The Sun.
London, England, 1846-01-12 00:00:00

of duty, 1,400,0001.; and it should be remembered that '
on every pound of sugar lid. was paid for the purpose of
revenue to the Government, and ld. for protection, to
support the planters or their mortgagees, for protection
and mortgages -were very near neighbours.—(Ap-
plause.) It was reported that Sir Robert Peel intended
to make a change in the corn-laws ; probably he would
propose a corripromise, for he was very fond of com-
promises. 7,4 was said that he and his lady once differed
as to a joint which they should have for dinner; Sir Ro-
bert wa-Ated a leg of mutton, and his lady a shoulder,
so by •-qay of compromise they got a loin, which was be-
twee4 the two.—(Roart of laughter.)
'Air. Councillor MORDEY seconded the resolution. He
ac3.-verted to the deficiency in the wheat crop, and the
-disease in the potato crop which exist in this neighbour-
hood and the country at large, and then proceeded at
some length by argument and example to show that no
danger was to be apprehended by the agriculturists
from a repeal of the corn-law, closing his speech by a
comparison of the state of the population of the two
counties of Durham and Buckingham, with both of which
he was familiar—the former county appearing to great
advantage in the comparison.
Mr. DICKINSON, Et working man (better known as the
Manchester Packer, and at one time a great advocate
for Chartism), rose, on the motion being put from the
chair, and supported it in an animated speech.
A. WHITE, Esq., moved the third resolution :—"That
the inhabitants of this borongh have just emerged from
an unexampled period of distress, as can be shown by
the returns of paupers made to the poor-law Commis-
sioners, and your petitioners, dreading the misery and
wretchedness which must ensue from a scarcity of food,
not only to the borough, but also to every part of the
kingdom, consider that the admission of foreign corn is
indispensably necessary to avert the impending distress."
He remarked that it afforded him very great pleasure to
have an opportnnity of bearing his testimony in favour
of the total and immediate repeal of those iniquitous
laws which prohibit the food of the people being brought
into this country free from taxation, as it ought to be ;
and he considered that in consequence of the partial
failure of the corn harvest and the great injury the
potato crops have suffered throughout both Great Britain
and Ireland, the question is at present of the most press-
ing and urgent necessity ; and he trusted Sir R. Peel
would feel it to be his duty to listen to the petitions of
the people from the large towns, and to propose to Par.
liament the total and immediate repeal of the corn-laws.
—(Loud applause.) The first part of the resolution
referred to an unexampled period of distress. As they
were well aware, he had been engaged in extensive
commercial transactions for a period of thirty years,
and he could truly say that during the whole of that
period he had no recollection of such severe
distress among the great body of the working
class—and indeed among the tradesmen of the borough,
as during 1842, 1843, and partially in 1844; and al-
though it had pleased Divine Providence to give them a
season of prosperity, yet wheat being advanced 25 per
cent. and potatoes now selling at is. per firkin, the
price of provisions was a very serious drawback on the
wages of operatives ; and there was too much reason to
fear that unless the ports were opened speedily for the
importation of grain and other food, we shall have a con-
siderable further advance in the price of provisions.—
(Hear, hear.) If this took place, it would have a serious
effect on the country, by reducing the demand for ma-
nufactured goods. The worthy Gentleman then read
the returns of paupers in the Sunderland Union (which
includes a population of about 70,000) during the last
four years. In 1842 the average weekly number of out-
door paupers was 4,898, in-door 330. In 1843, there
were 6,162 out-door, and 343 in-door. In 1844, 5,289
out-door, and 337 in-door; and in 1845, up to the 25th
of December, 4,433 out-door, and 255 in-door. If they
contrasted 1843 with 1845, they would find a decrease
in the workhouse of 88, and of out-door paupers 1,729.
—(Applause.) This excess consisted of well-disposed,
honest, and industrious operatives, who were obliged to
throw themselves upon their parishes for relief during
that season of pressure. He feared that unless the ports
were speedily opened a very deplorable effect would fall
upon the commerce of this port, and the general trade
of the country.—(Applause.)
Mr. T. THOMPSON seconded the motion, enforcing the
truth contained in the resolution by facts and statistics,
which produced a powerful effect on the meeting. These
showed that within a very short period about 4,0001. was
subscribed for the use of the operatives out of work ;
13,800 persons were relieved from this charity alone,
exclusive of those receiving partial relief, presenting an
amount of distress which if properly divided would show
that every fifth man in the population was a pauper.—
(Shouts of " Hear, hear.") This fearful state of things
had resulted from deficient harvests aggravated by the
corn-laws. A large demand for ships in the corn trade
at first increased the rate of freights, this stimulated
excessively shipbuilding, and then, when the commerce
of the country was prostrated, our ships became little
better than rotten hulks—our tradesmen and ship-
builders became bankrupts, or insolvents, and the labour-
ing population paupers. He applauded his fellow-towns-
men for the charity which they then displayed, but he
insisted that the men of England want not charity, but
justice.—(Applause.) He called upon them to strain every
nerve for the accomplishment of their object, and in
stirring terms expressed his belief that if the free-traders
of Sunderland had done their duty at the last election,
and returned Colonel Thompson, the father of free trade,
Sir Robert Peel would then have brought on the crisis
which has now come.—(Great applause.) Some were
blinded at the late election by the railway mania to vote
against their convictions ; others refrained from voting
—he was sorry for some of these, because they had lost
a moral power in the town which it was impossible for
them to regain.—(Shouts of " No," and " Yes.") He
concluded by urging the audience to abhor expediency,
and to take their stand upon principle.
