The Sun.
London, England, 1844-08-08 00:00:00

MEETING

COVENT-GARDEN THEATRE

The last meeting of the Anti-Corn-law League for
the season took place last evening at Covent-Garden
Theatre. The meeting was advertised to commence
at half-past •aeven o'clock. The doors were opened
at seven, and within ten minutes afterwards every
part of the theatre was crowded to excess. There
has tot been any meeting of the League in this
theatre so numerously attended as the meeting of last
evening, since the memorable occasion when Mr.
U'Connell attended, immediately after the conclusion
of the State trials in Ireland. A great number of
ladies were present in the boxes. At half-past seven
o'clock G. Wilson, Esq., Chairman of the League,
took the chair., amidst loud cheering. He was
accompanied into the theatre by R. Cobden, Esq.,
M.P., T. Milner Gibson, Esq., W.J. Fox, Esq.,
James Wilson, Esq. (of London), and several other
leading members of the League. These gentlemen
were all loudly cheered: Among those present we
observed—George Wilson, Esq. in the Chair ; Richard
Cobden, Esq., M.P. ; Hon. d. P. Villiers, M.P.;
Thomas Milner Gibson, Esq., M.P. ; Benjamin Smith,
Esq., M.P. ; Arthur Pattison, Esq.; W. J. Fox,
Esq.; R. G. Welford, Esq.; Colonel Tucker ; Rev.
Dr. Louis ; Rev. Robert Philip. Messrs. W. A,
Wilkinson, P. A. Taylor, G. Poulter, S. Harrison,
Fearon, J. P. Burnard, John Bickers, John Walker,
H. Leavors, J. Faulkner, James Henry Lewis, T.
B. Darren, Jarvis, J. P. Williams (Manchester),
Myles, Luke Elcoate, B. W. Cheshire, Owen (Man-
chester), Rogers (Margaretting, Essex), Press
Granger, H. T. Stainton, A. Fordati, Joseph Lindley,
W. P. Knox, Joseph Ralph, James Phillips, J. C.
Worthington, H. Ashton, J. S. Thompson, T. B.
Warren (Bristol), J. Ridge, Delmire, Whitehead,
Blunt, F. Oliver (Cambridge), Dr. Sewell, W.
.1. Adams, R. Bell (Leeds), W. C. Jay, H. Hogard,
C. W. Cobby, James Wilson, John Blakeway, Ri-
ehard Ware Cole, Thomas Leslie, J. H. Const, Ben-
jamin Thorne, Robert Davison, Jones (Northampton),
William Cooke, Joseph Lambert (Leeds), Henry
Pritchard, J. Chalmers, James Butterworth (Roch-
dale), Thomas Chad wicke, John Poulton, Richard
Trass, Edward Harman, J. P. Delafous, W. Geesin,
J. Kingsford, Thomas Lattimore (Wheathampstead),
John M'Cartney (Manchester), James Crofts, Henry
R. Claypole (Liverpool), Henry L. Keeling, Robert
V. Smith, David Price, Thomas Tebbutt, Joseph
Phelps. Capt. Whitehead (Nassau), Rev. A. M.
Walker, N. Overbury (Westbury, Wilts), William
May, Esq., (Mayor of Ipswich).
The SECRETARY having read the minutes of the
. last meeting, which was held on the 4th of July, it
was moved by Mr. James Wilson, seconded by Mr.
Arthur Pattison, and carried unanimously, that the
einutes be confirmed.
The CRAIRAfAM then came forward to address the
meeting, and was greeted with loud and long-con-
tinued cheering. When the applause had-subsided
he spoke as follows :—Ladies and Gentlemen,After
an interval of five weeks we are again assembled here
to resume, for one night more this season, the business
proceedings of the League. It becomes my duty to
state to you what are the operations in which the
Council of the League have been engaged since we
last met, in order that you and the public—at least
that slortion of the public which takes an interest in
an alteration of the corn-laws--may be enabled to
judge how far those operations are likely to contri-
bute to the settlement of the question which it is our
duty here to dispose of.—(Hear, hear.) I do this
with a greater pleasure, because many persons are apt
to believe that when the proceedings of the League
appear to be less prominently noticed, or, rather I
shoold say, when they occupy less space than usual
in the public journals, that there is a corresponding di-
minution of effort on the part of the League—that the
League is, in fact, suspending its labours. Such an
idea, however, would be most erroneous.—(Cheers.)
Our first business is not so much now to educate and
instruct the people,.as to act upon the electoral body
generally.—(Cheers.) As was stated by Mr. Villiers
at oar last meeting, this important question has made
great progress in the House of Commons, but still
the House of Commons, as at present constituted,
presents no reflection of the public mind on this
question at this period. It therefore devolves upon
us, as our bounden duty, so to stimulate the elec..
tont body, that when they are next called upon to
act, they may do it after due and timely prepara-
tion.—(Cheers.) The League, therefore, proceeded
like men of business, to consider the best mode of
carefully attending to the borough registration
throughout the kingdom.—(Cheers.) They selectel
140 boroughs, in which they thought there was a
reasonable expectation that an impression might
be made. They - selected as agents to go
_ those boroughs men acquainted with the subject of re-
gietration in all its parts—men thoroughly qualified
to undertake the business, and who would transact
that busioss in as workmanlike a manner as any
men.--(Cheers.) The Council sent these men down
