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London, England, 1867-03-04 00:00:00

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THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, MARCH 4, 1867.

these undeserVed denunciations which had been
hurled against l►iiu, and he felt it was painful that
one could not enter on the conflict of politics in
Edinburgh—in a city which represented the intel-
lect, the refinement, and 4 the poetry of Scotland—
without being stifled with the dust of ignoble, dreary
personalities, or being involved in the mysteries of
small and paltry intrigues. Mr. Moucrieff, who was
enthusiastically received; was awarded a cordial vote
of thanks for his explanations, and some conversa-
tion ensued as to the necessity of a thorough orga-
nisation of the ward committees.

THE REFORM DEMONSTRATION IN
TRAFALGAR-SQUARE.

On Saturday and the previous day the metropolis
was placarded with posters, headed " The Echo to
Lowe's Speech," and announcing that a meeting
of the working men of London would be held on
that afternoon at four p.m. in Trafalgar-square, for
the purpose of expressing an opinion on the Govern-
ment measure of Refoym.
At the hour appointed for holding the meeting
there were certainly not 200 persons assembled,who
had come for the purpose of taking part in the poli-
tical demonstration about to take place.
At four o'clock some three or four persons
mounted the northern side of the projecting stone-
work of the Nelson Column between the lions, and
unrolled two flags, one blue and the other yellow,
on which were severally inscribed the words,
Registered Manhood Suffrage, and " Vote
by Ballot." Immediately after this Mr. George
Potter, whose name appeared on the placard con-
vening the meeting, as chairman, and Mr. Hartwell,
as secretary, with some other persons, made their
appearance, and also mounted the stonework of the
column, which soon became crowded. The assembly
in front gradually augmented, but at no time were
there more than 2,000 persons assembled.

On the motion of Mr. BROOKS,

Mr. G. POTTER was voted to the chair. He said
that was only a preliminary meeting, and had been
convened at about three days' notice, and therefore
they could not expect a very large gathering, but
there was one thing most satisfactory, and that
was that those who were there were the genuine
were going to have a series of
tsiolertseof
meetingsnten. TathfeoyaNe
rvr
o'clock every Saturday after-
noon for some weeks to come, and then these meet-
ings would no doubt culminate in a great national
demonstration. (Cheers.) They, no doubt, all
pretty well knew and understood as well as he did
how the working classes had been ignored by what
was going on in Parliament, and how the Tory Go-
vernment wished to make theta believe that they
were enfranchising the working classes by the addi-
tion of 100,000 votes, whereas the bill of last year
would have given them an increase of 200,000 votes.
They (the working classes) had assembled there as
honest men to tell Government that they had offered
a measure of Reform which the working classes of
England had determined not to accept as a settle-
ment of this question, and that they were deter-
mined never to rest until it was properly and justly
settled ; that they were unanimously determined
never to cease agitation till it was settled in a man-
ner which should give to the working classes the
right to the franchise they were fully and fairly en-
titled to. They did not want agitation, but they
were determined never to cease agitation till they
obtained their rights. (Cheers.) What were those
rights ? He would tell them. The right to the
privileges of citizenship in this great country, which
they had helped to make so. It was the working
classes which in the main produced the wealth of
this great country, and had contributed to the great
power and prestige which it enjoyed amongst other
nations of the world. In return for this all the
working classes asked was to be permitted to have
a voice in the management of its affairs. (Hear.)
Was there anything unreasonable in that ? (Cries
of " No, no.") Many people had said Lord Derby
and the Tory Government could not deal with the
quesion of Reform. (Hear, hear, and oh !) He
(Mr. Potter) could not understand that, and when
he found the Tory Standard of that morning ad-
vising the Tory Government to consent to a mea-
sure of household suffrage, he questioned very
much whether the Tory Government would be
able to deal with it. (Hear, hear.) All he (Mr.
Potter) could say was that if Mr. Disraeli would
give them household suffrage and a lodger franchise
he should be inclined to hold his peace for some
time to come. (Rear.) But the working classes
were determined not ;to be trifled with, and when
they found the Tory Press advising household suf-
frage it showed that the working classes had screwed
the Tory Government up pretty tightly ; and unless
they were wise in time, and gave the working
classes their just rights, they were determined to
screw them up a great deal more. (Applause.)
They should hold a few more of these meetings, and
if they found that did not do, he thought that they
should have to suggest to the whole of the working
classes throughout the country a week's cessation
from business. (Hear.) The working men of
England could live without a week's pay now, as
no doubt many of them had had to do before, when
out of employment. Well, suppose they left off
work for a week, then he should advise all the
working men to walk about the streets of this great
metropolis day after day, stop all the traffic, and
stop all business, and in fact render themselves a
public nuisance. (Cheers, and laughter.) It was
far better that they should render themselves this
public nuisance at once than that they should be
compelled to continue this prolonged agitation—
(hear, hear)—an agitation that might in all proba-
bility lead to more serious consequences. One of
the days of the week when the working classes
ceased from labour he would have set apart as a
day of humiliation, when the working men should go
to St. Paul's and Westminster Abbey, and pray that
a great and impending calamity might be averted
and a revolution avoided. (Hear, hear, and
laughter, in the midst of which some one called out
" Bosh," and some uproar ensued.) For whatever
might be the result of these agitations, the govern-
ing powers would be responsible. (Hear, hear.) lie
did not advocate physical force, but after the money
which had been expended, and the sacrifices which
the working classes had made, to prove that they
were in earnest in demanding, and to the justice of
their being entitled to the franchise, delay was
dangerous. For thirty-four years this thing had
been going on ; the country had increased in
population, advanced in intelligence, power,
and
mass
of wealthth e
;andyet with all this the great
community were still deprived of the
right of citizenship. The feeling permeating the
whole nation was that this Reform question should
be settled, and if the Tory party wished for peace
they had the power to settle it. (Hear, hear.) After
referring to the position of the lodger who paid
£2O a year for his apartments having no vote,
whilst the tenant who let the house out at a profit
and lived in the kitchen had a vote, Mr. Potter
concluded by stating that on the following Satur-
day they would have two or three platforms, as
occasion might require, in Trafalgar-square. (Ap-
plause.)
Mr. CONNOLLY moved the only resolution that
was proposed :—" It is the opinion of this meeting
that the Government measure of Reform, as ex-
plained by Mr. Disraeli, is most unsatisfactory in
its character, and a fraud on the rights of the work-
ing classes, and we hereby call upon the Liberal
members of the House of Commons to resist any
measure of Reform which did not recognise the just
representation of the people; and we are further of
opinion that any measure which does not include
an extensive lodger franchise will not be satisfac-
tory to the working classes." He had been told
that if he moved a resolution on this subject in Tra-
falgar-square he would see the inside of a prison,
but prison or no prison he now moved it.
(Cheers.) He denounced the fancy franchise schemes