The Sun.
London, England, 1844-05-16 00:00:00

lom sri yrs UONDON,, THURSDAY EVENING, MAY la, 1€144.

. .
the whole hog," and voted against Lord Ashley. Think disposed for conversation. be dull and silent; and when-
what
an avalanche of rats I Talk of faggot peers I—that ever you see that he is interested in what he is talking
was easy work. Sir Robert pitches about faggots t-f turn- about, especially if he wishes you to attend to him, keep
coats. He is an honest man; we know_ofAiirnan-to whom yawning. There are two ways, of discharging your house-
we should commit our purse with greater confidence; but if -hold. duties. If you are -languid and listless, you may let
any Parliamentary gentlemen -wish their honour flits from them alone ;if not ab:e, you should be continually turn
spoil or waste, we advise them to reserve it-in their own mg the .house topsy-turvy, 'under pretence of setting it to
keeping--at least, not to commit it to their Premier. rights. You can either let 'your servants do just as they
(From the Herald), , please; or you may be continually in the 'kitchen, looking
We close, with that melancholy kind of satisfaction which after them. In the latter case, scold them frequently, and in
accompanies the departure—of -a-iutinfel topie,--the-considera- -1 audible voice, so as to be heard up-stairs. Never thick of
tion, for the present session, of the Ten Hour clause. The looking to your husband's shirt.-buttons; leave that to the
final and conclusive argument, hrotight foiwardlY the Prime laundress ; or, if you must attend to his linen, superintend
Minister himself, had its full effect, and a majority, unex- your washing in person, and have" frequent water-parties;
pectedly large, testified the alarm feltby the llouse of Commons and, especially in winter, always have the clothes dried be-
at the bare idea of a dissolution of the present Government. We fore the parlour fire. If your husband has to go out to a
must continuo to lament the issue, partly because we feel as- business dinner, or to the play, never let him have the latch-
slued that by this decision the question is not settled. 4.us- key ; and should he, on any occasion, stay out late, send the
tice has not been done; and until it is done, a festering sore servant to bed, sit up for him yourself, and make a merit of
will remain in the minds of the aggrieved classes. The long the sacrifice to " the wretch." Have a female confidant, who
hour system, too, will render over-production, gluts,• and will instruct you in all the ill qualities of husbands generally,
stagnation, almost inevitable ; and when these evils occur, and will supply any deficiencies in the above hints. In
as they are very 'likely to do before many months will have conclusion, bear these grand principles in mind--that men
elapsed, how will it be possible for the poor operatives to must be crossed and thwarted continually, or they are sure
avoid remembering the late discussions, or to overlook the to be tyrants—that a woman, to have her rights, must
fact that moderate work at all times is far preferable to over- stand up for them—and that the behaviour which won a
work for seventeen months, and half starvation for the next man's affections is by no means necessary to preserve them.
seven. A minor, but not an inconsiderable cause of pain to —Punch.
us, individually, has been the necessity of opposing with
earnestness what we have regarded as, on the whole, a wise
and praiseworthy Administration. A glance, however, even
at the late debate, affords us some lonsolation in this matter.
For in a discussion in which the Government receives the aid
of Messrs. Roebuck, Ward, Bright, Mark Philips, and Gally
Knight, our support would be rather out of place. More na-
tural does it seem that the Iktorning Herald should be found
on that side which obtains the suffrages of Sir Robert Inglis,
Mr. Stuart Wortley, Mr. M'Geachy, and Lord Pollington.
The mixture of parties, indeed, has been a strange one, but
no man could doubt as to which was the Conservative side.
But for Sir Robert Peel's final argument, two-thirds of the
Conservative Members would have preferred' the Ten Hour
clause. Mr. Liddell's sentiment was that of a multitude of
others :--" My feelings are with Lord Ashley ; but as the
Government make it a vital question, my vote will be with
them."

INCREASE OF DOG-STEALING.
The New Spotting Magazine, for this month, contains
a paper on the increase of the crime of dog-stealing,
which is now carried out on a perfect systera, by which
contributions to an almost incredible amount are levied
on those who value a favourite four-footed companion
more than they do a tolerably heavy sum in hard cash.
So great has the evil become, that application is to be
made to Parliament for an Act making dog-stealing a
felony, and pdtting that animal on the same footing as
the horse. The paper gives some curious details con-
nected with the practice, or with what may be called the
statistics of dog-stealing. The following sketch is also
given of the rise and progress of the plan for applying a
remedy by legal means .—" The idea of first petitioning
the House of Commons to have this Act of Parliament
passed, originated with that well-known and eccentric
character, Mr. Bishop, of Bond-street, the justly cele-
brated gun-maker ; the petition being signed by great
numbers of the first nobility and gentry in the country.
In his inner shop—or rather studio, as it may be termed
—is held at all seasons of the year, till grouse-shooting
rather thins its daily attendants, a kind of sporting
levee, where the merits not only of guns, but all de-
scriptions of sporting dogs, are talked over by their
various owners or admirers; the conversation being ren-
dered doubly agreeable by the accompaniment of a large
brown loaf and 'ripe Stilton,' and divers foaming pots of
Barclay and Perkins' entire. Now ' The Bishop,' is, and
has been for about 30 years—that is to say, as long as he
has been ' upon the town,' or rather before the public
—an eccentric character ; from his long attachment to
all descriptions of fun pervading this great and tasteful
metropolis, whilst his acquaintance with innumerable
' queer character' of every grade has given him an
insight into society rarely to be met with in any man,
however -long an apprenticeship he may have served.
Many of the unfortunate attendants at the aforesaid
levee, having been deprived of their favourite dogs by
the hands of the dog-stealers on whom we have been
descanting, applied, in the moments of their distress,
to Mr. Bishop for his advice in the matter, himself hav •
ing. been a fellow-sufferer, and, to regain his favourite,
having been mulcted.by these harpies in a considerable
fine upon the occasion. His knowledge of the town
and of many of the ' queer characters' of whoni I
spoke, has enabled him to get some of the stolen
dogs restored to their owners, upon paying, through the
medium of a third person, a most exorbitant and shame-
ful ransom. This part of the transaction is generally
negotiated by a man who may be termed the Jonathan
Wild of ' the fancy;' who prefers neglecting his busi-
ness by seeking after the enormous profits arising from
the degrading and rascally negotiations above alluded
to. Since Mr. Bishop has become an accidental assistant
in many of these canine transactions, not only has the
levee become daily increased in the interior of the
studio, but numbers of carriages may be seen in the
morning, containing ladies, anxiously inquiring if any-
thing has been heard about their Floras or Phillises."l
The following is a slight outline of the amount of the
ransoms paid for the lives and liberty of the canine
favourites :—" The immense sums of money which hive
been lately paid foi the restoration of stolen dogs is per-
fectly Incredible: 'the large amount of 9001 and Up-
wards has been extorted upon these occasions al9ne
where Mr. Bishop •has personally. interfered for the
restitution of the stolen property, in some instances for
1,
dogs, which have been stolen twice, and even more le-
quently. Amongst those persons who have been s f-
ferers, may be enumerated his Royal Highness the D e
of Cambridge, 301; Wyndham Bruce, Esq., 251.; Capt.
Alexander, First Life Guards, 221.; and many others,
too numerous to insert in these pages."

STATE OF TRADE.
(Prom.the Manchester Guardian of yesterday.)
The last arrivals from the United States having
brought intelligence of heavy receipts of cotton at the
ports, and caused general belief that the total amount of
the crop will not fall short of two millions of bales,—
our market yesterday were somewhat depressed, espe •
cially for yarn; which, in some cases, was sold at rather
lower prices than last week, though there is still a fair
amount of business doing. Manufactured goods were in
rather less demand than last week, but there was no
change in prices. Indeed, the manufacturers of most
fabrics are so generally engaged that no anxiety to make
sales is manifested.
ROCHDALE FLANNEL MARKET, MONDAY, MAY 13.
We have had an improved demand for flannels to-day,
and rather more business has been transacted, but at
very low prices. There is very little change in the wool
market; the manufacturer manifesto no disposition to
purchase beyond what is required for immediate use.

