The Sun.
London, England, 1841-05-21 00:00:00

WESTMINSTER MEETING

[The following is the portion of the meeting emitted yester-
day afternoon in consequence of the lateness of the hour (four
o'clock) when it terminated. ]
Mr. O'Coarneer., in continuation, said—The moral force
Reformers, to which he belonged, who looked to moral force
alone for the advancement of civil liberty, and who would
obtain for every man of 21 years of age, andunstained by crime,
the right to vote (for he would be content with nothing less)
—the men who would obtain the protection of the Ballot, the
shortening of Parliaments, and universal eligibility, there
being no other justification than the voter of an honest con-
stituency—that class had been smothered by the Whigs,
and their paltry cry of finality—they had been smothered
by the Chartists.—(Cries of " No, no," and " Yes, yes.")
But they would ultimately prevail.—(Cheers.) Every rational
Chartist would join in battling for these measures—they would
have a new party—a real Convention of Reformers.—
( Hear, hear, and cheers.) The public spirit of the
country was on its march the public mind was
aroused, and the tyranny of the aristocracy must be put an end
to. Was it not well known that there never was such bribery
as at the late elections.—( Hear, and a cry of " St. Albans.")
He did not want to screen any party. But was there not
bribery at Canterbury ?—and at Cambridge and at Sandwich,
where the Duke of Wellington sent in 81 out of 82 votes;
and was there not bribery at Nottingham, where Mr. Walter
came? He had received a letter from Nottingham, stating
the very price at which votes had been purchased.
( Groans.) He was against all parties who bribed, and against
the perjury which was produced by bribery. He was for the
honest ballot. How was it to be obtained? By the people
throwing, off the fetters and shackles of sectional parties.
He would put that to every honest Chartist. They com-
plained of the other classes of society, but how could
they be honest if they demanded exclusive legislation for
themselves? Did not the Chartists exclaim against the middle
classes as if they did not belong to them, when they had ob-
tained some standing and position in society?—( Loud cheers.)
He rejoiced at the multitudinous meeting assembled before
him, and he augured from it better days for England. He
held in his hand a map of the manner in which corn had risen
in different years, and there was scarcely ever a period when
corn was substantially dearer than at present, while there never
was a period when wages were so low, or so many unemployed.
—( Hear, hear.) Day after day they heard of mills and fac-
tories being at work some only four, some only three, and
others only two days in the week, while others were entirely
closed. Distress and poverty was among the people, and he
implored them to listen to this fact. In the year when corn
was highest, there were the greatest number of committals,
and executions, and transportations. Why was that? because
the people were driven to crime by the pressure of unrelenting
cruelty. The people were as moral before ; but a starving wife and
children moved many men to a violation of the law, and spolia-
tion of other person's property. There was another fact connected
with that subject, that by the returns of the deaths, births, and
marriages, it appeared that during the dear corn years, the
marriages were fewest—that was a misfortune in itself—the
children were the fewest, and the deaths were nearly two to
one of the other years. Crime and mortality were increased in
the dear corn years ; but what did the Duke of Buckingham
or the Earl of Winchilsea care for that? The people were
hunted into their graves, and the aristocracy stood over them,
and said, " Oh, it is only the canaille—they are the lower
orders ; what care we for them." Let Englishmen, then, rouse
themselves.—( Cheers.) Let them not look at small or paltry
divisions. A new division had taken place among the people
—the monopolists on the one side, the grinders of the faces of
the poor and the poor-starvers—and on the other the people,
the friends of large loaves and plenty of food, of high wages
and of popular l.berty, and of freedom of conscience.—(Much
cheering.) Who were against them? The aristocracy, and
let them not think he was bigotted when he said the parsons
were against them.— ( Hear, and a laugh)—most of the law-
yers were against them—every raven that fattened upon the
public plunder was against them.—(Cheers.) He did not doubt
but that Lord Cardigan and Lord Hill were against them.—
( Hear, hear, and a laugh.) Lord Waldegrave was very angry
with them—( Groans)—and but for the public Press he would
have got off scot free, for what a poor man had been a short
time previously transported. Shame upon the law, and the
law makers—shame upon the law distributors—and shame upon
the people who slid not rally one and all for constitutional
liberty. He had already said that they could not get all at
once. He had been all his life an advocate for instalments,
and 10s. in the pound would give them courage and strength
to demand the remainder.—( Hear, hear.) Let the popular
mind be roused throughout the country. :Here Whig finality
Ministers could never sit again.—(Loud cheers.) Their
only means would be to join the movement, the great
and glorious movement that was now afoot.—( Cheers. )
They had arrived at a moment when one party was tottering
while the other trembled on its approach to office. Had not
the Tories added thousands of millions to the public debt.—
( Cheers.) Yes, the people were not now blind to the perjury
the bribery, and hypocrisy of that party, and the people would
net now suffer them to ride rough-shod over them again.—
( Hear.) The public voice had gone abroad so loudly, that it had
reached even to St. Stephen's.—( Laughter)—the
that were fur finality only a year ago, were for the movement
now.—( Cheers.) Let ail join in the present movement. Some
might blame him for supporting a fixed duty he
did not support it, but he knew that let them once obtain a
