The Sun.
London, England, 1838-09-18 00:00:00

GREAT METROPOLA N DEMON-
STRATION OF THE WORKING CLASSES. I
(CONTINUED. )

( From.ot4 &cond Edition of la±t night. )
Mr. ROBERT HALTWELL then appeared on the pl-tforrn, And
raid he rose at the rt quest of the Working Men's Associ:.tion,
to rno%e the Bill to be is,troduced into the Commons flou;e of

Parlian eat, be d acniiwitcd tl c I).qplt's chnrter, and iab'elt

wtis necess;lry to rescue the working- classes from their
preterit degraded state of thraldom.—( Hear. brar, hear.)
Before commentirg on the principles contained in the
Charter, it would be his duty to explain to the meet-

ing the rise and progress of that dovur.,ient. The mem-
bers of the Working Men's A.:sociation, in common with
their brother Radicals throughout the country, had seen
with regret, that while resolutions had been passed in fs-
your of that principle, and that ,chile e,ergetic appeals
had been mad, to the renple to come forward in favour of
Universal SutTr.ge, those res.olutiotis had never been put into

a practical shape—. The Working Men'A Association., there-
fo,e. thrity lit they ought to embody the priiiciries c.f ILadieal
Mc; ra in an Act of I)..rliament, and which would be submit:el

to a pubic meeting like the pres.,lit. H,ving resolv,d on t;-,is
course, the Association wrote circulars to those Mt-mbers of

Farliam eat whom they deemed, by their votes or speeches, to
be favourable to Universal Suffrage. That circular was an-
sweeed by twelve Members cf the House. They met the As-
sociation, and, after two nights' discussion, it was resolved that
six Members of Parliamet.t ar,d six members of the Association

should draw up the outlines of a Bill which should embody
Universal Suffrage—No Property Qualification—Annual
Parliaments--Equal Representation—Payment of Members—

and Vote by Ballot. The result of their labours was the pro-
duction of the People's Charter, which bad already received

the sanction of immense ma.,ses of their fellow-workmen

throughout the country. There were two classes of
objectors to Universal Suffrage—the one class broadly
denied the right of the working men to a voce
in the r: presentation at all ; and the other, while it

