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

On the motion of Mr. JOSEPH STRIITT, the Mayor
was voted into the Chair.
Mr. MADELEY rose to move the first resolution, and
after briefly explaining the object of the meeting, and
referring to the general state of distress which prevailed
throughout the country, said he need not go from home
to seek distress. Even in our own town, though it is
never affected to the extent of many others, yet if they
would attend the Court of Requests—if they would attend
the Board of Guardians, they would be witnesses of the
depression and human suffering even in our own town.—
(Hear, hear.) And the evil was extending. Need he
remind them of the condition of the stocking-makers ?
Need he tell the people of Derby that this class of opera-
tives had only had quarter work for the last two or
three years ?—(Hear, hear.) Was it necessary that he
should state in that assembly that so late as last week,
Messrs. Brittle and Co., of Belper, discharged 150 of
their hands, and closed their Derby warehouse, because
they had not trade to keep it open ?—(Hear, hear.)
Was this a state of things to he allowed to continue
without calling upon Parliament to alleviate the misery
that was everywhere extending itself ? After going over
the arguments on the Corn-laws, Mr. Madeley concluded
an eloquent speech by moving a resolution expressive of
the severe distress existing, and that the Corn and Pro-
vision-laws were the only cause of embarrassment and
derangement.
The Rev. NOAH JONES seconded the motion, and was
loudly applauded. lie said that he did not deem it ne-
cessary. in coming forward on the present occasion, to apo-
logise for his profession. He was a Minister of religion
—he was also a man.—(Cheers.) He had been a politi-
cian ever since he became a man, and so long as he felt
as a man and an Englishman he would never hesitate to
express his opinions, and, whenever his services might
be of any use, to interfere in the politics of his country.
The means by which the friends of monopoly had gained
a temporary triumph were well known. That their tri-
umph was only temporary he felt persuaded, and in
expressing the satisfaction he felt at coming forward on
that occasion at the request of the Liberal Operative
Association lately established, he could only ask them
to go on as they had begun—and they would eventually
succeed in securing for themselves all they asked, that
they might be permitted to enjoy the full fruit of their
honest industry.—(Cheers.)
The resolution was put and carried unanimously,
amidst loud cheering.
Mr. JOHNSON rose to move the address to her Majesty
in conformity with the object of the meeting, as described
in the outset of this report. After some preliminary
remarks, he said, the opponents of restrictions on food
were charged with over-stating the case, and with being
too sanguine of the results of an alteration. Now he
thought, as far as this question had been debated in this
town, the people had taken a rational view of it ; they
always considered it a question of principle, and not of
detail. It was a question simply of justice or injustice,
of right or wrong—either it was right and ought to be
maintained, or it was wrong and ought to be abolished.
But when he knew it to be a fact that on one side
of the Channel the quartern loaf costs Bd., and that
on the other side it might be purchased fin. 4d.,
he thought there must be some good on the one side
and a great deal of evil on the other.—(Loud cheers.)
Whether they read the speech of Lord Stanley in North
Lancashire, or Sir James Graham to his constituents, or
of the moderate Lord Eliot in Devonshire, it was quite
evident we were doomed to the operation of what in
Manchester had been very appropriately called " the
infernal machine."—(Cheers.) The prospects of the
harvest were good up to the middle of July, when,
from the many rains, it was evident the harvest would
be affected, and foreign wheat required to sup-
ply the expected deficiency. At that time aboat
400,000 quarters of foreign wheat was in bond, and
it was computed that 1,200,000 quarters of wheat had
been purchased at 20s. per quarter advance, in conse•
quence of the deficiency of our own crop ; therefore the
foreigner received 1,200,0001. more for his wheat than
would have been required under a regular trade, and
from the suddenness of the demand it would be paid
for in gold instead of manufactures in regular way of
trade, as all other foreign commodities were paid for. He
then read the address, and moved its adoption.
The Rev. J. GAWTHORN seconded the motion.

Mr. STRUTT, M.P., rose and said. that they had seen
Sir James Graham and Lord Stanley sent to their con-
stituents to be re-elected. They had seen it reported
that these conspicuous Members of the new Administra-
tion had told the electors that there is to be no material
alteration in the present Corn-laws ; and yet at the
same time, they saw other Members of the same Govern-
ment whose purposes it might serve—they saw Sir
George Murray telling the electors of Manchester, and
other Conservative Members telling their constituents
too, that they were convinced Sir Robert Peel was, in
in reality, a sound free trader at heart ; that he was
anxious to promote trade, alleviate the distresses of the
country, and that if they would only trust him, he would
obtain for them measures far more liberal than any which
were likely to be carried by the late Government.—
(Ironical cheers.) Now, he would put it to the meeting
whether this was a fair proceeding.—(No.) He knew
not what the country would say on this waiting for the
chapter of accidents—of this blowing hot and cold to
suit the various objects of this varied Cabinet—of this
playing at fast-and-loose with great principles—this
trifling with the people's sufferings. But this he did
know, that the time was come when it was necessary for
the people of this country to act for themselves—(l' ehe-
ment and long-continued cheering)—and that at the next
sitting of Parliament they should show that it would be
in the power of no Ministry to prevent them from ob-
taining those just measures of redress to which corn-
Mon justice entitles them.—(Reiterated cheering.)
Thanks having been voted to the Chairman, the meet-
ing separated.

