The Sun.
London, England, 1835-05-20 00:00:00

THE DORCHESTER LABOURERS.

Lord ERNEST BRUCE presented a petition from 3,600
persons in York, praying for the remission of the sentence
upon the Dorchester labourers.
Mr. LOWTHER supported the petition and hoped that a
respectful representation would he made to his :VI ,jesty in
favour of those unfortunate men, who appeared to have been
the victims of others.—(Hear.)
Mr. COBBETT said that it was quite evident the poor
men had offended ignorantly. He did not know himself
that there Was such a law in existence as that upon
which they were convicted. Their real offence was
that they had endeavoured to prevent their wages
from being reduced, and it was well known that such combi-
nations existed amongst tradesmen and shopkeepers, and were
carried on with impunity. He did think those poor men had
been very cruelly treated.
TAXES ON KNOWLEDGE.

Dr. BO WRlNGpresented a petition from a place in Scot-
land for the repeal of all taxes upon knowledge ; the Hon.
Member also presented a petition from Preston, signed by up-
wards of 4,500 persons, cdmplaining of the events that had
taken place at the last election, the scenes of outrage and
violence, and the bribery that had been practised, and imploring
the House to interfere to prevent the recurrence of such cir-
cumstances again. The present petition showed the necessity
of the Ballot, and as its allegations were of so much import-
ance, he ( Dr. B.) felt it his duty to call the attention of the
House to them. The town, at the election, was in possession
of men who wore blue and yellow caps. Representa-
tions were made to the Mayor and Magistrates that per-
sons so decorated were likely to lead to scenes of vio-
lence. The Magistrates refused to listen to any suggestions,
and the consequence was that great excesses took place.
Many houses were attacked, windows broken, and furniture
destroyed. An indictment was preferred against seve-
ral individuals at " the last assizes, when thirteen
persons were punished by imprisonments of different degrees.
With respect to some of these individuals the Judges stated
that it was well for them that they had not been accused of the
capital offence, and that they owed that solely to the kindness
of their prosecutors. The petitioners also stated that the per-
sons who were so decorated committed many other acts
of violence. He (Dr. B.) was sure if Hon. Members were
aware of the misery attendant on the present system of elec-
tion, they would be the first to do all in their power to improve
it. Corruption to a great extent had been practised in the
borough from which the petition came, and as an instance of
that, he would state that an individual had informed him that
he had received a card as a price for his vote, but that such
were his compunctions of conscience, that he dare not present
it for payment. The petition, on the motion of the Hon.
Member, was referred to the Election Committee.
MR. CHILDS OF BUNGAY.

Mr. HUME-rOse to present a petition from Mr. John Childs,
who complained of being imprisoned for non-payment of
church-rates.
The SPEAKER submitted whether the presentation of
this petition at the present period would not lead to a protracted
discussion.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER hoped the
Hon. Gentleman would defer the presentation of this petition
till the return of his Noble Friend ( Lord Russell), who, he
expected, would be in his place to-morrow.
Mr. HUNIE was willing to do any thing in his power
to promote the convenience of the Right Hon. Gentleman.
He came down to the House at twelve o'clock to-day, and in
obedience to the rules of the House, put his name on the book,
for the purpose of presenting this petition, and here am I now,
said the Hon. Gentleman, just as I came.—( Loud laughter.)
He would, however, attend to-morrow, and take his chance.
The SPEAKER made some observations, the purport of which
we could not hear.