The Sun.
London, England, 1841-03-03 00:00:00

MORNING EDITION.

ANTI-C
ORN -LA:W MEETING.

Monday evening the Annual Meeting of the Metropolitan,
Central, and District Anti-Corn-law Associations, was held at
the Crown and Anchor Tavern, Strand, for the purpo::e of re-
ceiving a Report of the progress of the question during the
peat year, and adopting such measures for the advancing the
ir4pmssts of the cause as might appear most expedient. The
meeteng was very . numerously and respectably attended,
althengh it was apparent at an early stage of the proceedings
that a considerable number of Chartists were in attendance,
whose'object was anything but an approval of the proceedings.
Shortly after seven o'clocic, Henry Warburton, t;sq., M.P.,
the Chairman of the evening, accompanied by the Committee,
entered-the room, and was received with loud cheers, and par..
tial hissingfrom the Chartists. Sir William Molesworth, Bart.,
M.P., Benjamin Hawes, Esq., M.P., John Easthope, Esq.,
M.P., Mr. Villiers, M.P. Mr. Alcock, Mr. Roebuck, Dr.
Bowring, and numerous other distinguished and tried friends of
the people were present on the occasion. We regret to state
that shortly after the commencement of the proceedings Sir
William Molesworth was obliged to retire from indisposition.
Mr. WARBURTON, amidst considerable interruption, briefly
stated the object of the meeting, and then called on the Secre-
tary, Mr. Sdney Smith, to read the Report, which was to the
following effect:—
" The Report Contained an account of the origin of the As-
sociation, and of the difficulties it had to encounter—lst, from
the general apathy of the middle class, and, 2nd, from the
nostility of the more political portion of the working class. It
congratulated the meeting upon the decline of apathy in the
one cla,s, and upon the cessation, to a considerable extent, of
the hostility of the other.
" '1 he Committee had great pl. asure in being able to report
that the same spirit was spreading rapidly in every direction,
and would, ere long, animate the whole country.
" Energetic and well-qualified gentlemen, under the auspices
of the League, had been eminently successful in their efforts to,
convey useful instruction to the pecple. They had been well
receired in every part of the kingdom. Their lectures had
been numerously attended, and in no part of the country more
satisfactorily than in the South-western counties, in which the
supporters of the Corn Laws declared, boastingly, they dared
ant show themselves. So broad, so strong, so genial was the
Ight these gentlem, n had diffused, that the League had only to
ece.tinue their exertions in conjunction with this Association,
and other Central Associations, to cause the enrolment in aid
of the repeal of ihe Corn Laws, of the whole of the thinking
portion of the population of this great Empire.
Since the dito of the last Report several ew features in
the progress of the Anti-Coin-law movement had pre.ented
themselves. 02 these, none was more worthy "of notice than
the effect produced on the nation by the important evidence
which was given last year before a Committee of the House of
Commons, by persons of great official and commercial expe-
rience, in:expect to the enormous amount of the injury which
is inflicted on the country by the food monopoly.
A well- tim d manifesto had also appeared, signed by nearly
one hundred and fifty influential Members of the House of
Cimmons, which it was hoped might induce her Majesty's Go-
ve: n -bent to give their earnest and immediate attention to the
baneful efe.its produced by the corn monopoly on the revenue
and prosperity of the State.
" After mature deliberation, the Committee felt justified in
recommending a renewal of the measure of petitions to Parlia-
ment; because, notwithstanding the apparent disrespect with
which the Legislature last Sessit.n treated the question, it was
very certain tat the effect of addressing the House of Commons
was to diminish tl.e former adverse majority.
" The Committee had also come to the resolution of advising
the presentaien of one large national petition to the Queen
against the Corn-laws,
_ praying her Majesty to instruct her Go-
vern eit to take the subject into their immediate consi
deration."

