect k we have a l arge d e b t to pay, an d i t i s necessary, to I enable the people to pay that large debt, to impose another ( burden upon them.—(A laugh.) This is the logic that , is current a mong th e ' squ i res.—( L aug h ter. ) W grant you, they say, that the peasant is wretched—that trade is declining, but we have to pay the debt, and, therefore, we ' must have the Corn-laws. I wish to know whether there is anything that appears on the face of the returns of the - revenue that cheers us? Will the idea that our revenue ii is increasing because food is dear, and the poor man mi serable ?—( Hear.) We had before last Session closed i some evidenc e upon t hi s su bj ect — we h ad a Chancellor of ' the Exchequer —we had a man connected with our p üblic finances for eight years together—a:man who, when he came l into office, was prepossessed in favour of the law, who was ! an owner of land - in Ireland and fancied that it was al Irish i 'question, and that it was necessary to the revenue. He, t remained eight years in office, connected with the finances of this country, and what was his last dying speech and iconfession ?—( Hear, and a laugh.) Why all the dist-es i bances that I see around me—all. the derangements of the monetary affairs of the country—all the deficiency of the revenue—all the prospects of distress I see before me, are entirely owing to these Corn-laws.-_( Loud cheers.) r What object had be in saying that ? He had nothing to , gain, He was going into the Peerage, and if ho had not been overcome by the force of truth, that discretion end caution which so peculiarly becomes men in office, would not have deserted him; but with the n enerous impulse that belongs to his country he could not resist declaring what he knew to be the fact, after an xperience of eight years of our financial affairs. How ii.d the next Chancellor of the Exchequer think that he ' , ould best curry favour with his constituents and enjoy , popularity with the people of this country ? Why, he went terthwith and declared himself oppcsed to these laws, and ' aeteithstanding the logic of the Squires, we thus have 4 Chancellor of the Exchequer after Chancellor declaring • to you that the revenue cannot be maintained, and that we eeunot divert distress so long as these laws arc maintained. ( Loud cheers..) Gentlemen, you' had rtrurns• Of - the : • ..eles of the revenue of the country leid before you. Do .ey cheer you, much, or encourage you to maintain these no; s ?—( Loud cries of " No, no.") Do you know— , le. t I need not ask you from what sources your revenue is derived ? Is there anything more natural than that the revenue should sink when people have less the means of purchasing articles of consumption ? Gentlemen, if the working and industrious classes are obliged to pay higher 1 prices for their food, which yields nothing to tho revenue, surely they must have less means for expending what they nave upon erticles which a r c t axe d. N ow, I as k you to ' turn to these tables of the revenue which have been to eently published, and see whether you will not find that precisely in those articles in which you would expect the in dustrious and workin g portion of the commun it y expen d the most, they have latterly expended the least, because of the pressure of these iniquitous laws. I say, if we look at the revenue we shall find the department of the Excise chiefly to have fallen off, any that arises from these men being obliged to ray more for their bread, which is a necessary of subsistence, than they would under other circumstances. Are we, then, aey more to be deluded with the idea that, because we have a large revenue to collect, we must bear an additional tax upon the necessaries of existence ? We have been told that one of the advantages of the Cenrn-lairs would be to prevent our money going forth from the coun tri—ihat those' nations who would send you food would refuse to take your manufacturea, and that you would be obliged to send Nom- money if _there were no p rotect i ve duties, in exellange tor t oed. ask this assembly, is that state ment true or talse?—.(Cries I ries of " False, false.") The advocates of the repeal have certainly this advantir , that every argument that has ever been urged by them ag.inst the: Corn-laws has been established and to bra well-rounded, while the argument —or rather, the prey its, on the other side have been shown to be hollow an a false. I ask you, whether the Corn-lacs have prevented yrur a oney going nut of the country ?—( Cries of " No.") I Have any of the countries that grow gr ain refused to take ( cue manutacture's if we take their grain ? --(Cries of e Noire.") We never Lad before this time official docu , meets rhowing that it is a constant theme of complaint with these nations, that we do not trade with them. They Ihe' c not refused to trade with us. We have had statements :and before us, that for the last twenty years they have been most willing to take our manufactures. And mark the importance of the statement at this particular time, that now at the eleventh hour, at the last moment, before their tariffs are raised, and our manufactures further excluded, they yet offer to us, if we change our laws wish respect to the importation of foreign corn and other sure',us produce, to take our manufactures—( Loud cheers). Teem is no doubt abo u t th e ma t ter , f or t h e papers were I /aid upon the table of the House of Commons by your late respected Member, showing that these states were ready :Jed willing to take the manufactures which we were equally i ,•acly to send, if we only took their produce —( Loud cheers). i Gentlemen, this is not a matter of slight importance. You t -. cre told, twenty years ago in thi s country, t h at you f could not be excelled in your manufact ures — t h at t h e id ea ni rivalry was absurd, and that British skill and Britins capitai could compete with all the world, and the Coro tlaws into the bargain —( Hear, hear.) But last year, , when an inquiry was instituted by order of the House of (es omens as to whether these people were progressing in ) the number of their manufactures, or whether they excelled : seu her any particular branch, your opponents turned round ; se you, and while admitting both these positions, said ( there was no doubt that rivalry did exist—that such rivalry kers but reasonable and natural, but that you had no else eeeauao you bad not proved that you were completely i - tied. I cannot give it any other interpretation . the only answer your opponents would give was, you I Li e no case, for you have proved that you have somethieg y e a to lose—you arc not yet ruined.—( Hear, hear.) But, ' Gentlemen, I rosk you whether these have not been the ar , eesnente which have been deduced in support of our pre ,;t J ,: C. ril • lios , s? You have been !ulnd into the endur- lat ,' cc of that which you thought unjust and iniquitous, bc- i cause you believed that what was stated in their behalf was true. I call upon you to say whether what has been alleged in favour of the Corn -laws has in your experience been proved to be true ?—( Loud crier, of " No.") This, then, is the moment which tt, who have ever sought to refute the fallacies by which you have been duped, or by which the people of this country have been duped, have selected to point out to you that the Corn-laws have not Mailed the promises held out, and that they tree connected with all the evils you ar e now, enduring. Gentlemen, this is not the first time that public indignation has been aroused and expressed in this country against the Corn-laws. iiefore the last law was passed the general feeling of the country was that Corn-laws had disappointed the expectation's of their framers, and that the whole system was ere of delu sion. This led to the precious compound of absurdity and mischief, the fluctuating scale—a wale which disappoints every farmer's expectations, makes the merchant a gambler, and which makes us pay a high price for good food when our own is unfit for use. But, Gentlemen, are we a free people? Arc we an enlightened and intelligent people? Are - we going to endure this law, which is unjust in prin ciple, and proved by experience to be injurious.—( Loud cries of " No.") I cannot believe that you will submit to the influence of sheer power in enforcing that which is decidedly injurious to your interests. Is there any delu sion that can be practised upon you that may induce you to endure those laws. Some among our . friends may be de luded by the saying that protection is required for the agricultural classes ; but I look at the inscription before me, and I say, " a fixed duty is a fixed injustice."— ' (Cheers.) Gentlemen, the phrase is a fallacious are, and protection to the agriculturist may only perpetuate the evil of which you complain. Manfully, and justly did your dele gates in London, in my judgment, state the views of the mer chants of this country, when they said the general interests of trade needed no protection, when that protection, in principle, was injurious to the interests of the community. —(Cheers.) If there are any of our friends who are sticklers for protection, they will be rendering good service to the cause by telling us what they mean.—( Loud cheers . ) I can understand compensation—l can under stand an arrangement in point of time—l can understand a man obtaining relief under any peculiar grievance, but I don't understand the meaning of a protection which is op posed to the best interests of the community at large. If the landowner is like the slave-owner, and requires com pensation, why then let his case be inquired into.— ( Cheers.) If he has a title to it he can prove it, and, like the slave-owner, the English people will never refuse justice.