The Sun.
London, England, 1839-01-29 00:00:00

whole of the House of Lords is against it—the whole of the
landed aristocracy of England is against it, and we find more-
over that nine-tenths of the present Administration are against
it. And now, Gentlemen, one word with respect to a member
of the Cabinet, who is avowedly with us upon the subject. I
mean Mr. Poulett Thomson. The same charge cannot be
brought against that gentleman. In 1834 he attended a
meeting of his constituents at Manchester. At that meeting
he was five hours speaking against the atrocious system of the
Corn•laws, and he exhibited in that speech a deep, a search-
ing, and a thorough acquaintance with the subject. From
that hour to this that gentleman publicly and privately has
been as silent as the walls of the House of Commons. He
has never uttered a syllable upon the subject. and when a mo-
tion was brought forward last year by Mr. Villiers, seconded
by Sir William Molesworth, it was publicly declared that
this man bolted nut of the House—( Loud cries of Shame and
hissing)—so much fur one member of the Cabinet,
who knows something of the sutiject. Another spe.
cimen of the enlightened wisdom is my Lord Melbourne.
What has he said ? When he was asked whether he con-
templated any alteration in the Corn-laws, he said that he
could not consent to any alteration, as it produced unsteadi-
ness in the i.rices —( Hear, hear, and laughter.) For God's
sake hear that. Ask Mr. Joseph Sturge whether the prices
have been steady during the last four or five }ears. In 1835
the price was about 40s. per—
Mr. J. STuiiGE-365. 7d. the quarter.
Alderman iIADLET—WeII, 365. 7d., and the price is now,
in 1633-9, 80s. the quarter.—( Hear, hear, from Mr. Sturge.)
So much for the wisdom of the head of the Cabinet, Lord
Melbourne. lam sorry I dispatched Poulett Thomson so
soon, for I have another word to say about this man.—
( Hear, hear. ) Perhaps you arc not aware that he is the
President of the Board of Trade, and if there is one man
in the kingdom whose more immediate duty it is to under-
stand thoroughly the whole ramifications of the trade and
commerce of this country it is essentially that man
( Hear, hear.) Now this man, whom it has been proved
is thoroughly acquainted with these atrocious laws, has
permitted them to continue so long; and if they go on for ten
years longer, God Almighty knows what will be the conse-
quence.-(Hear, hear.) Gentlemen, you may cry " Hear
him," hut I have shown that such are the enemies you have to
contend with, and that you cannot get it. Show me in the
[louse of Commons one hundred men, aye fifty men, on whose
votes you can calculate. I believe there was on the last divi-
sion something like ninety-five ; but what is ninety-five
i n a House of six hundred and fifty-eight.—( Hear, hear,
hear.) Fellow-townsmen, the whole affair is the grossest
and most entire humbug.—(Great laughter and cheers.) I
say from the first to the last, that you have not the remotest
chance of obtaining this. lam ready to take my station as
the bravest amongst you. I will live upon bread and water ;
and by my soul's hope, rather than be a party to inducing the
people to go for a measure which is entirely and absolutely
hopeless, I would pluck the berry-bush and use it for food.
Those who know me best will give me credit for having felt all
my life for the condition of the poor—l am anxious to do all
that lies in my power for them, and by I would go to the
end of the earth to promote these measures.—(Cheers.) I
will not be a party to any delusion that may be calculated to
throw them back, but I will go any length to promote the
happiness the people so richly deserve. To show you what is
the present condition of the present Administration, I will
call your attention to what is stated by the Spectator, who is
one of the most accomplished politicians of the day, who only
a foitnight ago stated that there was scarcely a particle of dif-
ference between them and the Tories, and he has given an
enumeration of the difference between their feelings and sen-
timents. He says, and most justly—and I should be ashamed
if the people of Birmingham were not of the same opinion—
that the Whigs have made their friends, in and out of doors,
ashamed of them.—( Cheers.) Yes, I repeat it, and he con-
tends that there is little or no difference between them
and the Tories. " There is no difference between them,
as they agree with them in almost every thing." They
gave the-Queen a Civil List of a larger amount than a Tory
Government would have ventured to propose. Will anybody
deny that, Whig, Tory, or Radical ?—( A voice in the croud,
" A hundred thousand pounds a-year.) They have effectually
maintained many abuses of the Pension List ; they have reso-
lutely opposed all Reform ; and they have augmented the esti-
mates. What have they done with respect to the consti-
tuencies?—(Much groaning and hissing.) The Tory system
of misrule has descended in all its luxurious corrupt'on. That
is an unquestionable fact. They unite with the Tories in
suppressing the Ballot, Suffrage Extension, and Triennial
Parliaments; they support the Corn-laws, the sugar mono-
poly, and the timber monopoly.—( Hear, hear.) Did the
Tories ever do more, even in their most palmy days?—
( Cheers.) The Church Reform is handed over to the
Archbishop of Canterbury—(Loud laughter)—and we know
how it thrives in the general distribution of profit.
By the influence of the Court alone do they maintain
themselves in office.—(Cheers.) Gentlemen, I will not
trouble you any further, but beg leave to submit the resolution
I have now handed in be added to the pre,ious resolution.

Mr. Alderman J, P. MCNTZ—Fellow townsmen, I am not
going to give you a speech now—l shall merely second the
amendment, and reserve to myself the right of speaking in
reply, if I hear any arguments against it.—( Loud cheers.)
