The Sun.
London, England, 1839-01-30 00:00:00

TUE SUN, LONDON, WE JANUARY 30, 1.839

pi ice to the farrriee (when the increased demand for his other
aerieulturepr'oduce is taken into account), constant general
employment as a necessary consequence at an aver-
-3e undiminished rate of labour for the industrious popuh'tion,
and instead of being threatened by famine, England would be-
come the granary of nations, and the storehouee of the world.
Who can wonder at dissatisfaeOen atel discontent, when power
is used fur the ssereotts of gross selfishness in defiance of the
rights of tteati, of justice and humanity, and a system persisted
ie; year after year which will eventually doom tie: people to
pauperism and the nation to ruin, and that, too, by Act of
Perliament ? The time is now come when every employer,
every manufacturer, throughout the country is imperatively
called upon to identify himself with his own workmen in de-
manding justice. The repeal of those laws is no question now
for cold debate or heartless indiff2rence. It involves the safety
of life, the security of property, the well-being of millions, the
very existence of our institutions and of the State.
Mr. WHETSTONE seconded the resolution.
Mr. PAGET was received will loud cheers. He could not
disguise from them that however strong his opinions were in
fivour of the repeal of the Corn-laws, in point of numbers
those opposed to such a change had the advantage. He he-
sitated not to say that of the farmers and labourers there was
only about one to a thousand who was not violently and de-
cidedly opposed to the repeal of these laws. The proportion
favourable to a repeal amongst the landlords, was one to a
hundred. This was the state of the question in England and
Scotland ; but the demarcation was still stronger between the
supporters and opponents of these laws in Ireland. The
%%hole population of the country was agricultural, and he did
not go too far in saying they required the union of the coun-
tries, as depending on their preservation. He had placed
before them what he believed to be the real state of the facts,
in order to show that unless they preserved unanimity there was
no possibility of their success. Though be sas descended from
those who for a long series of years were attached to the
landed interest—though his earliest and dearest friends were
amongst the followers of agrieueural pursuits—though all the
enjoyments of his life were associated with that interest—he
could not but acknowledge the danger with which those laws
were fraught to the whole community.—( Cheers ) In the
first place, they imposed a tax for the benefit of the landlord
to the injury of the people. Bat this was not the only evil
to which they gave rise. They prevented this country from
deriving that benefit from intercourse with foreign nations
which it had a right to claint. Though rents must fall as a
consequence of the repeal, he would rather forego an excess
of rent, and see the people amongst whom he lived contented
and prosperous. The evil of the Corn-laws is as that they not
oely enhanced the price of corn, but they introduced fraud and
chicanery.—(Hear.) A nation that depended solely on its
exports was miserably dependent on its neighbours for the
comforts of life. The true principle was to allow manufac-
tures and agriculture to be carried on without the slightest re-
striction.. Mr. Paget concluded by moving a resolution, call-
ing upon their Members to give their strenuous support to the
petition in the House of Commons, and upon Lord Durham
to present it to the House of Lords.
J. EASTHOPE, Esq., M. P., then rose amid loud cheers, and
said—ln responding to the resolution which calls for my sup-
port to your petition, I can only say, that in presenting it, in
conjunction with my colleague, my only anxiety is, that it
may prove completely successful.—(Cheers.) No effort of
mine shall be wanted to accomplish that object; and I can
answer for the hearty coeoperation of my colleague. It is
needless to remind you that this is no party question—it is a
question affecting the dearest interests of Englishmen—
it has an intimate relation to the comfort of every
poor man's home, and to the success of every manufac-
turer's establishment.—( Hear, hear.) Talk not to me then
of party politics, whilst we discuss a Tiestiou in which the
best interests of all parties are involved. Let us listen not to
factious views whilst we should oppose a system which aggra-
vates the misery of the poor man, and threatens destruction
to commerce and manufactures.—(Cheers.) You know it is
a saying as old as the hills, if cheap bread is not permitted to
come to the people, the people will follow cheap bread. It
is one of the obstacles which still impedes the progress of
this question, that as it has not been sufficiently agitated, the
obvious principles on which it rests arc not familiar to all
the industrious classes. The varied and complicated details,
too, by which the evils of the present system affect the working
classes, are not so easy of illustration in a popular assembly as
might be wished. There is one thing, however, so clear, that
specious fallacies cannot disguise, nor dextrous sophistry ex-
plain away. When trade is bad with the manufacturer, it very
soon reaches the workmen. It sales abroad fail, manufac-
turers at home suffer ; and if the merchant and manufacturer
are destroyed, the corn-grower will share their distress.—
( Cheers.) Don't trust the mystifications of those who affect
an inordinate deeree of commisseration for your sufferings, and
attempt to mislead you by their favourite assertion—that wages
must be high when corn is high. Examine the matter for your-
selves, and you will soon discover that the price of corn has
little to do with the price of labour. I come now to the ques-
tion, what should be my course as your Representative, if the
Government should feel it. their duty to resist a motion for the
repeal? You know I have repvesented you with fidelity._
(•• You have.") Though; a general, I have not been an
indiscriminate, supporter, of the Government.--( Cheers.) I
have never given a vote in favour of the Government on any
measure which I did not honestly approve, and I never re-
frained from voting against them when I believed that they
were wrong.—( Loud cheers.) If they do not row support
the change which the nation so imperatively calls for, then my
course is clear—l shall use every means and exert every in-
fluence which I can put in motion to attain the great object
on which we have set our hearts, careless what may be the
consequences of such a course in relation to the present Ad-
ministration.—( Loud arid protracted cheering. ) I have
heard with delight the address delivered by Mr. Paget, for it
proves how clearly hie strong understanding comprehends the
unquestionable truth that the interests of the landlord, of the
farmer, of the agricultural labourer, of the manufacturer, and
the artisan, are all bound up together : when one interest suf-
fers decay the other must feel it, and when one is destroyed the
annihilation of the other must quickly follow.—(Cheers.)
It is said that corn must fall here to the price at which it is
on the Continent, and tho agriculturists anticipate entire
ruin to themselves from such a state of things. Now, is it
net much more likely that corn on the Continent will advance,
so as to secure a remunerating price to the English grower,
especially after foreign corn has been subjected to the charges
of transmission ?—and is it not certain that the growers of
corn, who manufacture little or nothing else, will increase
their demands for the products of your skill ?—( Hear.) The
egriculturists maintain that their condition will become miser.
able if the Corn-laws are repealed ; but I should like to know
how they can prosper by continuing their present absurd and
reckless career?—(Cheers.) Again, it is urged that this is a
question in which the artisan has no interest, and that it affects
the manufacturer alone. Now, see on what ground this as.
sertion stands. The man of capital can remove his factories to
the banks of the Elbe or of the Hudson. He can there com-
mand good machinery and cheap corn, and he will not have to
contend with prejudiced landlords bent on injurious monopolies,
yielding partial and transient gains, but ultimately leading to ge-
neral ruin. Can the artisan, when trade and manufactures are in
decay and ruin, move away to a foreign country with the same
ease as the wealthy capitalist? You that know aid feel the
sorrows and privations of poverty will easily discover the
almost impossibility of your escaping from your sad condi-
tion.—( Cheers.) You may depend on my doing every thing
within my power to obtain the total repeal of the present
Corn-laws ; and I trust the people of England will never
cease to urge it upon the attention of the Legislature until
their just demands are successful.—(Loud and prolonged
cheering.)