The Committee concluded their report in the words of a
former address, thus :
" Finally, then, permit us, fellow-citizens, solemnly to ap-
p' al to your sympathy—to your intelligence—to invoke your
a d and co-opera; ion ; since, deeply assured as we are that our
object, the total repeal of the Corn-laws, is for the welfare of
all, so it must be the imperative duty of all to aid in its accom-
plishment."—(Cries of " No, no," and cheers.)
, Mr. HAl:Assort then moved that the Report which had been
read he received and printed for general distribution.
The resolution having been seconded by Alt% PROLTT,
Mr. WALL (a Chartist) rose amidst cheers, hisses, and great
uproar, to propose an amendment. The Chairman endeavoured
to obtain fur h.in an hearing, and he addressed the meeting at
some l,ngth in favour of the principles embodied in the People's
Charter, but owing to the noise and confusion which prevailed,
but few of his obse-vations reached us. The amendment was
to the effect " That in the opinion of the meeting the Corn-
laws would never be repealed until the peop'e were fairly repre-
sented ; that a great national petition be presented to her Ma-
jesty praying that she would do justice to her subjects.—
(Cheers and disapproba ion.) And that petitions should be
adopted and presented to the Legislature, praying them to en-
act that the People's Charter should become the law of the
land."—(Renewed cheering and hisses.)
A working man, named Boaazs, seconded the amendment.

He said it was true that the Coin-laws were infamous laws—

that they had caused many a tear to fall—many a heart to
sigh—many unhappy homes, and much starvation—(Hear,
hear)—but, notwithstanding all this, let them only get Uni-
versal Suffrage, and they would be in possession of the key to
the cupboard. All they asked was a fair day's
_wages for a
fair day's labour. There were many other bad laws as well
as the Corn-laws, which it would be necessary for them to get
rid of. He knew many CJrn-law repealers at the East-end
of the town who had reduced the wages of, the working men.
—( Cries of " Name.") He would not name ; it could do no
good. He had great respect for the character of Mr. War-
burton, and many other gentlemen who took an active part
in this agitation, who were no thubt actuated by the best
intentions ; but there were others who, in his opinion, were
not sincere.—(Cheers and hisses. )
Mr. ROEBUCK came forward and attemptedto address the
meeting; but the uproar and confusion was' so great that a con-
siderable time elapsed before he was distinctly' audible. He said
that it had been his fate upon many occasions to address the
working men of this country, and he always thought that they
were a candid people, and anxious far a fair and open discus-
s on of the principle and operation of those laws by which
they were governed.-- (Chcers, and uproar.) The questions
which had been raised to-niAlit could be reduced into a very
small compass, and dealt with in a very few words ; and if the
object of those who had assembled was really to have those
questions fully and fairly discussed, he was quite prepared to
meet them. The amendment which had been proposed was
not, in his opinion, inconsistent with the objects of the meet-
ing.—( Cheers.) 'fhey had all agreed that there was en evil to
be cured in the shape of the present representation of the peo-
ple in Parliament; but he said that there was another and a
greater evil to be cured, and they were there assembled to
inquire into and consider the best way of getting rid of that
evil.—( Cheers and hisses.) It had been said, and truly said,
that the oreration of the present Corn-laws had filled many a I
cottage with sorrow, and brought death and desolation into
many a harpy h mne, and they were there assembled to in-
quire
tEe be,t way of getting rid of those laws.—(Cheers.)
He was fiee to confess that the adoption of the Charter
would get rid of a great part of the mischief consequent
up n those laws.—(Cheers and hisses.) Every fair and
honest Cha tist would listen to him, for he had done more for

their c u,e than any other :ndividual present—(Cheers)—but
the m de of discussing their principles which had been that
night zdo,)ted would never effect the object which they
sought to attain.—(Cheers and uproar.) He agreed perfectly
in all that had been said in favour of the Charter. and be be-

heved that if to-morrow they coull- get the Charter they
would Lave no Corn-laws ; but, at the same time, he

must complain of the imputations which had been cast
upon th ;se who came there to advocate the ropeal of the Corn-
lawi—of the accusation of wrong matives ohich had been
brought a2ainst ti.ern —because they did n.,t adopt the same
means to cb ain an end as those who at once contended for the

