The Sun.
London, England, 1840-06-13 00:00:00

COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY.

Mr. BERNAL brought up the Report of the Committee of
Supply.
On the vote for Australia being read,
Mr. GOULBURN said, he thought that would be a con-
venient opportunity for submitting to the consideration of the
House the claims and services of the officers who had rendered
great services to the country by exploring that part of her Ma
jesty's dominions. It appeared that Captain Mitchell and the
other officers who had been thus bmployed, had received no
compensation whatever for their services. It had been the prac-
tice to reward services of this description by grants of lands be-
longing to the Crown in the country so explored. The Govern.
ment having now restricted nese grants was no ground for
withholding reward from meritorious officers for the services
they had performed, and if the Government could not reward
them by a grant of land, he said they had a claim not to be dis-
puted to receive remuneration in some other way. There were
a number of convicts employed in this expedition, all of whom
had received a mitigation of their sentence. The inferior per-
sons employed had also been rewarded ; the officers alone had
not received the slightest reward, the usual order of things
being thus inverted. Captain Mitchell had served in the most
distinguished manner in the Peninsula, but were he the humblest
individual who had performed services, of this description, he
would have a claim upon the Government and the country which
it would be their imperative duty to discharge.
After a few words from Mr. FRENCH respecting the great
expense of the survey,
Lord JOHN RUSSELL said, that not having expected the
introduction of the subject, he was unable to enter into the
general question of the justice of remuneration. With regard
however, to a grant of land, he should be unwilling to make
any exception to the rule which hail been adopted even in a case
of acknowledgment, lest it should be used as a precedent for
one of a different description. Further than this he was unable
to say, without referring to the particulars of the case.
Sir T. ACLAND said the operation of the rule forbidding
then
grants of land had been ex post jitcto in Sir T. Mitchell's
case—his expedition was completed after that rule.-_(
(
i r
s
Mr. WARD agreed in the propriety of some remunera-
tion, but said a grant of money would be best, and
T. Mitchell could, if he pleased, purchase land at the low price
at which it was sold in the colony,
On the first vote on the Irish Estimates,
Mr. PLUMPTRE said he regretted he had not been there
the other night, when these estimates passed. He wished to
have objected to the vote for National Education in Ireland,
which system, though nominally national, was really and
practically exclusively Roman Catholic, as the Protestant pa-
rents would not send their children to schools where part only
of the Bible was taught—a plea for w:hich he held there could
be no justification.
Lord MORPETH said that he could not agree in many of
the statements made by the Hon. Member. The system of
national education in Ireland had been approved of by sixty-two
congregations of the Presbyterian pessausions. The principles
of the Hon. Member would lead him to disapprove altogetLer
of any grant of public money for the purpose of imparting in-
struction to Roman Catholics with the approbation of their
clergy, or even of their laity. An education of such a nature
in Ireland, would in no way deserve the name of national.
Lord TEIGNMOUTH said that if the Synod of Ulster had
sanctioned the present system, they had done so because all
their demands had been granted by the Commissioners. The
fact was, that the Roman Catholic priests, and the Presbyte-
rian ministers, looked on the Commissioners as mere Treasury
agents, for the purpose of dispensing the public money. He
would not then object to the vote, but he hoped it would
hereafter become the subject of a complete inquiry.
Mr. H. GRATTAN wished to know if the Noble Lord was
a schoolmaster ?—( A laugh)—for he (Mr. Grattan) was a
schoolmaster. k Laugh ter7) He was at pre. sent teaching the
children of the of Buckingham —( Great langhter)—
and the children of Dr. Lefroy,—(Roar;of laughter, )—and he
did not receive one farthing gof pay from either of them.—( Great