UNIVERSITY INTELLIGENCE.i
Oxronn, MAY 11.—A Fellowship is vacant in Magdalen
College, which is open to graduates of this University who
are natives of Lincolnshire. It will be filled up on the 25th
of July next, being the festival of St. James. Gentlenien
who desire to be candidates, are requested to call on the Pre-
sident between the 18th and 21st of July. They must brig
with them a'copy of their baptismal register, and a testi o-
nial of good conduct from the College to which they belong.
There will be exercises in the Divinity School, forhe
degree of Bachelor in Divinity, on Monday and Tuesday
next, at three o'clock. Respondent, the Rev. T. Niche%
of Worcester College. Subjects-1. Our Lord Jesus Christ
came not to destroy the law, but to fulfil it. 2. The mi-
racles of our Lord are a satisfactory evidence of his divine
mission.
On Tuesday, the 21st instant, a convocation will be holden
to elect a scholar on the foundation of C. Viner, Esq., to pro-
mote the study of common law. Stipend, 301. per annum,
tenable for ten years. 1
At the next meeting of the Ashmolean Society, Dr. Dan-
beny will read notes by Captain Widdington and himself ion
the Natural History of Spain.
1
The Rev. T. L. Claughton, of Trinity College, has been tlp-
pointcd an Examiner in Theology, and the Rev. I'. ie.
Claughton, of University College, and the Rev. E. Cockey4 of
Wadham College, Examiners in Arts in the University! of
Durham. 1
Tho Lord Bishop of Exeter has presented the Rev. 11.1 G.
Adams to the Vicarage of Cornwood, Devon—value, 4q51.
presented the Rev. Dr.lE.
per annum.
ENT•ehrae
rd Rev.tot hie. IW"er.pßaetuwallinCgsurahcays of Bishop's Hall, Somerset-
shire—value, 1221. per annum.
The Rev. E. Goddard has presented the Rev. T. L. Fel-
Noires to the Perpetual Curacy of Lingwood, Norfolk—valpe,
55/. per annum.
The Earl of Lichfield has presented the Rev. J. GuntonJto
the Rectory of Marsharn, Norfolk—value, 2811. per annum
H. Holloway, Esq., has presented the Rev. 0. Sadler to
the Rectory of Brancaster, Norfolk—value 9791. per annurn.
The Hon. J. Talbot has presented the Rev. C. W. A. Na-
pierft, o the Vicarage of Evercreech, Somerset—value, 2261 per
annum.
Sir E. B. Smyth, Bart., has presented the Rev. W. W
Hobson to the United Perpetual Curacies of Hales and Heck-.
ingliam, Norfolk—value together, 631. per annum.

ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY.--The anniversary meet-
ing was held on Saturday, at the rooms in Grafton-street,
the Right Hon. the Earl of Auckland, late Governor-General
of India, President, in the chair. The report of the council
gave a gratifying account of the Society's proceedings,
which had been conducted without trenching upon the
accumulated funds. Much stress was laid upon the deslr-
ableness of obtaining public apartments free of expense, and
for the Society to enjoy the same advantages as other
public scientific societies. Amongst the losses which the So-
ciety had experienced by death was the Hon. J. R. 3forri-
son, interpreter to the English Government in China ; the
Hon. G. Tumour, late in her Majesty's civil service in Cey-
lon ; Dr. Rossellini, the celebrated Egyptian antiquarian :ot
Pisa, &c. The progress made by the Oriental Translation
Fund was stated as very satisfactorY, several new Works
having been added to the list, amongst which was the Da-
bistan, an account from an old Persian author of all religicins
and creeds. This,. which was considered a remarkable work,
is published in three vols. Bvo. A second donation of 100/.
towards the objects of the Society, was announced from ,J.
Alexander, Esq. The Earl of Auckland was 're-elected
president, and the various vies-presidents and officers were.
appointed.
BRUTAL ACT or CRUELTY TO A LAMB.—EXTRA"
onnixAnt DECISION OF A MAGISTRATE.—On Tuesday, two
men of decent appearance, named William Smith, of No.
76, Salisbury-street, Portman-market, St. Marylebone, and
Richard Jeffs, of No. 13, David-street, York-place, Baker-
street, Portman-square, were brought up in the custody 'of
the police before the Rev. Dr. Walmesley, the sitting ma-
-gtArate at New Brentford, charged with having wilfully
and maliciously killed a lamb, the property of a farmer
named George, at Hanger-hill, Ealing. It appeared *Om
the evidence that, about half-past four o'clock that morning,
as Edmund George, a son of the farmer, was minding
the sheep, several of which had lambs, he saw the pri-
soners come into the field, and Smith go up to the lamb 'in
question, and strike it violently in a most brutal manner on
the *head 'six or seven times, with the thick hedge stake
produced. The lamb staggered backwards into a- ditch,
where it immediately fell 'down and died. The prisoners
instantly made the best of their Way hi the dyection of Har-
row, and the boy ran and awoke his falher, who mounted, a
pony, and proceeded in pursuit of them. At Alperton he
procured the assistance of police constable O'Neil, 154 T,
.who accompanied him along the Harrow-road until they
overtook them, and conveyed them back to the station.:
house at Ealing. The prisoners said they had been drink-
ing until between three and four o'clock at a raffle, and
theft made up their minds to walk to Preston, near Harrow,
to sober themselves, and Smith declarell that, while passing
through the field in question, his dog flew at the lamb, and
while knocking him off, he unfortunately struck the lamb
and killed it. The magistrate considered there was no proof
that the act was a malicious one, and, therefore ordered Smith
to pay the value of the lamb, twelve shillings, with seven
shillings costs, or fourteen days, and Jeffs was discharged.
THE SUSPECTED MURDER NEAR WINDSOR.—The_
mystery connected with the discovery a few mornings ago of
a woman's bonnet, cap, shawl, a front of false hair, and other
articles of attire, which were found in a field at Sarley-hall,
near Windsor, has been cleared up, by the property
being claimed of the Superintendent of the Windsor police
by a respectable woman, named Pratt, the wife of a farmer,
' who lives at Maidenhead-thicket. Under the full convic-
tion that a murder had bees committed, and, from the close
proximity of the field in which the articles were found to
the Thames, that the body had been thrown into the river,
the water was dragged for a considerable distance by the
order of the local authorities. The tale told by Mrs. Pratt
to Mr. Gillman, the Superintendent of the police, was to this
effect :—She was returning across the fields to her home at
Maidenhead, in the evening of Saturday se'nnight, when
she was knocked down by a man, who gave her a violent
blow in the face, blackening her eyes. She ran one way,
and her assailant ran off another, and she saw no more of
him. She then ran her head into a hedge, and thus she ac-
counnted for being deprived of her cap and false curls. She
fell down in a fright, fainted away, and did not recover her
senses until the _middle of the night, when site awoke and
fancied she was in her own orchard. She then made the best
of her way to her own house, which she found she was much
further from than she expected, reaching home early that
morning, when she missed her bonnet, cap, shawl, false curls,
and waistband.
DUE PROPORTIONS.--" Jock," said a farmer's wife
to the herd eallant—" Jock, come in to your parritch—the
flies' are' drowning theinSelves in the a'filk."-L" Nae fearA,"
replied Jock, moving very deliberately towards the scene of
action, " Nae fears ; they'll wade througlet."—" Od, you
little rascal, do you say you dinna get eneugh o' milk ?"—.
Ou ay, plenty for the parritch."

GRAM) WEEKLY

ANTI-CORN-L NW LEAGUE

MEETING

AT COVENT-GARDEN THEATRE.

