The Sun.
London, England, 1850-06-13 00:00:00

LABOUR. AND THE POOR.

I Lift n'ght a meeting of a very singular and curious
character took p.m° et Ile National Hall, Holborn, It
! Was a meeting can: d by Mr.- Mayhew, the metrtpclitan
correspondent of the Morning Chronicle, of Coster-
mongers, street-seliurs, jugglers, standing patcrrers,
street, perfotiners, thit:g stationers, and labourers.
For some time before the doors of the hall were
I opened, large groups of r.,..ea of the above callings were
tai be seen in kiolbarn iocriiriug ore of another the ob-
ject of the meeting. At the hour appointed, half-past
eight, the proceedings commenced ; the side gal-
leries of the hall were tilled with costermongers; the
end gallery was occupied by the street performers and
smtioners; and the assemblage in the body of the ball
was composed cf Jarrow-men: altogether, we should
imagine there wire. about 500 persons present.
On the platform, among other notables present, we
noticed .many well-known London characters, viz, the
tall man who relates an endless variety of conundrums
in our leading thoroughfares, the Highland dancer, in
costume, the French polisher, the 'man who vends the
wonderful soap, which is warranted to take -out grease
stains, tar stains, wine stains, &c. &e. The entrance
of Mr. Mayhew was the signal for most vociferous
cheering.

Mr. MAYHEW, advancing to the front of the platform,
said, Gentlemen, my object in calling you here to-night
is to enable you to make a statement, in the most unre-
served manner, of the difficulties that you encounter in
obtaining a living by vending articles in the street. I
assure you, my only motive is to hear your hardships, and
to place them before the world, that the higher classes
way know something of the miseries endured by people
of your class. I have not been sent here by Govern-
ment, by Sir Robert Peel, or any other person; but this
meeting is called by me, the cards were issued by my
direction, the hall is paid for by me, and if there are any
polices en present, they have no more right to be here
than they have to be in my private house. I can
honestly say, I believe the meeting to be entirely free
from their presence. I implore you to keep order. I know
you can do so. We shall then arrive at something that
way tend to alleviate your hardship. I call upon the
delegate of stationers to come on the platform and
address you.
_

A very intelligent-looking man here appeared and
addressed the ,meeting. He said—Five-and-twenty
years ago I first made my appearance in the streets of
London, and I can assure you the streets were then
widely different from what they are at present. My
first effort was to recite in public-houses, for I have re-
ceived the education of a gentleman; but that was not
to my liking. I then turned penny-showman. This
mode adopted for ten years. This did not suit me, and
I tried every thing that my ingenuity or imagination
could suggest. If there are any old men here, I dare say
they can recollect, years that have long gone by, the
man who first sold the little silver spoons made to go
through the eye of a needle. I am that man. Of the
misery and privation that I have endured, no person but
men of " our class" can imagime. For weeks, aye, for
months, has the dry arches of Waterloo bridge been my
only shelter. Am I to be despised because I prefer
getting my living in the streets to going into the work-
house? My own conscience tells me no; but am I not
so? We are driven and hunted about by the police like so
many wild beasts, and yet our only crime is to get bread
for our starving families. The man then, in a very
feeling manner, implored the meeting to keep order, that
a statement cf their distresses might go forth to the
public, and, above all, to the higher classes, whereby
they might be enabled to use their influence with men
in power to help them in any possible manner. The ad-
dress of this min was listened to throughout with the
most marked attention.

The costermongers' delegate then followed. He ad-
dressed the meeting to the same effect as the preceding
speaker.
The delegates from the atreit-performers, labourers,
barrowmen, and others followed, at the cow:la:ion or
which Mr. Mayhew btiefly addressed them, imploring
them to return peaceably to their homey.
Thanes having been voted to Mr. Mayhew for his past
exe:tioas, the moeting peaceably chspersed.