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

appear that they defended as their right what was fis.
produce of the people's wrong—if what they really meant
to defend was the people's money in their pockets—then
their defensiveness lost its favourable associations. In
meetings in the country this Anti-League Association
had generally tenant-farmers in the chair ; and to make
amend for the failure of a Somerset meeting at Bristol,
a similar meeting was held at Bridgewater in the
same county, and then the tenant-farmer in the chair
said that the farmers of England were capable of com-
peting with the farmers of any other country, provided
they only started on fair grounds—that it was hardly
fair that the farmers of England should start with a
heavy weight upon their shoulders. Now, who, he
asked, laid that weight upon their shoulders but their
own landlords, whom they came forward to screen; and
was it not to the members of that League now assembled
there, to whom the merit was due of pointing out what
were the burdens to which the land was subjected? The
tenant-farmer seemed to be put forward on those occa-
sions like some school boys who, many years ago, he
heard sing a par Ody upon "Home, sweet Home," while
the master fixed his knuckles harshly into the poor urchin's
head, " School, sweet school, there is no place like school."
The tenant-farmer in like manner now sung aloud—" ro-
tection, sweet protection, there is nothing like protection,"
Then, in addition to the tenant-farmer, there came a
miller to the rescue, and great stress was laid, in some of
the newspapers, both metropolitan and provincial, upon
the opinions of a Mr. Biddell, who was described as the
largest corn-dealer in the West of England. His testi-
mony was to the effect that, striking the average of the
prices of wheat at Odessa, Alexandria, and other places,
the price of wheat was 31s. 3d. per quarter, or 3s. I Id.
per imperial bushel, and that included freight and other
expenses of importation, except the duty ; and this
miller said that the plain question was, could they grow
wheat at such a price as that? and that he defied them
to produce wheat in sufficient quantities to keep out the
American farmer, who could send over more agricul-
tural produce to this country than England could
grow. It thus appeared, from this gentleman's
statement, that the difference in the price of the
quarter of wheat which the corn laws made was 255. ;
thus the landlords taxed. them to that extent. No
statement put forward by the opponents of those land-
lords had ever charged them with a more enormous
imposition than this defence which was• set forth in their
behalf. Why, if they had done this, they had levied,
taking the average income of the population of England
as was stated by Mr. M'Culloch, at 171. per annum, they
had levied a poll-tax of 205., an income tax on that
average income of 6/. per annum, three per cent. for
Sir Robert Peel and the Government, three per cent. for
the landlords and the corn-laws.—(Hear, hear.)
And they had levied this as a poll-tax press-
ing more heavily the lower you descended
in society, until at last it made its invasion upon those
necessaries which were essential to the very support of
existence. This was their defence. This their defence!
Good heavens I what, then, would they regard as an ac--
cnsation ?—(Hear, hear, and cheers.) And when was
it that this was done ? Under what circumstances -?
Why at a time when the price of food not being so inor-:
dinately high as it formerly had been—when there. hag
been a revival in manufactures to a certain extent,
enough to be the subject of boast by those who wished
to uphold the course of monopoly—when yet undei
these favourable circumstances they could not take up a
daily paper without seeing something about destitution
in the metropolis, enough to wring any compas-
sionate heart.—(Hear, hear.) Why within the last
two days, they had read that the Bank of
England, the East India Company, the worshipful
Company of' Mercers, and the worshipful Company of
Grocers, had, during the last week, each subscribed the
liberal sum of 200/. in aid of the funds of the Bishop of
London's association for visiting and relieving the poor
at their own dwellings.—(Hear, hear.) The gross
amount subscribed to this association had now reached
20,000/., little enough for the; purpose for which it was
intended. At the same time an institution at Mile-end
reported to its subscribers that 3,500 persons had been
visited at their homes, and that there were 5,000 more to
be visited, and, if possible, to be relieved if the Society
could obtain funds equal to the emergency. And, with
all this going on, they were told, as the defence of the
corn-laws, that they cost a larger sum annually than was
needed to relieve this destitution. Although he would not
willingly consent to any compromise whatever on this
momentous question, yet there was one form of com-
promise which might make them pause. If the bread
which was doled out by poorhouses and by charities—if
the bread of the working classes—if the bread that was
needed to feed those who made up the various items in
the great total of destitution—if that could be brought
into the country free of all duty, he should then say,
that they might well pause and think whether in this
concession there were not something that had a claim
on the consideration of humanity. As it was, there
was no relaxation of the gripe on the plea of charity.
Out of the 20,0001. which had been collected by the
Bishop's association for the rolief of destitution
in the metropolis, if it were all given away
in bread, they could not reckon a smaller
sum than 6,0001. as bread-tax, to go into the
pockets of the landed aristocracy.—(Cheers.) They
could not disentangle theM ; they could not subscribe
to the one, and not subscribe to the other. They were
really giving their shillings and their pence in this
charity to the nobility of the country.—(Cheers.) For
every fourteen-pence that they subscribed for the
farthing shirt-makers of the metropolis, they gave six-
pence- to the Duke of Buckingham.— (Hear, hear.)
