The Sun.
London, England, 1834-02-01 00:00:00

A HEARTY LAUGH.—A few days since a
young man at Lyons laughed heartily at a joke uttered
in his bearing, that his laugh became convulsive, and
continued upwards of two hours. The medical men
found great difficulty in calming this nervous crisis, and
but for their success he would positively have died of
laughter.

MURDER.—Thursday last an inquest was
held in the Louth Hospital, before John Byrne, Esq.,
Coroner, upon the body of John M'Guinness, en old man,
upwards of 70 years of age, who died there the preceding
evening. The deceased, who had been many years a tithe
proctor, went on Friday the 27th inst., in company with
one Jahn Henderson, to view the parish of Roach, in that
neighbourhood, by direction of Mr. Lloyd, Tithe Com-
missioner. When they came upon the (Inds of Ballinful,
at two o'clock in the day, about 100 men ran towards
them crying, .6Dawn with the tithe men." The deceased
was on foot, and Henderson, who was armed with a pistol,
mounted his horse and rode off to Dundalk, in order to
info: tn Mr. Lloyd, but that gentleman was from home. Hen-
derson then procured a party of police, under die com-
mand of Captain Jones, and returned to the spot where
he left M'Guinness, whom they found lying at the back
of a ditch, nearly insensible. He was removed to the
Louth Hospital, where he lingered until Wednesday even-
Ing- It further appeared, by the evidence of Henderson,
,that when he was riding into Dundalk a man cried out to
Down with the tithe proctor ;" he also named
other facts, which it would not be prudent to mention.—
Drogheda Journal.
lTwo gentlemen, travelling northward from
ni
for
o tii,eittrocopmolis it, the mail coach last week, found a lady
conversation
withl.cl hnton de voyage, who entered into animated
she corn em, especially with the younger, whom
plimented on the liberality of his sentiments on
the various subjects
him, it 1 perceive,
of discourse. At length she said to
Mi I ke
tienc,eyou are a titan of the world•
ght
ta
of much contheasking your opinion on an affair
seq liberty of
'Ey journey? A near rteal and which now occasions
to me an estate in Irelandaor' lately
deceased, has willed
ing entailed with a mortgageconsiderable amount, but be-
of 1,2001., which must be
immediately paid up, 1 aina loss how to raise this sum."
The gentleman gave his best advice
.ounk)this affair, and they
proceeded to converse on various
the incognito
delivering her sentiments with great freedom,
ouch a fluency of language as made her
cote:dm, and with
ipaafnions anxious
to see the countenance of so accomplished
But
they were not so gratifie.l, for she was put down at vil-
lage near Grantham (where she said a friend resided)' a )
they only got a glance of her as she descended, shout and
t
dawn of the morning. The sun arose, and they were
regretting that they had lost the conversation of so agreeable
a companion, when the young gentleman pulled out his
watch, which was secured round his neck by a steel guard,
and discovered that the Irish Heiress had eased him of a
valuable gold chain and seals, which were attached to 6,,
watch by a spring swivel. Site was well dressed, with a
handsome shawl, and closely veiled, no
.doubt to preserve
her ineoynita....Aberdeen Herald.