The usual weekly meeting of the League was held
last evening in Covent- garden Theatre, which was
as densely thronged as it generally is upon those
occasions. Among those present were, John Bright,
Esq., M. P. (in the chair), The Hon. Charles Pel-
ham Villiers, M.P., Major-General Briggs, James
Wilson, Esq., R. J. Burnet, John Travers, Esq.,
William Leavers, Esq., Dr. Cook Taylor, George
Offer, Esq., R. S. Johnson, Esq., John Lambert,
Esq., (Salisbury), Samuel Wilson, Esq., Colonel
Tucker, Isaac Mollett, Esq„ R. Woodgate, Esq., R.
Jupp, Esq., Francis Stokes, Esq., Press Granger,
Esq., Charles Geach, Esq. (Birmingham), Thomas
Gammon, Esq., Martin Thackerv, Esq., Ilenry
Gunning, Esq., T. Bailey, Esq. (Colne), Thomas
Besley, Esq., Richard Ware Cole, Esq., David
Blyth, Esq., Robert A. Blyth, Esq., Walton Little,
Esq., Samuel Tomkinson, Esq. (Liverpool), J.
Turner, Esq. (Othery, Somersetshire), Thomas Ro-
gerson, Esq. (Liverpool), W. D. Starling, Esq , Rev.
Richard Fletcher (Manchester), W. Geesin, Esq.,
J. B. Scott, Esq. (Manchester), F. Scheer, Esq.,
Edward Foster, Esq. (Cambridge), J. P. Burnard,
Esq., J. Brownsell, Esq., Leslie, Esq., J. W.
Langtree, Esq., John Pike, Esq. (Oxford), John
Poulter, Esq., &c.
At half-past seven o'clock the chair was taken by
Mr. Bright, M.P.
The minutes of the last meeting having been read
and confirmed,
The CHAIRMAN advanced to the front of the stage,
amidst the cheers of the meeting. He said it had
been intended that the Chairman of the Council of
the League should preside over the meeting that
evening, but when he (Mr. Bright) should explain the
cause of his absence, he was quite sure the meeting
would be satisfied that he was as usefully employed
where he was as he could possibly have been if he
were present there that night. He was engaged at
that moment in the preparations that were being made
in South Lancashire for the approaching election—
(Cheers)—and knowing, as he (Mr. Bright) did, how
many were his qualifications for the conduct of an
election, he was quite certain there was no man con-
nected with the contest who could be worse spared than
could George Wilson—(Hear, hear) —and when he
looked around upon that meeting, and thought how
often some of them had been there—how often that
building had been crowded with an enthusiastic
audience assembled—not for the purpose of being de-
lighted with the charms of oratory—but for the
purpose of exhibiting to the world their
full conviction that the League was right in the
position it had taken up, he was quite certain there
were thousands within those walls at that hour who
were anxious that that great contest which was now
commencing in Lancashire should end in the signal
triumph of the free trade cause.—(Cheers.) There
were small boroughs from which an independent voice
was scarcely to be expected. They viewed that con-
test, then, as one of infinitelygreater importance than
the contests in a dozen, or a score of boroughs like
Woodstock or Abingdon. The present meeting sym-
pathised with that contest.—(Cries of " Hear,
hear.") It was anxious to convey to those electors-
their cense of the importance of that contest;
and he feared even they, anxious as they were,-
did not regard that struggle as of all the importance
which it merited. He had met persons in the south
of England who spoke of Lancashire as if it were a
county of no more than ordinary importance—as
if they knew only this, that there were in that county
a number of grasping, avaricious, and some of them
rich manufacturers, with rather a dense population of
working men, brutalised, ill-paid, and degraded.
They seemed to think that Lancashire was merely a
county in which there were several considerable
towns of es very dull character, connected by rail-
roads ; that, in fact, every feature in that
county was one affording rather pain than
pleasure, and that it was to be looked
upon as a county only valuable for what
could be got out of it--one which the tourist and the
lover of the picturesque should on all occasions care-
fully avoid. Now, he (Mr. Bright) had been bore
in that county, and he had lived there something like
thirty years. He knew much of its population—
much of its trade, and much of its resources, and he
was quite convinced there was no other county in
England which could compare with it in real impor-
tance as affecting the welfare and power of this
empire.—(Hear, hear, and cheers.) it was the most
populous county in England; it was the most
manufacturing county, and, as far as its
productive power went, it was the richest county in
England ; and what had it done ? Time was when it
presented a very different aspect from that which it
now did. Some 240 years ago it was considered a
wilderness. Camden, in his survey, after having tra-
velled the country from York to Durham, men-
tioned that he proposed to enter Lancashire, and
that his mind was filled with apprehension at the
prospect. His remark was " And first of
,• the. people of Lancashire, whom I approach
with a kind of dread"—(in those latter
_days
there were some persons also who looked upon
Lancashire with dread (Cheers and laughter)
—" may it forbode no ill. However, that I may
not seem wanting to this county, I will run the ha-
zard of the attempt, hoping that the Divine assistance
• which has favoured me in the rest will not fail me in
. this." Camden mentioned some of the towns. Roch-
dale, (to which he had come first from York-
shire,) Bury, Blackburn, Preston, and Manchester.
But he spoke of those only as being towns of trade,
and as being principally connected with woollen
manufactures. He mentioned Liverpool, or Lither-
pool, or, as it was sometimes abbreviated, Lirpool, as
- a small place on the sea coast, and as the most conve-
nient spot for setting sail to Ireland. But, of Ash-
ton, Bolton, Oldham, Salford, and many other towns
now existing in Lancashire, he did not say one word';
and they had no reason to believe that such towns
were known at that time. It might be worth while
for a few moments to examine, and see how wonderful
was the increase in the value of property in that
county. In 1692, that was 150 years age, the whole
annual value was 97,0001. In 1841 the annual value
was 6,192,000/.—(Cheers.) Thus, giving an average
increase throughout that county, in the space of 150
years of not less than 6,3001. per cent. Now the
land-owners should look at that as showing how
trade was advantageous to them. Lancashire, as had
been truly said, contained just as much land as any
other county. That must be very clear.—(A voice,
"No, no.") He remembered a person standing on a
rising ground, and looking over the neighbourhood, re-
marking to another who stood near him that they seemed
to have a great deal of land in that neighbourhood,
which remark occasioned him some surprise ; but he
(Mr. Bright) supposed that it might be made with
equal truth of any other neighbourhood. Lan-
cashire had landowners, and was divided into districts,
called " hundreds."—(A voice—" Yorkshire," and
some interruption.) Of these hundreds, three were
agricultural, and three were manufacturing ; and the
improvement in the value of the agricultural portion
of the county amounted, in the time he had men-
tioned, to 3,5001. per cent., and that of the
manufacturing districts to 7,0001. per cent.
In one estate in the neighbourhood of Man-
chester—Charlton Hall estate—there was a mar-
vellous increase of its value. In the year 1590 it
sold for 3201.; in the' year 1644, that was, fifty-
four years later, it sold for 3001., the value thus not
having increased at all •, and in 1794 that same estate
was sold for 70,000/. The annual value of the town-
ship in which this estate was situate was 19,0001. in
1815 ; in 1829 it was 66,000/. ; in 1841 it was
137,000/.—(Hear, hear.) In a space of time of not
more than two hundred years, the value of this estate
had increased from 3001. to 3,000,0001.—(Loud
cheers.) There was another district in Lancashire
called the Forest of Rossendale, containing from
twenty-two to twenty-four square miles. In the
early part of the sixteenth century about eighty per-
sons lived in it; now it contained twenty-one thou-
sand. Land for farming purposes in that dis-
trict now let for ten times as much rent as it did
one hundred years ago ; and there were men
now living who recollected the time when they cul-
tivated certain farms which paid seven or eight
times more rent now than in their youth. The dis-
trict
in which Liverpool was situate was then known '
as 'West Derby Hundred. It was then assessed to
the-land-tax at 135,000/.; its annual value was now
2,124,000/.—(Cheers)—being an advance of more
than 5,900 per cent.—(Hear, hear.) Liverpool, 150
years ago, was not larger than Wigan at the present
time. It was a mean fishing village then—now it
was the largest sea-port in England, perhaps in the
whole world.—(Hear, hear.) What was it that pro-
duced this wonderful change in Lancashire ? Was
it the landed proprietors of the county ?—(No, no.)
About 44 years ago, Mr. Whittaker, in his " His-
tory of Whalley," describing the landed proprietors
of Lancashire as they were 2JO years ago, says they
were men fond of the married life.—(Laughter.)
He mentions they were fond of quiet, domestic com-
forts, and had little curiosity and ambition.—
(Laughter.) They resided much at home, and pur-
sued domestic amusements, which were more gross
than costly. •.He says he only met with one literary
character who was possessed of the family estate.—
, (Laughter.) The landed proprietors, if they were
men of this character, did not make Lancashire
what it was now. There were a number of old
houses there, where old families used to reside.
Those families were now extinct; they were passed by
in the race by a new class of men.—(Hear, hear.)
Their mansions were now inhabited. by the thrifty
and industrious manufacturers, and the old families
had been swept away from the southern division of
the county. Not that there was any war against

