The Sun.
London, England, 1842-12-09 00:00:00

times gone by, it was owing to the hostility with
which their lecturers were received in the agricul-
tural districts, where they were pelted, pumpedupon,
and treated in the most ignominious manner. Now,
many approved of their proceedings who had never
done so before, alleging that they were adopting a
more temperate course, in appealing to reason, thefact
being that they had pursued that course all along. Was
it not most singular that in a country where every-
thing must be decided, by free discussion the de-
fenders of the Corn-laws even in the agricultural
distriots could not get up a meeting in support of
the Corn-laws ?—(Hear.) And yet it was not sur-
prising, for what orator, even if he possessed all the
powers of Demosthenes, would get up and utter an
eulogy upon famine and starvation ?—(Cheers.) In
the Housuof Commons the tactics of their opponents
were, to draw them off from the main question by
personal squabbles and accusations; and for this pur-
pose, last session, the Member for Knaresborough had
been put forward by the Carlton Club.—(Hear, hear.)
But the Corn-law question was not suffered to escape
in this way, and it would not in future.—(Applause.)
The enemies' tactics would be the same next session;
they would collect a number of passages from the
speeches of their lecturers and others, and 'endeavour
to set public opinion against them. But this would not
do ; he and his friends would not undertake the defence
of the League, but would compel their opponents to
debate the Corn-law question itself. Were the advo-
cates of the repeal inclined to waste time, they might
gain a party triumph by showing, that the monopo-
list newspapers in all parts of the country had in-
dulged in such language previous to the late outbreaks
as was eminently calculated to arm the working
classes against their employers, and this fact was par-
ticularly susceptible of proof in the case of a news-
paper at Halifax.—(Hear, hear.) There were some
newspapers advocating monopoly, which professed to
circulate among, and be the organs of, the working
classes. One of those, published in Leeds, used to
send 650 to Stockport, but it now only sent eight of
the same paper; 100 used to be sold in his own works,
now there was not one. That paper, by the last Par-
liamentary return, circulated about 12,000 ; but there
were several other weekly papers, advocates of free
trade, which circulated a much larger number among
the working classes. Therefore, let no, one suppose
that the bulk of the working classes were allied with
the monopolists.—(Hear, hear.) The object of the
League now was to disseminate the truths embodied
in Parliamentary Reports, and other documents,
amongst the working classes in a cheap form. That
could not be done, any more than the labours of
Missionary Societies and other charitable institutions
could be carried on, without money.—(Hear.) They
were not going to use the money for boroughmonger-
ing ; but they hoped to enlighten the minds of elec-
tors, and influence them in the right direction.—(Ap-
plause.) .And lie doubted not, at the next general
election, that by this means they would be able to
return from 150 to 200 Members, piedged and bound
together, and, what was much better, vigilantly
watched by their constituents, who would go to Par-
liament for the express purpose of emancipating com-
merce and putting down monopoly.—(Cheers.)
Subscription-cards were then circulated, after which
Mr. Flint announced that the following subscriptions
had been put down :
Messrs. Marshall and Co.
William Pawson, Esq..
Messrs. Stansfeld and Brown 5O
Messrs. John Wilkinson and Co. .
Messrs. March and Maclea 5O
Messrs. E. Birchall and Sons
Benjamin Walker, Esq.
Newman Cash, Esq.
William Smith, Esq., Burley
John Waddington, Esq 25
S. J. Birchall, Esq.
Messrs. E. Baines and Sons .. 25
Messrs. W. B. Holdsworth and Co. ..... 25
Messers. Beverley and Sons
Joseph Bates, Esq.
Robert Joswett, Esq.
Messrs. Buckle and Son
Charles Heaps, Esq. lO
Messrs. Thomas George and Son
Shepherd, Esq. .. lO

After some further unimportant resolutions had
been passed, the meeting broke up, the Chrirman an-
nouncing the total subscriptions at the meeting to
amount to 7451.