The Sun.
London, England, 1842-07-16 00:00:00

in view ; I trust you will be led to adopt wise and veil-adapted
measures for its attainment. Were it in my power to render
effective service I would gladly co-operate; but the pressure
of immediate duties, and the frequent ill state of my health,
render it necessary for me to live under great restrictions. I
cannot bear continuous excitement. The times arc indeed
marked by unprecented calamity and suffering ; an,l we seem
to be approaching the state of things described by Tacitus.
when we can bear "neither our evils nor their remedies."
Conflicting interests and parties prevent the progress of true
patriotism ' • and selfishness opposes humanity in innumerable
forms. One thing, however, seems most evident, that what-
ever other causes of evil-working may be specified, as aTeount-
ing for .a large portion of our distresses, the gigantic and
most monstrous evil is the operation of unrighteous
laws restricting our trade in corn and pro-
visions. Surely our present infatuated Government, self-con-
tradictory and suicidal in its policy, and rampant in its domi-
nation, by the very Patience and forbearance of suffering mil-
lions, will at length yield that to necessity which they deny to
justice. Fear is often more powerful than principle ; and if
ever there were reason fur apprehension, the present is the
crisis. The Premier sees enough to prove that ignorance can-
not shield film from responsibility ; but he has neither the for-
titude nor the rectitude which ought to result from knowledge.
In the meanwhile distress and misery are becoming most ca-
tended and appalling ; and I should like to see such a plan of
relief as..isrOuld_..not even appear to be a scheme fur supporting
the prese3t Administration, but so contribute to suffering
humanity as to keep. its prominent and principal causes before
the public mind till political quackery shall be fully exposed and
abandoned for ever. May God in his merciful providence
deliver our country from its internal enemies—preserve us from
anarchy and misrule—continue to us the mighty power of passive
submission, that reason, and wisdom, and truth may ultimately
subdue all opposition, and righteousness may prevail. We
want not charity in this cause so much as justice.
Be assured that I am, my dear Sir, yours truly,
J. FLETCHER.

Cottage Grove, Mile End, July 7, 1842. •
Mr. Iliticarr said he had been intrusted by the Com-
mittee with a resolution expressive of their sense of the
urbanity and kindness of the Duke of Sussex, in receiving
the deputation that had waited on him with a memorial
to the Queen, and his sympathy with the object that had
called them together. He read the resolution as
fol:ows

That this Conference acknowledges the great kindness and
urbanity with • which his Royal Highness, the Duke of
Sussex, received the deputation appointed to wait upon him
with"the memorial to the Queen. That it regards the sympathy
expressed by the illustrious Prince for the sufferings of the
people, and his willingness to aid in their alleviation displayed
in the correspondence with Sir J. Graham, as a new proof of
that devotion to the cause of justice and humanity by which
the. whole life of his Royal Highness has beets characterised,
and this Conference desires to express its warm thanks to his
Royal Highness for the cordial interest he has manifested in
the objects which it is assembled to promote an interest, alike
honourable to his Royal Highness and grateful to the feelings
of this Conference.

He had been one of the deputation who waited on the
Duke of Sussex, and he could say everything of the
favourable reception they met with, and the warmth and
earnestness of feeling manifested by him for the subjects
connected with the purpose of the Conference. He could
only say that he had been most favourably impreued
with his character, though he had a very favourable opi-
nion of him before. lie begged leave to move that the
resolution be adopted by the Conference, and that the
Chairman be requested to have it copied and inclosed to
the Duke of Sussex.

Mr. GRUNDY seconded the resolution, which was then
.put and carried unanimously.
Mr. H. RAwsoN, of Manchester, moved that the fol-
lowing petition be adopted for presentation to the House
of Commons :
To the Honourable the Commons of Great Britain and Ireland
in Parliament assembled.
The representation of the undersigned members of a Confer-
ence at present assembled at Palace-yard, Westminster.
Showeth,—That the long protracted distress of this nation
is generally increasing, and has become intolerable. That '
without an immediate change in the policy of the Legislature
there is no hope of a restoration of public prosperity. The
disruption of the very elements of society is threatened, the
stability and the good order of the State are hastening to an end.
The industrious classes are starving, and your laws prevent
them from earning bread.
We call upon your House instantly to abolish all monopolies
which interfere with the rights of labour, and to take means, ,
that you shall net separate until the Corn-laws are entirely
respealed.
And while we deliberately declare our belief that the remedy
for the existing public distress is within the powers of Par-
liament, we hereby record our solemn warning that the con- •
sequences of rejecting the application of that remedy will he
at the dour of your Honourable House.
