The Sun.
London, England, 1844-04-25 00:00:00

Glt N D WEEKLY

ANTI-CORN-LAW LEAGUE

MEETING

AT COVENT-GARDEN THEATRE.

The annual weekly meeting of the League took
place last evening, at Covent-garden Theatre. The
House was not quite so thronged as on former occa-
sions ;, there was, however, a pretty full meeting.
Among those present we observed the lion. Charles
Pelham VilliersoM.P. ; Thomas Milner Gibson, Esq.,
M.P.; Benjamin Smith, Esq., M.P.; J. Collett, Esq.,
; R. J. Bleivitt, Esq., M.P. • Howard Elphin-
tone, Esq., D.C.L., M.P. ; John Bright, Esq., M.P. ;
W. Ewart, Esq., M.P.; W. Gordon Thomson, Esq. ;
A. Thomson, Esq. ; R. R. R. Moore, Esq. ; D.
Dewar, Esq.; George Tehmpson, Esq. ; W. A. Wil-
kinson, Esq. • E. Squire, Esq. ; Cowden Clarke, Esq.;
John Gosnell, Esc. ; William Bowman, Esq. ; Robert
Stogg, Esq.; N oilman Wilkinson, Esq ; Joseph
Ivimey, Esq. ; C. Bennett, Esq.; P. A. Taylor, Esq.;
W. Clambers, Esq. ; J. Coulthard, Esq. ; Joseph
Robinson, Esq., Hexham, Northumberland; Arthur
Pattiion, Esq.; Sir William Baynes, Bart.; W.
Cooper, Esq. • John Chalmers, Esq.; T. Pocock,
Esq.; W. Shelgrave, Esq.; Thomas Hubback, Esq.;
David Parker, Esq. ; Press Grangor; Esq. ; T. Ma-
cartney, Esq. ; W. ilvie, Esq., Redruth, Cornwall;
James Davison, Esq., Truro ; David Lawrie, Esq. ;
T. N. Cathrall, Esq. ; T. Falvey, Esq.; Charles
Bovrring, Est ; James Kenworthy, Esq. ; John
Kenworthy, Esq. ; W. Tweedale, Esq., Ashton-
under-Lyne ; E. Fordham, Esq.; E. K. Ford-
ham, Esq. ; Charles Squ*rey, Esq., Salisbury ;. John
Somers, Esq. ; W. Thornborrow, Esq. ; J. Saun
ders„ Esq. • E. Robinson, Esq., TewkesbUry ;
James Nicholls, Esq., Plymouth;. J. P. Burnard
Esq. ; Samuel. Ashton, Esq., Hyde ; J. R. White,
Esq., Manchester ; J. Naylor, Esq., Manchester.
At half-past seven o'clock, the -Hon. C: P. Vu.-
LIERS Esq., was called to the Chair.
The minutes of the last meeting having been read
and confirmed,

