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

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 1839.

hold in my hand. It is in your power to decide the question,
and I beg of you in fairness and candour to hear it, and not to
condemn it unheard.—( Hear and cheers; cries of " No, no.")
It is a matter of great regret to me that my excellent friend
and colleague, Mr. Attwood, is not here to-day; the illness of
a member of his family occasions him to leave town, and be is
gone to the Isle of Wight, but he will be at his post the day
before: Parliament assembles, and I can assure you (for Mr.
Attwood is incapable of se,. ing what is untrue) that no man
more ardently wishes for the removal of these atrocious laws
than he does. --( Loud cheers, followed by cries of "Uni-
versal Suffrage.") I can tell you also, Gentlemen, that the
necessity for the immediate removal of these laws is great—
that you in Birmingham are menaced with a greater loss of
trade than you are now suffering.—( Interruption.) I went to
Manchester last week in order to hear what they were doing
at their meetings, and I believe in my conscience that the
wealth and opulence of that -town will be speedily changed
into a state of poverty from the rapid removal of its trade to
foreign countries. To what cause do you attribute this ?
To the present system of Corn-laws.—( Cries of " No,
r. 0," and much confusion.) Gentlemen, allow me to have
my opinion, and you may have yours. I can tell you also, that
when the time comes, if I find there is any attempt to cheat
3ou by directing your attention from your just rights, one of
which is the right of every man to have a vote in the repre-
sentation, you will find me ready to stand beside you, as I know
3ou desire to be supported. —( Much interruption.) As you
appear impatient to hear other persons, I shall not trespass
further on you, but content myself by reading the resolution:—
" That this meeting views with alarm the successful com-
petition of the continental manufacturers in the productions of
the country, and more especially in the articlee made in this
town and neighbourhood ; being convinced, that notwith-
standing the peculiar facilities possessed by Great Britain, the
absurd and unjust laws, prohibiting the free importation of the
food of the people, are tending towards the destruction of the
manufacturing interests of this country, a result which must
involve every class of the community in one common ruin."
I am sure you will all see this is nothing more than a true
description of the effects of those iniquitous laws. I will
give you my aid here and elsewhere in remedying them, and
in obaining all your other just right,.—(Cheers.)
The Rev. Mr. M'DONNELL, (Catholic priest), then pre-
sented himself, for the purpose of seconding the resolution,
and was greeted with groans and cries for Universal Suffrage.
He said,—Perhaps you will indulge me by giving three
cheers for Mr. Attwood.—( Hissing and hooting and a few
partial cheers.) Now I will tell you why I asked for them ;
it was because I have often heard that great and good—that
just and humane man, declare that the great object of all his
political agitation was to procure for the people of this country
plenty of bread, beef, and beer.—( Cheers.) I have heard
him again say that he felt no political theory was calculated to
better the condition of the people. That has been the golden
maxim of Mr. Attwood's political life, and for that he will
ever deserve the thanks of the friends of the people and of
humanity at large. I beg leave to tell you, men of Bir-
mingham—and treat me as you will you will never make me
anything but your devoted friend—(Hear, hear)—l tell you
that that has been my leading maxim throughout the whole
of my political career. Let me see the people well
fed, and I e ire not by what means (if they be
honest) that that happy revolution shall be brought
about. I say, men of Birm;righam, it would be a
revolution, because you know very well that the people of
England are not well fed at the present moment. You know
very well that by the iniquitous operation of wicked laws made
for wicked purposes, the honest and industrious, and enter-
prising people of England are in a state bordering on starva-
tion. I regret exceedingly that man,—
" Proud man,
Dress'd in a little brief authority,
Plays such fantastic tricks before high Heaven
As make the Angels weep."
I regret that you should be perpetnally summoned from your
honest and industrious employment.-4 Here the tumult
which had been kept up during the time the Rev. Gentleman
had been speaking was greatly increased by some one on the
platform interrupting him. After a short pause, however,
the Reverend Gentleman, amidst great uproar. proceeded.]
I have often heard that the Generals of our army in the
Peninsula often Drought their people into dreadful difficulties ;
but it was the bravery, the calm, cool, steady determination of
the soldiery that extricated both themselves and their Gene-
rals from calamity and disgrace ; and thus it is in the civil
community. Your leaders (that is those miscalled leaders—
the Parliament) have been for ever bringing you into diffi-
culty and into misery, and it is the people that have rescued
themselves from the misery and their Governors from the dis-
grace attached to their conduct. In no respect has this iniquitous
system of government prevailed more powerfully and dis-
gracefully than in the case of the Corn-laws. I am proud to
think that the Alderman of Lady Wood ward (Mr. Hadley)
that the Alderman of the ward of which I am a Burgess. has
denounced these laws in the most severe but just terms of
animadversion. I rejoice to know that it was he who
seconded the resolution, by which application was made
to the Mayor for convening for the present meeting. Hear
what he says—" Was there any gentleman present who would
tell him that the Corn-laws had not been injurious? Was
there a man present who would stand up and tell him that the
trade of the town, as well as of the country, had not been
nearly ruined by those atrocious, infamous laws? He would