fixed duty, they would soon send the Bs. after the rest.—
( Cheers.) He therefore called upon them to rally for
English liberty—to rally for constitutional freedom—to
rally for the extension of the franchise—( Cheers )—to rally for the
Ballot, but above all let them rally for cheap bread—( Cheers)
—cheap bread for the poor—to give more meat to the poor
man, and more food to his infant. Although the Whigs were
at the head of the present movement, let the people, as they said
in Ireland, form the tail. He was told the Tories had bribed
a large section of the people, but their money was run out—
they wanted to get in again to enrich themselves, but the
people had found them out—their triumph would be short. They
had tilled the prisons with persons against whom no offence had
been proved.—( So did the Whigs.) No, they had not. He
was for opening the prison doors to every political offender, he
would not care whether the inmate of the cell was an O'Con-
nor, or an O'Brien, or any one else ; but had they forgotten
Oliver—had they forgotten the Manchester massacre ? --
( Cries of Hear, hear,) Did not they suspend the Ha-
beas Corpus Act? Had they not greatly increased the tax-
ation of the country? He therefore called upon them to
rally, in order that a great and noble principle might
be established. The demon Tories deeply taxed the
democracy, in order to support in splendour a rich and insolent
aristocracy. Would the country stand that any longer.—( Cries
of " No, no.") He was never more grateful than upon
that occasion, for from, some symptoms, he had been
afraid he would not be allowed to speak, for a few might have
prevented him.—(Cheers.) They had allowed him to
enunciate his principles, and those were their own ; then
he called upon them to follow out their own principles, for
they bad now been adopted by the Whigs. The Govern-
ment had taken up the principles of the people, then let the
people assist them, and help them to overcome their enemies,
who on this, as on all occasions, were the enemies of the
people. He remembered a saying of Horne Tooke, who
being remonstrated with for acting with a party who did
not go far enough for him, said, " If they take the waggon
of Public Liberty so far as Hounslow I shall go with them,
because I shall be so far on my road to Windsor. '—( Cheers. )
Now, then, let the people go with the Whigs so far as
they would go—get what they could from them, and then
try others from whom they would get more. Scotland was up
upon the question ; the working population of England was
roused, and Ireland would not be backward in the rightful agi-
tation._( Cheers.) For forty years he had worked for an
often betrayed, and therefore cautious and suspicious people,
but they gave him their entire confidence, and he would use
eer s .)
oFullftthe
e liberty
Government, the
and he ho
it in the promotion of civil
Cl iand religious liberty to all.—
poor man wedasthinavtolesve,edry inthe
propositionpoor
man's friend would support them.—(Cheers. )
Dr. Bowatttc then came forward to propose. the next reso-
lution, and was most enthusiastically cheered. Every person
in the country was suffering in consequence of the misgovern-
mentte
that oppressed them for so many years.overußinyentht,etnperyopoprso-
tions that had been put forward by h
.
ploos,ooedot,oocogiv.eotro
30,000,0001.tlandlor landlords thewofould n
cooutntry 10,000,000/. ; but
satisfy their grasping
rapacity.—( Cheers. ) On the questionof
sugar also, the
teGo-
vernment had offered a boon of 12s.
per
cwt. to the East and
;net thdt he2t,foo,anoir
ay were
that was
sfartointsfie
the ,00ThOLe taken
IfWrnodemsi
at
the Proprietors
Indiaol pi
people,ertood;
su
had
acndds ,
taken
people be-
fore they would do anything for the suppression
and now they came forward and wanted a few ew millions
of slavery,
more, stating that they were as anxious for the suppression
slavery as the people were. He trusted that the people
of
be alive to their own interests, and support the measurespe would
posed by her Majestys Ministers.—( Cheers.) The resolution
he had to propose was—" That when measures were propounded
by her Majesty's Ministers for the abatement of monopoly in
corn, sugar, timber, &c., those interested in upholding high
prices of the necessaries of life combine to frustrate such an
object."— ( Cheers. )
Mr. Peoue seconded the resolution. They could not he
told too often that wages did not depend upon the price of food,
The labouring man was bowed down to the earth by the mono-
polies and tricks of those who had governed the land, and it was
for the purpose of putting an end to, such monopoly that.
the Ministers of the Crtlyn had introduced the present mea-
sures, and, as they we good, it mattered not to him what
had caused the Ministers to bring them forward,—( Cheers)—
and this he would say that, the people must be mad if they
did not support them. The people must be up and stirring,
and do their duty, by adopting such a course as he had pointed
out.—( Cheers. )
Dr. WADE supported the resolution. He was proud as a
clergyman of the Church of England to take part in the dis-
cussion of this most important subject.—(Cheers.) He had
always stood forth against his owninterest to advocate that of the
poor and needy, and for this he had been frowned upon by the
landowners, but he was proud to see that which he had been
working for all his life was coming to pass.—( Cheers.) He
considered this question one of humanity.—( Cheers.) He was
in principle fur a total repeal of the Corn-laws.—( Cheers. )
He was for perfectly free trade, but he was also for unanimity.
—( Cheers. ) The Government had got in the edge of the
wedge, and he trusted the people would take care that that
wedge should be driven home. (Cheers.) The tree
of monopoly was the tree of corruption, its fruit
was poison, and its shadow was death.—( Cheers. ) He
would say, then, hew it down, why cumbereth it the ground?—
(Great cheering.) The Corn-law was an infernal law.—
Cheers.) Holy Writ denounced it, Holy Writ advocated free
trace..(Cbeers-).—sa well as no prohibition of Corn. It said

