The Sun.
London, England, 1842-07-06 00:00:00

. transacted between ours of two o'clock and seven o'ct ed.
in the afternoon. Such, however, was now the inereeses of
applicants, that there were now two Boards ; they c. volniene 7
their meetings at nine o'clock in the morning, and . condom `dsitting till one; they resumed again at two, and self lem ten 'e
their labours over before ten or eleven o'clock at night.- -
(Hear, hear.) He would enter into a statement of the /mob ar
of applicants, and of the amount of relief dispemsed cEarinee
the three months, commencing on April 1, and endin g Ott
'1,7
. June 30, front the year 1838 to the preseeet . •year.
F 1 In the year 18:38 the number of applicants during esso ;three
' 1 months to which he had referred, applying for easual .seei Id,
amounted t• 532, and the sum disbursed r their relief aas
1 768/. In the year 1839 the number of appliemoi s
was 573, and the amount disbursed 708/. In tier'
year 1840 the number was 626, and the amount of relief 822 E.
In the year 1841 the number of applicants rose to 1,051, and
the amount ...of relief to 1,1261.-(Hear, hear.) But during-
the quarter which had terminated on the 30th June last, the
number of applicants amounted to 2,016, east the relief disi.
burled to 2,1551.-(Hear, hear.) That was the state of
things in the town of Leeds; aid he should observe, . that
in stating the number of applicants, he alluded to
the number of families, and that each family usually
consisted, of course, of several individuals. -( Hear, hear.
A great number of persons who had been hitherto relieved
from other funds must, now, as those funds were exhausted,
apply for relief to the parochial fusels, for they had no Leber
means of existence. There was another class-a supereorr
! class of operatives-who, when employed, had been meking
large wages, probably averaging 30s. a-week ; out of this sum
they had been enabled to save something which supported'
them when out of employment; but now they were so long
without work, that their little savings had become.
exhausted, and they had begun, for the purpose
of providing the necessaries of life for their families, to sell
their watches, and such articles of furniture as were not indis-
pensable to keep house. A considerable number of those
j would now have to apply to, the overseers for relief. An opera-
tine, whose business was that of a wool-sorter, and who had
I been formerly employed in one of the first manufacturing houees
i in Leeds, had called on him (Nr. Johnston) and stated that.
he bad three or four full-grown so as-that nothing could give
him more pain than the visit he was ehert obliged to make-ante
that the greatest boon that could 'ie conferred on him,
would be the furnishing him w;th the means of
emigrating with his family to America. Susiewas the general
it
feeling among those classes-a feeling of the e•reotest pain and
humiliation at being compelled to make those .applications.
There was a general diminution of employment in every ,de-
partment of manufacturing-in the flax, woollen, and iron us a-
nufacturing establishments. From the period to which he ha, 1
referred, the year 1825, up to the present time, great merest'
the opportunities lie had of becoming acquainted with des feel-.
ings of the pour, and intimate as was his knowledge tee'
those feelings, he had never been cognizant of
anything like the despondency . which he found tes
prevail at the present time among those classes of the people..
Speaking to him (Mr. Johnson). on this subject, a poor mate
observed that whatever turned up hereafter, it could not he
worse than the present state of things. What, he would ask.
would be the consequence if such feelings should spread among
the poorer orders of the community? They vrould not, he
knew, eontemplateanythinglaseevil of themselves; on the et n-
trary, they bore their sufferings with the most exemplary patience.
But when men saw their families starving, void of sny hope
for the future, was it not to be feared that wicked inert would
avail themselves of the state of those poor people's minds, for
the purpose of inflaming them, and urging them to violation of
the law ? All the working classes were agreedehat there: was
no ray of hope perceptible in the future, and he was convinced
that, unless the Legislature devised some remedy, the couastry
• would have reason to shudder at the consequences.
• Mr. WHITEIIEAD, of Leeds, next addressed the meeting'.
He said he might perhaps be allowed to say a few words on tha
subject touched on by his friend Sir. Johnson, because that
gentleman had not sufficiently explained the condition of the.
poor. That gentleman had only mentioned the casual CUM
of distress; he had not mentioned those who continually re-
ceived relief-the morning recipients as they were called..
