The Sun.
London, England, 1841-12-11 00:00:00

MRS. SMITH, CASTLE AND COM-
MERCIAL INN, MARKET-PLACE, PRESTON,
begs most respectfully to return her grateful acknowledgments
for the very flattering support and patronage received by her
late lausband.

The wishes to apprise the Public, Commercial Gentlemen,
and Private Families, that it is her intention to continue at the
above Establishment, to which considerable additions Lave
lately been made, which she hopes are well calculated to ensure
domestic comfort to such Travellers as may be kind enough to
confer their obliging favours upon her, respectfully intimating
that-no attention on her part shall be wanting to make the
Castle Inn worthy of patronage.
From the central situation of the Castle Inn, and the ex-
cellent Stabling and (*.each House adjoining, she fully hopes
she will be ile to give satisfaction in this department of her
Establishment.

An Omnibus regularly calls to take Passengers to the North
Union and Preston and Wyre Railways.
MARSALA, the best quality imported, 245.
per Dozen ; £l2 per Quarter Pipe. or £6 10s. per
Octave, Casks included.
HENEXEY, KISLINGBURY, and Co.
Gray's Inn Wine Establishment, 23, High Holborn.
Note.—Price Currents, containing all the varieties of their
Stock, forwarded upon application.

FOR COUGHS, HOARSENESS, AND SORE
THROATS.

THE•extraordinary efficacy of GIFFORD'S
LOZENGES in curing the most severe Coughs.
Hoarseness, and Sore Throats, canrot be too generally known,
and they are confidently recommended as the most agreeable
and efficacious remedy. In thi4 preparation the medical vir-
tues of the fruit are concentrated and preserved; andbeing ju-
diciously combined with ipecacuanha, they afford relief :in
every species of cough, whether arising from recent colds, ncr-
vous irritability, or peculiar to asthmatic or consumptive habits.
In heaping-coughs and fevers they are also particularly benefi-
cial ; they allay thirst and inflammation, promote a free expec-
toration, and being perfectly harmless, may be taken by chil-
dren and ladies of the most delicate constitutions.

Prepared only and sold by J. Clifford, chemist to his late Ma-
jesty, 104, Strand, i n boxes at Is. 11/2d. and 2s. each ; also by
Messrs. Mottershea d and Co., and Standring, Manchester;
11,awia, Church-street; Liverpool; Messrs. Ward. Pring, and
Co.; .Dublin. Davenport and Co.; Edinburgh ; Forbes, In-
verness , Duncan and Co., Perth ; and by most respectable
venders in thelingdom.
As above also nay be procured his PECTORAL COUGH
PILLS and DROPS, which arc admirably adapted for that
chronic catitrrh and consumptive habit which so generally affect
delicate constitutions in this very changeable climate.
Also GIFFORD'S APERIENT FAMILY PILLS, which
are one of the most effectual medicines for bilious, nervous,
gouty, and rheumatic affections, indigestion, pains and giddi-
ness in the head, &c., and all obstructions or irregularities of
the stomach and bowels. In boxes at ls. lid. and 2s. 6d. each.

Just published, price 35., and sent free on receipt of a Post-
office Order for 45.,

fANLY VIGOUR : a Popular Inquiry into
the CONCEALED CAUSES of its PREMA-
TURE DECLINE ; with Instructions for its COMPLETE
RESTORATION, addressed to those suffering from the De-
structive Consequences of Excessive Indulgence in Solitary
and Delusive Habits, Youthful Imprudence, or Infection ; with
Remarks on the Treatment of Gonorrhoea, Gleet, Stricture,
and Syphilis. Illustrated with Cases, &c.
By C. J. LUCAS and CO., Consulting Surgeons, London.
Published by the Authors and sold by Brittain, 11, Pater-
noster-row ; Effingham Wilson, 18, Bishopsgate-street ; Field,
65, Quadrant, Regent-street • Burgess, 28, Coventry-street,
Haymarket ; Huett, 141, High Holborn ; and by all Booksel-
lers in the United Kingdom.
" The various forms of bodily and mental weakness, incapa-
city, suffering, and disease, faithfully delineated in this cau-
tiously written and practical work, are almost unknown, gene-
rally misunderstood, and treated upon principles correspond-
ingly erroneous and superficial, by the present race of medical
practitioners. Hence the necessity for the publication of a
timely safeguard, a silent :yet friendly monitor, or, where debi-
lity has made threatening inroads, the means of escape and the
certainty of restoration. The evils to which this book adverts
are extensive and identical in their secret and hidden origin,
and there are none to wham, as Parents, Guardians, Heads of
Families, and especially of public Schools, is confided the care
of young people, who ought to remain for a moment devoid of
that information and those salutary cautions this work is in-
tended to convey. Not .only are the most delicate forms of
generative debility neglected by the family physician, but they
require for their safe management the exclusive study of a life
entirely abstracted from die routine of general practice, and
(as in other departments •of the profession) attentively concen-
trated in the daily and long-continued observation requisite for
the correct treatment of sexual infirmities.
" If we consider the topics touched upon, either in a moral or
social view, we find the interests and welfare of mankind
seriously involved. The effects of licentious, indiscriminate
and secret indulgence in certain practices, are described with
an accuracy and force which display at once profound reflec-
tion and extensive practical experience,"—Planet.

