The Express.
London, England, 1848-05-03 00:00:00

GREAT MEETING AT MANCHESTER.

A very crowded and spirited meeting was held at
the Corn Exchange, Manchester, on Monday evening, in
favour of the Lew movement for Parliamentary Reform and
a reduction of taxation. " To those," says our correspondent,
" who remember the first movement/ of the Anti-Corn•Law
Leaguers' and the difficulties under which they had to
labour before the maws could be fairly brought to compre-
hend the movement, the e chit with which the present agita-
tion has started forth stands out in remarkable contrast.
Should the gentlemen who met at Newhall'/-buildings the
other day rev ive replies sufficiently encouraging to induce
them to organise another league, which it is pretty certain
will be the result, there can be no doubt there will be a
powerful response of feeling in this city and its neighbour-
hood to any appeal they may make : in the meantime, it
should be understeod that the present meeting was got up
merely by a few earnest and zealous reformers, and
not at the instance of a powerful combination such as
lief been seen in Manchester on former occasions, though
it may serve to show very well which way the wind blows."
Though the meeting was by tickets, tho holders were not
bound to any expression of opinion. Thu Corn Exchange
is capable of holding nearly 3,000 persons, and it was
crowded to overflowing; indeed, besides thousands who had
applied for tickets after they had all been given away, and
who were disappointed in getting admission, a vast crowd
which had gathered about the doors of the Corn Exchange,
in the hope that the tickets would not be strictly demanded
in all Ulna, were seen lingering there long after the Ex-
change was crammed with people, sad it was a matter of
general regret that the Free Trade Hall had not been en-
gaged for the oeveiou. The chartists interfered to mar the
proceeding., but were effectually defeated. Mr. John
Brooks bad consented to occupy the chair, and he
opened the meeting, by declaring his own convictions to
be is favour of univerml suffrage—a declaration which was
received by deafening cheers—though he was willing, for
the sake of union, to stop at household suffrage, at present.
Household suffrage, he thought, might do very well for the
country towns at present ,• but for Manchester, and other
large towns, he regretted this concession, because it would
rieceasarily exclude from the suffrage many thousands of
young men is lodgers, employed as warehousemen, sales-
men, clerks, and shopmen, who were clever, well-educated,
prudent persons, as capable of properly exercising the fran-
chise as any men in the country. (Neer, hear.)
Iffr. J. C. DTER, a retired manufacturer, and one of the
oldest reformers in Manchester, rose to move the first resolu-
tion, and said : At the time of the agitation for the Reform
Bill I strongly protested against the senseless limitation im-
plied by the cry of " The bill, the whole bill, and nothing
but the bill," but I and my friends went with the popular
will to get as much as we could, and accept the bill as one
step, though by no means as a substantial or satisfactory one,
is the march towards a proper representation of the people.
The bill, however, his proved a much smaller and far less
beneficial measure than was expected. The present House
of Commons is nearly as corrupt, as much prone to a selfish
overnment, to a government for class interests, and not
for the interest of the people, as was the original cor-
rupt and vile House of Commons pretending to be
the representatives of the people before the palm-
ing of the Reform Bill. (Hear and cheers.) It is high
Luse then that we reformed the Reform Bill. We want an
beam bill, which shall give the people the power of sending
representatives into the House of Commons, who shall really
represent the interests of the commonalty, and not act as a
rutallau,e of Lordse-consliting of officers of the army and
”7„,Yi and tilled numbers of the aristocracy. Out of the
ws members it would be impossible to select 100 who h... e
rt adily add uniformly adhered to parliamentary reform.
The corn it% were a grand robbery, and if, instead of mi.
kdat for their repeal only, we had at ones taken up the

