The Sun.
London, England, 1839-01-04 00:00:00

stated what none of the other witnesses had heard ; and I
Kenworthy, with the smile and the grin of a bird of prey
gloating over its victim, said, "., We commit you to
Kirkdale for trial."—(Cries of "Shame.") Little Spring
Rice declared that when the gambling of the money-
mongers had nearly reduced the country to bankruptcy,
the savings of the poor people in the savings' banks had
saved the country from ruin. He would recommend them
now to withdraw their money from the savings' banks until
'ley had obtained a voice in the making of the laws. He
(Mr. O'Connor) was not to be gagged or put down, but he
would not allow Lord Durham to divide them. The
Weekly chronicle, the kitchen-maid of the Whigs, of which
Mr. Ward was the editor and proprietor, said that Lord
Durham was in future to be his leader, and that
the people were unworthy of the rights they
demanded.—(Shame.) He had been denounced as a trai-
tor by O'Connell ; but that very man had himself done
something very like that himself.—(Cheers.) The present
was a battle between the people and the Whigs. One
party said the people were too violent. Neither Whig nor
Tory censured the conduct of their own parties ; but the
Radicals were always dividing and denouncing one another.
The Government had left the people without the means of
education and called them ignorant—they had left them with-
out employment, and called them idle—they had left
them without food, and called the people paupers. He
would, if he had the power, place the country in such a po-
sition as that there would be no necessity for a Poor-law for
there would he no paupers. He (Mr. O'Connor) would
not give up Universal Suffrage, but would go for it to the
death. They would never join Lord Durham—they
would never join Lord Brougham ; but they would remain
united, and they would eventually be successful. They
only wasted their strength when they sought for trifles.
and for too many things at once.—(Hear, hear, and
cheers.) The result was that not a single change
had been effected with the abuses of the country. It would
be more d:fficult to reduce one regiment of Dragoons than
to obtain Universal Suffrage.—(Mr. O'Connor then pro-
ceeded to point out the absurdity of seeking a Repeal of the
Corn-laws, and concluded by calling upon them to take
nothing but that which would give them a voice in the
representation.) Their motto was, "No surrender."
Let them stick to their moral force, and if their rights were
still refused, let them raise the arm, and their physical force
would obtain their rights. Mr. O'Connor then denounced
the Manekesier Guardian and Mr. Baines of the Leeds
Mercury, and recommended them never to drink the beer
or ale in any house where these Papers were taken in. He
knew not how soon he might be incarcerated, but neither
dungeons nor racks would ever intimidate him.—(Cheers.)
Mr. OASTLER then came forward.—Never was there an
excitement like the present before. Last night that vast
hall was filled, and now again it was crowded with thou-
sands of the working classes, to hear what was the result of
Mr. Stephens's trial of the Magistrates at the New Bailey.
The rules of justice to-day were turned topsy-turvy—
the Magistrates had been tried and convicted
by the prisoner at the bar. He had heard him
tell the Commander of the Forces, Colonel Wemyss, a
brave and gallant man, that it was disgraceful to him to
he under the orders of a Bow-street runner.—(Groans.)
If her Majesty submitted to that degradation of her gal-
lant officers, he (Mr. Oastler) was determined to place his
Royal prerogative against it. The British bar had been
ilea day disgraced in the person of Mr. Brandt.--
(Groans.) His conduct was such as had never before been
witnessed in a court of justice. If he (Mr. Oastler) was
at the bar, wherever he met Mr. Brandt be would tell him
that in his excess of zeal, whether bribed or not he did not
know, he had disgraced the British bar. He stated
what it was impossible he could know ; but when malignity,
not authorised in the Queen's Council, and when all the
power of the realm were at the disposal of the malignant
and the vicious, to crush a honest and unoffending man, the
bar was disgraced, and the Bench became its own rebuker.
—(Cheers.) Had they heard the brilliant display of elo-
quence from his friend, Mr. Stephens, to-day, how
they would have seen that the Bench writhed under
it, and wished themselves anywhere but where they were.
He was disgusted to-day, when he saw Mr. Foster, a man
of irreproachable character—when he saw that be had been
compelled, by the power of the Government, to disgrace
himself by aiding and insuring the conviction of Mr.
Stephens. His friend Stephens told him to day that they
had taken him into the chaplain's room, where there was a
Bible and a Prayer-book, and that he had registered an
oath that the Word of God and of truth would
be upheld, though it should be written in his
blood. Let the Press tell her Majesty that the
King, had had three happy days—one when he received
his wife—one when he had been divorced from the Squire
—and to-day, when he heard that her Majesty had been
displeased with him.—(Great cheering.) He had been
charged with conspiring against the Poor-law Bill. He
avowed it. He had conspired against that law of Devils
with all the powers of body and soul that God had given
him, to dethrone those three Kings who had usurped more
than her Royal authority. He had conspired with the people
of England, and with the framers of Magna Charta—with
every principle of the British Constitution, with the late
Earl of Eldon, and with the Bishop of Exeter, whom he
had heard state in the House of Lords that no Englishman
ought to obey that law, and that no Christian dare obey it.
—(Vehement cheers.) He had conspired with Lord Stan-
hope, whose daughter was a great favourite with her Ma-
jesty. Lord Eldon had told him that the Parliament had
no power to pass such a law or to enforce it. There was
an open conspiracy for them. By the turn of events he
might have those three traitors in the dock, and tried for
high treason—if he (Mr. 0.), was arrested, he hoped no
man would become his bail—all that he wanted was, that
they should have O'Connor, Stephens, and himself, laid
' hold of, and they woukl prove to any judge in the country
that he could not adjudicate upon such a law.—(Cheers.)
He panted for that day with all the reins and sinews of his
heart. But the serious part of the conflict was now at
hand—the troops had become tools of the police—the
Magistrates, too, forgetting their sacred character—and
the bar had disgraced itself.—(Shame.) No man came
came out of that Court, who was not satisfied that every
person connected with the prosecution had been covered
with infamy, save his friend Mr. Stephens. They got
up a lying vagabond to swear against Stephens—to state
that he spoke of the Ballot, a subject he never touched
upon.—( Hear, hear.) He would advise the people to save
their pennies for the purpose of buying arms. Their
Queen had not a sufficient number of loyal troops
and he would advise them to arm themselves in her defence
against the ruffian band whom O'Connell had threatened
to invade her kingdom with. Would they do as he bade
them ?--(Vehement shouts of " Aye, aye.") He had just
been informed that there were six troops of Dragoons in
the New Bailey. It depended upon themselveS, now that
they had promised to support Stephens, not to allow their
enemies to ride rough-shod over them—they were the
best friends of the country and the Queen. and he hoped
her Majesty would throw herself upon their protection,
and dash the tyrants behind her back.—(Vehement
cheering.)
Mr. NIGHTINGALE subsequently addressed the meeting,
and concluded by moving the appointment of a Committee
so receive subscriptions, to co-operate for the defence of
Mr. Stephens, and to communicate with Committees in the
adjacent villages.
The motion was carried unanimously.
Mr. JACKSON then proceeded to address the meeting at
some length, in the course of which he condemned the
New Poor-law Bill in very strong terms.
Thanks were then voted to the Chairman by Mr,
Oastler, and the meeting broke up,
The Hall was, if possible, more densely crowded than on
the previous evening, and many persons were almost fainting
from the excessive heat'