Charter.—(Cheers and interruption.) It was not the with of
those who were opposed to the Corn-laws to withhold the
suffrage from the people. Was it because he had been turned
cut of the House of Commons for being too democratic
opinions, that they thought he had deserted the cause of the
people? No; it was the peal:l.-f who had tun away froth him.
If they were to get one of the two- measures they e ere can-
tending for, he should say that the ( barter would be the best
—(Cheers and hisses)—but they would never obtain it thro-Igli
the means proposed in the amendment.—(Great uproar.) If
they th-mglit they could do so they were de, eiving thetnselvas.
Neither would they obtain it by putting down agitation On ell
subjects except that of the Charter—(Continued uproar)—for
he could tell them that such practices would be looked upon by
the aristoc-acy of tither House of Parliament as a good ground

for an argument against granting to them tLe r'ghf. of (tie cis-
log the franchise.—( Cite ers anddi.approbation.)
Mr. VI Ltru RS' Iti. P., next rose to address the meeting, and
was received with cheers an I some marks of disapprobation.
When the uproar had in some degree subsided, the Hon.
Gentleman proceec:e I to say that it was to him a matter of
deep
regret to see the confusion that prevailed throughout
the . •
proceedings in that room to-night, because he thought
that it tended to throwd discredit upuo the little assemblages of
the people for the ise,ii,ission of questions greeting their most
valuably interests.
icompared to what had taken e scene that evening could only be
place in the [louse of Commons
when he last brought the question of the Corn-laws before it.—
( Hear, heae. ) he had been
dividuals, 2.500 of whom sent to Parliament by 3,000 in-
were working and they had in-
structed him to bring -.'orward the subject,raena'nd to lo e no or-
portunity of advancing a repeal of thosefu obnoxious laws. It
yeiars he had en-
was for this reason that during the last
za of Parliament
countered the risk of discredit within the
same time re-
by bringing forward this subject, without at
aught
of
rt.—(Hear,fairly rheeparresented theth
eeivin.; any favour out
certainly that if the people Were
laws would no longer exist, but he felt at the same time that
il-
some misapprehension existed throughout the country on thesea
laws, and that therefore a greater amount of information
should be disseminated by those who were more intimately ac-
quainted with the details and principles of the question.
'the
Hon. Gentleman went on tocompare the condition of the
with that of those in the
working classes in this country .
d bted for the • '
United States, who he said were in e . possession of
heir manliness and firmness
the extended system of suffrage to t
in demanding i'.4—(Cheers.) He had voted for every exten-
sion of the suffrage that had been proposed,
and for receiving
he could
h (Aild be
the petition in favour of the Charter, and anything
do to extend their political rights and privilees, eVi
most happy to do.—(Cheers.) meeting in a
Mr. PEAKE (a Chartist) next addressed the
very forcible speech in favour of the amendment. He was
loudly applauded by his supporters.
Dr. Bowitnic next stood forward, and was rceeived with
groans and hisses by the Chartists. He was imperfectly
heard, sisal
•

Wascixs, who was described as an extensive mann-
faeturer, next endeavoured to obtain a hearing, but the up-
roar was so great tl at he was quite inaudible. It is but right
to mention that the Chartist party behaved with the utmost
unfairness, as the speakers on their side of the question were
heard with the utmost patience and attention ; but when the
other side came to claim the same indul;ence, they were
greeted with the most discordant and offensive noises. This.
is setting an example worthy only of the most intolerant
Tories, and one which, if practiced towards the *Chartists,
they would he the first to denounce in the bitterest language
of complaint.
The cry of " Question 1." having been loudly raised,
The CMAIRMAN put it to a show of hands; when he de-
clared the amendment carried.
WALL, the Chartist, then moved a vote of thanks to the
Chairman; which having been carried, tile yroceelings ab-
ruptly terminated.

PORT OF LIVERPOOL.—The duties re-
ceived at the Custom-
house of Liverpool in tLe yea- 1840
amounted to no less than four millions seven hundred
thousand pounds sterling,
yet, on the accouLts being
and
mination by thepropereofficers
subjected to the usual igid GXit
found,
in London, the only error
liege. Considering the
hundred was under twenty :hit
hundreds of thousands of calm.
lations involved in fiese account, this circumstance de-
serves to be made known for the credit of the comptroll-
leg department of our Custom-house.
The perquisites and munificent pre, ents)maedges
to the head nurse on t.h..!, recent occasion of the Princess
Royal's baptism are stated to have amounted in value to a
considerable Burn ;it would be invidious, porn, Fs to n0...n-
tion what report ascribes to be the amount,
Mr. Charles Kemble's health is not" consi-
dered by 11;s fsmily as re-established. lle reside, with
his daughter, Mrs. Butler, and her husband, in ClJgc--
street, and daily takes carriage Oxerciaei