The Sun.
London, England, 1840-02-21 00:00:00

(THIS DAY.)

Here a scene of great confusion ensued, and"
Mr. WAMWRTON again proposed that Mr. Hume take
the chair, as it was one o'.-lock, and as no objection could
afterwards JO made to the proceedings of the meeting.
The motion was carried amidst deafening uproar ny a
large majority.
Mr. WALLEY continued to say, that he ought in truth,
as the Sheriff was not here, to be in the Chair—it was his
duty; but he was delighted to see their old friend there—
(Cheers)—a man who had spent his life in the service of
his country, and whose exertions reflected upon him the
highest honour. Now, if the little clique on his right hand
would but subdue their feelings for a short time, he hoped
a discussion would take place useful to the cause of
order and justice —(Cheers.) No man could deplore the
sittia,ion of the Sheriff mere than he did, no man valued
liberty more than be did, or could be more reluctant
to place any restriction on his fellow-subjectS that was
not called for by law and justice. He respected the
Sheriffs, be believed them to have acted under an im-
pressive sense of duty, and if any man complained of their
conduct he said he was guilty of a gross injustice.
(Cheers.) It was their impression that they had only con-
formed to the law ; and he would ask whether any man,
who, from a sense of duty, had violated the law, was not
equally entitled to respect? The Sheriff was not the only
person in prison. The attorney, his son and clerk, were
there, but who could say they had been placed there
from any vindictive feelings ? No ; they were sent there
from an overwhelming tense of public duty.--( Cheers and
groans ) The Hon. Gentleman then adverted to the case
of the Dorchester labourers, and proceeded—Whoever
violated the law must take the consequences. He would
now confine himself to the question before them, and state
the circumstances of the case. The Honourable Gen-
tleman then entered into a narration of the cir:
cumstances which led to the Report of the Com-
mittee upon which the action of Mr. Stockdale
was founded, and the subiequeut proceedings, which are
so well known as not to need repetition, and proceeded.
He said the Judges loud by their decision endcavoured to
destroy the liberty of the people, and were the parties who
ought to have been brought to the bar of the House.--
( Cheers.) The House of Commons, he believed, had no
other course to follow but the one it had adopted. They
could not, he thought, have appealed for protection to the
House of Lords, as they had themselves the means of de-
fending their priv leges. He remembered a story of
an old couple in Devonshire who never could agree. At
length the husband said to the wife, " I shalt go to the
brink of the river, and you will throw me in." He stood
tied at the brink, she ran to throw him into the river, but
he stepped by and his wife fell in herself; she called for
his assistance, but he told her she had tied his hands.--
( Hear, bear, and laughter.) It would be so with the
people and the Lords, ai,d they should not run the risk of
sharing the fate of the drowned woman.—( Hear, hear.)
Mr. Wakley was proceeding to address other observa-
tions to the meeting, when the Sheriff entered with a few
friends, and chimed to take the chair. Mr. Hume, how-
ever' refused to leave it, and a scene of disorder and uproar
such as we have never before witnessed, then ensued.
The Sheriff vainly er.deavoured for some time to obtain
a hearing. An attempt was made to dispossess Mr. Hume
of the chair. A large party, however, stood by and sup
ported him.
Mr. Under-Sheriff FRANCE then proceeded, amid tre-
mendous uproar, which rendered it impossible to catch two
consecutive sentences of what he said, to read the requis,..
Lion After which we understood him as condemning, in
the strongest manner, the conduct of the par ty who lied
taken possession of the chair, and to say that he had
told Mr. Wakley that he never would act under
his direction—( Cries of" Hear, bear")—and he repeated
to this meeting that ho never would. It was a base
subterfuge by which Mr. Hume had taken the chair.—
( Tremendous uproar and rush towards the chair, in which
the Shcriff was knocked doe..n, and a scene of indescrib-
able confusion ensued, which haling continued without
intermission for some time, the Riot Act was real, alter
which the Sheriff and his party left the room. The up-
roar, however, still continued, and there were loud cries
for Mr. Hume, who we understood had left, after which
Mr. O'CONNELL came forward amid loud cheering, and
said—l should like very much to make a speech to you,
but one blockhead can make noise enough—you (pointing
to some uproarious individual) are worse than two block-
heads. You know empty things make most noise.
—(Great uproar, after which Mr. O'Connell pro-
posed " Three groans for the Tories ; three cheers
for liberty, and three cheers for the honest people,"
which were heartily responded to, and then moved that
Sir John Scott Lillie should take the Chair. —( Cheers.)
Sir JOHN SCOTT LILLIE having taken the Chair, said he
was an elector of iddlesex, and it was not the first time
that he had addressed ill- m. He had come to the meet-
ing without any intention of taking part in it, or
making it a party question—but to hear what
those who had called the meeting together had to say. lie
had called at the Committee-room, where he met Sir
Peter Laurie. who asked him whether he was for the
liberation of the Sheriff or not, and upon his saving he
wished to hear the arguments on both sides before he de-
cided, he was told that no one would bo admitted unless
he would vote for the liberation of the Sheriff.
Was that free discussion ? It was not a party question but
one which regarded the liberty of the people, and a Re-
formed Parliament, and the steps they had taken on this
matter could hare no other end, but that of the public
good. He thought Sir Robei t Peel and those who had
acted with him had no other object than that
of mainteining the liberty of the people
(Great uproar, cheers, and groans.) He said Sir Ro-
bert Peel had given an honest vote on this question._
(No, no, and groans.) Therefore, he told them,
they should give a fair bearing to all parties. They
were now called upon to say whether they would support
Stockdale, the publisher of " Harriet Wilson," and such
works—whether they were the advocates of obscenity or
the privileges of the House of Commons.—( Cheers and
groans.)

