The Sun.
London, England, 1833-03-27 00:00:00

Mr. CHILDERS presented sevtral petitions from pa•
riches in the taainty of Cambridge, praying fur the Milne•
diaie abolition of neero slavery.
Mr. D. GASKELL presented a petition from the inha.
bi,ants of the town and neighbourhood of Wakefield again,
the Irish Disturbances Bill. Having opposed the first and
second reading of this Bill, the Hon. Member cordially
concurred with the prayer of the petition.
Lord MORPETH sail it was always irksome to reflect
upon petitions, as it usually led only to recrimination ; in-
deed, he had felt this to be so a few days aao, by the pro
diction of a b-tter which had been sent to him against a
petition, which oas immediately followed by one on the
other side in support of the petition. With respect
to the petition which had just been presented, he
hid no objection to make to it—it had been agreed to at a
public meeting duly converted and regularly hell; but a
protest against it had been put into his hand—it was not
a petition, and therefore lie could not lay it on the table.
T e protest was signed by persons of the first respectabi-
lity, and many of them of great mercantile character in
the borough of Wakefield, and they had requested him to
make all the use of it in his power. By this protest they stated
that so far from concurring with the petition, in their
opinion unless the outrages which bad been committed in
Ireland were suppressed by the passing of this or some
efficient Bill, the Ministry would be guilty of a dereliction
of duty, and all the consequences of a weak and inefficient
Government would be entailed on the United Kingdom.
Mr. COBBETT said the Noble Lord was rather un-
fortunate in his premises. With respect to the petition
which had come from Todlington, it was sign-d as repec.
tably as any petition that had ever come into the House
of Commons ; notwithstanding that the Noble Lord had
a letter impugning the character of the petitioners
generally—stating that the petition was got up
is a hole and corner manner, and had been left in pot-
houses to be signed. His (Mr. Cobbett's) Hon. Colleague
was present at the time the petition was presented, and
had the letter of the Noble Lord, stated to the House, also
with instructions, in his pocket ; and he showed the Noble
Lord that all the principal persons, in the district from
which the petition bad come, had signed it ; and that the
letter (as it turned out) which the Noble Lord had re-
ceived, had been sent to him by some little attorney.—
(Hear, hear.) In the present instance, the Noble Lord
was equally unfortunate. He (Mr. Cobbett) would not
disguise names, and would read a letter from a gentleman
at Wakefield, relating the whole of the circumstances
respecting the pethon and this protest, and which
would show to the House the character of the petitioners,
and the character of those who opposed it. His lion.
Colleague, to whom the letter was addressed, was obliged
to attend a Committee to-day, and therefore was unable
himself to attend ; but he (Mr. C.) had been deputed to
state this letter to the House. The letter stated that the
writer had just been informed, that one of the protesters
bad disapproved of the petition, and that he feared the
resignation of Earl Grey more than any other calamity.
The protest, he had been told, had been hawked about
by two attorneys, who were friends of Lord Morpeth, to
prop up whose votes he suspected the measure had origi-
nated. A meeting of last Thursday was regularly called,
by the constable, and signed by the writer's friend, Mr.
Waterton, of Walton Hall, who filled the chair at the
meeting, and which was attended by the writer himself.
The petition was then agreed to and numerously signed ;
and though some of the signers of the counter petition or
protest, as it had been called, were present, not one of
them opened his mouth against any of ;le resolutions that
were passed unanimously at that meeting ; so that these
protesters actually were present at the meeting, but had
not the courage to divide the meeting, or even to say a
word against any of the resolutions. The name signed to
the letter was that of " Joseph Wood."
Lord MORPETH was not aware of the extent of that
misfortune which the Hon. Gentleman said attached to
him. All that he had done was to claim only that weight
for the protest which the names attached to it would bear
him out in.
Mr. GASKELL was perfectly aware that the names
to the protest were highly respectable. The Hon. Member
then presented petitiras in favour of the Factory Bill, from
Wakefield and its vicinity, and Ilomefrith, both in the
West Riding of Yorkshire, and one from the Unitarians
of Norwich, in favour of Jewish emancipation.
Mr. PENDARVES presented a petition, signed by 80
agricultural labourers, two churchwardens, and other in
habitants of a parish in Cornwall, praying for a commu-
tation of tithes ; two from Castletown, in Merionethshire,
praying for the abolition of slavery,—and one signed by a