The Sun.
London, England, 1844-03-07 00:00:00

ilitinn 111

LONDON, THURSDAY,-MARCII 7, 1844

The meeting of the Anti-Corn-law League, at
Covent-garden Theatre, last evening, was one of the
most triumphant and enthusiastic which ever that
important body has held. What a contrast to the
meeting of the Anti-League Association, held at
Freemasons' Tavern, on Monday last, did the League
meeting of last night present ! It was just the differ-
ence between the objects of the two Associations ; the
one powerful, strong, and healthy, full of vigour and
enthusiasm—the other, puny, weak, and diseased,
without either energy or animating spirit. And need
we—can we wonder, that such should be the case,
when the League advocates the rights of the people
and of the whole community, whilst the Anti-
League supports only the landlords' interests, the
cause of a faction, and aims at class legislation alone.

The tenant-rai Him, 1001,0 a with spry great dis-
gust at the composition of the National Anti-League
Association, and at the very first meeting, when
the governing body was selected from landlords
and tenant-farmers, to act together in unison,
more than one of the tenant-farmers asked this per-
tinent question, " What interest have we in common
with the landlords, that should make us unite with
them for the protection of agriculture ; will it not be
made a society for the protection of rents, not of
renters ?" And the tenant-farmers were right in their
suspicions of the landlords' intentions; they were jus-
ti Qd in doubting the sincerity with which any union
of men,
m
such
ofas tthose o
corn-laws,
loa
wcsr,yanoudt
thsooselouwdhlyo,
having
rvitnhge
preservationen
to pay rent, have always found the high price of pro-
dmuacdee umseudtuasalalyn
ba
er gn ue
fit no ei
an t for
It hs i
ng ho t
n. ent
thea l ,
naturecould be
f
things to mix oil and water ; and yet, as soon will
this union be effected as the union in one plan for
the interest of both, between the landlord seeking
to maintain high prices, in order to keep up his rent,
and the tenant seeking to obtain a high price for the
produce of his farm, but, at the same time, wishing
to pay the lowest rate per acre out of the proceeds.
The corn-laws are not—they never can he made—
the instruments of good to the tenant• farmer, or to
the farm labourer ; they are, and they will be, the
instruments of vast evil to them, and to every man in
society save the landlords. They are the landlords'
P tax, levied exclusively for the good and benefit of that
• one class, and paid by every other class, entirely to
their own disadvantage and evil. The poor farm

labourer, earning his paltry pittance of seven shil-
lings per week, does not receive more wages when
bread is dear; he derives no benefit from the advance
in price of the article which he starves to raise from
the earth, while its additional prioe inflicts additional
starvation upon him, and draws still more upon his
scanty earnings. The farmer hears of the rise of corn
but soon his gladness is checked by the
awgietha jooyi
: his landlord, who claims increased rental,
and justifies the demand by the increased price of
farm malice, the Allison, the mechanic, the shop-