The Sun.
London, England, 1842-07-06 00:00:00

• .
prepared to sacrifice millions of their fellow-subjects. He
had to desire to excite the working-classes; but when-
ever' he had touched upon an exciting topic he had
Inveriably seen the chord vibrate. They were like a
barrel of gunpowder, ready to explode in a moment, bad
they but a. dozen leaders to direct their movements. He
held in his hand an extract &ern a work published by
SirJ.Taktaliam, though not, he was sorry to say, very re-
dently.•=-:( Laughter.) He thought theassage could not be
too well known. In his pamphlet on "Corn and CurrenCy,"
Sir James Graham stated "that the paramount duty of every
Government is attention to the interests of the community, in
which the labourers must form the great majority. The right
of property is itself instituted, not for the few who possess
wealth and honours, but of the many who have them not. If
the majority are deeply injured, the public peace is in danger ;
if the majority want food, private property becomes a nuisance."
—( A voice, " Well done, Sir James Graham.") Why Sir
James had since changed his principles, he knew not. For him-
self, after long consideration, he was confirmed in the opinion
that when the majority wanted food private property became a
nintatine.—( Hear.) . Before he sat down, he wished to state a
few facts respecting his native town—the town of Sutton-in-
Ashfirld, , its Nottmethantshire. That town contained 6,000
inhabitants and 1.100 houses. Out of the 1,100 houses not
more than 6(10 paid peer-rates. The amount of poor-rates was
about Ss. in the pouud. A large cotton-mill which had been in
teietettee several }ears, had stopped within the last two months.
The state of the village would be much worse but for the allot rent
eye rin . te 'deb had been carried out to such an extent by the Duke
ta: Portland and others, that one-sixth of the inhabitants had a
piece of garden to assist them. He hail recently been in the
wen. As he was conversing with a friend on the state of the
toe n. his friend remarked, that only a few days ago as he was
ea .sing to his own house lie met au individual, whom he
snrotioned by name. He wondered why-he looked so melan-
fthelys and why he was wandering about the lane, eitd•ad-
dreseel •the man slime the subject. At first he refused to
trio' any explanation; but when pressed he said, "I
have lint melting to r rat since yesterdey at DOM,
but that I do slot care ao touch about ; but
try family end children are crying for bread, and I could not
leer to hear them."—( Hear, hear.) It had been Mated by
sinus one-With: respent te +beery:sent. state of thing; (he believed
be Sir It. Pesi)—that it was. the „'ill of Providence that the
coe etre should be' i e its - present condition.—(Cries of
mares •.") • Ile was at a loss tin knoW how any • rational
man eeitlit make use of such an expresSion. He really,
fee 'it- we '•it )Bret fet the Deity to say that; it was
the .Diveie 'evii.l' -than. thansaeuls of our fellow beings
sjteuld sitiree for wantl f fare!, while there were nembere
rmling' he Wiley and wealth.—•( Hear, hear.) On looking
aomod hialie saw that the birds of the air, the beasts of the
field, anti even thiameaeest reptile that crawled on the -groutei,
had its wants supplied, and yet man, who was formed. in the
imege of ' his - Creator, mall who was himself the lord
of' the'' tt..teat ism, was ' unable to get a inftrsrl of
livid for himself and those . who were deeendetit
ueoe ' hire.' •It wee not the operatives alines, but
tee . middle classes themselves, whose interests were at stake,
It the repent cif the Corn-laws were delayed mirth longer, it
*maid. be ,if li:tle tie to the country; it would be too late to
reieesly the evil ; it would be like shutting the stable door when
steed was gone.
ele. Seem,. of Leeds, then rose to address the meeting, and
is. a , most enthusiastically received. Ile hail often said, when
eelieti before his fellow- operatives., that he rose with reluctance;
he eiways did so because he was not in his element iii public
epeaeiug..--(Cheers.) Those who had addressed the meeting
bef,aes hint had left him nothing to do.—(Cheers. ) The meet-
ing had heard the dowers of Leeds, and they hail left him no-
t hieg to say.—( Cheers.) He must hewever be allowed to say
a iesir words. Durine " the latter part of the last year a number
n'' (jperativt4 in Leeds saw and felt a considerable degree of
die ices ; they wished to help themselves if they could, and their
failiny operatives, but how they were to de that was the question
iii' :t them.—( C heers. ) They had no pecuniary means, and
at last. they determined to form ail Association, to be called
" The Leeds Unemployed Operative Committee." Men from
every shell bees rite members of that Society ; they subscribed
Ores peony a week cacti, and upwards of 50/. was raised by that
utraes. It was trite that they might have got mote, that they
might have had 51. from Mr. Beckett, but they wished to steer
elesr of politics.—( Cheers.) He believed if they called the society
the Inhumanity Preventive Society, it would have a better
effect -. thaw calling it the Anti-llonopoly Society.—
( Cheers. )- In the Society to which he hail alluded, certain
eetenerators were appointed, and from their proceedings
it :etre:teed that 1,916 present who were employed in
neeen • were -in the receipt of only about 11•13.