" The best of all Friends is athe Professional Friend : and in
no shape can he be consulted with greater safety and secresy
than in " Lucas on Manly Vigour." The initiation into
vicious indulgence—its progress—its results in both sexes, are
given with faithful, but alas ! for human nature, with afflicting
truth. However, the A.uthors have not exposed the evil with-,
out affording a remedy-. It shows how " Manly Vigour"
temporarily impaired, and mental and physical emasculation,
produced by uncontrollod indulgence of the passions, can be
restored ; how the sufferer, who has pined in anguish from the
consequences of early indiscretion—afraid almost to encounter
his fellow man, can rF:gain the vigour of health and moral
courage. The work 1.5 written in a concise and perspicuous
style, displaying how often fond parents are deceived by the
outward physical appearance of their youthful offspring ; how
the attenuation of the frame, palpitation of the heart, derange-
ment of the nervous system, cough, indigestion, and a train of
symptoms indicative of consumption or general decay, are often
ascribed to wrong causes ; and instead of being the natural re-
sults of congenital dr.bility or disease, are the consequences of
an alluring and pernicious practice, alike destructive to the
mind and body."—New Bell's Weekly Messenger.
" Although a newspaper is not the ordinary channel for the
expression of opinion upon the merits of a medical work, this
remark is open te exception in any instance where the public,
and not the isolated and exclusive members of the profession,
are the parties addressed. Upon that which is directed to
men indiscriminately, the world will form its own opinion, and
will demand that medical works for public study should be
devoid of that mysterious technicality in which the science of
medicine has hitherto shrouded its own ignorance. The work
before us treats of subjects we believe generally, yet very
strangely, neglected by the medical attendant, and requiring
doubtlessly (as in operative midwifery
_ and the surgery of the
eye) an entire devotedness to a deeplyimportant branch of
study. The tone of this book is highly moral, and it abounds
in well-written, harrowing, yet correct displays of the suffering
consequent upon unbridled sensualism. No human being can
be the worse for its perusal ; to multitudes it must prove a
warning beacon, a well-told appeal to reason, a permanent
blessing. It is written in a clear, intelligent style, and is evi-
dently the production of a mind long and practically conver-
sant with the diseases of the most delicate division of the human
organization."—Magnet
The security of Happiness in the Marriage Stateistheecdhdeiedf
anxiety of all; but many dread entering upon the w
union, through a secret fear of unfitness for the discharge of
matrimonial obligations. This essay is most particularly ad-
dre ;sed to all suffering under a despondency of the character
alluded to ; and advice will be found calculated to cheer the
drooping heart, and point the way to renovated health.
Messrs. Lucas and Co. are to be daily consulted from
Ten till Two, andi rem Five till Eight in the Evening, at their
residence, N 0.60, Newman-street, Oxford-street, London.
Country Patients are requested to be as minute as possible
in the detail of their cases, as to the duration of the complaint,
the symptoms, age, general habits of living, and occupation in
life of the party. The communication must be accompanied
by the usual consultation fee of IL, without which no notice
whatever ca a be taken of their application; and in all cases
the most inviolable secrecy may be relied on.

NEW WORK ON DEBILITY, &c.
Jest published, price 4s. ; or sent by Post, free, 55.,
ELF-PRESERVATION ; a Popular Essay
on the Concealed Causes of those obscure and neglected
Disorders of ,the Generative System, originating in certain
solitary, habits, youthful excesses, or infection, and terminating
in Nervous Debility, Local or Constitutional Weakness, Gonorr-
hea, Syphilis, Indigestion, Insanity, and Consumption. With
Practical Obsetvitions on MARRIAGE, and on the Ana-
‘tomy, Physiology, and Diseases of the Reproductive Organs,
with plain directions for their perfect Restoration.
By SAMUEL LA'MFRT, CONSULTING SURGEON,
21, FALKNER-STREET, MANCHESTER,
Matriculated Member of the University of Edinburgh, Hono-
rary Membe:• of the London Hospital Medical Society, Li-
centiate of Apothecaries' Hall, London, &c. &c.
Published by the Author, and sold in London by S. Gilbert,
26, Paternoster •row ; Courier Office, 4, St. Ann's-square, and
Lewis, Market-street, Manchester; Newton, Bookseller,
Church-street. Liverpool; Watts, Snow-bill, Birmingham;
Cornish, 15S, 13riggate' Leeds; Fryer, New Bond-street,
Bath ; Healey, Cheltenham ; Independent Office, Cambridge;
and by all Booksellers.,
The various positions of Lover, Husband, and Parent, which
the world are severAly'anxious to fulfil, are the inherent privi-
leges of mankind, and but for the accidents of mortality would
be awarded equally to all. To such, among others, this essay
addresses itself; and, by its perusal, many questions may be
satisfactorily adjusted, that admit of no appeal, even to the
most confidential friend. To fan the spark of hope, to dissi-
pate groundless alarm, to restore failing confidence, and point
to the means of securing a happy old age, is no trifling recom-
mendation of an effort directly tending to the social and moral
welfare of all classes of the community.
Mr. La'Mert is to be consulted daily, at his residence, and
Country Patients are requested, in their letters, to be as mi-
nute as possible in the detail of their symptoms, age, general
habits of living, and occupation in life. The communication'
must be accompanied by the usual Consailtation Fee of U..
without which no notice whatever can be taken of their appli-
cation; and in all cases the most inviolable secrecy may be re-
lied on. 21, Falkner-street, Manchester.

Sold in London by Mr. S. Gilbert, 26, Paternoster-row ;
and by all Booksellers.

Just published, the Seventh Edition, price 3s. ; and sent free,
on receipt of a Post-office order, for 3s. 6d.,
ATANHOOD; the CAUSES of its PRE-
-2V-L MATURE DECLINE, with plain Directions for
ITS PERFECT RESTORATION; addressed to those
suffering from the destructive effects of Excessive Indulgence,
Solitary Habits, or Infection ; followed by Observations on
the Treatment of Syphilis, Gonorrhoea, Gleet, &c., illus-
trated with cases, &c. By J. L. CURTIS and COMPANY,
Consulting Surgeons, London.

SEVENTH EDITION.
Published by the Authors, and sold by Balliere, Medical
Bookseller to the Royal College of Surgeons, 219, Regent-
street ; Strange, 21, Paternoster-row ; Pattie. 4, Bridges-
street, Strand, London ; Guest, Birmingham; Sowler, 4, St.
Ann's-square, Manchester ; Philip, South Castle-street, Liver'-
pool • Fannin and Co., 41, Grafton-street, Dublin ; Duncan,
114, High-street, Edinburgh • and to be had of all Booksellers
The following are a few of the numerous testimonials this
popular work has received, and which the limits of an adver-
tisement will only allow of being published :---
The rage for books in all departments of Science, literature,
and the arts, was, we believe, never so pruvalent as at the pre-
sent time. The unavoidable consequence of this is, that we
meet a very considerable proportion of indifferent, useless, and
even bad books. With the force of this prejudice on our
minds, we with no little reluctance were induced to peruse
Messrs. Curtis's work, entitled "Manhood ;" nor did it re-
quire much perusal fully to satisfy us that the book was not
one of the common stamp. The scientific views taken by the
authors of the source and origin of many of the most distressing
effects of certain depraved habits, fully establish their claim to
the character of experienced and judicious surgeons. To
quote passages from the work in proof of our assertion would
be departing from the established rules of the daily press. The
result, however, of our careful perusal of the work, has been
to impress us with a thorough confidence in the talent and
skill of the authors, and to satisfy us that those entrusted with
the care of youth are not a little indebted to them for fur-
nishing them with a means of preventing some of the most
frightful maladies to which flesh is heir.—Old England.
Messrs. Curtis's work, entitled "Manhood," is one of the
few books now coming before the public on such a subject which
can lay claim to the character of being strictly professional, at
the same time that it is fully intelligible to all who read it.
The moral and medical precepts given in it, render it invalu-
able.—Magnet.
The perusal of Messrs. Curtis's book entitled " Manhood,"
has really astonished us by developing a series of maladies, the
never-failing consequence of the vicious habit of which it
treats. The clear connexion pointed out between the assigned
cause and the effects is perceptible to every capacity. We
strongly recommend the work.—Age.
The multitude of books daily coming from the press, some,
nay most of them of a very questionable
trtendency, made us ex •
-however, been
induced n el y reluctantby th echaracterto take ugp,
vaenno tohfe rt.h
this
Hwaovrikn gb,
by
an intelligent
friend, we ventured to open its pages, and now feel no hesita-
tion in saying that we arise from its perusal instructed and
edified. The cleat expOsition of the source of many of those
down diseases
by
the which
every-day'prol•es s
observerfatal t
as the result of commono youth, and which are set
causes, such as exposure to cold, sudden vicissitudes of tempe-
rature, hereditary taint, Sm., is truly convincing
and
extre-
mely satisfactory. We say " satisfactory," inasmuchasMessrs.
Curtis have shown that many diseases, soupchasPuolfmonary
Consumption, Epilepsy, &c., hitherto the probria
medi-
cine, may, when taken in proper time, and submitted to judi-
cious treatment, be brought to as favourable a termination
as any other class of ffections. We do not think we go too
far in saying that society is deeply indebted to the authors for
producing so useful, so much wanted, so valuable, and so truly
moral a book.--Conservative Journal.
We recommend the work entitled " Manhood," &c., to the
careful perusal of persons of all classes. The moral as well as
physical advantages sure to result from such perusal, will be
most readily recognised and felt by those who stand most in
need of them.—Statesman.

