The Sun.
London, England, 1844-06-06 00:00:00

MEETING

AT COVENT-GARDEN THEATRE.

The usual weekly meeting of the members of the
Anti-Corn-law League was held last evening at the
Theatre-royal, Covent-garden. The doors were
opened at seven o'clock, and within five minutes af-
terwards the theatre was densely crowded in every
part. The attendance of ladies in the boxes was
greater than it has been on any late occasion. The
pit and galleries were, as usual, devoted exclusively
to the accommodation of registered members of the
League.
Shortly before the commencement of the proceed-
ing,;, General Briggs, the late free trade candidate for
Exeter, accompanied by Mr. George Thompson, en-
tered the theatre. Both these gentlemen were loudly
cheered.

At half-past seven George Wilson, Esq., the Chair-
man of the League, took the chair, amidst the most
enthusiastic plaudits. Mr. Wilson, on entering the
theatre, was accompanied by the Hon. Edward Bou-
verie, the newly-elected M.P. for Kilmarnock ; John
Bright, Esq., M.P. for the city of Durham ; and
several other stanch advocates of free trade, who were
all loudly cheered as they made their appearance.
Among those present we observed—George Wil-
son, Esq., in the chair; the Earl of Radnor, Hon.
Edward Pleydell Bouverie, M.P., Richard Cobden,
Esq., M.P. Thomas Milner Gibson, Esq., M.P.,
John Bright, Esq., M.P. ; Benjamin Smith,
Esq., .M.P.; General Briggs, Colonel Tucker,
Dr. Cooke Taylor, Dr. Epps, George Thompson,
Esq., Robert R. R. Moore, Esq., Provost Henderson
(Paisley), Bailie Murray (ditto) ; Messrs. W. A.
Wilkinson, P. A. Taylor, J. Booth, S. D. Driver,
H. R. Stainton, Charles Tysal (Manchester), W,
Thornborrow, H. Day, Wm. Lockett (Salford), John
Kay (ditto), H. Franklin, H. White, W. G. Govern
Wm. Austin, Alex. Carruthers (Macclesfield), J.
Joulthard, H. H. Stansfield (Leeds), T. E. Ward
(Sheffield), J. Moir Ware, R. Palmer, J. P. Bur-
nerd, J. Ridge, Press Pranger, W. P. Longdill,
Wm. Macmullen, Caddell, Eversley, Wm. Cunning-
ton (Devizes), W. Butterworth, Felch, Geesin, G.
Aldeney (Ealing), T. Aldeney, P. Stuart (Liver-
pool), Charles Horsley, W. D. Starling, W. M.
Warden, Charles Marshall, &c.

