The Sun.
London, England, 1837-02-20 00:00:00

vocating-Parliamentary Reform—the flit and equal repre-
sentation .of the Penple in their Own House, and for telling
every man that these Representath'es, instead of support-
ing.the cause of those who sentithem there, were leagued
in the coalition against thorn, and were combined for their
injury. Mr. Fox had well observed that these men had
been punished for the alleged crime "et sedition by a pro-
cess unknown to the law of 'Scotland. Witnesses had.
been called upon to give evidence contrary to all the rules
of law, while those who had appeared on the other side
were brow-beaten and persecute:l. The Jury was
a partial, packed, and perjured one, and were
predetermined to convict, although they had sworn
in the presence of their Maker to decide impartially ;
and, last of all, there was the brutal and blood-thirsty
Bench.—(Loud cheers.) In short, they were all men who
had set at nought all the forms of justice, in order to con.
vict the prisoners—all determined anal prejudiced partisans ;
and even one of those in flmmous men who presided, had al-
luded to the wholesome Tory specific for putting down
remonstrance among the people, and keeping them quiet
by blood-lettinss.—(Loud and continued groans.) Such
were the outrageous judges who presided at the
trial of these men in, 1793. Such were the Manchester
Yeomanry in the massacre of later times—(Cheers)—and
well had it been said by Mr. Fox, " God help the country
which has such judges."—('fremendons cheering.) Such
then had been the crime of these men—such was the infa-
mous and reprobate tribunal by which they had been tried
—amid such were the grounds upon «hich they were now
met to pay their tardy tribute of respect to the memories
of those men.—(Applause.) The eloquent tongues which
had pleaded in their cause had long been mute, and the
hearts whose strongest pulsations were excited by their
anxiety for the happiness of their feliow-countryinen no
longer beat ;.• but he hoped the Reformers of time present
day would not forget the services of those brave and perse-
cuted men.—(Great cheering.)
Arr. RUTT was then called upon as having belonged to
the Society of 'the Friends of the people. He spoke in a
very low vine of voice, and at a considerable distance from
where_ we were placed, so that it was scarcely possible to
heat; a whole sentence.. He said.he could .boast of having
had a personal acquaintance with those two groat and
good men' Muir and Palmer. He had visited them
in their. priion hulk, and he was proud indeed to
contrast it. ;with the great meeting which was then
met to do honour to their memories.---(Hear, hear.) He
had also visited Muir in Newgate, and found hanging over
hiS mantelpiece the portrait of Dr. Price, a fitting ornament
for Mr. Muir's room, whether in prison or palace. He had
,only a few days ago almost the last letter ever written by
Mr. Muir, in, his hands. In it he said, " The greatest
affliction that presses upon my mind is to leave such a
number of personal friends, and not be alloWed to remain
to assist them in the great and glorious cause in which
they are engaged." He viewed with the greatest satisfaction
such a large meeting, met for the purpose of honouring the
memory pf bia friends.
Mr. VERGUS- O'CONNOR. then presented himself to the
meeting,. amid, much cheering,- which lasted for several
minutes. 'He .was the best general who turned to the best
advantage, that which occurred in his presence, and in doing
that he was happy to call in aid the assistance of the worthy
Man who had lately. addressed them.—(Cheers.) It was
not his intention•to throw the apple of discord into the
meeting, but- he. was in hopes that so favourable an
opportunity as the present would not be allowed to pass
away without those sentiments which had been so loudly
viodicated.( Hear.) If they tendered the olive branch to
-those who formed their political opponents,- they did so
without compromising one single principle that they pro-
fessed.—(Cheers.) If there was any disapprobation mani-
fested, or mixed up with the applause when he presented
himself, it'reminded him of twothings, that he-was of some
value to his own party, and was viewed with some terror by
those who opposed, him: Cheers.) In his opinion, the
meeting should do something greater for those martyrs
than erecting cold and inanimate marble to their memory.—
(Cheers.) After the speech of Sir W. Molesworth and
that of the working man, it was not fit that they should he
silent.—(Cheers.) Every society ought to be able to stand
upon its own merits ; and how miserable must he the situa-
tion of the man who had built his amusements on theiruin of
others ? He asked the Whigs to uphold them, and throw off th e
suspicion that the meeting had been got up to put a cock in
the old hat.—(Great laughter, and cheers.) The present
was the time for the people to come forward, not to break
the fly upon the rack, but to do justice to themselves.—
(Cheers.) The same mind which carried the Reform Bill
might have carried all that they sought—they were not to
throw away their rights, or their giant strength, upon
the pigmy measures which had been brought for-
ward.—(Great cheering.) Sir W. Molesworth had conic
forward boldly and manfully declaring that he was the ad-
vocate of Universal Suffrage. and • Annual Parliaments.—
(Cheers.) If there was any ,enemy .to Universal Suffrage
in the room, he would tell them that the working man who
had just addressed them had no vote, though he was per-
fectly competent to have one. They wished nothing im-
practicable, but they were not going to give up triangular
measures for their rounds. and Squares.—(Cheers.) Nor
were they to be decoyed by a set of jugglers.—(Great
cheers and much confusion.) He did not wish to weaken
the cause, but he wished the Union to be strong and holy.
