The Sun.
London, England, 1833-05-22 00:00:00

BIRNIINGIIANI IN 1833.

The great Birmingham meeting " came off" yesterday, and
our readers will find a report of its proceedings in another part
of our paper of this day. We are happy to say that this
gathering was not more remarkable for numbers than for
peaceable and orderly conduct. Indeed, it wore rather the
appearance of a great fair than a political meeting, and, from
the quantity of refreshment booths, and the vast proportion
which the women and children bore to the rest of the assem-
blage, we have no doubt that the good folks of Birmingham
and its vicinity looked upon the meeting as an excellent oppor-
tunity and excuse for making holyday. They were quite
right : the farceurs who, having found their proper level in the
House of Commons, posted off to play first fiddle in the pro-
vinces, were exceedingly amusing. Among the show-folks
who exhibited on this occasion was a Mr. Mountebank
Mumps, or Munch (as we hear they call one Mr. Muntz at Bir-
mingham). He spoke the prologue, but being voted by universal
consent the dullest chap of the lot, they put him into the
chair. Then tumbled up the Brummagem Hampden, the
primo-buffo of the company, who spouted almost as much non-
sense there as will be found in any six of his currency speeches
in the House of Commons. The " Big Beggarman," Daniel
O'Connell, next gave the wondering folks a profusion of
brogue and blarney. How much did he get for " starring" it
among this strolling company of agitators? We would re-
commend the people of Birmingham to be upon their guard
against this " insinuating" gentleman. He has a capital
knack of extracting money from the pockets of the people, not
blushing to receive, as Sir C. Wetherell well said," a penny from
the poor man and a halfpenny from the ragged man." Let
the men of Birmingham look to him. He may shortly ask
them for a contribution to the " rint," which is wofully falling
off in Ireland, add he perhaps speculates on making the trade
of agitation profitable in England, now that it has ceased to
yield in the sister country so large a return as formerly to the
only capital he possesses. We think, however, the Birming-
ham men are too good judges to be taken in this way, and we
are quite sure that when they reflect upon the scene acted yes-
terday, and when they read, what few of them could have
heard, the silly petitions got up and palmed upon them by a
small knot of trumpery agitators, their own good sense will lead
them to form a proper estimate of that counterfeit of their own
manufacture, the Brummagem Hampden, and that equally
great political pretender Mr. O'Connell.—Timcs, May 21, 1833.
Now for these two meetings, of which the one
is not before the other in any one point of all
which conduce to the respectability of a popular
assembly, what respect do we ourselves profess?
We say of the one what we say of the other.
Both of them expressed the opinions of a vast
mass of our community, to whose opinions little
deference is due. Both of them expressed the
wishes of a great mass of our community, to
whose wishes great indulgence ought to be
shown. If we were inquiring what is popular,'
we would look to the meeting of 1832, or to
the meeting of 1833 ; if we were inquiring
what is right, we would look to neither the one
nor the other. We call the attention of our
readers, however, not to the meeting of last year,
nor to the meeting of this year, but to the terms
in which the phenomena of both are noticed
in the Times. The conductors of that
Journal have frequently poured forth upon
the Morning Post a ridicule which we have
neither the wish nor the right to retort upon
them. The Times may be ignorant, may be
inconsistent, but the Times cannot he simply
ridiculous. It is too powerful, and it is too
profligate. We do not, therefore, depreciate
the ability with which it is managed, nor under-
rate the influence which it exerts ; but we beg
that every honest man who happens to read
these few lines will ask himself whether that
ability is rightly used, and that influence fairly
exerted. There is nothing to distinguish the
one meeting from the other meeting, except the
purpose with which it was convened. If the
one was " a meeting of Reformers, most magni-
ficent for its numbers and strength—most for-
midable from its union and enthusiasm—most
impressive from its order, discipline, and reso-
lution," why is the other " an excellent oppor-
tunity and excuse for making holyday ?" If,
twelve months ago, the veracious historian,
lest the topic might " lead him to reflections
which he would rather avoid expressing," de-
clined to " advert to the speeches by which
their enthusiasm was kindled," why is
he to-day so unmercifully severe upon " Mr.
Mountebank Mumps, or Munch, the dul-
lest chap of the lot ;" upon " Mr. Brum-
magem Hampden, the primo-beb of the
company ; and upon " the big beggarman,'
Daniel O'Connell," who " gave the wondering
folks a profusion of brogue and blarney ?" And
finally, if in 1832 we were rightly instructed to
peruse the account of the Birmingham meeting
that we might " read, read intensely, and learn
truth," with what semblance of probability are
we in 1833 assured that " the Birmingham men
are too good judges to be taken in this way ?"
The circulation of the Times is even yet con-
siderable, at home and abroad ; and it will be
said that we condemn its principles from jealousy
of its sale. Be it so. But we have placed be-
fore our readers the means of judging; what-
ever be the motive by which our sentence is dic-
tated, let them consider whether our sentence is
just. It is a marvellous and a shameful thing
that a Journal whose utter contempt for truth is
daily blazoned with so monstrous an effrontery
is not thrust with scorn and indignation from
the table of every honest man throughout the
empire.—Morning Post.
How different the Birmingham meeting on
Alon day from the Then
w
former
burning
genthusiasm
rea m t eeti ng ind
n thata
tOec
!d alletermination ; on this occasion there was
titsrtvhleing but the mere good-humour of holyday-
makers, who cared much less for the playermen
than for the ala anti cakes and other decent re-
freshments which characterize a rustic fair.
Nearly half of the assembly were women, dressed
in that livelyth and showy
ewarwickshire mannerlases. which d
greater The iin-
s t
guishes
part of the people would have left the place if
the adjuncts of the fair (the refreshment-booths)
had been removed ; for not one in a hundred
listened or attempted to listen to the Brum-
magem Hampden or the Rini-gatherer. As a
rustic fete the scene was delightful ; as a political
meeting, it was beneath contempt. We must
not omit our approbation of the admirable good
sense of the magistracy of the district, who made

