The Sun.
London, England, 1844-10-28 00:00:00

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a landed proprietary with a territory alms. ;in a s s)a ' ,''.
in any other county. At the last election, thp `iss ees-- ".27 ss___
test on free trade principles, we all know :- ' ' 'IM! -
majority which gained the victory of the moreMsiiiest carrrc, AA
didate. It has been no secret that the work of registre'l"-:
tion has been going on ever since that time. The
monoplists placarded the walls immediately the contest
was over, inviting their friends to come and claim to be
on the register, and the League gave them due notice
to put their house in order, and hold themselves ready
against another election—(Applause)--and if they have
not done so, it is for the best of all reasons, because
they could not.—(Hear, bear.) Well, the first reports
from the monopolists of what we were doing was an
index to what would be the result, for they began to
cry out against the shameful number of objections made
by the free traders.—(Laughter.) We admit there were
a great number, and why? We took the register, and
every one knows that it was in a most shameful state.
The properties giving qualifications were described in
the most vague manner. We took the registration in our
hands, and w ith the greatest anxiety to place it in the
best possible state, we induced 2,600 of our friends to
reclaim, in order that they might give, as they were
bound to do, the best and fairest description they could
of the property for which they claimed to vote.—(Hear,
hear.) Then we objected to our opponents, finding they
had not done so, on that ground; and I am sure no man
here will feel sympathy for men wishing to remain on
the register with a wrong description, while they had it
in their power to amend that description.—(Hear, hear.)
We had not the means of striking off these voters if
they attended before the barristers ; but we considered
ourselves justified, in order that we might have the de-
scriptions corrected and given in accordance with the
law. Most of you are probably aware of the result of
the last election fur South Lancashire. There were
14,544 votes given for the two candidates together—
being for Entwisle 7,571, and for Brown 6,973, and leav-
ing a majority for Entwisle of 598. On the objections
against those 7,571 voters who polled for Entwisle, we
struck off 878 at the revision.—(Loud and repeated
rounds of applause.) And of the 6,973 who voted for
Brown, our opponents have struck off 422; we striking
off upwards of two to their one, and having a majority
or gain on the of over them of 456, and within
142 of the whole majority by which Mr. Brown was
defeated at the late contest.—(Loud applause.) Then,
again, at this revision, there were 4,282 new claims ;
of these the free traders made 3,141, and established
2,B2l—(Loud applause)—being a failure of only 320
of the whole of the claims made. So much for
the reports propagated, week after week, that the free
traders were filling the registers with spurious claims !
The number of claims made by the monopolists was
1,841, of which they established I,3s7—being a failure
in 484 cases, and giving us a majority on the claims of
1,464 votes.—(Cheers.) Well, then there arc 109 new
claims, belonging to parties whose opinions we have not
yet had time to ascertain; but we willgive the monopolists
the whole of these, and we shall still have a gain on this
revision, taking claims and objections together, of 1,751
votes.—(Great and prolonged cheering.) Now, it is
quite right that we should see in what districts this great
gain has been accomplished. In the first place, in the
polling district of Ashton, we have 40 of the 1,751 ; in
Bolton, 142 ; in the district of Bury, 75 ; in that of
Wigan, 11 ' • in that of Ormskirk, 17 ; in that of Old-
ham, 102—(Applause)—in that of New ton,lo6—(Bravo)
—in that of Rochdale, 233—(Applause)—at Liverpool,
490—(Applause)—and in the district of Manchester, 704.
—(Loud cheers.) This makes a total of 1,920, from
which deduct the 169 unascertained ones, and that leaves
us a gain of 1,761. Then take from these 1,920 the
598 majority of Entwisle at the last election, and the 169
unascertained, a eking altogether 767, and we have a
working majority upon this register of 1,153 votes.—
(Loud cheers.) An analysis of the new register, there-
fore, shows of old electors (free traders), 6,551 ; new
electors (free traders), 2,821 • total free traders on the
register, 9,372. Of the old electors, be ing monopolists,
6,093 ; ditto, new electors, 1,357; neutrals, 169; leaving
a total of 8,219,•0r a working majority, as already
stated, of 1,153. (Applause.) And now, gentlemen, we
come to the Northern Division. We have not dune much
there, but. we have done something ; we have obtained a
gain there upon the revision, with comparatively little
exertion, of 533.—(Applause.) The result has been,
then, to give us a gain of 533 votes for North Lancashire;
to give us two seats for South Lancusaire—(Cheers)—
and to leave the monopolists three seats in the boroughs,
or five out of the whole 26 Members for the entire
county; and I think you will agree with me that there
never was, in the history of registration, so complete a
sweep of a county as this has been.—(Loud cheers.) I
have also in my hand a list of returns for 70 out of the 140
boroughs over which the League has exercised some in-
fluence, and of these there are 68 in which there has been
a clear gain upon the registration—in some a great
gain ; but less or more in all.—(Applause.) Well, now
we will leave these results to speak for themselves. They
are here before the country. Our opponents may gather
from them whether the League has been dead or slum-
bering, and they will, accordingly, derive what consola-
tion they may from them.—(Applause.) . We have con-
centrated our energies on these points. We thought it
was where, for the season, our efforts were most re-
quired ; and although I may say we have done much, I
believe the League is but yet in its infancy, and that in
opening up this field of labour, it is occupying ground
not before occnpied, and to which the exertions before
made afford no parallel.—(Loud cheers.) I now beg
leave to call upon Mr. Cobden to address the meeting.
RICHARD COBDEN, Esq., M.P., then came forward.
After much cheering the Hon. Gentleman said—Mr.
