The Sun.
London, England, 1829-03-23 00:00:00

SVIIRrit tOUNTY hiEETINO.

MR. HENRY HUNT'S SPEECH CONCLUDED FROM OUR

PAPER OF SATURDAY.
(Here a person in the crowd cried out you are going to de-
fend Popery, which is as black as your blacking). Mr.
Hunt said, he had come to the meeting fur the purpose of
puffing his blacking, but he was very much obliged to the
gentleman who had done so for him.—(Loud laughter.)—
Such exclamations might be useful to him in the sale of
his bl icking, and he thanked the gentleman for his kind-
ness. hut he did not think that they would answer the
purpose of argument, for those who might differ with him.
The cries of No Popery were fast dying away; in days not
long gone by, it was the fashion in a high quarter, when
his present Majesty was in certain convivial society,
to drink as a standing, toast, " May God protect us from
Popery, slavery, brass meney, and wooden shoes ;" lat-
terly they heard little of brass money and wooden shoes,
and even slavery was little talked of, but the cry of No
Papery was still occasionally heard ; but even this rein-
nant of liberal fashion would, he hoped, he soon forgotten,
not that lie wished to prevent Popery, but because in his
heart he believed that those who raised the cry did it
for sinister purposes. Aceordine to his notion of Po-
pery, as resisted by our ancestors, it consisted in the
possession of monasteries, tithes, and other church pro-
perty—(Loud cries of " Hear, hear,")—and she did not
owe the annihilation, er rather the transfer, of that
property from one set of men to another to the spit it of
liberty, but to the circumstance of Henry the Eighth failing
to get the sanction of the Pope to his third or fourth mar-
riage ; a cry was then raised, as at present, that the Church
was in danger, but at present at least it was only the tithes
were in danger. Ile agreed with those who stated the
• Catholic Monarchy had an eye to the tithes.— (Cheers.)
—This he had upon the authority of Doctor Doyle, and
he never yet met a Catholic who did not appear to thick
so.—(Here there was some uproar.)—Mr. Hunt said it
was very difficult to please those gentlemen who were not
pleased with feats, even when they bore upon their
own side of the question—(Great laughter)—but whilst he
stated that the Catholics wished to obtain power, and whilst
he as sincerely wished to prevent them, he must at the
mime time say, that in the time of the Catholics tithes were
differently apportioned from the manner in which they
were at present..--(Cheers, and uproar. )—At that time one-
third of the tittles were given for the support of the Clergy,
one-third for the repair* of the Church, and one-third for
the relief of the poor. If this appropriation of tithes took
place at present, the freeholders of Surrey, as well es those
of all Engl ,nd, would be relieved from poor-rates and other
t ixes who h premised heavily upon thein—(Cheers.)—
lme was no etterny to poor rates, but he wished to see them
paid out of the tithes.—(Uproar and cheers.)—There was
tememotbject on which he agreed with Mr. tlownall—namely,
that the petitions of the pe pie of England did not
receive due attention in the House of Commons—fjoud
cheers)--and he was sure if the opinions of the people of
England were regarded, that many of the abuses which
Haw existed would he removed.—(Cheers.)—He was
willing to acknowledge that the feelings of the people of
Etigletel were hostile to Catholic Emsucip ition ; but they
were eye die opposed to the measures which had been
carried in Psrliaineut. No man regretted more than
he did to see time opinions of the people of England there-
gerded, but he always eapeeted to see such treatment whilst
Parliament succeeded in preeenting a Reform.—(Loud
cheers and uproar. )—For his part he thought it a mockery
to petition the House of Commons he should recommend
n petition to the Lords—(Lotel cheers)—and another to
time Throne.—(Cheers.)—He should be sorry ever to ire
the people of England petition a House which treated
their petitions with scoro,......(Cheers.)—They might peti-
tion the King and the House of Lords if they wished,
but they should not have called it this petition of the un-
dersigned ; they ought rather to call it the petition of the
county of Surrey, if it should be agreed to.—(Cries of No,
no !) He had no objection to their sending it to the Cora
mous, if it could be presented in time ; but before it could
lie presented, the Bill would he pelmet! through the Coin •
mons.—(Hear, and cries of No, no i) He coin sided with
a great deal that was in the petition, and would therefore
oto ve a resolution to be added to it.—(Hear. )—He had come
to the meeting without a single soul to assist him, and
therefore he had no one to [second his resolution. He was
addressing his brother freehold, rs, and if they approved
a the resolution some one of them woat'd eecond it, and
it would be put to the meeting. If they disappeeved of
it of course it would be rejected. (Mr. Hunt here read the
following resolution, which wee received with loud cheers
and a great deal of laughter. Several persons cried out
that the resolution was excellent, admiaable.) It was to
