The Express.
London, England, 1866-08-28 00:00:00

THZ GREAT REFORM DEMONSTRATION
AT BIRMINGHAM.

The great open-air demonstration at Birmingham
in favour at putiaawndatl reform took place yesterday. It
was in every reaped a names, and well worthy the cha-
racter of the town which organised the Politics' Union,
and called forth the raceether gatherings of 1830, 1831,
and 1832. The mat assembly its origin—evel•
thing connected with the arednee of it—all the arrange.
meats, and the prefect discipline maintained throughout,
was the result of combined action and co-operation
ammo< the waking men under the auspices of the Re.
Ism Levee. The Liberal Association cordially ap-
-proved the movement, and some of the principal members
of it gave the benefit of their counseL
Soon after the vote of the Rouse of Commons which
resulted In the retirement of the late ministry, it was
determined that a demonstration of this kind should
take plake ; in order that the true sentiments of the mass
of the people of this town should be fully known, and
that the people in other parte of the country might be in-
duced to kindred action. Whatever may be the effect in
that respect, it is quite certain that more magnificent
demonstration than that of yesterday has never been wit-

named.
Soon after 9 o'clock in the morning the teeming pope.
lation began to muster for the " rally ;" the divisions
from the auxiliary branches of the Reform League in the
district came in early. Coventry, Oldbury, Smithwick,
West Breland* Dudley, Nuneaton, Bikton, udder-
minster, Stourbridge, Kingenorton, Stafford, and Waver
atampton, all ountsibensd to the gathering multitude. At
nearly all the manufactories work was abandoned for the
day, the various trade societies and co-operative societies
a of every class joined heartily and spontaneously in the
movement, and no element to mar success was interposed
i from any quarter.
' A few minutes before twelve o'clock the Mayor (Mi
Edwin Yates) arrived at the central rendezvous, the Town-
:4ol His unship was received with applause, ae were
also Mr. Bright, Mr. Sthelefield, Mr. Edmond Beales,
Mr. Mason jean, sad other leaders of the popular party,
who followed. A preliminary conference between the
• joint committees of the Reform League and the Liberal
dasocistion was man afterwards held, but no business of
mportance was transacted.
' Meanwhile the streets were filling rapidly with an eager
but orderly crowd. It had been arranged that the prone-
• 'ion should move in az divisions—the first to consist of
. the great body employed at the Metropolitan and other
carriage building works, and the Birmingham jewellers ;
• the second oomprised the Mayor, the borough members,
the aldermen and town councillors, the members of the
Liberal Animation and of the Reform League ; the third,
of the auxiliary branches of the Reform League ; the
(earth, the Birmingham and district trade societies ; the
fifth, the temperance societies ; and lastly, the friendly
and other societies. They were to move from six different
points, and rendezvous at the Town-hall. To marshal
such a mighty body as was assembling required some skill,
and could not have been done in the narrow streets sad
avenues of a town but for the spirit of order and discipline
shown by the closely packed crowds who lined the
way. By • quarter to one o'clock Mr. Glossop, the
chief of police, had got his array into order and marching
trim. There was a long line of carriage, in • narrow
street by the side of the Town-hall, in which some
of the principal guests took seats, and they did so
without the least delay and inconvenience. A few
minutia before am o'clock the procession started. A
mounted fore* of the police was in attendance to preserve
the line ; but the people did that for themselves. The
route taken was through the principal thoroughfares, and
the distance Unversed to Brookfield was about two miles
end a quarter. Throughout the whole of that space, and
every avenue leading to it, was one dense mass of people;
every window, and parapet, and balcony, was alive with
life. Fromevery window streamed gay colours, blue greatly
=indenting. There were scores of banners of the
societies, many bends of music playing, and
every accessory to produce a scene which it would be very
difficult to describe. The entry of Kossuth into the town
was a magnificent spectacle that is comperatively dwarfed
by the scale of colossal proportions which the assembly of
to-day assumed The cause must have been thought to be
great indeed to stimulate such a mass of people to show
their interest by taking part in it.
• Brooldields, where this great gathering was to halt. la
just without the borough of Birmingham, in the county of
Stafford ; it is a plot of some 50 acres, abutting on the
Great Western Reilway. The procession reached this at
2 o'clock, in perfect order, a large portion of the ground
having been previously occupied by those who had not chosen
to join the moving man. Unfortunately the ground was
barely reached before there came down &pelting storm, which
bated full twenty minutes, but which the people bore
with remarkable good humour ' • but even after it had
fredover the effect of the spectacle was much marred.
w. a splendid sight notwithstanding, for over a
'pre of fully a quarter of a mile from the crest of the
rising ground was to be seen one dense mass of people,
eagerly listening to the orators at the half-dozen platforms
which had been prepared for the purpose. Then the air
rang with the great huzsas (as it had done at every stop-
page in the streets on the way through the town), and the
sentiments uttered by each of the speakers were received
with the warmest acclamations. Mr. Mason Jones,
Mr. J. S. Wright, Mr. Beales, and many other gen-
tlemen .poker and from each platform the fol-
lowing resolutions were put and carried unanimously :-
1. "That the present House of Commons has, by its re-
jection of the very moderate measure of parliamentary. re-
form proposed by the late government, proved itself
utterly unworthy of our confidence and support, and that
it in no sense represents the wishes of the commons of
Great Britain. We therefore hereby pledge ourselves to
demand, agitate for, and use all lawful means to obtain
registered residential manhood suffrage, as the only
just bele of representation, and the ballot to protect us
from undue influence and intimidations in elections."
• 2. "That this meeting tenders its warmest and moat grate-
ful thanks to the Right Hon. William Evart Gladstone,
. John Bright, Faq., John Stuart Mill, Esq., and all the
other true friends at reform, who throughout the late
dimensions in parliament vindicated the character and
protected the rights of the people." 3. " That this meet-
sag presents its sincere thanks to Mr. E. Bodes, and the
other members of the Reform League, for their exertions
is of the right of public meeting. and of the true
. =pies of Reform—idential and Registered Man-
Suffrage."

