The Sun.
London, England, 1841-10-04 00:00:00

near states along the coast, could export into this coun-
try not only cattle, but a great portion of their super-
abundant provisions, to supply the wants of the people
here. They were imported to a considerable extent, and
the inhabitants, whose recollection extended so far back,
would bear him out that it was a common occurrence for
the quays and the High-street to be crowded with horned
cattle, pigs, sheep, and a variety of other live stock,
brought from those countries for our use.(Cheers.)
Had such a state of things continued, it would
have been, no doubt, beneficial to the people of
this country ; but the Parliament of the landowners
soon saw that this state of things must not exist.
They were alive only to their own interest, and they
resolved to put a stop to this. It was their interest
to prevent importation, and they did so at once.—(Hear.)
He would just read a short extract from the report on
the import duties, which would in a few words show them
to what extent these duties apply—" The following
articles are prohibited, to protect British agricltural and
grazing interests, viz.: corn and flour, and meal of all
kinds, by prohibitory duties, except when the price
reaches what would amount to what would be called
famine prices in other countries : malt, beef, and pork,
fresh or slightly cured : lamb and mutton ; cattle, sheep,
and swine. High duties are levied on the following
articles, to protect British agricultural and grazing in-
terests :—Tongues 3d. each ; bacon, 28s. per cwt.; pork,
salted, 12s. per cwt.; sausages, 4d, per lb. ; potatoes, 2d
per lb.; beer and mum 3/. Is. Id., or about 2s. per gal-
lon; ale, other than mum, 21. 135.; beans, kidney or
French, 10d. per bushel ; fruits, various duties ; cider,
211. 10s. per tun ; hay, 245. per load of 36 trusses ;
lard, Bs. per cwt.; onions, 33. per bushel ; lentils, 10d.
per bushel ; pearl barley, 17s. 6d. per cwt.; mustard and
carraway, and many other seeds.' Now he would ask,
could there be any doubt as to the cause of the present dis-
tress, seeing that such duties as these were operating at
this moment to prevent their importing the necessaries
of life, which would immediately relieve that distress.
—(Flear, hear.) But the landlords' Parliament prevents
it, and they were too powerful for the people, and pre-
vailed against their interests. Another cause of the dis-
tress that exists, and had existed since the time he had
before named, was the contraction and extension of the
currency at different times, as suited the views of par-
ties having great command of capital. That, taken into
consideration together with the Corn and Provision-laws,
for the one arose very much out of the other, was quite
sufficient to account for the distress that had prevailed for
many years past. Now, he would ask, how was it the
joint-stock banks had the power to extend or contract
the circulation to this amount ? The private banks bad
their share in causing the fluctuation, and surely they
ought to have their share of the blame. But it was the
demand for money that induced the bankers to increase
the issues ; and on the other hand, when there was not
a demand, the issues were contracted.—(Hear.) Left
to itself the money trade was like all other trades, and
was affected only by the demand and supply ; but when
there were all sorts of schemes every day to prop up,
or bang down particular interests, the consequence
was a very serious injury to the people of this
country. But he had no hesitation in saying there was a
banking establishment that had the means to produce
these effects, and that was the Bank of England—(hear,
hear)—that great arm of the Government, which might be
at one time used for the best, and at another for the worst,
purposes. Every transaction and operation of that bank
must affect private and joint stock banks. If the Bank
of England contract or extend their issues, the others
must do the same. Then came seasons of distress,
but not without having been looked forward to
and expected. The present state of commercial affairs
had been foretold months back, and the banking
establishments, seeing such things were about to happen,
prepared themselves for it, as all prudent persons would,
and husbanded their resources to meet the demands they
knew they would have to encounter. He did not think,
therefore, that joint-stock banks should be condemned in
such unmeasured terms, as being the cause of the present
distress, and he trusted the people would have too much
good sense to be led away by such reasonings, when the
facts were so different from what they were stated to be.
They must anticipate great distress during the present
winter, and in that anticipation it was desirable that the
people of this country should not only consider the cause
but the remedy to remove that cause. Now corn was at
a 2s. Bd. duty, and all imported that day must pay 2s. Bd.
a quarter ; but just to show the absurdity of this sliding
scale, how it worked, and what mischief it did, he had
no hesitation in saying that to-morrow the duty would
10s. Bd. That was a fact generally known, and all those
who did not take corn out of bond that day, would have
to pay 10s. Bd. a quarter. That was not all either ; as
the case went on, the worse it was. It was also highly
probable that on the 14th October the duty would be 21s.
Bd., and that on the 21st it would be 225. Bd. per quarter.
He had hitherto spoken of the question as a national
one ; but if there was one place in the kingdom where
they ought more particularly to advocate freedom of
trade to the greatest extent, it was tI4 port of South-
ampton.—(Cheers.) Of what use would be their com-
mercial docks, the river Itchen, their splendid and capa-
cious quays, unless there were ships, and trade to be
carried on ? If the Government were resolved to cripple
commerce, there could not be that extent of trade car-
ried on at Southampton that there would otherwise be.
It was desirable, therefore, not only in a national point
of view, but as inhabitants of Southampton, that they
should do all they could to procure an alteration in the
Corn and Provision-laws, and then they would see the
quays and streets swarming, if he might so express him-
self, with horned cattle, sheep, and pigs ; and ships at
their quays unloading butter, cheese, and all the neces-
saries of life, which were now prohibited ; and the con-
sequence would be, that Southampton would become the
great inlet for these articles, and a state of great prospe-
rity, which they all desired to see, would ensue.
The MAYOR put the resolution, which was carried
unanimously.