the following effect :
AA ReSOIV2&•-•-Tilat it is the opinion of this meeting
that it is in vain for the people to petition the
House of Commons its it is at present constituted, as the
Members of that House do not represent the voice and
feelings of the majority of tie people."
He had only one word more to say on this subject. They
said that lee come in no dieguiee,--He thought the people of
England had bean treated most infamously.---e(Greet c beers. )
—He might be wrong, but that was his opinion, and there,
fere be thought it right to clap that resolution to the heels of
a petition to the King and the House of Lords.—(Roars
of Laughter for several minutes.)--Mr. Hunt here paused
fur some moraeuts, in the hope that awe one would second
the petition.
One Gentleman did so, but on being questioned, O-
mitted that he was not a freeholder.
The tasolution was then seeonded by a gentleman free-
holder in a remote part of the meeting, but we believe
Mr. Hunt was not aware of the fact.
Mr. LEACH then rose mai said, that he attended
from the very lowi part of the county, because he
considered the petition to he presented to be of
the utmost importance to the country. Before he pro-
ceeded farther, be would state clearly to the meeting, that
he was decidedly opposed to the Catholic religion.—
(Cheers.)--reet the Protestant Establishment beere fair
play, and by the force of reason it would hear the Ro-
man Catholic religion down at once.—(Great cheering.)
—Many of the greatest men the country ever produced
were of this opinion, and ix accordance with it he
thought that the present Bill would secure and
mate the Protestant Establishment much mva firm than
ever.—(Great confusion, and naarka of dieapprobete'on.)—
That was his opinion, but the meeting were perfectly at
liberty to entertain theirs. He came there to do duty,
others did the same, and he hoped they would all vote as
they considered for the benefit of the United Kingdom.—
Many g: eat men had supported the cause of Catholic Eman-
cipation, and they had now a Prime Minister—(hisses)—and
Peel--(biases)—these two dastaogoielied individuals
were last year as much opposed to Catholie gmaacipation
as some of those who disapproved of what lie was 3.7.ying,
hat the Duke now saw that there was a necessity for Ocal-
reeeiou, in order to prevent the risk of a rebellion in Ire-
land.—(Disapprebation and uproar,)—They might all
vote as they pleased, but they would moat oblige him if
they would only hear what lie had to say.-o-e(Laughter.)
Of all nations in the world, the people of shirt !paltry
were the most firm sod honest--(great cheering),-414
lie was sure they would submit to nothing which would
weaken the Protestant .Eatablisliment. He would only
suppose for a moment that a Roinan Catholic Priesthood
were set over them—would they submit to it ?—(Cries
of " no, sea," and cheers.)—What he would ask,
were the meaaores now proposed ? The peoples pf
Ireland are five-see-entlis of them Roman Catholics,
and they wished to be repewented in the House of Coto-
nous by some of their own body. He would suppose
that ono hundred of them got into the House of Co
mops--what were a hundred Cathodes against five
hundred Protestants ? (Just at this juncture, e.wo o'clock,
Mr. Hunt's blaekirg van passed through the crowd With
French horns playing, which excited a vast deal of amuse-
ment, and drew the whede attention of tl.e Meeting to
the virtues of his matchless bleeking. At that particular
moraent M.-. Ilunt was confessedly tbe greatest man at the
meeting, for ail eyes reverted frail theineeting to his own
eountenasu:ewhichacknowledged the cow plitneokhlusher. )
They had also a Protestant King, and he hoped tlse.t tlioy
evemuld never see aay man on the throne who was not *
Protestant. (A person in the crowd cried out—" Why
no ?").—.Then the church patrooace was to be at the die-
ymweal of the Lord Chancellor, and he Rio was to be a Pro-
testatet.--(A freeholder cried out—" Tell us Low long the
present Chancellor will remain a Protestant.''')-44 deem
look to their own Estalmlishment. In former days the
High Church had adopted the doctrines of arbitrary
power—the doctrines of -passive obedience and non-re-
sistance. Now if there was any doeteioe more slavish
than another—more despiealde than inothereeek was the
doctrine of non-resistance.-Chomets.)-Llf they looked to
the Catholic Courts' of France, they would easily per-
ceive that the power of the Pope of Rome in
the present day differed from what it was in ioniser
times. The Roman Catholic Priests were favourable to the
Pepe, and the POpe was favourable to the Catholic priests,
but notwithstandieg this the Catholic priests of Wrance
had the tithes taken from them. Why did not the Pope
prevent this?—(Hear, hear.)—He could sot, for the
people of the present day were more enlightened than they,
were in former times, and they would not submit, though
Roman Catholics, to the power of the priesthood or the
Pope—(Great marks of disapprobation.)—lle thanked the
meeting for so patient a hearing, and concluded by' ex-
pressing an earnest hope that they would neptivu the pe-