The Sun.
London, England, 1845-12-09 00:00:00

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WALL.
A crowded meeting of the friends of free trade was
h,ld last night at the Albion Hall, London• wall, for the
purpose of advocating the adoption of that rneasu,e, and
tho total and immediate repeal of the corn-laws. Mr. M.
Castle Levi in the chair.

Mr. Moon: observed that they had never before had
sich an amount of public opinion earnest to express itself
against the corn-laws as at the present moment. There
was abundant evidence throughout the country that it
was time the corn-laws were at an end, and that the
corn-laws were near the end of their time.—(Hear.)
There had been, within the last three weeks, no fewer
than 15 meetings held against those laws in the me-
tropolis and suburbs, all of which were crowded and en-
thusiastic, and agreed that those laws ought to be abo-
lished. The City wards were in motion against them,
and throughout the whole of the country, not only were
the people of every town meeting to condemn the corn-
laws, but the corporations of those towns were also
meeting and condemning them; and whether those meet-
it.gs were Tory or-Liberal was not the question, all wee e
engaged in sending their memorials to Sir Robert Peel
to throw open the pirts for the free admission of food
for the people. All were agreed that there was a neces-
sity for the admission of food. The Learned Gentleman
then proceeded to observe, that the League had not been
idle, as some supposed, during the last six months; they
had been at work in their Council-rooms and in the

' Registration Courts ; they had been working silently,
but earnestly and progressively. Mr. Moore then
alluded to the failure of the harvest, which acted as
a powerful agent of necessity, pleading for the inne-
(hate repeal of the corn and provision laws. There
never, he proceeded, was a more abundant hope of the
crops than was entertained during the last spring; the
prospect of trade and manufactures was also good; but the
prospect of prosperity was dependent upon the chances
of " sunshine," and the state of the barcmeter. The up-
holders of the corn-laws were congratulating themselves,
but the League said, you congratulate yourselves too soon.
No corn-laws can give prosperity. Your anticipated
prosperity is dependent upon a good harvest, and with a
bad harvest you will have bad times again. The Learned
Gentleman then read extracts from letters from various
correspondents and parts of the country, giving melan-
choly accounts of the disease in the potato crop, and of
the deficiency of the wheat crop in weight and quality.
He then alluded to the changes that are taking place in
the opinions of the old opponents of the League on the
question of the corn-laws, and amongst them to the
conversion of Mr. Macaulay, who had recently spoken
at the great Edinburgh meeting, and read his recanta-
tion before his constituents. All were waiting for the
final overthrow of the corn-laws, an overthrow which it
was out of the power, he (Mr. Moore) contended, of any
Government, for any considerable length of time, to
avert. It was a great gratification to the League then
that their toils against those corn-laws were nearly at
an end, and that one of the happy results of their labours
would be a greater security in land, and fur the product
of land in future. A great calamity was, however, at
that moment threatening the country, and nothing but
the speedy abolition of the corn-laws could prevent it.
After a few other observations, thanks were voted to
the chairman and Mr. Moore, and the meeting separated