And your petitioners will ever pray.
It had been intended that this petition should be pre-
sented by Mr. Villiers, and that he should make some
motion that would bring the subject before the House
in some way or other. The advantages of this were so
clear, that he need scarcely mention them. The great
advantage that had arisen from the debates in the House
of Commons, had been the constant admission of their
opponents, of the truth of the principles they main-
tained. On every motion that had. been brought fui -
ward, they had made some admission or other, and espe-
cially their leader, Sir R. Peel. On one motion, he ad-
mitted that agricultural prosperity depended on com-
mercial prosperity. In another debate, he admitted that ,
the people ought to have the advantage of buying in the
cheapest, and selling in the dearest market. Scarcely
one of the principles maintained by the free-traders, but
what they had admitted ; and the only objection they
now seemed to fall back upon was that of the Socialists.
The only answer they seemed to bring forward as an an-
swer to their principles, was the evils of machinery—this
was the staple commodity in which the monopolists now
dealt. He moved that the petition be signed by •the
Chairman, on behalf of the Conference.
Mr. lsfooliE seconded the petition ; he skid its
object was to get up a discussion that evening, which
should interrupt or delay the granting of the supplies.
It would be brought forward on the motion that the
Speaker. leaverthe..Chair' ,:ILW- that-. the--tionse-- go-into
Committee. He stated that the distress hactgene,on.; ,
ist‘eadi,bleretwoiltv27,*Toiithe last4iireeti or fieur years ; in:
'
A,Dt!Kies. rjtiboll, gone on inernaki4ftir fti. yearqind the
condition of the operatives there was destitute in the
extreme, particularly the poor Irish, who had no ,legal
title to paroeitial.relief, ,`lie law Ina& their bread dear,
and prevented them. from -getting employment, but it
would not allow them tip be" ;t nor give them relief.'' He,
had visited the fainilies'of 'file poor, and he fohed, from
inquiries, that the) had ' 610 subsisted thr a long period
by pawning and selling' urthey had;' and PurCh;iSing
soup tickets, which were( sold at litt each,' and: by
means of which, 1,300 gallons of soup were 'distributed
daily, and yet it was not enough for ;tone-half, or one-
third of the applicants for it. The people would: have.
been dead if it had not been for this,.assistanee from
private charity. The Government had done nothing for
them—the law had done nothing for them. They might
have starved in their garrets and cellars for • what the
law or the Government had done for theiii. He hid had
51. worth of soup tickets, which he had diStribtited:tot 135
people. That was not one-twentieth part of 'the people
who asked for them ; they cause day after day to :'him
for' them. They had, in many instances, only one quart
of soup for a whole family for a day. Day after day
they were without food and without work, although
they were willing to work. Typhus was becoming very
prevalent among them. He would mention the case of
Joseph Purfleet, who had a wife and five children. Two
of his children and his wife had died within two days.
Ile had seen the certificate sent by the medical officer of
the infirmary where one of the children had died, and
which stated that the child had died from fever brought
on through want of clothing and want of food. The
poor man himself was so weak as to be scarcely able to
walk. He had already related the case of a poor man
who had been found lying on a lock of shavings on a
clay floor. That man, it had been said, had died of
phthisis, but what had occasioned the phthisis ? The
man had been without clothing, he had been thirty-six
hours without food—he had had no fire—and were not
these privations sufficient to produce phthisis?The lion.and
Learned Gentleman alluded to the case of a man named
Dooley, who had died of inflammation of the brain,
brought on by want and suffering. There was a poor
man, named Richard Conner, who was ill of consump-
tion, who resided in Mount-street, Manchester ; that
man had applied for parochial relief ; he said his settle-
ment was in Manchester ; that he had been burn in
Manchester, but could not prove it. The officer neg-
lected to relieve him—he had forgotten him—and when
he was ultimately taken into the workhouse he was past
all hope of recovery. But the most painful thing was to
see the little children, at an age when they ought to
know nothing but enjoyment—there they were with
wan and wasted looks, their faces stamped with the
cares of old age, and themselves piteously asking every
one they saw for food ; they were naked, they were cold,
they were diseased, they had scarcely food sufficient to
keep soul and body together. Timings were growing worse.