them, for they hod the same chances as other men
hut, being born to broad acree they did no think it
accessory to cultivate their minds, are'. exert theta-
s:dyes, like other reen.—(ileac, hear.) The inven-
tions of Watt and Ark w right enabled others to sur-
pass them, and those who were once magnates in the
country were now nowhere, and a new class of men
were leading on its dense population.—(Loud cheers.)
It was the industry and intelligence and perseverance
of the manufacturing population that made Lan-
cashire what it was. Its coal and iron were invalu—
able, but they were underneath the surface for ages
before. • It was only in later times—in fact, in their
own generation—that they had learned to bring them
up, and manufacture from them those machines which
so many despised; but which enabled the population
of Lancashire to stretch out their hands to every
district on the face of the earth, and make the riches
and prodects of other countries supply their own
wants.— (Cheers.) And that little soft flakey substance
which they took from the pod of the cotton tree,
and which was first imported into this county (Lan-
cashire) about seventy or eighty years ago—it was
the fibre which they got from this that had given that
county its greatness.—(Cheers.) Lancashire was a
child of trade and industry in its moat remarkable
form.—(Cheers.) That trade was, not long ago, an
infant struggling into life ; it was now grown up, and
was become a giant of enormous proportions ; and yet
that giant, great and powerful as it was, was lying
prostrate under the fetters and shackles which an
ignorant, and short-sighted, and tyrannical legislation
bound around it.—(Loud cheers.) The question
now was, would the people of South Lan-
' cashire any longer endure those fetters ?
or would they allow themselves to be bound by them
for ever? Would they allow them to be rivetted
firmly, or would they snap them asunder, and give
freedom to this giant to become more powerful, and
give a more extensive growth to that great county
and this great empire ?—(Cheers.) If the electors of
South Lancashire knew how much depended on the
votes they would give, would there be any man in
that county who would go to ask their suffrages for
that worst, and vilest, and most pestilent of all curses
—the corn-laws ?—(Cheers.) If these electors were
conscious, and he believed many of them were, that
the disasters of the last five years owed their origin to
that law—if they knew that that law had cast their
merchants from prosperity to ruin—that it had
driven many thriving shopkeepers and traders into
misery and ruin, and even expatriation—that it had
desolated hundreds of thousands of cottages, and car-
ried poverty and sorrow . among millions of the
people. If they knew all this, did they think
they would give their voices on this occasion in
favour of perpetuating the most blind folly that ever
entered into the minds of any legislators upon earth.
—(Loud cheers.) If those electors saw this meeting
—if they had before their eyes 4,000 of their coun-
trymen who looked into their hearts and consciences
—to see if there dwelt any care for their coun-
try's good—was there one of them who would
have such callousness and hardness of disposi-
tion as to vote for the perpetuation of such an
evil? He had hopes that the result of the struggle
would be glorious to the country.—(Hear, hear.)
Free trade was gaining ground everywhere. It might
be they would not find that the minority now in Par-
liament would speedily become a majority—it might
be there were portions of the public that sneered at
their efforts—they wholly denied that they were
making any progress, and which, if they could,
would extinguish their efforts altogether. 'But,
notwithstanding, the wave was swelling on,
and in public and private life they found
that the delusions about protection were dispelled,
and that the truth of free trade principles was be-
coming apparent to all minds.—(Loud cheers.) There
was one subject of congratulation in looking at
what was now going on in South Lancashire. The
free trade candidate was, perhaps, the most ex-
tensive merchant in this country, and almost in the
whole world.—(Hear, hear.) He was a merchant of
long standing and experience, great wealth and high
character—he had a large property invested in
commercial undertakings, and was also a proprietor
of the soil. In business he was mainly connected
with the trade of the United States of America. He
looked on him as the better candidate for that.—
(Cheers.) lie had extensive establishments there,
and he knew how abundantly Providence had given
to that country the means of supplying the wants of
this, and how eminently the manufacturing skill and
industry of this country were calculated to give abun-
dant blessings to that country in exchange for what
they gave us.—(Cheers) Why, he was like a man
who stood on the shore of the island representing
the millions who worked in this country to clothe
the inhabitants of the prairies in America, and he
stood there to receive that which America produced,
and which this country asked for ; and were it not
. for this law, which he was going into Parliament to
uproot, how easily might they bring not only the
cotton, rice, and tobacco of America into this
country, but food, substantial food for the people,
for the want of which thousands of their fellow
countrymen were suffering the deepest privations ?
(Cheers.) Considering the responses which met the
sentiments he uttered, he might conclude that there
was no want amongst those who filled the theatre of
deep and earnest feelings for the success of this strug-
gle.----(Hear.) If they who were more immediately
connected with them might in the:meetings held there,
in the speeches they made, in the letters they wrote,
communicate to the 18,000 electors of Lancashire,
who were interested in this decision, the feelings
of the citizens of this metropolis, represented by the
thousands whom he saw present, he prayed—he im-
plored—he exhorted—and he besought them by all
they held sacred and valuable, to cast away all the
trammels of party feeling—all the old war cries of
faction—and declare that the flag under which they
would fight should be that which was inscribed with
Free trade all over the world, and perfect justice to the
people of this country.—(The Hon. Gentleman sat
down amidst loud cheers.)
Mr. JAMES WILSON then came forward and ad-
dressed the meeting. He said he did not appear there
to amuse or excite them, but rather to endeavour to
throw some light on a few fallacies which, being
little understood, operated to the prejudice of free
' trade in certain circles. As there was some ap-
pearance of reasonableness in those fallacies it was
the more incumhent on him to try and remove them.
The two points on which he wished to address
them were these—They were charged with saying
that the corn-laws were disastrous to trade in conse-
quence of the high prices which they inflicted on the
consumers, and then with saying that free trade
would not injure the interests of the agriculturists,
and would have even little influence on relative prices.
Now those were two statements which he was willing
to admit bore on the face-of them some appearance of
inconsistency, yet he believed nothing was more easy
than to prove that both were correct.—(Hear, hear.)
It should always be borne in mind that dearness and
cheapness might be produced by two distinct causes.
Dearness might be produced on the one hand by
scarcity, and on the other by large consumptibility
on the part of' the community. If dearness were
produced by scarcity, then price kept no relative
proportion to the means of the community to pur-
chase the article. If, on the other hand, dearness
were produced only by a large demand for the com-
modity, it argued, in the first place, a great con-
sumptibility and the wealthy condition of the con-
sumers in order to produce that dearness. Cheapness,
on the other hand, might be produced by two causes.
It might he produced by plenty, and then it was a
blessing ; or it might be produced, as it had been for
the last two or three years, by an inability on the
part of the consumer to command even the first neces-
saries of life. Now, what he contended was, that the
principles of restriction and monopoly had a tendency
to create the dearness which was objectionable, be-
cause it was a dearness arising from scarcity e that
free,trade, on the other hand, although,if followed out,
it might produce dearness, would only produce it in
consequence of this increased wealth and the
increased means of consumption.—(Hear, hear.) He
contended also that restriction had a tendency
to produce cheapness, but not the cheapness which
was derived from plenty, but the cheapness which
arose from diminished means on the part of the con-
sumer.—(Cheers.) The very object and aim of the
corn-laws, and of their commercial laws generally,
was to restrict quantity. If they restricted quantity,
the first effect might be, he admitted, to raise prices.
But the first, tendency of restricted quantity was to
restrict trade ; the next tendency was to restrict em-
ployment ; the next tendency was to restrict the
means of consumption ; and the next, and last, ten-
dency was an impossibility to consume, and
a diminished price. (Loud cheering.) On
those grounds, therefore, he contended that
neither the corn-laws nor any other commercial
restriction could ultimately be of any service even to
those for whose benefit they were intended. Although
such laws might first produce a high price, that high
price was delusion, it could not be maintained. Ber-
-1 gains were made which could not be maintained;
contracts were entered into which ended in nothing,
but disappointment; and the resources of this com-
munity were sapped to their foundation. How
clearly and palpably was this effect exhibited
in the case of this restriction, which they
were assembled to oppose. The first tendency
of the corn-law was to restrict quantity and
raise price. But the next tendency was to destroy
trade. The farmer, having made his contract, cal-
culating on a high price, found that the means of the
consumer had been destroyed, and the price fell, to
the disappointment of the farmer, and to the ruin of
all around him.—(Hear, hear.) If they had free
trade in corn, the first tendency would be to increase
the quantity, and that would, perhaps, diminish the
price. But, with an increased quantity, they
would have increased trade; with increased
trade, they would have increased employment
for their ships, for their sailors, for their millers, and
for all those ho were engagekin the manufacture of