laughter.) in the county of Wicklow he had a school of Pro-
testant and Catholic children, and they were going on exceed-
ingly, well._( Hear.) The Protestant ministers could come into
the schools and examine the children if they liked,—(Heati
hear.) The schools would gn on very Well it the Hon. Mem-
ber for Kent, and the Hon. Member for Marylebone, would
only let them alone.—( Hear, hear, and laughter.) The Noble
Lord had said that the children ought not to be educated in the
tenets which their parents professed, and congratulated himself
that the Protestant clergy objected to the present system of na-
tional education. Would the Noble Lord go so fat' as to say
that the Catholic children should be educated as Protestants?—
(Hear, hear.) An attempt was made to take away the Pro-
testant children from his school, but the Protestant gentlemen in
his neighbourhood wrote to him, requesting tha'L he would keep
the children, and he did so. In doing so he had incurred great
expense, and was put to very great but very agreeable trouble.
It was true that he got sonic assistance in teaching those 500
children from these extravagant treasurers of whom the Noble
Lord made such heavy complaints, but he could assure the No-
ble Lord that they were niggardly treasurers indeed. There
were in Ireland 2,000 schools, and the whole number of chil-
dren educated in those, male and female, was 255,000. The
treasurers gave no more than 101. to each of those schools, and
the landlords had to make up the difference to 30/., he meant
the landlords who took upon them the duties of schoolmasters.
That was the liberality of which the Noble Lord complained.
When the Noble Lord and other Gentlemen opposite interfered
in Irish business, they ought at least to take the trouble of in-
forming themselves of the matter about which they were going to
talk. But, in fact, they knew nothing of the country, and
they took their evidence from sources which were net
always reckoned the most pure.—(hear, hear, hear. )
On such evidence it was that Gentlemen opposite wished to put
down the present system, and to leave the children of the Irish
poor dependent upon something which was
yet to be born—some
illegitimate offspring not yet in existence—( A laugh)—which
was to be got between the county of Kent and the parish of
Marylebone.—( Roars of laughter.) He saw that the Hon.
Baronet was meditating a speech,—(A laugh. )
Sir G. SINCL AIR—No, no, lam not indeed.._( Laughter. )
Mr. GRATTAN continued—The Protestant clergy in his
county offered hint some opposition, but he kept his temper,
and they lost theirs, FO that in the end he had the advantage.—
( Hear, hear.) And he would continue to teach the Pro-
testant children as well as the Roman Catholic. He believed
that the education of those children would produce a revolution,
and pot down not only ignorance but party, and the party of
gentlemen opposite in particular.—( Cheers.) Children were in-
structed
structed in the most important parts of political economy, but
the whole Bible was certainly not given to them.—( Cheers. )
The Noble Lord cheered. Would the Noble Lord give the
whole Bible to any of his sons or daughters to read ?—( Hear. )
Did he read it himself ?—( Cheers. ) The Bible was never
given to children to turn over and read as they liked.—( Cheers. )
The great objection after all to this Society was that it was not
a proselytizing Society.—( Hear.) When the Noble Lord
the Member for North Lancashire was in the Ministry he sup-
petted the system—but he was not in his place now.—( A
laugh.) The Gallant Sergeant also was not in his place.—
( Great laughter.) Yes, he said the Gallant Serjeant, be-
cause the Honourable and Learned Member for Bandon had
been the champion of the proselytizing society, and had
fought all their battles.--( Hear, hear, and laughter. )
He (Sir. Grattan) was never more surprised at any
statement, much as he was accustomed to surprise at
statements from the other side,—than when he heard it
asserted that the national system had failed. What, did
they call it a failure to educate 255,000 children on large and
liberal principles at an expense to the Government of no more
than 10/.—( Hear, hear hear, and Cheers.) lie would not
say that he was peculiarly religious, and he hoped to steer
through life with his 500 children withcut giving scandal either
to Marylebone or Kent.—(Cheers, and laughter.) If the
Noble Lord or the Hon. Member would take the trouble of
going to Ireland, they :might visit the schools, and they would
see that their fears wore unfounded, and they would join him,
not in taxing the people of England, but in educating the un-
protected sons and daughters of the poor peasantry of Ireland.
Sir ROBERT BATESON said that he had always viewed
the system called national education as a failure. It was in-
tended to embrace the education of all sects, but it was
equally disapproved of by Dr. APHale and the Catholic clergy
on the one hand, and by the Protestant clergy on the other.
The children of Protestants did not go to these schools in that
part of the country in which he resided, but the Kildare-street
Society system, when in operation, gave satisfaction. He ob-
jected to the vote in the lumping manner in which it was
brought forward. The House ought to have been furnished
with particulars, because he believed a great sum of money had
been wasted in useless ornamental buildings. He hoped that
next session a change would be effected in the present system,
which would give greater satisfaction to the people of England.
Sir. CUAIMING BRUCE opposed the vote. The General
Assembly of Scotland hart declared itself opposed to the existing
system of education in Ireland.
Mr. R EDING TON, believing the measure had fully
achieved the objects for which it was proposed to support the
vote.

Mr. Sergeant JACKSON, on behalf of the Protestants of
Ireland, begged to state that this was a grant from which they
de:iyed no benefit. There were not less than two millions of
Protestants in Ireland, and it behoved the House when called
upon to vote so large a sum for what was called national educa-
tion, to see that it was applied to a national purpose. But
Protestants would not send their children to schools
in which the only book prohibited was the
sacred Word of God, and the Presbytery of the Synod of
Ulster were excluded.—( Hear, hear.) The system now adopt-
ed was a departure from the original system proposed by the
Noble Lord, the Member for North Lancashire, and no body
could pretend that this present system of education was entitled
to be called a system of National Education. On the part of
tt ehset nProtestantts population of Ireland, he earnestly entreated
that House to give some portion to the humble classes of Pi o-
a if 60,0001. was to be given annually for such purposes.
No man had more anxious wishes for the welfare of his Roman
Catholic fellow-countrymen, but he trusted that justice would
be done to all parties.
Colonel RAWDON was anxious to see the Government plan
encouraged, because the Synod of Ulster had lately given in its
adherence to the National System of Education. He was most
anxious also to see the youth of Ireland educated together and
forgetting their sectarian differences, which had produced so
much virulence and animosity for a long period.—(Chcers.)
The present was the first step towards conciliating the people
of Ireland. Whatever was the amount of the grant, it should
have his cordial support, because he saw in it the first
germs of nationality for his country.--(Loud cheers.)
Mr. GISBORNE said grants had been given for the pur-
poses of education for all the colonies, and not a word had been
said by way of objection, but the moment a grant was made
for the people of Ireland, up started the lion. .nd Learned
Sergeant and objected to it.—(hear and cheers.)
Strangers were then ordered to withdraw, upon which Ser-
geant Jackson, Lord Teignmouth, and many other Conservative
Members left the House, amid loud cheering from the Minis-
terial Benches. The House, however, did not divide. On
our return to the gallery,
Mr. GL ADSTONE was saying lie should support the vote,
because though there were many differences in detail, and many
objections to particulars capable of amendment, yet he consi-
dered it a vote analogous in principle to that which had re
ceived the unanimous consent of the House for many years past
for the purpose of education in Ireland.
Mr. COLQUIIOUN was sorry to differ from his Hon.
Friend who spoke last. The present system was in every respect
different from that which was introduced by the Noble Lord the
Member for North Lancashire ; and it was a shameful and frau-
dulent attempt that had been made to impose on the Synod of
Ulster, by representing that the present system was the same as
that which was established in 1835 and 1836. Hon. Gentlemen
were constantly accusing the Noble Lord ( Stanley) on all other
subjects of being the enemy of Ireland, but on the question of
education they were ready enough to come under his wing.—
( Hear, hear.) But the authority of his Noble Friend was not
in favour of the present system of education or of any semblance
to it, as when the question came properly before the House he
should be prepared to show.
Lord MORPETH said he felt it absolutely necessary to no-
tice the ambiguous charge made by the Hon Gentleman (Mr.
Colquhoun) either against the Board of Education or her Ma-
jesty's Government, of a fraudulent attempt to entrap the Synod
of Ulster. Whatever participation he (Lord Morpeth) might
have in it he was perfectly able to bear ; but with respect to
this subject he begged to state that everything relating to that
negotiation and the terms which had been acceded to by the
Synod of Ulster were matters of record, being in print, so that
every person
on
persotuhe u
might be
hear. )
et._ablenetaoforemfor themselves a correct
opinion
Strangers were then ordered to withdraw, when Sergeant
Jackson arid other Members who had returned to their seats,
again left the Howse.
The House divided, when there appeared—
For the grant
Against it
23
Majority for the grant —l24
On the motion that 8,9381. be granted for the College of
Slaynooth,