—( Cheers.) If it is shown the community would be injured by giving time to the landowner to change his system and relation with his tenants, the public then will submit to the subject being considered, as no man wishes to do injustice to the agriculturists. What the public want is, that no injustice should be done to them in the name of the agriculturists.—( Cheers.) There are men now clamouring for compensation and prptection, who could not walk when the Corn-law passed; and, thirty years hence we shall have the same thing, if you choose to give them a fixed charge.—(Cheers.) There will always be some claims to indemnity, and until we have clear and determined ideas upon this question of protection, we are in no condition to battle with those who claim monopoly on that principle.—( Hear, snd cheers.) It is a question whether we shall protect the producer against the consumer.—( Cheers ) It is a question whether trade was made for the community, or the community for trade. —( Cheers.) Gentlemen, I have given, as I was bo u nd to d o , muc h stu d y an d t h ought to this question ; and it is my firm conviction that the land owner of this country is not entitled to any compensation, and I believe that he will share with the rest of the com munity in all the advantages which I feel an immediate abolition of this law must confer upon them.—( Cheers.) I do riot express my individual opinion ; I only express my assent to those who, with more experience than myself, have announced this thorough conviction in their minds. There is a man in this room, the author of the most intel ligent work on this subject, and be has expressed, his con viction, that the total and immediate repeal of this law would be of no injury to the landlord, with a great advantage to the community..—(Cheers.) I be lieve, therefore, all the alarms that are instilled by landlords into their tenants are groundless, and that therefore, not only justice and policy, but absence from danger, recommend the total and immediate abolition of the present Corn-laws.—(Cheers.) Gentlemen, I have not wished in what I have stated to divert your attention from the difficulties which surround this question, or from the prospect you have of obtaining that which is your due —(Cheers.) I have not wished in w hat I have stated now to deny that which some have asserted—that as the Corn-law is the very worst that can exist, that any improvement that is proposed may be considered pre ferable.—( Cheers.) Gentlemen, I wish rather to draw your attention to the difficulties that do surround the question, and in the motion that I submitted to the House lest Session I did not raise the question of the extent or of the nature of the change, the simple question that was raised before that House was, whether there should be any change at all, and you see that not 200 Members of that House voted, or showed themselves a ive to the mischi?ror evils of the present law. When I state that night 200 Members voted for no change in the present law, I need not say I feel little hope or expectation from the present Parliament—(Cheers)—and I do not feel certain that it is not better to wait fur the effect of the strong expres sion of opinion likely now to be made, than receive the best measures the present Parliament would give. Much has been done by the talent, energy, and liberality that has gone forth from this great capital of British commerce in dissi pating error and promulgating truth ; this has been much aided by the calamities occasioned by the law itself ; I do therefore feel that when there has been :mare informa tion on the subject, and more suffering endured, there will be a far better prospect of a total arid entire change in this law than if you trusted to what can be done by the Legis lature. When I see this great assemblage, and the con dition of those who compose it, I am far more san guine of obtaining a total and entire repeal of the present Corn-laws than previously. Any one was entitled to expect a repeal of the Slavery Abolition Act, or the passing the Catholic Relief Bill, and the Re form Bill. I feel, therefore, satified that with the parties who are interested in knowing the truth on the subject, and with the facilities that exist for learning the truth, I feel convinced the Legislature will yield if you do not.-- (Cheers.) But mark, that is the condition of your suc cess, for if you lack in your zeal—if you show any indiffer ence—far better it would have been that the meeting had never been held.—(Cheers.) In proportion as you exceed expectation so will there be disappointment in the ranks of ycur opponents; but if you flag in your perseverance failure will be paramount, and your opponents will °buns confidence. The Hon. and Learned Gentleman cocluded by stating that his humble efforts were always, and in all shapes, at the service of the meeting in their great strug gle for the repeal of the Corn-laws. The CHAIRMAN then proposed the next toast--." Earl Fitz william and the Members of the House of Peers who supported his Lordship on his motion of last Session on the Corn-laws." He had great pleasure in introducing the Hon. Member for Carlow to the notice of the meeting. Taomes GISBORNE, Esq., M. P., then rose to return thanks, and was received with great applause. The Hon. Gentleman said—l shall occupy your attention but for a short time. I should ill understand the position I occupy on this great :occasion if I were to waste one moment of your time in making any apologies for my inability to treat of the subject which has been confided to my hands. I feel it a great honour that I am at all placed before you on the present occasion, because I am not one of those Members who in the last Parliament voted in support of the motion of my Hon. Friend the Member for Wolver hampton. I cannct say I was not a Member of Parliament, but from indisposition I was in this position--I was a Member of Parliament de jure, but not de facto. I had been elected a Member of Parlia ment, but I had not been returned. My posi tion was at that moment) usurped by another person, and he, I believe, gave the only vote which he did give in the last Session of Parliament, in opposition to the motion of my Hon. Friend the Member for Wolver hampton.—( Hear, hear.) If my Hon. Friend should again bring forward that motion, I can promise you that the now de facto, as well de jure Member for Carlow will, if he is alive, be found a supporter of that motion.— (Cheers.) Gentlemen, I can very well suppose that many men in this assembly may wonder why I should have been selected to respond to this particular toast, because most assuredly I have no connections in the House of Peers, and the last position in the world in which lean fancy I should be placed, would be a Member of that House. But, Gentle men, I apprehend that I have been selected in order that I might hate the honour of representing in this Assembly a small, but I hope an increasing band of landowners, who do not, to use the phrase of my Hon. Friend, submissively make use of what he calls 'squire's logic ; for though I am myself a squire, and nothing else, yet I certainly beg not to be included among the persons of whom he spoke, and I hope that before 1 sit down I may able to convince him thate such logic as I possess is of very different quality from that to which he has alluded, and is turned to very uifferent objects.—( Hear, hear, and laughter.) In one respect, perhaps, there is a propriety in selecting me on this occasion, namely, that I am one of those landowners, a larg e p art of whose landed possessions and those of his family happe n t oi consist ( of that sort o in f i l o a r n m d, u w s h w ic o h ul t d ho b s e e who u se squ i re ' s Lau, first to be turned out of cultivation by the repeal of the Corn-laws. —( Cheers.) Gentlemen, I feel that with re spect to the particular Noblemen whose healths year have drank, that it is not necessary I should pass on them any eulogy: Their acts are their eulogy, and it is not the first time that on this very question the most liberal, the most just, and the most popular principles have ema nated from the members of the House of Peers. This very morning an Hon, Gentleman—l do not know whether he is present, for though I have received many kindnesses from him, I have mailed the pleasure of seeing him, and it was through him that my attention was directed to a part of the Parliamentary history which had escaped me, in which I find that in the year 1815, when the first Corn-law, founded at all on principles like the present, was passed in this country, a mast noble protest, drawn up, I have no doubt, by Lord Grenville, and entered against its passing in the House of Lords. It contains:one or tw o sentences so just that I copied them out, and as they are very short, perhaps you will allow me to read them, The Protest beg ins— " DIS.SENTIENT. " First—Because we are adverse in principle to all restraints on commerce. We think it certain that public prosperity is best promoted by leaving uncontrolled the free current of national industry... Seccnd--Because we think that the great practical rule of leaving all commerce unfettered, applies more pe culiarly, and on still stronger grounds of justice as well as policy, to the Corn trade than to any other. Irresistible, indeed, must be that necessity which could in our judg meat authorize the Legislature to tamper with the suste nance of the pen le, and to impede the free purchase and sale of that article on which depends the existence of so large a portion of the community." (Cheers.) These were the sentiments which, in the year IFIS, received the signatures of two Dukes of the royal blood, the present Duke of Sussex—(Cheers)---and the Duke of Gloucester, Lord Grenville who, I have no doubt, drew the profit, the Marquis of Wellesley, Lord Essex, Lord T orr i ngton, and Marquis Douglas. The next name 1 TilE SUN, LONDON, TU-ESDAY, J NVARY 14 140 is that of ehandos*Buckingham, the father of the present buke, the self-styled farmers' friend.--( Hear, hear.) Thu other names on the list are Lord Montfort ; Lord King, and the Ea r l o f Carlisle.