The Express.
London, England, 1853-04-18 00:00:00

ANTI-MAT-TAX AGITATION.

On Saturday last a meeting was held at the Red
Lion !lota, Catubri,l?.e, to coasit.er the expediency of pe-
titioning parliament for a total r:peal of the malt and hop
duties. The E trl of Ilardwirke, Lord-Lieutenant of the
County, presided, and took the chair shout half-past 1
o'clock. _ _

The Earl of lin la/WIC/LE having addressed the meeting
at great length on the subject of agricultural taxation,
Mr. iIICKB (Wilbraham Temple), denounced the malt
taxes part of a bad system of excise, which was injurious
to every class, and concluded by moving, " That the House
of Commons having decided that unrestricted co:npeti:ion
is to be the future policy of this country, this meeting,
without assenting to the wisdom or justice of such de
is of opinion that such policy, it persisted in, should be
fully carried out."
Mr. JONA,; (leis:oton), in seconding the resolution, ar-
gued in favour of the levy of duties upon the importation
of foreign produce, but failing is the obtainment of these,
he maintained that the agriculturists should endeavour to
obtain justice by a reduction of texition.
Mr. BENNETT (Trumpingtou, late of Lewsey), advocated
the repeal of the tux as a measure of justice to the farmer
and labourer, and a boon to the community at large, and
proposed That this meeting is therefore of opinion that
it is unjust and oppressive longer to levy from our native
produce one-fourth of the general reve:.ue of the country;
and, regarding the malt tux as injudiciously interfering
with the profitable cultivation of the laud, and alike inju.
riot's to the comforts and the wants of the working classes,
pledges itself to use every means to obtain a total repeal of
the malt and hop duties.'
Mr. Cuoehge (New Barns, Ely) seconded the resolution.
Mr. OtILAU (Whittlesforil) moved, and Mr. WELLS
(Waterbeach) seconded, the third resolution :—" That peti-
tions for a total repeal of the malt and hop dutiA be pre-
sented to the House of Lards by tho lord lieutenant of the
county, and to the House of Commons by the county
members."

The res,,lutions were all carried unanimously.
A vote of thaoks wu then passed to the chairman, nod
the meeting separated.

ARTISTS' GENERAL BENEVOLENT

INSTITUTION.

The thirty-eighth anniversary festival of this in-
stitution was held on Saturday at the Freemasons' Tavern.
Earl GRANVILLZ was in the chair, and was supported by a
very numerous company, among whom were
.Sir Charles
Eastlake, P.R.A., Sir W. MO!, ILA., Mr. D. Roberts,
R.A., Mr. Cockerill, ft A., Mr. Uwins, It.A , Mr. Cook,
A.R.A., Mr. Mosby Wyatt, Mr. Mason, &c. &c.
The Artists' General Benevolent Institution was founded
in 1811, and its object is to " extend relief to distressed me-
ritorious artists, whether subscribers to its fund+ or not,
whose works have been generally known and esteemed by
the public, as well as to their widows and orphans ; merit
and distress constituting the claims to its benevolence."
From the establishment of the society to December, 1852,
1,340 donations have been granted in sums amounting in
the aggregate to 15,2031., and in the past year no less than
fifty-six persons have b. en assisted with sums ranging from
501. to 51.
. .

The CHAIRMAN, in proposing the usual loyal toasts,
stated that Prince Albert had sent him a letter enclosing a
donation of Mi., and expressing Ha great sympathy in the
success of the society.
The NOBLE Loam, in proposing the" Army and Navy,"
amidst much merriment, rolled on Mr. Mason, formerly
of the City Volunteers, and Mr. Phillips, formerly of the
City Light Horse, to respond for the army; and on Mr.
Cook, A.R.A, on account of his acquaintance with marine
subjects ; and Mr. Roberts, R.A., who must have some
knowlede of the Venetian navy, to acknowledge the com-
pliment paid to the navy.
His LORDOHIP, in proposing prosperity to the Artists'
General Benevolent Institution, said that he did not think
it necessary to overlay a subject which spoke to much for
itself, by any long speech of his. It would be presumptu-
ous in him to deal in commonplaces with regard to the
value and progress of art in this country, and the estimation
in which its professors ought to be held. As regardeth this
particular institution Le thought that it would be more
effectual than anything he could himself say, if he referred
to an opinion eat nailed by that eminent statesman and
patron of art, the late Sir Robert Peel, when presiding
over its anniversary festival. That right hon. gentleman
then showed that he had made himself master of the
operations and character of the society ; its mode of ad-
ministering relief and the manner in wich its accounts
were kept, and he stated that it was a model for institutions
of the kind, and he eulogised the principle on which it was
founded. in admitting tho double claims of merit and dis-
tress. (Hear, hear.) In looking over the accounts, he
(Lord Granville) was glad to find that there had been an in-
crease in the receipts of 2001., and that the number of
artists relieved had been reduced &cm 24 to 11, and the
assistance rendered had been principally confined to widows
and daughters of professional men. The diminution in the
number of artists requiring relief was gratifying, as it
showed the increasing prosperity of the professors of art in
this country. The noble lord, in noticing that the first
person on the list of those receiving relief was the widow of
an eminent landscape painter, strongly urged the claims of
those who might be left in distressed circumstances by
artists, who, probably from no fault of their own, but from
an inaptitude to the management of the common affairs of
life, arising from the nature of their pursuit, requiring as it
did a delicate organisation and a powerful imacination,
were often unable to provide as they wished for their
families.

Several other toasts were proposed, including that of the
chairman, who in responding to it took occasion to allude
to a recent article in a morning journal condemnatory of the
practice of public dinners in relation to:charitable institu-
tions, and expressed an opinion that though open to tome im-
provement 'hey were peculiarly adapted to the habits of
Englishmen, and, on:the whole, he believed contributed
largely to the funds of such institutions. The noble lord
gave very amusing description of two public dinners he
had attended abroad, one at Pesth, in Hungary, on the cc-
casioa of the opening of a railway, and the other, the dinner
given in Paris to the commissioners of the Great Exhibi-
tion, at which a very stuaßquantity of time was consumed;
and he suggested a plan which was there adopted of shorten-
ing the proceedings at public dinners by having the music
by which they were now enlivened, performed after they
were over.

The toast of the Royal Academy was acknowledged by Sir
Charles Eastlake, who stated that a euggestion which had
been made by the late Sir Robert Peel for the admission of
engravers to all the honours of the Royal Academy had been
adopted, and they would for the future be admitted to the
hi heat honours of that body. (Cheers.)
The toasts of the " British Institution, and all societies
established for the promotion of the fine arts;" "The
artists annuity and benevolent funds" (a kindred institu-
tion) ; " The officers of this society,",&c.—folli.twi d and the
company separated after a most successful celsbration of the
anniversary.
A sum of nearly GOOl. was collected.

TUE RETARDED ArSTRALIAN MAIL.—The mail
for Australia, returned to this country from the ship
Orestes at Lisbon in the Peninsular mail packet on Friday
fast, was forwarded t) Southar3 atun frAn the (-4,neral Post-
olfi, on Satyr :ay, to ba pat en talr 1 ;IgtArra-
limn ship Wi"i2ol2 Stewart. The mail con,istcd catirdy of
newspapers. There wort Wracks of them, and the number
of newspapers they contained was nearly 15,001. The
whole of them were for Adelaide.