Messrs. Curtis and Company are to be consulted daily at
their residence, No. 7, Frith-street, Soho-square, London.
Country Patients are requested to be as minute as possible
in the detail of their cases.—As to the duration of the com-
plaint, the symptoms, age, general habits of living, and occu-
pation in life of the party ; the communication must be ac-
companied by the usual consultation fee of 1/. without which,
no notice whatever can be taken of their application ; and in
encases the most inviolable seam may be relied en.

BIGG'S PATENT HAT-GUARD.-A
Novel Invention, to prevent the hat being blown off in
gusty weather. _ _

Many troublesome expedients have been resorted to for
securing the hat, but the PATENT GUARD now offered to
the public is acknowledged to be complete, by its simplicity and
security.
It is affixed to the inside of the crown, is invisible when not
in use, and when required the hat or cap is in a moment
secured, and is as quickly dispensed with when unnecessary.
No person's hat or cap should be without this convenient
appendage, simple in operation, a trifle in cost (Sixpence and
One Shilling: ), yet perfect in security.
For the Naval and .Military Cocked Hat, the Dress and
Undress Chaco and Forage Cap, it is indispensable, entirely
superseding the unpleasant Leather Chin-strap. It is equally
s• to the Sportsman and Traveller.
To be had, retail, of all respectable Hatters in London and
the country..
Mr. Biggs having letters-patent granted to him has appointed
Messrs. Lambton and Brown, Naval and Military Accoutre-
ment-makers, 236, Regent-street, to be his Wholesale Agents
for London and Dublin.

pAPIER MACHE TEA TRAYS, 50s. the
SET, of FULL-SIZED GOTHIC SHAPE. Supe-
rior- London Table Knives, with ivory handles' 14s. per
dozen ; Brass Poles for Window Curtains, inch diameter,
is. 3d. per foot ; 2 inches, Is. Bd. per foot ; bronzed fenders,
4 feet I,mg, 9s.
SUPERIOR LONDON TABLE CUTLERY WAR-
RANTED.—TABLE KNIVES, with Ivory Handles, 14s.
per dozen ; Dessert Knives, lls. ; Carvers, 4s. 6d. per pair;
Table Knives, with white bone handles, Bs. Bd. per dozen ,
Dessert, 6s. Bd. ; Carvers, 3s. per pair; Globe-shape Tea-
urns, 4 quarts
Tea-
trays, gothic l 275. ; new shapes, 395. ; Papier Alache
ape, 50s ; the set of full sizes. Catalogues,
containing the prices, with Engravings of every Ironmongery
Article necessary to the furnishing of a house of any size, 25
per cent. under any other old-established house, to be had
gratis (post free).
RIPPON and BURTON, 12, Wells-strew Oxford-street.
Established 1820.

BANK OF ENGLAND.
Quarterly Average of the Weekly Liabilities and Assets of the
Bank of England, from the 14th of September to the 7th of
December instant, both inclusive, published pursuant to the
Act, 3 and 4 W. IV., cap. 98.
LIA BILITIES, ASSETS.
Circulation .......£16,972,000 I Securities ..... £22,768,900
Deposits .

.£24,341,000 I
Downing-street, Dee. 9, 1841.

£27,254,000

MORTALITY in the METROPOLIS.

The follohing are the results of " A Table of Mortality in
the Metropolis, shooing the Number of Deaths from all Causes
Registered in the week ending Dec. 4, 1841." The Table is
issued from the Office of the Registrar-General:—

CAUSES OF DEATH.

Weekly
Total. Average
1838-9-40
Epidemic, Endemic, and Contagious Diseases 164 204
Diseases of the Brain, Nerves, and Senses 136 151
Diseases of the Lungs, and other Organs of
Respiration
Diseases of the Heat and Blood-vessels l7 18
Diseases of the Stomach, Liver, and other
Organs of Digestion 44 60
Diseases of the Kidn,,ys, &c.
Childbed, Diseases of the Uterus, &c.
Diseases of the Joints, Bones, and Museles
Diseases of the Skin; &c 2 1
Diseases of Uncertain Seat__ 99 103
Old Age, or Natural Decay 5l 71
Deaths by Violence, Privation, or Intemperance 22 25
Causes not specified
Deaths from all causes...
Average Weekly Deaths .. 926
Average Population Deaths
Weekly eh u. in
Deaths merated the
1t.38-:1-40. Ib4l. Week.
West Districts—Kensington, Saint
George (Hanover-square), West-
minster, St. Martin in the Fields,
St. James
North Districts—St. Mary-le-bon•
St. Pancras, Islington, Hackney 163 365,660 165
Central Districts—St. Giles and St.
George, Strand, Holborn, Clerk-
enwell, St. Luke, East London,
West London, City of London ... 190 373,806 163 •
East Districts—Shoreditch, Bethnal . .
Green,. Whitechapel, St. George
in the East, Stepney, Poplar 2ll 392,49% 182
South Districts—St Saviour, St
Olave, Bermondsey, St. George,
Southwark, New in gton,Lambeth,
Camberwell, Rotherhitke, Green-
wich 223 438,060 218

Total 926 1,870,727 852
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 (Ch elsea), Pad-
dington, St. Mary (Stoke Newington), St. Leonard (Brom
ley)' St. Mary-le-bow, Camberw ell, Greenwich, St. Nicholas
and St. Paul (Deptford), and Woolwich. The population, as
enumerated in 1831, was 1,594,890; and in June 1841, was
1,870,727. The weekly average for 1838, 1839, and 1840,
was obtained by dividing the deaths in the three years by 156.
TEMPERATURE IN THE WEEKS ENDING
Nov- 27- Dec. 4.
5' 59'
33
44 4551
9, 1841.