Sir R. BATESON had opposed the grant for the last ten
years, and if any Hon. Member moved for its rejection, he
would support that motion.
Lord MORPETH said that as the Hon. Member for Kent
had given notice that he would bring the subject before the
House in a specific motion, and as Hon. Gentlemen did not
wish to stop the grant fgt. the current year, he would put it to
both sides of the House whether it was not better to postpone
the discussion until the question came fully before the House?
Mr. BAGGE assured the Noble Lord that if no one else
moved the rejection of the grant he would.—( Hear.)
Lord TEIGNMOUTH said that, as a Protestant, he could
not support the grant.
Mr. BAGGE moved that the vote be rejected.
After a few words from Lord TEIGNMOUTH and Lord
WORSLEY, the House divided, when there appeared—
For the vote —.121
Against it 32
Majority
The vote was then agreed to.
On the motion for the payment of 25,100/. for the Chief
Secretary's department in Ireland,
Col. SIBTHORP moved the reduction of the salary of the
Chief secretary for Ireland to 4,0001. per annum instead of
:tih'.rej 'loffile e
3Oi altogether.
a amount of his salary to the decision of the House,
Gallant leave the
he would
the ould
futureßpE
Lord u
lva occasions he would move the abolition of
perfectly content e toa ea
ci l
the question of its total extinction whenever tb
Colo-
nel brought it forward.—(A laugh.)
.UemEaßiniannsiviNelter.s
ClTlEhegt
without a division.
After a few words from the CHANCELLOR of the EX.:
The Railways Bill was read a second time. .
motionto. was negatived
(Scot-
land) Bill was read a th;rd time, and ordered to be committed
on Thursday next.
On the motion of Alr. FOX MAULE, the Prisons SwAerl\e'FthenßDa 'grteic'ed
I don ay.
The other Orders of the day were then disposed of, and the
House adjourned at a Quarter past One o'Clock till 3

of them alarming enouh,
--
DISTRESS IN THE TOWNS SCARCITY.--We
have received several communications from the country, some
have made inquiries ins the proper quarter as to the extent of
the scarcity, and there is no doubt that it is severely felt in
some counties ; but the intensity of the suffering has been miti-
and all comlaining of distress. WI!
gated—the provisions, potatoes principally, and oatmeal, which
in some places were abundant, have been distributed in the
suffering districts, or are in the course of distribution. 'We
shall, however, continue to hear complaints for ano-
ther month, until the new food comes in; but we may
state generally, that the privations this year are not
greater than usual at this time of the year, except in some of
the southern counties. There is another kind of distress, how-
ever, which is beginning to prevail to an alarming degree. The
shop-keepers in the country towns, and perhaps we should not
far wrong in speaking similarly of the cities, are labouring
underwhile
great difficulties in consequence of the want of business,
in the of all kinds are looking up—beef, for instance,
It 1 Dublin market being so high as ninepence per pound.
bienjohuibtihei :Ur:
.I::iigingepyoesatt: for the landlords, even with
the short crops and th-eoo 't of provender. But all trans-
actions, except for the mere necessaries of life, seem to be sus-
e niclaesd
MR* THE
HON. MRS. NORTON'S NEW WORK.—
We are requested to state that Mr. Colburn, of Great Marlbo-
rough-street, has this d
published " The Dream, and other
Poems," by the Hon. Mrs.
of Sutherland, in 1 vol, gvo , with a fine Portrait of the
Author, after a drawing by E. . Landseer, IL A., price 12s.
bound, which can now be had of all booksellers. Mr. Col-
burn has also this day published the new novel entitled " The
Banker Lord," in 3 vols. post Bvo.

THE BRITISH AND FOREIGN

ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY.