that all the fruits on the face of the earth were for the use of
man.-.( Cheers. ) It said that not only had the labourer a
claim upon the land, but that he was to be the first partaker
of its fruits.—( Cheers.) The Scriptures denounced thosewho
deprived the nation of their corn, as those who were robbers
of Jehovah himself.—(Great cheering.) Lord John Rus
sell had moved the straw, and the land-rats and the
water-rats did not know where to go.—(Cheers and laughter. )
The people must send in their ferrets among them, and rout
them out—(Laughter)—and he trusted they would lend their
aid to the Ministers, to stop up the holes through which those
rats had got into their granaries.—( Great laughter.) Before
he sat down he must say a word or two to his friends the
Chartists. He only wished they would co-operate with them,
and not be led away, as they appear to have been. The Charter
was only a means to an end—one end was to obtain plenty and
abundance for the people.—( Cheers.) This was one of the
ends they were advocating that day, and it was an end,
too, that would enable the people ultimately to ob-
tain the Charter.—[Here the figure that bad been placed
on the top f the house of Mr. Burnett to repre-
sent the Duke 'of= Buckingham, fell down, and caused much
amusement]. He was glad to see that, it was a good sign, for
it.-showed that the landlords were on their last legs.—.(Great
laughter.) -The Chartists wanted the release of Mr. O'Con-
nor sind.tbe other members of their body, who were incarcerated,
.bntlhetklig not proceed in the way only by which they could
Akain It- lire:rai as anxious as any man for their release, but
ire iftst74l'k.4l::that when the people wanted anything from
10 ',Vs* ;lib tee in power, the way to obtain it was not by
rratittitig; i ' face of those from whom they asked a favour.
. 4Cheeri: t,' HA would lay it down as a principle for the
ftartiitsCtkot it was base and foolish to join the Tories
inst Ilse' 'Literal measures that had been proposed
the ,Gc4yerninent.—(Loud cheers.) The Tories were
n to be:believe/I, they were like the Thugs, for under the
pretence'of benefiting the people they would put the rope
about their necks one destroy them.—( Cheers.) He would
conclude with saying, Peace to our Queen and her Throne,
and plenty to the labourer in his cottage.—( Great cheering.)
The resolution was then put to the meeting by the HIGH
BAILIFF, and declared to be carried unanimously.
Mr. TROTT then proposed the presentation of petitions to
both Houses of Parliament, embodying the resolutions that had
been agreed to that day, and praying for the repeal of all laws
affecting the necessaries of life.—( Cheers. )
Mr. TTIaELL seconded the resolution. He hoped, at the next
election the people would extort a pledge from every candidate
to support the repeal of the Corn-laws, and that if they would
not give that pledge, that they would have nothing to do with
them.—(Cheers.) The petitions were then adopted by the
meeting, and it was also agreed that Earl Fitzwilliam should be
requested to present the one to the House of Lords, and the
Members for Westminster the one to the House of Commons.