Highest

Lc);;vest
Daily Mean .........
General Register Office, Dec.

Tonic AND NORTH MIDLAND RAILWAY.
—This Company have for some time found it necessary in the
first and last daily trains between York and Hull to lower
their fares from 6s. 6d. and 4s. to 4s. 6d. and 2s. 6d. for se-
cond and third-class passengers, the first class remaining as
before, Bs. 6d. It has been done with the intention of com-
peting with the steam-boats, and it appears has been successful,
for those trains which used to carry little or nothing before are
mix very fairly loaded. The distance is 52 miles. We are
glad to hear that this line is likely to make a dividend at the
rate of 11 per cent. per annum at the next half-yearly meeting.
This is the railway which was once at so low an ebb that some
oo
ff
ee shareholders eichioonAl dt
contains
irnus s
HAGUE,
t noticept o b
Cr e. af6kroim—h
it u
the ---Derby Reporter.
eMinister of Finncea, Stadts Courant
dated the 24 inst., announcing, conformably to the law of the
27th December, 1840, the total amount of Treasury bonds is-
tied by virtue of that law is 2,400,000 florins.
RELIEF FUND.--,We understand .that the Prince
of Wales' Fund for the poyr of the city, has reached nearly
3,0001. ; which will prove a great boon to our distressed
working population .dur'.ing the winter, as it is to be
distributed in meal, potatoes, and coals.—Edinburgh
Observer.

GREAT MEETING OF THE MER-
CHANTS and MANUFACTURERS.

(FROIII OUR OWN REPORTER.)

A highly important and interesting meeting of the
merchants and manufacturers of Leicester, Derby, and
Nottingham shires, took place on Thursday at Derby, for
the purpose of taking into consideration the existing
commercial distress, and to consider the propriety of
petitioning Parliament for the immediate and total re-
peal of the Corn and Provision-laws. At eleven o'clock
the Delegates assembled to the number of nearly 1,000
in the Lancasterian School, which was crowded in every
part, and the meeting, we understand, represented the
great bulk of the manufacturing and commercial wealth
of the surrounding districts There were also present
Sir John Easthope, M.P. for Leicester ; Sir G. De Hor-
sey Larpent, M.P., Nottingham; Ed. Strutt, M.P., Derby ;
Joseph Strutt, M.P.; Dr. Bowriug, M.P.; Richard Cob-
den, M.P.; W. Evans, M.Y.

From Nottingham—Aldermen Heard, Frearson, Her-
bert, Shipman, Vickers, and Judd, Rev. H. Hunter, and
Messrs. Bean, T. Wakefield, F. Wakefield, Forth, J.
Bradley, Astill, Carver, Parkin, Galloway, Roberts, J.
Burton, W. Taylor, J. Dunn, &c.

-
From Leicester.—J. Stolies, Esq. (Mayor), Messrs.
J. and W. Biggs, R. Harris, F. Angrave, E. Dewson, T.
F. Paget, J. Clarke, W. Eames, J. Eames, and Burgess.
Of. Derby.—Stephen Gamble, Esq. (Mayor), Messrs.
J. Strutt, John Strutt, Anthony B. Strutt, and F. Strutt,
E. Longdon, N. Gisborne, F. Hill, W. Taylor, J. and F.
Peat, W. Morley, F. Morley, and the Rev. J. Gawthorne.
From Loughborough.—Messrs. Warner, J. White, and
T. Cartwriaht. •

Mr, Dean Taylor, the Chartist lecturer, was also pre-
sent, and several influential gentlemen from Birmingham,
Manchester, and other more remote parts of the country.
On the motion of Mr. BIGGS, of Leicester, seconded by
Mr. WAKEFIELD, of Nottingham, JOHN HERD, Esq., of
Nottingham; one of the most extensive manufacturers of
the midland districts; was called to the Chair amidst loud
and general acclamations.
The CHAIRMAN said—Gentlemen, it was not until my
arrival here this morning that I had the least expectation
of being called upon to fill the high and , honourable
situation you have now called me to. I am, therefore,
totally unprepared to fulfil its duties, or to make any speech
or observations which such an occasion naturally calls for.
Still, as I am come impressed, as I believe every one
now present is, with the impoli'cy, the wickedness, and
the ruinous consequences of the present Corn and Pro-
vision-laws, I cannot but accede to your request, and en-
deavour to discharge the duties you have imposed upon
me to the best of my ability.—(Hear.) I believe the par-
ticular object fer which we are assembled together, is to
consider the effect produced by the Corn and Provision-
laws on the manufacturing interests and trade of these
midland counties. On this subject, therefore, it will be
much better, and more correct, that the gentlemen who
are to address the meeting should speak, even if I
were able to do so. This, however, lam convinced of,
that, under no circumstances of situation, can the Corn
and Provision-laws be a benefit to the country. True, if
the country was capable of producing a much larger
quantity of food than could be consumed, such laws
might be inoperatiie, and be deprived of much of their
baneful effects ; but while the population is increasing,
while we know the land cannot increase, and when we
have arrived at that position, that it cannot by possibi-
lity produce all the food we require for the convenience
and comfort of the people, such laws are injurious and
decidedly bad, and those only who are blessed by Provi-
dence with property, will be able to escape the effect of
these laws, which press with great severity upon those
who are unable to purchase them at these high prices.—
(Hear.) I shall not enter further upon the subject, but
call upon a large manufacturer of Leicester, Mr. Biggs,
to move the first resolution.