to the boroughs ; they visited them ; instituted inqui-
ries, and reported the results of those inquiries to the
Council. In some instances, they found that the
registration had been totally neglected. in many,
that it had been only partially attended to, and in others
that it was entirely in the hands of legal agents—
that is to say, that the boroughs were completely in
the power of the bribers. In a few instances only
had-it been found that the subject had been properly
attended to. These agents immediately set about to
remedy these defects ; they formed committees in
I,laces where none-- had hitherto been formed,
nci had exacted 'pledges from the free
aders of the different boroughs, _ that the
subject would be attended to. Now, although this
is a work of very great importance—a work which
cannot be brought to perfection in a single day—l
believe that the first great impulse has now been given
to put in array that constituent body in whose hands
is the destiny of the country, and who alone can de-
termine the fate of this and of all other monopolies.
When, therefore, you hear it asked what the League
have been doing, you can say that the Council will be
occupied, at least until after the revision courts, in
devoting their whole attention to the question of re-
gistration in all its branches and in all its parts.—
(Cheers.) I do not purpose to enter into details on
this subject at the present moment ; but I will simply
state that, in the City of London a registration asso-
ciation has been organised, and the success which
has attended their efforts is such as will effectually
provide, even now, against the return of any mono-
polist to Parliament for that city. In South Lan-
cashire, also, a registration association has been
organised, the results of which have been equally
satisfactory ; and I firmly believe that, do what they
will in the shape of objection, I believe that that
county is effectually wrested from the hands of the
monopolists, and that, with ordinary attention on the
part of the free traders, no monopolist candidate can
ever be returned for that division of the county.—
(Cheers.) But although the subject of registration
has occupied the greater part of the attention of the
Council, it is by no means to be understood that we
intend to relax in our attention to tha holding of public
meetings at the proper time for holding them. Since
our last meeting in this theatre, meetings have been
held at Gravesend, attended by Mr. Bright; at
Preston, attended by Mr. Thompson and Mr. Moore;
at Salisbury, attended by Mr. Moore and Mr. Thomp-
son; at York, attended by Mr. Moore, Mr. Thomp-
son, and Mr, Falvy; at Newcastle, at Carlisle, and,
though last not least, a meeting had been held at
Northampton on Monday last.—(Loud cheers.)
Now it has often been brought forward as
a matter of complaint against the League
that we do not throw open the doors of
of this theatre, or of the Free-trade Hall in Alanches-
_.. ter, to the opponents of our principles. Our answer
is, simply, that we have never yet been able to find
accommodation sufficient for our own members at
these our meetings, and when we have accommo-
dated all our own members, and have room enough
to 'spare, it will be quite time enough to decide who
else shall be admitted.—(Cheers.) But let it not,
therefore, be supposed that
.the League have sought
to shun discussion. Last year, Mr. Cobden held
thirty meetings in the open air, which were open to
all the world, and at which the opponents of the
League might have met him had they chosen.—
(Cheers.) .On Monday last a similar meeting was
held at Northampton. That meeting had been. con-
vened by requisition. Twelve hundred freeholders
had signed a requisition to Mr. Cobden and
Mr. Bright, calling upon them to come and address
the freeholders in the open air at Northampton.
A requisition had also been sent to Mr. Stafford
O'Brien, the Member for that division of the county,
by the freeholders who had supported him at the last
election, requesting him to meet Mr. Cobden and
Mr: Bright on that day, in order to discuss the
question at issue. Another requisition had been pre-
sented to Mr. Feargus O'Connor---(Hisses and faint
eheering)—signed by 1,250 freeholders, asking him
to attend also on that occasion. Now there was
here no mystery—nothing like packing a meeting.
It was an open meeting, known to all the world, held
in the open air, with proper notice, and consequently
afforded the best possible opportunity of ascertaining
the public_ opinion of the county of Northampton.
Well, the meeting was held, Mr. Stafford O'Brien
declined. to attend.—(lronical cheers and laughter.)
Mr. Feargus O'Connor attended, and the sup-
portere••of Mr. Stafford O'Brien supported Mr.
Feargus O'Connor in the views which he took
on the subject. Now the issue was taken in North-
ampton, the least favourable district for the discus-
• slots of such a subject, because it is well known that
in Northamptonshire the extreme suffrage principle
has obtained a support perhaps beyond what it has ob-
tained in any other town in the kingdom. Mr. Cob-