no effort to disturb or irritate the people. What
a favourable contrast to the conduct of the
authorities in the metropolis on Monday
se'nnight ! But the Birmingham magistrates
knew their people : the London police, though
formed on a good principle, are, as at present
agonized and commanded, strangers to the
habits and characters of the London population.
—Times.

The exultation and delight manifested by the
public yesterday, on learning the important de-
cision of the inquet Jury, on the late Coldbath-
fields affair, are scarcely to be described. The
excellent conduct of the Foreman and the Jury
were the theme of universal admiration ; and as
some proof that practical approbation will go
hand in hand with expressed feeling, we have
printed elsewhere a few, and only a few, of the
communications which have been addressed to
us, upon the subject of some public mark of
respect being paid to the Jury which so nobly
interposed its shield between the people on the
one hand, and a would-be police tyranny on the
other. These letters come from persons in all
ranks of life, and, in addition to them, im-
mense numbers have done us the honour to
propose to us the reception of the subscrip-
tions for the worthy and noble object which
they have in view. This duty, which it
would be so gratifying to us, under other
circumstances, to perform, we are unfortunately
precluded from undertaking; but in the course
of a day or two at most, we trust to be able to
state, at length, to the working classes and to
all others who may be inclined to do an act of
bare justice to the most firm and independent
jury of Englishmen that ever returned a verdict,
the mode in which their wishes, which are ours
also, can best be carried into effect. It strikes
us, in the mean time, that the proper plan will
be, in the first instance, to point out a responsible
receiver of all subscriptions which may be ten-
dered, and afterwards to take immediate steps
for the appointment of a general and of branch
committees for the different districts of the me-
tropolis, so that the public feeling may be fully
expressei, and no delay may ensue in testifying
to the late jury how highly their conduct has been
approved of by their fellow subjects. Some gen-
tlemen have already offered their services in this
way, and until a well-digested plan has been ma-
tured, we do not know that they can do better than
proceed to action, in their own immediate neigh-
bourhood, to carry the desired object into effect.
The verdict of the Jury, on Monday last, has con-
vulsed our Whig and Tory contemporaries with
alarm, agitation and rage. The latter hate it, because
they love tyranny and despotism, and cannot
bear the idea of the people asserting their just
rights—the former are equally wrathful, because
the verdict justly reflects upon the conduct of the
Government,in not preventing a meeting which it
had previously declared to be illegal, and having
had it dispersed in a manner which has excited
the indignation of all honest Englishmen. We
have already paid our respects to both, and we
are again tempted to congratulate them upon
the soundness of their arguments, their careful
examination of the evidence adduced before the
jury, and the very satisfactory distinction which
they have drawn between the " mild treatment"
of the people by the police, on the one hand,
and the violent conduct of the latter towards the
former, on the other. These are favourite to-
pics with them, and but that their assumptions
are totally devoid of truth, it is almost impos-
sible to conceive how they should have produced
so little effect upon the public mind.—Morning
Advertiser.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.