question of parliamentary reform, all those
the protection of one common intareit.woula have
as a matter of course through the legislation of a
body of men elected by the people. (Hear, hear.)
Elected rulers are the only sort of rulers who can
be safely treated with the interests of the people; all others
carry on the government for their own benefit, not for that
of the people. If it cost us one, two, or ten years, we ought
toperserre till the great national object of parliamentary
rennin is aocomplishsd. We complain of the unjust and op-
pressive taxation. How is it to be remedied when the parties
who ley the taxes are benefitted by their increased amount, I
and by their misapplication when collected ? The remedy
exists in placing the power of the House of Commons in the
hands of representatives fairly and truly elected by the voice
of the people. This is to be, not a party, but a national
movement; and by the honesty with which it would be corn
ducted, it ought to draw all that highly-intelligent and nu-
merous class, the chartists, to aid in its promotion.
We have carried the removal of the 'bum, in
corn and other monopolies; but of all mosopelies the
monopoly- of rights is the basest and most mischievous.
It is clear that men should not be taxed, but things; and
that not things should be represented, but men. (Hear.)
This has been reversed with us, however. We have taxed
men ; we have made the taxes to fell upon the people, and
not upon the property of the nation. AU this will be cured
when we get an honest House of Commons, and we shell
have no occasion to agitate for a just system of taxation, of
education, or for taking off restrictions on free trade, for all
thus things will come u a matter et course. Mr. Dyer
concluded by moving :
That, In the opinion of this meeting, the present Howe of Commons
has, by its recent decisions on mteritlons of taxation and expenditure.
forfeited the condo-nee of the people, and that no antelioration of
their condition can be expected, and no permanent tranquillity exist,
until the industrious dmes are relieved front their oppresai re bur-
dens, and property made to contribute its Just proportion of the
taxes. (Loudebeers.)
Mr. A. ritENTICE seconded the motion, observing that if
the passage in it declaring the meeting had no confidence in
the House of Commons could be construed into contempt of
that body it would bring them under the provisions of the
new bill, for "open and advised speaking;" but he as-
sured the government they were not going to commit sedi-
tion. A stronger word than contempt would more fitly ex-
press their opinion of the present House of Commons—
, ("hear," and applause) —but they only said that the house
had forfeited thin. confidence ; and for himself that was not
much, because he had very little confidenee to forfeit.
(Laughter and cheers.) The Grey administration promised
them peace, retrenchment, and reform, and how hail they
carried it out ? As regarded peace, we only had it at a cost
of ten millions a year more than we paid before the promi,e;
as for the next promise, the proceediugs of the present ses-
sion 'hewed them resisting every proposition for retrench-
ment; and as to reform, that promise had been met by the
present premier with a proposition for finality. (Cheers.)
It was true that the movement of the Anti-Corn-Lam
League had shown that reforms might be übtented ens
from such a House of Commons as we had ; but it was M
too great a cost of time and money to be resorted to on every
occasion. People who w. re growing grey could ill brook a
delay which might bring reforms so late that there was no
prospect they would participate in them. Therefore the
feeling for the House 01 Commons he had alluded to was not
contempt but ineignation. (Cheers.) And the time was
coming when it wound have to he turned out. lie did not say
it would be kicked out, but they would receive what the
landlord gave sometimes to a bad tenant a " no-
tice to quit." (Laughter.) It would be an eject-
ment, hut without any violence. (Laughter.) He
eharactc rist d a system of representation by which
1.50,000 electors amongst 20,000,000 of people returned the
majority of representatives an absurdity; aid going himself
to the length'ef universal suffrage, he said it war nut, by the
present movement, intended to stand in the way of any
man's rights to a more just system. It would be absurd for
any set of men to say they would extend the franchise no
farther. Nu sat of men had the TWA to assume the power
to say so; and any extension of this kind that might he had,
therefore, could only be looked at as a step to a further and
full concession of every men's right to a vete tor his repre-
sentatives. (Cheers.)
Mr. .1. Werra supported the resolution, and inked what
would he thought of a private society that should be formed,
at which the managers addressed the members and said cer-
tain only of them would be allowed to exercise a vote or a
control over the mausgement ? Yet that was what was
virtually said to society at large by our present gurerrhirs,
and he recommended them as a better way of quieting the
people and curing sedition, that they should give them their
rights. If that were done we should not have men brought up
before the magistrates for selling short swords and guns, and
as for pikes, the only ones caught iu Ireland would be those
caught in the Shannon. (Cheers and laughter.) The motion
was carried unanimously.
Mr. Was. Beam a merchant, moved :
That, in order to counteract the ruinous effects of pauperism and
erilneconorquesi won the extravagance and imbecility of ariateetatic
governments, a further measure of reform, contestant of a wide ex-
ten.ion of the franchise, equal electocil districts, vote by bollot, and
shorter duration of parliaments, is imperatively &mottled to meet the
exigenciee of the noses. Loud cheers.)
Mr. Councillor II eywooo seconded the motion, and Mr.
Vincent was about to support it, when
Mr. E. C. Citorren, a chartist, claimed a right 'o propose
an amendment, and was received with great disapprobation,
bat, on the request of Mr. Vincent and the chairman, he
was allowed to proceed, and iii a few sentences he submitted
an amendment for universal suffrage and the other Mee
points of the charter.
Mr. (.1. U. Sat ria seconded the motion, and called upon
the meeting not to bend to expediency but to grant justice.
Mr. VINCENT supported the motion, and urged upon the
meeting that whatever its opinions might be about house-
hold suffrage, or the household and lodger suffrage,
it was the true policy of every chartist, where he
cannot entirely concur, to keep quiet. The advocates of
these movements are men at any rate (he continued)
sneaking away from the whig party, from that power which
hair hitherto prevented the question of the franchise from
making any way amongst us. (Loud cheers.) When
once the steam is thoroughly gut up in this country,
men will get bolder. The shy man who is now afraid
to look at universal suffrage, may be brought to
touch it and feel it ; and therefore I would advise you to go
on, not interfering with and objecting to the movement of
the middle clam, but trying by lectures, speeches, deputa-
tions, and quiet argumentative means, to convince the
middle class that what they called household suffrage was
not so sato and just a franchise as universal suffrage. There
has been a large meeting of all classes at Leicester, and
no amendment was moved, although many of the speakers
were chartists. Their resolution, like aura to-night, was in
favour of a wide extension of the franchise ; nothing else was
included, because they wanted to convict the present House
of Commons of inconsistency, if they refused to inquire
into the present representative system. Sir Jeehua
Walmsli y said that the parliamentary rtform party
was quite willing to define household suffrage as meaning
any man who occupied anything called a tenement. That
is going much fester than they appear to do in the outset,
and will not be far from universal suffrage. Now, though
I am an universal suffrage man, I have no right to prevent
them forming an msociation to further their own views. Let
me ask the chartists here what victory they will gain, sup-
posing they carry their amendment ? (Loud cheers.) The
government would rejoice to see a division which should
keep the middle classes effectually from your aid. He asked
the chartists to beware how they attempted to drive the
middle classes back to whiggery.
A Mr. MITCHELL proposed another amendment to the
effect that no property qualification was deeirable.
After some discusssion, the Chairman put the question,
when the amendments were negatived, and the original
motion carried by a great majority. The meeting then
broke up.

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