L Mr. W. BIGGS, of Leicester, then came forward,
and addressed the meeting as follows :—I propose
to substantiate the correctness of all the proposi-
tions contained in the resolution I have the ho-
' nour to move, by showing the gradual progress in the
reduction in the wages of labour to the extent of nearly
. one-half since 1815; by the number of failures and
bankruptcies among manufacturers- by the depreciated
value of the machinery employed; by the diminution of
its actual amount : by the non-employment of one-third
which is at present in existence : further, by the depre-
ciated value of property in houses; by the numbers un-
occupied compared to former periods; by the diminution
in the amount of weekly rent for houses, and the increased
difficulty in collecting it; by the diminished amount of
necessaries and small luxuries sold by shopkeepers and
dealers to the poor, and by their purchase of coarser ar-
ticles of consumption; and by the diminished purchases
of the middle classes themselves, in departments where
retrenchment can be made.--(Hear.) I propose further
to show, that the prospects for the hosiery trade of the
midland counties are most discouraging, iu sonsequance
of the alarming growth of a gigilatic foreign German
competition, which has already superseded us in neutral
markets, and is rapidly invading us at our own doors.—
(Hear, hear.) In order to prove all these.propositions
consecutively I shall begin with Hinckley. The three
largest manufacturing towns in the county are Hinckley,
Loughborough, and Leicester. The population of
Hinckley in 1831 was 6,491—in 1841 it was 6,459;
showing a diminution which, though trifling, is any-
thing but an index of prosperity. The poor-rates for
1815 were 2,9291.; for 1841 are 4,2401: between which
times it must be recollected the population remained
nearly stationary in amount. In 1811 there were
twenty-five houses unoccupied ; 1831 there were
122 ; and in 1841 there were 157 :—thus showing
an increase of deserted tenements, and evidencing a gra-
dual and growing pauperism among the working classes.
—(Hear, hear.) In the year 1815 the clear earnings of
an average workman were 12s. per week; in the year 1841,
when fully employed, they would not exceed from 7s. to
Bs. ; but, for the last three years, the workmen have not
been fully employed, even at this reduced rate. Those
engaged in the manufacture of brown cotton hosiery
(which is the principal article and chief support of
Hinckley) have been unemployed fully one-third of their
time for the last three years; and the deficiency of em-
ployment has gone on greatly increasing during the same
period Of those who are in work, one-half only are
fully employed, the other half being limited to what is
called half work, which does not exceed in amount 4s. per
week. This, it must be understood, has occurred in a
town, and in a manufacture, where not the slightest al-
teration or improvement in machinery has taken place;
so that of course the distress and reduction of wages
here cannot by possibility be ascribed to machinery, as
steam power has never been employed in Hinckley or its
neighbourhood, in the manufacture of cotton hosiery ;
but the distress, as evidenced by the poor-rates, can he
distinctly proved to be greater in years when corn is
dear, than in other years, when corn is cheap; as for
instance in 1835, when corn was 395. 4d. per quarter,
the poor-rates amounted to 2,0101.—in 1836, when corn
was 48s. 6d. per quarter, they amounted to 2,0701.—in
1840, after three consecutive dear years, and when corn
was 665. 4d. per quarter, they amounted to 3,1201.—
and now, in .1841, when corn is 645. 6d. per quarter,
they amount to 4,2401.: from which coincidences we
are warranted in believing, as practical men, that detir
corn has a natural tendency to produce bad trade, reduc-
tion of wages, and general distress. Frame property
has depreciated in Hinckley to a great extent; it is not
possible to say precisely to what extent, as frames are
not now vendible by auction at any price. The last sale
was stopped, after the few first frames were disposed of ;
, and those which were sold did not realise much more
I than half the valuation. In 1815, the average value of
frames, as tested by sales at public auction, was 81. 14s. ;
in 1826 and 1827 they were depreciated to 6Z 3s. 6d. ;
in 1940 to 41. Is. ;
„at present, in 1841, there is no price
for them. It is unnecessary of course to say, that the
value of frames is regulated by the profitable or unpro-
fitable nature of the business. Hinckley, and the villages
adjoining, contain one-fifth of the frames in Leicester-
shire, and were principally dependent upon the Americen
na irket for. employment. Hinckley goods are now beaten
out of the United States market by the manufacturers of
the Continent.—(Hear, hear.) The articles in which we,
have been superseded by the Germans are—men's and
women's brown and coloured hose and half hose. The
prospects for Hinckley are gloomy in the extreme ; the
declared intentions of some of the largest manufacturers
are, to sell their machinery and get out of the trade,
owing to the absence of all profit in carrying it on for
the last few years, and the ruinous depreciation in the
value of manufactured goods. In several cases of insol-
vency, in this town and neighbourhood, it has been found
that goods have been repeatedly sold, for the last three
years, at a ruinous sacrifice, at a loss of at least from
fifteen to twenty-five per cent. The demand for labour
'seems to decrease here more and more every year, and
in the same proportion the comforts and respectability of
the working classes decrease with it ; and all the exer-
tions of religious teachers of Sunday schools cannot and
do not retard the rapid progress of demoralization, which
is, in consequence, fearfully extending itself. Hunger
aad distress are fast destroying all holiesty in our sex,
and all chastity and decency in the other. As painfully
interesting evidence of the extreme state of poverty to
which the operatives are reduced, it is a fact, that thir-
teen out of fifteen sick clubs, or friendly societies, in this
town are shut up, from the inability of their members to
their subscriptions; and some intention has been
'ay en-
tertained- of dividing the funds, and breaking up the
clubs altogether. Here is poverty, destitution, and de-
spair: we will weigh this in the balance with Sir Robt.
Peel's story about the savings banks, and I ask every
one who hears me, whether it does not make it kick the
beam like a feather?—(Cheers and hisses.) Besides, as
an' evidence of manufacturing prosperity or distress, the
savings' banks absolutely prove nothing. From inquiries
which I have myself made, I learn from the moat un-
questionable authority, that at least two-thirds of the
depositors are domestic servants, whose wages are paid
them periodically, and who are the last persons to be
affected by the vicissitudes and alternations of trade—
that half the remaining third are agricultural labourers,
servants, and cottagers, or persons utterly unconnected
with manufacture ; and that the remaining one-sixth
only is composed of small tradesmen or shopkeepers,
manufacturing operatives, small manufacturers, artisans,
and children, together with the deposits of benefit soci-
eties and haritable institutions.----(Hear, hear.) In
common fairness, therefore, if Sir Robert Peel had
wished to refer to any gage or criterion of the condition

1821.