Chairman, ladies, and gentlemen, I congratulate you
upon this magnificent meeting. I was thinking as I sat
there, that probably there never had been so many per-
sons assembled under a roof in England or in Europe as
we have at this great League meeting : and the occasion
and circumstances under which we meet afford the most
encouraging sy niptoms—(Hear) —encouraging, inasmuch
as they
.prove that it is from no transient motive that you
have joined together in this great cause—(Hear)—that
it is not from the pressure of distress, temporary dis-
tress, that you have banded yourselves together—that
the cause of free trade is, in your minds, something more
than a remedy for present evils—that you look at it,
under all circumstances, as a great and absorbing
truth, and that your minds crave for it with an intel-
lectual and moral craving which has made it almost a
part of the religion of your souls.— (Hear, hear, and ap-
plause.) I venture to say that this meeting, held under
these circumstances, with no pressure or excitement to
call you together, will have more weight, more effect,
upon public opinion than a score of those assemblies we
used to hold when we were driven together, as it were,
under the pressure of local and temporary distress.—
(Cries of "Hear, hear.") And quiet as have been
those statisical statements that you have heard from
our chairman, I venture to say they will strike
more terror into the ranks of the monopolists than the
loudest demonstrations, or the most brilliant'declama-
don with which we have tried to interest you.—(Cheers.)
Upon the subject of this registration there is one
thought that occurred to me as our chairman was giving
you an account of the proceedings in the county revi-
sion. It is this—that the counties are more vulnerable
than the small pocket boroughs, if we can rouse the free
traders of the country into a systematic effort, such as
we have exercised in the case of South Lancashire.—
(Hear, hear.) In many of the small boroughs there is
no increase in the numbers ' • there is no extension of
houses ; the whole property belongs to a neighbouring
noble, and you can no more touch the votes which he
holds through the property than you can touch the
balance in his banker's hands.—(Hear, hear, and a
laugh.) Now, the county constituency may be increased
indefinitely. It requires a qualification of 408. a year in
a freehold property to give a man a vote for a county. I
think our landlords made a great mistake when they
retained • the 40s. freehold qualification ; and mark my
words, it is a rod in pickle for them.—(A. laugh and
cheers.) I should not be surprised if it does for us what
it did for Catholic Emancipation, and what it did for the
Reform Bill—give us the means of carrying free trade ;
and if it should, the landlords will, very likely, try to
serve us as they did the 40s. freeholders in Ireland when
we have done the work.—(Hear, hear, and Oh, oh.)
The 40s. franchise for the county was established five or
six centuries ago. At that time a man, in the constitu-
tional phraseology of the time, was deemed to be a
1 " yeoman," and entitled to political rights, provided he
had 40s. a year clear to spend. That was at that time a
subsistence for a man, probably it was equal to the rental
-of 100 acres of land. What is it now ? With the vast
diffusion of wealth among the middle classes, which
then did not exist, and among a large portion lam happy
to say in this district of the superior clans of operatives
too, that 40s. franchise is become merely nominal, and is
within the reach of every man who has the spirit to
acquire it.—(Cheers.) I say, then, in r;,very city where
there is a lake town population, 1-,s in Lancashire, the
West Riding of Yorkshire, &nail Staffordshire, orth
Cheshire, Middlesex, StuTey, Kent, and many other
counties I could name—in fact, every county bordering
upon the seacoast or having manufactures in it, may be
won, and easily won, if the people can be roused to a sys-
tematic effort to qualify themselves for the vote in the
way in which the South Lancashire people have reached
to this qualification. We find counties can be won by
that means and no other. It is the custom, sometimes, for
OTC so
• many to put their savings into the
msaiviliioltss',-boalo.k, I be-
lieve there are fourteen or fifteen
thein confi-
deposited. I would not say
deuce in that security, but I
say
yatrth ; it is the only a "ritilerteo ies'''ironinvestment
so secure as the freehold of the earth
with the in-
vestmentproperty.—
that gives a vote l
to this—it costs a man
(Hear, hear.) We come,
othen,
_tn6ito-ii—iocHeaur,
cottageand ::
laugh.) He buys in many of the neighbouring towns
nothing to have avohttis
given-301 v en-3 0/ or fprrotpheertyc°-
he has then the intf:rest of his money, he has
sell when he wants it, and he has his
vote in the bargaln.—(Loud cheers and cries of " hear,")
(
Sometimes a parent, wishing to teach a son to be eco-
twhielipdroopietr;ty to -, .
eco-
nomical and saving, gives him a set of nest eggs in a
savings' bank; I say to such a parent, " Make your son,
at twenty-ono years, a freeholder ;itis an act of duty,
for you make him thereby an independent freeman, put
it in his power to defend himself and his children from
ninultiliees
ipnoellxintegiltbooof t.htertroitolArry:
political oppression—(Loud cheers)—and you make that
smeaanr,i
sty!
ot lot
k6o4,thahniseerevael
or to Mr. Egerton."—(Renewed cheers.): This must be
done. In order to be upon the next year's register, it
requires only that you should be in possession of a free-
hold before the 31st of next January.—(Hear, hear.)
We shall probably be told that " this is very indiscreet,—
what is the use of coming out in public and announcing
such a plan as this, when your enemies can take advan-
tage of it as well as you !' My first answer to that is.,
that our opponents, the monopolists, cannot take ad.van-
tage of it as well as we.—(Hear, hear.) In the first
place very few men are from conviction or prejudice
monopolists, unless their capacity for inquiry, or their
sympathies, have been blunted by already possessing an
undue share of wealth.—(Hear, hear.) In the next
place, if they wish to urge upon others of a rank below
them to qualify for a vote, they cannot trust them with
the use of the vote when they have got it.—(Hear, and
cheers.) But apart from that, I would answer those