-a4 Heat ; hear, beer.) Gentle men, I say that such acts as these, and such sen thhentss readers it unnecessary for me to pass any eulogy on those f, om whom they ma' hated, and therefore with your leave I would rather ad= dress myself for a few moments to that other matter, which I consider rather to have bleen the cause of my being placed now before yob, namely, to tell you that there are landowners--I will not say they are more disinterested than other landowners—for into that - past of the question need not enter; and with respect to myself it would be absurd to say so, bet.'ouse the conclusions to which I have come are from a strict and severe investigation of my own interests, and because I find those interests are in accordance with the interests of a large mass of my fellow-subjects. Early in life—l am afraid, about thirty years ago—( Hear, hear, and laughter)-1 was the ow ner , and became the occupier oj a very large tract of land. I farmed, by my own personal and daily inspection, about 1,500 acres of land ; arid having, in order to ena bl e me to occupy it, borrowed, y ou may call it money if y ou pl ease , b ut w h a t I borrowed was [O,OOO pieces of paper, which bore on their face a promise that I should receive, instead of them, other exactly similar pieces of paper, and nothing else. Having borrowed them and invested them in the purchase of farming stock, and having done that under the security of a vote of the House of Commons, introduced under the section of the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, which assured me that two of these pieces of paper were worth two good bang-up golden guineas, although I could not have purchased two golden guineas with three of them. Having done this, and having declined farming in the year 1822, and having paid back, instead of those pieces of paper, 10,000 plump sovereigns, you may well conceive that I came out a loser by several thousands by the transaction. Will such cir cumstances as those make a man think seriously about his condition ? and I assure you that they made me think very seriously about my real interests and my real situation as a landowner.—( [leer, hear.) Of course I became imme diately aware that the only value which could arise from my land must depend on its producing more articles of food and consumption than were used by those who were engaged in the production.—( Hear, hear.) I was aware that I must find somewhere customers for any surplus. It was in vain for me to lo,lt abroad—l knew if my surplus were to go abroad, I should there meet with people who had a natural protection to the extent of 83. or 10s. a quarter against me.—( Hear.) I was therefore obliged to turn to the manufacturing, trading, and commercial population at home, and I then began to understand how much it was my interest that the population should be wealthy, prosperous, and successful in their various conditions.—( Cheers.) A somewhat ac curate investigation also informed me—[The Hen. Gen tleman was here interrupted by an immense number of per sons in the meeting crying out " Come forward come forward—we can't hear."—Mr. Gisborne having re mained at the table near the Chairman instead of coming forward to the platform erected for the speakers. Having acceded to the request, and the' clamour having in some degree subsided, the Hon. Gentlemen continued.) Gen tlemen, I believe 1 was about to say that further considera tion convinced me that as the aggregate income of the working classes in this country is much larger than the ag gregate income of all classes put t..gether. that therefore I, as landlord--( A clamour was now raised by those in the mere remote parts of the pavilion for Mr. Gisborne to go back to the Chairman's table). The CHAIRMAN—I aye informed there are a number of persons at the end of the pavilion, who continually inter rupt the different speakers, If they do not cease their interruptions, I shall order them to be turned out. Mr. GISRORNE proceeded.—Gentlemen, I assure you I feel in the very strongest manner not only how extremely difficult it is for any speaker to make himself heard in this assembly, buy still more, how extremely difficult it must be for him to make himself interesting to you, because the topics we have to discuss are of such a very dry and uninterest ing nature, that they arc hardly, perhaps, adapted to such an assembly as the present. I shall therefore pass over all other points I had intended to touch upon, rind will speak only to one, which one of the mottoes I see before me brings to my mind.—(" No, go on," and " We can't hear.)—Aftcr attempting for some minutes to obtain a hearing where he stood, the Hon. Gentleman returned to the Chairman's table, for which he was cheered by those in the farther part of the pavilion, while those who were in the centre expressed their dissatisfaction. Silence being again in some measure restored, he resumed his address.) I shall detain you, Gentlemen, but for a few moments, while I tell you what is the reason of the dc termin ed opinion I have adopted between the question of a fixed duty and a total repeal. lam quite certain, from the general temper of the two brahches of the Legislature, and of the Landowners of this country, ire shall get nothing by the modera tion of our demands.—( Cheers.) I wish to know whether we were not moderate enough when, fifteen years ago, Mr. Hume asked for a fixed duty of 15s. a quarter, to sink a shilling year by year till it was reduced to 10s., and then to remain fixed permanently at 103. a quarter. Was not that a moderate demand ?—( Cheers. ) But i' was rejected.—( Hear, hear.) Was it not a moderate de mand when, in the last Session of Parliament, we sub missively asked for leave to grind corn in bond?— (Cheers.) But they refused to give it us, because they would not let us have the bran.—(Cries of " Hear.") Was not that a moderate demand ?—( Hear.) Let us not then yield to the landowner, and agree to a fixed duty. No, Gentlemen, we stand on the ju s tice of our claim, and we have been forced by the acts of our oppo nents to the position we now occupy.—( Hear, hear.) When we made small and insufficient demands they re jected us with scorn and contumely.—(Hear, hear ) Gentlemen, if there is to be a compromise, let it come from the other side.— ( Loud Cheers,) Arc we to go to them, and say, we shall take the least you will give us ? (" No, no.") And, Gentlemen, the moment we do part from the high ground on which we base our claim—that of justice to the great bulk of the community—we lower ourselves immensely in the public estimation—we deterio- I rate the interest which any men feels in our success, and we diminish immeasurably our chance of success altogether. —( Cheers.) Gentlemen, I said that I addressed you as one of a small, but, I hope, increasing hand of landowners, who take a different view of their interests from that taken by the rest of their body.—( Cheers.) We ask rot no particular protection—we are satisfied with the protection which nature and our station give us—a protection which the.law will not give and cannot take awa).—( Cheers.) We know,Gentlemen, that that it is an honest—we believe that it is a wise course; and, Gentlemen, we arc willing to bind together our lot with that of the whole united body of all classes of our fellow-countrymen.—(Much cheering.) The CHAIRMAN then gave " The Irish Members of Parliament who are favourable to a repeal of the Corn laws."—( Drank with much cheering.) Mr. O'CONNF.LL then presented himself, and was re ceived with the loudest and most enthusiastic cheering, which was with some difficulty suppressed. He said—ln return for this overpowering kindness, I have a mind to set you right as to one mistake you have fallen into.— (Here there was some interruption, in consequence of per sons in the remote parts of the building not being able to hear the Hon. Gentleman distinctly. Ono man shouted several times, " Speak out," and Mr. O'Connell said, " I wish you had a potatoc in your mouth," which produced great 1 aughter. When order had been restored, Mr. O'Connell proceeded.) You imagine I have come here to make a speech —no such thing.--( A laugh.) I did not come here under the guise or pretence of being an orator. I came simply as a witness to Lear testimony to the senti meets my country entertains of the injustice which has been practised upon your manufacturing interests.— ( Cheers.) I know that we are not to talk politics here— ( A voice, " Party politics.") I accept the correction, but I am so much of a party politician that I look like party politics upon two legs—(Much laughter)—and if I am driven to it—and I most cheerfully submit to it—to abstain from them on the present occasion, there is a kind of moral paralysis over me, and I am as one half dead.— ( Cheers and laughter.) Now we understand each other. As I cannot allude to party politics, I may be allowed to tell you a fact as a matter of history. I have always been looking for justice for Ireland—that has been my struggle ; but I should be unworthy of obtaining justice for Ireland if I was not ready to do justice to England. I know it is said—and by one of my own constituents, who wrote to me from Ireland—" We:have no advantage in Ireland but the Corn-laws—l voted for you at the last election, and I will vote against you if you vote for the repeal of the Corn laws." My answer was, "If every man who voted for votes: against me at the next election, as an act of jus tice I will give all the opposition in my power to the Corn-laws."—( Cheers, and interruption.) There are two secrets for those who wish to hear or to learn: the first thing is, that if they wish to hear somebody else talk, they must not speak themselves; and the next is, they ought to be seated if they want to listen. Sir, I would scorn any support at the expence of injustice. My principle has been that there should be no partiality or favour in one part of the empire or the other, but equal jus tice to all ; and even if Ireland derived any advantage from the Corn-laws, it is an unjust one, and the Irish should at once reject it.