Mr. POLLARD, a working man, then rose, and went
into arguments in favour of household suffrage, vote by
ballot, and triennial Parliaments, and proposed a resolu-
tion in favour of these measures.
Mr.
PIERCE seconded the resolution.

No opposition was made to it, and, on its being put
from the Chair, it was carried with only one dissentient.
The Rev. T.ADItiNs rose to propose the next reso-
lution—" That the laws of this country which restrict
or limit the supply of the necessaries of life are produc-
tive of great international evils, especially in reference
to t'_:.e industrious classes of the community." Corn,
continued the Rev. Gentleman, was the most common,
as well as hardy of the productions of the earth. It
grows with almost equal vigour amidst the snows of
Siberia, and in the heat of a tropical sun. It is found
wherever man has planted his foot, and where any vege-
table production can exist. Let them look back to Tyre
'end Sidon, maritime cities, Attica and Corinth the
same, and in more modern times Venice. Those cities
never grew grain enough to supply the thousandth part
of their population, and were ttey afraid of starvation?
They launched their vessels on the bosom of the deep,
mere boats compared to our gallant vessels. They tra-
versed the deep and visited every shore, and brought in
return for their merchandise all the varied productions
the earth affords. They were never haunted by the idea
of famine. They knew if they went to other marts
with their merchandise, the people they traded with
would be willing to pay them with the productions of
their country in return. Thus, from these facts might
have been derived principles of legislative wisdom, but
he was sorry to see that after the lapse of 1,000 years,
in what some had ventured to conceive was the Athens
of the moral and intellectual world, those lessons had
been lost sight of hear.) He concluded an elo-
quent address by proposing the resolution.
Seconded by J. R. KEELS, Esq., and carried unani-
mously.
It was then proposed by Mr. W. LANIIESTEE, se-
conded by Captain BOWYER, RN., and carried unani-
mously, " That this meeting is severely disappointed at
the apparent determination of her Majesty's present Go-
vernment not to allow any consideration or discussion of
the Corn and Provision-laws during the present Session
of Parliament."

The memorial to her Majesty was proposed by Mr. R.
ANDREWS, seconded by S. CHAPLIN, Esq., and carried
unanimously.
Thanks were then voted to the Chairman, and the
meeting separated.
DEVONPORT.—STATE OF THE COUNTRY.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 29.—A public meeting was held
last evening at the Town-hall, pursuant to a requisition
signed by several members of the Town Council, for the
purpose of taking into consideration " the propriety of
addressing her Majesty and both Houses of Parliament
on the subject of the Corn-laws, and on the important
duties in general." The hall was crowded. E. Abbott,
Esq., the Mayor, presided.
G. LEACH, Esq., moved the address to her Majesty.
He read an extract from the speech of the Duke of
Buckingham, at the Buckingham agricultural meet-
ing, and alluded to the declaration of the Duke of Rich-
mond in the House of Lords, that if Sir R. Peel pre-
sumed to meddle with the Corn-laws, they, the
landed aristocracy, would turn him out, as they
had turned out Lord Melbourne. He would
maintain that a more arrogant speech than this—a more
insulting threat, both to the Throne and the people—
had never been uttered in either House of Parliament.
It amounted to a declaration that the Queen's Minister, be
he who he might, should not hold the reins of Govern-
ment but so iona as he was their tool and their slave.—
(Cheers.) He adduced the speeches of Lord Stanley
and Sir James Graham, as further grounds for with-
holding confidence from the Government of Sir R. Peel.
C. TRIPE, Esq., seconded the address, which was sup-
ported by several other gentlemen.
The speakers were interrupted, and the business of
the meeting several times suspended, by the violence of
a body of Tory partizans at the lower end of the hall.
They moved, as an amendment, that the address be
considered that day six months, which, on the show of
hands, was negatived by a very large majority. The ad
dress, when signed, is to be forwarded to the Duke of
Sussex for presentation. The prevailing feeling of the
meeting was one of strong dissatisfaction with the policy
of the Ministry, and distrust of its members, a feeling
that is daily increasing among all classes in this borough-.