The Sun.
London, England, 1834-04-29 00:00:00

pens, however, that fresh hands had been resorted
to, and some good men had returned early to their
work : the consequence of which is, that the tables
are turned, employment is not to be had for all, so
that 600 of the wretched dupes who so lately sent
imperious mandates to their masters are now pau-
pers at the mercy of the parish officers, and, with
black marks before their names, may traverse the
whole country without a chance of work or wages.
Since this article was written, we have read the
remarks uttered last night by the Lord Chancellor.
We implore the attention of the deluded workmen
to that eloquent appeal to their better feelings and
tl:c.r common sense. He has always proved him-
self to be the sincere friend of the working classes ;
let them therefore weigh well his emphatic declara-
tion, that " it was because he was the sincere friend
of the working classes of the country he was an
enemy to trades' unions ; and he would add, that
of all the worst things, and of all the most perni-
cious devices, that could be imagined for the injury
of the interests of the working classes, as well as
the interests of the country at large, nothing was
half so bad as the existence of those trades' unions. 7
—Times.

The subject of processions of trades' unions was
incidentally discussed last night in the House of
Lords. The Duke of Newcastle, on presenting
some petitions for protection to the church, and the
better observance of the Sabbath, took the oppor-
tunity of asking Lord Melbourne whether he in-
tended to take any measures to put a stop to the
frequent processions of trades' unions? Lord Mel-
bourne answered that he was not aware that they
were not in themselves legal, or that there existed
any means by the law, as it stood at present, to
prevent the processions ; and he added, with much
good sense, that he trusted that it would not be
required to have recourse to any new laws on the
subject ; for, from information he had recently re-
ceived, he had reason to hope that many of the per-
sons composing these unions would return to their
senses, and see the injury they were doing themselves
by the course which they were pursuing. It was
afterwards stated by Lord Eldon and the Lord
Chancellor that the processions were illegal ; and it
would be strange if immense multitudes were to be at
liberty to derange the business of a great city, and
fill the peaceable inhabitants with apprehension, by
walking in procession through the principal streets.
The presumption, indeed, is, that long before a
country like England could have attained its pre-
sent degree of civilization, the question of the le-
gality of assembling multitudes for purposes not
requiring the, presence of numbers must have forced
itself on the attention of those having power to
declare the law. It is observed by Burke, that
" the laws of this country are for the most part
constituted, and wisely so, for the general ends of
government, rather than for the preservation of our
particular liberties. Whatever, therefore, is done
in support of liberty, by persons not in public
trust, or not acting merely in that trust, is
liable to be, more or less, out of the ordinary course
of the law ; and the law itself is sufficient to ani-
madvert upon it with great severity. Nothing, indeed,
can hinder that severe letter from crushing us, ex-
cept the temperaments it may receive from a trial
by jury." But no man, for all this, will say that
Lord Melbourne did not act wisely in confining
himself to watching the procession, instead of in-
terfering with it. His lordship must have been
aware that it is no easy matter to apply the law in
the case of processions, and that, where no evil de-
sign exists, it is better to trust to returning reflec-
tion on the part of the people, than to sanction, by
example, an interference which, though it might be
justifiable in that case, might be abused in others.
The English are in the habit of marching in pro-
cessions in considerable numbers—as, for instance,
masonic processions, the processions of various so-
cieties. Nothing is so common during the summer
months as processions, with music and banners of the
members of some society or other. Now, where are we
to stop if we begin to interfere? Still if an abuse is
persisted in obstinately, to the great inconve-
nience of all peaceable inhabitants, and their natu-
ral alarm, it might be necessary for the Home Se-
cretary to abate the nuisance. But as the law is
tempered by a jury, to use the language of Burke,
there is always great danger in acting before the
public are fully impressed with the necessity for it.
We had a notable instance of the mischief of out-
running the people in the case of the interference in
Calthorpe-street. We must never forget that the
juries are imbued with the popular feeling, and that
we do not add to the authority of the law by placing
it in collision with the public feeling. In all these
cases much depends on the character of the people.
It might be dangerous to allow a people so liable to
be carried away by impulses, and so prone to fight,
as the French, to move through the streets in pro-
cessions of thirty thousand men. But the English
are of a more phlematic character, and the man
must have been possessed of little penetra-
tion, who did not, at the first glance, see
that the procession of the trades' unions had 410

warlike intentions. Their consciousness of their
innocence in this respect would have led them to
resent more keenly any attempt to interfere with
them. ' Lord Eldon said it appeared to him " that
the multitude assembled the other day, whose as-
pect was that of force (Hear, hear), could not but
debilitate the Government ; and he was of opinion
that the assembling of large numbers in this me-
nacing force was in itself an offence. (Hear.) He
knew, too, that if such an opinion had been stated
from the mouth of the judges of England, it would

have been of infinite use. (Hear.)" One would
imagine that his lordship had lived all his days in
Utopia. During the time that he himself was
Chancellor, what more common than the
assembling of large multitudes, blocking up

the avenues to the two houses of the le-
gislature, and endeavouring even to intimi-
date the members of the legislature ? When,
however, the trade of Spitalfields was set
free, many, many thousands of weavers moved

in procession from Spitalfields to the House
of Lords, and it required all the well-known energy
and perseverance of Lord Lauderdale (for he was
a man who would take no denial) to induce several
of their lordships, whose nerves were somewhat
shaken, to disregard the untoward appearances.
Again and again have we seen immense multitudes
with much more the aspect of force in the neigh-
bourhood of the legislature, than the procession of
the trades' unions. What took place during the
discussions on 'the Corn Bill, when Lord Ripon's
(then Mr. Robinson) house was attacked, is a well-
known instance. • And his lordship ought also to
remember that in those days the hon. Secretary
had not at command a well-organized force, with
which he can always meet in time any attempt to
violate the laws.
The Lord Chancellor "entirely agreed with the noble and
learned lord (Eldon) in opinion that a vast and unneces-
sary number of men assembling together was illegal. It
was his real and decided opinion—and he wished that his
opinion on this point should be known, as there appeared
to be an erroneous impression abroad regarding it--that it
was not unlawful for men to assemble in vast bodies, in
numbers disproportionate to the nature of the oecasion for
which their meeting was convened, and in multitudes be-
yond the apparent necessity of the case. (Hear, hear. )
Such assemblages tended to great public mischief. (Hear,
hear.) They tended to the intimidation of the peaceable
inhabitants of the districts where they were'convened;
they tended—and that was an important view in a great
mercantile country like this—to the intimidation and de-
rangement of peaceful industry; and they tended, by
bringing forth an innumerable body of people, to endanger
the peace of the kingdom, and that for a purpose which
was-wholly unnecessary."
The petition, as his lordship afterwards said,
" could be as well.presented by six persons as by
sixty thousand persons."- We are not sure if his
lordship has added to the force of his opinion by
his enumeration of circumstances. The main con-
sideration is the assembling with a view to intimida-
tion in numbers sufficient to justify the apprehen-
sion of danger. Many processions may be both
numerous and disproportionate to the nature of the
occasion, as for instance, the numerous processions
of trades with addresses to Queen Caroline, which
• could as well have been delivered by six individuals
• as by thousands ; yet who would wish that these