The Express.
London, England, 1866-07-03 00:00:00

ADJOURNMENT OF THE HOUSE.-THE RANK
RATE.

Mr. CHILDEItS moved the adjournment of the house
until Thursday next.
Mr. WATKIN craved the permission of the house to
nay half-a-dosen words on a subject so deeply affecting the
trade and commerce of the country as not to permit
ef its standing over a day. (Hear, hear.) They were then in
the inconvenient position of having no government,
except that her Majesty's ministers held that position de
facto until their successors were appointed. The Chancellor
of the Exchequer was not present, but the whole trade of
the country was inquiring whether the letter of the right
lon. gentleman to the Bank of England was to remain un-
modified with fifteen millions of bullion in that establish-
ment, and twenty-six millions in the Bank of France. He
wanted to know whether in such a state of things the Bank
rate was to remain at 10 per cent. (Hear, hear.) He was
lorry the Chancellor of the Exchequer was not present to
answer on a subject which was exciting so much lIDOSZ/11011
and creating so much inconvenience. It might have been
fair to allow the Bank to hoist the storm signal in time of
danger, but surely it was not to remain up after the
dance
had passed. He thought the matter so important thTIV:
should suggest the ad' ant to be fixed for to-morrow
(this day) instead of Thursday, so as togive the Chancellor
of the Exchequer the opportunity of irn friug some explana-
tion on the subject of the letter.
Mr. CHILDERS said it was distinctly understood in
fixing the meeting of parliament for that day that no busi-
ness, except such as was purely pro forma, should be taken.
Re (Mr. Childers) could therefore express no opinion on
the subject started by the hon. member, nor could the
Chancellor of the Exchequer, had he been present.

THE PROPOSED MEETING IN TRAFALGAR-
SQUARE.
Mr. D. GRIFFITH asked the Home Secretizy whether
he was aware that the meeting recently held in Trafalgar-
square had been adjourned to that evening, and if so,
'ether the right hon. gentleman and the police bad taken
steps calculated to preserve the peace on the occasion.
Sir G. GREY—Yes, sir, they have. (Loud laughter.)
The house adjourned at twenty minutes part four o'clock.

GREAT REFORM DEMONSTRATION.

An immense outdoor meeting, under the auspices
of the National Reform League was held last night JAI
Trafalgar-square. The statements in the morning papers
that the police intended to suppress the meeting, and the
circulation during the day of placards calling upon the
men et London to attend, in ceder to " uphold Gladstone
and liberty, and vindicate the right of public meeting,"
probably tended to increase the attendance. Al-
though the meeting was fixed for eight o'clock, there
were over a thousand persons in and about the square at
seven, and by half-part the number had doubled. Many
expressed their surprise at the absence of the large bodies
of police they had expected to see, the only representa-
tives of Scotland-yard being the two men who usually
occupy the " best." The open spaces in the square were
rapidly occupied, and by a quarter to eight there
were not fewer than 20,000 persons within the radius
of which the Nelson monument is the centre. The steps
of St. Martin's church, the porch of the National Gallery,
and the windows of the hotels to the right, and houses to
the left, were filled with spectators of a miscellaneous cha-
racter, while immediately surrounding the monument
some thousands of respectably dressed artisans were
massed. Before, during, and after the proceedings these
men, without exception, conducted themselves with as
mach decorum and intelligence as the frequenters of any
public meeting that takes place. About an eighth of
the aasembly, as might be expected, was composed
of raw youths and "roughs." Feuding the arrival of the
leaders of the meeting, the crowd engaged in quiet dis-
cussions amongst themselves, in the reading of
newspapers, and in a little occasional denunciation
of obnoxious men and measures. The largeness
of the congregation hastened the commencement of the
business, and as soon as Mr. E. Beale', the President of the
League, and his supporter., arrived, the speaking began
without let or hindrance. Shortly after a procession,
headed by a brass band, arrived from Hoxton, and a
little later another procession from Clerkenwell. The
latter carried crimson silk banners, with reform mottoes
inscribed upon them. Other flags, borne apparently by
independent parties, were displayed during the evening,
bearing such inscriptions as " Vox populi vox Dei ;"
or "No toryism ;" or " Gladstone and the people."
It was necessary to bold three separate meetings,
one under the Nelson monument, and two at
corners of the square. Looking from the base of
the monument white hew could be seen upturned
in every direction, and the dimensions of the gathering,
reaching at its height perhaps more than 30,000, together
with the subdued and earnest behaviour of the bond-fide
meeting, created impressions that must have been striking,
if not affecting, to all who witnessed the assembly.
As the concourse was too large for the practical purposes
of speech-making to two-thirds of the audience, the pro.
ceedinp must have been little more than dumb show.
The speakers soon shouted themselves hoarse, and the
densely packed hearers soon got too tired to pay absorb-
ing attention ; added to this, the general murmur of the
crowd, the cheers from the other meetings, and the distant
rumble of vehicles, made it evident that the speaking
would be the least successful portion of the programme.
Mr. Bealea told the working men ho was glad they, who
were said by their enemies to have placed London in a
state of siege, had by this meeting put it out of the
power of anyone to say for the future that the artisans
did not care for reform. He explained that he had re-
solved to attend the meeting, because he had been given to
understand that the police had determined to stop them,
but be had during the afternoon received the following
letter from Sir It. Mayne, the commissioner of police :