Mr. BLAXLAND then addressed the meeting from one side of
the galleries, and in consequence of the distance he was from
the platform and the tumult that was kept up during
the whole of his address it was with some difficulty
that we heard what be said. We understood him, however,
to commence by saying that no man in Birmingham had la-
boured more than he had to abolish the Corn-laws. Their
abolition had been the burthen of his morning song and evening
hymn, and yet to-day, when he applied for a ticket to the
platform he was refused, although he paid a heavy rate for the
hall.—( Shame, shame.) He was there, however, ready to
do his duty, and to tell them again, as he had done before,
that he was of opinion that out of every 7s. 7d. they expended
in food, ss. 4d. was paid as a tax. He had struggled hard to
abolish these laws ever since he was 19 years of age ; and it
was because he was fully convinced of the iniquity of the Corn-
laws that he was a Radical. What induced him to support
Mr. Hadlev's amendment was this, that the tenures by which
noblemen held their estates and by the doomsday book, the
Aristocracy were liable for the whole of the national debt,
and the expenses of' war, and because he believed it was ne-
cessary to have an Extension of the Suffrage before the repeal
of the Corn-laws. To go before the present House of Com-
mons for a repeal of the Corn-laws would be like trying the
accused by the accuser. To appeal to the landowners for a
repeal of the Corn-laws would be like the false prophets of
old appealing to Baal to rain fire from Heaven ' - and they
might as well expect the idol of Juggernaut to have bowels
of compassion, as expect the landed Aristocracy to answer
their appeals.—( Hear.) There were some gentlemen present
on the platform who always opposed the people, although at
every public dinner they gave as a toast, " The people, the
source of all legitimate power."—( Hear, hear.) He would
not detain the meeting longer than by saying they must have
no half measures—they must strike at the root of the evil.
He would say to them " persevere," and with moral rectitude
they must and would succeed.—(Cheers.)
The CHAIRMAN then read to the meeting the original reso-
ltrion preposed by Mr. Scholefield, and the additional resolu-
tion proposed by Mr. Hadley, and was about to put them to
the meeting when
Mr. THOMAS WESTON, a member of the Town Council,
rose and said—Before, Sir, you put those resolutions to the
meeting I wish to make one or two remarks. I believe it is
well known to you all that lam an advocate for Reform. I
have subscribed to the Union, and have signed every petition
that has had for its object the welfare of the people at large,
and I claim from you a patient hearing.—( Hear, hear.) I
agree with much that has fallen 'from Mr. Alderman Hadley,
hut the amendment he has proposed states that there is no
hope, or that there is little hope from petitioning the House of
Commons—that there is no hope.—( Cri es of " No, none at
all.") Now, you know the motto of our excellent leader—
Thomas Attwood—is, " Peace, law, order." You know that in
all our movements—he above all things recommends to us
union—the concentration of our energies into one point—and
that we should get with us as many of the people as we pos-
sibly can.—( Hear, hear.) Now I beg to call your attention
to this one point, that we have made some progress in the im-
provement of our institutions, but we are far—very far horn the
rights of the people—and very far yet have we to go. The
dark night of suffering and tribulation is passing away—the
growing twilight is, perhaps, appearing now while I speak ;
but the day of liberty has yet to come.—( Cheering.) The
question is, how shall we proceed in order to obtain what we
desire ?—( Cries of "by having Universal Suffrage.") I
agree with you most heartily, that we must have Universal
Suffrage.—( Cries of "we will have it," and a per-oa in
the crowd shouted out most vociferously " awe, but when ?")
If I am asked when we shall have it, I could not in
my conscience say we shall get it to-morrow. I don't think
we shall get it this week, or this month. It may be several
years.—(l.oud cries of " No, no.") I wish we could have
Universal Suffrage this day; but how many of your fellow
creatures are now suffering the pangs of hunger and want ?
( Hear, hear.) I ask you in the name of those suffering crea-
tures, are you willing they should have food in the meantime,
until we can obtain for them their political rights. The
struggle is going on—shall they live or shall they perish
during that struggle?—(Cheers and hisses.) I would beg
leave to observe to you, that although the Reform Bill has
grossly deceived the expectations of the people of this
country, and although it has turned out a farce—yet the Re-
form Bill was obtained by petitioning the Legislature.—
(Cries of " No, no," and "let somebody else speak," and great
uproar.) Let the people be united—( Renewed uproar, and
rattling of the rent boxes.) After several ineffectual attempts
to regain a hearing, Mr. Weston said, if they would not hear
the few further remarks which he had to make he would retire.
Mr. SALT then came forward to address the meeting, and
was received with loud cheers.—_l would not have detained
this meeting with one observation of mine, had it not been for
some observations that have been made. There was art expression
used by the last speaker, that I would take leave to notice. He
said, above all things, union I I say, above all things, union ;
but where shall we find it? I say, if we are to have union,
let it be a rational, not a rash union. All the interests of
the people are jeopardized, and the question is how are they
to rectify the great wrongs heaped upon them ? Two gene-
rations have passed away with a cry of distress rising from
every quarter of England—ruin threatened at home, and de-
gradation abroad—and the voice of the people has not been
heeded in the House of Comroo,as• All their petitions have
been sent in vain ; and will these gentlemen come forward
and tell us thin we are to appeal again to a packed
jury ?--7(Centineed ebeering)—and to put our cause
in the hands of the very judges who have robbed
us?—(Cries of " No.") No ; men of Birmingham, we will
not do it.—(Cheers.) See how the thing stands at Manches-
ter, and how it stands at Birmingham. At Manchester the
present Corn-law agitation commenced. Who began it ? The
Cotton Lords, mark ! and the Cotton Lords talk of humanity,
and the suffering of the people, with the Factory Bill staring