The Sun.
London, England, 1841-06-01 00:00:00

this country. They all felt that the present laws were
a disgrace to a free land.—(Hear.) What else could he
say of any of these laws which deprived the multitude of
a sufficiency of daily. bread—which left the labourer
without employment—which cramped the energies
of the whole nation—which placed property al-
together in• a false position—and which were now,
by starving a large portion of our manufacturers, driv-
ing the people to the very verge of despair • and
rebellion ?—(Hear, and cheers.) There was a feature
in the times particularly worthy of observation, and that
was the fixed determination on the part of the people
to amend not only the Corn-laws, but every other bad
law which depressed and degraded the many, for
the benefit of the few.—(Hear. hear, and cheers.)
He hailed with delight the appearance of such a deter-
mination on the part of the people, and he trusted they
would persevere in their efforts for the improvement
of the moral and social condition.—(Cheers.) They
should study to foster that spirit, and to give it a right
direction.—(Cheers.) If they did not get rid of all
those bad laws, the social structure would be shaken
to its basis.—(Cheers.) 'Was it not surprising that those
whose interests would be the first affected by any convul-
sion, should continue to be the last to endeavour to
apply any remedy ?—(Cheers.) Did the nobility recol-
lect the French Revolution—(Cheers)--and the events
which had preceded it ? The aristocracy of France
at that time held in their hands all the lands of France.
They had engrossed the whole of them, and what use
had they made of their monopoly ? The first cry of
that Revolution had been, " Down with the aristocrats,
and bread for our starving families."—( Loud cheers.)
Was the present state of the country far from it ?
Were there not thousands in this country starving.—
(Cheers.) It had been said that the present was an un-
due agitation. Now how were they to act except by
agitation, when anything like concession to their wants
and wishes was resisted ?—(Cheers.) Agitation was in
his opinion one of the finest words in the English lan-
guage.—(Cheers.) It was a word that kept bad men in
awe, and was the safeguard of our liberties.—(Cheers.)
Let them recollect that the hand of sympathy was now
held out to them from high quarters.—(Loud cheers.)
Let them seize the hand so held out to them.—(Loud
cheers.) For his own part, he was for the total aboli-
tion of all laws which imposed a tax upon human food.—
(Cheers.) The present, however, was a good measure,
and it would lead to a greater good.—(Loud
cheers.) He believed that some such measure was ab-
solutely necessary for the salvation of the country.—
(Cheers.) He moved that petitions founded on the re-
solutions they had been so wise—(Cheers)—as to pass,
be presented to both Houses of Parliament.—(Cheers.)
Mr. W. MILLER CRISTY seconded the resolution,
which was put and carried unanimously amidet the
loudest cheering.
Mr. C. PERKINS said the next step for them to take,
was to consider to whom their petition ought to be con-
fided for presentation to Parliament. It should be entrus-
ted to the hands of one possessed of energy and principle
enough to do the subject justice. And to whom could
they confide better than to their old, tried, respected, and
ever to be esteemed representative Sir Matthew Wood ?
When the Reform Bill was first brought forward, the city
of London took the lead in returning four gentlemen
who were Reformers, and three of them were now acting
with Sir M. Wood.--(Cheers.) He therefore moved
that Sir M. Wood be requested to present, and Messrs.
Grote, Crawford, and Pattison be requested to support,
the petition.—(Cheers.) He proposed this cheerfully,
but not confidently, because he feared that as Parliament
was at present constituted, their petition would not meet
with that respect to which the petitions of the people were
entitled. But he hoped they were on the eve of a general
election, and. if the people of England did not do
their duty tothemselves by returning men who were op-
posed.to the Corn-laws, they would deserve to have
their petitions treated with disrespect.—(Loud cheers.)