—(Cheers.) l am convinced that the repeal of the Corn-laws will be bene ficial to all parts of the empire. I will go farther, and say, that I believe it will be specially beneficial to Ire land, and I will tell you why. What Co we want in Ire land? Not fertility of soil—not an abundance of pro_ duce—not superabundant harvests. Our agricultural productions have been great, and are increasing. Are the people of Ireland one bit the better of it? Is there more of poverty, wretchedness, or distress in any other part of the world ?—( Cries of " Hear, hear.") If the Corn-laws were good to rescue the labouring classes from misery and wretchedness, why should they not rescue the people of Ireland ?—( Hear, hear.) What does Ire land do ? She exports nine-tenths of her agricultural pro , duce • and her people are starving while her ships a rc sailing away laden with corn and prov.sions.—( Hear, bear.) So far as roy experience has gone, the Corn-laws have worked for ill every where, and for good no where.- -( Cheers.) In Ireland, especially, what do we find ? Not only are her provisions exported, but her population i lea n i s r ia ) noh A es r t e er t ? her A e nd no sixty if t thec Corr.-laws ve -i s a e ws n a t f y_ ftiaothi also. —(Hear, t n r h e i d w ? • e ( s, why Cheers.)'a v e ‘ t v h e n yi t n h o e t d r e done it for those now i's Ireland ?— ( Cheers.) Will there not market, up() b upon England which the glwandiif time iher wages? Aud is ' Englisadditionalhlabourer b o labourernrer ".as advantages takenwould obtain out off conferred f hi it not man if est t h at b o th England and Ireland are suffer ing under th e i n flu e nce of those Corn - laws ? What care I laws-... t t h e e ll a n' g e rie w u a lt " u e r s is a t re b •y t increased hoseC o r7.lreason e t o s f nt these money Curn. from the operative; but take the two together, and I ask you, nre they one halfpenny richer ?—( Cheers and great laugh ter.) If one man has the higher price, the other is minus that sum. If, indeed, we sent our corn to be sold to an enemy, we wou ld have had this advantage, that we would plunder there: or if we sold it to a neutral, we would have this advantage, that we should get money from a foreigner; but when it is only a transaction between Englishman and Englishman, what advantage is there in one man put ting his hand into the pocket of the other ? ( Loud cheering.) I - want to see manufactures springing up in Ireland.__( Cheers.) We have the greatest water power at ahy &edit , in the world:---we have gteaitif facilities for the transmission of our produce to foreign coUniritt, by the greeter uhinber of splendid harbours which nature h as erec t e d upo n our shore:,. , Made water power, which is now the more valuable that meatie have been discovered of transporting that power to remote plates t so that we beet! till the elethetits, including a hardy and laborious populetione—we have all the eletnetitts of the nufacturing industry: What do I want for Ireland ? I want that foreign countriere who have slibith their antiety to purchase the products of this country, to be enabled to obr tarn them to any extent, so as to make our manufactures articles of necessity and luxury with thene—(Cheers.) Therefore it is, that ae an Irish Member of Parliament, although I may talk of chivalry and generosity, I must freely acknowledge that I have more solid and rational grounds for contending against the Corn-laws, because I am thoroughly convinced they have injured my part of the country as much as yours. Hovy was I ci;cumatanced on Saturday last ? A deputation from the flour trade of Dublin with the Corn-law Act in their pocket. They complained of a grievous inconvenience in conse quence of the badness of the crop, the quantity being small, and the produce worse than it had been known for a series Of years. Under these circumstances they thought it their duty to import flour into Ireland. The moment they brought it in it was seized and confiscated by the Custom House. I took the Act of Parliament, and found that the Corn-laws prevented the importation of foreign corn into Ireland as well as England. I was not sur prised at that. But I found there was a total prohibition of the importation of flour into Ireland. It appeared that the Legislature had given John Bull a thump on the head, and had shared the same fate with Paddy—with this addition, that he broke his teeth into the bargain.—(Loud laughter and cheers.) It is perfectly manifest, therefore, that the British empire should rise as one man to demand a repeal of those lvas.—( Cheers. ) I see before me the words, " Landowners—honesty is the best policy !" If that were so, they would have given up the Corn-laws. But they will not do:so until you convince them...—( Cheers. ) I have always held that John Bull possessed the quality of common sense, but I am afraid that some of it has gone a wool-gathering, or abroad somewhere, for I have been actually told that the working men have insisted that they will not accept of cheap bread until they get better laws. Oh, I would feed the fellow first, at all events.—(Great laughter and cheers.) I remember Hunt said that the Reform Bill was a bread and butter question ; I wish the Chartists would make the Corn-lairs a bread and butter question, and join with us in insisting upon the repeal. Be lieve me,lit is hard to trust a man with the reform of our political institutions, when you find him practically igno rant, or not honest enough to recognise the first great principle of wiping away injustice.—( Hear, hear.) When we hear what has been so well called the " Squire logic" of higher prices producing higher wages, we can well answer with the fact, that as corn grows dearer, wages become smaller. One matter of fact of that sort is worth a thousand speeches of Lords or Squires.—(Hear, hear.) Is there a man in the community who does not know that the way to increase wages is to increase the de mand for labour ; and that if you diminish the demand for labour, you necessarily diminish the wages. —( Cheering.) What have we been seeking for ? Why that for every one mill that now exists there should be three, and where there is nosy one factory that there should be four ; and I ask any man of common sense whether, when the labourer has seven shops to gO to, he will not be better off than when he had only two —(lm mense cheering.) So that you see the Squire logic is to tally false in every respect. I come now before you to tek you, will you submit, to this state of things ?—( Cheers.) Ido not like to use harsh phrases—l do not like to use words with daggers in them ; but I trust no man will any longer submit to have the landowner plunder him as he has done for years past..—( Cheers.) Why does the lendlord wish to maintain the Corn tax? Is it not to put money into his own pocket?—( Hear, hear.) And whose money is it ? Not that of the Swedes, the Danes, French, or Spaniards ; but the money of his own fellow-country men.—(Cheers, and laughter.) The question then is, What are we to do ? My advice always is, " Agitate, aeitate, agitate." The landlords have held meetings in Lancashire, Newark, Norfolk, and other places, and they have boasted that the landlords have been always most, kind and generous to the poor; but whose money have they given them? That of the poor themselves Thank you for nothing, I say.—(Great laughter and cheers.) Go td heaven, can any thing speak so trumpet tongued of the hard-heartedness of these landlords, while easing oa turtle and venison, and claret, than this sickly • entimentality, when we know their claret is purchased with the widow's tears, and their venison sauce with the orphan's hungry cries —( Cheers ) I ray the thing is not to be borne..—( Loud cheers.) I never was the advocate of violence—it disappoints its own end. ( Hear, hear.) I never was the advocate of physical force—it creates more enemies than it can possibly subdue, and it is never of the least avail until public opinion becomes ipe, when it is totally unnecessary.—( Cheers.) I trust th a t the sentiments uttered here to-night will be circulated thro igh the country, and that every man will be brought '.O consider the real practical bearing of the Corn-law question. —( Hear, hear.) What care I fur the different classes of publications, w hether they be Whigs, Tories, Conservatives, Radicals, or Chartists? What care I for the different religious persuasions into which you may be divided. Every man cats bread, whatever may be his po litical or religious opinions.—(Cheers.) All politici a n s agree as to the necessity of eating and being well fed. Why should England suffer the taunts of all the na tions of Europe ? Why ehould its aristocracy and landed proprietors roll the wheels, of their carriages over the woes of the people of Ireland ?—( Cheers.) It is a shame for England that such is the ca e, and all Europe ought to exclaim that it was a shame that Britons hi d borne it so long.---(Cheers.) Let every man who hears me from this moment become opposed to the aristocracy, and let every person when he meeta his neighbour blush when he tells him what he has endured so long—(Cheers) —and let him ask every man, either Whig or r - e Tory, first, are you h ones t ?—( Ch eers .) I agree en with the inscription, that a fixed duty is a fixed in justice.—(Cheers.) We ask for nothing but: honesty, and we are here to say that we will have justice.— ( Cheers.) We must have no compromise ; we must have that which is given us by Providence, and nothing less._ (Cheers.) Ido from this spot denounce the landowners of England; I arra i gn t h em o f pilfering and plundering the people.—(Cheers.) I am a plain spoken man, and I arraign them of plundering the people.