The Sun.
London, England, 1839-10-15 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1839.

SUSPENSION OF FREE DISCUS-
SION AND DESPOTISM OF THE LAND-
OWNERS.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

SlR—Having last week terminated a glorious
Anti-Corn-law compaign through Scotland, need-
ing a little recreation, I betook myself with a few
friends into the heart:of Nottinghamshire. Finding
a good deal of ignorance on the subject of the Coin-
laws, and a strong wish on the part of many of the
respectable inhabitants of Worksop to have the
subject discussed, I determined to ring repeal within
echo of the walls of Clumber. I accordingly ap-
plied to the proprietor and occupier of one of the
principal Inns for the use of the Assembly-
, room, which was without difficulty engaged for
the evening of Saturday the 12th instant. The
streets were immediately placarded, and circulars
sent thioughout the neighbourhood to most of the
surrounding tenantry. The interest excited in the
town was considerable, and on every hand we heard
expressions of strong desire to have the question
submitted to the ordeal of free discussion. All
went on smoothly until the very morning of Satur-
day, the day proposed for the Lecture, when to-
wards noon the landlord of the Inn announced to us
that he had been waited upon by influential parties,
and told, that if the Assembly-room was opened for
the Lecture, he must be content to abide the con-
sequences, and he knew what those would be. Find-
ing expostulation useless, we applied, at the eleventh
hour, to several innkeepers of the town for the use
of their rooms, offering them any amount of remu-
neration they might choose to demand, but found
ourselves forestalled. That similar intimations had
been given to them, and that it was utterly imposi-
ble to procure any public room for the purpose. We
theu learnt that there was a tolerably large school-
room which might, perhaps, be obtained, and made
immediate application to the occupier, who very
kindly acceded to our request. All was now right
again, as we imagined, and arrangements were made
for announcing the change of place to the public,
when, about four o'clock in the afternoon, the gen-
tleman from whom the room had been engaged called
upon us to say that intimation had been made to
him, from quarters he must attend to, that if he
permitted me to address an audience in his school-
room, every means would be taken to injure his esta-
blishment ; his own interest and the welfare of
his family were at stake, and he felt himself
compelled to withdraw from his engagement.
We were now completely foiled, but, anx-
ious to prevent disappointment, I wrote out a
placard, stating the reasons why I could not ad-
dress the inhabitants on that evening, and appeal-
ing to their common sense against the virtual des-
potism which had been exercised, but not a printer
in the town would undertake its publication. I
was, therefore, compelled to wait until the hour
appointed for the Lecture, and explain in the public
street the cause which had prevented me from ful.
filling my engagement. There, again, every annoy-
ance was thrown in my way by a hired bully, who
had been made drunk for the purpose, and the
evening ' being very dark and the streets indifferently
lighted, I was informed by persons in the crowd
that there were parties present prepared to do me
personal violence if I proceeded, and I accordingly
relinquished my intention of publicly addressing the
assembled multitude. And now the bellman was
robbed of his small fee I I—for being commissioned
to make proclamation of the reasons for suspending
the lecture, he was deterred from so doing by his
fear of the consequences.
" Thus conscience (loth make cowards of us an,"—
and the dastards, who were unable to defend their
cause by an open appeal to the common sense and
reason of the people, were mean and skulking
enough to crush discussion by the most atrocious
exercise of local tyranny that conscious imbecility
and injustice could devise. These facts require
from me no comment. I feel compelled to submit
them to public attention, in order that the middle
classes of this country may see clearly the crushing
despotism they will speedily be subjected to, if they
longer refuse to rally round the banner of Justice,
and defy the Aristocracy. Anxious to give im-
mediate currency to these facts I transmit them for
insertion in your widely circulated paper, as the
best medium for• carrying them to every corner of
the land. I am, Sir,
Yours truly,
A. W. PAULTON.
Worksop, Notts., Oct. 14.