They had their eye upon a great and distinguished orna-
ment of the cause of freedom.—(Loud and long-con-
tinued cheering. 'When the cheering ceased there was
an attempt made to raise the cry of the Poor-law in
one corner of the hall, which, however, was
instantly drowned with renewed cheering.) It was
the first time in the history of the country, that
the Ministers of the Crc.wn bad been with the people.—
(Loud cheers.) If they did not succeed now, when would
they?—(Loud cheers.) The landed interest had no
right to complain of the people ; they were now ap-
proaching that interest in a spirit of conciliation ; they
were offering them protection. During the existence of
the present Corn-law, 12,000,000 of quarters of corn had
been imported into this country at an average rate of
duty of ss. 9d. per quarter ; they now offered them
Bs., and the fact that 12,000,000 of quarters of wheat
had been imported, proved that the landed proprietors
could not grow wheat sufficient for the wants of the
country.—(Cheers.) The fact was, the landed interest
did not want protection, they wanted the total exclusion
of foreign corn.—(Loud cheers.) The present Corn-law
was merely intended to throw dust in the eyes of
the people-e—it was intended to exclude corn system-
atically—(Cheers)—and its effect was, that after the
landholders had sold us all the corn at the very highest
price ; they handed us over to the foreigner to sell us
his corn at the same rate.—(Loud cheers.) The present
system of Corn-laws threw the Bank of England into
difficulties, crippled the currency, and produced the
greatest distress among the people. All the evils
which they had been recently suffering were, he verily
believed, the consequences of these unholy enactments.
Let them rouse their energies and take care to return
only such men to Parliament as would support the in-
terests of the bulk of the country, rather than any class-
interests whatever. He begged to propose that Sir M.
Wood be requested to present the petition to
the House of Commons, and that Messrs. Grote, Craw-
ford, and Pattison, be requested to support it.7-(Cheers.)
Mr. PRENDERGAST came forward to second the reso- .
lution, and said that he would entreat the consideration
of the meeting, as he was not accustomed to public
speaking. He had never before the opportunity of ad-
dressing so numerous an assemblage, and the situation
in which he then found himself , was somewhat embar-
rassing. In seconding the resolution he felt it necessary
to say but very few words, in consequence of the very
able and intelligent manner in which the ques-
tion had already been discussed in that hall.
The present question was well understood already.
The attention of the people had been drawn to
it now for four years ; and, therefore, the proposal made
in the House of Commons was not treated as a new
question, but as one which already had received the as-:
sent of the people of England. Thee knew full well the
principle on which it was based, and they were,
therefore, ready to give their assent to the pro-
posal.—(Hear, hear.) They had been told that
that resolution would benefit only some particular classes
of the community. Would it not, he would ask, benefit'
the whole community ? Would it not benefit the menu-
facturine. classes ? Would it not benefit the trading
—would it not benefit the agricultural classes of the com-
munity ? He would ask them, would it not benefit
them all, by giving them a fair, steady, remunerat-
ing price for the article brought into the
market, instead of a fluctuating price, which might be
good for some individuals, but was certainly ruinous to
all classes generally,—to the agriculturists and to the
country at large ?—(Cheers.) It had been said that a
more monstrous proposal was never entertained, but
they had never heard it once said that the
proposition would not benefit the working
classes, that is, that it proposal to make bread
cheap would not benefit the great bulk of the con-
sumers of bread—an assertion so monstrous certainly
was never heard. They had been told that wages were
regulated by the price of cons, and that the present
proposal would have the effect of diminishing wages.
—(Hear, hear.) The working classes of Eng-
land were too intelligent to be gulled—should
he say gulled--(Cheers)—to be humbugged—(Cheers)—
by such assertions. The price of corn had been going
on increasing for some time'past, but had wages been in
consequence increased ?—(Cries of " No, no.") If that
were so, it was cle* that the price of wheat did not re-
gulate the rate of wages. He would then again ask, whe-
ther the present alteration of the Corn-laws would not
benefit trade, and if so, would it not increase employ-
ment, and would it not in consequence increase the demand
for labour ? and if so, would not the demand for wages be
increased.—(Cheers.) They had been told various in-
terests were embarked in those branches of commerce,
to which the proposition of Government referred, and
that they ought to study those interests. The Canada
p2ople had a great quantity of bad timber, and they
s mid, if you lower the duty on good timber how shall
we stAl our bad timber ?—(Hear.) What answer cou:d
any nian—could Lord John Russell make to that
statement ? Tie might say, endeavour to per-
suade the people to take the bad timber ; if
they won't take it, lower the price, and if they
do not take it all, why, he may say, lam sorry that
there is nothing but good timber used from one end of
the kingdom to the other.—(Cheers.) Then comes the
corn. The landlords will say there are great quantities
of bad land in England. Well, then, but the whole
land of England is not bad. Is it not so?-e.-(Cries
of " Yes, yes.) Well, then, there is some bad land
not fit to grow corn. Why, then, the answer to that
should be, do not grow corn upon it.—(Cheers.) Bring
to the market only what the land will produce.—(Cheers.)