emeeeeeeeemeeeee-kee.e...........eeeeremretemeealeeewei,eee
those goods which they gave in exchange for t
imeert..—(Cheers.) Therefore he contended, Vies,
although the first effect of free trade might be to r
'hoe price, the ultimate effect would be to raise iot,
higher than it could possibly be under a system
restriction. There was no error into which __
ei
were more ept to fall than that of attribu,Cinegn
too much importance to mere price. 1% hof
they talked, for instance, of the reductiont
told
the duty on sugar, they were incidentally
that a farthing, or even a penny, a Pilo,
could not make any material difference to the ca._
sumer. Now, even if it made no difference in
at all, if the only effect were to give them an tia(l,`.
tional quantity of sugar, the change could not but be
beneficial. to the country.—(Hear, hear.) If they
imported a larger quantity of sugar, and Paid,erd
same price, nothing in his opinion could afford
stronger evidence that an advantage had bele
conferred on the community, because it sou
prove that by the additional trade which had' he.er.
preated, the wealth of the community had been.';o
creased to such a degree that they
pay for the larger quantity the same price wheicti
they had paid for the smaller.—(Cheers.) They a,9..
seen some of those principles illustrated in a remarbeg.
able manner during the past year. They had.,r
gun last year with extraordinary low prices. fiese.
cultural produce of every description was very chelro:
manufactured goods of every description were If:a
cheap; and the raw material was cheaper than it Pot
ever been known to be before. In consequenetee
the extreme cheapness, and in accordance with their
to
principles, which for many years had been as truths
could afford. h
their operation as the barometer in indicating of
state of the weather—(Cheers)—in conseellelhat
the cheapness they found a revival of trade. , peg
revival of trade had had a great influence nxi-s.
prices. During the last year there had been an.ods
creased import of many of the most importante'tioe
of raw material; and one of them, which wes'nce
before the Legislature, afforded triumphant eeldend
of the truth of their principles. The Duitehert
Richmond complained bitterly because Sir R°, on
Peel had made up his mind to reduce the duty
foreign wool, believing that the effect wool° :• Tof• f
diminish the price of the fleeces which were o jiLl; r,)
his flocks in the north of Scotland.—(Laerte-tes
Now, if he had taken the trouble to look iar" he
statistics of the trade of wool In this cottall:''tici
would have found, that just in proportion as the r;tel
of wool had been high, they had icar'pee
largely from abroad, and that in those ) .
when their imports were the smallest s'io
amount, the price of home-grown wool was-lot
the smallest. In 1819, foreign wool was sublet ill
duty of 6d. per pound. Their imports were then,
O
about 19 millions of pounds weight. Mr. H tea
induced the Legislature of that day to reduce is,
duty to a penny per pound. The consequence fir
that, in a few years, the import of wool gradually, of
creased, until, in 1836, it amounted to 64 millte
pounds. During that period the price of home'gr oet
wool, instead of falling, rose from 13d. to 19°•856,
pound. It was very remarkable, that since, 1
during the bad years of trade, the import of not'
wool had fallen from 64 millions of pounds to 40,,4
lions of pounds, which was the amount in 1842; 90
that, during that period, wool bed fallen in rile
the absence of twenty millions of pounds, in the'
se,
of foreign competition, from 18d. to 10d. per 13181.
During the last year they had had a little ch' re.
He held in his hand a return of the corallse
tive trade of the three first months of the, tee
year and the three first months ef three
present year. He found that in the firs!
months of last year they imported 4# e, tie
lions of pounds ; in the first three months
present year they imported 9i millions of P°'l-re'
and at the present moment the English growers.
ceived 25 per cent. more than he received last Chef
So true were free trade principles that the mareerets
were examined the more did they appear to °Piro
as an index to the trade of the country, Duke
month to month. He would refer the, notion
of Richmond, and all who were against this red 'hen
to the solution of this question. Last year, as of
they imported four and a half millions of
wool, the price was 10d. per pound ; this year, -0,0
they imported nine and a half millions, the Prie!eteer
ls. ld.—(Hear, hear.) But he turned to twe-e.le
fact ; he looked to the exports of manufactured gy70.4
They could not buy without also sellinge• itbroel
quite obvious that if they received more from In
eio
they would export more.—(Hear, hear.) -111,;ott.
first three months of last year, when they were imrloll
ing very little wool, and when wool was at 'Poll
price, they exported 1,300,0001. worth of Talllittle 00;
woollen goods. In the first three months of the redo
year, they had exported 1,700,000/. worth of the S'
of.
description of goods. The increased expert' If
forded an explanation of the increased imports.keie
the principle of restriction were followed out, °di
would necessarily be a diminution of exports, all All
decrease of employment, and increasing povertYP,,' ea
hands. On the other hand, the more free
principles were acted upon, the more would "-tee
flourish, and the more would it contribute teteee,
wants of the whole country. The principle' ° .be
striction were principles which, if acted uP°l',.erf,
came more difficult at every stage ; on the 031)"^e it
the principles of free trade, if acted upon, becan't tee
every stage more easy, and diffused more w' if
benefits which resulted from them. Their POI" eo•
et
were by no means new. There had never been atoll
statesman, a great philosopher, or a great Inerhetiosa,
no, not even a great landowner, with etd,igeete
views, who had not, in one way or other, ae'Y teeeh
those principles. Eighty years ago Lord Chi! tt of
irk the House of Lords, speaking of the extensio or,
the trade of the country, said-et; Ido o.tetion
pair of my country, and I have no °lel owe
to state what, in my opinion, would raition;
the country to its once flourishing con re
Give freedom to commerce, lighten the PreS,s'-yolic
taxation, and you will have no complaining 'nee
streets. As commerce is always 014°7 sell,
equivalents, a nation that will not buy cane to
and every restriction of imports is an obstacle 3 the
ports. On the other hand, the more we o'lllloo
productions of foreign nations, the more ex
et
the
becomes their demand for our commodities. 'lig Or
accursed system of our corn-laws be grad° 'ol'
cautiously abrogated, and allow the cheae4sgieeics
tural produce of the north of Europe and
to be freely introduced, and we shall obtain :0• 0°
tended vent for our manufactures."—(Cheers./ 010
principles had been reiterated by almost eerie,
who was celebrated in history. There Was the 081
est perverseness, however, on the part of aloe-
Government, for they excluded those articles which
they really wanted, and admitted those, eOl
they did not want. A friend of his had 1"-trestie
ployed, three or four years ago to negotiate a, 11)
with France to admit our hardware and
French would only consent to enter into 0%001
on the condition that we exported our flax:1;11;1c oninelli
The stipulat:on was agreed to; the Eng":„-i 0 • ,
cutler)" t' rotf
lecturers, on being consulted, were so lihe'r,t yetof
to. offer any objection. Our Government, I°t-stion
introduced a Bill, permitting the free exPerthat thou
machinery, as it was very right and prefer "„orts'ke
should have done.—(Cheers.) The free erootitc;
of machinery being thus permitted from this eftrelli
what was the first step adopted by thetiee (211!no
Government? They placed a large protfeeneetst'le
on its importation.—(Cheers.) On the 1111[eey dog
of cotton machinery into France, welch food
not want, they placed a duty of thi,`stionh,
per hundred kilogrammes, and on the irni)°.oo, to
ter
flax machinery, which they had been so an,sia prato
tain, and which they did want, they place" (Clieerty
five duty of one hundred kilogrammes•Tot on 4,
Now this was the explanation of this concii!'ed to `eit
part of the French Government : they Wi6il to
eel JO)
courage the manufacture of flax niacin,
_eve
own country, and therefore they impose this vess-rte
upon its importation.—(Cheers.) Goveith
more absurd than the conduct of our own fault 0,10
ment. Our Ministry had no right to fiat' Let then'
the French Government for their conduct.they eioeeta,
look at our own Custom-house Acts, and bate to ere
find that they had no reason to congr3elinfea
selves. Those things which they mos! ";he free_eof,
kept out by a prohibitive duty, while
stank in ne7sed
portation of articles, which they did not sta_eerecter_4o
was permitted. The same perverseness_ 7,:rbere,"ool.
our legislation with regard to our colonlesoo foreeot
,one article, a principal article of exportalin sofco'ri of
colonies, but which was not reducedpsoipt-14....--
, quantity by the colonies to supply
this country, he meant the article in of
(Cheers.) The quantity of sugar prona_"sueleptionthe
colonies was not sufficient for the e__n,eoted
this country, and yet that sugar wasp
tior.
_..5 in
imposition of a very high rate t
o ginistee for
he considered that the conduct the
of
re.,tritial_Pn_t of
regard to this article of sugar was a great eoodue „ea
free trade principles. What had beeietn7e,hey sstnag_lar
the. or
our
the Ministers on the sugar questione r
labour tool'
that they would only permit freo, co to o
to be brought into the market . free
_to
had always' been found to be the great
the .jieelf
Now, he believed that the frienroes_Lest adOcu'rel
of personal liberty ; but he deniT
vas
at
_ro.
than
to conduce to the abolition of slalea Jess du educe
which the Government was pursuengr‘; TheY Y
posed to admit free labour stager a_t_rov,e, the En
these
sugar the produce of slave labour.d
fret
countries in which sugar wasp
annuo
.5
coo,
hour, was about 93,000 tons
Pered into thleteleete
40,000 tons of this would be import
em tee leed fool
be suljr f
try, thus withdrawing that amoutdat teu
of the world. This quantity eve, states 0
entries
slave labour countries—from the the other Teiencl
America. Holland, Germany, an the de upon
in the supply of sugar, ~'";...eelabollf 'der
of continental Europe, would Inal‘_elnPseauent
,oar
our taking these 40,000 tons gartnale,ould
from Java, Sumatra, and Manilla•eeeted,
11 he rev
many, an Europe genera YI

