The Sun.
London, England, 1842-01-27 00:00:00

EVENINU SUN

BIRMINGHAM DISTRICT ANTI-
CORN-LAW MEETING.

.1.111Sd;y a meet-
ing of the merchants and manufacturers of Birming-
ham, and of Deputies from the surrounding district, was
held, for the purpose of conferring, and collecting infor-
mation relative to the state of the district.
The meeting was well attended, and Delegates from
Wolverhampton, Coventry, coalbrook Dale, Dudley,
Kidderminster, 'West Bromwich, Bilston, Walsall, Stour-
bridge, and Darlaston, were present.
'William Scholefield, Esq., President of the Birming-
ham Anti-Corn-law Association, took the Chair, and
having briefly stated the nature of the
m
e meep.igLsaFid.
that letters from C. P. Villiers, Es
Muntz, Esq., M.P.; Colonel Thompson, and the; meeting;
of Kidderminster, had been received, stating their inabi-
lity to attend from various causes.
JOSHUA SCHOLEFtELD, Esq., M.P., rose to move the
first resolution, and, in so doing, stated his belief that,
until the people were better represented in the Commons'
House of Parliament, the present system of class legis-
lation would continue, and so long must the industrious
" class suffer themselves to be deprived of their rights and
liberties. After a brief address, he concluded by mov-
ing a resolution to the effect., that, in the opinion of that
meeting, every individual had a natural and inalienable
right to the free exercise of his own talents and industry,
and the sole possession and enjoyment of their produc-
tion ; that, in a free State, the laws should be made for
the equal benefit of all, and that monopoly, which takes
from the many, in order to _confer privileges on the few,
is a violation of the two great principles, national and
social, on which society exists."
W. BOULTBEE, Esq., seconded the resolution, and said
that he had statistical information relative to the town
of Birmingham to lay before the meeting of a very im-
portant character ; but owing to the extreme length and
the minute details which it embraced, he should only
present an abstract of the more important state-
ments :-Smiths' vices, in 1826, cost 325. Bd. per cwt."
in 1829, 245. 6d. per cwt. ; and now the price is reduced
to 21s. Chains that in 1826 were 19s 6d. per cwt., are
now 19s. ; halter-chains, which were then 9s. 6d., are
now ss. 3d.; iron candlesticks are reduced from 2s. 71d. to
Is. 4d.; common tinned horse-bits, which formerly were.
Is. Id. are now reduced to I Ild. Thirty families, taken
consecutively, containing 144 individuals on an average,
formerly receiving.. 225. per week, now receive only
ss. 11d., which, deducting rent, averaging 2s. Id. each
family, left only 3s. 10d. per family, or 91d. each indi-
vidual for purchasing the means of subsistence. The
concurrent testimony of pawnbrokers was, that the num-
ber of pledges was reduced one-half ; the articles now
offered are generally of very small value, and a great
many, in fact, are quite unsaleable, such as pawn!.
brokers could not advance anything whatever upon.
A communication from workmen in the fancy steel toy
trade stated, that the rate of wages is reduced one-half
in their trade ; that in 1815 eighty hands were employed
in the manufactory to which they belong, and forty out-
workers were also employed, making 120 persons ; and
that now thirty are employed in the manufactory and
ten out, making only forty instead of one hundred and
twenty as before. They also report that there exists
a great tendency to crime from want of employment,
and the consequent starvation and misery it occasions.
In reference to the brass-foundery trade, the workmen
state that since 1812 wages have been reduced from one-
half to two-thirds. Articles in their trade, for which
15s. were paid in 1812 are now made for 55., and there
is now the same atnount of work for ss. as formerly for
15s. A letter from a master brass-founder said that the
trade was good, and men were fully employed, at good
wages, from 1810 to 1815. The letter also stated that an
mense business was then carried on with Germany and
Prussia; but that now we cannot compete with the Ger-
mans in price, although our own prices have been reduced
one-half. Paper , No. 5, from -workmen in the lamp
manufacture, stated that, in 1815; before the Corn-law
was passed, men earned good wages, and that now the
wages are reduced two-thirds. In their manufactory
formerly 78 persons were fully employed, now 36 only
are employed, and those only work 41 days per week.
Their trade has very much fallen off since. The silver-
workers state that, in 1835, the men in their trade
were fully employed, and were making over-time. Now
they are only employed about three, or not more than
four, days a week. These parties also stated that their
wages have been reduced very much in the last six years,
Paper No. 9, from the sawyers and wood turners, stated
that wages have very much declined in their trade. Six
years ago the price paid for a certain kind of work was
10s. per gross ; now the same kind of work is done
for 3s. 6d. per gross. Paper No. 10, from the jour-
neymen tin-plate-workers, represented the reduction
of men employed as one-third, and that the remainder
are only partially employed. Paper No. 11, from
journeymen screw-makers, stated that in 1835 and 1836
the price paid for making some 'kinds of articles was
Is. -9d., and that now the same articles are made for 9d. ;
and that, in addition to this reduction, the workmen
have to allow a discount of 10 per cent. on all they can
earn. They state, in addition, that in 1815 bread was
Is. Bd. per peck, and potatoes 4d. per peck ; now bread
is 2s. .Bd.. par peck, and potatoes Bd. per peck. The
workmen in this trade cannot get full employment even
at these low prices. A manufacturer of hinges stated
" that the wages have been reduced 20 to 30 per cent.
within the last ten years, caused by the want of a
good demand ;" also " that at this time there is little
or no profit." A communication from a gun-manu-
facturer stated that, previous to 1834, considerable
quantities of materials, as gun-barrels, locks, bayo-
nets, &.c., were sent to Liege, and other places in
Belgium and Germany ; but that now they make
these articles themselves, and can undersell us in
the American market. The men in this country who
now file the common pocket pistols must work very
hard, from 12 to 16. hours per day, to earn Bs. to 12s. per
week. Paper, No. 14, from a manufacturer connected
with the jewellery business, represented that trade as
having very much declined within the last three or four
years, and also that prices of manufactured articles have
been very much reduced. A manufacturer of combs had
stated that upon an inspection of his books he found
that from 1836 to 1841 the decrease of business had
been about 86 per cent. A gun-maker stated that for a
certain article, which in 1825 cost 2s. 6d., now he could
procure the same for 111 d.
Mr. SCOTT, M.P. for Walsall, gave some evidence
respecting the neighbourhood of Stourbridge of an in-
teresting nature. The nailor with difficulty procured
a living for himself when trade was at its best ; but
to what a deplorable condition must they now e re-
duced. Mr. Scott then moved the following resolu-
tion :-" The aVowed object of the Corn-law is to create
a monopoly in the food of man ; and the operation
of the Corn-law has been to counteract the designs of
Providence, by restricting the exchanges of the pro-
ductions of industry-to deprive the working classes of
their just remuneration for their labour, by shutting up
the markets-to ruin the trade of Great Britain by cir-
cumscribing,; its intercourse with other nations-and to
induce a fearful state of general and unprecedented dis-
tress, which daily becomes more intense, and threatens to
destroy our commercial prosperity, and our very exist-
ence as a nation."