A very numerous meeting took place yesterday,
'morning, at the CroWn and Anchor Tavern, for the
purpose of deciding on the most
,efficient means of
obtaining a removal of the " Bread Tax grievance."
Colonel Perronet Thompson took the chair shortly
after one o'clOck. Amongst the gentlemen present
were Sir J. S. Lilly, Colonel Stanhope, &c.
The CHAfRAIAN addressed the meeting at some
length. According to the statements of thekop-
ponents, it was a most unfortunate thing to be pros-
perous. They likeWiie said that, because the land-
owners.were heavily inited, they were to enjoy the,
present. monopoly. But why not lower these taxes,
and thus. alloiv the people to have cheap liread?
The Gallant Colonel
.then read an extract from the.
Bdinburwli. Review, from which it appeared, that no
less 2a sum than ten millions was taken froin the
pockets of the people annually in the shape
of poor rate's, &c. Now, he contended- that
the landlords themselves had created the poor
rates. They had first created the grants, and'they
soon taxed the people to destroy them. They like-
wise affirmed that the continuance of the corn jaws
was necessary to recompense the landlords fal'the
loss Oki the's. He contended that the tithes were taken
actually from the pockets of the people. With the
knowledge of these wrongs, it now remained for them
to consider what to do to obtain a repeal of this odious
impost. A print, in the interest of their adver-
saries, had lately stated that the question of the re-
peal of the corn laws was one of mere expediency,
and that there would doubtless, in the ensuing ses-
sion of Parliament, be a number of skins of parch-
ment defaced with the hieroglyphics of factory chil-
dren and paupers.—(Shame.) This was always
the treatment they received—first injury, then in-
sult. He would advise the meeting to follow this
advice—to deface skins of parchment with hiero-
glyphics, and let every man sign his name, and, if he
had them, those of his ten children.—(Hear.)
Mr. CRAWFORD, one of the expected candidates
for Marylebone, rose to move the resolutions, among
which was the following:—
. . .

" That all classes be invited to unite in timely re-
moving the evil and peril cf the corn laws ; and that in
particular a call be made upon the liberal Aristocracy, to
put themselves at the head of the public feeling, and give
society the guarantee of their influence and direction."
A friend of his, and what was more, of the people,
the well-known author of the " Catechism of the
Corn Laws," had told us, that if Noah had formed
a resolution to exclude ft= the ark all corn that
had not grown in i►, there would soon have been a
mutiny. The people of this island were in a some-
what similar predicament at present. The landed
interest of England enjoyed a monopoly over the
population of the country in-the article of corn. It
was their duty to modify that monopoly ; but in-
stead of that they only aggravated it.—(Cheers.)
Let them only compare what they paid for corn,
with what they ought to pay for it. The quantity
of grain consumed in this country was estimated at
52,000,000 quarters per year. In London the price
of this was nearly 80,000,0001., while at Antwerp
it was only 50,908,4391. ; at Paris, 46,468,75(/.;
at Amsterdam, 42,513,9631. ; at Hamburg,
41,846,2041. ; and at Stettin, 34,303,1111. ; being
equal to 57 per cent. which we paid more than
in Antwerp, 72 more than in Paris, 88 more
than in Amsterdam, 91 snore titan in Hamburg,
and 133 more than in Stettin.—(Cheers.) It
had been said by those who upheld the corn
laws, that were a free admission of corn into En-
gland_ permitted, the consequence would be a rise in
the price al► the world over. He (Mr. Crawford)
denied this. He would instance the case of a free
trade in cotton, coffee, &e. The consumption was
vastly increased, but there had been no increase of
price, notwithstanding the amount of duty reduced.
To suppose that such rise in price would be the
consequence of the free importation of corn into this
country, was to make us a mighty people indeed.
—(Cheers.) The sum the people of England paid
to support the cora laws was enormous. Supposing
that sum were only 30,000,0001, that would be
3,100,0001. more than the interest of the national
debt. It was more by a great deal than all the
national debt of America.—(Hear.) The house
and window duty was bud, but this was really too
bad —(Cheers and laughter.) The corn tax was
not the only tax which put money into the pockets
of landed gentlemen. They had a bounty in their
favour for many other productions of the soil.
There were timber, bark, butter, cheese, with at
least twenty other articles, which, though the
importation of them was not prohibited, were
heavily taxed. The sum total of taxes on the
various articles to which he referred, was
7,500,0001, speaking in round numbers, which
was so much out of the pockets of the people, and
for the protection of the landed interest.—(Cheers.)
It was better to pay did. for a quartern loaf than
Bid. The contra pressed exclusively on the poor.
It a wife and four children had an income of 401.,
201. of the sum would be required for bread and
beer. The tax on these articles is about 9/., making
an income tax of 25 per cent. A family consisting
of the same number of individuals, with a yearly
income of 801., would only pay an income tax to
the amount of 12} per cent. And the larger the
income the less the amount of income tax paid on
the articles of bread and beer. A family with a
yearly income of 10,0001. would only pay a mere
fraction of their income in the shape of taxes on
those articles ; so that the bread tax fell almost
exclusively on the poorer classes of society.—
(Cheers.) The corn laws operated as a protecting
duty in favour of foreign manufacturers. They
must not rely on the Legislature, but on themselves;
they must agitate peaceably, indeed, but firmly.
Catholic emancipation had been accomplished by
agitation; so had the repeal of the Test and Corpo-
ration Acts; and so also had been the Reform Bill.
—( Cheers.)