Besides, he had only adverted to one township in Leeds, whie'e
contained eleven townships. The number therefore of recipients,
of relief was much greater than might be supposed from the,
statements of Mr. Johnson. He (Mr. Whitehead) mentioned
this to account for the statement of a previous speaker, who
had mentioned the distressed poor as being exceedingly mime-
' roes. The overseers at the present period paid 1,0001. pet
month in relief, and the amount of " leakage' was more there
double the present year than what it had
amounted to in former years. Ile would explain what
was meant by " leakage." All the property in the town was
rated, as they all knew for the relief of the poor. A portion
of the property that was unoccupied did not pay any rates,
and a numerous class of persons were exempt from the pay-
ment of rates on account of their poverty. 'those none-par
ments constituted what they termed " leakage." 'l'be amoune
of this leakage was about thirteen per cent. ; for the present
year it would be twenty-six per cent. Thus the fund which
was to supply the means of relieving the poor would be in the
present year diminished by a sum double that which formed
the diminution of former years.-( Hear, hear.) Having
said so much, he would, with their permission, say a.
little respecting the order to which he belonged, being de-
sirous, like many others, to stand by his order.-( Loud cheers. )
In the first place, he might be allowed to state that there had
been a meeting of shopkeepers in the township of Leeds-a
meettne* different, perhaps, from any hitherto held in the king.
kom. He was one of the four individuals who had originatd
that meeting.-( Hear, hear.) He would not lend his
hand to make it a party proceeding ; he told them that
the proceedings should be general and stamped with the highest.
authority, and then he would lend them his aid, and do all in
power to assist them. There were two Conservatives and two
Liberals.-( Cheers.) He would not go to his own friends far
signatures, unless he first got the Conservatives to sign. By
such means the requisition was signed by IS Conservatives and
15 Liberals.-(Cheers) He was not enabled of his own know-
ledge to state the proportion of Conservatives to the Liberals.
The requisition was signed by 216 persons, who were
all known in the boruugh. He should say that at least
two-fifths of them were Conservatives - ( Cheers) - and
in three weeks they must have been known to the
Conservative Members for the borough. He had never wit-
nessed such a meeting before. Every one of the resolutions
were carried unanimously, with the exception of one, as a
hand, was held up against petitioning both Houses of Parlia-
ment, as bethought it was in vain to pet ition.-( A laugh and
cheers. ) That was the only dissentient voice they had ; there-
lore the statements he would lay before them were stamped
es ith the highest authority. 'they did not come front the ca-
lilinniated Anti.Curn-law League.-( Laughter. ) They
dhl not come from those violent Radicals, of
whom they called him one, but front all elassee and
all parties. -( Loud cheers. ) He would proceed to lay
before the meeting some of the statements laid before that
meeting. His own trade was that of a tea stealer, which was
all insignificant trade.-( A laugh.) But the trade to which he
was about to allude, was the grocery trade. He took the case
of the grocers in Leeds, ant he would divide them inio two
classes, these who paid high rents. high rates, and occupied pre-
mises in the front streets of the townships, and those who lived
in the suburb: of the former:: it was a well known fact, and
which would scent extraordinary, nut less than sixty had failed
during the last ten years, the greater portion having failed during
the last. three years. tic was quite certain that not. more than
11 or 12 persons were time- in business who were in business 10
years agu. only live had retired front business during that
period, and of those five he would take one of the most careful,
one wilts understood his business well. He was at present a
member of the town-council. He hail eaten the bread of care-
fitness, and he declared that for some years beforehe retired from
business he had lost 2001. a year. He would then take the
second class of tradesmen, namely, the shopkeepers residing in
the suburbs. It was a lamentable thing to seethe condition in
which they were placed. Not less than 400 of them had failed
in the thue he had mentioned, and not one had retired from
business. He could state on the authority of many oft hem-
no, he could not say many of them in proportion to the whole
number, but of five or six-that they could not support themselves
by their business, if they had not other property besides. Now if
these men were to be credited, no one could doubt bow much
worse must be the great mass ofthose who actually depended on
their credit for their trade. It was not to be attributed to ex-
traordinary competition. He had seen eleven tradesmen, and
they told him that three years ago they received 570/. a-week
in their retail business, and now they only received 277/,,-
( fleas. hear, hear.) He would just allude to what had fallen
from Mr. Johnson regarding tea. It was well known that
females had a great prefeliction for tea, but it was
an unfortunate thing to see able-bodied men obliged
to take one cup of weak tea, instead of a substautial
meal.-( Hear, hear, hear.) They were not to judge of the
consumption of food by the revenue, for many families did not
know the taste of meat. He say a great deal about. the
butchers, but it would be useless. lie had called upon a
butcher in Leeds to propose one of the resolutions at the meets
ing to which he had alluded, but he said he would not : arid
upon his asking his reason:, he said that if lie spoke he should
tell a straightforward matter-of-fact tale, which not one out
of tea weeld believe: He said, "lam a man of pro-
perty ; if I tell you I am not living by my business,
you will hot believe me ; yet at the present mo-
ment I am not living by my business, and were it nut
for the property I possess 1 should be obliged to foil as
others have done." --e Loud cheers.) lie went to another
butcher, and he said that during the last four years he had lost
5001. by his retail trade. He had had no particular losses.