refine up this deficiency fiom Cuba, the Brazils and
the markets of South America ; sothat our refusing
to take sugar, the produce of those countries, would
not at all diminish the production of sugar in the
slate States of SOuth America. The effect would be
this, that sugar, the produce of slave-labour, which
was not allowed to be consumed in England, would
he shipped fors—Holland - and Germany from the
in Brazils and Cuba in English ships, would be paid for
English goods—would be even imported into
-rsngland to be refined here, and re-exported,
and yet the English consumer would not be per-
mitted to use it. But he contended that by carrying
it in English ships and paring for it in English pro-
duce, we should be just as much encouraging slave
labour as if we consumed it in England.—(Cheers.)
The West Indian planters had been paid a compensa-
tion of twenty millions for the abolition of slavery.
The protection which was still continued to them
was considered small in comparison with that which
they had hitherto enjoyed, but still it was enormous.
Twenty millions had been granted them as compen-
sation fur the abolition of slavery. Now, the pro-
tection which was granted to them on their sugar
amounted to three millions and a half more per annum.
They hail received infinitely more than the amount
granted to them as compensation in the shape of pro-
tection—and it would have been cheaper to have
granted the one hundred millions at once than to have
continued these protective duties.—(Cheers.) They
would hare been already several millions in pocket if
they had adopted such a course.—(Cheers.) He
would now briefly allude to a question which had re-
cently occupied a great deal of the public mind—he
meant the currency question. He would only make
few brief remarks on the subject, and that only as
far as it was connected with the subject more imme-
diately before the meeting. He did not intend to
discuss the currency question ; but inasmuch as the
question of the currency was intimately connected
With the question of free trade, and the abolition of
traehecorn-laws, he thought it not inappropriate to
sie,,,kta 4, few remarks on the subject.—(Cheers.)
the sub: deal had been said by the Prime Minister on
and et of the important question of the currency;'
correct ether the theory of the Prime Minister was
or
subject occu not, there could be no doubt but the
the pied the attention of the public mind at
i,,‘ Present moment. He would endeavour to follow
sl,exatnple of the Prime Minister in treating this
J.eet, and to treat it in a popular manner. Now
donna the last ten years the Bank of England had
Wl'sessed the power of regulating the currency.
d ey professed to contract the currency when the
?Mind for bullion from abroad compelled the export
of bullion, and to expand it when the importation of
nilllion enabled them to do so. Thus, when
there„_ was a, disposition for bullion to flow out
reY contracted the currency so as to induce bullion
;'`) flow back again into their coffers, and by contract-
ing the issues they lowered the price of cotton, of
calicoes, of all articles of manufactures and produce,
ttts to induce foreigners :o send back the bullion to
Country, by giving a greater amount of produce
.101' it than they had previously been enabled to pro-
Qctn.% This was what the Bank had professed to do,
ut which it had not been enabled altogether to ac-
traPlish. It had not been sufficiently powerful to
Qoinplish this object, and what the Government
w intended to do was this: it was intended to
create a body that should be powerful enough to
that,
out this principle to the most rigid extent. So
u'at, 'whenever the exchanges turned against us, as they
Would immediately—if they lost a million of bullion
`—they would immediately take two millions of notes
!ta'aY to contract the currency. Now it was almost
Irapossible that they could ever have any very im-
Portant derangement of the currency for any length
of f time, except from a deficient harvest. The reason
this Was that the necessity for bread was greater
an the necessity for any other article, and in order
to obtain it, every sacrifice must be made. If the
exchanges were to turn against this country, in con-
sequence of too great an importation 'of silk, or wool,
u_r cotton, or other such articles, it would be very
the to contract our consumption, and by that means
fle, evil would very soon become rectified. But, if
hutuil.harrests should come, a great amount of the
aulhon would of necessity go out of the country, and
oteh:repomling sacrifice in the exchanges and upon
tended r emnmodities would ensue. Therefore, he con-
th
L that, if there was a tendency upon the part of
exchanges to turn against us, it must, of neces-
3', arise from had harvests, for there were no means
puruarding against such calamities. He was sup-
teaf in this opinion by all experience, for there had
was
been similar derangements. In 1838 there
na a deficient harvest, succeeded banother deficient
'arvest in 1839. In 1839 the Bank. had 9,000,0001.
aclfb theyulli its coffers. During the whole of that
lterere obliged to import corn. They had no
so .aatite ; they were compelled, necessitated to do
of
bad before the end of the year not a particle
a un
llion was left in the coffers of the Bank,
they found themselves in a position
of bpng obliged to borrow 2400,000/. from the Bank
