The Sun.
London, England, 1844-03-21 00:00:00

MEETING

AT COVENT-GARDEN THEATRE.

The usual weekly meeting of the Anti-Corn-Law
League was held last night, at Covent-Garden
Theatre. The meeting was even more numerous
than several of the great assemblages which have
heretofore taken place at the theatre. At seven
o'clock the Earl of Radnor, who presided, entered the
theatre, accompanied by R. Cobden, Esq., M.P. ;
John Bright, Esq., M.P. ; Ellis, Esq., M.P. •J.
Pattison, ';,sq., M.P. ; and several other distinguished
members of the Anti-Corn-Law League, who were
all most loudly cheered. Amongst those on
the platform we noticed the following gentlemen:—
The Earl of Radnor, in the Chair; Richard Cobden,
Esq., M.P. ; John Bright, Esq., M.P. ; Dr. Bow-
ring, M.P. ; Joseph Brotherton, Esq., M.P.; Tho.-
mas Gisborne, Esq., M.P. ; Hon. Edward Bouverie ;
Edward Ellice, Esq., M.P.; Rear-Admiral the Hon.
D. P. Bouverie ; James Pattison, Esq., M.P. ; Sir
William Baynes, Bart.; E. Vickers, Esq., Sheffield;
Lawrence Hill, Esq., Glasgow ; F. H. Toone, Esq. ;
Colonel T. P. Thompson ; James Wilson, Esq.; 11.
R. R. Moore, Esq. ; Wm. Evans, Esq., Manchester ;
Robert P. Collier, Esq. ; J. B. Scott, Esq., Manches-
ter; W. Lockett, Esq., Manchester; James Brother-
ton, Esq.; Summers Harford, Esq. ; Rev: J. Barfitt,
Salisbury ; Charles Squarry, Esq., Salisbury ; Tho-
mas Lattimore, Esq., Wheathampstead ; James Chid-
well, Esq., Winchester ; George Chidwell, Esq., ditto ;
N. Gedge, Esq. ' • W. Thornborrow, Esq. ; Henry
Whit well, Esq. ; George Beacon, Esq.; Henry Birk-
beck, Esq.; C. Green, Esq. ; Edmund Gurney, Esq.;
George Ridout, Esq. ; Geo. Crawfurd Heath, Esq. ;
Alexander Smyth, Esq., Glasgow ;',7,W. Scott, Esq.;
Thomas Harbottle, Esq., Manchester ; J. M. Mus-
cott, Esq. ; G. Parsons, Esq. ; J. U. Harwood, Esq. ;
Anthony Austin, Esq. ; J. Barton, Esq. ; the Lord
Provost of Glasgow ; Alexander Johnston, Esq., late
M.P. for Kilmarnock ; Henry Lloyd Morgan, Esq.;
James Harvey, Esq., Liverpool ; J. Ackroyd, Esq.,
Bradford ; Hamer Stansfield, Esq., Mayor of Leeds ;
Benjamin Walton, Esq., Wolverhampton; Henry
Ashworth, Esq., Bolton.

