The Sun.
London, England, 1850-01-19 00:00:00

(Continued from our Afternoon Editen (f) eiterday )
Mr. CCIIDEN then stood forward to address the
meeting, and was received with vociferous cheering,
which lasted for some moment=. When order had
been restored he spoke as follows:—Gentlemen, I
have the honour to propose to you the first resolution,
which I el ill read :
" That the Government of Russia having proposed to
raise in this country a loin of five millions and a halt
sterling, pry f!ssedly f,r the purpose of oomph ting
railroad from St. Petersburgh t Moscow, but
really to replini,h the imperial exchequer, exhausted
by the expenses ( f the war in Hungary, this
melting is of opinion that to lend money to the Emperor
of Russia for such an object would virtualy be to sanc-
tion the deeds of violence and blood committed by him
in Hungary, and to furnish him with the temptation and
the in, ans tor carrying on future schemes of aggression
and conquest."
—(Cheers.) I congratulate the Peace Society and the
friends of peace in this country, that the Emperor of
Russia has been obliged—unconsciously we must, as
a matter of courtesy,
suppose—to affix his name to, a
document which is not true, in order to obtain a loin
of five millions and a half in this country. I say the
document which is signed by the Emperor of Russia
contains an untruth—(Hear, hear)—and I know it
to be untrue, and it is known to everybody at St.
Petersburgh to be untrue.—(Cheers.) But I accept
thet untruth as the highest tribute that could be pos-
sibly paid to the moral power of the Peace party in
this country.—(Cheers, and some-disturbance occa-
sioned by the crowded state of the room.) I was
saying that the pretence put forth by the Emperor
of Russis, that he wants this money to complete a
railroad from Moscow to St. Petersburgh, is unfounded
in truth. I was in St. 'Petersburgh two years ago;
at that time the rolling stock of that railway was all
finished; one hundred locomotives were ready; I
travelled with them on that part of the line. Thou-
sands of, waggons and carriages were ready, and I am
told the iron is on the ground and paid for. It is
the embankment that is not finished ; and looking at
the martial disposition of the Emperor, and to his
having so little regard to the social interests of the
people of his country, I don't think the railroad will
be completed for ten years to come.—(llear, hear.)
lie will spend his money like a great overgrown
colossal baby on his soldiers rather than on those
substantial improvements which could really alone
add to the power, the happiness, and the civilization
of his country.—(Cheers.) But why need I argue
this matter ? Nobody believes the money is wanted
for a railroad. Everybody assumes the contrary but
the Russians. But I will convict them from their
own ukases. They want the money in six months.
Who ever heard of five million sterling being wanted
for a railroad in six months ?—(Loud cheers) Some
of you here, unhappily, have had experience in rail-
way calls.—(Laughter.) But did you ever know
them come from any board of directors so thick and
fast as they come_ from the Emperor of Russia ?
(Laughter.) 201. must be paid two days after the
allotment ; 10/. must be paid on the 15th of
March, 101. on the 15th of April, 101. on the 15th
of May, 10/. on the 15th of June, and the remainder
on the 15th of July next—(Laughter.) Railway calls
for one railway at the rate of nearly a million a
month ! And, mind you, in a country where up to
March no work can be done on an embankment—
(Cheers)—and consequently this money is wanted for
the purpose of being expended in an embankment
in the months of April, May, June, 'and July. Oh,
I pity the mendicant Czar, who is obliged to come to
us with such a story.—(Cheers.) Is it not humi-
liating ?—(Renewed cheers.) And then, after putting
forward this pretence, that the money is wanted
for a railroad, after beginning his Imperial
ukase, by saying it was not the truth—l presume
he did not know it—(Laughter)—he winds up at last,
as if doubting he would not be believed, by promising
us five per cent , and that the accounts of the sums
derived from this loan, and to be applied to this
line of railroad, will be kept as formerly
from all other state revenues and expenditure.—
(Laughter.) Why, he wants if possible to open a
door for even the most scrupulous of Quakers to sub•
scribe to his loan.—(Laughter.) It was not only
not wanted for war, but it was entirely to con-
struct a railroad ; and in proof that it was wanted for
a railroad he will render accounts.—(Laughter.) I
can only say it is what he neverdftt &elem.—(te-
newed laughter.) I have been subjected to the re-
iterated charge that I am not consistent with
my principles cf free trade when I come here
to denounce this loan. It is said to me, "We want
you to allow us to lend our money in the dearest
market and borrow it in the cheapest • why should
we not have free trade in money 1." I have no ob-
jection to people wasting their money if they like ;
but I claim the right as a Free-trader in this country
to meet in a public assembly like this, and try and
warn the unwary from being deceived by those money-
monger.; in the city 'of London, who will try to palm
on us their bad security if they can.—(Cheers.) I
am not going to attempt to coerce or dictate to them ;
we have done cur duty in giving
our advice, and
probably by and by those who do not follow that
advice now will wish they had done so. That is their
business, and not mine. It has been asked me this
morning by a leading journal, whether I oppose
this loan on the ground of its immorality or on the
opinion
ne answer,e
cheers.)
