The Sun.
London, England, 1833-05-04 00:00:00

BIRNIINGIIAM POLITICAL UNION.

THE ASSESSED TAXES.
A meeting of the Birmingham Political Council svi
hid on Thursday morning at Birmingham, upon the
present state of the House of Commons, and its recent
v )te upon Sir J. Key's moti m for the repeal of the assessed
taxes. The following resolutions were passed unani-
mously, and followed by three hearty cheers:—
" 1. That his Majesty's Ministers—
" First—By violating the Constitution and destroying the
liberties of Ireland,—
" Secondly—By denial of the general distress amongst the
productive classes, and refusal of all inquiry into the
means of its relief; and
" Thirdly—By refusing to make any perceptible reduction
in the present overwhelming load of taxation ; by in-
sisting on the continuation of the partial and unjust
taxes assessed upon houses and windows, notwith-
standing the relief which was imperatively demanded
by the depressed state of trade; and especially by their
absolutely forcing upon the country the odious and op-
pressive malt tax without any diminution, although its
partial abolition had been deliberately resolved on by,
a vote of the House of Commons only three days pre-
viously,—
have betrayed the confidence of the people, and turned their
sanguine hopes into despair.

" 2. That in this frightful situation of their country, it §
the opinion of this Council that Public Meetings ought to be;
held, with the least possible delay, in every County, Town, and
Village throughout the United Kingdom, to implore his
. .

jesty to dismiss from his Co.uncils men who have proved them-
selves either utterly unable or unwilling to extricate the country
• •

from the dfffieulties and dangers with which it is surrounded.
"3. That, for this purpose, the Council deems it expedient
that a Public Meeting of the population of this district should

he held at Newhall Hill, and that a committee, consisting of

the :Chairman, the Secretary, Mr. Boultbee, and Mr. Salt, be

appointed to report the earliest possible day on which such
meeting can be held."
Several sreeches were delivered, but we can find room
only for the following :
Mr. DE Bosco Arrwoon said that there never was a
rime when the path of the Council was so beset with dif-
kruiti:s. It was true that in May last they had been
placed in a fearful situation, but their path was then clear.

Then they had either to submit to the commands of their
tyrants, or to push on and demand the passing of the
Reform Bill at all hazards. The ease Was now, however,
far otherwise. He could not but look forward to the
future with the most anxious fears. After three years of
unwearied patience, zeal, and declamation, they fonnd thrif
brightest hopes converted to despair—when they Lund tl d
crop which they bad sown with so much care, in respire
prove only a crop of tares—when they found ti.e away
the reformed House of Commons more intolerable ths..n 1 at
ever been that of the boronghmongers, bow could they st,lll
hold out to the people the !among, of hope?--(Loud tries
of "Hear," and cheers.) What, indeed, had been the bless.:
ings which they had obtained from reform ? The Minis»
tees had commenced their beneficent career by passing d
bill which bad broken down the constitution, and de-
stroyed the liberties of Ireland.—(Hear.) They then
proceeded to mock the prayers of an oppressed people,
by denying the existence of any general distress, and
refusing altogether to inquire into the means of its
relief. (Hear, hear.) Still when charged with being
uneqal to their task, they had invariably replied...." Wait
till we have introduced our budget, and then see how we
shall provide for the happiness of thepeople."—(Laughter.)
.At length the budget, so long expected, so much boasted
of, had made its appearance, and what was the good which
it was to confer on the country ?—(Hear.) Some petti-
fogging reduction of taxation so utterly contemptible that
he did not recollect of what it exactly consisted, and o
small that be was convinced not one man in a thousand
would ever ft el whether it had taken place or not.—(Loud
applause.) The heaviest charge against the Ministers
was, however, yet to come. The honest and independent
portion of the House of Commons had prevailed so far as
to place things in such a situation as to prove incontestibly