The first meeting of the Convention for the Extinc-
tion of Slavery and the Slave Trade throughout the
World took place yesterday, in the Great Hall of the
Freemasons' Tavern. Among those present we noticed
Thomas Clarkson, Esq., the venerable and consistent
advocate of the total extinction of slavery ; George
Thompson, Esq. ; the Rev. J. A. James, of Birming-
ham ; Mr. Sturge ; Mr. Blair, of Bath ; the Rev. John
Burnett, of Camberwell ; Mr. W. D. Crewdson ; the
Rev. Mr. Knibb, and several other persons of note in
the cause of emancipation.
Mr. Beata, the late Member for Bath, before the
the proceedings commenced, stated that Mr. Clarkson
had arrived ; but upon his entering the meeting he
thought, instead of expressing the feelings they enter-
tained towards that venerable man by any cheer;ng, they
should show their respect by receiving him standing.
This recommendation was adopted to the letter, and the
venerable Father of the Society for the Extinction of
Shivery was introduced by Mr. Joseph Sturge and Mr.
W. Allen, one of its oldest advocates, the whole com-
pany standing.
Mr. ZSTURGE, on moving that Mr. Clarkson should
take the Chair, stated that he was accompanied by the
lady of his son, and her child, a youth
of great promise, who had been trained up in the foot.
steps of his grand father, and of whose future life the
greatest expectations were entertained by the friends of
the extinction of slavery.
Mr. BURNEY, of New York, seconde I the moticn,
which was carried unanimously.
Mr. CLARKSON, upon taking the Chair, proceeded
to address the meeting, but, from the weakness of his
voice, and the situation in which we
.were placed, it
was almost impossible to hear a word that he said.
We, however, understood him to say that he was the
only surviving member of the Committee which was
formed in the year 1787. The great object they had
in view was the total extirpation of slavery from the
face of the globe. Their most formidable opponents
seemed to be the cotton interests in the southern parts
of the United States, who held, he wile sorry to say,
upwards of two millions of slaves in the most cruel
bondage. The only way in which they could hope to
operate upon the feelings of those men, was to affect
their temporal interests. They must endeavour to
introduce free labour, as that was the only way to
succeed.
Mr. W. D. CREWDSON read a letter from Lord
Brougham, who had been solicited to attend the meet-
ing, lamenting that the state of his health would not
permit him to comply with the request, and stating
his cordial co-operation in the object they had in view.
Upon a motion for that purpose, it was unanimously
agreed that Mr. Blair, Mr. Joseph Sturge, Mr. Burney,
and Mr. Greville, should be requested to become Vice-
Chairmen of the meeting.
The Rev. Mr. KNIBB presented, on behalf of 300,000
emancipated slaves in Jamaica, the only tribute they
had to give to Mr. Clarkson—the certificate of the pro-
priety of their conduct since they had been made free.
The Report of the Committee was then read by Mr.
TREDGOLD, the Secretary of the Society.
Mr. GEORGE STACEY said he had been unexpec-
tedly called upon to move a resolution, which was that
Mr. Scobell, Mr. Staunton, Mr. Scales, Mr. B'evill, and
Mr. Phillips should be Secretaries.
The Rev. J. BURNETT, of Camberwell, seconded
the resolution. It was of great importance that they
should have efficient and devoted Secretaries ; no So-
ciety could get on without them, and he would venture
to say the individuals proposed would do honour to
the meeting, for they had already proved by their
accounts their competency to the work which would he
placed in their hands. He was very much pleased at
the manner in which they had appointed one as their
Cliarman who had ever shown himself as the great
friend of the slave, and who had now cane forward to
show his devotedness still to so holy a cause. He was
sure that those gentlemen who were now proposed would
act with the cool deliberation of men, and yet display the
ardour of individuals whose feelings were enlisted in
the great cause.—(Cheers.) He trusted that the man-
ner in which they had begun the proceedings of that
Convention would be adhered to it to its close. The
Rev. Gentleman concluded by seconding the resolu-
tion, which was carried unanimously.
The Rev. 'F. SCALES, of Leeds, said that the office
which the meeting had been pleased to confer upon them
was one not only of great labour but of great responsi-
bility. He was sorry to say that one of the number was
an invalid, and he was sure that the meeting would re-
gret to learn that Mr. Scobell was prevented by indis-
position from being with them that day ; though he was
not corporeally present, he was sure that his spirit was
with them in the great cause upon which they had met.
Of the secretaries they had appointed, two were from
America, Mr. Staunton and Mr. Phillips, the former of
whom was the Secretary of a great Society acting there
in favour of the great cause they had met to advocate.
He trusted that the secretaries they had chosen would
perform the' important duties they had committed to
them with benefit to the Society and credit to themselves.
Mr. THOMAS MOTT moved the next resolution, which
was that Mr. Holmes,i, Mr. Tredgold, Mr. J. Cooper,
and Mr. Henry Petty, be appointed a Committee to
superintend the publication of their proceedings.
The Rev. J. A. JAMES, of Birmingham, seconded the
motion.
Fhe Rev. J. ANGEL JAMES seconded the resolution.
The resolution was put and carried.
G. THOMPSON, Esq., rose to propose the next reso-
lution. He felt, that however anxious he might be
to express his sentiments on the great objects of the
meeting, in the presence of those champions of human
rights then around him, on whom the eyes of many
of them bad that day gazed for the first time, he did
not think that was the stage of their proceedings
at which it would be consistent with good taste to
trespass on the time of the Convention.—(Hear,
hear, hear.) Their proceedings were then only
preliminary, and had merely a reference to the means
of affording them hereafter the opportunity of fully
expressing their views on all those topics con-
nected with the interests of the cause in which
they were embarked. .He might, however, be
allowed to express his gratification at find-
ing himself in the presence of those who had la-
boured in the cause of the abolition of slavery, both in
this country and •on the other side of the Atlantic.
They had then among them not only the tried and
trusted friends of freedom on this side of the
Atlantic, but those also who had laboured and
suffered more than language could express in the
same cause in the western hemisphere of our world.
He was anxious that the Chairman should know that
bra advice and encouragement were appreciated by
those who had been permitted that day to behold
him for the first time. He trusted, too, that the example
which he had set would be imitated by those who had
that day seen him. The Hon. Gentleman then moved
a series of resolutions to the effect that the Convention
shall meet twice a-day, at ten in the morning, and
at four in the afternoon ; that all resolutions should
be submitted to the Secretary the day before they
were proposed ; that the business which would come
before the meeting should be announced the day before ;
that a Committee should be appointed to prepare reso-
lutions, &c. ; that any Member of the Convention who
wished to speak, should previously send in his card to
the Chairman, and that each Member should not speak
for more titan twenty minutes at a time.