—(Cheers.) You may call them Dukes, or Lords, or what you like, I don't care what nick-name you give them, a robber is a robber still, let him go by what name he will, and nothing can convice the people that the landowners are not dis honest.—(Cheers.) Array, then, the people of England in the most bloody battle that was ever fought between man and ma* the battles of Poictiers and Cressy and Waterloo, where the English conquered, because they would not be beaten, are nothing to it.—(Cheers.) An eternal disgrace would fall on the country if the present state of things was en dured any longer.—(Cheers.) For the law, as it at pre sent stood, took away the widow's morsel and the orphan's bread.—(Cheers ) There is not a Christian in the land who will tolerate such a state of things. From my heart, therefore, I call upon you to support the re peal of the Corn-laws..( Hear.) The Honourable and Learned Member concluded a most eloquent speech, to which we regret we are not able to do justice, amid great cheering. - Mr. Alderman COBDEN then impressed upon the meet ing the necessity of aiding their CALISO by subscriptions, and a box was sent round to collect the contributions of • those present. The CHAIRMAN then proposed as a toast, " The De puties from the various Towns and Associations in the United Kingdom to the Anti-Corn-law Lcague."— ( Cheers.) He begged to introduce to the meeting one of the most powerful writers on the question of the Corn laws, Mr. Edward Baines, junior, of Leeds.—(Cheers.) Mr. BAINES, jun., rose to return thanks, and was greeted with loud plaudits. Though feeling himself a very unworthy representative of that large body of men, the Deputies, yet, in obedience to the call that had been made on him, he begged, in the name of the hundreds of the able and intelligent men who had ccmc from the various towns and trades of England, to return to the men of Manchester their sincere th.inks. We are extremely sorry that in conse quence of the great length of the proceedings, and from want of time, we arc unable to give a report of the very able and eloquent speech of this Gentleman. The Rev. 11r. ;%I‘DoNALD, of Birmingham, returned thanks on behalf of the Deputations, and pointed out in a very forcible and eloquent manner the injustice and ini quity of the Corr-laws. Dr. BOIV&ING having been called upon from all parts of the pavilion, spoke at considerable length, and with great eloquence upon the subject ; but w© are too much pressed both for time and room to permit us to do justice to his speech. Mr. GIBBON (who on rising was received (with very great applause) said —Gentlemen, I confess to you that I should have felt much mo e pleasure in continuing a listener than becoming a speaker on thi s occasion. I feel my mind alr ea d y so occupied in diges tin g the valuable information an d instruction I have received from the etc quent speeches that have been already delivered, that I tea some difficulty and embarrassment in bringing my mind to the consideration of the toast which I have been called upon to propose. 'rho toast, Gentlemen, which I have the honour to propose is, " The farming tenantry ; may they speedily discover that the Corn -law ostensibly passed for their benefit is nothing but a rent-law. Gentlemen, I come myself from, I m a y s ay, the celebrated farming county of Suffolk —celebrated not only for the extent of its tillage and grain cultivation, but also celebrated for having always had a greater amount of pauperism, in proportion to its population, than any other county in England. Gen tlemen, it is also celebrated for its agricultural associations —for those meeting s at which persons are put forward, with high names and titles to dazzle the mental vision of the ignorant and simple.—'(Laughter.) Dukes and great men are put forward to tell the simple agriculturists with what cure and disinterested affection they regard their interests.—( Laughter.) Gentlemen, these agricultural associations, when they meet at dinner are not unpleasant things ; for six or seven drillings you get a capital dinner, and a good bottle of wine ,c and if you are a farmer, you are told by the Duke of Buckingham, and Chandos that he, the last of the Plantagynets, is one of your dearest and most loving friend s ; you are told , that in the hour of need, you will always find him coming forward to fight your battles, and on his ilag will be emblazoned the motto of "No surrender;" and that he is prepared to nail it to the mast. ( Cheers and laughter.) Gen tlemen, notwithstanding all these generous assertions, and that the agricultural labourers are also taught to believe that their condition progresses with the price of b r ead—noveithstanding all this, I have lately begun to pt , rceive there is something like a growing scepticism as t o whether they are really better off from being obliged u bey dear bread under the restrictive system which is the importation of fo prnrnet'', hibi .ehat although the Corn reign corn. I say, G, Inte laws in this country are taught ahnost as matters of faith to these classes, I do begin to peret ive a growing scepti cism amongst them.—( Hear, hear.) The farmers are beginning to say, and to ray boldly, that hi g h prices mean high rents.—(l ;beers.) They arc be ginning, many of the more intcll igcnt amongst them, to a After all, we could make a safer contract with the owners of the land if the Corn-trade were open than under the present system." Ahd, Centlemen, we know this ar runent is founded on reason, for when a osan goes to take JAM!, is sore to meet many competitors, Wild :ire wil ling to give such d rtnt its to prevent any farmer whateve7 be prices, from receiving one fat thing more than the usual interest of capital and ordinary profits. Ge n tlemen, not Only do 1 believe your exertions have promoted ro"nd inforrr.ation off The sohject of the Corn-laws amongst': flit , manufacturing classes, )tsit, also, that your exertions naVS , begun to enlighten the itErißtiltural class. —( Hear, and cheeA y I perceive a daily-grawittg dispo sition to dispute with their isfidlords on the efficacy of this protective system. It was but the Gther day that a pro position was made by the Magistrates, to estabish a Rural Police in the county of uffulk. The farmers were very tried] against it, on the grotia!, namely, of expense'. " Oh," saj the landlords to the farmers; "it is not your business to talk or mites and expenses, that ail comes out of rent." " And then," repfled the farmers, "what be , comes of your argument al out prctealtin being necessary, on the ground of the taxes we besr."—( Cheers.) That, Gentlemen, I am happ^ to say, is the course things are taking ; and although I fell Into disgrace for voting for Mr. Villiers's motion--( Loud and gencrnl cheering)._ I am proud to be able to say here, that I have received a memorial, signed by many neighbours in our district, who are farmers, and which contains the distinct assertion that they approved of my conduct on the Corn question. —(Cheers.) Gentlemen, I say the Corn-laws have al ways been the means of deluding the occupiers of land— these laws have been always put forward as the induce. ment to give high rents, and they have not the power to secure uniform and proportionately high prices; and when the period arrives of low prices—low prices produced by the landlords who, like other greedy monopolists, are some times apt by avoiding it, to glut their own market, then the landlord gets ids rent out of the farmers' capital, so long as it ,will bear it ; and when, Gentlemen, it will bear that no longer. you will see a philanthropic paragraph in serted in the Morning Post that the Duke of So-and-So or Lord So-and-So, has returned twenty-five per cent. to his tenant.—( Great cheering.) But, Gentlemen, it is clear that the mere farmer can have no interest in this restrictive system. The landlords are the only par ties really interested in it. We can produce facts to con firm our a priori reasoning—facts which it is impossible to dispute, prove that agricultural distress has always been caused in this country by a delusive reliance on the Corn laws. We know that in 1822 the agricultural panic was not created by excessive importation or lands going out of cultivation, and foreigners sending their corn int) themarket, but by farmers having rdied upon the delusive promises of the 'landlords, that the Corn-laws would secure high prices, and that; on that they might easily contract for high rcnts.—( Cheers.) It was supposed that the Corn-laws could keep up uniform high prices, and when low prices came, they were involved in one common ruin s —(Cheers.) Mr. Huskisson's resolution, which passed the House of Commons, clearly pointed out these lacts.—(Cheers,) Therefore, I say, Gentlemen, that we can with perfect confidence and sincerity drink success to the farming tenantry.—( Cheers.) We wish to do them no injustice. (Cheers.) We wish to convince them that, like other consumers, it is their interest to get what they want for their own consumption. to ,get, in short, their food at the cheapest possible rate, fur in their calling of agriculturists, low prices may be just as remunerating to them as high prices, inasmuch as they never can derive any advantage from the latter, being, by the natural laws.of competition, always driven to give their landlords increasing rents with increasing prices. It really is melancholy to bear our g r e a t land owners prophesy as to ‘vhat will be the result of the re peal of the Corn-laws. We have been told by one Noble Duke that if the Corn-laws were re pealed he would sell off all his land, houses, and furniture,' pack up his things and go to some more pros2erous clime, there to tell the tale of happier days. "=( Laughter.) But we believe these very landlords, notwithstanding their gloomy predictions, will share in the general prosperity of the nation which would ensue from a repeal . of the . Corn-laws.