of the manufacturing; operatives, it ought to have been
to their sick clubs- and friendly societies, their reduced
wages and want of employment, and not to a standard
f which, at the same time that he paraded it before the
House of Commons; he knew, or ought to have known,
was 110 criterion at all. However such a statement may
pass current in a Tory Parliament, we manufacturers,
who live in the midst of a distressed, unemployed, and
impoverished population, and have every day such pain-
ful and distressing evidences of it before our eyes as can-
not be mistaken, look upon the savings' bank story of
Sir Robert Peel as a mere' rhetorical flourish to dress
up a case, and suit a party purpose. "We know
its rags and gather in the face on't. '—(Loud cheers.)
In conclusion, it may be said that one-third of the
frames and workmen at Hinckley are at the present time
totally unemployed ; one-third earning only from 7s. to
Bs. per week ; and the remaining one-third employed
upon half-work, by which they can only earn 4s. per
week. It has been found impossible fully to carry
all the provisions of the New Poor-law into operation in
Hinckley ; it has been repeatedly tried, but has as re-
gularly failed. Last year (1840) there were 500 men,
heads of families, out of the small population of Hinck-
ley parish, in the workhouse yard breaking stones ; this
year, the poor-house is full, and the unemployed poor
who are not in the house are necessarily relieved out of
it. The poor-rates, which used to be, in a healthy state
of the trade, lod. in the pound per quarter, or 3s. 4d.
per year, are now 20d. per quarter, or 6s. 81 per year;
being, in other words, double, what they formerly were,
with no present prospect of alteration or reduction. The
state of destitution here .(adds my informant) is attended
with wretchedness which will not bear description ; it is
too bad to be pourtrayed, and too extensive to be re-
lieved.—(Hear, hear.) Having now occupied you suffi-
ciently long with the painfully distressing details of the
state of trade at Hinckley, and the social condition of the
working classes there, we will next proceed to enumerate
a few facts in connexion with the second largest manu-
facturing town in the county ; we will-consider Lough-
borough. My informant reports that the population of
Loughborough is now 10,000, according to the last cen-
sus; in 1831 it was 11,000; so that its population may be
said to have decreased 1,000 in the last ten years—a pain-
ful evidence of its diminished prosperity, and the loss of
a considerable port of its trade. In 1831 the number of
houses unoccupied was 100 ; at the last census (1841)
there were 305, or three times more than upon the for-
mer occasion. The average wages of common work
here do not exceed 7s. per week. There are now three
times as many frames unemployed here as at any former
period. The price for a certain description of ribbed
work in 1815 was 14s—now it is Bs. or Bs. 6d. In 1815,
Loughborough was in a state of great prosperity, the
wages of the operatives were good, and their comforts
were, of course, in proportion. e Now there is a greater
amount of privation and distress than I ever remember
to have witnessed—the circumstance that the poor have
'not the means of obtaining partial relief, whilst it pre-
vents the rates from being heavy, entails a fearful
amount of suffering upon them in seasons of scarcity of
labour. At the present time there is a great deal of dis-
tress existing, in consequence of numbers of workmen
being discharged from their usual occupation, and hav-
ing to seek relief or casual employment in any way they
can, which, under existing circumstances, is extremely
difficult to obtain. Wages are reduced nearly one-half
in the staple trade (hosiery) since 1815, which reduc.-
tion, coupled with, and, as we believe, mainly caused by,
the high price of provisions, diminishes the comforts,
and increases the privations of the poor to a most dis=
tressing extent. I should state further that this reduc-
tion of wages has taken place in common articles made
in common frames by manual labour, to which steam-
power has never been applied. We will now, gentle-
enen, introduce Leicester. Leicester contains, according
to the last census, 50,000 inhabitants. The number of
houses unoccupied in 1831 was 550 ; in 1841 it was
I,4oo.—(Hear, hear.) My informants state that within
the last three years ten manufacturers have declined
business in -Leicester on account of its unprofitable
cheracter—not, I- regret to say, with fortunes—while
sixteen other firms have been overtaken with insolvency
and bankruptcy within the same period. The wages
of the operatives here, in common branches, are not
more, on an average, than six -or seven shillings
per week, and not more that half, after their various
charges and expenses are paid, what they were in 1815.
The prospects for the ensuing winter are most discour-
aging—several houses having already begun to discharge
their workmen, and it is almost certain that the numbers
out of employment will be now increasing every week.
The suffering and privation among the working-classes is
necessarily very great. But, Gentlemen, we must now
go more into details, and submit to you an amount of
evidence collected from various sources, all of which can
be substantiated, like the preceding, if a necessity should
arise, at the bar of the House of Commons, or before any
Commissioners whom Sir Robert Peel may choose to ap-
point. The first evidence of distress I shall introduce is
that of the great redaction in the wages of labour. I
shall not take here a fancy article, which may have parti-
ally gone out from changes of taste or caprices of fashion,
bat one of the most stable; and regular, and ordinary
articles in the trade, made in narrow frames by manual
labour, and which has never been interfered with by the
application of improved machinery or steam power. The
article I select is a dozen of women's 24-gage worsted
stockings, 104 leads wide, and is a fair criterion of the
extent to which labour in the hosiery manufacture gener-
ally has been reduced since 1815.

WAGES OF LEICESTER. FRAMEWORR-KNITTEES,
From 1815 to the present time.
1815 7s. 6d. 1829
1816 7s. Od. 1830
1817 6s. Od. 1831

1818..

1819..

1820..

6s. od,

7s. Od.l

1832 ..

7s. Od.l

4s. 9d.

1833 ..

1834 .

6s. 6d

1835 ..

ss. od.

4s. 9d.

1836 ss. Od.
1837
1838 ••• 4s. 6d.
1839 4s. Gd.
1840 4s. Gd.
1841
1828 ss. Od.l—(Hear, hear.)

4s. 9d.

1829 6s. 6d.
1823 6s. 6cl.
1824 ss. 6d.
1825 6s. 6d.
1826
1827 ss. Gd.