The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis has to
acquaint the president or chairman of the public meeting
announced to beheld this evening in Trafalgar-square that the
police have instructions not to prevent or in any way in-
terfere with the holding of the meeting in • peaceable and
quiet manner. But should bodies of persons proceed
together through the streets in such • manner that their
number, noise, demeanour, or language, will be calculated
to cause a breach of the peace, or excite terror and alarm
in the minds of her Majesty's subjects, it will become the
duty of the police to prevent, and if necessary put a stop
to such proceedings, and apprehend any persons en-
couraging or assisting at them.
The mention of the commissioner of the police was re-
ceived with hisses, the announcement of his determination
with loud cheers, and the reference to " terror and alarm"
with such prolonged laughter that Mr. Beides could not at
once proceed. Raving read the letter, he reminded the
meeting that the working men of England were on their
trial ; that they had been grossly and persistently, in-
sulted ; and that their duty was, while answer-
ing their calumniators by magnanimity and for-
bearance, resolutely to insist upon their share in
the franchise. The next speaker was Mr. Lucraft, who
implored his fellow working men to carry on their
agitation with • temperate firmness that must in the
end ensure success. Mr. Osborne, Mr. McGilchrist, Mr.
J. B. Langley, Mr. Mantel, and Mr. Brsdlaugh, were the
succeeding speakers. Their laudation of Earl Russell
Mr. Gladstone, or Mr. Bright was loudly cheered :
the mention of Mr. Lowe and Lord Elcho pro-
voked hisses and groans. Two resolutions were passed
unanimously, and with much applause. The first declared
that the present franchise was a mockery of the principles
of the constitution, and that the " factious and class oppo-
sition offered by twits and sham liberals to the late mode-
rate Reform Bill, together with the injurious and insulting
language used towards the working classes," rendered
household and lodger, or full manhood suffrage imperative,
The second resolution thanked and eulogised Lord Russell
and Mr. Gladstone, regretted their retirement from the
ministry, and hoped for their speedy return to office. A
vote of thanks having been passed to the president, two or
three speakers urged all persona present to go quietly
home, without making any further demonstration. Colonel
Dickson and Mr. Brooks were amongst the speakers at the
other meetings.
The majority took the advice that bad been tendered,
and left the square, dispersing in different directions.
About a thousand, however, went in a body to Carlton-
house-terrace, and halted before Mr. Gladstone's house,
shouting his name and cheering, but the utter absence of
light in the windows had the effect of damping the enthu-
siasm. A general movement was then made to Pall-mall,
and a halt was called at the Reform Club. Loud cheers
were given, and two or three members appearing at the
window leaving their pocket handkerchiefs the applause
was intensified, while a crowd of spectators, exceeding
those actually engaged in the demonstration, gathered
on the opposite pavement. A few steps brought
the crowd to the Carlton Club, and hisses and groans were
given with energy. A score of young members,
chiefly in evening dress, Hocked out to the steps, and ap-
peared to be " chaffing " those nearest the door. This
caused considerable excitement. Several lads leaped to
the top of the short walls and shouted into the windows,
the doorway was literally besieged, and what with the
crowd and the accumulation of cabs and carriages the
streets were soon impassable. The uproar continued for
over half an hour, but not • policeman was to be seen.
Three or four guards with fixed bayonets, marching along to
relieve their brethren, were at first hooted, the suppo-
sition being that they were come to clear the etrests,
but the mistake was soon discovered and laughed at. A
section of the crowd proceeded to Lord Elcho's, but they
were prevented from entering the street by a strong force
of police. Thus baulked, they returned to the Carlton,
delivered • few parting groans, cheered Mr. Gladstone as
they passed his house, and then, somewhere about eleven
o'clock, left the neighbourhood in peace. It is only right
to state that the persons composing this crowd were not of
the working men who had met in Trafalgar-square. They
appeared to be lads of 18 or 19 and labourers, who were
determined to use the phraseology of the reformers for the
purposes of fun and excitement. They had been evidently
on the outskirts of the meeting, for before it was dissolved
they had started for Mr. Gladstone's. The efforts of the
leaders of the demonstration to persuade the working men
connected with the League to abstain from any such pro-
ceeding were quite successful.

REFORM DEMONSTRATION ♦T LnicanYßß.—We
learn by telegraph that a reform demonstration took place
last night in the Market-place, Leicester. Twenty thousand
persons were present. Resolutions were purred condemn-
ing a tory administration, expressing confidence in
Lord Russell's government, and recommending continuous
agitation. At the dose cheers were given for Lord 12-isseU,
Mr. Gladstone, Mr. Bright, and the borough members.

SOUTH KENSINGTON MIIBIMII. ,I'ISULOTS during
the week ending 30th June, 1866. On Monday, Tuesday,
and Saturday, free, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., 8,196 ; on
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday (admission 6d.) from
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 1,760 ; National Portrait Exhibition
by payment, 2,5'94—t0ta1, 12,561. Average of correspond-
ing week in former years, 11,318—total from the opening
of the museum, 6,135,624.