The CuAIRMAN then advanced to the table and was
received with cries of " Bravo, Wilson," and loud
cheering which lasted for some minutes. The whole
house rose and greeted the worthy Chairman with
three times three and one cheer more. After the
audience had resumed their seats the cheering still
continued for a considerable time, and nothing could
exceed the heartiness of the welcome with which the
Chairman of the League was greeted after his long
absence. Silence having been in some degree re-
stored, he proceeded to address the meeting as fol-
lows :—" Ladies and Gentlemen,—You have lately
had such a number of distinguished individuals oc-
cupying this chair and presiding over your meeting,
that an humble instrument in the cause of free trade,
like myself, who am merely a fellow labourer with
you in the glorious cause, may be well excused for
feeling some slight degree of trepidation in again as-
suming an office, the duties of which have been so
much more ably discharged by the Noble Lords and
Hon. Gentlemen, who week after week have sup-
plied my place.—(Cheers.) But if we are to take all
ter granted that the monopolists and the monopolist
press have lately been in the habit of stating from
day to day, it is not of much consequence who takes
the post of presiding over our meetings for the short
time which they have allotted for our existence.— -
(A laugh.) If we are to believe what they state, the
League if not already quite extinct, is on the very
verge of dissolution—its treasury is exhausted, its
candidates have been defeated, and in every respect
it is quite a different thing from what it formerly was
—(Cheers and cries of " No, no")—in short it is
only talked of as a thing of yesterday. Now, although
it may be presumption to call in question
the truth of assertions made by such great authori-
ties, I confess that, after a careful inspection of our
position, I see no reason to believe that we have not
gained ground since I last had the pleasure of meet-
ing you in this place.—(Hear and cheers.) It is true
we may net have money sufficient in our treasurer's
hands to carry on the war against the monopoly to its
extinction, but we have more money in hand now
than all the protection societies have received, or will
receive, for the next twelve months to come.—
(Cheers.) We may not have carried every election
in every county and in every close borough, but yet
we can bring abundant evidence to show that when•
ever an election has been lost it has been attended with
such results—such traces have been left, such in-
fluences have been set to work as must produce fruit,
and secure to us the victory at the next election.—
(Cheers.) South Lancashire is no exception.—(Loud
cheers.) At the first contest for that county, in the
year 1837, which was a party election, two mono-
polists were returned to Parliament. At the general
election in 1841 no one could be found to come for-
ward to contest the county on Liberal principles. Now,
what took place at the last election ? The
county is divided into ten polling districts.
In six of those districts we have now a
majority.—(Cheers.) At the general election
in 1837 we had only a majority in two districts out
of those six. In 1837 in those districts the Liberal
candidate was defeated by a majority of 200 votes; at
the last election in those six polling districts we had
a majority of 800 on the poll, showing a change of
opinion to the extent of 1,000 registered electors in
those districts as compared with 1837. In addition
to this, in three of the other polling districts we have
reduced their majority as compared with 1837, and
in one district only, the Ormskirk district—a purely
agricultural district, which is quite out of the in-
fluence of trade or manufactures—in the Ormskirk
district alone have they increased their majority, and
in that district the voters have not changed their opi-
nions, they have changed their owners.—(Hear, hear.)
The property which qualifies them to vote, and which
was formerly in the hands of a Liberal, has changed
owners, and is now in the hands of a Monopolist, and
those very same tenants who in 1837 voted for a
Liberal voted at the late election for a Monopolist.—
(Hear, hear, and cries of" Shame, shame.") So com-
pletely are these people under the domination of their
landlord, that if the steward had gone to the return-
ing officer and told him to write off the names of the
tenants without going through the farce of an elec-
tion, the thing could not have been more completely
managed. But let us turn from South Lancashire to
Kilmarnock.—(Cheers.) What do the monopolists
say to Kilmarnock ?—(Hear.) It is true that the
League lost by death one of its oldest and staunchest
supporters in the late Member for Kilmarnock.—
(Hear, hear.) In the House of Commons, Mr.
Bouverie will only vote as Mr. Johnstone voted
before him.—(Cheers.) But in 1841, Mr. Johnstone,
the free trade candidate, was returned, after a severe
contest, by a majority of eleven votes. At this last
election there were two free trade candidates in the
field, and the monopolist hoped to slip in between
them, but he had been beaten by Mr. Bouverie by a
majority of ten votes, while the other free trade can-
didate had polled ninety-seven votes, which ought to
be added to Mr. Bouverie's majority, to show the
change of opinion which had taken place among the
electors of Kilmarnock on the subject of free trade
since 1841.—(Cheers.) I might go over other
grounds to show the progress which we have made.
We wanted the election for South Lancashire in
order to know the strength which we shall be
able to put forth at the next general election.
We have torn down the monopolist flag
in six polling districts out of ten—(Cheers)—We
have lowered the monopolist flag in the the three re-
maining districts, and I have no doubt whatever but
that at the next general election we shall be in a con-
dition to clear the deck, and to return two free-traders
to Parliament.—(Cheers.) Let the monopolists re-
joice over their victories. Let them boast of our de-
feats—let them talk of Exeter and Salisbury, and
Hastings, and South Lancashire. Our reply is Not-
tingham and Durham—(Cheers)—and Kilmarnock
and Kendal, and though last not least, London—
(Loud
cheers)—which is more than a receipt in full
for all demands which the monopolists may-have on
the League.—(Cheers.) There are other proofs of
the progress of free trade doctrines to which I will
briefly refer. Memorials have been presented from
various constituencies to their representatives, solicit-
ing them to support the total and immediate ?repeal
of the corn-laws, and to vote for Mr. Villiers'
motion on that subject.---(Cheers.) These memorials
have not been got up with a view of awing Mem-
bers. They are intended as a respectful, but most
earnest request on the part of the constituencies to
to their Members, without reference to party, to
support Mr. Villiers' motion in the House of Com-
mons. Leeds is one of the places from which a me-
morial has been transmitted. In 1841, at the general.
election, Leeds had returned one, with the mono-
polist at the head of the poll. The monopolist on that
occasion polled 2,076 votes. Now, the constituency
have presented a memorial to him and to his col-
league, praying them to vote in support of Mr.
Villiers' motion. That petition was signed by 2,700
voters, being an actual majority of all the registered
electors of 521, and 720 more than was polled by the
highest candidate at the last general election.
I might refer to many other places where
the change of opinion in favour of free trade
is equally satisfactory. I will allude to the Falkirk
boroughs, the registered voters of which amount to
1,000, of whom 720 have signed a memorial to their
representative requesting him to vote with Mr. Vil-
liers whenever that gentleman shall bring forward his
motion.—(Cheers.) In Great Yarmouth—in Brad-
ford, Yorkshire—in Huddersfield, and in many other
places, similar results hive beeu obtained.--(Cheers.)