The Sun.
London, England, 1842-07-13 00:00:00

turists were the cause of the people's dstress.—( Hear.) Did 1
he think that the people, feeling that the Committee of the
House of Lords was a salvation committee, standing
between them and the corruption of be House of Commons,
that they were a little band standinground their Queen, that
they were a Committee endeavouring ti arrive at the cause of the
distress and to relieve it, would believt that such a Committee
would increase the enmity between he agricultural and the
manufacturing classes?—( Hear, heas. ) No ; his Lordship
meant what the country should understand ; he knew
that the Corn-laws trampled on heir trade; he knew
that the Corn-laws prevented their trade ; he knew that
the Corn-laws diminished wages; he knew that the
Corn-laws raised the price of food, and would prevent the Ame-
ricans taking our manufactures ; he lnew that our trade with
America might be increased, if the torn-laws were repealed,
to between 40 and 50,000,000/. per innum, instead of being
confined to 12,000,0001., as at present; e knew that the land-
owners then would have their rents pulled down, to which
otherwise, though thousands should serve and die, they would
not consent ; he knew, too, that he Committee of Lord
Brougham would be a dangerous Committee. There was
nothing he and his party dreaded so much as truth. So
long as they could hoodwink and receive the people they
would do it ; so long as they could rut their face
upon a foul disgrace, they would do i.—( Loud cheers.) He
Mr. Moore) was delighted to hear lir. Cobden recommend
them to embarrass the Government. They had the power to
do it, and he could see at once the nears by which they had
the rower to embarrass the Government. They would em-
barrass them by not using the articles which would bring in the
greatest amount of revenue, and if they were to recommend that
course to the people they would aiopt it. They had the
power to work upon the Governnenc by each man re-
fusing—not combining, for that world be unlawful—to pay
the taxes in money, but consentin; to pay them with their
goods. So ought they to act with the last pet tax of the
Government—the Income-tax—don'• pay it in money, but pay
it in what they could well spare—gosus. They knew how the
sales of such property were met. 'fie moment it was found
that some peeple dared to make a stand in favour of their
rights, people would say, " These men are in earnest,"
and they would lend them their most cordial and hearty support.
The Government would tremble to is foundations, the lends
would come down, and they would Ind monied men praying
for the repeal of the Corn-laws. It vas right to embarass the
Government. They said they wantsd supplies, and perhaps
it was right they should have them, btt du not the people want
their supplies, and was it not right they should have them ?
--(Hear, hear.) Don't let them laugh when they were
asked to give up what they Used, to give up their
wine, or their ale, or their tea, or their sugar, for
it was true, if the, people gave up these articles, the
Government could not go on. Talk cf not damaging the credit
of the country ! Why, the credit of the country was rotten to
its very heart's core. Security of tie country ! when no one
could tell the day or the hour when the whole working classes
might rise to get rid of what now burdened them.
Credit indeed when the people were dying for want
of food. They must make a bold and determined
stand. Every one should think not kow little, but how much
he could do—not how little he could suffer, but how much.
They should use every effort to inspire the country, to inspire
themselves, with confidence; so would they weaken the Go-
vernment, at the same time that they added strength to truth
and justice ; thousands and tens of thousands would aid them in
their cause; then woald they obtain that for which they long
had struggled, the country would be reinstated in her former
glory, and their work would be accomplished.—( Loud cheers.)
Mr. EWART, M.P., then presented himself to the meeting,
and was received with loud cheering. The Hon. Gentleman
said that even if there were no distress, the principles upon
which they demanded a repeal of the Corn-laws would remain
unshaken.—(Cheers ) Their enemies conceded to them that
great distress was existing, but, even if they denied
the existence of the distress, they still would not
have shaken one of the principles on which they demanded a
repeal of the Corn-laws.—(Cheers.) They refused the repeal
of the Corn-laws as a remedy for the distress, because they
said that the Corn-laws had not occasioned it. Now, it did not
follow, that because a certain state of circumstances had not
originally been produced by a certain cause, that therefore the re-
moval of that cause would not alter the state of the circumstances.
This objection had beer, answered by Mr. Canning, who had
made use of a homely illustration, he had said that although
the original malady might not have been caused by the absence
of rhubarb and magnesia, yet that the exhibition of rhubarb
arid magnesia would remove the malady.—( Cheers.)
