The Sun.
London, England, 1842-12-14 00:00:00

ANTI-CORN-LAW MEETING AT

LINCOLN.

A meeting was held in the-Guildhall in the city of
Lincoln, which was crowded, on Friday, the 9th De-
cember, called by the Mayor, in compliance with a
requisition signed by 378 of the inhabitants.
The MAYOR stated that he would not interfere with
politics, and. a Mr. Hodson (a working man) was.called
to the chair.
The meeting was addressed by a Mr. AxuLL, who
moved the first resolution, and ended by thanking the
Anti-Corn-Law League for their exertions in the
cause of free trade. He pledged the meeting to sup-
port the League, and invited Mr. Cobden and other
gentlemen to visit Lincoln.
Mr. NORTON gave the following valuable statistical
information :

Debtors in the
Felons.
City gaol.

Flour per
stone.
s. d.
1 10

1834

22

1835

24

1836............ 30

1837

Total... 106

1839
1840

1841

27 .... 61

1842

Total... 154

203

2 9i

The usualnlQ; number of applications for nightly shelter
in the Union until lately were 6, i. e., about 80 per quar-
ter. The Governor of the Union remarked, whereas the
old applicants were regular trade beggars—those who
now applied were intelligent, well educated artisans,
and that he had derived much valuable information
from them. Mr. N. further stated, that supposing the
number of families in Lincoln at 2,000, they would
consume yearly 312,000 stone of flour, the cost of
which, at the low average of 1834 to 183(i, would be
28,6001., but at the high average, of the last five years,
42,9001.; that the people of Lincoln had, therefore,
paid 100,0001. more the last four years than the pre-
vious for flour alone ! And that, even supposing all
this 100,0001. had been spent with the tradesmen of
Lincoln, they would only realize the profit, say one-
fifth, of what had been taken from them. After
more valuable local information, showing that wages
had not increased since 1834-5 proportionately with
the rise in flour, an earnest 'address to the working
men, and an expose of the intimidation attempted to
deter the men of Lincoln from joining the League,
Mr Norton sat down amidst vehement cheering.

The resolutions were carried.
Mr. MURRAY 'delivered a very racy, eloquent, and
pointed address, and at the conclusion of his speech, a
vote of thanks was proposed to the Chairman and Mr.
Murray, and the meeting separated.

THE CANADIAN FLOUR TRADE.
According to the "American Almanac" for 1843,
the aggregate amount of the crops of grain and
potatoes in the United States last year, is equal to
755,200,000 bushels, or 42} bushels to each in-
habitant, man, woman, and child. As this is con-
siderably more than double the amount per head
which Great Britain produces,the people of the United
States have not only enough for themselves, but a
considerable surplus for export. With us the grand
difficulty is, how to get a sufficient supply
.of food
at all times ; with them the chief difficulty is, how
to dispo!e of their superfluous produce. So long
as our sliding scale exists, it would be unrea-
sonable to expect them to send any considerable
quantity of corn direct to England ; but we perceive
from the American papers, that a brisk traffic in grain
and flour is going on between the United States and
Canada, from which we shall, no doubt, reap some
benefit ; although much less than we should do, were
our ports thrown open to the admission of wheat and
flour, direct from the United States. The following
extracts from the New York Herald, of November 19,
will show that the Canadians are anticipating a brisk
trade in flour with Great Britain :--
"The average price of flour in this country is now
3,75 dollars a barrel—lower than it has ever been. On
the lakes, large quantities of breadstuffs are crowding
forward to market. Vessels of all kinds are in demand,
millers are active buying wheat at 40 to 70 cents a
bushel, and the great western intercommunications
are alive with waggons loaded down with grain. Vast
quantities, comparatively speaking, are going to Ca-
nada, v:-it quantities are given to cattle, vast quantities
are storing, and vast quantities are seeking a market.
There is no colouring in this. Everything indicates
the great yield of last year.
" FLOUR AND WHEAT SHIPPED FOR BUFFALO.
Years ending Fldur bbls. Wheat bush.
October, 1838 39,463 ............... 215,600
~ 1839 50,922 ........... . ... 203,120
1, 1840 101,076 ............... 163,320
1, 1841 87,272 247,656
1843 144,079... ............ 378,94,5
" The aggregate of this month was greatly re-
duced, perhaps twenty•five per cent., in consequence
of many boats taking the Niagara river route to
Black Bock, instead of the canal, which they were
compelled to do for want of sufficient water between
Buffalo and that place.
" As an evidence of the magnitude of the operations
in the Buffalo grain market, we would mention the
fact, that, of the immense amount of wheat received
within three days ending 11 th instant, not over
40,000 bushels remained unsold. This, for the opera-
tions of two days, in the most unfavourable weather,
will probably challenge competition with the grain
market of any other city in the Union, and perhaps in
the world.
"This indicates that America will soon be the gra-
nary of the world. If it were not for tariffs, we could
now supply Europe with at least five millions barrels
of flour, worth twenty-five millions .of dollars—one
hundred and fifty per cent. more than we ever ex-
ported. Will our farmers think of this ? Let them
ponder well on protective tariffs."
From another part of the same paper we learn, that
some 50,000 bushels of wheat had been sold at Buf-
falo within .a few days, at the average price of 62}
cents., about 20s. per quarter. The greater portion
of this would no doubt be purchased by Canadian
millers, who, after converting it into flour, will send it
to this country as Canadian produce; the duty on
flour from our British possessions being only 3s. per
barrel at present, while on foreign flour it is 12s. per
barrel.
We perceive that the general average price of
wheat in Great Britain, for the week ending Decem-
ber 3, is 48s. 6d. per quarter, which is just about
30s. below what it was four years ago. Making
every reasonable allowance for the abundance of the
late harvest, and also for the falling off in the con-
sumption of flour, owing to the general poverty of
the labouring classes, we cannot help thinking that
the depressed condition of the market is in no small de-
gree owing to the belief of the farmers that, what with
the importation of United States corn through Canada,
and what with other changes which may be made at
no distant period, the days of agricultural protection
are at an end.—Manchester Guardian.