thewh leusteylryte o._ninat,
either the utter uselessness of the reformed Parliament, cc
the present Ministry, or of both. He would state the.
frets, and leave the Council to judge as to the inference to
be drawn from them. On Friday night last, in a Howe
consisting of 300 Members, pursuant to a formal notice which
bad been given, a resolution was carried for the reduction
of the duty on malt, one half in amount. No one could
possibly doubt as to the propriety of this resolution, as far
as it went; for it would be difficult to find any tax which
pressed heavier upon the working man than the malt tax.
--(Hear, hear, hear.) Did his Majesty's Ministers bow
to this declared opinion of the men most worthy of being
called the people's representatives? No, they determined
that the people should not have the benefit of this reduc-
tion—and it appeared that they bad succeeded last night,
dlt
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isretawhohpyoopesrirerdtowsbv,hhae
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in a very full house, not only to negative the motion for
ty
the repeal of the assessed texts, but also had compelled
iliu
Ministersifnoindoe eb
turned out of office some two years ago for tyrannisirg
over the people, and who in return now kept them in
office, in order that they, the Whigs, might tyrannise
over the people.—(Loud cries of " Hear, hear.") If the
papers spoke the truth, Sir R. Peel had done more
than Any other man to secure the Ministerial majority.—
(Cheers.) Such were the means by which the Ministers
had preserved their places.—(Hear, hear.) Plac.l in th,
present situation, it was evident that the Council muss
either acknowledge that all their labours had been thrown
away, or they must boldly step forward, and, in the face
of their fellow.countryruen, denounce altogether the reform
Ministry, and the conduct of the reformed House of Corn-
mone.—(Tremendous cheering, which lasted some time.)
He felt that this was the line which would be adopted.
He, would, however, implore the people to respect the
laws. It was true the fiat of the Ministers had gone forth
that the fruits of the Reform Bill should be withered in
the bud, but the power of the people had been proved.--
(Cheers. )Twelve months had nct elapsed since the people
had given practical proofs of the irresistible strength of
public opinion. Let but the people do as they bad done
before—let them but meet in the rime countless multi-
tudes, exhibiting the same order, the same determination
which they had done last May, and he could not doubt
but the present contemptible faction would be speedily
driven from that situation of which it had now proved
itself so utterly unworthy.—(Thunders of applause.) He
considered it of the last importance that the measures to be
submitted to the contemplated meeting should be well
digested ; and he thought, therefore, that they could not
undertake next Friday to fix the day of meeting. Mr. A.
then moved the above resolution.
Mr. SALT rain that England was again placed in des-
perate peril—the hope that Ministers would allow any
alleviation of their sufferings was crushed—the Council of
the Birmingham Political Union again came forward in the
same determined and fearless spirit of constitutional resis-
tance, which had heretofore obtained for theta the unani-
mous and triumphant support of their fellow countrymen.—
(Great applause.) The industrious classes had borne all
the burdens of the country till they broke down beneath
the weight; they required relief; Parliament had, by its
vote, sanctioned that demand, but the Whig Administra-
tion had scourged Parliament from that vote, and dashed
the cup from the lips of the people.—(Murmurs, and cries
influence,
u'enweea,y
hweidt with the
takeTlre latnhdeeird ienhtaerreesteei uthnedehruWrdehaeig
refaced"lo
beneath whose weight the industrious classes were sinking.
Mr. Mu eta begged to say that the resolutions bad his
hearty concurrence.—(Cheers.) He repeated they bad
now nothing to look for from the Ministers; their only
hope now was, that the King would dismiss the men who
had proved themselves either utterly incapable or un-
willing to redress the country's wrongs, and restore pros-
perity and happiness to the people, and had acted in direct
opposition to the wants and wishes of the people. If the
King refused their prayer, the people would only then to
have to go on hoping, and trust to the chapter of acci-
dents.—(Laughter.) What circumstances might tran-
spire to produce a change, no man could possibly predict,
in the present unsettled state of affairs.—(Hear, bear.)
As it had been observed, it now mattered little whether
the people were united in what were called Political
Unions or net; they knew well enough how to act when
called upon by any particular circumstance, and
they knew
there were men of character and iefluencc ready at all
times to assist them in everything that was lawful and
just. The people never would and never ought to rest
satisfied until their grievances were redressed.—(Loud
applause.)--(Three tremendous groans were given for the
Miniaters.)

A grand review of the Household Brigade
will take place next week, at which their MAJESTIES, the
Duke of BRUNSWICK, and the Duke of ORLEANS will be
present.
CITY THEATRE, MILTON-STREET.--The
local drama system has spread hither ; and a dramatic
version of the life of Mr. HENRY Wruir, who secluded
himself for 44 years in a house in Milton-street, rhea
Grub-street, has been produced with much effect; P
ave
int
we pane
of scenery and dresses it outparagons any thing
been accustomed to at such establiabonenta, and the local
peculiarities are well preserved ; the scenes of old London
bridge and of Finsbury fields in 1572 do great credit t)
GORDEN. The hero is played by Mr. W. L. REDE ; the
other characters by MOWS. WOOD, MOSS, COATES, MAN..
DERS, CHAPMAN, Mrs. MANDICRB, MARY GLOVER, Rrto
Mrs. Baas.