If a mill were shut up but for one day, the people were
asking for soup-tickets. They were barely able by
constantly working to earn sufficient to live—they were
even then obliged to pawn their clothes, and the weavers
had almost all pawncti_ their shuttles. If a weaver got
work, he was generally obliged to beg money to get his
shuttle out of pawn, and then to beg food to give him
strength to throw his shuttle. He knew that in many of
their houses which he had visited, there was not one
morsel of food. Dr. Howard, the Physician to time Man-
chester Infirmary, had given it as his opinion that many
of these persons were so reduced by starvation, that if
they were suddenly called upon to do full work, they
would die. He had urged the Board of Guardians to
consider this, when they were testing men in the stone-
yard. He had represented to them that the men had
het n suffering from hunger, from mental agony, from
privations of. - all sort., and that thv effect of
setting them to work might be to kill them. Then
they were told that the markets of the world were glutted.
Yes—not because people did not wart the goods, but
• because we would not take payment for them in the only
way in which they could pay us.—(Cheers.) if a shop-
. keeper had been in the habit of supplying a baker with
goods, and of taking payment in loaves, and he were sud-
. ::nol: toto
trielefubs_aekte:
untiltake
lit:
be
loiceaz3,ll
it, the
his el:IL:h. i'l h c n
laasFl,,r had to give 'lin!. he might continue to send tithies.
them would be 0 ver-productiou • nos booboo the baker
, .

,di:d apt 90 Abe go'o'd because the 4pillipekr.;.lrsB
to aosurd as to refus,e.,payntent in the only inani ter in
n hich payment could he -made ni him.. The pcfn)le in
general' were . not-half clothed. ;Alley had not the: clot fiinc
they wanted ; 'they were desiroes 'of having meet-v.-how
then would there be zirer-produetioh? The reason was the
people could not" earn money sufficient to Pay-ft:sr them.
There ti/e.relaiOt-tocr many goods in the world ;' hitt. it'was
our 'own 'feilai. in -ref Using to take payment (or Them
in the only yoty iin which purchasers -- could "IYav
for them that caused 9ver-Ooduction.s4. (Cho rs)
There was over-pro,inction; .beeattae. parties . mild: ;not
pay for goods, and ne't hecatise:, too . much • goods 4aie re
manufactured. The iiektioners itated,that there was a
threatened disruption of the' elements of society.- -Now
he was himself an advocate fe'r `Peliet' -tinder all eirenna-
stances ; but he could not 'halt hiook fortankkto the pogsi-
.
bility of the people being driv‘..ett b::y 'famine In thbldegre-
, rate resource of risking their
And liberties for the
purpose of endeavouring to Ohtani\ breadfarlthemeeki'es
their wives, and their children ;aria
under such circum-
stances it was the duty of every hone;,t nazi tree, his
best exertions to obtain-that justice ter i'he
)
people.which
called upon the House of Commons • - .:el, eat ofahe
world avert the threatened calamity:: '1:"c petitioners
~orn•laws, as a remedy for the prevailifigdislt crsc't
to. try a 1 • •
sk
trial was ;all they required ; and if it -did. not: That
eeed
they. would at once consent to a re-imposition ef 'Pie
burden. The petitioners concluded by "recording. iikir
solemn warning that the consequences of re,lectmg-'time
application of the proposed remedy would lid at the doors'
of the House." There could be no doubt but _that lhe
consequences which might result from the suffmings of
the people, would be attributable -to the authors of,tho
system in which those eufferirige Originated. These were
the paltry arguments that were brought forward hr Sir
li. Peel ; and he admitted the . Other night, that "irthe
distress continued it would be necessary' to have an ,early
revision of the Corn-laws—another revision of the Witt'.
One would think. that the simplest, revision of the tiiT iit
on_carth would be for the Government to le:' it alone—
to leave those who were in trade to trade in their own
way ; to leave those who earned their living ey the
sweat of their brow to earn it in their own way. It had
often occurred to him that trade was like the sensitive
plant.. If they brought their hands near it its leaves
drooped, and withered, and hung down, and irthey kept
their hands there the plant fell prostrate. 5,.; it was
with trade. Whenever Government brought is hot
hand near it it drooped ; and if they kept their ho2ads
there it .died at last. They ought to leave
trade , alone, and leave God to govern it. 11c
did not like speaking to the Government in petie
tious, that because there was distress and suffering
there must be something done. The distress and suffer-
ing were good reasons why something should be done
at once. That distress, and difficulty, and danger, did
not make their cause any stronger ; they were only so
many proofs of the strength of their arguments. If this
year snould be a year of plenty, greater 'than had ever
occurred before, the Corn-laws would still be unjnet.