Mr. O'CONNELL here
,entered, but in consequence
of a resolution of the Convention, as stated by Mr.
Thomson, his entrance was not hailed with cheers.
The Rev. NATHANIEL CALVER seconded the reso-
lution.
Mr. J. CANNING FULLER, of New York, objected to
the necessity which it was proposed to impose on
speakers of sending in their cards beforehand.
The SECRETARY said that that resolution would be
a source of great convenience.
Mr. FULLER could not approve of the resolution.
He had belonged to a Convention in America, and he
liked short speeches. He had not come a distance of
3,000 miles to listen to long addresses.
Mr. JAMES thought it would be inconvenient if in
_ _

the discussion of any subject the speaker should be tied
down to twenty minutes. He would therefore suggest,
that after the words " twenty minutes," the words ex-
cept by permission of the Chairman," should be intro-
troduccd. Many persons might have information
of the utmost importance to communicate, which they
might not be able to do in twenty minutes.
Mr. STITRGE moved that every gentleman, on rising
to address the meeting, should announce his name.
This was inconformity with the general practice in pubic
assemblies of this description.
The motion having been seconded,
Mr. G. THOMPSON suggested that the resolution
should be altered in conformity with Mr. Sturge's
motion in the following manner—that each gentleman
desirous of addressing the meeting should either send
up his card to the Chairman, or announce his name.
Dr. liowitiNG thought that experience had shown
that the Parliamentary practice was the best—that those
who caught the ear of the Chairman should he con-
sidered as in possession of the meeting. If the practice
of sending up cards to the Chairman were adopted, they
might have 50 or 100 persons sending up their cards,
and 411 desirous of speaking to one subject. He should
suggest the propriety of omitting that resolution al.
together.

ar. G. THOMPSON thought it would be better to put
the resolutions seriatim, and then they could be ac-
cepted or rejected, sub silentio. The first resolution
rehting to the sitting of the Convention was then put
ana carried. The second, third, and fourth, were alto
put and carried without discussion.
0 n the fourth resolution being put, which proposed
that persons intending to address the Convention on
any subject, should previously send their cards to the
chairman,
Al:r. J. C. FULLER moved that it be omitted.
The Rev. J. BURNETT seconded Mr. Fuller's amend-
ment, which was put and carried, and the resolution
conse fluently was omitted.
The next "resolution proposed was to the effect that
no rtreaker should occupy more than twenty minutes

in addressing the meeting, except the opener of a pro-
position, who might be allowed ten minutes more.
Mr. JA7aEs would move that the words " except by
special permission of the Chairman," be added to the
resolution.
The Rev. J. BURNETT objected to the proposition, as
throwing too great responsibility on the Chairman ; and
he thought no speaker would be called on to close his
remarks when the 20 minutes had elapsed.
After a few words from Mr. Wnsos, of Nottingham,
Mr. BRADBURN, a Member of the Legislature of
Massachusets, said that he could not see why the pro-
poser of a resolution to the meeting should have addi-
tional time allowed him, or why he should have two
speeches while others were allowed but one.
Dr. BOWRING hoped the resolution would not be
persisted in, as he was convinced the less they fettered
their resolution the better.
The amendment, was then put and negatived, and
it was understood that the original resolution was with-

drawn.
Mr. O'CONNELL said that it was an exceedingly con-
venient practice, after the amendment had been put and
negatived, to put also the original resolution, as other
persons might have amendments to propose.
[Such we understood to be the purport of what fell
from the Hon. and Learned Gent:eman, who spoke in
a low tone, and was close to the Chairman. The table
appropriated to the Reporters is most inconveniently si-
tuated, being placed at the opposite side of the room to
the Chairman, and every gentleman who rises to address
the Chair consequently stands with his back to the Re-
porters' table, so that it is utterly impossible in many
instances to catch even the purport of his observations.]
The other resolutions proposed by Mr. Thompson
were then put and carried.

Dr. Cox rose to propose one resolution more. It
had been agreed that they should hold two meetings
in the course of the day, a morning meeting to com-
mence at ten, and an afternoon meeting at four ; but
it was not stated at what hour they should adjourn. He
would therefore move that at the morning meeting no
new business be entered upon after two o'clock.
The motion having been seconded,
Mr. JAMES said he doubted if they would get an
effective evening meeting.
Mr. JOSEPH PEASE supported the motion.
A MEMBER said that new business might be intro-
duced at a quarter to two perhaps, which might last a
considerable time. He would suggest the propriety of
always adjourning at half-past two.