Another would say you are. going to make sugar cheap
and bring cheap sugar iuto the country—(Cheers)—and
what should lie do if his sugar was dear ? The answer
to him would be, lower the price of it—(Cheers)—but
if he could not lower the price of it he must think of some
other article to bring into the market. They had been
told, indeed, that all these interests would be injured, and
that on the other hand other in terestswould not be benefited.
Why only yesterday 80,000 Teetotallers assembled in
London ; they drank tea—tea was sweetened by. sugar.
—(Cheers.) The people then would have the interest
of the Teetotallers with them.—(Loud cheers.) There
was another interest also with them—those who would
not drink tea—The brandy-and-watera interest, which
used sugar.—(Cheers and laughter.) Thus they had
the temperance and the drinking interest with them.
Lord John Russell had been pleased to say that be was
aware they should have the Canada, the West India, and
the East India, and the landed interest against them ;
but there was one interest, which they would admit was
one of some importance, the eating and the drinking in-
terest, with them.--(Cheers and laughter.) He (Mr.
P.) hoped they would show them that all these
numberless interests, powerful as they were, could not
compete with the eating and the drinking interest.
which would beat them altogether.—(Cheers.) Under
those circumstance:, they could not do better than join
heart and hand in the present good cause. Whatever
thy Rrgpß; whether Tories, Whigs, or Chartist, tempe-
rance men ee Milking men, he hoped they would
all join in theiy Been on interest. Its was the
interest of all the soliekk of this realm
from the man of immense capital to the inielyho lied ne
4,1, hut the labor of his
‘ha!ids. Let them ail Weil
unite ww resokip support .glaisters who were deter-
mined to support thg PcCPWqtrr good-CallSe. -I,lfure
he sat down,' ho g
at
eMp bo tell them
Atep the petitiOn lay for signa47e the bottom er the
Hall, 44.4 ke h'ilslP4 that .everyalgapresentV,ol,ll4 sign
it.--t Loud chgpvlol .'

Mr. DILLON then read the petitioi..
The question was then -put from the Chair, and

ried neni. con

car-

SiF•MATTHEW WOOD then efhno forward, and was re-
ceived with loud cheering. .Vw. ian the applause had
soineAthat subsided, the Hon. Baronet said that he had
always great pleasure in meeting hiS constituents, and
particularly on such an occasion as the pee -
sent, when he found them so imanimoug—(Loud
cheers)—and when they requested him and his colleagues
to support a petition to the House of Commons, the ob-
jects mentioned in -Which he had always endeavoured to
carry forward. (Cheers.) He was - always • opposed to
the Corn-laws, and at all times did every thing thing in his
power both before and since he had been in the
House to repeal and abrogate those laws altogether.—
(Loud cheers.) If he should still have the honour of a
seat in the House—(Loud cheers, and cries of " You
shall, you shall")—at the time when this great question
would be decided, he trusted he would be found acting in
conformity with the views and wishes of the people.—
(Cheers.) Since the day when they had first received
him in their arms, he scarcely recollected, numerous as
had been the times which he had appeared before them,
a period at which there was so much ground
for satisfaction as the present.—(Loud Cheers.) All
parties had agreed on the necessity of a change,
and the question now was only who should bring for-
ward the measure of alteration.—(Cheers.) The Con-
servative party had said " Let Sir Robert Peel come
into offide, and we will vote for the repeal of the Corn-
laws. It was a great question whether they could trust
them or not—(Cheers and laughter)—however, whe-
ther they could or not, he believed the question would be
carried to effect which nothing would be wanting on his
(Sir M. Wood's) part. The worthy Alderman then sat
down amidst loud and long continued cheering.)