—(Cheers.) We don't want to drive them to foreign countries—we want to make them more respectable—more respected —more really and per manently Aourishing at home. Into what a ludicrous po sition do they put themselves by these gloomy forebodings. Imagine a Noble Duke, poor, mel a n c h o ly sou l, wander ing river the Continent • " Remote, unfriended, melancholy, slow, Or by the lazy Scheldt or wandering Po." Telling the sad tale that once he and some friends kept a bread and beef shop in England, and possessed the exclu sive right of supplying their fellow countrymen with pro visions at their own prices—(Laughter)—and that some troublesome, inquiring, active-minded people in the manu facturing district got up a cry that they did not sec why other people should not open such shops as well as them selves, and because they could not continue to sell bread and beef at their own prices, they had left their own country as being unworthy to live in. —( Great laughter.) I don't think, Gen;lemen, our illustrious Duke would, under such circumstances, get many to sy mpathise with him--(laugh ter).--they would tell him to go back to his own country, atidhe satisfied with that to which he was legitimately and justly untitled—namely, the real and natural value of the prolauce of-his estate, and not that artificial value which is created by monopoly and the plunder of the property of others. As a proof that the agricultural labourers are not benefited by, hign prices, 1 would call to your noticea I esolut ion lately passed, proposed by a Noble Duke and seconded by an Esquire, to thts effect (It was a resolution passed in the Grantham Union poorhouse last February): " Whereas in eauseqUence of the high price of provisions the agricultu ral labourers had been driven to make use of an inferior kind of "food—have been driven to give up the use of wheat flour and resort to bread of an inferior description, it is expedient that we introduce the same sort of bread into' the poor house, lest the paupers in the house should live better than the paupers out.—(Laughter.) Now, Gentlemen, we all know that the principle may itself be sound, hut it is pretty clear the tendency of the high price of provisions is to reduce the labouring classes to smaller allowances of the coarser kind of bread.—(Cheers.) Gentlemen, there areother speakers who have to address you, and I will, therefore, detain you no longer.—( Cries of " No, no," and "go oil.") The old arguments which usLid to be put forward in suppoit of the Curn-laws arc new no longer broached. There was a time when Noble Loads and Dukes could be found to get get up and say_ We don't assert that there is any actual necessity or tinan cial grounds for the restrictive system; but whatiwe contend is, that it is sound constitutional policy to give the landed proprietary an advantage over the rest of the com munity.—(Hear, hear, and Cheers.) such sentiments as these have been professed, and is now the real reason for their giving way on the Corr.-laws.—( Cheers.) The argument used to be that it was sound policy to give the landowner a benefit over the rest of the community, be cause, when a man was possessed of land he was more dis posed to order and good government, and the support of established institutions, and could better per form the functions of a Justice of the Peace th a n other people. It was wise to _ support a class composed of such persons, even at' the expense of the community. But that day is gone by. The Esquire is no longer supposed as a matter of course merely because he possesses land, to be a bit more loyal or orderly, or to have greater capacity than another man. All those doc trines are now exploded. But be assured that tin ugh not avowed they arc still in accordance with the wishes of the opponents of the repeal of the Corn-laws. The great de sire is still to place the landed aristocracy on vantage ground with reference to the rest of the country.—( Hear.) You have always had a Parliament of landowners, and they have legislated for their own advantage._( Cheers.) I thank you very kindly for the indulgence with which you have heard me ; there are many other speakers who will follow me, who will no doubt illustrate the marvellous in consistencies of those who resist a repeal of the Corn laws. One word, before I conclude, about the reason why the Duke of Buckingham won't hear of a fixed duty on corn ; he does not like breaking ground—he knows if he gives any, he must yield all, that inquiry will be fatal. He gives the same advice to the landowners which I would give to a friend who might consult me on the propriety of repai:ing an old dilapidated house with a bab foun dation ; Don't touch a brick I should say, or, the old house will tumble about. your cars.—(The Hon. Gentle man sat down amid loud and enthusiastic cheering which lasted several minntes.) Mr. SHARMAN CRAIVI , ORD then addressed the meeting. —Sir,---It is impossible that the advocacy of any toast could have been deputed to me, in the sentiments of which I more fully concur than in those expressed in the toast which I hold in my hand. Most cordially do I agree in the proposition contained in the last clause—that the Corn law was framed for no other purpose than a Rent Law—Cheers)—and most ardently do I join in the aspiration that the farming tenantry of the United speedily discover that their true interests Kingdom - may are not sustained by these laws. It has been said that these laws were enacted for the benefit of the agricultural interest. I admit that if the agricultural interest can be supposed to consist of landlords only, the assertion may be true; but I hold that the agricultural interest consists of two other classes, vastly more numerous and important than the landlords, namely, the tenants and the labourers. I hold, Sir, that the Corn-laws perpetrate a: robbery on the tenant and starve the labourers —(Great cheers.) They rob the tenant, by extorting from him a rent, under a fiction, which is not realized in practice.—(True, true.) The evidence before the Committee of 1836 proves that the large tenants were broken merchants, or else paying their rents out of their capital instead of out of their pro fits. They rob the labourer by raising upon him the price of the absolute necessaries of life, and at the same time by their unjust operation on the tenant, lessening his means to afford the poor labotrer employment. Loud cheers.) But another and more extensively dangerous effect pro duced by these laws is, that they convert the tenants, w ho were formerly denominated the Independent Yeomanry of England, into absolute slaves.—(Hear, hear.) They place a halter round the neck of the tenant, and give the other end into the hand of the landlord, ready to be tightened to strangulation the moment lie would show a spark of political independence—(Cheers)—and thus the honest voice of freedom may be stifled whenever the tenant would presume to utter a sentiment at variance with the whispered will of the landlord, and thus the Corn-laws, if continued, will destroy the liberties of England.—(lm mense cheering.) Another effect is, that these Corn laws are used as an engine on which to sustain every branch of lavish profusion in the public expenditure, and consequently of profligate taxation, as well as all the abuses of civil and ecclesiastical monopolies. If the Corn-laws were destroyer' taxation must be reduced or else the tenants would not be able to pay rents, and public economy even in a landlord's house would thus be insured.—( Hear, hear.) I am perfectly aware that changes must be produced whenever a repeal of the Corn-laws shall. take place ; but I hail the prospect of these changes, because I can foresee none that will not be productive of the most beneficial effects on society.—( Loud cheers.) I regret to say that in Ireland there is a general impres sion that her infant prosperity would be destroyed if the corn duties were repealed. It seems to be forgotten, that if the population of Ireland lived in such a manner as human beings ought to live, the Irish produce would be only sufficient for her own consumption. It is not the stir pins which is exported, but the absolute necessaries of life I arc abstraeted from the peopl e , an d i n thole parts of Ireland i where there s the greatest export of provisions, there is the greatest poverty.—( Hear, hear.) What comes, then, of the profits of the export market ?—they ver come among the people, but are transferred into the pockets of the corn merchant or of the absentee proprietor—(" Shame, shame ")—the poor tenant does not get them, In those tliskriets the Poor-law Evidence records that tenants who hare oUlls have been occasi6nally obliged to bleed those cows and drink the blood in order to preserve themselves and families from death by starvation.—( Hear, hear.) I ask, then, do the Corn-laws bring wealth either to the teitailtry or the population of Ireland ? No such thing-- the only bright spots in Ireland are those where manufac ture is combined with agriculture. There you have pros perity, good wages, and universal employment.—(Great cheering,) It is, then, our interest to encourage menu facture, and to remove every impediment o their progress. I maintain that the prosperity of the woiker is universal prosperity, and that it is the only foundation on which the prosperity of every other elms' can be based ; and that although some little shock may be experienced for a time, the landlord would find his interests as much promoted by the repeal of the Corn-laws as any other class in society.—( Hear, and cheers.) But no matter what political arguments could be adduced in favour of Corn-laws, I maintain that no human laps ought to stand between men and the decree of the Almighty Creator, which gave the earth t) him and the fruits thereof that he might subsist himself by his labour.