Low as is this rate of labour at the present time, and
utterly inadequate as it is with the present price of provi-
sions, to maintain working men in anything approach-
ing to comfort, I have no hesitation in saying, that if
manufacturers, as a class, had the feelings and disposi-
tions which Chartist leaders and thoughtless men ascribe
to them, there is no level to which the wages of labour
might not be reduced-so greatly is it in excess, and so
general is the want of employment at the present time.
It is maintained alike by Tories and some of the Chart-
ist leaders that the price of corn and labour invariably
go together-that dear corn induces high wages, and
that cheap corn induces low wages-that, therefore,
cheap corn would be no advantage to the operative, and
that manufacturers generally want a Repeal of the Corn
laws that they may reduce the rate of labour.-(Cries of
" Shame.") 'Thus fallacy and calumny generally go to-
gether. To say nothing of the coarseness and injustice
of mach a charge, against a class of men, who, to say the
least of it, will challenge comparison with any other in
the empire, for intelligence, humanity, benevolence, and
public usefulness, the assertion that corn and wages go
together is absurd and untrue, and is now nearly ex-
ploded everywhere except in our House of Lords. But the
best refutation of it in connection with our hosiery busi-
ness, is to be found in the recent letter of an intelligent
operative of Leicester, to the Duke of Rutland. The
Duke had been making some observations at an acrricul-
tural dinner at Waltham, to the effect that with every
fall in the price of corn, the stocking•makers received a
corresponding reduction in their wages, proving that here-
ditary legislation and wisdom do not always go together.
The operative in question (Mr. Richard Seal) states in
the course of his letter, that in the year 1815 24. gage
hose, 104 leads wide, were 7s. 6d. per dozen when corn
was 635. Bd. per • quarter ;' that in 1816 the same sort
were Is. per dozen when corn was 765. 2d. per quarter ;
that in 1817 they were 6s. when corn was 945. per quar-
ter; that in 1818 they were 6s: when corn was 835.-Bd. per
quarter ; that in 1822 they
that
tre
in6.1863f14.
twhenhey vie,oerrne.
was 435. 3d. per quarter ; t
4s. 9d. when wheat was 465. 2d. per quarter ; that in
1835 they were 4s. 9d. when wheat' was 395. 4d. per
quarter ; that in 1839 they were 4s. Gd. when corn was
70s. 6d. per quarter ; that in 1840 they were 4s. 6d.
when corn was 665. 4d. par quarter ; and that in 1841
they were 4s. 6d. when corn was 645. 6d.: thus exhibit-
ing every variety of alternation in the wages of labour,
without the slightest regard to the variations in the
price of corn. " If your Grace (continues this intelligent
operative) will only cast your eye upon the price of corn
and the price of labour in 1815, and the price of corn
and the price of labour in 1839, 1840' and 1841, you
will see what a tremendous reduction has taken place in
the price of the framework knitters' wages, while corn is
considerably dearer than at the period of, 1815. Your
Grace will see at least one_ conclusive, and, to your
Grace, no doubt astounding
_fact , that the Corn-laws have
not kept up the price of labour, but, that, on the con-
trary, it has been, under the -operation of- these laws,
reduced one-half-the clear earnings of the framework-
knitters, at 4s. Gd,
er
earnings dozen,
a itiot7sbGeidng more than
otzheann
one half of the clear
My uniform experience has been that there working
climes have enjoyed the most comfort when food has
been cheap.
"-(Cheers.) At an Anti-Corn-law meeting
in Leicester, last June, the same operative said, that
" he could not go away without corroborating the as-
sertion made by two previous speakers, that the low
price of food was beneficial to the poor, and raised
rather than lowered their wages. He knew this from
experience, and he could therefore flatly contradict the
statement contained in a bill which was put into his
hands as he entered the theatre, that cheap bread
lowered wages. In 1822 he had a large family, and in
consequenCe" of the low price of bread, his weekly ex-
ponces were less by four shillings, while at the same time 1
his wags were higher by one shilling, so that he
reckoned. he was a gainer to the amount of 13/. in the
course of the year. Now, if lie calculated that thee 1
were one million poor families in the country, and that •
benetited, here would be a saving of
tthhieite. thirteen millions. What What did he do with this 131.-did
he put it into a strong box? No, he increased the com- •
forts of his family, and thus helped to increase the trade
of his country."-(Loud cheera.)• ' This illustration is
the most simple and conclusive of any that I have heard,
or that can be propounded. What was the case in this
individual instance, would be the ease in millions of in-
stances-a generally increased capacity to buy, would

