The Sun.
London, England, 1840-12-12 00:00:00

CORN-LAWS.

On Wednesday evening last our zealous, talented,
and indefatigable townsman, Mr. A. W. Poulton, de-
livered one of two lectures, at the Temperance Hall, in
Little Boulton, of which the following is a syllabus :
'• The general commercial consequences of great 11:e-
-tuationi in the value of commodities ; fluctuations
gri ater and more destructive in this country than in
any other ; reasons why—the quantity of food in pro-
portion to population determines the amount both of
our home and foreign trade ; great variations in the
quantity of food the causes of commercial panic ; gene-
ral effects of a :ree trade in cor❑ in equalising. prices ;
reasons why corn should naturally fluctuate less in price
than any other commodity ; why in this country it
fluctuates more ; consequences of sudden successions
of very high and very low prices upon agriculture and
commerce ; history of fluctuations and their conse-
quences since 1815 ; comparative mortality of the
years of low and high food prices. Great and sudden
revulsions in the channels of exchanges destructive to
the healthful spirit of commercial enterprise ; the fal-
lacy of over-production proved ; the state of commerce
during the two years 1835-36 ; indisputable evidences
of the almost inexhaustible resources of this country
during that period ; our trading and speculation proved
not to have been the cause of the panic 1837 ;
causes of the American panic explained ; shown to have
been distinctly referable to causes at work in this coun-
try ; the Bank of England not fairly chargeable with
the monetary embarrassments of the last three years ;
proofs of this ; Ellse notions on the subject of con-
tracted and expanded currency ; private and joint-stock
banks exonerated ; circulation actually greater with
depressed trade and monetary embarrassment during

•
u-caned depreciation
and over-speculation of Itso3-Jo ; real sources of currency
embarrassment exposed ; sudden revulsions of immense
amounts of capital from agricultural into commercial
channels, and vice versa, the only causes that do and can
explain the fearful shocks that periodically convulse our
economical relations ; the losses sustained to be an ac-
tual and national loss, and not a mere transference of
wealth from one portion of the community to another ;
national cost of the Corn-laws directly through the
increased price of grain—indirectly through the sus-
pensti of production ; the cotton trade more affected
by the Corn-laws than any other explanation of the
present difficulties and depressed state of the cotton
trade ; apparent paradox of the increased consumption
of raw cotton with a decline of prices ; increase of pro-
ductive power in 1835 and 1836 greater by 45 per cent.
than the subsequent increase in the consumption of the
raw material ; the operation of this upon prices, and the
value of mill property; depreciation of all kinds of fixed
capital during the last three years.
The interest excited upon this occasion was beyond
all former precedent, and long before the time appointed
for the Lecture the Hail was well filled, and previous to
its commencement crowded to excess. The meeting
was composed M. all shades in politics, and was attended
by a larger pirtion of the influential inhabitants, includ-
ing a number of the Borough Magistracy, than I re-
member to have seen, heretofore. About half-past 7
o'clock the Lecturer made his entree and was welcomed
with the loud, long, and hearty cheers of the large con-
gregated afsemblage. He commenced his observations
by stating that it was of the greatest importance that
public opinion should be kept to the subject of the
Corn-laws, and the determination of the League to
continue to appeal to the good sense and judgment of
the British public. He adverted to the great amount
of wealth of this country, of its illimitable resources, its
uabounded comm::rcial advantages ; and contrasted them
with the pativrism and its all but hopeless penury of thou-
sands of our population. The immense mass of statistical
add other information he brought to bear upon the question
through all its ramifications—the itptitude of his
illus-
tr,.tious, and the infinity of facts adduced in support of
his thesis, elicited general approbation. The deliver.;
of the Lecture occupied about two hours. At this
stage of the proceedings a Chartist, of the name of
Gilic4rie, addressed the meeting, and vented his spleen
upon the \Vhigs, the Corn•law repeaters, the tun-
pound householders, " et hoc genus (none," amidst the
greatest tumult and confusion, concluding by making a
[notion to the following effect—" That it is the opinion
of this meeting that a repeal of the Corn-laws, without
universal suffrage, will not benefit the working classes."
Mr. Paulton replied, and moved as an amendment—
" That the Corn-laws are recognised by this meeting as
of the gra atest injustice." Toe original motion was,
however, carried by a small majority, amid the uproar-
ious cheering of the Chartists. Two or three of the
!eaders subsequently took possession of the platform,
and gave three cheers for Frost, Williams, and Jones,
and three cheers for the Charter, and the meeting
quietly dispersad.

SMITHFIELD CATTLE-CLUB
DINNER..

Yesterday between two and three. hundred noblemen
connected . with. agricultural pursuits, sat
and gcna_men,
down to a most substantial dinner at the Freemasons'
Spencer, the President of the Club, in the
Tavern, tile Earl
chair. There were also present his Grace the Duke of
Richmond, Lord Morton, Lord Huntingfield, P. Pusey,
ha:rman of the Royal Agricultural SocietyC. •
Pii t
aille e
.111,yy, E-q., M. P., the Honourable Mr. Neel,
Colonel Challoner, C. W. Childers, Esq , John Buckley,
Esq., H. Chamberlain, Esq , J. Bennet, &c.
The usual loyal to Eits were drank with all due honours,
net ,150 ‘• Prosperity to the Royal Agricultural Associal
the Highland Society," the health of the Duke
„f Richmond," " the President," &c., and some speeches
made in support of the Club and of Agricultural interests
generally.

ERRATA.—In tile notice on Almanacs yester-
day in The Sun, for "1840" rrad 1841 ; and in reference
to the view of Windsor Castle, for " stern terrace" read
eastern terrace.

At a nutnerous meeting of the members and
friends of the Marylebone Tradesmen's and Operative Pro-
tective Association, held yesterday evening in the Fitzroy
school-rooms, Grafton-street, Fitzroy-square, the Chartists
attended in good round numbers, and all but carried their
own resolution,,,

We understand that the Royal Caledonian
Hunt-, at their meeting on Tuesday, fix,,d upon Stirling
I,s the place at which their annual race meeting shall be
held, and voted the sum of 5601. to be given in stakes,
&c. The Earl of Dunmore was named Preses, the Hon.
George Abercremby, Treasurer, and the Earl of Hope-
toun, William Forbes, Esq., of Callatv'er, and Robert
Bruce, Esq., Councillors.— Caledonian Mercury.

THE GIRAFFES.-The recent importation of
two giraffes into this country as a commercial speculation,
for the purpose of sale, is an event which could hardly
have been calculated upon by the zoologist. The two ani-
mals in question, which are now reposing near the London
Docks to recover from the effects of their voyage, have
been brought over from the United States, into which
they were imported from Egypt, so that these stately na-
tives of the desert, whose successful removal from their
native plains seemed visionary, have thriven in three several
quarters of the globe. The tierce giraffes,
which are now
in perfect health at the menagerie in the Regent's Park,
were caught in the deserts of Dongole in 1834 and 1835,
and have successfully rewarded the exertions of the Society,
the female again shots. Iv signs of soon obtaining a brood.
An active member of the Zoological Society is sanguine in
the attempts which he is making to import a live hippopo-
tamus into this country, which, if successful, will be un-
precedented in the annals of natural history,