The Sun.
London, England, 1830-12-16 00:00:00

concerned, but he hoped the proposer would alter it, as
lie (Mr. W.) had recommended, so as to claim the right
of voting to any man paying taxes. That would satisfy
him, for he would defy the opponents of universal suf-
frale to find a man in the kingdom who does not pay
taxes. Should they point out such a man, they might
take the right to vote from him.-.—(lmmense cheering.)
The S ERIFF put the resolution in the words which Mr.
Wakley hod proposed, and it was carried by acclamation.
Colonel Johan, who was received with great cheering,
said that he held in his hand a resolution, on which there
could not he touch difference of opinion. Its purpose was
to give the Ministers an admonition, which, he was sure,
the meeting would consider as necessary as he himself con-
sidered it. The meeting, no doubt, paid some attention to
what occurred in the House of Commons, and were aware
of what bad occurred there a night or two ago, when an
application was made for an increase of the military force
to keep the people in order. But he (Col. Jones) as an
old soldier, knew that military force could never be suffi•
cient to keep the people in order while bad laws were in
existence.—(Cheers.) He was sorry that the Noble Lord
who had brought forward that proposition had allowed
himself to he persuaded by his enemies to believe that the
people could he governed by bayonets.—(Cheers.) He
,Colonel Jones) had heard, from authority which he could
not doubt, that the Duke of Wellington bad offered t
give his support to the Administration, provided that
they would call for an increase of the army to put down
the people.—(Ckeers.) Ile had not heard that from
one of the Noble Duke's enemies, but from one of his
friends—he might say of his partisans. From the same
source he understood that the Duke further proposed the
suspension of the. Habeas Corpus Act, as one of the con-
ditions on which Ministers should receive his support; hut
that if they listened to the voice of the people, they
should have his determined opposition.—.(Hear, hear, and
cheers.) Ile hoped that Lord Grey would give no ear
to such insidious whisrrs ; but that be would, on the
contrary, struggle with his own honest prejudices. In-
stead of increasing the army, he hoped the Noble Earl
would abolish the Corn Laws.—(Cheers.) By their abo-
lition, the Government would be enabled to reduce the
army by four or five thousand men. Another subject
which the resolution comprehended was that of the tithes.
He admitted that, ue had been stated in the House
of Lords, the lay-impropriators were more rigor-
ous than the clergy in the exaction of tithes. But
the great objection to tithes was, that they were not
merely an oppressive tax, but a prohibition of improve-
ment. The two topics of the resolution were the army
and the tither. Now, with respect to the soldiers, they
were no longer wanted in the country ; and with respect
to the tithe-receiving clergy and lay-impropriators—(A
person in the crowd exclaimed, " They are not wanted
either !")—he trusted that they would consent to some ar-
rangement for the relief of the country. The Gallant
Colonel then read, from the Morning Chronicle of yes-
terday (which be recommended the members of the meet-
ing to purchase and preserve) the following passage from
the speech of Lord King in the House of Lords on
Tuesday
He (Lord King) believed that the prevailing spirit of com-
plaint, which would perhaps be said to arise from an ignorant
impatience r f desolation, could not fail to bring about a similar
reeuction of the tithes. It was known that the farmers gene-
rally had not made much exertion to prevent the recent out.
rages, and it was also known that their disinclination to interfere
was occasioned by the pressure of their own burthens, of which
the tithes constitute a principal part. Aware of the extent of
such dissatisfaction, a Um Prelate had last year brought before
their Lordships a Bill for the Commutation of Tithes. There
was a time when such a measure might hare removed the dis-
content, but now it would be ineffectual. Twenty years ago,
Mr. Pitt had devised a plan for the permanent commutation of
tithes iiitn:f hree per Cent. Stock; and now:soine measure'equally
comprehensive and effectual must be adopted. All !dyers of
abuses could find out something of good eftct to be attributed to
every abuse, however gross, except to tithes. They said that the
Corn Laws worked well—that Colonial Slavery worked wetl—
and that corrupt Parliaments and heavy Taxation worked well
—hut none of them would go so far as to pretend that
Tithes worked well. They said, indeed, that tithes, being a tax
'upon the gross produce, were paid by the consumer as completely
as if the tithe-receiver had his servants stationed at the baker's
door, to collect the tax from the purchasers of bread as they
carried it away. For his part, he (Lord King) considered it a
tax upon the labour and capital of the cultivator; but as the
ablest writers of pi.litical economy had not been able to settle the
question, he would leave it to the Reverend Conservators of
Church property, to the Noble and Learned Lord opposite, who
so much derided the political economists, to explain the way in
which the tithe impost operated. It WAS their interest to discover
the means by which their property in that tax may be saved
from the hungry jaws of the consumer, upon whom they sup-
posed its payment ultimately devolved. For his part, he thought
that impost a public nuisance. It was injurious to the landlord,
for it made a positive deduction from his rent--It was oppressive
to the cultivator, for it rendered the gains of his labour variable
001 uncertain—it was injurious to the capitalist, for it prevented
the employment of capital upon land, at a time when it could
find but few fields for profitable employment; and, lastly, it was
impoverishing to the nation at large, inasmuch as it seriously
diminished production."