SOUTHAMPTON'.

A numerous meeting, of the inhabitants of Southamp-
ton, convened by the Mayor, in compliance with a requlk
sition signed by 100 of the principal inhabitants and
tradesmen, for the purpose of considering the present
high price of provisions, and the propriety of presenting
a memorial to the Queen, praying her Majesty not to
prorogue the two Houses of Parliament, was held at the
Guildhall on Thursday.
The MAYOR having taken the Chair,
L. HARMAN, Esq., proposed the resolution which
had been placed in his hands " That it is the
opinion of this meeting that a fearful:ambunt of em-
barrassment, privation, and distress prevails amongst the
commercial, manufacturing, and labouring classes of the
kingdom." They had reason, indeed, to be thankful that
from the peculiar circumstances of their town, their la-
bouring classes were not exposed to the hardships and
privations which were at this moment, and for some time
past had been particularly severe in the manufacturing
districts. But as they were more independent of such
evils, it was so much the more incumbent on them to en-
deavour to procure the adoption of such measures as
would tend to realise the distress and privation which
now exist among their fellow subjects.—(Hear, hear.)
He supposed there was scarcely a single person in that
assembly who had not read in the public prints of the
distress which prevails in the districts to which he had
before alluded, and read the statement made in the House
of Commons a few evenings ago by Mr. Sharman Craw-
ford, the Member for Rochdale. The meeting would
recollect that one of the most prominent arguments
Made use of by the Tories at the late election to induce
the people to return Members of their party to Par-
liament was, that (if their own assertion could be be-
lieved) they were such excellent friends of the poor.
---(l.lear, hear.) He well recollected in this town the
denunciations of the new Poor-law, and other argu-
ments made use of to induce the Constituency of this
town to support the present Member. Just in passing
he would refer to the subject of the new Poor-law,
for the information of those gentlemen who might have
been led by those means to give their support to the
present Goverment. Sir James Graham, on behalf of
the Government, had declared that they would support
the present Poor-law in its entirety.—(Hear, hear.) It
remained for the people of this country to say if they
would allow matters to go on any longer as at present ;
whether they were content to give way to the military
despotism of the Duke of Wellington--(No, no)—or to
be cajoled by the smooth-tongued hypocrisy of Sir R.
Peel—a statesman of whom a powerful organ of his own
party had drawn the following picture :—" We firmly
believe that no half- cunning tool of a local faction, no
• bbiee. attorney, no town meddler, or corporation facto-
turn, could more degrade civic economy by his way of
called to
administering it, or in
.the hourart oefnruelvdersmen,rewh
account by the adverse party, degrade the
cause by his mode of speaking_ about it, than does the
Conservative leader degrade the noble science of poll;.
Strike the first person out of Sir Robert's speech—aye,
unpinned.
ai and a i
out of his whole career,
aansdhipthuenyn
become
le
un-
twisted, a net unknotted ,
We stop not because
we have not more to say, for we
consider Sir Robert Peel's egotism about as copious a
subject as one might wish _e but because it is odious
deed, tseeing it 0 write upon,
per-
vades his every word and d
thus to speak of a man for whome we cannot help wishing
well." This was from the British Critic, a high Church
organ.—( Hear, hear.)
Mr. J. Hem., jun., said, on the last occasion on which
they met on this important question, the subject brought
before the meeting, was the question of the
He was not one of those who signed the requisition ;
he objected to do so on the ground, unless they went
fully, not only into the Corn-laws, hut also the Provi-
sion-laws, he would not be a party to it. For it should
be borne in mind that the restrictive laws applied not
only to corn, but to every necessary of life that went
into the belly of the poor man. The question now be-
fore them was the Corn and Provision-laws, and they
were at liberty to deal with everything which related
not only to corn, but to the taxes on all the necessaries
of life. lie would now, without further preface, give
his opinion that the principal cause of the distress at
present existing- in the country, and not only at the'
present time, but the cause of the distress at various
periods during the 20 or ee years since the peace, was
mainly to be attributed to the Corn and Provision-
laws.—(Hear, hear, and cheers.) During the war
that preceded the peace of 1814, the people of this coun-
N try were shut out from the benefit of receiving supplies
from foreign countries. At the peace of 1815, to
which the people had been anxiously looking for an al-
tered state of things, when they might have the opportu-
e.k, nity of importing provisions and the necessaries of life
eleee.eee generally, and that thereby would follow the profusion
-7,--7":" which all believed would be afforded them—at that time
the present laws, as now in force, did not exist. At that
time our neighbours the French, the Dutch, and all the

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