ns.)w
h a out ri-t
sgbooreotvhuenrgdrios uoi nfindrnie— L t.sorbieiinsoguudr:canhisecae.f_res cheers.) Inn\ermwed
hyy, I
apart altogether from its inherent immorality and
insecurity, I stand here as a citizen of
this country and of the world to denounce
the whole character of this transaction as being
injurious to the best interests of society.—(Cheers.)
Nov, I will take first of all the politico economic
view of the question, for it has been supposed that
on this question I am particularly weak in that di-
rection.—(Laughter.) Now, I stand on one of the
strongest grounds in stating that Adam Smith, and
all the great political economists, arc against the
very principle of these loans. What is this
money wanted for ? It is to be wasted,
it is to go to pay the expense of maintaining a stand-
ing army, or the expenses of the atrocious war in
Ilungary.—(Groans.) This sum is so much capital
abstracted from England and handed over to an-
other country to be wasted, thereby abstracting
from this country the means by which its own
population are to be employed, and by which
they live. I say that every loan to be
granted by this country to a foreign government to
be expended in keeping
up armaments, or carrying on
wars with other countries, that is as much capital
wasted or destroyed, for all the purposes of repro-
duction, as if the money was carried out into
the middle of the Atlantic and sunk in the
ocean.—(Loud cheers.) I make no distinction
whether the interest be fair or not ; for if the interest
be paid on this loan by the Emperor of Russia, it is
not paid out of the pockets of the party to whom it is
lent, it is not paid by the capital itself being invested
in reproductive employment, but it is extracted from
the wretchedness' the labour and the industry of his
population for the interest of capital which has not
only not been employed reproductively, but in ob-
structing industry, in devastating fair and fertile
lands, and in depressing freedom, which is the great
source of wealth.—(Loud and long-continued cheers.)
I say I stand here as a political economist, and I de-
nounce
-every such transaction as being injurious to
the interests of every class in this country, injurious
alike to the highest and to the lowest, for it stops
employment, impedes industry, and draws away
from this country the very source of profitable la-
bour; and therefore it must injure everybody, more
or less, in this country, from the Government itself
down to the humblest mechanic or farm-labourer.—
(Cheers.) But I stand here also to denounce
this loan as a politician, as a member
of society, and as a tax-
payer.—(Hear, hear.) For
what is the object of this loan ? It is to enable the
Emperor of Russia to maintain an enormous standing
army ; and what is the consequence ? Why, that
every country in Europe is obliged to keep up an
enormous armament also.—(Hear, hear.) What is
the statement of France ? Why they are obliged
to keep 500,000 armed men because Russia keeps
800,000; and we are! here in England accustomed to
cite the hostile position of Russia as a reason why we
keep our enormous fleet. I should not be surprised
if, in the very next session, when I bring forward a
motion asking to reduce our armament, if you find,
what I have before found, the very example of the
Russian fleet cited why we cannot reduce our
navy. What has been the recent position of
Russia towards this country ? Have we not
had our fleets stationed in the Mediter-
ranean at an enormous expense to this country ?
Have we not had a fleet sailing in the Dardanelles, in
consequence of the talk of an offensive engagement of
Russia against Tut key? Bat it is the acknowledged
policy of this country •to endeavour to defend
Turkey against all foreign powers. There is no
foreign power that menaces the integrity of Turkey
but Russia ; and the common talk everywhere now is
thatspring Russia meditates an hos-
tilethe Danube. You will then
)lave
against Russia ; and
i n
attackt
o the
odefend
on
fe very
n d next
Turkey
uornk
ey
yott will he lighting Utissio, who will