The Sun.
London, England, 1854-02-16 00:00:00

Yesterday afternoon a public meeting was held at the
London Tavern, convened by the Association for the
Equalisation of the Poor-rates, for the purpose of aiding
in carrying out that measure and the abolition of the laws
of settlement and poor removal.
The LORD MAYOR took the chair at two o'clock, and,
immediately on doing so, Mr. D. Iffanger, of Maryle-
bone, and other representatives of the large metropo-
litan parishes, and members of the Anti.Centralisation
Union, protested against the unfairness which had been
exercised in only permittimg the opponents of the Equali-
sation Bill two tickets for the platform. Considerable
confusion and cries of "Fair play" were the result, and
the requisition convening the meeting was read amid
shouts of derision and great uproar, although the room
was at no period of the meeting more than half-filled.
The Lord Mayor explained the object for which the
meeting had been convened, and dwelt upon the hard-
ships which the law of settlement and poor removal in-
flicted on the pauper poor.
Lord BERNERS rose to move the first resolution :
" That the existing laws of settlement and removal are
cruel and oppressive to the poor, by subjecting them, in
the time of affliction and distress, to be removed to the
place of their legal settlement. That the said laws are
-unnecessarily expensive to the ratepayer, and totally
inapplicable to the present time, and ought to be abo-
lished." The noble lord showed the operation of the

laws in the agricultural districts with which he was con-
nected, and, on the ground of humanity, urged the ne-
cessity of the removal of the present laws.
Mr. J. A. Wlse, M.P., seconded the resolution.
Sir J. DUKE, M.P., while he agreed in the observa-
tions which had been made, nevertheless warned the
gentlemen who had promoted this meeting that they
might be taking a step which would lead to the princi-
ples of centralisation. (Cheers.)
Mr. T. SMITH rose to move an amendment, and was
received with applause and uproar. He also proceeded
to show, amid loud interruption, chiefly from the plat-
form, that the result of the proposals of the persons who
had got up the meeting was likely to lead to centralisa-
tion, and he complained, not only of the treatment the
opponents of that principle had received at the hands of
the Lord Mayor and those who had got up the
meeting, but that they had paraded the meeting
as being called at the instigation of the metropolitan
parishioners. All the large and important metropolitan
parishes repudiated it. He was proceeding to establish
his position, when he was interrupted by cries of
" Question," and the Lord Mayor, amid great confusion,
called on the speaker to sit down. Several appeals were
made for fair play and order by the chairman, and ulti-
mately Mr. Smith, under a protest that he had not been
permitted to address a meeting of Englishmen by a par-
tial chairman, moved the following as an amendment :
" That, whatever tends to lessen the opportunity and
obligation of local action and responsibility, or to with-
draw the inducement to taking part in local affairs, is
injurious to the common welfare and high interests of the
nation."

Mr. W. BILLETT, churchwarden of St. Pancras, amid
tremendous cheering and uproarseconded the amendment.
He said it was a pity the promoters of the meeting could not
find an inhabitant of the metropolis, but must go
to the landowners to move their resolutions. (Cheers
and uproar.) They were ashamed of John Day's equa-
lisation of poor-rate scheme ; but, as all the poor-law
officers who had signed the requisition for the meeting
were to be themselves provided for for the term of their
natural lives, they had no doubt a great interest in the
matter. (Cheers, laughter, and uproar.)
The LORD MAYOR called the speaker to order, and
threatened to call the police, amid general confusion and
groaning.
Mr. GEESIN (late churchwarden of St. James's, West-
minster).—l rise, my lord, to order.
The LORD MAYOR—I shall immediately order you
into custody. Send for the police. (Groans, hisses,
and great uproar, amid which several policemen appeared
at the back of the-platform.) His lordship said he could
not receive the amendment— (uproar)—as an amendment,
but as he was sure they all agreed with it, he 'would, as
a matter of courtesy, put -it as a subStantive motion.
(Loud cries of " No, no," from the supporters of the
amendment, mingled with cheers and renewed con-
fusion.)
Mr. T. Smith, Mr. Billett, Messrs. Fuller and Elt of
Islington, and other gentlemen protested against the
amendment being put in any other form than as an
amendment.
The LORD MAYOR, however, persisted, and, having
taken a show of hands for and against the original reso-
lution, he declared it to be carried, and, amid further
protests, he then put the amendment as a substantive
motion, and declared, amidst shouts of derision and up-
roar, that also to be carried.
There were still five other resolutions to be adopted,
but the cries of " Adjourn" and " Dissolve" were so
great, that the Lord Mayor quitted the chair, and de-
clared the meeting adjourned, and those assembled sepa-
rated amid great confusion.

HORRIBLE SUFFERINGS. A NUMBER OF MEN
STARVED TO DEATH.—Lloyd's agent at Crookhaven re-
ports in a letter received yesterday, the following shock-
ing catastrophe :—On the 4th inst. the barque Cuba,
Captain Organ, from Coquimbo for Swansea, sighted,
when some twenty miles south-west off Mizen Head (on
the southern coast of Ireland), a wreck of a waterlogged
vessel. On bearing down it was found to be the barque
Bona Dea, belonging to Liverpool, to which port she
was bound from Savannah. She was completely dig-
masted, and her unfortunate crew, or rather, what re-
mained of them, were in the most extreme state of ex-
haustion. They had been no fewer than eleven days
and a half without food or water, and their sufferings in
consequence, together with the long exposure to cold,
had been truly frightful. Six of the crew, including the
master, had died from starvation two or three days pre-
`viously. Captain Organ had great difficulty in removing
'the poor fellows from the wreck. Several were coal-
Petely prostrated and apparently dying. Every comfort
-was afforded them by the crew and officers, but, not
withstanding, four of the sufferers never rallied; they
--died in a day or two afterwards. The remainder, seven
in number, are doing well, and every hope is enter-
- taised-of their ultimate recovery. The vessel has pro.
ceedtd on to Swansea, where they will be lauded;