The Sun.
London, England, 1842-07-05 00:00:00

but which was undeserving the na me: such were the scenes w hich
he had witnessed in enlightened England. In another place he !
had visited, although every thing around was clean, he would
not have given one shilling for all the bed they had. Such
was the state of things that was at present going on; and, in I
addition to this, he could take them to the house of
a man who had been highly respectably brought I
up, who, although the pianoforte still graced his
room, was in the greatest penury and distress. And such .
persona as these were to be called paupers.—( Cheers.) For i
his own part, if he had to make a new grammar, the word
" pauper" should be omitted—(Cheers)—because, as he under-
stood it, the word pauper meant a vagabond ; but the
man who was honest, however great his difficulties, was
not a pauper.—(Loud and continued cheering.) As he was
Now probably as near to Sir R. Peel as he ever should be, be
might perhaps be permitted to give him a few words of advice.
—(Cheers.) " You, Sir Robert Peel, complimented the
working classes in the Queen's Speech for their great pa-
tience.' Again, he would say that the men of the north
thought as little of pity without relief as of a shadow without
the substance.—( Cheers.) Sir R. Peel had professed a great I
deal latterly for the working classes, but he was sorry to say he
had done but little. It had been clearly shown by Mr. Bright
of Rochdale, that his sliding-scale was a delusion, and it had
been shown also that the tariff was little better.—(Cheers. )
The working classes could see and think—(Cheers)—
they knew that they were not represented—( Cheers )
—and they knew that the voice of the people was
not honestly spoken in the House of Commons.
—(Cheers.) Now the motto he would use would be "Justice
to one; justice to all."—(Cheers.) He would say, let the ;
landed rich proprietor have for his ground what it was worth.—
(Cheers.)
Let the enterprising British merchant have for his
cloth what it was worth— (Increased cheering)—and let
the ingenious operative have for his labour a full and fair
remue ration—( Continued cheering)—and if it was the design
of Providence that England should follow in the wake of
Greece and of Rome, let that be proved by Providence, and
not by theory.—( Cheers.) If not, and disturbance should
take place, no doubt Sir It. Peel would take steps to put it
down, but in his opinion the greatest riot to be feared was the
riot in men's empty stomachs. " Let labour have its due,"
but it never would have its due until the markets of the world
should be open to us.
The CHAIRMAN then requested that those Delegates who
were desirous of addressing the Conference would leave their
names in the next room with Mr. Hicker or Mr.
Wellday. The Delegates were also requested to leave
their London address in a book provided fur that purpose.
It was also announced that in consequence of the unexpected
and gratifying largeness of the attendance on that day, the con-
ference would be held to-morrow, at eleven o'clock, in the large
room at the Crcwn and Anchor Tavern.—( Cheers.)
Mr. G. THOMPSON, the Secretary, said that this day had
been devoted to receiving the statements of the Delegates, and
that it had been deemed expedient to postpone the discussion of
measures of relief until all the Delegates should have arrived.
He would, therefore, call upon Mr. Coates, a Delegate from
the Tower Hamlets, to address the meeting.
Mr. COATES had never risen under greater difficulty to ad-
dress a public meeting, for his feelings had been so harrowed up
by the distressing details to which he had listened, and where he
felt acutely, he expressed himself strongly, that he hardly dared
to trust himself to give expression to those feelings of shame
and indignation which burned in his bosom. These things
might have been supposed to have happened in some mean,
poor, petty, or despotic state ; but when he heard these things
and called to mind the wealth—(Cheers)—the philanthropy
—(Cheers)—and, more than all, the religion—( Loud
cheering)—of the country, he was ashamed of the
name of Briton, and felt that we must become the
scoff of every enlightened nation.—(Cheers.) If the Legisla-
ture and the Government had determined on making some
desperate experiment as to how far the feelings of the people
might go—( Cheers )—.if they had been engaged in some cruel,
cold attempt to ascertain to what degree of starvation and suf-
fering the people would patiently submit—( Cheers)—he could
understand the course of policy pursued by the Administration.