BOW-STREET.

THE NATIONAL CONVENTION.—Yesterday morning
Henry Lee, the young man who proposed the Chairman
at the late Conventional Meeting in Coldbath-field,, was
brought from the New Prison to put in the required bail,
viz , hirn,elf in 2001., and two sureties in 100/. each.
The following persons were accepted as his bail :—Henry
Child, 32, William-street, Hampstead-road, pianoforte-
maker ; and Robert Ullmer, 45, Great Sutton-street,
Clerkenwell, printers' broker. The parties having en-
tered into the several recogniz laces, Lee was discharged.
A young man, who gave his name William Robert
11forsham, was examined in private before Sir F. Rox
and Mr. HALLS, the Magistrates, on suspicion of being
concerned in the late Convention riots, at Coldbath-
fields.

The prisoner was brought to town from Suffolk, where
he bad exposed a dagger, saying he should like to stab all
the police, and that be was present at the meeting. He
was apprehended by Seaman, a constable of Colchester,
who carried him before a magistrate at Ipswich, who
directed him to be brought to London to be examined.
MARLBOROUGH-STREET.

THE MURDERED POLICEMAN.—A man named Amos
was yesterday brought before the presiding Magistrate,
charged with threatening a police constable.
The constable Day, 157 C, was walking round his beat,
when the defendant came up to him and made use of the
most disgusting language, and threatened that he would
serve him in the same manner as the -- had been
served at Coldbath-fields. The constable very properly
was determined to see how far he was just:fied in appre-
hending a man for promulgating such threats, and imme-
diately conveyed him to St. James's station, where the
inspector on duty detained him.
The defendant was ordered to find good bail.
Q UEEN-S Q UARE.

RIOTING AT THE HOUSE OF Commorts.—A man who
gave his name Timothy Sullivan was brought up in cus-
tody of a police constable of the A division, and placed at
the bar before Mr. WHITE, charged with riotous conduct
at the doors of the House of Commons, and attempting to
force an entrance into the House.

Charles Brown, a police constable of the A division,
No. 85, was on duty at the entrance of the House of
Commons on the previous evening about eight o'clock,
when he saw the prisoner heading a mob of fifty or sixty
persons, and inciting them to riotous conduct, calling out,
" Follow me, my boys, follow me, and I will lead you to
the House." Witness endeavoured to persuade him to go
away, but finding remonstrance in vain he took him iuto
custody. The pris mer then became very violent, and
clung to some iron bars, calling out to his companions,
" Englishmen ! will you look on and see these blue devils
drag me along the street to their infernal den?" No
person, however, interfered ; and, another constable coming
up, with his assistance they got the prisoner to the station
house. On the road to the station house he palled out to
the mob to rescue him, and called the police " these Cold-
bath-fields murderers," and such like expressions.
Mr. WHITE asked the prisoner whether he was drunk
or sober ?

The constable replied that he appeared to have been
drinking.
1111. WHITE told him that such riotous conduct could
not be suffered, and ordered him to find sureties for his
future good behaviour, in default of which he was locked up.