After a great deal of explanation and discussion pro
and con,

Mr. BURNET said the resolution before the meeting
was, that the Convention should close its proceedings in
the morning at an hour not later than two.—(Hear.)
Dr. BOWRING said it would be better to leave it to
the general sense of the meeting, or the arrangement of
the chair.--( Hear.)
Mr. G. THOMPSON said tile experiment had succeeded
in the United States of having a fixed hour for adjourn-
ment in the morning, but indefinite in the afternoon.
Ultimately it was settled that as the original resolution
had been carried, it decided the question.
The CHAIRMAN then called upon Mr. O'CONNELL,
who said, in obedience to so sacred a command, he
would venture, however unworthy, to address this great
Convention. One idea was first impressed upon his
mind and understanding. Now, much had been done
by Great Britain on behalf of our coloured fellow men.
Emancipation was a great and majestic act, and most
valuable even in itself was the extinction in all parts of
the British dominions, except, indeed, the East Indies,
of slavery, Still there had been left a terrible blot on
the escutcheon of human nature. The Slave Trade was
left behind.—( Hear.) This was a Convention the
most important that ever assembled.—( Hear.) To it
came men from hundreds and thousands of miles dis-
tance—no man with even a selfish motive—not even
alone for the pride and pleasure of participating in the
great and ennobling work—hut from sincere philan-
thropy to the human race—(hear)—and it included
delegates from all parts of the world, even from America
—certainly from all parts of the British empire—and
none ought to be exempt from co-operation.—( Hear.)
And in the Chair he was happy to see the Patriarch of
liberty.—(Hear, hear.) He was glad that the vene-
rable gentleman had lived to see the brightening of a
day, the dawn of which the fervour of his youth could
scarcely have hoped to sec.—(Hear, hear.) His was
the purest of all fame, that of doing good.—(Hear,
hear.) They were not met here only to talk, or dis-
play talent—that would be insufficient ; they must direct
their minds to some practical movement ; Forward must
be the word.—(Hear. hear.) They must speedily
adopt practical means for establishing corresponding
and co-operating societies all over the world.—( Hear,
hear.) Lt was a gratifying thing to hear that Massa-
chussetts had declared the first clause of American in-
dependence to be utterly inconsistent with slavery, and
on that ground alone it should be abolished.—(Hear,
hear.) At present it was only in the East Indies that
slavery, under the British rule, existed. There not
only the labourers were slaves, but the great mass of
the population were serfs, completely under the sway
of the East India Company, to be ground down by the
" land rent" exactions at its hear.) There
should be a glorious combination of anti-slavery socie-
ties all over the world, and no motives should be allowed
to mar the disinterested sincerity of their efforts.
He was rejoiced to see their Chairman among them.
He was happy to find himself in a Convention, to the
members of which no selfish motives could by any pos-
sibility be attributed. Let them persevere in their
efforts, and they would raise the entire of the human
race from a state of slavery and degradation to that
liberty which was the best preparative for receiving the
truths of Christianity and the blessings of civilization.
Mr. J. C. FULLER wished to make an appeal to the
Hon. Gentleman who had just addressed the Conven-
tion, and he hoped he would be excused for doing so.
There was a charm in the name of Daniel O'Connell
all over the uuiverse, and he believed that Mr. O'Con-
nell could do more for the suppression of slavery in the
United States than any other man could do. Some
of their Irish brethren were among the princi-
pal supporters of slavery in America, and he was
persuaded that if Mr. O'Connell issued an address to the
Irish there in favour of the abolition of slavery, such an
address would lead to the best results.
Mr. O'CONNELL would assure the Hon. Gentleman
that he wanted no additional system to carry into effect a
purpose which he had already in contemplation. Before
the Convention broke up, he would show that gentleman
such an address as he had suggested, and which he trusted
would be found satisfactory.
Mr. BRADISURNE,: of the Massachussets Legislature,
next addressed the Convention. The state of Massa-
chussets had declared it to be the duty of Congress to
abolish slavery in the American States. She had also
expressed her sense of the unconstitutionality of a law
existing in the slave states, by which a black citizen when
going into them even on business was seized, and if he
could not prove his being a freeman, was sold into per-
petual slavery. The Legislature of Massachussets had
strongly protested against the illegality of such a system.
He congratulated England on her being free from that
sanctioning of slavery which he felt as a dishonour to his
own country.
The Rev. T. SCALES then read a report of the Society
as follows :

" It is of the utmost importance, in the very outset of our
proceedings as a Convention, that we should virtually un-
derstand each other, and be agreed upon the ground we oc-
cupy, and the object which in our united capacity we pro-
pose to act together to accomplish.
" This is necessary, that our proceedings may be uniform
and consistent, and that no topics of a foreign and irrele-
vant character may be introduced to divide our attention,
or to divert us from the one great end we all have in
common.

" That evils in abundance, and in a vast and frightful
variety, exist throughout our world, we must all feelingly
deplore, and the sooner remedies for these evils are devised
and applied, so that they may be meliorated and effectually
cured, we all shall readily acknowledge to be most desir-
able. But our attention is now called to one monstrous
evil, of a character sufficiently marked and distinctive to
bear a special designation ; and for the eradication and de-
struction of this evil we, in our office as Delegates and
members of this Convention, are summoned and have
come hither at the special invitation of the Committee of
the British and Foreign Anti- Slavery Society, that we may
confirm one another in our hatred of that great wrong—in
our purpose and resolutions to oppose it ; and that by our
calm, solemn, and enlightened deliberations we may devise
such methods of future co-operation as may, by the guid-
ance and blessing of the Most High God, the fountain of
all wisdom and goodness, and the common Father of our
whole race, the more speedily conduct to its utter final over-
throw in very part of our habitable world. That evil is
SLAVERY—direct, unequivocal, absolute Slavers—not
other evils of a kindred character, or which in the opinion
of some may be of equal, or even greater magnitude, or
which may be gassed by some philosophical philanthro-
pists under the same head, and called by the same name;
but, if we may so speak, slavery proper in its own distinct
and essential attributes.