• Colonel LEICESTER STANHOPE rose to second the
series of resolutions just read. He was surprised
that none of the metropolitan Members were pre-.
sent, to perform it in his stead. He was surprised
that none of the Liberal Aristocracy were present,
on so important an occasion. He (Colonel Stan-
hope) was in favour of a gradual but total abolition
of the corn laws. A sudden repeal of those laws
would be attended not only with ruin to the agri-
culturists, but to the country in general.—(Cries of
" No, no; no fear of that.") He was for a total
repeal of the corn laws, because, while they existed,
the manufacturers could never compete with those
of foreign countries.—(Cheers.) It was the first duty
of Government to provide for the security of pet-
son and property. He would ask how such security
could exist with a scarcity of bread. Vvre had a
population of 24,000,000, while we had food for
only 18,000,000. What led to the French revolu-
tion of 1792 ? And what led to all revolutions
Was it not a deficiency of bread ? These laws held
out the grand inducement to emigrate from this to
foreign countries. This country would not be safe
for ten years to come, should the landed aristocracy be
so obstinate as to persevere in their resistance to the
abolition of the corn laws. It was urged by the oppo-
nents of the abolition of the corn laws, that were those
laws repealed, there would be less cultivation of the
soil. Supposing it were so, then there would be more
pasture, and consequently more wool, more chees-,
more butter, &c. He (Colonel Stanhope) would
propose that a duty of 12s. be imposed on eves),
quarter of foreign grain imported into this country.
This would be the fist step in the work of repeal,
and in a few years a total abolition could take place.

Colonel STANHOPF. explained. All that he meant
was, that if the corn laws were repealed, without
an equitable adjustment of taxation, the landed in-
terest would be more heavily taxed than any other
portion of the community.
Mr. DUFFIL resumed. It was only by taking
their :affairs into their own hands that they could
even expect the redress of their grievances.—(Loud
cheers).
Mr. FOSTER, late of Leeds, went on, amid hisses
and great confusion, to advocate the corn laws.
De. WADE attempted to address the meeting,
but could not obtain a hearing.
Three or four other gentlemen all rose at the
same moment, for the purpose of speaking, but not
with any better effect for some time. At length,
Mr. COGLIN caught the eye of the chairman, and
order being in some measure restored, proposed as
an amendment to the second resolution, " That if
the farmer, not the landed interest, should suffer un-
duly from the repeal of the corn laws, the taxes
which press most heavily on him should be re-
duced."

Several other gentlemen, among whom was Dr.
Wade, addressed the meeting. One of them moved,
as an amendment to the amendment on the second
resolution, " that the working classes were not at all
interested in the subject, and that other parties
should be left to tight out the battle among them-
selves."—(lmmense uproar and confusion followed,
which lasted for some time.)
Mr. DUFFIL then consented to withdraw his
amendment.
The mover of the second amendment followed the
example.
The resolutions were then put and carried
unanimously.
The petitions to Parliament, grounded on the
resolutions, were then put and agreed to.
It was moved and agreed to that Earl Fitzwilliam
be requested to present the petition to the Lords,
and Mr. Hume in the Commons, and that the Me-
tropolitan Members be requested to support the
same in the latter House.