A FIXED DUTY.--Many of our Whig friends are
opposed to the total repeal of the Corn-laws, and say,
"We want revenue. Why, is not corn a fair sub-
ject for taxation ?" Our answer is,—Be it so. You
want corn to be taxed. Well, let it be taxed at the
mill, both foreign and domestic. But you dare not
do it. The old women themselves would abolish your
tax with their brooms and their pokers.—Correspon-
dent of the Liverpool Albion.
THE CORN..LAWS.--A public meeting of the Lam-
beth Chartists was held last evening at the Britannia
Tavern, Waterloo-road, to take into consideration the
propriety of calling a public meeting of the friends of
Reform, relative to the Conference about to be holden
at:Birmingham. After the special business of the meet-
ing was disposed of, Mr. J. Daws rose to call the at-
tention of the Chartist body to the conduct of certain
persons calling themselves Chartists, who made it
their study to go about disturbing meetings called for
the purpose of repealing these obnoxious laws, which
deprived the working man of food for his family. He
need but to mention that he meant the Corn-laws—
(Hear, hear)—and he was sure no upright Chartist
would sanction any opposition to a body of men oppos-
ing laws so unjust and ruinous. He could assure the
Chartist body that such interference had injured the
progress of a reform in the ,franchise more than all
the acts of a despotic Tory Ministry, and would sub-
mit the following resolution to the meeting :—" That
this meeting fully deprecates the conduct of those
persons who have hitherto interfered at meetings
called for the purpose of lecturing on the Corn-laws,
or on any other subject, and consider such inter-
ference as a serious injury to the cause of Chartism,
and wholly incompatible with the cause we advocate
—freedom of public opinion." The resolution was
then seconded, and carried unanimously by a very
crowded meeting.
GUERNSEY, DEC. 10.—Government has decided on
the removal of the Channel Islands packet station
from Weymouth. For a long time past all the cor-
respondence from this island and Jersey to England,
has been sent by the Southampton steamers, by which
means our letters reach London and the north of Eng-
land a day earlier than when sent by way of Wey-
mouth. Thus the Southampton steam-packet com-
panies have bean paid for conveying our correspon-
dence, and an expensive establishment at Weymouth
has been rendered useless.
In the course of the past week the brooms have
disappeared from the mast-heads of many of the ships
in the various docks and canals within the port,
which may be regarded as a very palpable indication
of a favourable move in maritime affairs. The ship-
wrights, too, who have been, very much totheir dis-;
advantage; idle hands about the banks of the •ThaMos
for some time, begin to find occupation. The value
of tonnage is improving, and with the spring Tip may
expect mere general and increased activity.