Mr. Dot3tocx, of Bolton, seconded the resolution, and
bore testimony to the reduced state of the workmen in
that township. A
Delegate from Darla.ston said that the lock-filers
in that place now only received Bd. for the same work
as they used in 1820 to receive 2s. Gd. for.
Mr. TAUNTON, of Coventry, said the distress exceeded
anything that had previously existed. 2,500 recipients
of bread received about five thousand loaves per week in
that city. Children might be seen most eager to pro-
cure pennyworths of liver, which some time back was not
sold for food.

Mr. JOSEPII WALKER, of Wolverhampton, moved the
next re,olation :—" That inasmuch as the complicated
evils under which the country now suffers are shown to
be the natural fruits of monopoly, this meeting depre
cates all legislative interference with industry, and
pledges itself to adopt all peaceful and legal means to
obtain a total and immediate abolition of the Corn and
Provision-laws."

JosErn Snifter. Esq., next addressed the meeting,
and in the course of his observations, said that they must
be determined upon a total repeal, as it was very probable
that a modified motion would be brought forward in the
House, and the ends they had in view would not be ac-
complished unless they were Jinn to their principles, in
going unconditionally tin 4 the total and immediate aboli-
tion of the Corn-laws.- -
The resolutions u-ere agreed to unanimously.

DEATH OF INDEPENDENCE.—This famous old
horse, formerly the property of the late Mr.lleardsworth,
died on Sunday week at lledgeford, aged sixteen years.
In the course of his racing career he won forty races,
including 15 gold cups, and gold cup stakes. Ile carried
off the Leamington Stakes twice, the Warwick Cup twice,
the Nottingham Cup twice, and the Chester Trade Cup, and
the Wolverhampton Trade and Cleveland Cups. lie was
purchased at the sale of Mr. Beardsworth's stud by Mr.
Flintoff, that he should not fall into other hands to be
abused in his 01(1 age, and with a determination to keep
him as long as he lived. Ile continued as fresh, and ap-
parently as healthy to within forty-eight hours of his
death (which was caused by inflammation) as he was the
first day he reached Mr. Flintoff, in whose stables he
continued fifteen years.— IVorcestershire Chronicle.
We understand that the Duke of Buckingham
has now an agent busied in waiting on his Bucks
landholding tenantry, with notie,s, for their signa-
tures, forbidding the Baron Rothschild, his hunts-
man, whippers in, &c., from hunting on or over
any of his Grace's lands. The tenantry are not
allowed to exercise their opinions in the matter, but
sign they must. We know several tenants who
have signed it with reluctance. In one instance
which has come to our knowledge, on the person
chargeiu of the notices (one of his Grace's well-
paid labourers), calling at the house of a tenant
for the signature, the individual was not at home ; the
person in charge of the house hesitated as to the signing
on that account. " His Grace will be angry if taint
signed," said the messenger. This was sufficient. The
signature was immediately at tached. —Aylesbury News.
A BAKER SUFFOCATED IN HIS BAKF•
TIOITSFL—On Thursday last some repairs were made
in the bakehouse attached to the Worcester Infirmarn
and it would seem that the namedb a highly resln:rtl4l.
n!ini_jfla' t,ql young
young man of twenty-three,
well), in his anxiety to have the ovenWi:lllailin'nt 'f('lirsttaiKtite,
for the following day, intended to sit
purpose of drying it. ln the morning the
man was discovered lying upon a tablet
ahl
ae as df,, having
n,
ong
on his arm apparently asleep, reality
his head
DEFEAT..d
noxious vapour
been salivated hours before by thenid of Suffocation"
before alluded to. A. verdict
was
RreEtLulrcned.c7-r Worcestershire
lapas
tpckn.Chronicle.tomcbfunpdt:i noiT-eNba,,sa
In the course of
Marston-moor, byClayton, It
was imbedded about eighteen inches beneath the. stuffice
of the ground.— York Courant.
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