Thanks were they► voted to the Chairman, after
which the meeting separated.
There were about 1,500 persons present. An
immense number of signatures was obtained on the
meeting breaking up.

MEETING IN MANCHESTER ON THE

CORN LAWS.

On Wednesday a meeting of Merchants, Manu-
facturers, and others, interested in the repeal of the
Corn Laws, was held in the Exchange Committee-
room, Manchester, for the purpose of taking into
consideration the best means of securing that desira-
ble object in the ensuing session of Parliament.
R. H. GREG, Esq., was unanimously called to
the Chair.

Mr. J. C. DYER said the general impression ap-
peared to be, that the question would be speedily
taken up by the Reformed Parliament, and a just
decision arrived at by the Representatives of the na-
tion, and that therefore extensive organization, or a
strong expression of public opinion, was less ne-
cessary. He was, however, deeply convinced of the
error of this impression, and therefore anxious that
a manifestation of popular opinion should take place
now that Parliament was on the eve of meeting.
The people should unite their strength to endeavour
to bring before the country this great question, not
less important than the Reform Bill itself. Mr.
Dyer concluded by moving the first resolution.
RICHARD POTTER, Esq., M.P., seconded the re-
solution.

MARK PIIILLIPS, Esq., M.P., thought that the
present was a favourable opportunity, when our
manufacturing interests were happily in a thriving
state, and when occupation and employment
were so much more regular than for the two
years which preceded the year just concluded—to
introduce the discussion of this great question to the
country, calmly, and deliberately, but with thinness.

Mr.SHUTTLEWORTII moved the second resolution.

Mr. JOHN B. SMITH said, these were not times
when people were willing silently or long to submit
to injustice. If the aristocracy were possessed of
worldly as well as hereditary wisdom, let them
hasten to do justice. He had much pleasure in
seconding the resolution.
The resolution was then put and carried unani-
mously.

Mr. POTTER, M.P., moved the following re-
solution::—
" That with the view of promoting this change by the
prompt adoptio❑ of such measures as may be desirable
in the ensuing Session of Parliament, the following gentle.
men ire constituted a Committee, with power to add to their
nuurb,rs, to originate such proceedings, by public meet-
ings and otherwise, as may be suited to the exigency :
Messrs. Mark Phillips, Richard Potter, G. W. Wood, J.
Brotherton, J. C. Dyer, J. Sbuttleworth, E. Connel, E.
Baxter, T. B. Solidi, G. R. Chappel, H. M'Connel, T.
Boothinan, James Murray, James Bury, T. Harbottle, T.
Potter, E. Swanwick, Wilson, James Ferneley, James
M`Connel, Moody, Lewis Williams, John Williams,
Thomas Bury, 'ferny Newbury, Joseph Thomson, Wil
Liam Hill, James Burt, George Grundy, E. Shawcross,
and R. Sharpe."
Mr. BAXTER seconded the resolution.
Mr. SIIUTTLEWORTII then moved a vote of thank;
to the Chairman, which was unanimously agreed to,
and the meeting separated.

AUSTRALIAN AGRICULTURAL COMPANY.
Yesterday the Annuli General Meeting of the Proprietors
of Shares in this Agricultural Association was held at the
Company's House in King's A /ns-yard, Coleman-street,
for the purpose of receiving a Hep,,rt from the Directors,
and to elect a Governor, Deputy Governor, Directors, &c.
John Smith, Esq. M.P., the Governor, in the chair.
There were present, Mr. Hume, AL P., Mr. Astell, Sir A.
Grant, Mr. Crawf.rd, M P., &c., &c. From the balance-
sheet it appeared the rezeipts last year were 17,2931., and
the expenditure 11,435/. The balance in hand was 6,135/.
The total receipts of the Company were 288,8344 The
Court then adjourned,