The Sun.
London, England, 1844-10-19 00:00:00

BANK OF ENGLAND.
(From last Night's Gazette.)
An Account, pursuant to the Act 7th and Bth of Vic.
toria, cap. 33, for the Week ending on Saturday, the
12th day of October,lB44
ISSUE DE

'ARTMENT.

Notes issued ... 27,838,085

Government debt 11,015,100
!Other securities 2,984,900
'Gold coin and

bullion _
12,149,367
,Silver bullion 1,688,718

£27,838,085

'M. MA:
Dated the 17th day of Oct

£27,838,085
RSHALL, Chief Cashier.
tober, 1844.

BA.NIEING a
X.

F. PARTMENT.

Proprietors' capi-
tal ... 14,553,000
Rest 3,059,645
Public deposits
(including Ex-
chequer,savings'
banks, Commis-
sioners of Na-
tional Debt, and
dividend ac-
counts) 8,147,290
Other deposits
Seven day and
other bills 1,107,985

Government secu-
rities (includ-
ing Dead Weight
Annuity) 16,352,834
Other securities 10,5`28,785
Notes
Gold and silver
coin

£35,098,5931
M. MA
Dated the 17th day of Oct

£35,098,593
SHALL Chief Cashier.
Iber, 1844.

FREE TRADE and AGRICULTURAL
DISTRESS.

On Wednesday, a public meeting took place at High-
gofclatsaskeisn,ganindtoto discuss the
consideration
High-
worth, r
distress "for
of thethe
p uwr po
roks
ien
benefits likely to arise if the trade in corn and other
provisions were free." The Earl of Radnor, whose seat
is about two miles from the town, was requested to
take the chair ; and Mr. Falvey, one of the lecturers of
the Anti-Corn-law League, arrived a short time prior to
the commencement of the meeting, to assist in the pro-
ceedings. The place appointed for the meeting was a
field near the town called Bear Barn-close, and three
waggons, placed side by side, formed the platform for
the speakers, with no shelter overhead, though the
weather was wet.
At two o'clock, about 700 persons had collected in'tlie
field ; some of them small farmers, chiefly tenants of
Lord Radnor, and the rest consisting of the townspeople
and a considerable number of agricultural labourers.
The market day had been selected for holding the
meeting. At a few minutes after two, the Earl of
Radnor, accompanied by Mr. Edridge, Mr. J. Crowdy,
Mr. Falvey, and one or two other gentlemen, ascended
the platform, and the Noble Earl took the chair.
The Earl of RADNOR, in opening the business of the
day, observed that he undetstood this was a meeting
called at the request of some of his neighbours, for the
purpose of inquiring into the causes of the distress of
the working classes, and whether they might not be
removed by a repeal of the corn-laws, which would add
to the demand for lab Our by increasing the demand for
our manufactures. He was very happy to preside over
such a meeting, and he looked upon his having been
called upon to do so as _tin evidence or the disposition of
his 'neighbours
_tovVards him, occasioned by his own beha-
viour to them. He was there to hear the sentiments
that would he 'tittered by others; but, if in the course of
the proceedings of the day he should be called' on to
give his opinion or advice, he should be ready to do so.
He hoped that all persons who might wish to address
the meeting n ould be heard with attention, and replied
to with candour.
Mr. Citoosin (a small tradesman in Highworth) came
forward to propose the resolutions,
which were amalga-
mated. He said he depended for his business upon
working men. He sold second-hand clothes and bed-
ding, which brought him very much in contact with the
working classes. They used formerly to come to him
to buy clothes and other things, but now he was sorry
to say that they came to sell again what they had
bought the year before, in order, that they might buy
themselves victuals. The poor were told by the gentle-
men in their neighbourhood to go to the poor-law union.
That was more easily said than done. It required a
deal of fortitude in the poor man to break up his little
home, to leave the cottage where he had reared his chil-
dren, to give up his little patch of ground tilled by his
own hand, and perhaps the little tree rila,,,nted,to, •cona7
nitnorite.Thezbiteri bf a ftligurge cgitd.--rpar.) -Sup:
.
pose, however; he got over 'till Oeleelings, and when
:winter set in went to the union. As the season advanced
'he would 'mine home ageih —no ; he would come back
to the cottage which ho had formerly called his home;
and he would find it in the possession of another.—
(Hear.) Then indeed would the tear come into his eye.
—(Hear.) He (Mr. Croome) would, with the consent of
the chairman, read a statement that had been made of
his condition by a poor man in that neighbourhood. It
ran thus :—" I, a labouring man in the town of High-
worth, do humbly pray that something may be done to
lighten the difficulties and distress under which I labour
through the badness of the times. I have a wife and
four children to maintain out of Bs. a week. My chil-
dren are so small that my wife and the children are not
able to go out to work, as the oldest is under nine ; so
all depeed on my Bs. a week, which I find is not enough
to maintain us in a proper manner, as I have to pay is.
9d. for house rent, 9d. for firing, and 6s. for six gallons of
bread at Is. a gallon, which alone amounts to Bs. 6d., and
leaves me therefore in debt 6d. I have nothing left to buy
tea, sugar, candles, meat, and other things too numerous
to mention. As it is, I have to work in the harvest from
daylight to dusk like a slave, to pay what I get behind
at the shop, and I can't do it then, instead of my having
something left to spend with the tailor and the draper,
to clothe my wife and children. Something must be
done. What will be the end of it, I know not. I can't
stop longer to see my wife and children nearly half-
naked and half starved." This was the condition of this
poor labouring man.—(Hear, hear.) Unfortunately,
there were too many in the same state.—(Hear, hear,
and a cry of " It's true.") It was impossible for a man
with a family, to live as a free-born Briton should, upon
eight shillings a-week.--(" They can't do it.") He
(Mr. Croome) did think that the labourers of this
country were not treated as they ought to be.—(Hear,
hear.) What was to be done ? He would leave it to
others to say what should be done ; but it appeared to
him that we wanted a greater outlet for our industry.
The population increased at the rate ofa thousand a-day.
Was that a time to shackle industry ? All that the
poor wanted was work. Give them work, and they were
always well inclined to labour.—(Cheers from the
labourers in the meeting.) What they asked for was a
fair day's wages for a fair day's work.—(Cheers.) Mr.
Croome then proposed the following resolutions :
" 1. That there prevails at this time amongst agricul-
tural labourers and small tradesmen in this neighbour-
hood great distress arising from want of employment,
and the inadequate wages which they can obtain when
employed.

"2. That it appears that the population rapidly in-
creases, but that the mc‘ans of employment do not in-
crease in an 0(021 proportion.
"3. That it is the first and most important duty of all
Governments to provide as fully as they can for the
adequate supply of the. food of the people ; and, if no
human care or foresight can entirely obviate the uncer-
tainty of the seasons, to take care at least that no legis-
lative enactments should intercept or diminish the
amount or increase the cost of the supply which, but for
such enactments, might be obtained.
" 4. That the corn, malt, and other provision laws now
in force, have the effect both of intercepting and dimi-
nishing the amount, and, at times, greatly increasing the
cost, of the supply of food which might otherwise be ob-
tained by the people ; and that, therefore, they ought to
be repealed.

" 5. That these same laws, by throwing obstacles in
the way of trade, and by impeding the natural course of
industry in the manufacturing districts, greatly diminish
the sources of employment which would otherwise be
opened for the increasing population of this kingdom.
" 6. That the working classes of this country have no
desire to rely fur support on gifts of charity or beneio-