Mr. O'CONNELL then proposed the following resolution :
—" That it is the duty of the House of Commons, which
ought to be the representation of all the people,
to publish to the nation at large all the delinquen..
cies, oppressions, grievances, and crimes of the Tory
faction, and of all bad hien ; andi we pledge our-
selves to protect such just and necessary publications ;"
which was received with tremendous cheers and uproar.
He then again proposed three groans for the Tories, and
three cheers for the Queen, three cheers for the majarity
in the, House of Commcms, and various other similar
demonstrations of popular feeling, which were heartily
responded to.
Mr. J. PALMER having proposed a vote of thanks to the
Chairman, which was carried amid loud cheers, the
meeting separated.
We are informed that on leaving the room a violent
attack was made upon Mr O'Connell by the opposite
party, by which be would have been severely injured, but
fur the exertions of his cousin, Mr. Wm. John O'Connell,
and other gentlemen who surrounded him.
A more tumultuous assembly was never witnessed,
than that tee proceedings of which we have endeavoured
to describe. The scene was at one time most painful, and
at another most ludicrous. Here was the Sheriff
haranguing the audience with as much effect as Demosthea
nes cid the waves of the ocean ; and there was Mr. Hume
who seemed perfectly at ease upon the subject, dragged
on both sides by opposite fusions partizlll3, who thus con-
trived to keep him, when he wished to be 'n the chair.
The paling of the platform and the tables was broken, the
chairs overturned. Some cried for the police, and some for
the military, while the great majority stood looking on and
appeared to enjoy what, but for the want of shalt/labs, was
iLore like a fight at Donnybrook fair than the proceedings
of a meeting assembled in the metropolis of England on a
great and important subject.

(FURTHibIt PARTICULARS.)
While Mr. Wakley was addtessing the meeting,
about to lead his resolution, Mr. France, the De y uty and
p-
Sheriff and his attendant, accompanied
b a
fn., other individuals, passed up the side of
the room, and moved to the front of the hustings, plac-
ing himself ',teen the meeting and the Chair.
Mr. Wakley thereupon desisted, and Mr. flume requeste
that the meeting would hear Mr. France, who then addressed
Mr. Hume, stating that the meeting was not legal, as he
had not constituted It, and some of Mr. France's attendants
thereupon aquired Mr. flume to leave the chair. Mr.
flume said the Sheriff had not kept his time, 112 /o'clock
being the bout appointed, mid as the meeting 110 placed

MIDDLLSEX COUNTY MEETIAG.

A meeting of the Magistrates, freeholders, and electors
of the county of Middlesex was hell a. the Freemasons'
Tavern to-day, for the purpose of taking into coniidera-
tion the condition of Mr. Sheriff E‘atis, and the m...ans
which should he adopted to effect his liberation. The
me-.tieg wis convened for twelve o'clock at the Free.
masoies' Tavcrn. The doors were opened at a
f'w minutes after twelve, an ! on our entering
the room, we perceived on the platform the following
gentlemen:—Mr. O'Connell, M P., Mr. flume, M P.,
Mr. Wakley, M. P., Mr. Warburton. M. P., Mr. Vigors,
11. P., and some friends of theirs. We did not, however,
find any of the city authorities present, nor any person
who seemed to belong to that party.
Mr. WARBURTDN proposed that Mr. Hume should take
the Chair.—( Cheers, hisses, and great confusion.)
Mr. times then took the Chair, and proceeded to say,
amidst great uproar, that the question which they had been
assembled to consider was one of great importance, and
one which must interest the freeholders of
C,les of " He,r, hear.") Their ebject would be
to determine how the House of Commons had conducted
itself in defence of the liberties of the country.—(Great
uproar, and cri sof " Off off ") Mr. flume continued
to say that the meeting would have to express its opinion
as to the best means of maintaining the rights of the people;
and it would be for them to say whether they should lay
their privileges at the feet of the. House of Lords, or any
other body, or ...het h'ir they would not rather defend those
rights which for centuries belonged to them.—(Cheers
and uproar. )
Mr. WA MAY, who was received with loud cheers and a
few partial hisses, then proceeded to address the meeting.
Their worth) Chairman had said the question before them
was one of great importance. It had been asked if there
were any person present who had a resolution to propose
to the meeting, and in the absence of any other person, he
should answer in the affirmative. He had a resolution to
propose.