—( Hear, hear, hear.) We have no right to place out of the reach of the poor man by fictitious means the benevolence of Providence. Entertaining these opinions, I have felt it my duty, as an Irish landed proprietor, to accept your invitation to this meeting, and to join my British countrymen in their glorious struggle in this great cause of humanity.—(Cheers.) I conceive that a landlord who thinks as I do is a participator in all the miseries which his fellow-creatures may suffer, if he fails to perform his duty in openly protesting against these laws, and joining in every constitutional effoit for theu lc; cal.—(The Hon, Gentleman sat down amidst peat _ _ _ The CHAIRMAN then proposed " The Ladies," and Mr. O'CONNELL• responded to the toast. Mr. GEORGE Tuosteeoe rose amid loud cheers and said —Mr. President, Gentlemen—l am particularly anxious tha t ere the clock stikes twelve, and this Pavilion becomes, " A banquet-hall deserted," you should receive as It deserves, the toast I have the ho nour to propose. Gentlemen, if I had been permitted to choase from amongst the toasts selected for this evening's meeting, the one most congenial to my feelings, I should assuredly, without hesitation, have made choice of that which has been confided to me by the Council. Gentle men, I give you—" The working men of this kingdom." —(Long continued cheering.) If there is a class of men in the community to whom the question we have this night mat to discuss, comes home with greater directness and force than any other, it is to that class to which this toast refers.—( Cheers.) If to any e yes the statute sought to be repealed appears like the prophet's roll, written within and without, with mourning, lamenta tion, and woe, it is to the eyes of the working men of this country.---( Hear, hear, hear, and cheers.) Who amongst us is not the friend of the working man ? Who does not respect, and desire to serve the class who minister so largely to our comforts, wealth, and luxury ? Gentlemen, rcake up this question as the cause of the work ing-mau. ram known to the public as the friend of the labourer—the once uncompensated and enslaved labourer of the West—the now oppressed and famishing labourer of the East—and to-night the ill-fed, ill-paid, and in too many parts of the kingdom, the unemployed and starving labourer of our own kingdom.—( Cheers.) Gen tlemen, there is something strange, unnatural, and ominous in the very sound of Corn-laws. —( Hear.) Laws to regu late the munificence of the Creator I—laws to dole out the bounties of Heaven !—laws which say to the blessings of Providence, hitherto shall ye come, but no further. Sir, on the very face of them, they bear the marks ut impiety and foul injustice.—( Cheers.) God has given us the world for our market, and all mankind for our cus tomers; lie has plainly taught us that mutual dependence and mutual interchange are laws by which we should regulate our transactions with each ether.—( Hear, hear, hear,.) The map of the world teaches us this lesson. Some portions teem with grain, some with spices, some with vineyards, some with minerals; here we see flocks and herds covering a thousand hills, and there extensive regions aadpted for the manufacture of the raw material into all the forms of use and orna ment—here a people given to agriculture, and there another, conspicuous for energy and handicraft skill. Why then should we cut ourselves off from profitable and amica ble intercourse ?—why should we stir up jealousy and create rivalry, arid spurn the abundance of those portions of the earth which are willing, while they feed us with their grain, to be clothed in the garments which we can supply.—(Loud cheers.) Gentlemen, the Corn-laws are a monopoly, and, therefore, to be re garded with suspicion and dislike.—(Cheers.) What t ,ood hare we ever derived from monopolies ? What were the blessings which we ever derived from Chinese, or East India, or West India monopolies? The one with which we are now dealing is of the same character, and must' be sent to the same place.—( Cheers.) Gentlemen, my toast refers to working men, and I want to turn you all into working men. I want the four thousand in this room to give themselves to work during the present year. Believe me, if you would have the struggle upon which you have eetered a short one, you must expect it to be a sharp one, and a hard one, and you must make up your minds accordingly. I see no reason why the conflict should not be soon ended. I behold before me a mighty mass of mind, and I feel confident, that if, when it is scattered over the kingdom, it be properly employed, another year would not pass away before we met again in this or in a still larger pavilion—not to talk of battle, but to si , g of victory—not to deal in pleasing anticipations, but tot cjoice in realised benefits.—(Loud cheers.) If, then, you would have it so, be working men. Let me advise the delegates who are here, and know the character of ' die constituencies they represent, to:do as they do in similar gatherings upon great questions in die United States—let them agree amongst themselves to put down certain sums, to be forthcoming in the course 'of the ensuing year of agitation ; so that the Council of the League mei be encouraged to enlarge its operations, and thus expedite • the completion of the work.—( Hear, arid cheers.) I would respectfully tend another word of advice, and it is this : let those who are here, or who else where labour in this cause, come as much as they can into contact with the labouring population of the country.— ( Hear, hear.) Let them throw themselves amongst the mass of the people, no matter by what name they are called - . Let them show themselves the friends of the working men, by searching him out, and reasoning this matter with him. Such conduct will disarm prejudice —it will remove ignorance—it will smooth away internal asperities and misunderstandings, and possibly bring the parties to see eye to eve, and to fight in this moral warfare, shoulder to shoulder. And now, Gentle men, I have only to say, be true to yourselves and to your cause, and to the motto which, in characters of light, flames forth above my head. ( Hear, hear, hear.) Your ww.chword is Justice. , Let all your measures be marked by justice—( Hear, hear)—let your temper also be distinguished by justice—and while justice guides your hands,lind•points youto-ai:guments, let benevdlencc wsrm your hearts, and be your ever present motive._ ( Cheers.) Gentlemen, I would fain believe, for the honour of 'our eduntry, that there is no than in favour of the Corn laws, far the sole reason that they promote his own in-. dividual benefit, and with a full knowledge of the misery they entail. I say, I can scarcely believe that such a man ex i s ts—but, _ " If such there be, go, mark him well ! For him no minstrel raptures swell : High though his titles, proud his name, Boundless his wealth, as wish can claim; Despite those titles power and pelf, The wretch, concentred all in self, i Living, shall Lrfeit fair renown, And, doubly dying, shall go down To the vile dust from whence he apt ung, Unwept, unhonoured, and unsung." Mr Thompson sat down amidst the loudest applause. Mr. EBENEZER ELLIOTT then addressed the meeting, but from the noise of persons leaving the building it was impossible to eaten his observations distinctly. Mr. WARBURTON proposed the health of the Chairman, and he would take that opportunity of returning his thanks to the Chairman and Committee of the Corn-law League for ti c noble stand they had made twelve months ago. He would only at that late hour add one word more, that as in the case of the postage, and other important benefits conferred upon the country, they chould not cease u petition—petition—petition—for the repeal of these most obnoxious laws.—(Chccrs.) The CumamAN'returned thanks, and trusted that all the friends of the question would persevere in their exer tions, and there was little doubt of their being ultimately crowned with success. Three cheers were then given for the Queen, and a few minutes before one o'clock the meeting separated. CHARTISTS AT SHEFFIELD. (FROM CUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) Information has been privately received of an intended rising of the Chartists at two o'clock on Sunday morning to fire the town, and pillage it ; the Ist Dragoon Guards, police s and constables succeeded in taking seven or eight of the ringleaders, but not before one poor fellow, whom they took for a policeman, r ec e iv e d f our t een s l ugs i n hi s back ; three policemen very severely stabbed, and dne shot in the head with two slugs; an immense quantity of fire-arms of all descriptions, ball-cartridges, iron bullets, hand-grenades, fire-halls, daggers, pikes, some 12 or 14 feet long, swords, and an immense quantity of crow-feet, a most formidable weapon for disabling horses ; they are thrown .i i ipon th e ground, and present a poi n t th ree or f our feet long, which cannot fail to enter the horses' feet if trod upon. The police office was literally filled with implements of war fare, and astonished the soldiers themselves. At eight o'clock on Sunday morning all was quiet, but the police and constables were searching the houses of those sus pected, and bringing fresh proofs of the diabolical inten tions of the Chartists; there is no doubt, but for the prompt and active measures taken by the Magistrates and those under their command, the town of Sheffield would have been another Bristol or a Birmingham. --- - Formerly, we had some good and stout agitators in Liverpool, but they have all gone to sleep since they obtained power. We rejoice to see any symptoms of a revival ; and we fe e l certain, that the Liverpool Anti- Corn-law Association will speedily become a powerful engine towards achieving the emancipation of the coun• try from the pernicious influence of the bread-tax.