They had been constantly met with compliments to the work-
ing classes on the patience, good order, and meekness, with
which they had submitted to their sufferings. That was the
course which had been pursued by Sir Robert Peel. The time
might come when the working classess would discover that
they had reached a degree of suffering, to submit to which was
consistent neither with virtue nor with patriotism.—(Loud
cheers.) If that time ever should arrive, the impatience of the
people would hare been occasioned solely by cruelty and ire-
j ustice.—( Cheers.) if he thought that by his presence at that
meeting he was even indirectly signifying that he placed the
smallest confidence in the House of Commons, or in the Go-
vernment, he would at once quit the room. He felt he
should be fostering a delusion if lie were to seek to
induce a belief that they had anything to expect
from either the House of Commons or the Government. The
House of Commons would do nothing for them ; but by their
attendance there, they would prove to the whole world how
little the House of Commons sympathised with the suffering
millions.—( Cheers.) The Daily Journals ought to have been
ashamed to record that when the distresses of the working
classes—the creators of wealth—were to be inquired into by
the House of Commons—when the inquiry had been com-
menced, and commenced in such a manner that Sir Robert
Peel had been afraid to oppose the adjournment of the debate
—that at such a time they could not make a House, as had been
the case last night—(Cries of " Shame, shame I")—that there
could not be found 40 Members to sympathise with the
sufferings of the people was most disgraceful.--(Loud
cheers.) He thought it was too much the habit of their
liberal friends in Parliament to bandy compliments with Sir
Robert Peel. They heard a great deal of Sir Robert Peel's
commisseration for the working classes. Lord John Russell
had said that he had not the smallest doubt but that the Right
Hon. Baronet felt the greatest commisseration for the state of
the working classes. He (Mr. Coates) did doubt it very mueh.
! —(Cheers, and cries of "So do we.") Men were generally
actuated by motives and feelings, and he could not understand
that sympathy which stood by and did nothing.—(Loud
cheers.) From thirty years observation of Sir Robert Peel's
public conduct he pronounced him to be a weak and a dan-
gerous Minister. Since the days of Pitt a more unprincipled
man had never governed this ill-fated country.—(Loud cheers.)
To all the vices of Pitt Peel added that worst of all vices
hypocrisy.—( Vehement cheering.) He once gave to Peel,
and to the party of which Peel was the leader, the beneit
of the plea of ignorance ; he thought that they were really ig-
norant of the truly beneficent principles of free trade ; but
such was not the case. Since the days of Huskisson, it ap-
peared that Sir Robert Peel and his party had been in love
with the principles of free trade; and what had they done in
consequence, to modify our commercial cede? They had ap-
plied the principles of free trade very ingeniously to a great
many unimportant matters, and considered that the prineiples
of free trade were so excellent, that even this moderate appli-
cation of them would enable the nation to support the in-
fliction of an Income-tax.—(Loud cheers.) Sir Robert Peel
had observed that there was no unmixed good in nature, and
had determined that there should be none of his measures
without a mixture of evil, taking care at the same time that
the evil should vastly preponderate.—( Cheers.) If cheap
beef was such a benefit why not cheap bread ?—( Loud cheers. )
Why not cheap coffee and cheap sugar?—(Loud cheers.) How
had the nation been treated in the article of sugar, after having
made a present to the West Indian planters of 20,000,000 of
money ? The naton had been taxed for them 5,000,000 a
year ever since. Instead of unfolding the great principles of
commerce, the Government had been engaged in coining doits
for the use of the people—(Laughter)—and considering the
chandler-shop, huckstering, miserable measures of the present
Government, he doubted not but that it would be known in
history as the half-farthing Administration.--(Loud cheers and
laughter.) They were told all this frightful distress
was to be relieved by charity. Charity began at
home, and there were thousands to whom the begging-box
had been held out who stood as much in need of charity as those
did for whom the subscription was solicited. He had been ap-
plied to by the Churchwardens of his parish in the country;
he 'ook them into the room, shut the door, and then, instead of
a sttbscrii tion, he had given them—for he had not sent them
empty away-4 lecture on the Corn-laws.—(Ceera and
laughter.) He (Mr. Coates) had opposed this begging-letter,
because he would not lend himself to delusion. He considered
that it was a degradation to the clergy to be asked to read that
letter in their churches, but he supposed as it was their
duty, they must submit to it. If he were a
clergyman who was desired to read the letter, he would call
on them to curse those who withheld corn from them. With
respect to the Tower Hamlets—the district with which he was
connected—he was not furnished with any minute details, but
I,e was aware that in almost every department of trade, the
condition of the people was gradually deteriorating. r-
tainly, in one part of the district, which bordered upbn
the water, the shipping trade was in rather a brisk state,
but the principal activity was in those dockyards
in which the Government vessels were fitted up.
