The Sun.
London, England, 1831-10-14 00:00:00

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No. 12,196

REFORM MEETINGS.

M_ANCIIGSTCIt

The news of the rejection of the 'Reform Bill by the
Peers, which arrived by expres-, in Manchester from The
Sun Office, at an early hour on Sunday Morning, imme-
diately spread the:utmost dismay and consternation through
all ranks of society there, and considerable apprehensions
were entertained on the first receipt of the intelligence that
the peace of the town would be invaded, in consequence
of the strong feeling that prevailed in favour of the mea-
sure. Hvpily, however, those disagreeable anticipations
were not realized, the news of the rejection of the Bill
being received by the inhabitants as a great national cala-
mity, tell visages bearing the appearance of deep regret.—
The streets, front the announcement of the loss of the Bill
to the close of Sunday, were thronged by respectably-
dressed persons and operatives, all mingling together in
groups, debating on the propriety of adopting other mea-
sures in cons, quence of its rejection. To allay public
irritation, the gentlemen of the Committee appointed to
watch the progress of the Bill at the last Manchester
meeting, caused placards to be posted as soon as pos-
sible, stating that a requisition was forming to the
Boroughreeve, calling upon him to convene a
meeting of the inhabitants with the least possible delay,
for the purpose of presenting a loyal and dutiful address
to his Majesty at this alarming crisis, praying his Majesty
to take such decisive constitutional proceedings as shall
counteract the pernicious consequences which will inevi-
tably result from the rejection of the Bill by the House
of Lords, secure the passing of this important measure
into a law, and thus preserve the peace, and ensure the
future welfare of the country. The requisition, in the
course of Sunday and Monday, received the signatures of
an immense number of persons, amongst which were the
names of the most opulent merchants, bankers, and ma-
nufacturers of that great commercial town. The Bos
roughreeve, in compliance with the wishes of the requi-
sitionists, convened a meeting to be held in the Riding-
school, as the most capacious building that could be se-
lected for the purpose, which, however, is not one-third
large enough to hold one-third of the number of persons
expected to attend the meeting. The requisitionists
were perfectly aware of this fact, and wished the Borough-
reeve to hold the meeting in the open air, which, how-
ever, he refused to do, stating that the conditions on
which he presided were that the meeting was held under
cover. A good deal of excitement prevailed in the town
on Tuesday, and the Boroughreeve was censured by many
Ifor not calling the meeting nn a commodious piece of
ground, large enough to contain a meeting of the inhabi-
tants of Manchester. The walls of the town were covered
with placards of various kinds relative to the meeting,
some expressing the sentiments of the people in no very
cool or measured terms, couched in fact in language that
fully shows that trifling with the wishes and opinions of
the people is rather a dangerous experiment. The follow-
ing is a copy of one of die placards alluded to :
"Britons!—Twenty-one Bishops have voted for the
Reform Bill. Had they voted for it, it would have
pissed; will you pay any more church rates ? Men
of Manchester rouse yourselves I Your country and
your consciences call you to discharge your duty. The
cry is, rouse to a man and make the cause your own.
All strike at, once, and crush the tyrants down.—God save
the King."
The above placard, and many of a similar nature, it may
be as well to observe, which have appeared in Manchester
since the rejection of the Bill, did not emanate from the
Committee of Management of the meeting, nor do the
sentiments expressed accord in their views. The wishes
of the requisitionists are to, obtain the charter of their
rights by using every legal and constitutional means.
Business on Monday and Tuesday seemed completely
stagnated, the tradesmen flocked to the news rooms and
other public places of resort, and the question in every
body's mouth was, " What's to be done now ?" On
Tuesday night, after the hours of labour of the operatives,
several hundreds congregated in the streets of New-cross,
and held what they termed " A New-cross Parlia-
ment." The subject of the deliberation in which
assembly was, as to the propriety of compelling
the masters to give the men a holiday, in order that- an
opportunity might lie afforded them of attending the
meeting. They at length proceeded from the place of
meeting, in a body, to the house of Mr. Hugh Birley (an
opulent spinner, who signalized himself as Commander of
the yeomanry, on the ever memorable 16th of August,
1819), and having extorted a promise from him that his
men should he allowed to attend the meeting, went peace-
ably, on similar errands, to other masters, from whom
also they elicited a promise of the same nature.
In the course of Tuesday the following address, under
the title of " What is to be done now ?" issued fro m the
Press of the Manchester Times Newspaper Office, and
was widely and speedily circulated all over the town. It
is from the pen of Mr. Prentice:—
What is to be done now, is the question which every one asks,
and it is important that all should be agreed as to the answer.
1. The King may throw into the House of Lords an addition of
patriotic Members, to counterbalance the votes of the Tory
rds who were created by his brother and father. If his Ma-
jesty do not venture to follow this course, there are other means
of inducing them to listen to the demands of the people.
2. It is probable that the Lords,have rejected the Reform Bill;
from a belief that the demand for it was the result of a temporary
excitement. The duty of the people then is to show that their
attachment to the cause of Reform is unabated, and quietly to tell
their Lordships that Reform they will have. This grave and
sober determination may induce their Lordships to re-consider
their verdict, and to yield to necessity as they did on the Catholic
question.
3. If they continue obstinate, every Lord, and every one of
his connections who holds office under Government, such as the
Lords-Lieutenants of counties, &c. may be dismissed, to mark
the determination of the King to have the Bill passed.
4. Should they still continue obstinately opposed to the will of
the King, the House of Commons, and the people, his Majesty
may exercise his prerogative of withholding writs from the de-
cayed and rotten boroughs ; and issuing writs to the populous
towns. This, many good lawyers say, would be a strictly con-
stitutional exercise of the prerogative, and if the people also de-
clare it to be good law, who shall dispute its legality ?
5. If the Ministers are forced out of office, and the Peelsitind
Wellingtons take their place,one other remedy remains. Th e people
cannot legally combine to refuse the payment of taxes, but each
man may say to himself, " I will pay none. Let them levy on
my goods if they will, but I will pay them no money."
If all fail ; if after all peaceable, legal, and constitutional means
are tried, and tried in vain ; if a Government opposed to the ex
tension of popular rights, attempt by force to suppress the public
voice, and subject men to punishment for demanding justice,
then, but not till then, other means must be tried, and these
means the writer of this will not be deterred from pointing out,
though his head should be the sacrifice of his temerity.
But our present course is clear before us. The King and his
Ministers are bound to stand by a peaceable and orderly people;
they are also bound to take part against all who, by acts of inti-
midation and violence, endeavour to obtain that which
ought to be sought only by legal and constitutional
means. Let every man, therefore, feel that on the preser-
vation of the public peace depends the success of this cause. If
the people are true to themselves; if they avoid all acts of vio-
lence; if they at the same time maintain the public
_peace and
demand their rights, who can withstand them? The cause
is a good cause and must prevail.
Inhabitants of Manchester! The Boroughreeve and Constables
have called you to attend a public meeting, to consider the pro-
priety of addressing his Majesty at this alarming crisis, and " as-
suring him of your unshaken determination to give to him and
his present Government all the support in your power, and also
imploring his Majesty to take such decisive constitutional pro-
ceedings as shall counteract the pernicious consequences which
may result from the rejection of the Reform Bill." Attend and
give your support to the constituted authorities in this patriotic
COMM