He sitid tie thought he would do best if he went out of
business, and live upon what he had, than to keep
on his bttsiness. This was a most industrious man.
and always paid cash for his stock, therefore he tool
him as a criterion, and an authority which he relied upon.
Ile further said that he would let his shop it be could get
the amount of his fixtures. He vrotdd neat take the shoe-deal-
ers, for the first article of clothes that would be required by a
pet on who could afford any at all, was shoes. One of these
dealers had told him that he used to take 80/., where he now
only took 40/. He had consulted six shoemakers who, two
years ago, employed 104 men, and they now employed 33 men
and one boy. Ile would then make a few remarks respecting
the drapers, thee had suffered more than almost auv other class.
He believedthat there were but few drapers. not mei; of property,
who were able to carry on their business. The hatters declared that
their receipts were diminished one-half. Several of them, at,
the meeting to which lieshad referred, had declared that thee
could not carry on their business, not in the most economical
manner. The bookseller and newspaper proprietors were also
suffering from this distress. One fact he would mention of a
gentleman who kept a shop in Briggate, the principal street in
the town, who stated that six months age he sold fifty
dozer: a week more of penny publications, such as
Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, than he did at present..
The state of things was such as it was impossible to describe.
The rates and taxes were enormous. In many cases the rents
had been reduced front 30 to 40 per cent. within the last four
months. He might detain them at much greater length on
this subject, but he feared that his statements had already been
tedious.-( No, no.) But he now wished to make a few ob-
servations respecting the peculiar position in which the ship-
owners of this country were placed. It might not be generally.
known to the meeting that the tea dealers of the United King--
shorn amounted to 100,e0), that. number including every ()atilt;
who took out a license to sell tea., if they included
the other shopkeepers at another 100,0(X),
n, who were in et
and allowed seven
to each family, they then had 1,400,000.
fair way of being reduced to a statek (ads doePs7yistotidtidio,n,,ahnldwpoervecritlyo.t.
The shopkeepers might. justlyias ,
their interests protected e-,-,(elmeanir; hear.) For his own part
tit which did not answer that
he could see no use in a___6ll:::,
saw die Government protecting
end.-(Year, hear.) T
the property of the fund-holder and the property of the land-
holder ; it did not protect the property of the shopkeeper-
( Hear, hear)—it didtlotproteet the property of the rner.
Nor
the manufacturer, and least of all did • •
chant and
of the operative. was that.
didThnooutsanprdosteoetf
Gi(tzerty .
-tmente he contended,
aPl7.meetThte'he
of crative.-( Hear, hear.)
were gradually being brought to a premature
the life o‘fcert
orerat.ves
then, were men to think of the Go.
grave.
--(Hear, hear.)
veminent? Who could respect such a Government? He, for
eee, could not. They were either too ignorant to understand
the true interests of the people, or it' they did understand them,
they knowingly legislated fir their own selfish purposes. If
tiny' were ignorant, the Constitution ought to be changed
'forthwith,people ought n longer- be left in
and the 0 to
the hands of a corrupt and selfish Government-if
they 'really did understand the question, and knew that
they were sacrificing the interests of the great body of the
1 people for the sake of a particular class, then there were men
who might charge them in a short time with the crime of
murder.-(Hear, hear,) He saw no difference himself between
the man who met another on the highway and presented a pistol
athis breast; he saw not the slightest difference between that
man and the Government who, for :ash purposes, wore