The Sun.
London, England, 1841-09-20 00:00:00

MORNING SUN

THE CORN LAWS.

GREAT PUBLIC MEETING IN MAN-
CHESTER.

MANCHESTER, THURSDAY.—This morning a most
crowded and respectable meeting of the inhabitants of
this town was held in the large room of the Town-hall,
to petition her Majesty not to prorogue Parliament until
they had taken into consideration the intense and aggra-
vated distress now prevailing in the manufacturing dis-
tricts; owing to the existence of the Corn-laws. The
meeting was convened by the Mayor (W. Neild, Esq.),
upon a requisition presented to him, to which were at-
tached the names of no fewer than 918 of the most re-
spectable firms and individuals in the town.
Shortly after 11 o'clock the chair was taken by the
Mayor, who was surrounded on the platform by the lead-
ing merchants and manufacturers of the town.
This MAYOR, in commencing the proceedings of the
day, said—All I have to request of you is, that you will
be kind enough to conduct yourselves peaceably and or-
derly, and to allow every speaker who addresses you a
fair and a full hearing. With the subject-matter itself
I have nothing to do. The subject itself is important to
all of us ; the requisition is numerously and respectably
signed; and it is my duty to convene the meeting.
The Town Clerk having read the requisition, the
Mayor called on Mr. Absalom Watkin to move the first
resolution.