ast eck each. Stich a state of things had been reported to Sir
• .I:mies Graham. He lamented, or at least he said that he la-
mented, the sad condition of the people.—(Cheers.) 'But.he
weeld- tell hinse that pity without relief was looked upon in the
'7.orih as-little or nothing.—(Cheers.) It might be slid that
there was some party feeling in all this—that was not the
caw. The only object they had in view was humanity,
and to excite pubte sympathy ; that sympathy had been excited,
snit this more :inquiry that was made, the more every one was
roevinced they were right. It was clearly seen that some-
thine must be done, mei the wealthy inhabitants of Leeds sub-
serbed upwards of 7,000/. for so patriotic a purpose.
Tine amount was properly distributed and as gratefully
riot ;it affordeel many a hearty meal ; it pre-
served mese; from starving, and others from a premature
grave —( Cheers)—but that auto could not last for ever; it had
heroine exhausted, anti the operatives were now left to starve,
because instead ofgettine more they got less work.--(Cheers.)
Charity was all very well,' but when applied to a wanting popu-
lation it was only like a gleans of sunshine on a wintry day.
The worthy Delegate then proceeded to show the distress that
was existing in Leeds, and in doing so stated that of 166 gigs
formerly employed, not more than .20 were in full work, 4..!
worked, only part time, and 104 were standing still. This
showed the condition to which the population was reduced.
With respect to his own Lundy, he might say there were five
brothers, and he could venture to say that upon the average they
hat oot worked more than 2V2 days a week. With respect to the
weeking men generally, such was their condition that if they
we it to their siek-Cluh they would not receive a farthing, be.
else they were not clear on the books.—(Cheers) He had
snei nemy eaen fif distress : at one place' that be vistted the
6atr is fase.,iind,' and the 'old' woman who lived close by
ttetedpnifilirtlett Pkee reason the, kept it so was, that they
werean.lAVitie letilits: Wiwi; lie went- into the house the
s,e'lletnir )1400ta I itielf was heaitatending in the extreme.
ill
In efillt lidiYial;ftititia:th, father ' and • mother gone out to
find tittris `,' tilVbrishilifeini were lyieg sat whit was called a bed,
but irlitat tkii iiiatAtriiiiillie Inane : such were-the scenes which
he lial,l;W-Itt&editi'n Eitliglitenrct England.- ' In another place lie.
had 'ititte'd, elthotigh'eseerything around Was clean, he would
not lease given' ime shilling all' the bed they ha.d. Such
.
vies the state of things that was at present going on ; and, in
aildi!lone to this, he could take them • to the house of
a - Ina ri - echo - had been highly respeetably brought
ma • ' 'she, although the pianoforte - still graced This
re eininas in the greatest penury and distress. And .aneli
ee, ...;Ut. 4 i 1.4 ifigie were to be called paupers.—(Cheers.) For
hes utyn
.eart, if he had to make a new grammar, the word
'. tefetti4'.eheultr bet. omittell—( Cheers)—because; as he under -
stooneW,"ifie ' word pauper meant a vagabond ;-• hut the
rain' iilid7(ie-- limiest. however - great his difficulties, was
en, a feliesierst';e--i Loud and continued cheering.) As he was
nee probable as near to Sir R. Peel as lie ever should be, he
might peril:S.le be permitted to give him a few words of advice.
--eClicers. ) " Yon, Sir 'Robert Peel, complimented the
~,-king clasy, it, the Queen's Speech for their great. Ina.
tienee.** Again, he would say that the men of the north
thought as little of pity without relief as of a shadow teal:out
the substance.—(Cheers.) Sir It. Peel had professed a great
deal latterly for the working classes, but. he was sorry to say he
had done but little. It had lien eleariy shorn by Mr. Bright,
if Rochdale, that his sliding-scale was a delusion, and it had
been shown else that the tariff was little better.—(Cheers.)
The working classes could see and think—(Cheers)-
1 tiey knew that they were not represented—( Cheers)
e—and they knew that the voice of the people was
net honestly spoken in the House of Commons.
—(Cheers.) Now the motto he would use would be "Justice
.6 one; justice to 'all."—(Cheers.) He would say, let the
landed rich proprietor have for his ground what it was worth—
(t. leers )—let the enterprising British merchant have for his
clone what it was worth (Increased cheering)—and let
the ingenious operative bare for his labour a full and fair
reemieratitive(C•ontinued cheering)—and if it was the design
of- Providence that England should follcw in the wake of
Greece and of Rome, let that be proved by Providence, and
out by theory.----( Cheers.) If not, and disturbance should
take piece, no doubt Sir R. Peel would take steps to put it
down, but in his opinion the greatest riot to be feared was the
riot in men's empty stomachs. " Let labour have its due,"
bus it never would have its due until the markets of the world
should be open to us.