The CHAIRMAN came to the front of the stage, and
was loudly cheered. He had been requested to take
the chair that evening, in consequence, he regretted
to learn, of their chairman being still unable to re-
sume his post. It had been expected that he would have
been able to do so that evening. He was, however,
unfortunately still obliged, from indisposition, to be
absent. Their friend Mr. Cobden was: also absent
—not idle, as they might suppose, but endeavouring
to enlighten their neighbours at Greenwich. The
honour of occupying the chair that evening had been
proposed to him (Mr. V.) at a somewhat late hour,
and he had quitted his vocations in another great
house to attend there. He could not say he had much
scruple in so doing, because he thought more good
might be done by attending there than at the house
he alluded to.—(Cheers.) Though, perhaps, they
might think, from proceedings that had lately taken
place there, a fitter place for the enactment of such
scenes might be found in the house in which they
were now assembled. If those meetings, by the
spread of truth, tended to advance the cause for which
they were associated, he deemed -it a duty that they
should continue there to assemble to aid and support
each other as far as lay in their power, and he was
satisfied that their cause was every day becoming of
more and more importance. Its bearing upon the.
leading topics of general discussion.was now becom-
ing manifest. It was to the credit of their feelings,
and perhaps the wisdom of the country, that the
general attention of the public was now engaged in
devising and considering in what way they could best
raise the condition of the people—of-that vast mass of
their fellow-subjects who lived by their labour. That
was a matter that was `now engaging the attention of
the philanthropist and. statesman, as it might have
done that of quacks and adventurers. All parties
agreed that some steps should be taken with respect
to the evils of which the people complained. He
could not help thinking that when the various pro-
jects which were now before the country were brought
to the test of reason and general discussion, the peo-
ple would see that the simple and obvious remedy
they recommended was based—as it really was—upon
justice, liberty, and sound pedicy, and that it was
suited to the exigency of the case. They had reached
a point apparently when the majorities of both Houses
of the Legislature were ready to advise, and even
adopt, any remedy that might meet ' the
evil of the bad condition of the people at large, save
the one which seemed to require some little.eacrifice
on their own part ; and he could not refiktiipon that
without having always forcibly brought to his mind
the ludicrous illustration which Mr. O'Connell once
gave of their position with respect to this 'question
when it was on discussion in the House. In the case
Le. set „Aso 4lt
was supposed to be overworked and ill-tea-Tevery-
thing hail been tried but one thing—he had him
blistered, he had him bled, he had him fired and
physicked, but he had never tried the experiment of
working him less and feeding him more.—(Cheers
and laughter.) Now that was a little the position of
the great councillors in the Senate. They
were ready to listen to, and they lent a willing ear
to every crotchet and project that was suggested, save
that which seemed obvious and singularly adapted to
the purpose. They had benevolent individuals who
said that the people were obliged to work hard and
long to gain their subsistence, and they proposed
an Act of Parliament- to declare that the people
shonlil not work so long or so hard—that showed
that those good folk had singular faith in the omni-
potence of Parliament; but he was afraid it was no
proof that they would succeed in their object. They
had too many of these experiments. It was not
enough for people to wish an Act of Parliament to
accomplish their object that it would do so. If they
repealed some Acts of, Parliament, instead of enacting
new ones, they would be more likely to effect their
purpose. They had always benevolent individuals
who wished to earn the credit of humanity at little
expense by such propositions ; and no doubt some
'imagined they could accomplish their object; but it
would never do until they struck at the root of the
evil. A century ago, Horace Walpole adverted to
those experimente of Acts of Parliament—he men•
tioned a story of some elderly lady, either his mother
or his: asimt, • who, hearing that a distiller
was burnt- by the head of his still flying off vehe-
.mently urged him to get an Act of Parliament passed
to prevent heads of stills flying off.—(Laughter.)
That was a sort of Bill which was likely to pass
through Parliament without opposition. 'This was
'told by Horace Walpole 100 years ago, and it showed
wilat a-tendency there wasin some people to propose
"'remedies for whith they would not be responsible.
'Another scheme that was proposed now-a-days as a
remedy for the grievances of the'people, was emigra-
tion: He would riot say a word against that scheme,
. for, if he were a working man, and his passage were
paid for him, he would sooner go to another country
than remain in this, if the corn-laws were to continue.
•, For he. was as certain as that he stood there, if they
continued, there was no class of the working men, be

' they ever so well paid, that would not sooner or later
deteriorate and, decline in condition. "What he feared
with respect to emigration was, that it would
flat -be effective for preventing the evil re-

appearing, though it might for the present
remove. it.
„There was one party who were extremely
anxious to repeal the present poor-law, and who
. thought that public charity and a more liberal dis-
tribution of alms would relieve the distresses of the •
an , elevate their condition. He (Mr.
Tits) had no objection to relax the rigour of any
• law that pressed upon the people, butthis objection was
to placing the people in dependence on the poor-law ;
to placing the working people in the condition of
paupers and beggars. Now that which tended to
• prevent pauperism and begging was the thing which
they ought most ardently to pursue. Pauperism was
a misfortune which they ought to remove, and that
which enabled men to support themselves, without
being dependent.upor`i charity, was the most politic
thing to adopt. Then the other project which they
had before the country was that which was called
protection--more protection. That seemed to belong
to ac sort of horeatoptithie system of remedy. Its ad-
: ' vocates seemed to think that the people had little
now ; and his opinion was that the people -would have
joss in future, if they were to increase that remedy.
But those people had the advantage over ethers of
' having the law on their aide. They need not depend
' on the opinion of the country as to what
they recommended. They seemed to have made an
attempt lately to gat the opinion of the country in
• their favour, and much ryas heard sometime since of
protection societies, but little was heard of them now.
Upon asking a person lately, who ought to know
something about their proceedings, what had become
of the great central society, he (Mr. Villiers) was
told " they were doing nothing," and that the branch
societies were helping them to do it.—(Laughter.)
All they had seen of their doings did not
lopk as if they were very confident and prosperous.
All they bad done was to issue a pamphlet in which
- large extracts had been made. from Adam Smith, with
all the words that gave an opposite sense to their
application left out, which was a good way of creating
an authority where none existed ; and he believed it
was 'a
general observation' that, whenever they had
assembled together and expressed their opinions, it
had not been to show that the corn-laws produced any
good to the people, or to refute any of thereharges
brought against the corn--laWg•bY the League, but
simply for the purpdie'•of abusing the leadiug
• bey 5 cif il,: League ; and what he -10Iii\•4 .was ge-
nerally observed was a striliing Aet flat,' though
. those protectivn .s'oeietiea aaaat faelhe,pneme as they
said, of protecting. egricultiwal interests and doing
good to- the fanner,: theraqtad not been one single
answer to, nor any attempt to deny, the statements
made there by two farmers, who pointed out the
operation of the corn laws upon their interests.
Those farmershad stated that the own-laws had Inver