The Sun.
London, England, 1841-12-07 00:00:00

EVENING SUN

PUBLIC MEETING IN SOUTH-
WARK.

In parsurnce of a requisition addressed to the High
Bailiff of Southwark, by a number of inhabitant house-
holders, a public meeting was held yesterday at the
Town-hall, for the purpose of taking into consideration
the intolerable state of distress that at present existed
throughout the country. The hall was completely filled.
At one o'clock precisely John Holmes, Esq., the High
Bailiff of the town and borough of Southwark, took the
chair, and stated thAt he had called the present meeting
in consequence of WIT quisition which had been addressed
to hint, numerously and respectably signed. He trusted
that the resolutions which they meant to propose would
be, ofd character to reflect credit on themselves, and pro-
motFthe great objects they had in view.—(Cheers.)
- The requisition having been read by the Town Clerk,
Mr. is Woon, M.P., said that he had been invited by
the requisition to attend the meeting. He understood
that they meant to propose an address to the Queen on
the subject of the present distress, and as one of the mem-
bers for the borough he would undoubtedly give them
all the assistance in his power in relation to this subject.
He also understood that there was another petition to
be proposed to the meeting, but he could net pledge
himself to support the prayer of it, not knowing its
contents.—(Cheers.)
Mr. BLACILBIORE rose to propose the first resolution.
In the first place, he must congratulate them on the
High Bailiff taking the chair at a meeting of the working
classes. He hoped such conduct would long be remem-
bered by the working men. Let them but unite with
the middle glass, arid they might bid defiance to all the
efforts of the aristocracy.—(Cheers.) They had nothing
to hope from the aristocracy. They had only to look to
Liie way in which the deputation from Paisley had been
treated to be c2pvinced that they must trust to them-
selves for a reme-d y. The distress in that town was ex-
treme, yet, whey the deputation waited on a Noble Duke
for Mc purpose of having the matter brought before her
Majesty, that individual refused to receive them.—(Cries
of " Shame !") The feeling of the people of Southwark
was now aroused, and they were now setting an example
to every other part of the country. There was not
one of the working men that did not feel the evil
effects of the Corn-laws, yet they all knew that if
the working men had had a voice in the Government,
these things would never have taken place.—(Cheers.)
He hoped the cry begun in Southwark would be raised in
every other part of the country, and that the Queen's
Ministers would be compelled to alter those laws under
which the nation was at present suffering.—(Cheers.)
Every working man had the same feelings as an aristo-
crat, and was equally anxious to provide for his family.
There were now eight millions of working men who, ab-
staining altogether from intoxicating liquors, were anxious
and willing to improve the condition of their children, by
training- them up in those habits of sobriety which con.:
duced so much to the comfort of the working man.
very encouragement, therefore, ought to be given him
to continue in this path, and nothing could so much tend
to this as to afford him a cheap and plentiful supply of
food. He begged, therefore, to propose the resolution
which he had before read.—(Cheers.)
Mr. KILLICH seconded the motion.
Mr. SPURR spoke in support of the resolution, from a
conviction that the distress was not local in its character,
but general, and not only general in reference to the
nation, but felt by all classes of society throughout the
empire. He believed that the distress was to be attri-
buted to the cause mentioned in the resolution—to no-
thing less than to class legislation.—(Cheers.) Would
the repeal of the Corn-laws remove the distress P--(Cries
of" Yes, yes," drowned in loud shouts of " No.") They
might repeal the Corn-law, but its repeal, unaccom-
panied by other measures, would injure the working
classes.—(Cheers and cries of "No.") That law was
passed by a House of Commons composed nearly of the
same classes as the present. If they ever hoped, then,
to see the law repealed, they must be able to send men
into the House willing to do justice to all without in-
jury to any.—(Cheers.) The distress was no doubt to
be attributed to class legislation, and the present Corn-
law was only one of the evils of that system of Go-
eernment. Front the time of George I. to that of
tleorge 111., dewing the reign of the three Georges, no
less than 9,000,000. acres, of waste, land, on which.
the people had been accustomed to feed their geese and
pigs, had been taken from them by Enclosure Acts.
This was another of the evils of dais legislation. Thou-
sands had been thrown out of employment by the intro-
duction of machinery, and the cry of a repeal of the
Corn-laws had been raised because it was said it would
give employment to and better the wages of the working
elastics, but as the wages were regulated by the demand
for labour the effect of a repeal of the Corn-laws Would
rather be to reduce the wages than otherwise, inasmuch
as a great portion of the people thrown out of employ-
ment in the agricrlt tral districts would flock to the ma-
nufacturing towns in search of employment.—(Cries of
'o, no," and " Yes, yes.") A Parliament elec'ed by Uni-
ver,al Suffrage would reduce the hours of labour, and
atihrd the working men time for the cultivation of their
minds. Gentlemen might raise subscriptions to relieve
the distress, but the working classes did not seek charity.
They wished for justice.—(Cheers.) The time was com-
ing whan all opposition would give -way. Let them,
then, not swerve, but stand to theirpr:neiples-the Char-
ter and no surrender.—(Great cheers.) For these reasons
he begged to support the res{flution.—(Chcers.)
Theresolutioli was then put, and unanimously agreed to.
Mr.APSI.nr. PELLy“, ir. moving the adoption of the
address to her Maksty, said that, although he could nut
,the length which the meeting seemed inclined to
go in the work of retin'nt, he hoped they would not re-
fuse his assistance and that of others merely on the
groiand.: that they did not go the full length of the
Chartists—(Uproar, and cries of" Yes.") In his opinion,
class legislation had entailed injuries on the country,
which-required a speedy remedy. Ile would not go into
details. on this head, but would only refer to Sturges
Bourne's Act, as a proof of the injusstice of class legisla-
tion. By that Act, the right_of voting was proportioned
entirely to a mars property, and lau. it a proprietor
might vote at the election- of guardians for the poor by
merely sending his proxies. He b,-1i ved that if the
working- classes had had a I:tir share in the Government
such things would not have occurred ; but though he
was in favour of an extension of the Parliamentary
suffrage, he could not go to the extent of universal suf-
frage.—(Groans.) He was .satisfied that they ought. to
ha ve either household suffrage or (Shouts of disap-
probation and great uproar, amid which Mr. Spurr
stAipell forward, and entreated them to give the gentle-
man a patient hearing. Let them hear what his argu-
ments were.] He was of opinion that they ought to
have either household suffrage or some educational test
of a person's fitness for exercising the franchise. He was
willing to concede much for the sake of unanimity. He
said so at their last meeting, and he was there to redeem
his pledge. lie was quite willing to lend his assistance
to ferward some inquiry into the distress which now over-
whelmed the country, and to point out the nature of it,
since they could nor agree as to its cause. Ile agreed
with a principle which he found laid down in the intro-
duction to Blackstone 's Commentaries, " that the written
law rinds fiR no other reason than because it, is approved
of by the judgment of the people." If ail written laws
had passed in that spirit he verily believed that the
Corn-laws woul i never have existed. Locke held that
when the Legisl tore betrayed its trust, the people
had the pow,.r of altering its Constitution. He agreed
in opinirm with those Ivritars. There were many in-
stances in history of changes made of such a nature ;
but at the same time he thought it was the duty of
every one to petition in a constitutional manner. He
had another quotation which he wished to bring to their
notice. nontesquieu observed, that if the Constitution
perishes it will be whenNer the legislative power be-
comes more corrupt that the executive. He really he-
lievenl they were in that condition at present. lie be-
lieved that there was no instance in
country in which the the history of any
right to vote was so basely pur-
chased as it was in England during the last election. If
they had a virtuas Parliament they would have a virtu-
ous people, but it required a virtuous people to make
a
virtuous Parliament. Let them look, therefore,
ook, therefore, to the
education of their children. There were Sunday schools
—(Laughter)—and he would be glad to
see other schools
to which the children of the working
f
classesreerrceoduldtob:
sent to be educated. The speaker then
pamphlet entitled, " Clerical Conformity, by the Rev. J.
Specieer, M.A., Curate of Hinton, near ilatie" in support
eof
his v low
sof the w hue on Church Reform, and on an equal
this distri-
butioalth of the Church. If
adopted the fund arising, therefrom would enablewtehree
people of England to ablflish all Church-rates, all Poor
rates, together with all compulsory charity. The writer
of the pamphlet also stated that he was favourable to an
extended Suffrage, and the Vote by Ballet.—(cheers.)
In all these points he agreed with the writer, because he
knewthat thry could not have a reform in the State
without heaving a reform in the Church. It was with
seem rektotance that he gave his consent to the Con.
eluding paragraph of the address, but in order to secure
ananimity lie would stretch a point and move its adop-
tion ifithout any amendment. He begged to move,
therefore, that the following address be presented to her
Majesty :
The address was then read by the Town Clerk, as
follows :

