The Express.
London, England, 1849-03-29 00:00:00

FINANCIAL REFORM.

PUBLIC MEETING AT SHEFFIELD.

A public mccHng of the Sheffield Financial Re-
form Society ass held in the Tows-hall on Tuesday evening,
in support of Kr. Cobden's efforts to obtain a reduction of
the national expenditure. It. Illotav, Req., la the chair.
The CHAIRMAN, is opening** eseetiog, recommended
that them who bad pt votes should coats forward and join
that @misty, in ceder that they might obtain increased con-
trol over the affairs of the state. Even those who had no
vote' would not be without their influence, bemuse that so-
MeV had its annual election, and the members might ap-
point sash a committee es they pleased; sad, if a large
numb= of Med= and etat-e!ertorn
would have something to sty at the next talCitOU Oath for ins
borough and the °mai. He did not mean that that society
would be able to dictate members either for the borough or
county ; but nth a body of men, energetic, and knowing
what they meant, and meaning nothing bat what woe tight,
would peeress very conolstrable weight In future denims
If the society became numerous they would be better able
also to defray the expenses of public meetings, which at pre-
sent fell upon a few very heavily. If they were to main-
tain independent action they must not go, cap in hand,
to a few rich men, and say, " Will you pay the expenses ?"
for those who paid on these occasions would expect their
views to be followed, and those views might not be satiate.-
tory to the many. The many must therefore conic for-
ward, and place themselves in en independent position for
the free expression of their own political opinions. He
could not shut his eye to the feet that our two members did
not at Present repreeent the great body of the people of
Sheffield. (Applause.) It must not be supposed, be-
cause they called that meeting .to consider the subject of
finsacial reform, that that society was indifferent to ether
treat qu-stions of reform, such as the bel*et, the extension of
the suffrage, due.; hut it wee Mr. Cobden's advise, and the
plan permed by meet statesmen when they wished toenails
an object, to do one thing at a time. At present their
friends in the Hones of Commons only numbered between
00 and 70, and if they wished to support them they must do
it by scieie•ifii sad means like those, and by keeping to that
question which their leaders advised them at that time to
pursue. Their friends last year attempted to extend the
maser., but they wens not hardly responded to. The
question of financial reform bad, however, been responded
to, and be called upon them to unite Ml their efforts, at the
present moment, for financial reform. if they obtained
that, they would be sb's t proceed upon other important
questions, such as the putting an end to that worst of all
herrors—war. The best means of preventing war would be
for there to be no armies end, indeed, it was very seldom
that there was anything worth fighting about. Supported
as they were by good principles, and having right and rea-
son before them, they would not fail to succeed in their ob-
jets. (hOPlaus•
Kr. Counselor .1. BITCHING moved—

That the expenditure of oar government has progressively in.
mooed until it has greatly exceeded what is necessary or reasonable;
that It fosters abases mad corruption in department of the pub.
lie service, and le employed to =Main M pulley which are
Mame and absurd. That to movide kw that expmdlture taxes are
perpetuated width ere negint, bardeniamm windmill, and impolitic
thet maims powerful literate are mooed to such a change as would
give to the 'pantry my effectual relief izd it I. therefore on-emery
Met people should unite to secure, a diffusion of knowledge
and the 'steamiest M their own right politics' power, an honest
and wise atimialetration of the nation! Mumma.