" It has been truly observed by an eloquent writer,
that a great variety of human conditions, relations, and
tenures, and some of them not only innocent in themselves,
but indispensable to the social state, arc often confounded
with slavery.' This confusion of things which differ has
been the occasion of much mischief—has tended to weaken
the convictions entertained by many of the enormity of
slavery—to confirm its upholders in their adherence to the
system, and has supplied them with a plea in its justifica-
tion, and an additional pretext fur its continuance.
" Political disabilities have been denounced as slavery,
and tvery restriction which either civil or ecclesiastical
legislation in any country has imposed upon the enjoyment
of perfect liberty of conscience and of worship, has been
represented as only another of its forms ; but in whatever
light we may regard it, and by whatever terms of repre-
hension we may feel ourselves moved, or deem ourselves
warranted to condemn such pernicious infringements of
human rights, it is only by a figure of speech that
they are designated slavery ; since they may exist, in their
worst forms, and exert their fatal influence, in counties
and communities where slavery, properly so called, is en-
tirely unknown. The same may be predicted of many
other forms of evil, of injustice and oppression,
which are utterly inconsistent with the law of
God and the happiness of men, but which, though
they may sometimes be called: slavery, must by
distinguished from it, since they want its essential attri-
butes and features. Slavery, then, is a condition in which
man presumes to claim property in his fellow man—wrests
from another the right he has to himself, and assumes to
be his masts and owner, which reduces man, moral, re-

EVENING EDITION__,.

sponsible, immortal man, who was made in tue image of
God, to the state of a mindless and irresponsible
brute,
whom his proprietor is at liberty to use according to his
own pleasure, to buy or sell, and work as any other portion
of his cattle or chattels. So that it is not merely a fact,
but it is the very letter of the law in many slave cowl-
tries that " the slave is one who is bought or sold, and
held as property." The" slaves," meaning human beings,
the sons of God, of the very same flesh and blood with these
legislators, " shall be deemed, taken, reputed, and adjudged
to be chattels personal in the hands of their
ni,steis, and
Fossessions to all intents and purposes what,oevir," and
some also a: " real estate."

That this is a cruel usurpation, an outrage on huma-
nity, an insult to the God who made us, and who has
made of one blood all the nations of men who dwell ee
all the face of the earth, is a proposition which merely
to state is to prove, and which no process of reasoning eaumake more evident and convincing than its mere announce-
ment to parties who are not warped by the influence of
the evil itself, or involved in its guilt, and enriched by its
gains. It is not only to reverse such unrighteous
decrees, but also, and even more, to rescue the
unhappy victims of them, in every clime and of every
colour, that we thus.confederate. This is our high enter-
prise. We come not here to arbitrate the conflicting
rights of freemen—to balance or adjust the real or sup'
posed inequalities of rank, and order of precedence
or
subordination, as they exist in different countries and com-
munities, and have been introduced and established by the
course of events and by the usages and customs or preju-
dices of mankind—all these we leave untouched, they
form no part of our business here ; as the Delegates of
this Convention, I presume, we are not called to discuss
and settle the wrongs and grievances of the free, but, free'
men ourselves, and jealous of our rights, ive meet in be-
half of the despised and degraded victims of thraldom,
that we may raise them from the dust, and lift them to the
rank of manhood—that we may break their galling fetter'
and bring them into the glorious liberty which is their
birthright, arid thus roll away from religion and from the
respective countries to which we belong, and which
ice:
come hither to represent, the stain and reproach by which
they have been so long dishonoured.
Early in the last year the project of forming a society
for the abolition of slavery and the slave-trade occupied
the attention of some of those friends of the negro race,
whose exertions, under the blessing of God, had so mate-
rially contributed to achieve the great work of ernancl-
pution in our own colonies. In the month of March an
invitation was sent to all the Delegates who had us;
sembled in London in the years 1833, 1837, and
1838, to meet at Exeter Hall, on Wednesdelr

April 17th, for the purpose of considering the pro-
priety of the formation of a Society for Promoting
the Abolition of Slavery and the Slave Trade throughout
the world, by moral, religious, and other influences, no
sanction being given to the employment of an armed force.
Great care was taken to make this invitation as extensive
as possible, so that it might embrace the great constituOil
- 4
ency who had been so active in the previous struggle.
the day appointed a considerable body of gentlemen as-
sembled in Exeter hall, almost the whole of them having
come up from the country, prepared to express not 0011
their own feelings but those of tie friends of the eauso A
generally with whom they had held consultation. The
meeting was attended by the Right Hon. Dr. Lushingtonr
Sir George Strickland, Sir Eardley Wilmbt, and Mr.
Turner, Members of Parliament, and was especially in'
debted to the first of these gentlemen for the sedulous
attention which he paid to the business of the day, and the
facilities he afforded for the settlement of some difficultie.s
which arose. The general grounds and objects of the
movement were set torth by 11r. Sturge, to whom it 15
not out of place or at all invidious in me here to state,
which I do most fervently and cordially, and from my own
knowledge, that our great cause, and the cause of humaniti
itself, owes a large debt, and whom both hemispheres may
delight to hail and to honour. The Society was then con-
stituted, and the following resolutions, as its basis, and for
its future government, were adopted on the succeeding

day
" I. That the name of this Society be, The British and
Foreign Anti. Slavery Society. cal
" 11. That the objects of the Societe be the unisex.
extinction of Slavery and the Slave-trade, and the pror
tion of the rights and interests of the enfranchised poP4118,1" •
tion in the British possessions, and of all persons captuYe
as slaves.
" 111. That the following be the fundamental prinei-
plea of the Society—that so long as slavery exists there is
no reasonable prospect of the annihilation of the Sia're
trade, and of extinguishing the sale and barter of huma
beings ; that the extinction of slavery and the Skye:
trade will be attained most effectually by the empinYurit
of those means which are of a moral, religious, and pac7
character ; and that no measures be resorted to by this
Society in the prosecution of these objects but such as Are
in entire accordance with these principles. be
" IV. That the following be among the means to
employed by this Society :
infOrrnaltionTooncirculate,the both
enormities at
ofhome
tthe
andsia
ve.
tabroad,rade accurate
tic cdu rlet
very ; to furnish evidence to the inhabitants of tbet the
holding countries not only of the practicabiiity, but iobcotio
pecuniary advantage of free labour ; to diffuse
intelligence respecting the results of emancipation
oorresoPtuliee;
the British Colonies, and elsewhere; to open a
dente with Abolitionists in America, France, and• of
countries, and to encourage them in the prosecutlO.P
lea
their objects, by all methods consistent with the princip
of this Society.
" 2. To recommend tho use of free-grown produce. r
as far as practicable, in preference to slave-grown, and to '
promote the adoption of fiscal regulations in favour of free
labour.