- SUN•
induce a-generally increased activity on the-part of other
Aperatives to manufacture; good trade would follow cheap
food, as certain as day follows night, and that not by
acrid( nt or otherwise, but inevitably and of cote se.—
Renewed
repealt
rsa
.evtschesha
acet
nsoos Manchester
Corn-laws
a nil:
lared
distress
e.
ssco- t tfrsoreoerasnmdsi
n-epliralulsaowe,s)::nhaoeaestnnntdobafetuhregye haveurged
tee petitioned
Renewed cheers.) It has frequently been urged against
creoftholfassrsedit:
existence
metnioi
entii
the
es
it
mrtehpseruolatv,
eoomrfkeioinlutsgr
in machinery, their introduction of steam power; but in
our own peculiar manufacture we have a conspicuous
example of immense numbers of workmen being thrown
out of employment, and wages reduced nearly one-halt
:since 1815, without any important alteration, er hardly
any improvement upon the machinery employed. "The
stocking frame is to all intents and purposes essentially
the same in principle, and almost iii details, as it was
,when first launched from the hands of its inventor.
Steam power has never been applied to it; for upwards of
two centuries it has ramained unchanged; even the ag-
gregate number of frames, at present extant in Leices-
tershire, is not so great as it was in the more prosperous
period of the trade. In the year 1815 it was ascertained
from extensive inquiry, that there were 16,000 frames
in Leicestershire. There are now certainly not more
than 14,000, the few new ones which have been built
latterly not having by any means kept pace with the
worn out or old ones, which have been broken up and.
di stroyed ; and yet, in spite of this diminished number
of stocking frames, a third part of the machinery in the
trade is either totally still, or only partially employed ;
while wages have been reduced since 1815 from 7s. 6d.
to 4s. 6d. per dozen. Here, then,.is a striking instance
of reduction of wages to the amount of nearly one-half,
in a manufacture where none other than manual labour
has ever been employed—where steam power has never
been introduced—where the amount of machinery itself
is less than it formerly was—and where one- third of
the diminished number of frames now in existence are
at present totally unemployed. It is utterly impossible,
therefore, that the distress in Leicestershir,., can arise
from an increase in the amount of machinery, or from
the application of steam power. It must, and does, in
the opinion of the whole trade, arise from the Corn-
laws, and from them alone ; dear years, like the last
three, are inevitably years of suffering, loss and depre-
'ciatitin, while cheap years, like 1534, 1835, and 1836, are
as necessarily years of activity, national prosperity, and
social happiness. We will now proceed to show the
depreciation in the value of our machinery, and the
amount of it at present unemployed. Within the
last ten years, machinery employed in the ma-
nufacture of common hosiery has depreciated at least
from forty to fifty per cent. In 1836, plain frames
twenty-five inches wide, would sell for 201.: such frames
would not now sell for more than IIL or 121. In the
same year, an average lot of plain. stocking frames,
fifteen inches wide, would have sold under the hammer
for 71. to SI each ; at the present time, at the only ac-
tual sale which has taken place for some months, they
only realized OL 15a. each, and several lotsof wide and
narrow frames, after having b'een publicly a:lvertised in
all the local - papers for two or three weeks, have been
withdrawn for want of bidders. Scarcely a single ma-
nufacturer attended these sales—a decided proof of the
extreme depression of trade, as manufacturers had for-
merly been the principal purchasers.—(bear, lime)
Warp looms, which are usually employed upon fanay
articles, have depreciated to a still greater extent than
the common stocking frames ; they are at least from 60
to 70 per cent. kwer in value than they were. The
greater part of this depreciation has taken place within
the last two or three years. In the year 1b36, fifty or
sixty-inch looms would then readily sell at an average of
from 141. to 151. each ; but at the present time numbers
have been offered in the market of greater widths, at
Si. ss. each, and have been declined. The progress and
history of the stocking trade still further illustrates the
depreciation in machinery. A considerable number
of stocking frames were formerly owned by in-
dependent holders, and by the workmen them-
selves ; but such has been the long-continued depression
of trade, and the difficulty of procuring employment
for such frames, that these classes of frame holders
have been gradually compelled to sell the'c at almost
any price, regardless of tile sacrifice, or of their original
cost, in order to secure themselves regular employment.
This has acelimulaled the =chines in the hands of maeu-
facturers ; but the elepreseion continuing, great numbers
of these frames have. been withdrawn Calm the inanterac •
ture, and laid clown -us temporarily useless—it being a
smaller los a •.to the manufacturer to forego the rent for
such maeilines,.. than to encounter the diffieulties of sale
and depreciation or stuck consequent upon their employ-
ment. Such frames are not, therefore, brought into the
market for sale, as there is no probability of vending
their. fur anything like their intrinsie value, as com-
pared with former years ; fur instance, if a new fifteen-
inch frame were made at the present day, at the lowest
possible rate, it would cost 151. and could nut be sold
for more than 101. If the manufacturers were to force
a sale of their surplus machinery the depreciation would
reach at least sixty to seventy per, cent.' and it is more
than doubtful whether purchasers could be found at any
price whatever,—(lleac, hear.) I will now quote the
evidence of, a ;gentleman lattterly retired from the
hosiery trade, who kindly furnished me with his business
experience and -history,: in connexifete with frame pro-
perty ; with which, and the result of my own personal
inquiries, I will conclude my case as it respects machi-
nery. " I commenced business (says our informant) in
1803, and up to that time, and for twenty years preced-
ing, the workmen themselves owned a great part of the
frame-property in Leicestershire. Many of them used
to purchase their owrt material, and regularly make up
their own goods, for which they found an easy, regular,
and weekly sale to the, hosier, for at least live per cent.
profit ;at Otis time hosiery goods were so much in re-
quest, and labour consequently so greatly in demand,
that manufacturers were in the habit of riding round to
the adjoining villages, and offering premiums and advances
upon wage., to induce the workmen to supply them with
goods in preference to their fbrmer employers. This state
of things continued without xnueli change or interruption,
till about the year 1815, from which time there has
been a gradual reduction of wages, and an increasing
distress and suffering among the workingel asses. They
have been compelled in most cases to sell their frames,
which have thus become, in the course of time, the pro-
perty of manufacturers, who are at present the principal
owners of them. • Stocking frames originally cost 171.
each building ' • even as late 1820 I had many made at
that price. On the 10th November, 1841, I attended a
sale of frames by auction, and the average price they
realized was only 31. 13s. 6d. each ; from which must be
deducted expenses.of sale and five per cent. for duty, leav-
ing only a net proceed for each frame of 31. Bs. 6. Ever since
the year 1816 manufacturers have been compelled to lay
down part of their frames, and I have known many in-
stances latterly where frames have been offered for sale at
a public auction, and no bidders have attended to purchase.
In 1821 I gave up manufacturing, and let out nay frames
to a respectable house then commencing business, for
ls. a week each, and introduced them at the same time
to my former business connection. This house soon de-
clined business ; I then let them to a large manufac-
turer for 9d. per week each. He employed them until.
the year 1838 ; when he wished to give them up, but
I prevailed upon him to continue to rent half of them,
till this year (1841) when he finally gave up the whole.
My frame property, the rent of which formed part of
my income, is now therefore thrown useless upon my
hands. I have already waited upon at least twenty ma-
nufacturers, besides other persons, without being able
to let one of them upon any terms. I know many per-
sons who depended upon the rent of their frame property
for their livelihood, who are now reduced to very
great distress, and even destitution ; they have been
compelled from the distresses of the times, and from the
absence of any interest derivable from them, to sell them
one by one, and some have even been obliged to apply
for parish relief."—(Hear, hear.) From personal inqui-
ries of eight of the largest firms in Leicester, who are
holders of machinery, ourselves included, to the amonnt
of 2,650 frames, there are 955 or more than one-third,
totally unemployed, and lying down entirely useless.
This proposition holds good with the smaller houses, and
throughout the whole of the hosiery trade ; so that it
may be fairly stated, without exaggeration, that one-third
of the machinery of Leicestershire and one-third of the
workmen, are at present unemployed. We will further
establish the existence of distress, from a kief history of
the poor-rates in the parishes of St. :Margaret and All
Saints :—" In the parish of St. Margaret. which con-
tains three-fifths of the whole population of the town of
Leicester, or thirty out of its fifty thousand inhabitants,
there were two hundred and fifty unoccupied houses in
1831, and six hundred and fifty in the present year, 1841.
In the threecheap years 1834, 1635, and 1836, when wheat
only averaged 445. Bd. per quarter, the poor-rates amounted
to only 18,8071. ; while in the three last years 1838, 1839,
and 1840, when corn averaged 675. per quarter, they
amounted, including a subscription, to 25,0201. This
subscription was got up in the winter of 1839, in conse-
quence of the immense number of unemployed workmen,
a
who were obliged to be relieved out of the poor-rates,
which increased their amount so much, and rendered
them so onerous to the smaller rate-payers, that there
was no alternative left but for the wealthier
classes to subscribe, or for a large proportion of
these poorer rate-pryers to be ruined, and added to
paupers. Under these circumstances
pounds was raised by subscription,
fithiree listth thousand
ofa ad
which was disbursed by weekly instalments under the
swas the Chairman. Supposing, therefore, that this
uperintendence of a Committee, of which the Mayer
subscription WRS distributed according to the population,
and that three-fifths, or 3,000/. of it, was disbursed to
the parish
of St. Margaret, it would, in addition to the
sum of 22,0201. raked by direct poor-rates, make a total
of 25,0201. distributed in three years among the necessi-
tous and famishing poor. Thus the experience of the

last few years confirMs an opinion ahriost universally
held by the trade, that the poor-rates are always high-
est when corn is high, and lowest when corn is low, and
that the state of trade, and the social condition of the
people, are always best when food is cheap."—
(Cheers).
In the parish of All Saints, containing chiefly a manu-
facturing population, the gross amount paid for poor-
rates for 1834, 1833, and 1836, was 3,493/., but in the

three succeeding yeau, which were years of compare
Lively high prices, the amount was 4,679/. It is an i
variable rule in the trade (remarked Mr. Whetstone.
Mayor of Leicester. in his examination before ti'

pori Duties' Committee) that when provisions ar
there is a good demand ; it is a rule observed ef
by manufacturers, and established as a maxim in
The poor-rates, he added, are always highest
when corn is at ar, and lowest when

have rtbis, Ger-tkraen, proved the I'oo
of labour since 1815 ; the losses Iv
nufacturerS'; the extensive w:

the reduction in the value

ihninishe►l amount tt present in
that one-third of • what is now

ployed ; all painful evidences c
dining trade. We will now„

furthe—r evidence of merchar

prietors, and wholesale ch
dence of a wholesale :roe,'