" May it please pur Majesty—
" That we, your Majesty's subjects,
inhabitants of the
borough of Southwark, having taken into consideration
the distressed state of the country, beg to approach
.your
Majesty for the purpose of bringing before your Majesty
our opinion of the cause of such distress.
" We beg to finite your Majesty that there are in all
parts of the count-'thousands of industrious
persons who
cap scarcely obtain a sufficiency of food to support their
eitstence, and that many are dying from the want of the
common necessaries of life. That the distress is not con-
fined to one portion of the community or to one branch
of trade, but that the tradesmen, the small agriculturists,
and manufacturers are alike on the brink of ruin.
" That by an unjust system of legislation laws have
heen enacted which luvre produced this state of affairs.
That by the operation of the Corn awl other restrictive
laws, the trade, manufacture; and commerce of this
country have been gradually declining away, until
many of the manufacturers have been compelled to close
their workshops. Thousands of quarters of wheat have
rotted in the bonded stores whilst the people have been
starving.
" This state of things, we are of opinion, would not
have happened had the people been fully and fairly repre-
sented in tile Commons House of Parliament.
"We therefore humbly pray your Majesty, with a
view to the immediate relief of your Majesty's suffering
people, to instruct your Majesty's Ministers Immediately
to convoke the Parliament, and to convey to it your Ma-
jesty's sracious wish that the corn and provision laws
should be at once taken into consideration, with a view
to their repeal.

" We al;o humbly pray your Majesty
to instruct your Majesty's at the same time
Ministers to introduce into
the Commons !louse of Parliament a bill for the enact-
ment of the principles contained in the People's Charter."
1)r. BEDFORD said he was glad to say that meeting
had given the lie to its opponents, for it was proved that
no aid from the police was necessary.—(Cheers.) It was