the ranee--(Cheers.) Regulations in the currency,
Of refore, bet contended, depended upon the necessity
s-al:Porting corn
when they had a deficient harvest.
this,
, the
that measure which sir R. Peel proposed was
should upon a turn in the exchanges, the currency
011,7' Panediately be contracted, to suspend the '
in-
co °' bullion, in order to make goods go out
New, by this arrangement, the commercial
would have to sacrifice their interests just
at 111-e4 as Under the old system. Let it be un r-
-05"A that he
Peel. was not complaining of the measure of
'els R.
as it
Iv eel. It proceeded on ajust principle, as far
toot ent ; but what he said was, it did not go to the
be (1(,)f the evil, which it pretended to cure. Now
so,-Ilst` 174- Wilaon) wished to call the attention of the
latent and the broker of Liverpool at this partieu-
fact,, ali'ent, and the merchant in London,- the manu-
n re
%suer' ~ shopkeeper, and trader of every class—the
PaPilla;• the landtoi*:is themselves, and the labouring
attence-I°ll above all, to what must be the conse-
In the es of this law, if stringently' married into effect
defici ease of a deficient harvest. Now, suppose a
IB3Bent harvest was to take place, as in the year
Pose Chas no one could say that it would not---snp-
eore. s"Y were obliged to import a quantity of' foretel)
eouht ° as to cause the exchanges to turn against this
r ria.l.l*
l
rY' the Bank of England would be called upon
Mty f on of bullion, and then would arise a neces-
c
notes• "attracting the currency by two millions of
/1' The 13' discount bills ; they
Bank would cease. to
te!e1(1 sell out th •
° millio their securities until they got in the
seaser,„ ns of notes ; and the consequence of that
acqn waulti be, that the commercial portion of the
v ,Munit
Mere
Y would be anxious to effect sales of their
411ere8:"'nlodities, and no buyers would be found.
Ikreciat. ould he an immediate,
a 'on de
rapid, and sudden cle-
udd the value of property. There would be
tures
oefn,depreciation in the value of all the manufac-
Nue oftne country, and a sudden depreciation in the
come raw materials. Ruin, in consequence, would
eotton fPcel the merchant, who, expecting a cargo of
flue and rcnn America, had accepted bills to the full
the amount or the cargo. What would
%vital situation of the merchant connected
fr the
p, East Indies, who, expecting a cargo
ss-ruckist, „,/thaY, had accepted bills to the full
iattie,;,""en he found that the cargo, on its arrival,
"-„etlepreeieel,ated in value upwards of 25 per cent. ?
neeeuisatinn in the value of manufactures also must
:tntld 14,1.. Y ensue, and that depreciation in value
'Jot %ea:Mutely reach agricultural produce. He did
by Sir of the say that this would be the immediate
Sir It se measure which had been brought forward
17n, a ?wit Peel. He would, however, say ,this,
ne riu,
h.
hoped
w: Minister propounding a measure, which
• "Ped. "aid cure fluctuati.ms—a measure which,
Agent% ' would secure the interests of trade, menu-
treteet'aand the working population—which would
, a Al,• B.adden depression and a sudden crisis—
%tr. a
re or , Ler of this country could propose a mea-
that .
• shdin, kind with such an object, and retain
Tes an, 116e-scale, and the corn-law at the bottom
It.ssiehil country Could not imagine.—(Loud cheers.)
xt e there could' never be in a prosperous state
• mwas b was no regular trade in corn.—(Cheers.)
ade was no
r, co they had not a regular and uniform
• ey occurs that frequent derangements of the cur-
d.
The greatest amount of corn that
s.er
4„ t
az
bun e
dreg
one time in stock in this country
quarters only, about sufficient for
taeditis 3ra consumption. The- dealers in other com-
-4,141'5u-ses_e,nntlid not carry on their business unless they
Ztheir--"ciearteithr ten or twelve months' consumption
doubt th mouses.—(Hear, hear.) Now, he had
at in the first week that the measure of
eek es pale ame into operation—he meant the first
Nyotiieta which its operation would be felt—which
tetessit„7,_Pin_bahly, in two years time, when a ne-
thne3guemni?.
had
for a counteraction of the cur-
tlt first ad not the least doubt that in
wee k the merchants of London and
ht,'"Pool
ese on d lose more largely than the
head this
collected,
Which the Anti-Corn-law League
th theJneuairs ollected, for the purpose of doing away
°oldthe corn-laws.—(Cheers.) It
it well for t°life merchant to look to this—aye,
..",d be w
,0 It. The 11 for the landlords themselves to look
27uke of Richmond had complained of his
'44roble a year on his salmon fisheries. That
Possess
from Duke
such
the loss to the tariff. It
h cause, but from the diminished
rift, ennstimption in the people, for, under the
, about 200lb-
"Porteci. , s- only of foreign Salmon had been
ke4rt cent•
bavvviny did they hear of fifteen and twenty
in-rents ? tiF__ been returned last year upon tliss
trr ef Ine simple reason was, that the
ite,nish , consumption in
(I.tiestioaeocin., This the people had
was not, therefore, a inereliant's
n• ieechaa__Y. It was a landowner's question as well
indiss!_aquu.e_stion, for the two interests were
t 1.44 th "NY together. And he had no doubt
e Landlords themselv avourn calmly a d es were t, consider the
d see that' :1 without prejudice, Onst, they
_ the.-labours of the Anti-Coen-WY
ttreattear,e,re only directed towards the general in-
' the Whole COlntaiWity.--(Cheers)

