The Express.
London, England, 1849-10-31 00:00:00

THE POST-OFFICE MINUTE,

31ENTING. IN IIgtMINGHAN.

Yasterday a publio meeting, aonvened by the
Mayor, was held in the Town-hell, at Birmingham, for the
purpcse of onnsideritig the propriety of memorialisisg the
Lords of t►e Treasury, solici•ing that the entire business of
the Post-t.fficr, including the delivery of letters and the tra-
velling of the trains conveying the mailer, may be suspended
trom 12 o'clock on Bsturday night until the same hour en
Sunday sight. Subsequently to the time when the Mater
called this meeting, a memorial, signed by nbaut dcuble the
number of those who signed the rtquisition upon which the
meeting was convened, was got up, signifying the purpose
of the memorislists to resist the adoption of say further bus-
passion of the mails oi a Sunday.
At twelve o'clock the Meaols (Samuel Thornton, E-q.)
tack the chair.

Mr. JAMES TAYLOR, of Moseley Hill, moved the
following resolution
" That ail meeti..g devoutly and thankfully recognises
the divine obligation of the Lord's Day or Christian Sab-
bath, and entertains a deep sense of the moral ar.d social
evils occasioned by all secular employments on the Sunday,
nut called fur by necessity and chari,y."
The Rev. J. C. MILLAR seconded the revolution.

!lour and Rev. GRANTHAM YORKE, who was
reef ived with much applause, movad the following amend.
meat: . .

That this meetinv fully recognises the great duty and
privilege of keel:deg holy the day set apart in the Christian
church as the day of rest, and for the public worship of Al-
,
mighty God; and desires to see it more fully observed by all
dusts of Ler Majesty's subjects. This meeting desires
thankfully to acknowledge the important regulation recently
made in one department of her Majesty's government—
namely, the General Post-office—for the furtherance of thi
ereat object. And this meeting resole.' moreover, that
full confidence may be placed in the good faith and proved
ability of Mr. Rowland Hill, the secretary of the General
Post-office, to whom the country owes a great debt of grai-
tade for the valuable reforms he has effected in the petal
machinery of the country. But while this meeting Is coo.
tent to receive the recent Poesoffiee regulation as a can-
.iderable advance towards the better observance of the
Lord's D .y, it would urge very strongly on the government
the conviction that exists in the mends of all Christian
people that the Sunday labour of Post office servants should
be reduced to the lowest possible amount consistent with the
necessities and comforts cf the people at large."
The rev. gentlemen went on to complain the, the plan of
those gentlemen who moved the otigical resolution seemed
to be, to impede the course of the government in carrying
out their plan of reform, which would in itself tend greatly
to reduce the labour at the Post-office on II Sunday. He se
,e in. man ft! recognised the neceetlti sjwss was
for 'duly observing the Lord's Day; but he iseistcd that
there were thousands of cans weekly occurring where a
Sunday delivery of letters became a matter of et ceseity, and
that the due fulfilment of the duty, to properly observe the
Lord's Day, was not infringed upon in its spirit, by the
goveromeut of thie country affardiegihe people the means
of communicating by letter on a Sunday.
Mr. Alderman GEACH seconded the amendment, and
the meeting was &demised by Mr. B:eooner, M.P., Rev. J.
A. James, and Mr. Monte, M.P. in favour of the original
resolution, and by Mr. Alderman ST. stun, Mr. R. K.
Douglas, and Rev. 8. Bache in support of the amend-
ment. . . . . .

On the question being put, the mayor declared amidst
much chi eying and almost frantic demonstrations of joy from
the gentlemen on the clerical aide of the gallery, that the
oririnal resolution was carried.
It was now fast approaching 6 o'clock in the evening, and
the excitement in the meeting was greater than has been
known at any political meeting here for many years. To
proceed with other resolutions became impossible, and it
...as therefore resolved that the Mayor should sign a memo-
rial to the Leeds of the Treasury, on behalf of the meeting,
in favour of tie entire ensoension of labonr in sill matters
connected with the Post-office on a Sunday throughout the
cout.try.
About 8,000 persons were present, but (says our corm-
spondent), various circumstances would in4uee the supposi-
tion that the result affords but a very imperfect idea of what
the real opinion of the people of Birmingham is upon the
question. Mr. James and other gentlemen made rather
stirring appeals to the feelings of the working men, and such
was the extent of the excitement that in all probability the
real question was in a great measure lost sight of.