conceded the right, thought they were too ;gnorant to exer-
cise it. Any one who made use of the laiter argument only
trumpeted forth his own disgrace. They had a Government
the majority of whom, Lc believed, did not in the abstract
deny the right of the people to enjoy the Suffrage; but they
said the people were so ignorant thet if they had it they would
do mischief to themselves and to every body else. Yet that
Government, while insulting their understandings and common
sense by sayhag they, were so ignorant adopted every means in
their power to perpetuate the present system. His notion of a
Government was, that it should be founded as well for a pea-
sant as a prince, and that after having provided for the
physical wants of a people, the laws of Government
and man required them to attend to the moral and
intellectual education of the people. There was
another and a third class of objectors, who said they
went with the people for Universal Suffrage, but that they
went with them for other essentials. They acknowledged the
great intelligence amongst the working classes, but they were
afraid the agricultural population would overbalance the in.
telligence of the large towns. He could state one or two
facts, which would show that the agricultursl population, the
labourers he meant, for the farmers were deplorably ignorant
--(Cheers and laughter)—that the whole mass of the la•
bourers of Northamptonshire, Wilts, Essex, Devonshire, and
Dorsetshire, five of the most Tory counties, were alive to the
interests of the working classes. He had a document, signed
by 800 agricultural labourers in Dorsetshire, pledging them-
selves to advocate the principles of the People's Charter even to
the death if necessary. There were 9 parishes in the neighbour-
hood of Blandford, in which every labouring man had signed this
document. It was true that the agricultural labourer might
not be able to come forward and express himself as some of
the working men could, but if they reasoned with him they
would find his understanding equal to their own.—( Cheers. )
There might be some gentlemen who intended to move an
amendment by introducing the Poor-laws, the Corn-laws, or
the Currency. He admitted, that if gentlemen disapproved
of Universal Suffrage they might move Household Suffrage
as an amendment, but he was certain that no friend to the
working classes would introduce the subjects which he had
mentioned. If they wanted a repeal of the Corn- laws, of the
Poor-laws, of the Currency, a Reform of the Church, and of
the Crown expenses, they must radicalize the House of Com-
mons, He would say, in conclusion, that on the working classes
themselves depended whether the agitation now in progresa
should succeed—whether they would be able to wring from
a reluctant and imbecile Government their inalienable rights.
Let there be no secrecy about their agitation ; let their
opinions be published, and they would defeat any attempt
which the Government might make to pass coercive laws
which the people might feel it their duty to resist, and
thereby plunge the nation i the horrors of a civil war. By
pursuing their course as they were now doing, they would
ere long plant the democratic tree of liberty in the place of
aristocratic oppression.—(Cheers ) And no Government,
however cruel, vile, or profligate, could stop the glorious and
hallowed cause of equal rights and equal laws.—( Cheers. )
He proposed the second resolution.
2. That the principles of Representation, as defined by the
" People's Chatter," are just and reasonable, embracing, as it does
TJoiversal Suffrage, No Property Qual.tication, Annual Parlia-
ments, Equal Representation, Payment of Members, and Vete by
Ballot ; which, in their practical operation would, in the opinion of
this meeting, be the means of returning just Rept esentatives to the
Commons' House of Par.iament—persons who, being responsible
to, andbeiug paid by the people, w ottldbe more likely to promote the
just interests of the nation than those who now constitute that.
Assembly. This meeting, therefore, solemnly adopt the " People's
(Isarter," as a measure of justice they arc resolved by all legal
means to endeavour to obtain.
Mr. CLEAVE, then presented himself to the meeting and
was loudly cher red. He said they had on the present occa-
sion a great number of persons from the country in attend-
ance, and he was t xceeingly anxious that they should hear
them to day, more esp. cially as his friend Frazer from S, ot-
Lind had given them so cheering an account of the progress
of the good cause ha Scotland —(" Hear, hear," and
cheers.) Let them look at the fact stated by him that
in the ceurso cf a tour s hie!, he it .d lately trade
through Scotland not less than 80,000 persons had seen the
fully of lute:we:a:ice, and were about to superadd to IZadi
ealism the virtue of sobriety —( Leud cheers ) It it were
for nothing else but the Lenelit of their wises and their
children he would exhort them to put their seal to that most
righteous determination. They ought to knosv that it
was necessary for them to be as wise as serpents, but to be
'..armless Ls doves; and let them take into coesideration that
every glass of gio and every quid of tobacco they contoured,
only made gold for the Ministers to squander away. Tile rod of
correction had been appli„d to the peoi.le, but they themselves
had supplied the means to purchase the rod.—( Hear.) If they
wished the Government to be more upright —if they wished
the Charter contaii.e.l to the resolution he had
the ho.:our to second, i, t all their resolves be of the most so-
lemn description, end let them rect.l!ect, if they held up their
bands in support of that resolution, never to leave a stone
unturned uu,il they were admitted o iehin the pale of :he Con-
stitution, until tiny had a right to vet for these aho
made the laws by ;strich they were governed.—( Hear, hear )
DU they bulb ve they h:ld that right ?—( Crit s of " Yes.")
'Would they work f.,r it ?—( Y. s, y ) Then let them sup-
port the reasolutioo, and more eopscially athiat the latter clause
with three cheers—" that this meeting, the re fore, solemnly
adept the Peooent Chart, r, as a measure of jostlee the y are
retwlved by an legal means tesendess our to obtain."—( Cheers. )
Let them show thco.selves worliv of that rroolution, and while
as workmen dr •y were uoequalled in the whole No hi—while
as servants they fulfilled their duties, and alilo as husbands
they were an exam:dle to every other Doti r, let them be de-
tcrtniaed to crouch to no man, but in all righteous things t
*rand up as the eqesls, arid not 33 tire inferiors of any roan
alive.—( Vehement eh,tring:) Ile hoped they would excuse
his going farther into tire su9sct at present, but he would
cxhout them to hear with a.to.tion tire Delegots a from the
North and South, wlrcm it delighted hire to know were pre
tent. They could answer prartically the tilj.cti-ns of well-
i mentioned oppth.ition with respect to the views and prospects
of sound Radicals in every part of the country. List t!,.-m
lay aside all etn.tentions and unite all their energies
taunt they had got within the pale of the unhallowed
building before them —(Great laughter and cite ring.) All
that was necessary to achieve that ()Tel was to make a
long pull, a strong l u!l, and a poll altogether. Mr. Cleave
concluded by seconding the second resolution,
Mr. DOUGLAS, one of the delegates from 13iimiogham, then
elute forward. llnt had not come there for the purpose of
surprising them with any display of eloquence. Ile came as
the mere representative of the Birmingtiam button-,oak,rs
(t 1 laugh.) They were plain ntrti, and sp,.ke plain words,
in a plain manner ; arid he hoped that in the' preset.t initanee
lie spoke to plain men. Ile had one or two questions to put
to them 1 efore he went further. Ile-wished to ask those who
were unrepresenied, and who did not occupy 101. houses, if
they went to the grocers or the bakers, would they get
a drawback on the artisles they purchased ? He wished
to know whether the Excise-officer and the Customhouse-
officer, upon the proof being tendered that they had
no vote, would interfere beta een them and the goods which
the Lord of nature had given them. He wished to know with
respect to the penalties of the law —of which they were
ignorant to judge—be wished to know whether Lord Denman
or Sir F. Roe Would iriterfere under a declaration upon this
ground, that they were unfrancitised? He thought when he
put these questions, he put their whole case. It was said, and
with some appearance of reason, that the people who claimed
the franchise were ignorant and poor.—( /lean ) With respect
to their ignorance he would tell them of what it consisted :
they had nut so much leatnirig as sorne men, they could nut
trace' books into Noah's Ark—(Cheers)—but he denied that
for all the necessary purposes of life they were not perfectly
asl the
steam engine, and was it to
educated. The eperatives of Birminghamt e a knewmach i nwe well
whole of the operationa of
so
e .ca7dPi:,.
area
b:ccatve they did riot theun-
derstand Greek and Latin that toey were not capable.
didoftn.ey
voting
for Members of Parliament.—( Cheers.) (1f what
complain chiefly of the 658 gentlemen that sat over tine way—s,a,
it their want of the knowledge of GI
n
eek and Latin? No, no,
It was of their total lack of honesty. Tirenext thing that was
charged against the people was that they were poor; how
could they help that, when the laws for thelastmsaokoe years
bad been made by the rich against the poor to
pour,?? They knew they were poor, because there was a tax
laid upon them. and taken off the rich —( Cheers-) Mr.
Ward, of Shefli,ll, ha,' said, if they
would _convince
him that Universal Suffrage would trot render pro-
petty insecure, he would he a Universal Suffrage man.
Me. Ward, in his opening, bed no right to put such a question.
(Cheers.) What was their motto? Good profits to the
waster, in order that there might be a fair remuneration to
the worMaig man.—( Cheers.) \Vas that an attack upon pro.
perty? TheirreOtto also was, Peace and Order • and further,
their motto way, Law I—(Cheers.) He would not detain
them, but there was something said with regard to the general
oehareeter of the people—that they had beer, so long kept from
their rights that there was danger in putting thorn again into