He would ask Sir Robert Peel, in reply to his
denial, that the repeal of the Corn-laws would
relieve the distress, if the repeal of these laws would not extend
our commerce ?—( Cheers.) They had to call for returns for
the produce of their labour, and they asked for no more than
the right of asking for a repeal of the Corn-laws. They had
had an interview with Sir Robert Peel. Their Chairman
had conducted their proceedings during that interview in a
manner that reflected the greatest honour on himself—( Loud
cheers)—and must prove beneficial in its results to their cause.
—(Loud cheers.) In reply to Mr. Hayworth's representations
of the distress existing in Liverpool, Sir Robert Peel had asked
him in the most gentle, plausible, Lord Chesterfield sort of
style, What was the stateof their exports? Mr. Hay worth was
ready with his answer; but if he had not beer, ready, Liverpool
had since returned her own answer to the question, by conven-
ing a public meeting to be held on Monday next, in Clayton.
square, to petition Parliament not to separate without adopting
some measures for the relief of the unparalleled distress which
was pressing on Liverpool as well as on the other towns of the
kingdom. 'That was the answer returned from Liverpool to Sir
R. Peel's question. —( Cheers.) He would also refer Sir lit. Peel
for an answer to an article which had appeared in one of the
most moderate, temperate, and best conducted papers in Liver-
pool—to the Liverpool Times. In the Liverpool Times of
this week, the following article had appeared:—
" In Liverpool we have not any mills or manufactories to
create overproduction; no profligate banks to ruin credit;
there has been no great diminution in the amount of imports or
exports ; yet, at the present time, every class, from the highest
to the lowest, is suffering more severely than at any previoas
time. At the present moment, nearly 700 more persons are
receiving parish relief than were receiving it at this
time last year. There are not more than three or four ships
under repair in the port, and scarcely any building. The
great builders of marine engines and machinery have been com-
pelled to dismiss hundreds of their hands ; ships are unsaleable,
and freights, to most parts of the world, insufficient to pay ex-
penses. Things are every day going from bad to worse, and
nothing can stop their downward course but the repeal of those
prohibitory laws by which the price of food is enhanced, the
employment of shipping diminished, the returns of the merchant
impeded, and the ability to consume, both at home and abroad,
destroyed."

The question with regard to Leeds had been satisfactorily en-
tered into. They must apply their energies in every district
for the repeal of this law. The repeal must ultimately be car-
ried. The probability was that Sir Robert Peel himself
would be the instrument by which the repeal would be carried,
unless he retired from office, in order to enable some one else
to carry that great measure—a measure called for not only by
the interests, but by the wishes and the necessities of the
people.—(Cheers,)
Mr. SIDNEY Saursi would not have presented himself to the
notice of the meeting if he had not had something to submit to
the meeting which would produce the most material effect in
the chances of ultimate success. They had been most truly
told by that excellent and able patriot, Mr. Cobden—(Loud
cheers)—that their business was not with the Govern-
ment, which had refused to hear them—not with
the Parliament, which had rejected their prayers—
but with the great body of the people they must fall back on
the sound hearted and intelligent people, to compel the Govern
ment and the Parliament to do that which without some such
action on the part of the people they would bo unable to effect.
He had always been of opinion that they had looked too much,
from the very first, to Government and to Parliament. If the
people had been true to themselves the total and immediate re-
peal of the Corn-laws would have been carried before now. They
had heard complaints of class legislation ; but it was not class le-
gislation that had returned two bread-taxers for Liverpool. It was
the working men of Liverpool that had returned these Members,
selling fur a little gold themselves and their country.—( Hear. )
The same thing had happened in Leeds, where the working
men had returned Mr._ Beckett to the House of Commons ;
and among the first names on the list against the late motion
of Mr. Villiers was that of Mr. Beckett. Again,
Mr. Philip Howard, who had been returned as
the Liberal Member for Carlisle, had absented himself
from the division, and had expressed himself unfavourable
to a total repeal, although' he preferred a fixed duty to a sliding-
scale. Now he (Mr. S. Smith) proposed that the League
should record its condemnation of the course taken by Mr.