Three parties in the state could not exist—one or the
other of the• parties must give way,.or be driven out of the
field.—(Cheers.)—The Whigs wanted the assistance of
the Radicals.—(Cheers, and cries of question.)—He would
come to the question ; if they erected monuments to these
individuals, let them be plain and simple, and erected in
their minds.—(Cheers.)—To win men's hearts they must
win their minds.—(Cheers.)—Raise the monument, then,
on universal suffrage, and there would arise a consti-
tution that would laugh at. the. attacks of party.—
( Cheers.)—He did not dread the. • name of party,
but he dreaded that Monster under which these men had
suffered-'---the law ; and if they had been the keepers of that
law so, why not come down and tell them that the trans-
fer of power into the hands of the Whigs had kept that
blot on the Statute book.-----(C ies of " Hear, hear.")
This he thought was the question.—(Question,- Ques-
tion,. and hisses.) He believed the only offence he
had given them was in • naming the Whigs.—(Cries of
" Off, off.") He was following Mr. Gillon and the other
gentlemen wile had spoke before him.—(Great uproar, and
deafening shouts of " Off, off.") Ile would only ask was
not the meeting called fo' the purpose of strengthening the
power of the Whigs ?—(lmmense groaning and hisses.)
Do not then call him impracticable, because he would
teach them a road to beat the Tories at once. His amend-

went would go further than the resolution and do more good
for the cause of justice and humanity. He thanked
them for their patient hearing.—(Laughter.) However
•he might differ from some of them, he never lost his good
humour. He would, then, conclude by proposing as an
e.
amendment—" That the meeting Lein convened for the
purpose of doing honour to Messrs Muir, &c., is of opi-
nion that these gentlemen were victims to an unjust and
cruel law, which could not have disgraced the statute-
book, if the right of Universal Suffrage had been
conceded to the people, and in order to prove
the sincerity of this meeting in its hatred of that power
which stretched a bad law for an unjust purpose, be it re-
solved, as the existence of those political parties in a State
is at variance with the general interests of the commuaity,
that in order to establish a real, undisguised, and honour-
able union between the Whigs and Radicals, thiS meeting
ieOetni'se.universal suffrage as the only basis of a-free Con-
stitu:ion."—(Much cheering and confusion.)
Mr. BELL seconded the motion, amidst great confusion.
Ile was proceeding to make some remarks which, in conse-
quence of the loud cries of dissent and approval, we were
unable to catch, and at length was called to order by
The CHAIRMAN, who said that it was not fair for any
person to come there, to put an end to their proceedings
by introducing subjects not properly connected with the
proceedings. Let such persons, if they chose, call a
meeting, at which those matters might be discussed.
Mr. BELL, however, persevered, and the confusion still
continuing,
Mr. O'CONNOR came to the front of the platform, and,
as we understood,' withdrew the amendment.
The original resolution was then put and carried.
Colonel THOMPSON came forward to propose the next re-
solution. He said the great secret of success was not so much
to gain a victory, as to know how to use it. The people had
obtained a victory in the Reform Bill over their enemies,
and he hoped they would not be foolish enough to forsake
the vantage ground which they then gained. For a long
time justice was not done to the memory of the Scottish
patriots, but honest men seldom fall in vain, and the
proceedings of that day might act as a wholesome
warning to those who 'would be' inclined in the
present day to coerce the people, as Palmer and Skirving,
and -Margaret and Gel-raid were coerced of old. He trusted
the people would present a firm front
to their enemies ;
and should a dissolution of Parliament come, that the elec-
tors would-recollect the vast amount of injury to the com-
munity inflicted by their oppressors. Let no private consi-
deration, then; stand in the way of the public good, and let
no personal motive induce a single elector to barter
his country's freedozn.—CCheers.) Ile wished to have
monuments in the .metropolis of both countries ;- in Edin-
burgh, because, it was the scene of the martyrs' sufferings,
and in London, because it would act as a warning to
awe, who would endeavour to oppress the people.-
-Meer, hear, hear.) He was anxious to have an op-
portunity of addressing the meeting, because ho might
be able -to tell them some thing, at least of one cf the
martyrs. Mr. Palmer• was a fellow of the same college at
Cambridge, in which he (Colonel Thompson) after-
wards was. .He sat in the same. scat ; he ate
at -the same table ; from Which he was sent, becatiSe
he had done that in; former times, which he (Colonel
Thoilipon) would hive done as soon as he arrived at ma-