The Sun.
London, England, 1842-12-16 00:00:00

Government superior to the last in preserving th e
peace of the country ? Some years since, at Birming-
ham, the snob had possession of the town for four
hours, and some houses were burnt. They all recol-
lected the indignant language of the Duke of Welling-
ton, who said that in all the course of his campaigns,
he never knew so much desolation caused in so short
a time. How different the feeling, when he looked at
what occurred under his own administration.—(Hear.)
The mob had dominance—not foul' hours, but four-
teen days, and hundreds and thousands of marauders
were dispersed through the country levying contribu-
tions: our armies in France and Spam had never
more complete military occuation of a country
than these mobs had.—(Hear, 'hear.) The Govern-
ment was unequal to the protection of life, liberty,
or property.—(Hear, hear.) It was to the mode-
ration of the people themselves that we were in-
debted for our preservation ; and he gave great credit
to the military in disdaining to stain their swords with
the blood of their fellow subjects—they did not renew
the scene of Peterloo—not wanting the battle in the
town, or out of the town--(Hear)—and it was due to
their humanity that a stop was put to the greatest
servile insurrection since the days of Wat Tyler and
Jack Cade, without extensive bloodshed.—(Hcetr.)
After some further observations Mr. W. rebutted the
charge that the state of the country had been de-
scribed in terms of exaggeration. What was the
case? The masters say that in consequence of re-
stricted commerce, they are obliged to lower wages
and press upon the poor men, or to throw up the
means of employment altogether. It was the duty of
the Government to strike at the root of the evil, and
by decisive legislation effect that change in our com-
merce, without which neither the condition of the peo-
ple nor the circumstances of the country could be raised.
On this point he would venture to make a prophecy
—that within a short space of time, the Corn-laws
would be repealed. They saw signs of this every day :
many who had supported those laws, and who observed
the signs of the times, admitted those laws were
doomed ; and, preferring place and power to being
consistent, they were prepared to repeal them.—
(Hear.) The Corn-laws will be repealed in all their
obnoxious principles,
.and by Sir B. Peel; and he, as
on other occasions, will have the support of the
Liberals, who have always shown, with respect to
great principles, that they do not mind the man, so
that they can get the measures.—(Loud cries of
Hear, hear.) And Sir H. Peel in repealing the Corn-
laws, will have the support of the great body of
those country gentlemen who swore on the hustings
never to allow any Minister to touch the Corn-law,
Whig or Tory.—(Hear.) They have already violated
that declaration.--(Hear, hear.) They have done
much to save their favourite Minister. Let
them do more to save their country.—(Loud cheers.)
Mr. W. then briefly touched upon the foreign policy,
and demonstrated that though the present Govern-
ment had reviled the policy of their predecessors, yet
that they had been contented, now that they had suc-
ceeded to office, humbly and servilely to adopt it.
With respect to Lord Ashburton's treaty, it was all
surrender—surrender—surrender—(Hear) and he
was afraid it was pregnant with great evils, and would
ultimately produce great misfortunes, and also that
war, its professed object was to avoid.—(Hear.) Mr.
W. next alluded to the attempts of Sir R. Peel in the
last session to deprive the people of their right of
petition in the case of the Income-tax, as showing the
true feeling of Toryism as respects popular rights.
He next touched upon the recent appointments of
borough Magistrates, as reminding him of the dark
deeds of the reign of Charles 11. He mentioned in
contrast the conduct of Lord Grey's Government, of
which Sir J. Graham was a member, who, though the
great bulk of the Magistrates were Tory, had dis-
dained to swamp them by wholesale creations.—
(Hear.) He did not thus insult the County Ma-
gistracy. But now Sir J. Graham unblushingly
avowed that his object was to degrade the Liberal
Magistrates ; and he designated the act as most
abominable and unconstitutional.—(Hear.) This
was the conduct of a man who once called himself a
Whig; and who would tell them, if they wished
him, that though he had abandoned his party, he
had not deserted his principles.—(Great cheering.)
Mr. W. thus continued—lie was not satisfied with
the present state of the law affecting representation.
There were grievous faults in the practice, as many
of the county electors were made to regard the vote
as their landlords, and many of the town constituen-
cies sold their franchise.--(Hear.) He would mate-
rially extend the franchise—so that all classes com-
petent to its judicious and independent exercise should
enjoy it.—(Hear.) But though he thus declared him-
self a progressive and constitutional Reformer, yet he
was not prepared to adopt the crude theories of those
whose ultra views were put forth as the only panacea
for all the ills of our social and political state.—
(Hear.) If he could think that the points of the
Charter would ameliorate the condition of society,
and do away with the existing evils, then he
might view that measure with favour ; but it
was because he thought to the contrary—and that
those who were most warm and earnest, and most
honest in supporting that measure, would be the
greatest sufferers—he meant the operative classes
themselves; because he believed that it would lower
down this great country to the very dust, and destroy
the people themselves, he had always opposed, and
always should oppose, views which he honestly re-
garded as chimerical and delusive.—(Cheers.) What
confidence could the varied interests of this country
place in a Chartist Government ? What confidence
could foreign Powers place in it ?—(Hear.) If a
Parliament was constituted on the principles of the
Charter, the want of confidence would ruin all inter-
ests, and fall most heavily upon those who are the
dependent classes—(Hear)--and commerce would
necessarily be kept unsettled, and without the
slightest chance of being legislated for, so as to give
prosperity to the people.—(Hear.) One of the re-
sults of these extreme views would be to do away with
tne national debt; and he might be permitted to say,
that it would be equally honest to do away with all
debts whatever, and individual liabilities.— (Hear.)
The debt was a sacred charge incurred to save the
State and our liberties; and its spoliation ought not
to be countenanced.—(Cheers.) There were many
other topics upon which he might have addressed
them, but time would not permit. " I deny not that
I have been a party man ; but a most disinterested
one ; and I defy any one in this company, or in any
other, to say that I ever sacrificed my principles to
any party. I could not be so blind as not to foresee
the issue of the late contest; for when a large Whig
interest joined the Tories and threw themselves into
the arms of their former opponents, it was in vain to
expect that I, who had no numerous squadrons of
mounted tenantry to follow me, who trusted wholly
to the independent voices of the people, could con-
tend against such an array with any chance of suc-
cess.—(Hear, hear.) I however fought the battle to
satisfy my friends, and, if-I- fell, I fell in a good
cause, and I preferred falling as I did, in company
with a Morpeth, than to retain the most perma-
nent seat in Parliament by the sacrifice and
principlesabaUdon-
' which first re-
commended'plain(Lwouhd cheering.)
attheprin.
ciples were on which he had
IH eel toa
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t
also in reverting to the measures of the present day,
annyo now endeavouredfe thoseto your
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been guided, and he had
shown what his decision would have been had he been