Mr. A. WeeraiN said, this is not a meeting convened
for a party purpose, or with a factious object. I disclaim
and repuaie Le altogether the opinion which it has been
endeavour:.} to make current, that our assemblage to-
day is an act of hostility, intended to impede and em-
barrass the administration which has lately been formed.
The requisition originated with men who have a mach
higher and nobler object than that of embarrassing the
proceedings of any administration. It originated in a deep
sense of the general suffering and distress which prevails,
and in an earnest desire that no delay should take place
in applying a proper remedy to that suffering.—(Cheers.)
That no mistake, or misrepresentation, or misapprehea-
sian may prevail, with respect to the resolution which I
have to move, I shall now read it :—" That the (lie-
tress now experienced by all classes, from the great
capitalists to the humble workman, is unparalleled
in extent and intensity ; that, from the want of demand
for this produce, many factories are closed, and the
work-people thereby are entirely out of employment ;
that others are working short time, with a great con-
sequent diminution of the earnings of the employed ;
that immense numbers of handloom weavers are unem-
ployed, and that others• are working at a price inade-
quate to their support ; that one-eighth of the houses in
this manufacturing district are untenanted, and that a
large proportion are paying no rent, and the population
is consequently crowded together in a manner greatly
destructive to health and injurious to morality ; that the
want of employment, the low rate of wages, and the
high price of food, leaving the labouring classes nothing
to expend but in the provision shops, the distress has
spread to the tradesmen who supply other articles of
consumption ; and that all this calamity is aggravated
by the want of confidence arising from the absence of
any prospect of improvement while the present system
of restrictive commercial policy exists."—(Applause.)
It will be observed that the prominent feature of this
resolution is the detail which it gives of the general
distress. This distress, the pressure of the times,
is Mt by all classes. There are at this hour,
in Manchester and in the adjacent country, thou-
sands of industrious families who are in a state of
extreme destitution. This state of things has continued
during many months; this state of things is progressing
with fearfully accelerated speed. Every factory or print-
works which stops adds a number of honest industrious
people to the list of those who are gradually wearing
down to destitution, to the extreme of poverty.—(Hear,
hear.) It has been, some months ago, ascertained that,
in one district alone of this large town, and at no great
distance from the place where we are now assembled,
more than 2,000 persons were existing—l cannot say
living—upon less than 15d. a week per head. Since I
came into this room it has been 6ommunicated to me
that there has been an actual increase of death from star-
vation, which occurred yesterday--(Hear, hear)—that
an individual having a family of six children, and
living in this town, has died from want with nothine;" but
a little water in the house.—(Shame, shame.) In such:cir-
cumstances, canit be considered as factious, if: we inquire
what are the causes of this general distress? In such cir-
stances it is not faction, it is patriotism, to inquire assi-
duously what are the causes of the prevailing distress,
and to take every measure for their immediate relief.
The requisitionists believe—and they believe because they
have examined—that the main cause of the want of em-
ployment which exists, and or the general distress which
is felt by all classes, but in its extremity by the labour-
ing classes—is the restrictive commercial policy of the
country.—(Applause.) They believe that it is to be
found in the existence of laws by which the food that we
want is prohibited from entering the country, and by
which the clothing that he would supply is prevented
from going to those who want it.— (Hear, hear.) It is
with this view—with a view of calling upon Parliament
not to separate until this great question has been
considered—with a view of calling upon the Queen—
the .l'ountail of justice—tin' appei(ved guardian and
defender of her people, net to sniPer the Parliament
to be prorogued until thee shall have taken into
consideration the laws whijh, in our opinion, inflict
upon the labouring population and upon all classes
such extremity of distress.—(Applau e.) But, not only
have I heard since I came into the meeting of an indi-
vidual dying from want, but a paper has been put into
my hands from the starving hand-loom weavers, in
which they beg that the persons who got up the late
va meetings for their relief, and who are endeavour •
ing to collect subscriptions to help them, that they will
employ that money—for what purpose ? For the pur-
pose of assisting them to emigrate—to leave the country.
—(Cries of " No, no,";and " Shame.") Gentlemen, with
the object I have named and for the reasons I have en-
deavoured to give, and thanks to you for the patience
with which you have heard me, I beg to move, &c.
(Mr. Watkin again read the resolution.)
The Rev. W. APlieasnew was next called on. He said:
we are assembled this morning to contemplate, more
especially, the distressing condition of our working popu-
lation. I echo the sentiment which has been so clearly
and well expressed by the preceding speaker. The dis-
tress is universal ; it pervades all parts of the manufac-
turing or working community : some Ministers of the
Gospel in this town have paid a little more, attention than
others to these matters ; and I hold in my hand docu-
ments of the most affecting character. I hold in my
hand a Report drawn up by the agents of the Manchester
and Salford Town Mission ; that Mission occupies 47
districts, each of which contains from 100 to 110 families;
so that at least 5,000 families come under their influence;
and in daily labouring in this large portion of the popu-
lation, they are necessarily brought into intimate ac-
quaintance with the character and condition of the poor.
As the following statements are introduced merely- to
give an idea of the state of the working classes, indivi-
dual cases are omitted ; they relate to the different dis-
tricts only. In the Charlestown district, the missionary
states his conviction "that more than one third of the
people are unemployed at present, and that a still greater
number are suffering from the reduction of wages." in
the district near to Bury-street, Salford, the missionary
says—" One half of the people are complaining of want
of labour, and a great number are out of era;lowinent
altogether." In another district the missionary says— '
alany are destitute of fuel from want of employment.
.What the proportion is of those who are unemployed,-
lam unable to say, but I know it is very many." The
missionary in St. Mary's district, which extends to Withy-
grove,vantf 0 says
One half of the people are in distress from
employment; and several decent families have
been obliged to part with their furniture and other
articles, to save their lives." In the district near to
Peter-street, one-half of the inhabitants are working
short time, and one-fourth are nearly unemployed ; the
misery of hundreds of families is such as to defy descrip-
tion. In a district in nni
a My district has me, the missionary says—
the appearance of comfort ;
is a great number who are but there
out of work, and who are
suffering in silence. Between Oxford-road and Brook-
street, the missionary says—"poverty prevails to a very
general great extent, and the cry is that they. have no-
thing to do. Indeed, there is
in which I
have not met with an individual wanting fmil
employ- ;
anent." On the other side
it Brook-street, and be-
tween it and Downing-stzeagets
nf
others are
Many '
are unemployed, and the
to let off are so much
lowered that many are obliged
which they formerly had to themselves.?°ins lin'haerheoua;ee
cannot be worse, and
who say that things
many,
who are consequently regardless of what men
adopted." And in Chancery -lane, in Buxton-sat
resentiaz,obne
Lon-
don-road, in Travis-street, in Pollard-street, in the Old--
ham-road district, in the Blakeley-street district--in
them all there is nothing but non-employment, and the
most fearful distress. Reference has been made to the
hand-loom weavers, and I will just read the remark
which is made with regard to the Ancoats-lane district.
'lle condition of the people' is truly appalling ; vast
numbers are out of work, and many are filled with dread-
ful apprehensions that they shall perish of hunger. There
arc many hand-loom weavers who can only earn, when
in full work, ss. or 6s. a week, and whose condition,
when but partially employed, is utterly deplorable,
Many who live in eellars have nothing but a few shavings
to lie on, on the damp floors, having sold or pawned
their beds
get food and clothing." This is no ex-.
aggeratesa account ; the description is within the truth.
Who will dare to call in question the accuracy of these
st
eaternenas ? I challenge investigation. I say fearlessly,
bfol-v my townsmen and before mv God, that, so far as
Leave investigated, and I have done so to some extent, I
:an substantiate every item of these most fearful and
lamentable accounts. My friend, Mr. Beardsall, I know
has been very active among the poor ; and, if I be not
t. ng his work out of his hands, I will read a single
seei
ntence from the report which he has handed in ; of
sixteen families which he visited, including one hundred
and two individuals,the
average earnings are 31. 14s. 6d.,
that is Bd. per head per week ; and, supposing a par-
tial rent to be paid, this dre uces it to a penny per head
per day for food and
clothing. He adds, " I have fre-
quently asked some how do
you live ; your means are
310 t sufficient to provide you with food alone r and
the general reply is, "Why, Sir, we get a little food when
we can, and clam it out. —(Applause.) The above, I
believe, is the perishing condition of some thousands of
ester. And mark
which my friend Beardeall refers you, the cases to
improvident or the drunken for
he
not the cases of the
is a zealous advo-
cate of tee-totalism, and he ;elected the most irreproach-
able cases ; and these are families who are noted for in-
dustry and sobriety.—(Applause.)
I
may state that I
have been looking at the Reports which
have been given
of late years by some of our public
institutions.l find,
for example, in regard to the Provident
excellent Institution, a Society which Society, a most
receive the pence of the poor, to
induce
sends its agents to
them to la" up
for the time of sickness and the hour
of
plentiful years, when we had cheap food,teed—that in the
had plenty of good work, years 'which, a and the people
lasl have passed