Mr. GeorE (who was received with repeated cheer-
ing) said—My Lord Mayor and Gentlemen, I shall
have the greatest pleasure in executing the instructions
which you have been pleased to give your representa-
tives on the subject of this important petition.—(Loud
cheering)—l have already witnessed, on the subject
of the Corn-laws, two long-continued and im-
portant debates in the House of Commons, and on
these, my vote and humble powers of speech were not
wanting to lend assistance to the cause, which is now
saßctioned by so numerous and commanding an assem-
blage.—(Cheers.) Much as I rejoice to see the unani-
mity which now prevails amongst you, I still wish that it
was so far interrupted by some of those gentlemen who
in 1825 signed the petition which has been read to you, and
who now see cause to change their opinions—(Cheers
and laughter)—for I think that the fallacy of their
reasoning and the infinity of their arguments could easily
be shown.—(Cheers.) The very principle on which the
Corn-laws are founded is to restrict each and every one
of you from purchasing your food where you can get it
best ands cheapest—(Cheers)—on the principle of pro-
tecting (as it is falsely called, one particular class—one
particular body of producers, at the expense of
the whole people— (Cheers)—and this principle, whether
in politics or in commerce, is the essence of injustice.—
(Hear, hear.) I hope, Gentlemen, when you hear the
word " protection," which sounds both just and holy,
but conceals both injustice and impolicy—(Hear, hear)—
I hope when you hear of protection to the producers of
corn, or of sugar, or of any other commodity, you will
understand that it is an artful name for a new tax upon
the industry of the people.—(Hear, hear.) We pay al-
ready heavy taxes to support the Government. But the
more we pay to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the less
we can afford to give the landowners.—(Cheers.) The
Chancellor of the Exchequer proposes a fixed duty, and
that shall have my most cordial support ; but I cannot
conceal from you, that it does not effect all for the corn
trade which I think ought to be done.—(Cheers.) The
less the duty is made, the • better I shall be
pleased, and I think the best plan of all is to have no
duty at all.—(Loud cheers and laughter.) Gentlemen,
in my opinion, a fixed duty of Bs. is much to be pre-
ferred to the present system of what is called a
sliding- scale, which, as we all know very well,
is nothing more than a system of pimblinp-.—(Great
cheers, and cries of " Nothing more.") But I hope,
Gentlemen, we are not to look upon the duty as invested
with the privilege of finality.—(Cheers, laughter, and
cries of " No, no".) I hope we are to look upon it only
as a temporary expedient to secure them the transition
from the present system of monopoly, and framed to one
of perfect free trade. But at the same time, gentlemen,
I am ready to admit that under the mistaken
and fallacious system which is at present maintained,
some interests have grown up, which it would be
cruel at one blow to cut down. Then there has been
encouraged a system of cultivating wheat in this country
which owes its existence altogether to the 'Corn-laws,
and we owe it to those who have been induced by our
laws to embark in it ; we should take a careful course in
proceeding to the establishment of a free trade.—(ll(iar.)
I think, Gentlemen, it is a great thing that we have once
obtained a recognition of the principle of free:trade in
corn ; but I repeat that we must approach to a total abo-
lition of restriction by careful steps. The present
Corn-law acts imperiously, not merely on the food and
comforts of the working classes, and- restricts them in the
market for the necessities of life, but it restricts the field
for their employment in every line of industry—(Hear,
hear. hear)—and they cripple, embarrass, and con-
fine the resources of our trade with the most
important regions of the world.—(Loud cheering.)
Nov, Gentlemen, let any man compare the difference of
comfort and happiness which the industrious poor en-
joyed in 1835, when wheat was 40s. the quarter, and in
1839, when it was 80s.—(Hear, hear.) On this
point I feel that you, as the members of the greatest
leading community in the world,—aa citizens of
this vast metropolis of London, which is the mart
of European, American, and Asiatic commerce. I feel that
you have a deep interest in this question ; and if the
trade of your vast city could be still more enlarged
and extended, as it would be by those reformations
in the tariff, it would be a blessing not only to
you and to the whole country, but to the whole commer-
cial world, and to all civilised mankind.—(Vehement
cheering.) It is not only to the aggregate
interest of that community to which I belong,
in heart as much as by birth, the proposed measures of the
Government will be a benefit.—(Cheers.) But they are
especially calculated to benefit the important community
which had three times honoured me with its confidence
and sent me to Parliament to express its wishes and to
defend its rights—(Loud cheers)—and when this ques-
tion comes before the House of Cemmons, as it must
come in a very few days, I will support the pro-
positions •of her Majesty's Government as I can
state that in doing io I represent the sentiments as
truly as I advocate the interests of my constituents. The
Hon. Gentleman sat down amidst tremendous and reite-
rated cheering.