Wretched, indeed, must the cause be when the articles
of the defence det them into such a scene as this, and
showed the splendour of ducal palaces, rendered more
gorgeous by taxation on the food that was doled out to.
the neighbouring workhouse.—(Cheere.) Men who
made such infringements on what were deemed the
rights of their fellow subjects should bethink themselves
when they came to plead their cause, and when they
asked, if not for justice, for mercy, in the court of
public opinion ; they should look well to it how
they doled out justice and mercy to others. They
excused not ignorance of the.law in those upon whom
the law laid its iron hand—they excused not, on the
ground of the small value of the thing taken, the attempt
to take it, if it was connected with their property or
their pleasures. It was only three or tour days ago that
the papers reported a case of poaching at the petty ses-
sions at Ashby-de-la-Zouch, in which three men were
charged with having used a net on Sunday, not having
a game certificate. This was the offence. It was put
into four charges. They were first charged with having
the net, they were then charged with doing this on a
Sunday, they were next charged with a trespass in pur-
suit of game, and lastly they were charged with an as-
sault on the gamekeeper. These three men were dealt
with in a summary mode by the magistrates, themselves
perhaps interested in this very case. They were
sentenced to a fine of five pounds for three
offences out of the four, and of two pounds each for
the remaining offence, and in default of payment to two
and three months' imprisonment, making in all a sum-
mary levying of a fine of 50/. or ten months' imprison-
ment for each of these three men. If such were the
righteous measure of punishment for desiring to taste a
rich man's bread, what should be the measure of punish-
ment for taking by wholesale the poor man's bread ?
—(lmmense cheering. The penalties in that case, he
thought, ought not to be less heavy than those penalties
legally incurred, which would not fall on the parties
who incurred them by betting on horse-races—(Hear,
hear, and cheers)—for penalties did not reach those
who were described by one of the Members of their own
senate as " gentlemen whom this House would not
wish to see convicted.—(Laughter.) There was another
caution which hewould give their fellow-agitators and
conspirators in their new attempt, and that was to avoid
such exhibitions as the one which took place the other
day at the meeting of the Newton Abbot Agricultural
Society. This was not an agricultural meeting. It was
neither more nor less than an annual ploughing match.
The high-sheriff of the county ,was present; a peer, and
some members of the Lower House were also present.
There were thirty-nine ploughs in the field, they were
told, to contest the various prizes; and amongst other
things, there was on the ground a waggon surmounted
with flags, one of which was protection to agriculture,
and on each side of this waggon there were three can-
nons.—(Hear, hear.) Such might be the ultimate argu-
ments of monopolists, as they were said to be of
sovereigns. It might be at the present moment, were
there not such things as muskets, cannons, and bayonets
in the country, that the delay of right and justice would
not be continued so obstinately as it was. But still he
said it was not prudent in thirty thousand people—for
the owners of land amounted to no more—even though
the rest of the country might be taxed for the purpose
of paying soldiers to fire artillery—it was not
prudent in the thousands to remind the millions
of any such contest as this.—(Hear, hear.)
They had better weapons than all the cannon which
could be mustered, whether in ploughing fields or in
fields of battle.—(Cheers.) There were arms which
swords eould not reach, against which military manoeu-
vres were quite harmless. There was a power in
society, s'pread, as it were, through the atmosphere
they breathed, and which an electric touch might bring
down, to work with a power which nothing could resist,
whatever its array of antique state, or its boast of physical
power. They had appealed to that, and he would ad-
vise them all to mark the symptoms of public opinion.
Let them watch the indications of the way the tide was
flowing. Let them ask where the conversions were. It
was remarked by one of the speakers that evening that
there had not been a single conversion to free trade in the
House of Commons. Had there been a single conversion
to monopoly out of the House of Cominons?—(Hear
hear, and cheers.) Did they not find, looking at the
name
es
wofasmaonnnoopoonlyeed, th, aatfrom week to
lleomingfromwteheek
monopolist
eopforelissht
camp, all giving in their adhesion successively
to the cause of free trade, showing that the
opinion was flowing on like the tide ; that it could
not ebb ; that its resistless course could only end in
the attainment of its object.—(Cheers.) Or let them
mark, in another direction, the result of calling any
meeting that was open to all comers.—(Hear, hear, and
cheers.) Let them grow wise by the experience of all
Somersetshire ; let them add to that the experience re-
cently gained at Freemasons' 11a11.—(Hear, hear, and
cheers.) They dared not, he believed, in any
part of the country give fair play, and have
open meetings. Nay, they dare not even call
open agricultural meetings, nor trust the tenant farmers
with the expression of different opinions on this ques-
tion of free trade or monopoly.—(Cheers.) And if they
talked of Parliament, let them mark the course of opi-
nion in reference-to the Legislature. Let them note the
silence of Parliament on a subject on which nobody
out of Parliament was silent. Let them see
the contrast which that House presented, and
which was only to be accounted for on the supposition
that those who wished to uphold the present system felt
that least said was soonest mended, and that they were
by no means in the way of securing popularity by being
reported to say anything in- favour of monopoly.—
(Hear, hear, and laughter.) Let them note, too, the
way in which the mention of the Legislature wasreceived
iu public meetings all over the country ge lead over