The CIIA I R.SI A s then requested that those Delegates who
were desirous of addressing the Conference would leave their
names in the next room with Mr. Kicker or Mr.
Wellday. The Delegates were also requested to leave
their London address in a book provided for that purpose.
It was' also announced that in consequence of the unexpected
and gratifying largeness of this attendance on that flay., the Con-
ference would be held tomorrow, at eleven o'clock, m the large
room at the Cecwn and Anchor Tavern.---( Cheers. )
Mr. G. 111-10MPSO, the Secretary, said that this day had
been devoted to receiving the statements of the Delegates, and
that it had been deemed expedient to postpone the discussion of
measures of relief until all the Delegates should have arrived.
lle would, therefore, call upon Mr. Coates, 'a Delegate from
. . the Tower Hamlets, to address the meeting.
Mr. Coents had never risen. under greater difficulty to ad-
dress a peblic meeting, for his feelings had been so harrowed up
by the distressing details to which he had listened, and where he
• - felt acutely, he expressed himself strongly, that he hardly dared
to -trust himself to give expression to those feelings of shanie
... and iielignation which burned in his bosom. These things
might have been supposed to have happened in some mean,
„renna'pettv, tar despotic State ; hut when he heard these things -'
• aird .called to ..nsind the wealth--(Cheers)—the philanthropy
-. ---(Cheer;)—and, snore titan all, the religion—(Loud
.. cheering)—of the country, he was ashamed of the
.netne. of Briton, and felt that we must become the
• seeffef every enlightened nation.—(Cheers.) If tine Legista-
.lm4 and the Govertiment had determined on making some
dteittrate experiment es til lion far the feelings of the people
"ilk r• ge--( Cheers )—if they had been engaged in some cruel,
culte:attempt to ascertain to what degree of starvation and suf.;
feilttg the people would patiently submit—( Cheers)—he could
understand the course of polio: pursued by the Administration.
- Tien bee hero temetantly met with complinierits to the work-
. life ;hese, on the Itatienee, ;;roil tinder, and meekness, with
wliteh they had submitted to their sufferings. That was the
enuiee-whice had beet' pursued by Sir Robert Peel. The time
tiiight come whet' the workine classess would discover that
they hail reached a degree of suffering, to submit to which was
emosistent neither with virtue nor with patriutism.—( Loud
une,e-es.-) If that time ever should arrive, the impatience of the
people would have been o by cruelty and in-
ecaaioned solely
1 „niee.—( Cheers.) It he thought that by his pretence at that
tweeting he was e'en itidirectly signifying that he placed the
smellest confidence in the House of
.Commons, or in the Goa
cerement, he would At
luteo quit the room. Ile felt he
ontold be 1-04efillg a tleSiOn if he were to seek to
lettuce a belief that they had anything to expect.
form either ties House of Counnorie or the i:overnmeitt. The
I Lease of Cotomont would do nothing, fur them ; but by their
Attendance there, they would prove to the whole won H how
little the ilouae of Commons sympathised with the suffering
millions.--(Cheers.) The daily journals ought to have been
)'famed to record that when the distresses of the working
c'n.,(-5 —the (weenies of wealth—s'tir's to be inquired into by
the Hon-e of Commons—when the inquiry had been cont-
. mrneed. and eommenced in such a inatiner that Sir Robert
Wel fled been afraid to oppose the adjournment of the debate
—that at such a time they could not make a House, as had been
tile case last night—( Cries of " Shaine, shame !")—that there
',ed.! 'riot be found 40 Members to sympathise with the
'".fr"..-ing.,. of the peop'e was most disgraceful.—(Loud
t'l7rs- 1 He thought it was too much the habit of their
ftral Teel. ends in I
)tilers I 'arliament to barely compliments with' Sir
)roeb,
They heard a great deal of Sir Robert Peel's;
e,wn Taiiad eriitihn for *the working classes. Lord Johns Russell
had
that he had not the smallest doubt but that the Right
Hon. Barottet felt the ;realest commiseration for the state of
the working classes- H: (31r. Coates) did doubt it very much.
__(.Cheers, and cries of "So do we.") Men were generally
are eared by mot eves Bend feelinee, and he-could
w' hieh stoosr.by....and did
net understand
that eynteathY
'Vie:res.) :Fruip.Ltl.irly Years':,a nothing.—(Loud
liamwition Of Sir Robert Peel's
.-. ..I:eniene• iin'tititrel7l*Pr"""r'c4 limos to be a weak and a dan..
Pgiuttteiayn_eir(e unprincipled
'' :genius 31inittere .surer', the dap of
~...,'
il,pciLiiimi.it. neverigi_ov.peffrr
j?riediittch.,4l:iis?,2,ilerliir?lag.at,:tetille.(d•
1 i e that o
tviveiew s;l.-a:otelt:aohl lepve eireseei )e, .
• hYl'oimsy.—( Vehement
'and to the party of which. Pee was the leader, the
eahrebenefit
. .; of the plea. of ignorance; he thought that they were