" ' 2. To obtain the unequivocal recognition of the
principle, that the slave, of whatever clime or colour, en-
tering any portion of the British Dominions, shall be free,
the same as upon the shores of the United Kingdom, and
to carry this principle into full and complete effect. ,
" 4. To recommend that every suitable opportunity
be embraced for evincing, in our intercourse with slave-
holders and their apologists, our abhorrence of the system
which they uphold, and our sense of its utter incompatibi-
lity
with the spirit of the Christian religion." '
" Almost coeval with the formation of the Society, was
-the consideration of a proposal for holding a General Co?
vention on the 31st May, 1839. The attention of the
Committee was called to this object in a communiction:
from the Birmingham Anti-Slavery Society, quoting fro
an article in the New York Emancipator of March 21sti
1838. A Sub-Committee was at once appointed to pre-
pare a circular, which was adopted at a subsequent [nee
ing, and ordered to be extensively issued in the Engllol2
language, and also to be translated into other langusges,
This circular contained the fundamental principles of the
society, and concluded in these words—' The British and
Foreign Anti-Slavery Society,' &c.
" Thus cordially invited, the friends of humanity and
of the slave have as cordially responded, and have coma
from the East and West, the North and South, to unite
with those who have called them together in this hallowed
Convention—to discuss a question of the deepest interest
to the whole human family—and to devise means sot
bringing to a speedy termination all those forms of slavery,
and that revolting traffic in slaves, which has done 0°
much to blight and desolate some of the largest and fairest
portions of our globe. Most fervently do I wish and pray
—and do I presume in indulging and expressing my Con-
viction that this august assembly has already in spirit dc-
voutly breathed the aspiration to Him from whom all boll
desires, all good councils, and all just works do proceed
—that he may inspire our hearts with love, and our coun-
cils with wisdom, and deign to employ and bless our efforts
to the triumphs of righteousness, mercy, and the
world's
deliverance.
" The British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, in
thus announcing itself to the friends of the slave of every
nation, strongly urges it upon them, wherever it mar be
practicable, to associate themselves and unitedly, as we
ll
as individually, to labour for the extinction of slavery ; 3
system which, whether regarded in a political, moral, or
religious point of view, is alike inimical to the prosperity
of nations, corrupting and demoralizing to every comma'
nity in which it exists, and utterly at variance with 07
spirit and precepts of Christianity. For the purpose
promoting this great and truly Christian object, the So-
ciety has concluded to hold a General Conference in
London, to commence on the 12th of June, 1840, in order
to deliberate on the best means of promoting the interests
of the slave—of obtaining his immediate and unconditional
freedom—and, by every pacific measure, to hasten the
utter extinction of the slave trade. To this Conference
they earnestly invite the friends of the slave of every
nation
and of every clime."
E. BAINES, Esq., NI. P., rose to propose the next reso-
lution. The Hon. Gentleman commenced by expressing
the pleasure which he felt in once more meeting his old
and venerable friend Thomas Clarkson, for whom he en: •
tcrtained those feelings of veneration and graeitude that
were entertained towards him by the friends ,of liberty
throughout the world. He was happy also to meet a°
great a number of influential men of almost all countries
and all climes, who had come hither to promote this greet
and godlike work, and he trusted they would feel that en'
joyment and that reward which alone they ssought'namely, the accomplishment of their object. He trusted
that they would unite with them all the lovers of liberty'
and that they would continuz the exercise of the spirit o'e
benevolence, and as his /lon. and Learned Friend, Mr'
O'Connell, had well said that they would make a move-
meat in advance, and never cease till they had obtained
the civil and religious liberty of all mankind —(Near'
hear.) That this would ultimately be accomplished "-
had no doubt, though not perhaps in our 00'
Who would have expected at that period, when his vane:
rable friend first commenced his philanthropic labour, ths'
so much would have been so soon accomplished?
would then have expected, first, that the slave trade, and
secondly, slavery itself (so far as England was concave-I,i'
would have been so soon abolished ? Above all,
112e1"°.,
would have expected that all the great and influential "1"
of the nation would, as they had lately done, have asserts'
bled together, either animated by their own feelings e"
urged by those of others, to come forward and declare
themselves the friends of liberty and of that civilization in
Africa which he trusted would very shortly be there estal"
lished ? He had seen a; ith great surprise and gra-
tification (he did not inquire into their motives)
the prelates of the land step forward and declare
what they conceived to be our duty with regard to our
less favoured fellow-men. If, on that occasion, any in-
sult were offered to any person, it was to one who had
not deserved it, and on whom it ought not to have been
inflicted. That great mind, however, rose superior to it.
It was not in the plaudits of popular assemblies, but in the
silent workings of his own heart,—that heart in which
were implanted the seeds of liberty and of universal love to
the whole human race,—that he sought for and obtained
his just reward. But it was with great regret lie (Mr.
Baines) had witnessed the attempt,—not so much, in-
deed, for the individual most interested in it, as that there
should be found persons professing Christian and enlight-
ened principles who were capable of acting in such a man-
:ser. He would not detain the Society with any further
observations,
but at once conclude by moving the reso-
lution.—( Hear, hear.)
great pleasure, as a friend to universal freedom,
The Rev. J. H. JOHNSON said it was with feelings of
he rose to
second the
motion. He did so with pleasure, not wily
from the unanimity of feeling which prevailed amongst