They would still represent man holding up his strength
against God—man making laws in contempt of the laws
of God. Ile (Mr. Moore) liked that free trade question
front its beim, a peace question, for free trade made
every country have an interest in the other countries of
the earth, and of making all prosperous together. They
would then want no taxation for the army, they would
want no ships of war-every ship of war would become
a merchant vessel. The people were now taxed beyond
what they could bear to keep up a readiness for shedding
human blood. Change that system and they would have
increasing plenty. It was hard that between them and
that change there should stand in this country one man.
One who was powerful, and dared to defy not only the
people. but to defy God. No effort was too great to he
made in that cause. Nothing was too great to be
done to accomplish ic. It could be accomplished. Mr.
Thompson had told them how it could be accomplished.
It was in the power of the people. By self-dental the
people could preclude the possibility of continuing their
tyranny. Their whole strength depended on the people.
The resolution was then put and carried unanimously.
The CHAIRMAN said he had mentioned in an early
put of the meeting that a letter had been received from
the Potteries, which he would then read to them:—
Fenton, Staffordshire Potteries, July 14, 1F42.
My Dear Sir,—All this day large bodies of colliers have been
passing this way to Langton and Cheadle, with the intention
of turning out all the colliers in the district, the great body in
quiet order, but followedby straggling parties, demanding bread
and alms as they pass along. In the last three or four Sundays,
persons have been preaching to the people in this district, be-
ginning with a verse front the Bible, and then branching out
and asking their hearers if they have money to purchase guns,
lir not pistols; and, as a last resource, ft they have not a penny,
to btrylucifer matches. Pray, excuse me for not writing more
particulars, but this moment, the Magistrates of the county'
have passed by my manufactory, backed by three companies of
the 12th Foot, .and three companies of yeomanry
cavalry. God knows what will be the result. To•
morrow, it may be my unhappy task to give returns of killed
and wounded. So much for the horrid bread-tax. When will
our class-legislators have mercy and wisdom?—Yours truly,
CHARLES MASON.
\!r. 0 Wt;ti, of Manchester, next addressed the meeting.
He said, that alter the very eloquent speeches which
they had heard in support of the petition, he would not
detain the meeting long. Suffice it to say, he concurred in
what had fallen from the previous speakers. He did not
hesitate .to say that he was one of a deputation from the
shop keepers of Manchester. They had waited on Sir
Robert Peel, but he had refused to hear them. He
(Mr. Owen) supposed they had heard what passed from
Air. Birch. He (Mr. Owen) had heard some remarks re-
specting the evils inflicted on hand-loom weavers, and
that a great deal had been said about machinery being
the cause. This was the cause assigned by the Premier
himself. Now he (Mr. Owen) happened to be intimately
connected with that branch of the business. His opinion
of the Corn-laws was that they were subversive of the
best interests of the country.—(Hear. hear.) If a poor
man was obliged to give 2s. Bd. a dozen lb. for his flour,
when the price ought to be is. Bd. a dozen, and the fa-
mify.used three dozen lb. a-week, there would be 3s. a
week taken from that family by this legitima-
tized robbery. Machinery was blamed its the cause.
whenever saiges were reduced ; but be uelieved
they were blamed wrongly. Ile believed wages of the
Manchester weavers had just been reduced Id. in every
9d. Gingbants, fur which the operatives were paid 15s.
a cut a few years ago, were only paid for at the rate of
I Is. a cut now, although the cut was now 58 yards long,
instead of 52, as it was when the price was 15s. The
number of men employed as silk handlomn weavers in
, 1 Manchester,was not less than 20,000, and the reduction of
, Id. in every 9d• on their wages must amount to an
immense sum. He hoped Sir R. Peel would not blame
machinery for that reduction; neither could it be said
that the article had given way to others which had
become more popular; that was not the case, fur the re-
duction in the price of ginghams had not taken place
till-such- years-after-the duty- •was.takem Ad -calico.. pail te-
IN Iltd,,,hr should hear i.OO, twee,. silarut inachiary
' tieing the cause of all this. In reference to the State of
the people , he shbbld 'say, „that, he knew . whole
finnihei *lid Were enable ' to obtain • foodftir :eh einSeiVe.s by
• then- own exertions. Those were •not;-;dritnkeit'petiple,
buyer' suable hard "vrAtking pe0p1e.,..;-,theritgs:they3fiore
were
,elean--:-it
.was quite. surprtsiog to Wilneia•their
cleanlinesS in the midst of their,' poverty ; they - were:peo-
ple that would be a credit -tu ,uny, nation: . I.l,e,Ataily
heard tales of starvation—the people • lived 'On li-tithing
but potatoes, eaten witleselt .; the children cried-for bread,
and, with' teirsiin; their:eye* asked: their?heitirt-broken
I parents," Why there, was no bread neve."—(llear, hear.)
