The Sun.
London, England, 1839-11-28 00:00:00

EYE.NING EDITION.

GREAT MEETING in BIRMINGHAM
on the subject of the GOVERNMENT POLICE, re-
cently introduced into this Borough.
At one of the largest Meetings of the Inhabitants ever held
in the Town Hall, convened this day, at the requisition of up-
wards of One Thousand Five Hundred Rate-payers, the
MAYOR being in the Chair,
The following resolutions were passed unanimously :
Moved by the Rev. J. MaenoNeLL, and' seconded by Mr. B.
ItHIOPEN;
1. That the Birmingham Police Act deprives the authorities
of the borough of the important power of appointing and
managing their own constables and police, and places this power
in the hands of a Commissioner, who is not responsible to the
rate-payers, their representatives, nor the magistracy of the
borough, but who is merely an instrument in the hands of the
Secretary of State for the time being, and may be removed at
pleasure. That this Commissioner has the authority to raise a
large force within the borough, and levy rates on the inhabitants
fur its support ; and that this force may be armed at discretion,
and employed to prevent the inhabitants from exercising the
right to assemble for the expression of public opinion. That
municipal corporations have been for centuries the nur-
series and bulwarks of freedom, and that any invasion
of their privileges ought to be resisted by every legal
!
means, and that, in the opinion of this meeting, this Act is a
gross violation of the social and constitutional rights of the
people of the empire, and of the inhabitants of this Borough
in particular, and a direct insult to the municipal authorities,
since the chief value of corporations consists in the appointment
and control of police, and the levying and management of local
, taxation. That the pretence for the introduction of the Act—
the doubtful validity of the Charter—ought to have induced the
Ministers to bring in a Bill to confirm the Charter, rather than
to introduce a measure to destroy it.
Moved by E. BROWN, seconded by J. Fessetr, ;
2. That the people will never be content with a police of
any description, whether under the control of an individual, or
a body of individuals, until they have the same political privi-
leges, local as well as general, as are now possessed by the few.
Moved by Mr. STURGE, seconded by Mr. S3IITH ;
3. That the object of a police ought to be the prevention
and detection of theft, burglary. and other criminal offences ;
and for these purposes there is no occasion for the use of
mortal weapons, nor for the adoption of military organi-
zation ; and that the employment of the men as political
spies is contrary to the duties of a police. That. the go-
, yernment force now organized in this borough is much more
kdangerous to the lives and liberties of the inhabitants than a
body of soldiers, because, while they wear the appearance and
receive the appellation of police, they have the powers of the
military without being under the direction and superintendence
of the Magistracy, and are. responsible to no one except the
1 Secretary of State for the time being ; thus becoming, in fact,
‘, a second standing army, more objectionable to the country than
(the ordinary military force. That this meeting deems it to be
a duty which it owes to the country to protest against the adop-
t tion of a system of centralization and espionage, such as is in-
troduced into this borough, and which, if introduced into the
rural districts, will prove more dangerous still to the liberties
of the people, as being a tyrannous exercise of power which
has hitherto been employed only by the most arbitrary and des-
potic Governments, and is calculated to alienate the people from
their governors, if not to bring the Government of the country
itself into disrepute.
Moved by Mr. CUTLER, seconded by Mr. MATCHETT ;
" That an address to the Queen, and a petition to both
Houses of Parliament, embodying these resolutions, be pre-
pared and presented as early as possible, and that the following
gentlemen be appointed a Committee, with power to add to
their number, to carry this resolution into effect, and to super-
intend the general objects of this meeting :—Messrs. Matchett,
Cutler, Jennings, Palmer, W. Morgan, Parks, and Corbett.
Moved by Mr. PALMER, seconded by Mr. WILLOUGHBY ;
5. That the thanks of this Meeting are due, and are hereby
given, to the Town Couneil for their opposition to the Bill,
and that they be requested to take all legal and constitutional
measures for the repeal of so unjust and arbitrary an Act.
Moved by Mr. W. KERKOFF, seconded by Mr. Coaaerr ;
6. That these Resolutions be advertised in the Birmingham
Herald, the Morning Chronicle, the Sun, and the Northern
I Star.
Moved by Mr. BLAILAND, seconded by Mr. HILL ;
7. That a Sub-Committee be formed for the purp,se of
waiting on the Mayor and Magistrates who subscribed towards
the fund for the London Police, in order to obtain a subscription
equal in amount for the sufferers who were injured by the
1 staves and sabres of the said police.
I Nov. 25, 1839. P. H. MUNTZ, Mayor.

HIS MAJESTY the EMPEROR of
AUSTRIA having AUTHORISED and GUA-
RANTEED several DISTRIBUTIONS of MONEY
PREMIUMS, which (though they are NO LOTTERIES)
offer many possibilities of obtaining
LARGE FORTUNES,
SEINE BROTHERS, at HAMBURGH,
are NOW SELLING SHARES for the said DISTRIBU-
TIONS. Persons desirous to purchase may receive, PRE-
VIOUS to giving any order, the PROSPECTUS and PAR-
TICULARS, upon addressing, WITHOUT DELAY, a line
to HEINE, BROTHERS, at HAMBURGH.

P. S.—THE NEXT DISTRIBUTION contains Portions
of TWELVE THOUSAND, SIX THOUSAND, THREE
THOUSAND, ONE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED,
ONE THOUSAND, FIVE HUNDRED, TWO HUN-
DRED ♦ND FIFTY, TWO HUNDRED, ONE HUN-
DRED AND FIFTY, and ONE HUNDRED POUNDS,
&4. Ste.
THE DISTRIBUTING DAY BEING NEAR, and
Shares clearing off most rapidly, A RISE IN PRICE will
WM OMIT.