Alderman CROPTON moved the next resolution :
" That a petition be presented to Parliament praying
that the ports may be opened throughout the United
Kingdom for the admission (free from duty) of all arti-
cles of food, and that every protecting duty thereon may
be immediately abolished, and that the following be suck
petition:—
" To the Right Hon. the Commons of the United King-
dom of Great Britain and Ireland in Parliament as-
sembled. The petition of the inhabitants of Sunder-
land

" Showeth,—That your petitioners consider that all
protecting duties are unjust and impolitic, and ultimately
injurious to all classes of the community.
" That, from diligent inquiries which have been made
throughont the country, it appears to be universally
admitted that there is a failure in the present year's
crop of potatoes, which constitute a very large propor-
tion of the food of the poorer classes, and that your
petitioners have also reason to believe that the corn
harvest throughout the United Kingdom has been un-
favourable both as to quantity and quality.
" That the inhabitants of this borough have just
emerged from an unexampled period of distress, as can
be shown by the returns of paupers made to the Poor-
law Commissioners, and your petitioners, dreading the
misery and wretchedness which must ensue from a
scarcity of food, not only to the borough, but also to
every part of the kingdom, consider that the admission
of foreign corn is indispensably necessary to avert the
impending distress.
" Your petitioners, therefore, humbly pray that the
ports may be opened throughout the United Kingdom
for the admission (free from duty) of articles of food,
and that every protecting duty thereon may be imme-
diately abolished.
" And your petitioners will ever pray, &c."
He observed that, as a shipowner he had been a free-
trader ever since Mr. Huskisson passed the Reciprocity
Act ; he believed he stood alone for ninny years ; but
amidst all the outcry which was raised against that mea-
sure, he never signed a petition for its repeal.—(Loud
applause.) He was confident it only required the full
and united voice of the people to assist such men as
Messrs. Cobden and Bright in order to secure the repeal
of all protective laws, and to induce. those Dukes and
Marquises who now fancied the people fared sumptu-
ously on potatoes and curry powder, to give way, that
the people might have a good and cheap loaf of bread.—
(Applause.) He spoke to several of his friends among
the shipowners being now in favour of free trade in all
articles of food, and hoped the time was not far distant
when this blessg to the country would be secured.
Mr. G. HARDCASTLE, in seconding the motion, ob-
served that at that late period of the evening he would
not detain them long, and after the speeches which had
been delivered, it was unnecessary for him to do so.
The circumstance in which he was placed reminded him
of an anecdote of a gentleman who, riding along to New-
castle, met a queer- looking pitman, to whom he good-
naturedly said, " It's a fine day, my friend:" The pit-
man turned up his face and said, " Whae said it wasn't"?
—(Laughter) So if he told them that the corn-laws
were wicked, unjust, and oppressive, some person might
reply, " Who says they are not ?" They all appeared
to be in one mind on the subject. Mr. Hardcastle, how-
ever, branched into the question of free trade as it bears
on the shipping interest, the farmer, and the public. He
stated that on the Duke of Cleveland's estate in the
county of Durham, for every tenant who had gained a
competency, he could point to twenty who had been re-
duced from tenants to labourers, and some of them hur-
ried into the parish workhouse.
Colonel BECKWITH, of Silksworth, moved the follow-
ing resolution:—" That David Barclay, Esq., M.P., be
requested to present and support a petition founded
on the above resolutions, and that George Hudson,
Esq., M.P., be also requested to support such peti-
tion." He looked at the corn laws in two
points of view—as they affect the foreign relations
of the empire, and its domestic policy and industry.
In regard to the former, he had no hesitation in
saying, that if we had a Government having solely in view
the general welfare of the empire, instead of (as all
Governments since Lord Chatham's seem to have in
view) the propping up of an oligarchy, its object would
be to render this country the commercial capital of the
world ; and suppasing this to be the case, everything
must be arrived at by affording every facility to all the
countries of the world sending their staple produce here
as free as possible from interruption.—(Loud applause.)
A violation of this rule has at the present time occa-
sioned most serious results. They were all aware of
our relations with the United States:of America. Some
two or three years ago a treaty was signed with that
power which has been justly designated a capitulation ;
it surrendered many of our interests, and in conse-
quence of that treaty a tone of dictation' and system of
aggression have been bad recourse to by the United
States, which no y
man, however peaceably disposed he
may
.be, can permit to pass. The question
of peace and
war indeed is no longer in our hands. weAll can do e
we is to maintain our possessions ; e cannot retreat one
foot
foot ; upon the United States will be the responsibity,
and upon their heads must be the consequences.
Now, had the corn-laws been abolished some . years
ago, America would never havethought of going to
war with England ; and we should ;:now strike out
of her hand the best weapons she can wield by
The. Gallant
abolishing the corn-laws.—(Applause.)
Colonel then turned to the domestic policy of the
country. On looking at the state of the nation, he