The advocates of the borouglimongers were also active
in issuing addresses against the Bill on Tuesday. Mr.
Sowler, the printer of a Tory Paper, and a decided enemy
of the Bill, took the pains to republish, in the shape of a
the speech of his Grace the Archbishop of
posting-bill,Canterbur
yas delivered by that Prelate in the House of
Peers. It turned out, however,. that the worthy gentle.
man might' have spared himself the labour, for the bill-
poster was followed by several sacrilegious advocates of
Reform, who, sans cerentonze, pulled th.e. papers down as
soon
tom.
nassthey were
put up, and tore his Grace's speech
t

MEETING OF THE RE Q UISITIONISTS.
At five o'clock on Tuesday afternoon the gentlemen Who
had signed the requisition met at the Town-hall, fur the
purpose of framing the petition and resolutions intended for
adoption at the great meeting ; Tlloms POTTER, Eq.,.
in the Chair. Considerable discussion arose out
of framing the resolutions, some of the meeting being
desirous that the resolutions should be couched in stronger
and more decided terms than those produced, but they
were ultimately agreed upon to the satisfaction of all pre-
sent. A deputation of the Huntites from the Political
Council waited upon the meeting, to request for that body
a copy of the intended resolutions, which, if they met the
approleation of the Operatives' Union, they should be
happy to support. The deputation stated that dc_
potations from the Political Unions of Bolton, Ashton,
Stochport, and other places' were then in Council, and did
not know what course to pursue, until they knew the sen-
timents of the Boroughrceve's meeting.
The CHAIRMAN said there could be no objection to fur-