The minutes of the last meeting having been read,
Earl RADNOR (who presided) came forward, and
was received with loud cheers. He said—Ladies
and Gentlemen, it becomes my duty to open the pro-
ceedings of this evening, and in doing so, I must
claim your indulgence ; for though not unused to
public speaking, notwithstanding the practice I have
had, I always speak with considerable difficulty.
Another reason for which I claim your indulgence
this evening is, that though not a young man, this is my
first appearance on this stage. But having been invited
to make my appearance this evening, and offered the
honour of presiding, I have not hesitated to do so,
and I have willingly accepted the honour for several
reasons—the first is this, that I was anxious to pay
in as public a manner as I could the tribute of my ad-
miration and applause to the gentlemen who have
been engaged in the same cause as myself, but who
have taken a more active part in its proceedings than
I have done—l mean the gentlemen of the Anti.
Corn-law League.—(Cheers.) I have been desirous
of expressing, in as public a manner as I could, my
admiration of the ability, perseverance, and
courage with which they have for several years car-
ried on this contest with monopoly, and stood out for
the principles of free trade.—(Cheers.) I have been
the more anxious to express that opinion at the pre-
sent time, because I wish to express my entire dis-
approbation and denial of all the abuse which has
been lavished on those gentlemen.—(Cheers.) The
scurrility and abuse lavished on them would be be-
neath our notice, but that there are one or two accu-
sations made against them of so serious and flagrant a
character that they may seem to deserve more notice.
They were accused of exciting incendiarism, a crime
which I am sorry to see has been perpetrated in a
county not very far from the place in which we are
now assembled.—(Hear, hear.) This accusation has
been made by more than one or two persons of emi-
nent rank. When I told a Noble Lord who made
this accusation that I should make some observations
upon it, he did not withdraw it. He admitted he
made the accusation, but he did not come forward to
justify the accusation, or state the grounds on which
he alleged it.—(Hear; hear.) How my Lord Hare-
wood, or any other person, could justify such con-
duct, it was for him to explain.—(Hear' hear.) I
for one do express now, and I think you will
all agree with me in expressing, my utter contempt
for'such an accusation—(Cheers)—and my assurance
that it was perfectly groundless, and that the gentle-
men against whom it was levelled were as incapable
of it as the Noble Lord himself.—(Cheers.) ' Other
accusations have been made agaiost the gentlemen of
the Anti-Corn-law League, inasmuch as it' was said
that they were_ interested persons, and that they were
urging on the cause for their own benefit, and to ac-
cumulate money in their own pockets. Supposing
the accusation to he true, I am yet to learn
that persons in any situation of life are
not entitled—that it is not their bounden
duty to consult their own interests, provided
they do so without injury to others—(Hear,
hear)—and I think I can show to you, in a few words,
that it would be to the manifest benefit of the whole
community to have the corn-laws repealed. Ido not
know whether our adversaries can say the same for
themselves.—(Hear, hear.) But I maintain that those
gentlemen—admitting,' for argument sake, and for
argument sake only, that they have been carrying on
this contest, as I called it before, for the purpose of
supporting and promoting the cause of manufactures
in general, as distinct from the other 'classes
of society—are doing what will be beneficial
to the whole country.—(Hear, hear.) I am old
enough to remember the time when the war raged,
and when the country was put into great difficulties,
which the young portion of the company do not re-
member, and which I hope they will never expe-
rience.—(Hear, hear.) I remember well on those
occasions when the Ministers brought forward their
budgets for the support of the war that their reliance
was on the flourishing state of the commerce and
manufactures of the country.—(Hear, hear.) It was
on the resources supplied by their means, and in
consequence of the success of the industry of the
manufacturers, that they principally relied to obtain
those sinews of war, and through which they ulti-
mately succeeded.—(Hear, hear.) I say, therefore,
that, generally speaking, mnufacturers, on those
grounds, deserve great encouragement. But let us ,
consider a little more in detail what manufacturers
do for us. This is a great country—very highly
civilised—fully peopled, having advantages over
others in all the arts and refinements of civilised life.
-.--(Hear, hear.) But with all those advantages, it is
admitted that the country, with its natural soil and
climate, is not capable of supplying all the wants
and satisfying all the desires of its refined and
civilised population.—(Hear.) How then, are they
to be supplied ? From foreign lands. low are we
to get them from foreign lands but by an exchange
of the products which this country can give ?—( Hear,
hear.) Our natural products are little in compari-
son to what we wish to obtain from other countries.
It is only by working up manufactured articles
which are wanted in other countries, and by'the accu-
mulation of value which we throw into them by the
excellence of our machinery—by our skill and indus-
try, that we obtain the means of sending and exporting
goods in exchange for the commodities of other coun-
tries required for our use.—(Cheers.) The extent or
the exports of manufactured goods from this country
in last year was 47,000,0001. Very little part of this
was the raw material of the country—l will not say
that no part of it, but a very minute part of it, was
the raw material of the country, but the great
value it acquired was owing to the labour,
the ingenuity, and the skill of our manufacturers.
—(Hear.) I say, therefore, that by promoting
the manufactures of the country we increase the
means of procuring those enjoyments, and those ar-
ticles of enjoyment which come from foreign coun-
tries.—(Hear, hear.) But is this all that manufac-
turers have done for the country ? Let us look to
our own internal state. The population of the coun-
try increases every day at the rate of 1,000 persons.
How are they to be employed'? What is to give em-
ployment to those persons ? Is it the agriculture of
the country—(No, no)—which is sometimes talked
of as the great fundamental support of the country ?
But it is not so. Our manufactures are.—(Hear,
hear.) We know that for some period past, a census
of the people has been taken every ten years, and
.classification of the orders of the people were made.
`lt showed that the agricultural population of the
country had been diminishing. It appeared from
those returns, that that portion of the population
''of - the country employed in agriculture was
352 out of every 1,000 in 1811. In 1821,
the next period at which the census was taken, the
proportion of the population employed in agriculture
was diminished from 352 to 332 out of every 1,000,
In 1831 the proportion was diminished to 281 out of
every 1,000. In 1841, which was the last period at
which the census was taken, no classification was yet
made, but, supposing the proportion to go on at the
same ratio it would be 240 out of every 1,000.—
(Hear.) You will easily perceive by this that it is a
greatly decreasing proportion, and if these must have
employment provided for them, it must be provided
for them in some other way than by agriculture.—
(Hear, hear.) If the diminution goes on at the same
rate, the proportion in 1851 of those employed in
agriculture will be 205 out of every 1,000, and but
175 in 1861.—(Hear, hear.) Now, as the manufac-
turing interest has hitherto absorbed our increasing
population, it is most desirable, you will'all admit,
that no 'check should be given to those manufactures
which may be called on hereafter to-absorb a much