• .
theCuranmics then introduced to the meeting
Mr. Turner, one of those tenant-farmers who had
attended at the agricultural meeting lately held in
Bridgewater, in Somersetshire, at which a resolution
in favour of a total repeal of the corn-laws was passed,
Mr. Turner, a farmer holding between 300 and 400
acres of land, being one of the most intelligent of his
order, seconding the resolution.--(Cheers.)

Mr. TURNER then came forward, and was received
with loud cheering: He thought an apology was due
from him, for venturing to address so magnificent an
audience as that which he then saw before him. He
thought he might, however, ask for some indulgence
and forbearance, seeing that, with the exception of
having proposed a vote of thanks to the Anti-Corn •
law League, at a county meeting, that was the first
time he had ever attempted to address a public meet-
ing on any subject whatever. He could assure them
that he was a bona fide tenant-farmer.—(Cheers.) He
was-one of those whose every farthing was invested
in the cultivation of the soil, and it, therefore, might
be easily imagined that in advocating free trade prin-
ciples he did not wish to injure the tenant-farmers of
the country. He must acknowledge that he was
placed in some difficulty in having to follow such
eloquent speakers as those who had that evening pre-
ceded him, but he came forward on that occasion in
the hope, that by his example others of his
order, would be inducedto come forward in support
of the principle lie was there to advocate.---:(Cheers.)
There was a great difficulty in finding anything novel
upon this subject. The preceding speakers had re-
marked upon this ; and how much more should he
feel a difficulty. There was one great objection to
the corn-laws, that they prevented those improve-
ments being made which would undoubtedly take
place under a lengthened tenure. In the present un-
certain state of the law farmers were unwilling to
take leases at the existing high rents, even if land-
lords were disposed to make them.—(Hear, hear.)
But landlords were not so disposed, and why ? They
must be aware of the reason—to advance political
purposes. The circumstance of being compelled to
pay high rents induced the farmer to regard the
price of the article more than the produce of the land.
To illustrate what he meant, he would suppose an are-
ble farm which averaged 20 bushels of wheat per acre.
The wheat sold under present prices at Bs. per bushel.
Now if the produce of that farm could be increased
to 40 bushels per acre, would it not be better for the
farmer to sell the grain at 6s. a bushel ? Why the
thing was manifest'. Notwithstanding what was
called the low price, he would be a gainer of 2s. a
bushel. Now this appeared to him se convincing a
fact, that he wondered the landlords and tenant-
farmers had not before perceived it. .They were all
aware that the corn-laws had a tendency to create
fluctuations in price, so that, as he had before re-
marked, even where the landlords were disposed to
grant a lease of seven years, the farmers were
in many instances afraid to accept it. He (Mr. T.)
was one of those who held a farm on a seven years'
tenure, and he knew well that the landlords were
afraid of parting with the least portion of the power
they now possessed over their tenantry, and which
they so disreputably-employed.—(Loud cries of Hear,
hear.) The gentleman who had just preceded him
had so indisputably demonstrated that the corn laws
restricted trade, that they were injurious to commerce
and manufactures, that the one could not thrive where
the other did not prosper, nor the one he depressed
but at the expense of 'the ocher, that it was
altogether needless for him to recapitulate
those arguments. Now, it must also be admitted,
that fluctuation in price prevented what was so de-
sirable—an adjustment of rent; so that the old pro-
verb of " Live and let live" could not well be car-
ried into operation.—(Loud cheers.) Suppose that
the land agent calculated on an average of the prices
of wheat for six years, in order to fix a rent, which
the tenant should pay for an arable farm. Did not
that seem fair and equitable ?—(Hear, hear.) Yet it
was not so. And why ? Becau,e in nine cases out
of ten the crops of tha tenant-farmer did not reach
the average price. The generality of farmers, he was
sorry to say, were needy. They had nothing to fall
back upon. They must sell at all risks to meet pre-
sent emergencies. In short, the corn must be sold
as soon as thrashed. The consequence of this gene-
ral necessity was, that between Michaelmas and
Christmas there was a glut of corn in the market.
In these three months the prices were lowered; then
in the six months which intervened between
Christmas and the period at which the harvest
arrived at maturity, only those farmers who had
capital enough to meet the pressing emergencies of
the harvest season were enabled to keep their corn
over for high prices.—(Hear, hear.) There were
some farmers in the neighbourhood in which he re-
sided (but they were not numerous) whose means
enabled them to keep the wheat produce of their
farms over from one year to the other.
But these men had assured him that such was the
uncertainty and fluctuation of the corn market,
that somehow or another they had been generally
losers, and fared worse than those who had been
obliged to sell their corn within the year. The po-
sition of the landlords was by no means enviable. It
was the natural desire of mankind to maintain a cre-
ditable character with their fellow-creatures, but he
was sorry to say the proceedings of this body did not
entitle them to be regarded in a very favourable
point of view, and the day would come when they
would look back upon their conduct with feelings of
shame.—(Loud cries of " Hear.") Again, he felt
bound to say, and he said it with equal regret and
sincerity, that the corn-laws had been productive of
most calamitous results.—(Hear.) At the present mo-
ment the great bulk of the farmers were paying
rack-rents. Those who had capital were paying those
rents out of it, and those who had not, were in a de-
plorable condition. These were facts that might be
relied upon. His knowledge of them was derived
from sad experience. Those farmers who had not the
command of capital were, as had been told them by
Mr. Summers, in a condition bordering upon insol-
vency. Mr. Summers' speech had been received with
astonishment in the neighbourhood from where he
(Mr. Turner) came, but he now came forward to cor-
roborate the statement of Mr. Summers.—(Hear.)
Tile farm labourers, too, were in a most depressed
condition ; they were in. the most abject misery that
it was possible for Mart to conceive. To picture to
them faithfully and truly the condition of these men,
would be a task as painful to his own feelings as it
would be harrowing to the feelings of those
who heard them. He was sure those who
listened to him, notwithstanding all that had,
been said about the national dislike entertained by
artisans towards agricultural labourers, would syin
pathise deeply in the condition of those unhappy men.
He had been frequently asked by his brother farmers
if free trade would benefit them, and if there was any
probability of free trade benefiting their condition.
He had always told them that he believed free trade
would benefit their condition ; and he felt convinced
that it would do so. These men were now suffering
under severe privations, and he could not conceive
how, by any possibility, they could be placed in a
worse condition than they ivere.—(Hear, hear.) The
fact was, these tenant-farmers were, for the most part,
uneducated men. They had been unaccustomed to
habits of thinking, and looked only to present
circumstances and their immediate results.—
(Hear, hear.) But the Anti-Corn-law League
had done much towards disseminating knowledge
among them, and through the tracts circulated by that
useful body, they now began to believe that they
were in a position to compete with any of the corn
growers of any other country in the world.—(Hear,
hear.) The first question he had to consider was,
whether there were more mouths to eat than there was
corn to be had in this country ? Whether the pro-
duce of this country was equal to the consumption of
its inhabitants? ft was apparent that such was not the
case. Then was it not necessary to import corn from
abroad ? How was the surplus to be produced ?
Must it not come from foreign countries ? Some of
the farmers who opposed the repeal of the corn-laws
thought that if there were a free trade in corn it would
flow into this country like water in the river,
without obstruction, and superabundant. These
people seemed to forget that, in this country at least,
there was an expense of 6/. or 71. in cultivating an
acre of wheat. They did not calculate that it would
cost anything at all abroad. They appeared to be-
lieve that corn grew in foreign countries sponta-
nttotisly, and that it could be picked up on the banks
of the rivers, without cultivation. If these men read
and considered for themselves, they would soon think
differently. In the report made by Mr. Meek, in
1841, as to the capacities of the different.corn-growing
countries, the only country in which the cultivation
of the soil was particularly cheap, and from which
competition might be most dreaded, was Polish Prussia,
and in Polish Prussia there were bad roads, no canals,
no railroads, and, in short, the expenses of carriage,
and the freight and other expenses of transmission to
this country, would leave the English farmer little to
dread. Now in the Channel Islands, free trade prin-
ciples had been tested. In these places corn had been
imported free of duty, yet home-grown corn. had
averaged 475. per quarter for the last seven years,
which circumstance clearly proved that corn would
not descend to so low a price as had been anticipated,
Then there was another great argument in favour of
free trade principles—reciprocity of dealings, mutual
intercourse, and eitended connexion—he would not
say with foreigners, he disliked thl3 war! "foreigners,"
but with their neighbours abroad.—(Loud and pro-
Practed cheering.) He felt perfectly convinced that
if wu iceorted their corn, they would import our mer-
chandise. in fact, ;Tr. Gladstone had already ad-
mitted so much in the (tebal the tariff.
When the question of importation of caftle wst in-
trod4e94., thts cpswer to that proposition by the
country gentiegon kee4 that an exceeding loss would
be inflicted upon the farmers,
#o\st he pliir, lyner)
said that, if we were to import catti@ 6904 44Fgaly
Ive should export manufactures in proportion.
.This
appessreci to him to be an established, an admitted
fact. Ho we ld 40t have appeared among them 1