A vote of thanks was then unanimously carried to the High
Bailiff for his impartial conduct, and the meeting separated,
after giving three cheers for free trade, cheap sugar, cheap
timber, and which was the longest and loudest of all, for cheap
bread.

THE MINISTERIAL MEASURE.
(FROM A CORRESPONDENT.)
EXETER, MAY 19, 1841.

The Ministerial Measure has not excited so much feeling in
this district as might have been apprehended. It was
thought at first that the agriculturists would be roused into
violent opposition, but I never saw them so quiet on any oc-
casion when the Corn-laws were touched on before. This
is a good ign. The farmers feel that they have nothing to
gain by a continuance of the present law. Give us a fixed
duty (they say) and don't let it be too low, and we would
prefer it to the sliding scale. Ido not believe that they are
satisfied with the eight shillings proposition, but that it comes
pretty near the mark I gather from their easy indifference.
Indeed I heard a gentleman say who has the management of a
large property, some few miles to the south of Exeter, that he
did not think the landlords would be required to lower the
rent at all on estates that had been fairly let. Those who have
been squeezing their tenantry at every increase of prices will,
of course have to come down, and we see no good reason why
they should not.
With respect to the sugar question, that is universally po-
pular. A petition signed by the wives, sisters, and mothers
of the working classes, for cheap sugar, is about to be sent
up to Parliament. I have no doubt from the feeling of the
City that it will have a vast number of signatures.
We are to have a contest here. The Tories are about
to bring forward Mr. Thomas Baring, son of the Corn-law rat
Lord Ashburton. Sir William Follett will be down soon to
look after his interests, and Mr. Divett is also on the alert.
I cannot believe that the Tories have the slightest chance of
affecting Mr. Divett's seat.

MORTALITY in the METROPOLIS.
The following are the results of " A Table of Mortality in
the Metropolis, showing the Number of Deaths from all Causes
Registered in the week ending May 15, 1841." The Table is
issued from the Office of the Registrar-General :
Weekly
CAUSES OF "MAUI. Total. Average
1838-9-40.
Epidemic, Endemic, and Contagious Diseases 123 204
Diseases of the Brain, Nerves, and Senses l4l 151
Diseases of the Lungs, and other Organs of
Respiration
Diseases of the Hea^t and Bloodvessels
Diseases of the Stomach, Liver, and other
Organs of Digestion 57 60
Diseases of the Kidnoys, &c.
Childbed, Diseases of the Uterus, Sze.
Diseases of the Joints, Bones, and Muscles
Diseases of the Skin, &c 1 1
Diseases of Uncertain Seat
Old Age, or Natural Decay 64 71
Deaths by Violence, Privation, or Intemperance 15 25
Causes not specified
Deaths from all causes...
Average Weekly Deaths 926
Deaths in the Average Weekly
Week. Deaths, 1838-9-40.
• Western Districts
North Districts
Central Districts 157 ..... 190
East Districts
South Districts ...... 198 223

Total 761

It is stated that under the term Metropolis are comprised the
32 districts herein mentioned, which include the City of Lon-
don with and without the walls, the City and Liberties of
Westminster, the out-parishes within the Bills of Mortality—
and the parishes of St. Marylebone, St. Pancras, Kensington,
Fulham, Hammersmith (Chapelry), St. Luke (Chelsea), Pad-
dington, St. Mary (Stoke Newington), St. Leonard ( Brom-
ley), St. Mary-le-bow, Camber -.ell, Greenwich, St. Nicholas
and St. Paul (Deptford), and Woolwich. The population, as
enumerated in 1831, was 1,594,890. The weekly averrge for
1838, 1839, and 18111, was obtained by dividing the deaths in
the three years by 136.
TEMPERATURE IN THE WEEKS ENDING
May 8. May 15.
Highest
Lowest . 45 46
Daily Mean .
General Register Office, May 20, 1811.

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS.

FROM THE DAILY PAPERS OF YESTERDAY.

