The Sun.
London, England, 1866-08-28 00:00:00

REFORM DEMONSTRATION AT

BIRMINGHAM.

BIRMINGHAM, Monday Evening.

The " demonstration," for which the Reform
League of this town have been making preparations
ever since the late Government resigned office, took
place to-day, and if the presence of an immense
host is to be taken as an earnest of enthusiasm, and
of devotion to a cause, the gathering to-day was a
decided success. The demonstration Ms° partook
of as much of the character of spontaneity as any-
thing in its way can do. The people themselves
organised it and carried it out ; it was essentially
a working men's movement ; the trade societies and
the co-operative societies of every class all contri-
buted to swell the vast throng which began to col-
lect itself soon after 9 o'clock this morning. All the
towns of the district contributed large quotas. Kid-
derminster, Coventry, Oldbury, Smethwick, West
Bromwich, Dudley, Nuneaton, Bilston, Stourbridge,
King's Norton, Stafford, *Wolverhampton, and other
places all sent deputations; and from the density of
the population of those parts may be estimated the
strength of the augmentation in point of numbers
to the scores of thousands who turned out from the
manufactories of the town. Nearly all business was
put a stop to for the day ; in some instances the
men remained in the workshops, but they were com-
paratively few, and the men preferred to sacrifice
the whole day rather than work up to half-past 12,
which was the time fixed for the procession to move.
About half-past 11 o'clock the Mayor (Mr. Edwin
Yates) arrived at the central rendezvous—the Town
Hall. His worship was received with much ap-
plause, as were also Mr. Bright and Mr. Schole-
field, who followed a little later. Mr. Edmond
Beales, Mr. Mason Jones, and other leaders of the
party had also a cordial reception. A preliminary
conference between the joint committees of the Re-
form League and the Liberal Association was soon
afterward held, but no business of importance was
transacted. Meanwhile the streets were filling
rapidly with an orderly crowd ; it had been ar-
ranged that the procession should move in six divi-
sions. The first to consist of the great body of men
employed at the metropolitan and other carriage
companies' works and the working jewellers; the
second to compromise the Mayor, the borough
members, the aldermen and town councillors, the
officers of the Birmingham Liberal Association and
of the Reform League ; the third of the auxiliary
branches of the Reform League; the fourth the
Birmingham and District Trade Societies ; the
fifth the Temperance Societies ; and, lastly, the
friendly and other societies. It was arranged that
they should move from six different points, and
rendezvous at the Town-hall.

To marshal such a huge mass as was assembling
required some skill, and could not have been done
effectively but for the spirit of order and discipline
shown by the closely packed crowds who lined
every thoroughfare. By a quarter to one Mr.
Glossop, the chief of police, had got the first divi-
sion of the procession into marching array. There
was a long line -of carriages on one side of the
Town-hall, where the principal guests were to
enter them ; they did so without the slightest de-
lay or inconvenience. Mr. Scholefield, Mr. Bright,
the Mayor, and other friends sat in the first car-

ri age.

A few. minutes before one o'clock the procession
started ; a mounted force of the police was in at-
tendance to preserve the line, but the people be-
haved admirably they preserved decorum and
regularity themselves. The distance traversed to
Brookfields was about two miles and a quarter.
Throughout that entire space and every avenue
leading to it was one dense mass of people ; every
window and parapet and balcony was crowded ;
from every window streamed forth gay colours,
blue greatly preponderating ; then there were the
scores of banners of the trade societies, numerous
bands of music playing, and every accessory to
produce a scene (on which the sun now and then
shone brilliantly) which it would not be easy to
describe. Now and then the crowd was so dense
that the procession came to a halt for a mo-
ment or two. Mr. Bright, standing up in his car-
riage, with head uncovered, was greeted with many
rounds of cheers.

Brookfields, where this great gathering was to halt,
belongs to Sir Thomas Gooch. It is situated just
without the borough, in the county of Stafford, and
is a plot of undulating ground of some 50 acres,
abutting on the Great Western Railway. The pro-
cession reached this at 2 o'clock in perfect order, a
large portion of the ground having been prdviously
occupied by those who had not chosen to join the
moving mass. Unfortunately the ground was barely
reached when there came down a pelting storm of
rain ; it lasted full 20 minutes, but the people en-
dured it with remarkable good humour. The con-
sequence of it was, however, to greatly mar the effect
of the spectacle, which in bright sunshine must have
been splendid, the numerous gay banners floating
about contributing much to the picturesque. It was,
however, a grand sight notwithstanding the draw-
back referred to ; for a space of fully a quarter of a
mile as seen from the crest of the wavy ground was
to be seen a dense mass of people, some of them
vainly attempting to catch the voices of the orators
who addressed them from half-a-dozen platforms.
The speaking did not last very long, and was be-
coming tedious, brief as it was. Mr. Beales, Mr.
Councillor Baldwin, and Mr. T. S. Wright, and
other gentlemen spoke, and from each platform the
following resolutions were put and carried unani-
mously : . .

"1. That the present House of Commons has, by its rejec-
tion of the very moderate measure of Parliamentary Reform
proposed by the late Government, proved itself utterly un-
worthy of our confidence and support, and that it in no
sense represents the wishes of the Commons of Great Britain.
We therefore hereby pledge ourselves to demand, agitate
for, and use all lawful means to obtain registered residential
and the
manhood
suffrage as the only just basis of representation,
ballot to protect us from undue influence and inti-
midation in elections.
"2. That this meeting tenders itsvir warmest
~ Gladstone, J.
and most
grateful thanks to the Right lion
Bright, Esq., J. Stuart Mill, Esq.,eisiacdsa. E.
other friends of
Reform, who throughout the late d ns in Parliament
vindicated the character and protected the rights of the
people.
" That this meeting presents its sincere thanks t
Beales, Esq., and the other members of the Reform League,
for their exertions in defence of the right of public o
ing, and of the true principle of Reform—residential and
registered manhood suffrage."
I i reference to the number of persons who took
part in the proceedings of the day the estimate must
be a rough one, and there is always a tendency to
exaggerate in matters of this kind. Leaving out of
calculation the fixed crowds—that is the persons
who lined the streets—it has been suggested that if
there were 200,000 present at the assembly known
as " The Gathering of the Unions" in 1832 there
must have been a much larger number in Brookfields
to-day. Such is the conjecture of those who wit-
nessed both gatherings, but we greatly doubt the
200,000 to-day, and still more that of 1832. As
to the attendance on that day, the site was mea-
sured at the time, and the calculation was that so
large a number of people could not by any possi-
bility have stood upon the space which Newhall-hill
afforded. Be that as it may, there can be no doubt
that the meeting of to-day was highly creditable to
for e
the people,elrdtainly a finer display of order and
good temper could
rienced. not by any possibility be expe-
Messrs. Bright and Scholefield left Brookfields
soon after the procession arrived there. The pro-
ccedings-'*ere to a
brought
oe lodseriusoicotniy after four
o'clock, and the enormous crowd