— Liverpool Albion. The Earl of Fife is expected in town after an absence of ten years on the family estates in Scotland. His Lordship's brother and heir presumptive, the Hon. General Sir Alex. Duff is passing the winter in Paris. THEATRE ROYAL COVENT GARDEN. UNDER THE MANAGEMENT OF MADAME YESTRIS. THIS EVENING, JAN. 14, Will be performed Sheridan's Cemedy of THE SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL. Sir Peter Teazle, Mr. W. Farren ; Sir Oliver Surface, Mr. Bartley ; Sir Benjamin Backbite, Mr. Harley; Joseph Sur face, Mr. Cooper ; Charles Surface, Mr. Charles Mathews ; Crabtree, Mr. Meadows ; Moses, Mr. Keeley ; Lady Teazle, Madame Vestris ; Mrs. Candour, Mrs. Orger ; Maria, Miss Lee. To conclude with the New Grand Comic Christmas Panto mime, entiiled HARLEQUIN AND THE MERRIE DEVIL OF ED MONTON ; OR, THE ,PREAT BED OF WARE. Wtih entirely Ness Seenery. Machinery, Dresses, and De- eorat ions. Har.cluin, Mr. C. J. Smith; Clown, Mr. T. Ridgway ; Pantaloon, Mr. Morelli ; Merrie Devil, Mr. Gibson ; and Co =bine, Iliss Fairbrother. Drees Boxes, is; Second Price, 3s. 6d. ; First and Second Circles, N - 5. ; Seeond Price, •2s. 6d. ; Pit, 3s. ; Second Price, ; Gallery, Is. Doors to be opened at half-past Six—the perfqrmances to commence at Seven o'Clock. _ . _ Tickets and places fo: the Boxes to be taken of Mr. Notter, at the Box-office, from Tim till Four, wh re Season Tickets may be had upon application. Private Boxes to be had solely of Mr. Andrews. bookseller, 107, New Bond-street. E i EN . ING Eiii r lON. MR. WILLIS'S NEW WORK. This day is published, iii 3 vols. post Bvo., OITERINGS OF TRAVEL. By N. P. WILLIS, Esq., Author of " Pencillings by the Way," &c. London : Longman, Orme, and Co. This day is published, 1 vol. Bvo., with Illustrations on Wood, price 12s. cloth lettered, THE THEORY of HORTICULTURE ; or, an Exposition of the Physiological Principles on which the Operations of Gardening are conducted. By JOHN LINDLEY, Ph. D. P.R.S. L. S., &c. &c. Author of " An Introduction to Botany, " &c. &c. London : Longman, Orme, and Co. Just ready, in •? vols. post Svo., with Portrait, MEMOIRS AND LETTERS OF VA . ADAAIE MALIBRAN. Jut By the COUNTESS MERLIN. Henry Colburn, Publisher, 13, Great Marlborough-street. Orders received by all Booksellers. MRS. S. C. HALL'S NEW NOVEL. Now ready nt all the Libraries, in 3 vels. post Bvo., A K I A N; Or, A YOUNG MAID'S FORTUNES. By Mrs. S. C. HALL, Author of " Lights and Shadow 3 of Irish Life," " U ncle Horace," &e. llenry Colborn, Publisher, 13, Great Marlborough-street. lIIS MAJESTY the EMPEROR of _ K. AUSTRIA having AUTHORISED and GUA RANTEED several DISTRIBUTIONS of MONEY PREMIUMS, which - (though they are NO LOTTERIES) after many possibilities of obtaining LARGE FORTUNES, HEINE BROTHERS, at HAAIBURGH, are NOW SELLING SHARES for the said DISTRIBU TIONS. Persons desirous to purchase, may receive, PRE VIOUS to giving any order, the PROSPECTUS and PAR TICULARS, upon addressing WITHOUT DELAY, a line to HEINE, BROTHERS, at HAMBURGH. P. S.—THE NEXT DISTRIBUTION contains Portions of TWELVE THOUSAND, SIX THOUSAND, THREE . THOUSAND, ONE THOUSAND FIVE HUADRED, ONE THOUSAND. Fl VE HUNDRED, TWO HUN DRED AND FIFTY, TWO HUNDRED, ONE HUN DRED AND FIFTY, and ONE HUNDRED POUNDS, &c. &c. THE DISTRIBUTING DAY BEING NEAR, and Shares clearing off most rapidly, A RISE IN PRICE will soon occur. ROYAL SURREY THEATRE. The Grand Comic Pantomime, universally allowed to be the best in London. is attracting the most brilliant overflows ever witnessed, and will be repeated every evening. The Three New Pieces have also been pre-eminantly successfal. THIS EVENING, JAN. 14, _ Will be repeated, an entirely new Legendai v Drama, called THE LAPIDARY OF LEYDEN. After which, a Comedietta, from the French, entitled FAMILY JARS MENDED. Benhomme, Mr. Smith ; Chapinet, Mr. Saville ; Madame Bonhomme, Mrs. Daly ; Theresia, Miss Martin. To conclude with the New Grand Christmas Pantomime, called THE QUEEN BEE, OR HARLEQUIN AND GOODY TWO SHOES. The splendid Scenery by Mr. Brunning—The magnificent Diorama by Mr. P. Phillips. Columbine, Miss Sharpe ; Harlequin, Clown, Pantaloon, and Sprite, by the Bolero Family. Messrs. Sams of St. James's-street ; Andrews, Ebers, and Mitchell, Bond-street ; and Seguin of Regent-street, Book sellers, are appointed to let Private and Public Boxes during the run of the Pantomime. TO CORRESPONDENTS. Those Correspondents who wish to see their cotnmuni cations inserted, must send us, in confidence, their names and addresses. Without that we have no guaractee of the accuracy of the communication. W. T. S. must see that if we were to insert his second lettcr it would be merely assertion against assertion, equally posi tive, and both made by parties who only give their initials. HIGH-WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE TO- ~ lORROVV. ;Niorning :29 minutes after 10 Evening 9 minutes alter 11 , '‹; ZL/f)e 4)11/1-%. LONDON : TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 1840. GREAT CORN-LAW MEETING AT MANCHESTER! We direct the public attention to our Report of the excellent speeches delivered at the great Corn law Festival at Manchester. Thank GOD the men there do speak out, and they will carry joy and hope to the heart of every Corn•law repealer, and terror into the hearts of the iniquitous Corn-law supporters. Halifax has followed the example of Leeds, and at a numerous meeting, agreed to petition for the repeal of the Star va ti on - L aws . Si m il ar .meetings have been held at Elland and Sowerby, and the whole of the woollen manufacturers seem painfully alive to the distress and degradation inflicted on to convince. the w or ki ng : c l asse s that they ought, them by - thes..elaws. As we have it rnuch at heart onc.and all, to take part. in this we prat struggle,followingbeg their especi a l attent i on to t h e following extract from the speech-of Mr. JAMES HARGREAVES, aS we find it reported in the Halifax Express, an operative mechanic, in the employ of Mr. JA MES FARRAR, who seconded one of the resolutions I will just mention a few circumstances which the opm‘- tion of the Corn-laws has brought to pass; and illustrate them in as pleasing a way as I can. The first is, a large ; manufacturing famil y; t h ey h ave articles of manufacture to ' dispose of ; and there is a great farmer with corn to sell. They go with the articles to him, and they exchange ; and they go on in this way for a time. At last the manufacturer's family has increased, that he finds he must have more corn ; the far mer thinks this a grand way to get more money or more goods ; so he tells him he must have two coats where he only got one for the same corn. The manufacturer goes only across a river, and he finds that he can get two stones, where the other only gave him one. Th is he thinks Is a rare good job, and he'll go there again ; but the next time be goes the old farmer sees him, and he. calls his lads to gether, and says, we must stop this. The next time he goes he's way-laid, and two or three fellows come up to him and say, what have you got there? My name's Corn law. And- they rob the man of one of them.—( Cheers.) This is not very pleasin g ; but he's obliged to stand all that. He goes home ; and next time he takes rather more goods, because he expects to be robbed again.—(A laugh.) He takes eight pieces of fustians with him to Prussia;- and the first person he meets with there is another robber, that says,— my name's Tariff, the son of the Corn-law of England ; and he takes three of them.— (Cheers and laughter'.) Well, what does he do then ? He does not stop in Prus sia ; he comes home ; and you know he had only five pieces, after th e y h a d ta k en three ; so he gets wha t they let him have; and the Corn-law comes up, and takes half again.__( Hear.) That's the case with every fustian that goes into Prussia; it is charged 75 per cent. duty,-751. out of every 1001. But the resolution speaks something of the cruelty of the law. Cruelty means suffering; or suffering is somewhere belonging to it; and I would just ask you is there not suffering in the manufacturing dis tricts? In Bolton alone there is less by 8,001;1. a week in wages than t h ere were seven or eight months sioce • a nd there are seventeen person ' s in one cellar, five 3 ,, , r'cls by four, with two pair of looms ; is there no misery thero ( Hear.) I s not that cruelty ? That is the effect of the Corn-law an d hi s son Tariff.--( Cheers.) • * I I would j ust as k you if it is not a religious question, as well. The Bible says , curse d i s he that w i thholdeth bread from the poor.—( Cheers.) And is it not taken from the poor, when it is locked up in bonded warehouses ?—(Cheers.) It is locked up in bonded warehouses, and the poor man can't get at it, unless at the expense of his starving back ; and there's an exciseman paid to keep it there.--( Heat%) My object is to remove the exciseman, and we shall have him the less to keep.—(Cheers.) I am a working man; and I've studied the question for fifteen years, and I'm short of thirty yet.—(Cheers.) There has been a good bit said about wages. My friends here can make sta tistical speeches ; but I can tell about belly affairs.-- (Cheers.) A man told me yesterday that I was wrong in my head about Corn-law repeal ; and I said, thou's wrong in thy belly a long time....( Cheers and laughter.) I was talking with a comber, and he con fessed that his family c os t h i m 7s. a week more now than four or five years ;inc - .!. I said, just listen to me, and i'll endeavour to convince you. You acknowledge you have 7s. a week less for clothing,. It is not your house only, but in every on e , th at they eat ; where to do_d I never met with any th at did not eat (Laughter)—_anall nutst hands, h feel it in some proporti on; and if they have so much less, according to the size of family, th en t h ere i s so muc h less for the clothing th at i s wanted; and then the master he and u turns wages the down.—( worst hands Cheers. off;) a l) if out the c e ebse