GLOBE.—Sir Robert Peel has thrown away his last
chance of permanently passing for a statesman, as dis-
tinguished from a party chief. For this purpose, dex-
terity in debate, and party tactics, are insufficient. There
must be force of character, and directness of purpose.
The Duke of Wellington showed these, when he linked
his name with Emancipation. Peel allowed himself to
be dragged into that measure, as it were, with reluct-
ance. Huskisson showed these, when he linked his
name with enlarged commercial policy. Peel blows
hot and cold on that policy, with utter careless,
ness of its public moment. In short, really distin-
guished statesmen are such by character. Peel has only
been such by contrast—a " Triton among the minnows."
Nobody mistook him for a great man in his earlier
period. He could bear no comparison with the genius
of Canning, or the dauntless and decided spirit of Cas-
tlereagh. In the mild decline of the orb of Toryism,
Peel twinkled forth. His mission (to borrow the phrase
of certain schools of philosophy) was to cover the
decadence, and break the fall, of his party—to put the
best face upon the defence, or the surrender, of pre-
judices—and to be ready for the one or the other, just as
might seem to serve the time. With this mission he
has endeavoured to combine a certain individual dis-
tinction, and to take credit for the superior liberality of
his Toryism, at every surrender of its strongholds which
he made to opinion. To maintain this distinction would,
however, have required to possess that quality of mind
in which Sir R. Peel has shown his deficiency—a defi-
ciency the most fatal to all permanent reputation for
statesmanship. No man has acquired that charac-
ter, who (besides Parliamentary talents) has not
shown a real value for great public objects, independent
of party. Will any one inform us what objects Sir
Robert Peel has ever regarded except as counters in the
game which he had to play for himself and his party ?
He has missed the palm of statesmanship, less by con-
traction of intellect than by coldness of heart—which,
indeed, is inconsistent with the greatest enlargement of
mind. He has even missed the confidence and reliance
of his party—for precisely the same qualities which
make him its most plausible organ make him indisposed
to commit himself too far, or run too great risks for it.

STANDARD.—The attempt to enlist the country in
the anti-corn-law agitation has already manifestly failed,
and the failure will become more rapidly progressive
and more plainly apparent from day to day. There
•is no reflux in such cases. The people, who have re-
fused to aid the Ministerial sedition, give by their con-
duct an admonition to others who have not thoroughly
weighed the subjects to consider the arguments by which
themselves have been convinced. But reflection is
all that is ever required to put Englishmen in
the right path. Let them only give their sound un-
derstanding fair play, and they will never go wrong.
It is true that the Common Council of London
has decided in favour of the Ministerial project,
and true also that a meeting at Manchester has
put forth a similar decision. This is what every one
anticipated ; but few Conservatives, we imagine, were so
sanguine as to hope that these expected demonstrations
should be really so favourable to their views, so fatal to
the prospects of the Ministers and agitators, as they
have proved. We wish to speak respectfully of the
London Common Council, but it is not to be denied,
and a majority of the Council will, no doubt,
boast of it, that that body has, for more than thirty
years, warmly supported the party now in office. We
may instance its offerings to Colonel Wardle, its sub-
mission to the late Mr. Hunt, its partisanship with
Queen Caroline, its re-elections of Sir Matthew Wood
and Sir John Key—in short, every remarkable step that
it has taken within the period referred to ; the effect was,
that until very lately men of Conservative politics de-
clined a seat in the eivieParliament—a resolution on their
part not tending much to exalt the rank of the Assembly.

i
WESTMINSTER MEETING.—The following s
a description, sent by a Correspondent, of the figure al-
luded to by Mr. O'Connell at the Covent-garden meet-
ing yesterday :—The effigy in Covent-garden represents
an aristocratic landowner in Court costume of ancient
fashion. He is treading upon the cap of liberty, whilst
at his feet is placed a loaf, into which his sword is thrust,
emblematical of the power he possesses of withholding
the supply. The motto, .‘ Homo Homini Daemon" (Man
to man is a very devil), extended across forty feet of
the front.

TORY ANTICIPATIONS (RATHER PREMA-
TURE.)—" Stanley is to have the Colonies, and be pitch-
forked into the Peers ; Graham the Governor-General-
ship of India (Stanley is so anxious to be rid of him.)
Lyndhurst is to be the Chancellor for the third time."—
Intercepted "Vest. End Correspondent" and "Nobleman."