Mr. Kirching.said that It struck him, while sitting there,
that that ineeia.4 differLd in character from most pub-
lic meetiogs they were allowed to attend; for the ob-
ject of most public meetings was to induce the audience
to put their hands in their packets and take numbing
out, whi`e the object of that member was to induce
people to keep what they had in their pockets, for he was
quite conviseed that the national tax-zatherer dips far too
frequently and for too deeply into the pockets of the people.
He was coaviaced that the expenditure of the country had
grown to such an 11110,1120 US extent, that if it was allowed to
go on at the PIN rate, they would not be able to support it.
The pressure had been applied to such • degree that a stop
must he put to it before long. The screw had been turned eo
tight that there was danger that • few mere turns would
break the worm. At the same time he did not blame the
government exclailrely for MI .. A etweiderable part of the
Mme—U blame there were—lay with the people them-
selves ; for they did ant Mew their own power ; or, if they
Mt know it, they had not on all onsamiess coma forward
voluntarily to we It. There was abandon evidence of this In
mu own town ; for he had may time lima informed that it
was a very difficult thing to get a petition numerously
signed even in Sheffield. It was well known that pet:-
timiag the Moue of Cannons was one of the greatest
pridieges die people piessemed, and, generally, the more
aimmeedy a
of
INS signed the amore weight it would
haw with the ef Cremenoi bat in Sheffield they
mil ass getup a pedalos widearimil signed unities eon-
Wise* span was issnised. This semasiderablc part of
die limo soled with the people flmesaves. Just let them
Whet*, piles in wile mmendiars of the government
IMO pimeed. Poessesed, as they were, of extensive
palienses.satrounded by politisai felmile, flatterers, fawners,
and applicants fur plasm and /emotions of every
kind and degree, they must Ind it estressely difficult to
make a stand upon purity of prinepia. Imagine Lord
John Russell rehudog a person in whom he felt much inte-
rested a shuttles or place for whisk he applied. Rus-
sell says, " No; we have already diaposed of es mach
public money me I think we ought.' The applicant says,
" Why, r then have dohs it before you ; the people are
not 'rambling or grudging the money • and the situa-
tion Ia given to him. It was dear that In the lives of all
private Individuals there were periods when they found it
necesiaty to stand and reflect upon their past conduct. So
it was with regard to governments. They went creeping on
from one degree of extravagance to another. till no one
knew where they would stop, if the people did not protest
makat their r xtravagance ; and it was now high time that
the people lifted up their voice 'Oast any further wute of
the public money
as In 1831, ac to the census then
taken, the tioa of this country w about 24,000,000,
including ,000,000 or 8,000,000 as the population of Ire-
land. At the present time, the population might fairly be
taken at 30,000,000. If, then, 10,000,0001. would govern
21,000,000 people, hew much money would it fake to govern
30,000,000 people ? The expenditurelmd increased 8,000,0001,
and the population about 6,600,000, *bleb was little more
thanone-fourth monikers the population in 1831. 24,000,0001.
was to 16,000,0001. as 3to 2; an that whilst the population
had increared only from 24.000,000 to 30,000,000, which
was as 4 to 6, the expenditure had increased from
16,000,0001. to 24.0000001., which was as 2 to 3.
Whilet the population had increased 25 per cent., the ex-
penditure had increased 60 per cent. Now, allowing that
the expenditure might increase inpropoelioa to the 'opals-
tion, 30,000,000 people might to that
argument, take 20,000,0001. to govern Ilrecnratifes there
was • margin still of 4,000,0001. Wily did the government
require 4,000,0001. more than the peoportiosate {mom of
=etu would allow them 1 Some maid, again, that our
had incremed, ant that they required larger and
more extensive setablishments to govern them. It was tree
ear pelages had increased. He hoped they would all cordi-
ally pprt the temptation he had just read, and which
eat in • short and terse form, the substance of all he
had said. (Cheers.)
fir. T. P. FLINT, of Ludo, seconded the motion, and
alluded to the position of Sheffield in having two la-
thes who were members of the goverment, and some-
wady deprived of their political independence. He advised
them by every means in their power to provide themselves
with the suffrege ' • berme it was only by the power if
voting that they could effectually costrol the Hoes, of Caw
SWIM He quite weed with the palsy of doing one thin
at a lime in earr rem. This que.tion of
!lamella reform was somested with rho wise government of
the ealseim, with the dievaispetet at limey, he
ezompties k crime and pregadm, stireakmwithailt of
Mehl mail truthora and knowledge Ilreaghent Hs
Itr. Ommeilkx IRONBIDE mid, ihe pesple of SWIM
bad disarmed that they parsed the of control ovr
the hal Inallisa, and they were to think that
thozdelst: have some power me So Meaty eigandiesse,
diet it is levied upon the peer ratan Wiese
the real =pram., they were goingiarearrierl
rsffine naked eapeaditure. The expenditure
sear Shashi by those new barracks was both maltrotri
mit aandled-for. During ell the excitement of last year,
in Ifinellisid—radical Sheffield—the ratepayers were not put
$ the es t of an additional al:penes for the preservation of
tinsmea. (Applause.)
Thelestioa was curled unanimously.
Kr. R. LEADER, jun., moved the adoption of a petition,)
to he signed by the chairmaa on behalf of the eeting, for
preimtatioa to the Ham of Commons, prayin mg
for Sunda
mohelm.
lb. Councillor ISAAC SCHOFIELD, in seconding the
modes, enteral into • variety of details bearing upon the
entrargenes in the public expenditure. To day, be said,'
hire sees the government document which we have hem em
endow to obtain In the town council for the sake of mead
bilimidien. I will tell you what he been awarded u
WOO= le bar parties connected with the Mee
memseirl eemls of Bpelfi.l4, who lost their sine
he sursymorm of the paring of the County Coale Ad.
leis., Ilausdisjip had murensatioa awarded te him to Ile
mme et SW Is. M. aamelly ; Kr. Greenwood. a silar
11.11110 1101. h 11.; Kr. John Parker,
IsIK 4.4 Mr. Barker, a submits' Me is the semi
ISM lb. 4d, making Isgether the maul sailliaA'
117761. 10e. &I (Shame.) 'Simla be imineed of Wades
I did sot say that Mr. Jahn Parker is es disisereard that
be Is. set intend topsail a pinny of that eorapeamdea
2s he retains his ells la INILM3IOII with the Treasury,
harm hint in 2,6001. a year.
CHAIRMAN said he rattly thought that Mr. Palm
bed est a very noble example. Whether he was overpaid as
to the Thum
orsat he (the Chairman) did not
2.7:42at any rate it was greatly to his credit that while
he wee reesivingpsyheibeing that work, he bad the hearty
not Is like saw fir sentesewlikth he did not render.
A vote of Masks Is the ehateman closed the proordings.