Howard. Before, however, he submitted to the meeting the
resolution which he held in his hand, he wished to say
that if Lord Melbourne were in the House of Commons the
censure of the League ought to reach him as it had reached
others.—( Hear, hear.) He found that that Noble Lord, the
late Prime Minister, and the supposed leader cf the Liberal
party, was the only Liberal Peer who had opposed the motion of
Lord Brougham for an inquiry into the national distress. He
wished his Lordship should know that he escaped a vote of cen-
sure by the League solely because he had no representatives on
whom they could act by making him the object of merited in-
dignation.—( Hear, hear.) Mr. Smith concluded by moving
the following resolution:—
" That this meeting would respectfully bring under the no-
tice of the constituency of the city of Carlisle the fact that
their representative, Mr. P. Howard expressed in the House
of Commons his opposition to the repeal of the Corn-law, and
absented himself from the division on Mr. Villiers' motion on
Monday evening. And this Conference would further remind
the constituents of Mr. Howard, that their deputies to the
meeting of the League, held at the Crown and Anchor in
February last, voted for the motion then and there, unani-
mously passed, that they would not vote for any Parliamentary
candidate, who opposed the repeal of the Corn-laws. This
meeting further directs that a copy of this resolution, signed
by the Chairman, be forthwith transmitted to the President,
and Secretary of the Carlisle Anti-Corn-law Association."
Mr. Gautenv, of Bury, seconded the resolution, which was
carried unanimously after a short discussion.
Mr. S. SMITH wished to read to the meeting the list of the
representatives for trading towns, who had voted against
Mr. Villiers' motion, in order that they might go
forth to the wor1.1:---Mr. Beckett, the Member for Leeds ;
Mr. Cochrane, the Member for Bridport, who obtained his
election by extensive bribery.—(Cheers)—Mr. Fieldee, the
Member for Blackburn; Mr. Ferrand, the Member for
Knaresboreugh—( Groans)—Mr. Grimsditeh, the Member
for Macclesfield ; 111 r. Lyall, and Mr. Masterman,
Member for London ; Captain Rous, the Member for West-
minster ; and Mr. Shepherd, the Member for Frome. The
Corn-law League must still; persevere, they must still send out
lecturers, and if they did so they
was their own.—(C beers.) might depend upon it the day
Mr. WORLEY said, that very much had been said about im-
provement in machinery, and it was to that that Sir Robert
Peel attributed the distress He (Mr. Worley) held in his
hand a report. It was the report of Mr. Horner, the factory
inspector, of Lancashire. From that report it appeared that
there were 1,164 mills in 1841, employing 1,999,190 persons.
Of these, 138 were standing, and 139 were working short time.
leaving 887 mills at full s fork, employing 142,062 persons. Of
these not more than 3 per cent. were cotton-spinners upnn mules.
These were chiefly adult and might possibly be reduced 1 per
cent., so that there were never more than 4,260 so employed,
and of those, 1,4210 at *the least had been thrown out of work
by the extension of the.use of the self-acting mules, and by the
coupling of others. Of those out of employment, no lets
than half a million we 'e dependent on charity for support. At
the present time there were no less than 1,200
mechanics out of em ploy. lie knew a respectable machine-
maker, who said he ha,-1 net a single order in his place, and he
was then only working for stock and in a few weeks he must
stop. Many of these workmen were emigrating to the United
States. One of the largest mills in Manchester was work-
ing only four days a vteek. They were Conservatives, and
were very active its returning a": Conservative Member for
the county. They employed 1,000 people. Another large
mill, employing 700 :persons, had stopped on Saturday. An-
other large concern, employing some hundred hands, had also
stopped. The total number of persons thrown out of employ-
ment during the last week, was 2,600 persons. He also
knew that cottage rents were fallen six to seven hundred
per cent. in consequente of the occupants being unable to pay.
Mr. 'SIDNEY SatT tit observed that 'from the Income-
tax, evil as it was, this: advantage would be derived, that it
would enable an accurane estimate to be formed of the present
rental of the country, w laich could be compared with the rental
of 1815, when the Inec ane-tax was in operation before, and
thus an idea could he foyxned of what the rice in the rental of
the country really was.
The meeting then adjjpurned until cloven o'clock to-morrow.