in Parliament; and he appealed for their verdict, but
that verdict had been given before he had pleaded his
cause.—(Hear.) He thanked them for the patience
with which they had listened to him—and also for
the active services they had rendered in the hour of
conflict—and he promised them, that on any occasion
when his services might be required, he would lose
no opportunity, of supporting and vindicating their
rights.—(Loud cheers.)
Many other toasts were then given, after which the
company separated at a late hour.

GREAT LEAGUE FUND 50,0001.-A cheering in-
stance of the growing zeal for the success of the fund
occurred in Little Bolton the other day. The Com-
mittee appointed to canvass Eastward, called in one
instance, upon an old schoolmaster, who stated that
his receipts had fallen off, during the last few years,
more than twenty shillings a week, and he was sorry
he really had no money to give them. But, turning
to his wife, he said, " Kitty, go up stairs (into such
a drawer) and bring down the old Queen Anne's
crown piece, which was thy brother's." The old
lady trotted up stairs, and speedily returned with the
coin in question, which she handed over most cheer-
fully, although she said it had been,in the family up-
wards of forty years. The old couple. .made the col-
lectors heartily welcome to it, bade them " God
speed" in their- benevolent work, and they went on
their way deeply struck with this noble trait of self-
denial and unassuming zeal, which puts to utter shame
the comparatively paltry contributions of more pre-
tending repealers.—Bolton Free Press.
The late favourable summer season, which has not
been equalled for many years, was so productive to
the Watermen's steam-boats on the river, and the
number of passengers carried so far exceeded that of
all former years, that at their recent annual meeting,
it was stated that the net profit for the past year
would enable them to declare a dividend of 15 per
cent. ; hut as they intended to build additional boats
to meet the increasing traffic on the river, it was
agreed upon to declare a dividend of 10 per cent., to
be paid forthwith, to lay by a reserved fund of 1,0001.,
and to present a donation of 50 guiruiis to the Wa-
termen and Lightermen's Almshouses, making in all
100 guineas which they have presented to that ex-
cellent institution. A 'very handsomt iron steam-
boat, to be called Waterman No. 8, isw ready for
launching at Messrs. Ditchburn and Mare's factory at
Blackwall. She is to be fitted up with two engines of
16-horse power each, with machinery and boilers on
an improved system by Messrs. Penn and Son, of
Greenwich, who have been so successful in fitting up
the numerous river steamers. The Watermen
steamers 9 and 10 are building, and will be ready in
L a few weeks. The same Company intend building
eight other steam-boats.