Mr. ToLwoon seconded the resolution And observed
that he did not think increasing the army was the way to
reform the p. ogle, lie could tell those gentlemen that
they were putting into the hands of the soldiery that which
would cut their own throats ; for as soon as they were di-
rected to turn their arms against the public, they would
ask why they were required to do so, and refuse.
Mr. Witt.Li; also spoke in favour of the resolution. He
said that be had been a Reformer for thirty years, bad
suffered in the cause of Reform, and intended to be a Re-
former ell his life. lie found fault with Mr. Hobhouse's
doetrine, that because a man was a Reformer they were to
forget what bis father had been—(Hisses and uproar)._.
such Reformers as tho,e had ridden in their father's car-
riage, and dined at their father's table, while the true Re-
former was suffering in gaol.—(Laughter and hisses.)—
Mr. Wells then proceeded to speak against machinery and
the late Gov:await, which he said was not an English
one, because the First j. rd of the Treasury was an Irish-
man, and the First Lord of time Admiralty a Scotchman;
but he was much interrupted by the disapprobation and
hisses of the meeting. _ . .

The resolution was then put from the Chair, and car-
ried unanimously.
j.,ANGsToti moved the next resolution, proposing
a petition So both Houses on the foregoing resolution; he
felt great pleasur4 proposing this us he entirely con-
curred with these resulutious, and whether they contained
more than was necessary was immaterial. For himself,
he was ready to trust to the Ministers which the country
had at present if they would add to their scheme of Re-
form the v-te by ballot—(Applause.)—lt was said that
by having the ballot an Englishman was removed from an
open and manly uvowal of his way of voting ; but if the
man was independent the ballot would not prevent his
coining forward and saying, " I gave my vote for Mr.
—," which wined to him to be an answer to the only
objection lie hail ever lasurd against the ballot. They had
heal told that Jeremy Dentition was in favour of the ballot,
and that alone was the voice of ten thousand ; for he
would confear, that with Jeremy Bentham alone to agree
with him, he should be content to stand up against all thr
world...(Applause. Y-.4fe trusted that this example would
tot a stimulus to the rest of England, and that similar
meeting. would be held in the oiAier counties of England
fur the purpose of praying Parliament to accomplish a Re-
form in the tiousa of Commons.

Mr. MALLET sr.conddti thit resolutions; and lamented
am Reform in Parliament wits the ooly:means they had to
offer to the poor labourer, who was undergoing the greatest
privation. Their state required a more immediate relief,
but there did not appear to be any that could be offered.

Sir Faatecre Maven said, that !refer* this meeting
Thad taken place, he would rather have waited for the
resolutions of Ministers; nor did he wished to he bound
by what :night he passed at the meeting,. Buth peas of
its prweedinga as he thought right he would support....
(Applause an,t biases,)---lie had not heard all the pro-
ceedings of the day, but of the little he had heard, a
great deal was of such a nature as to render it impossible
to discuses it with any successful result in a meeting of that
sert.—(Surne one here called out " Radical Reform.")—
Ills npiniou was that meetings of this sort were necessary
when there were great grievances to complain of, and
when ridicule end slight were thrown upon those who
Ponvisined. But the case was very different now, when,
for the firet time since the revolution, they Witte possessed
of a real Coast la Administration and, a real Coned.
tutimial King, who bAI no underhand genre to play, but
who connected his own happiriess and greatufts with
the happiness and greatness of hia people. The Admi-
nistration they now had came after that of the Duke of
Wellington, who, whatever his demerits might be, bed a
full right to have justice done to his talents ; for however
much he might be below the spirit and knowledge of the
country in domestic policy, be wars equally above his
contenvoraries in his transcendent genius Inc war. rio
therefore theeebt that praise ought to be rendered to that
N4ble Ditire for whet. he bad done, though. they must la.
merit that" it was too often J,loe ease that persons who
found themselves fully competent for one thing, thought
themselves eiwilly competent for everything else, Forty
years ago, be (Sir v. Burdett) had put himself forwpi
as the edvocre of that most vital measure Reform in
the norms of Commons ; but this Reform was now under
the eonsideration of the Ministers, and they had promised
to the country that that Reform should not b a delusion,
or a shifting of the rittestato It seemed to him to be ab-
surd to adopt that obstinacy of opinion which refused to
IA satisfied with any species of Relom but that to which
the partioeler individual was addicted. For bimaelf, be
would say, thet he was so extensive a Reformer, that there
was not any branch of liteform which he did not believe
had its uses and advantage. His hononreble, conscientious,
upright, arid excellent friend the lute Major Cartwright,
had an the contrary believed that there was only one
mode of Reform worth having; but ha (Sir F. Burtiete)