Two admirable speeches were delivered by Messrs. Roberts
and Markham (working men) in proposing and seconding a
resolution, stating that if the Ministry did not repeal the Corn-
laws, the country was bound not to trust them any longer, but
to insist upon their relinquishing their present position.
This resolution, after a short discussion, in which Messrs.
Easthope, Paget, and several other gentlemen deprecated mea-
sures before it was seen what course the Government intended
to take, was carried, and the meeting broke up.

DRURY-LANE THEATRE.

Her Maj,,sty visited this the'atre in state yesterday even-
in:T. The Royal box was fitted up in a manner which
reflected the highest credit on the taste of the ma-
nager. Those of her Majesty's suite who were not im-
mediately on duty were in the adjacent box. For a list
of the names of the distinguished persons in attendance, we
refer to our Court Circular, Her Majesty was dressed in a
suit of black satin; a wreath of brilliants encircled her hair.
Her reception was such as could not have failed to gladden her
inmost heart ; one enthusiastic feeling of loyalty and affection
pervaded the assembled multitude. The house, within a
quarter of an hour after the doors were opened, was crammed
in every available corner, notwithstanding the extreme un-
favourableness of the weather, and hundreds of disappointed
expectants were obliged to return home. The performances
on this occasion were The Maid of Artois and The Spirit of
the Air, in addition to which Mr. Van Arnburgh displayed his
extraordinary feats. The National Anthem was performed
by the company both at the commencement and at the conclu-
sion of the entertainments; and in both instances the entire
audience took an enthusiastic part in the chorus. Her Ma-
jesty looked extremely well, and appeared cordially to appre-
ciate the manifest attachment displayed towards her Royal
prson. Her Majesty did not retire till the close of the per-
formance.