Mr. Bright and Mr. Seholefield were present, but did
• not speak.
In reference to the number who took part in the proceed-
' in of the day there will of course be various estimates,
Leaving out of computation the fixed mass of people in the
two rode. and a quarter over which the procession passed
in the town, it is ruppposed that there were two hundred
thousand people in Brookfields ; we incline to the belief
that this is an excessive estimate, but those who were
present to-da7, and who witnessed the assembly known as
the " Gathering of the Unions" in 1832, say that if, as
luta been supposed, there were two hundred thousand then,
the number was much Luger to-day. Be that as it may,
there can be no doubt that this was a mighty host ; but
the display of good feeling and excellent temper was
• even more marvellous, and the people were dispersing
quietly soon after four o'clock. So terminated a " demon-
stration " quite as wonderful in the annals of Birmingham
• as anything connected with the events incident to the
great Reform Bill of 1832.
Amongst the mass at Brookfield. there were scores of
gay banners, contributing to enliven the scene, and nu-
merous hands of music) sent forth stirring aim.

In the evening a meeting was held in the Town-
hall, for the purpose of presenting addresses to Mr. Soho's-
field and Mr. Bright. Mr. EDWIN YATES (the Mayor)

presided.
, Both Mr. Bright and Mr. Scholefield were enthnsiaati-
- tally received by their constituents, who filled every por-
tion of the large hall. The whole of the audience rose as
they entered, and cheered again and again for several

minutes.
The MAYOR briefly opened the proceedings. He con-
gratulated the meeting on the success of the open-air
demonstration in the afternoon, which he hoped would at
last convince the opponents of reform that the people of
England were in earnest on this question.
Mr. Onoaos I/mimic moved, and Mr. LANYARD, a
non-elector, seconded the addresses to Mr. Scholefielfl and

Mr. Bright
* Mr. E. Mucus who supported !be motion, war most
warmly received: He cordially thanked them for the
manner in which be had been received. It was, be said, a

more than sufficient recompense for the insults and calum-
nies with which he had been assailed by the upholders of
class legislation for maintaining the rights of the people.
(Cheers.) The legislature, as at present constituted. was
• mockery of the rights of the unrepresented million.
Pot having warmly supported the rights of the people,
and taken part in an agitation of no ordinary character,
he was no longer revising barrister for the county of
Yiddlessx. (Cries of "Shame !") His object was to
, secure to the people the eights soleeded to them by the
eotortiteties et their . eesietry, which in statute atter
I state. nidained that oe Isms should be passed es taw

tion levied without the assent of the whole tom-
monwealth. U. bore strong testimony to the
qualities of Ur. Bright as a statesman and an
orator, who had devoted his great talents and his whols
life to the service of his countrymen. If there was ewe