There was one large class of persons in the Tower Hamlets
district, the publicans arid innkeepers, who he could attest were
suffering very severe distress. If that proceeded from the pre-
valence of temperanee ho would be the first to rejoice at it,
but when he knew that the labouter was able to drink nothing
but water while the Duke of Buckingham drank ehampaigne,
lie was shocked at the inequality that existed in the
condition of different members of the community. He had said
that they could rot look to the House of Commons
for relief, further than they could work on the fears of that
assembly. They would get nothing from their sense of justice,
and that system could go on increasing as long as the people
were patient, and submitted to it. With respect to Sir ft.
Peel and the Conservative party, he never expected anything
from them, but he was bound to say that the Liberal Members
of the House of Commons had disappointed him. And if
men of rank and education would not perform the duties
which devolved upon them as representatives of the people in
the Legislature, they must address men who, like the operatives
wi.o had addressed there that day, would bring honest and firm
purpose to the discharge of their duties.
The CHAIRMAN said that it had been agreed upon to adjourn
earls day's proceedings at three o'clock. It now only wanted
half an houriof that time, and he thought it better that the meet-
ing should stand adjourned till to-morrow at eleven o'clock.
air. J. SCORLE said, that he should not have ventured to
obtrude himself at the present early period of the meet-
ing of the delegates, but for some observations that had
fsllen from the last speaker. That gentleman had rightly in-
culcated the necessity of union and honesty of purpose among
those who had that great object in view that brought the pre-
sent meeting together. He generally concurred in that gen-
tleman's observations with reference the the House of
Commons and Ministers. But he (Mr. Scoble) wished
to impress upon their minds, that they had enemies
both within and without the camp, who advocated
the most liberal opinions in public life, and shrunk from those
opinions in private, when in the society of Members of Par-
liament—men who pretended to be friends of the Anti-Corn-
law League, but who did not boldly dare to support it in
private. When he considered the immense wealth, intelli-
gence, and public spirit represented at an early part of the
present year, by the Assembly which had then met in London to
promote the cause now under consideration—when he looked at
the vast efforts made by the influential members of the Assembly,
and the little impression which those efforts made upon the
public mind, and upon both Houses of Parliament, he attributed
t ha failure altogether to the practice of certain parties maintain-
ing in public principles and opinions from which they shrunk
when in the company of Members of Parliament. Ho
citation, cl the meeting against those individuals, arid he called
upot, such individuals, whose conscience upbraided them with
ibex conduct, either to abandon the Anti-Corn-law League
altogether, or to do their duty as members of it manfully and
honestly, in order to the accomplishment of the great object
view.
Mr. BucxtrAnT would not have troubled the meeting
hut from the observations of the Delegate for the Tower
Hamlets, relative ti, the prosperity of the shipping interest.
'I hat gentleman had derived his information most probably
!lOW persons in connection with the London and St. Kathe-
rine's Dock, and from merchants, but he (Mr. 13uckhart)
had an intitnate knowledge of the East and West India
Docks, and he had received communications from
the shipwrights and operatives connected with the
shipping interest, who stated nothingeer could be
but who
who
farther from prosperty thantheir was there
greater distress among those operatives thanw at the present
time. He knew of himself 500 shipwrights to be out of
em-
ployment, and except those employed in fitting out ships of war,
t learn,
the vast majority of the workmen were out ofo employment.
A OgyrLzgAw whose name we did n
stated that he was a Deputy from Rotherhithe, confirmed the
statement of Mr. Bochart,
Mr. COATES explained—He laid it would be in the recollec-
testi of the meeting that his statement, Oat the. prosperity of
the shipwriAts applied only to those employed Wing out
vessels of war and for foreign service, and therefore his Ow.
ations corresponded yigh t)39Sf of tin hot two sentiemenr