Things, avere dally;gettiug worse injatneashire. ~ In
Stoitkport, bad as they 'were, they were • poSitively get-
ting worse.. One firm,'Whieh was Said, to be rich, stop-
' ped• -200 narrow looms the 'ether day, by witieh means
between .60 ' and, 79,hands would be thrown out of
employment. •.' •'. •
. The CHAIRMAN interrupted the 'speaker to state, as
DelenteS Were leaving the room, that on Monday,- after
the Conference,-there would he ardinner at foot o'elecle
at thiitholiSe, at which it was hoped that as hinny De-
Putie' woold give their attendance .as, possible'.', The
cost would, be very moderate,.. and , the object 'was that
they mighthi`kve a general 'converSatiiin after dinner:,,'
' ,:iir...OIVEN continued.---AnOthei fact,
,whieh, winenot
generally k now n.to' a stranger, was,' that though -am-en-
gine might go mud- and ;appear to be working All
time, the, men were; not doing so; in many: eases worPig
one ~- or two loom.`, : 4 %%hen' , they, . could . 41.1f011d
to four if , -they- had All. work. —,(Hear,' bear.)
It had lieen been etatcd that in Mancheater aJiand•lown
weaver had been obliged to' borrow money to release his
shuttles from pawn. A speaker
,had also saidthat he
knew some weavers Who were in' receipt of Verv,good
wages. But that was-u hard battle in which _every man
was killed. In a population ,of ' upwards of 300,000, it
was impossible. there should not be' some good -workmen
and some good employment,—Oear, hear.) • A -gentle-
man had recommended that .the confereneb she mid Wait.
Why they ought not to wait for an hour.—(Hear, hear.)
Even amongst the Tories, about Manchester, thereWe e
many who wished to be rid of, the
;party; and certainly
they would not vote for a Tory now,.
A DELEGATE asked whether it "had been 'ascertained
what was the number of the work 'peeple' in :the. Whole
of the North?

The CHAIRMAN said it was impossible—to -answerthe
question, but the number was increasing Tory rapidly ;
and he thought it would be advisable to take_ measareei
for ascertaining the number unemployed at 'this mombnt,
and the progress of the increase in the numbet.—( Hear.)
After a short and desultory conversation, The. Meeting
adjourned till Monday, at eleven o'c.ock.

UNITED KINGDOM LIFE ASSURANCE Ciimr:o“.7.
Annual General Meeting of Proprietors.—This A yeting-ytas
held in the Office of the Company, No. 8, Waterloo-piace; on
the Bth July, James Stuart, F4q., Chairman of the Board of
Directors, in the Chair. The Report of Receipts and-Dis-
bursements of the Company, and of the amount of their Funds,
required by their Deed of Settlement. having been laid be:ore
the Meeting, the Chairman called their attention to the con_
firmed progressive success of the Company, e inch was ',sta..
increase
blished by the fact, that their books shooed an of
3,3781. 7e. 3d. of Premiums, received for the year from IA
July, 1841, when the First. General Meeting of Proprietors
and Division of Profits took place, to Ist July, 11142, over the
Amount of Premiums of the preceding year, to Ist July, 1841.
This fact was the more worthy of notice, beeau.e it had been
publicly stated by the Chairman of the Scottish Widows Fund
Assurance company, one 01 the greatest in the empire, and is
one-halt in
1841, as compared with 10140, and that their business had,
during the same time, not diminished rLeitfireirodeffidecins
in ingenerally, hail diminished 1842, that the Business of
rt of Nlarch
much more than °lie-
The thanks of
fourth. the meeting Were, en the motion of M
D. Lingo, Esq., seconded by John Connell, Esq., unanimously
voted to the Directors, and especially to the Resident. Director,
Edward Boyd, Esq., for his unremitting exertions to promote
the interest of the Company.
DEATH WHILST BATIIING II THE SERPENTINE -.
lAA night an inquest was held before Mr..fliggs and a most
respectable Jury, at the Barlow-mow, Mount.street, Gros-
venor-square, on view of the body of William Sears, aged 00,
Appientire to 41r, S'apwell, the plumber. 4.4 Chapel-street, who
v, as .drovveed in. the Serpentine whilst' bathing on Thursdav
eve-ning last. The deceased was foetid about 30 rest (rem the
shore in about 11 fee,t, of vet.l, And three an fOliti'ftef o± mud ~
ThP,Jtqy ret9004.11 l'eltiict of o' Accidentally Divvied, w hilst
aitking," . .... .