The Sun.
London, England, 1841-05-28 00:00:00

CHATU AM

In pursuance of a requisition signed by 197 inhabitants of
Chatham, the High Constable, Mr. Joseph Aopkiiis, con-
! vened a public meeting, to be held at the end of the military
road, Chathi,m, at six o'clock on Monday ; and it was an-
nounced that Mr. Sidney Smith, the lecturer, would attend
and address the meeting. At six o'clock a numerous assem-
blage of the working and middle classes was present, which
by half-past six, the time when the chair was taken, had in-
creased to many thousands. At no period of time during the
meeting, it is computed, were less than .5,000 present—some
say 7,000. Many went away from not being able to hear the
speeches.
Mr. STEPHENS moved the first resolution, to the effect
" That a s)stem of legislation which consults the interests of
favoured and privileged classes, instead of the community at
large, is vicious and unsound ; and that the present laws regu.
lating the commercial intercourse of Great Britain with fo-
reign nations are ruinous, and ought immeuiately to give place
to a more enlightened and liberal poicy."
Mr. HATAIAN seconded the resolution, which, having been
put by the Chairman, was unanimously carried, not one dis-
sentient voice being heard.
Mr. Goonirso moved the next resolution.
Mr. G. JEFFERY s seconded the resolution, which was carried
with the same unanimity and earnestness of sympathy as the
former.

Mr. S. SMITII then came forward, and was received with
several distinct rounds of applause. He advocated not the
cause of faction, or party, or single interest, but of every man
in Britain. The cause he advocated embraced not Britain
alone, but that immense territory upon which the sun never set,
that owned Britain for its mistress. It embraced not even the
British empire alone, but universal man, who must be deeply
affected by what even concerned this country, the mistress of
the world.—(lmmense cheering.) It was not a streggle be-
tween one faction and another, but between 30.000 landowners
and universal man.—(Hear, hear.) He stood before them for
justice; the widows' cries were ringing in his ears; and the
orphans' tears ell:upon his heart. It was needless to disguise it,
the present was thu question of questions ; they had had the Re-
form Bill, which gave them political privileges, but what was the
worth of that, so long as the working man was robbed of his
daily bread ? Let them have cheap bread, sugar, timber,
coffee ; and let them have those things cheap which were
necessary for their comfort, and he would answer for it that
Englishmen would work out their own political salvation.
(Loud cheers.) A tax upon bread !—upon that without which
a man must die I—a tax on existence itself—upon the morsel
that was obtained by the beggar from sweeping the crossings
of London !—and upon the milk which the infant draws from
its mother's breast !—(Cheers.) Was it necessary for him to
talk of political economy, to use any elaborate arguments on
the subject, in a country which called itself Christian, and in
the nineteenth century. in order to teach them the unlawful-
ness of muzzling the ox that trod out a nation's corn ? Could
there be two sides to such a question? Mr. Smith here
enumerated some instances of distress of which he
had been an eye-witness in the metropolis, and which
excited the deep commisseration of his audience. He enter-
tained no antipathy towards elegant apparel, but when he
thought of the situation of the aristocracy and of the work-
ing population, he did feel that it would be much better that
the rich man were a little less rich, and the poor man a little
less poor. Mr. Smith concluded a speech of upwards of two
hours' duration, throughout which he was most enthusiastically
cheered, by earnestly conjuring all those who telt the evils of
this grievous system to join twether, heart and hand, in the
coming contest, and return only those men to Parliament who
were the sworn foes of monopolists.
_ . . . .

On the proposition of Mr. Churchwarden PRING, petitions
to troth Houses of Parliament, praying for the total repeal of
the Corn-laws, were then ordered to be signed on behalf of
the meeting by the worthy Chairman, and presented—the one
to the Lords by Lord Strafford, the other by the Hon. Mem-
ber for Chatham, Geo. S. Byng, Esq.
The meeting then passed votes of thanks to Mr. Smith and
Mr. Hopkins, and quietly dispersed, first giving three times
three to tier Majesty's Ministers.
Many of the friends of repeal subsequently met Mr. Smith
at: the Chest Arms Tavern, and formed themselves into an
Anti-Corn-law Association, which there is every reason to be-
lieve will prosper in an extraordinary degree, from the general
feeling of interest displayed by the middle and working classes
of these towns on the subject.

THE WEATHER.—NooN, MAY 27.
ROYAL GALLERY OF SCIENCE, ADELAIDE-STREET.
Barometer
Thermometer... 77 Highest 79 f Lowest ... 59
Wind N.E.—Freezing Point 32 Deg.

MYSTERIOUS CASE.—An inquest adjourned
from Saturday last was resumed and concluded before Mr.
Baker on Tuesday at the King's Head, Commercial-road.
Whiteshapel. It was on Caroline Collins, a woman of the town.
So far hack as the evening of the 4th of March last, deceased
was knocked down by vine man in Leadenhall-street, and her
hip st-rously injured. She was taken to St. Thomas's Hospital
by a policeman, but the surgeon who saw her did not think
there was any danger, and said t} at if she were taken home and
had a god night's rest she would recover. She was then taken
to her home in King-street, Commercial-road, and frequently
al'ierwards was heard to say that the injury done her by her fall
would hasten her death. Eventually she took to her bed, in
which on Wednesday morning last she was found dead by one
of her unfortunate companions. Mr. Salter, a surgeon, who
had opened the body, said that the abdominal muscles and intes-
tines were much inflamed, sufficiently so as to cause death ; and
iie seas mi.-tail-4 of opinion that it was accelerated by the injuries
deceased tad received from the fall. The Coroner recommended
an open verdict, which the jury returned, as follows Fp4q4
dead in bed, but how death was caused there was no evidoopp to
show."

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MR. GisuoaNE.—We are sorry to find that a
heavy family calamity will deprive the House during the im-
portant discussion on Sir Robert Peel's motion, of the presence
of the able and eloquent Member for Carlow. Our obituary of
this day records the death of his second son, a Commissioner of
Police in Australia, on his voyage from that colony to Eng-
land. Mr. Gisborne received the painful intelligence on
Tuesday evening, just after I.e had left the House of Commpns,
and immediately set gut to join 1114 fainily ig Leicestershire.
The daily consumption of green peas in Paris
is estimatcd at 200 litres, or 62,837 English gallons.