Mr. W. CRAWFORD said it would give him unfeigned
pleasure to give every support in his power to the ob-
ject of the petition. The views they had heard ex-
pressA that day were those which lie had always pro-
fessed, and which he had first declared at a meeting in
the city of London in the year 1825. He adhered
to those opinions, and he entirely concurred in
what had fallen from his Hon. Friend, Mr, Grote, par-
ticularly in that part of his speech which looked to the
ultimate abolition of the Corn-laws.—(Hear, hear.) But
in the mean time he would be content with such a change
as it might seem prudent to introduce. On that subject
he advocated no finality.—(Hear, hear.) They could not
maintain the position which this country now held with-
out a very considerable change in its commercial policy.
He had been thirty-five years engaged in general trade,
and had had extensive opportunities of forming an opi-
nion upon the subject ; and he assured them on his
honour , the belief he then expressed as to the
necessity of a change had been always deeply impressed
upon his mind.—(Hear.) He had feared, indeed, that
the time would not arrive so soon as it had, for the pub-
lic consideration of the question. He had feared that A
great change in respect to the Corn-laws would only
have been forced upon the country by suffering, dearth,
and distress ; that then, and not till then, could the
' aristocracy be compelled to adopt the course which
the interests of the country required.—(Hear, hear.)
He attributed in a great measure the present state of
public opinion to the digest of the evidence taken some
time ago before the Import Duties Committee of the
House of Commons, whose labours were, he believed,
owing to the good sense and the suggestion of his Hon.
Friend, Mr. Hume. That digest had been so extensively
circulated through the country, that he himself knew one
northern town, where 12,000 copies of it had been sold.
When he bad read that evidence, although he was not
disposed to go the w hole length to which it would lead,
still he was satisfied that time influence of such a publi-
cation could not be withstood, and that in carrying out
a more liberal principle of commercial policy, we Would
necessarily lay time axe to the root of time present system cf
Corn-laws. That was a conclusion which appeared to him
undoubted from the moment he had first given his se-
rious attention to the evidence taken. He was persuaded
that the time was near at hand when the evils
of which many of them were witnesses of a growing ri-
valry of us on the part of foreign manufacturers in those
markets which had once been exclusively our own.
should be met by a more liberal system of policy.
Those who were acquainted with the subject were
aware that nothing but a cheapening of prices,
and such an alteration as would enable us to com-
pete with other nations. could secure to us not only
our present position, but any extent of trade compatible
with the prosperity of the country. It had been alleged
that various interests would be injured by any alteration
in the Corn-laws, but in his conscience he believed that.'
no interest was susceptible of any injury except that of
the landlords, and even upon that subject he had many
doubts.—(Hear, hear.) It had been attempted to im-
press upon the minds of time tenants of England upon the
question, and to persusde them that their interest and
those of the landlords were mixed up together. The
landlords, however, were altogether like the owners of
houses—they looked to time largest rent they could
themselves obtain.—(Cries of "Hear, hear.") He re-
grAted they were not met that day by those who
advocated the present system, but he believed that before
many weeks, perhaps not many days, they would have
'an opportunity of seeing some of those gentlemen on the
hustings--(Hear)—and then let them ask their suf-
frages to go to the House of Commons to retain the
present system of Corn-laws. He (lid not conceive
laws to impart it possible that gentlemen who could look
wisely at the commercial intere§ta of this cone(.... - -
maintain that this system had not already too loligen
con-
tinued.—(Renewed cheers.)
JAMES PATTISON, Esq., said he would not de-
tain them long, as their patience must now be nearly
exhausted ; but he promised them that lie would do his
sbtietsutenofts,hiaisndposNuvepi.p.o—rt(Ctlimie prayer of their
power.—(Cheers.)
to No pdeuttlytioto his
petition
indi-
vidual felt more keenly than he did on the subject.
tchtem
So long as lie recollected anything, he had been 1,7 de_
64-41.4inonein: of the present Corn-laws, and since he
hid melt-AO:tea them in Parliament, he had always voted
even f.,4Y9121. rej„sal.—
(Loud cheers.) He believed flint the loiver the
duty was, the better it would be 'fnr all
parties, and he would llustrate that by a remark
of Earl Syncer' who said that knevy that the

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