ask every merchant present, if two-thirds of the foreign trade
of the country had not been already ruined by them ? Alder-
man Muntz said seven-eighths. Alderman Hadley, an able
and extensive merchant, had told them seven-eighths of the
trade had been lost, and was it possible they could think of
tying up their hands from considering such a gigantic evil?—
( Hear, hear.) No, he could not subscribe to such a doctrine.
He thought it was their bounden duty to look the evil in the
face, and if possible to remove it." Now I rejoice
at this statement of Mr. Hadley. I rejoice to hear
that that friend of the people, y Mr. Salt, reproached
my friend Mr. Sturge—that he had been ten years engaged
in the cause before Mr. Sturge stirred. Whether that was
the cause or not I cannot recollect. It is not improbable,
because in the year 1828, the Dissenters were endeavouring to
procure the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts, and in
1829, the Catholics succeeded in obtaining Catholic Emanci-
pation ; and it is just like Mr. Salt to distract the attention
of the people of this country at that time to other, and im-
practicable objects.—( Hear.) Now, if he, ten years ago,
waged war against the iniquitous law which they call injurious,
and some of them infernal, surely he should hail, as a practical
man, the co-operation of those men who came to his assis-
tance now, when the battle is really to be fought. And what
can be so noble, or what can engage the sympathies and the
exertions of men more than the cause of the lives of the
people. I have been told indeed that it is not one in which
a minister of religion should engage, and Mr. Salt taunted
me on a late occasion with doing so. I feel that if there
be any cause that ought to be dearer to the minister of reli-
gion, it should be the cause of suffering humanity. (The
clamour here reached such a height, that although close to
Mr. M'Donnell, we comet scarcely hear a word he said.)
Mr. COLLINS—UnIess you are silent, Gentlemen, and hear
speakers on both sides of the question, the Mayor will dissolve
the meeting. There will be speakers on the Resolution and
on the Amendment.—( Cheers, and uproar.)
Mr. MWONNELL—Men of Birmingham—(Renewed up-
roar.)
Mr. CoLLINS—I am extremely anxious to put a stop to this
noise. It would be much better, when there is such a clamo-
rous noise, if our excellent Chairman would take the
sense of the meeting, whether people who rise
to address the meeting should be heard or eot.
You would then find out what a small number of persons nee
capable of disturbing the harmony of the meeting.—( Cheers
and laughter.) You may depend upon it that all the
sophisms used will be detected.—( Hear, hear, and groans.)
For the sake of liberty—for the sake of your town—for the
sake of our own characters, hear impartially every one.
(Cheers and hisses.) Having heard, decide by your votes,
and not by your clamour—and you will gain immortal honour.
Never fear that the cause of liberty will ultimately triumph.—
( Cheers and groans )
The CHAIRMAN—FeIIow-townsmen, I fully accord in the
suggestion which has been very properly and ably put by Mr.
Collins. I will put it to the vote whether you will or will not
hear Mr. IM‘Donnell.
His Worship then called for a show of hands as to whether
Mr. M‘Donnell should be heard, and a small number, appa-
rently equal on both sides, were held up.
Mr. Coeues—The Mayor fears he was not distinctly heard,
and has therefore requested me to put it to the meeting again
whether Mr. 11I'Donnell shall or shall not be heard.— ( A
larger number of hands were then held up both for and against
hearing the Rev. Gentleman, but they still appeared to be
equal.)
The CHAIRMAN—It is impossible to count the hands held
up pro and con, but as the division seems to be pretty equal I
shall give the doubt in favour of the liberty of speaking, and,
therefore, in favour of Mr. M.Donnell.—(Cheers.)
The Rev. Mr. MtDoreeeee then proceeded to address the
meeting.—When I was interrupted I was about to say
that I thought no class of persons were called upon to
interest themselves more than the ministers of re-
ligion in the cause of suffering humanity.—( A per-
son in one of the side galleries cried out, " Yours is
not religion." A gentleman on the platform said " Turn that
person out who is interrupting the speaker," and this being
responded to by cries of " We'll turn you out," another scene
of confusion and uproar ensued. When the noise had in
sonic degree abated, the Rev. Gentleman continued as fol-
lows.)-- I may differ in opinion from some other gentlemen
in this room, but upon the principle that it is our duty to en-
deavour to benefit the people of this country we are all agreed.
It is on that principle I now stand forward, to denounce the
iniquity of a Legislature that has interposed between the
bounty of Heaven and the necessities of man. lam speak-
ing before one of the representatives of the people. I wish
we had a few more like him ; and if I were allowed to
speak before the whole of them, I would tell them that they
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they done by this iniquitous legislation ? They have by f
the
de-
grees withdrawn the capital from the wealthy manufacturers
of this country. It has been well stated by Mr. Scholefield
that Manchester, which used to be the abode of industry, of
wealth, and happiness, is fast losing its commerce, for Man-
chesters are being formed in other countries, who have by de-
grees withdrawn large portions of her trade to their towns.
Many manufacturers undersell the British manufacturer in the
foreign market, and who actually come here and undersell
the manufacturers in our own market.—( Hear, hear, and
cries of " Universal Suffrage.") I shall come to that

—no man need terrify me. Sly principle on the Suffrage has
always been, that it should be co-extensive with taxation.—
and cries of " Universal ! universal !") I have al-
(wCayhseeectserted myself to procure the Suffrage for the people,
and I will always do that in the way that it shall seem to me