The Sun.
London, England, 1842-02-10 00:00:00

The London Anti-Coin-Law Conference held their second
meeting yesterday morning, in the great room at the Crown
ind Anchor Tavern, Strand, at eleven o'clock. The Delegate.
began to assemble as early.ae half-past ten, and by the time the
proceedings commenced, the room was nearly filled.
Duncan Mac;aren, Esq., took the chair at half-past eleven
o'clock.
The CHAIRMAN said that he had yesterday announced to
the Conference, that on the day previous a letter had beer
written by Mr. Brooks, the Chairman of the Executive
Committee, to Sir R. Peel, requesting permission for a depu-
tation from the Conference to wait on him before he should
bring forward his motion on the subject of the Corn-laws,
in the House cf Commons this evening. An answer had yes-
terday been received from Sir Robert Peel, after a lapse of
twenty-four hours--(Hear, hear)—stating that he was sorry
he could not receive the deputation. —( Hear, hear.) Me
would_ read the letter and the answer.—(The Chairman
then read the letter of Mr. Brooks, stating, that a,
Chairman of a preliminary meeting of deputies from
various Anti-Corn-law Associations throughout the country,
of ministers of different congregations—he requested an inter-
view in their behalf, from Sir Robert Peel, previous to his
bringing forward his motion in support of the Corn-laws. )
That letter was dated Feb. 7, and was delivered at half-
past-two o'clock on Monday. Yesterday, at half-past two,
just twenty-four hours after the letter had been despatched,
the following answer had been received.—(The Chairman
then read a letter signed W. H. Stephenson, in which the writer
stated that he had been directed from Sir Robert Peel to ac-
knowledge the receipt of Mr. Brooks's letter, requesting an
interview with Sir R. Peel, on behalf of the Deputies from various
Anti-Corn-law Associations and religious congregations, in order
that they might state their views to Sir R. Peel respecting
the Corn and Provision-laws, previous to the announcement of
the intentions of the Government on the subject on Wednesday
next, and also to express Sir Robert Peel's regret at his inabi-
lity to comply with Mr. Brooks's request, as he was pre-
vented from doing so by various pre-engagements.
The reading of this letter seemed to excite a stron,t
feeling of surprise,l not unmixed with disgust.) Thus, the
object for which their presence had been required at
eleven o'clock this day, had not been accomplished. The let-
ter ha I been under the consideration of the Executive Com-
mittee, which had met two hours ago, and he could take upon
himself to say, that every gentlemen present upon that Comit-
tee had felt deep regret, and no small degree of astonishment
—( Hear, hear)—that the interview should not be granted.
There was a general feeling among the members of the Exe-
cutive Committee, that as the repeal of the Corn-laws
was the great measure before Parliament, and that
as the subject was to be brought before the House
of Commons, this evening, any other engagement might
with propriety have been set aside—(Cheering)—in order
to enable the Prime Minister of this country to become ac-
quainted with the opinion of the Delegates before introducing
his measure to the House this evening.—(Cheers.) Of
course now they could not help themselves. The Com-
mittee had not come to any resolution on the subject as
to the propriety of renewing their application ; but he
might state that it was the unanimous opinion of the members
of that Committee that the answer to this request ought to
have been different.—( Cheers. ) He would also state that the
Executive Committee recommended that the several
Delegates should individually wait upon any Members
of Parliament with whom they might be acquainted,
to impress upon them the importance of supporting
Mr. Villiers's motion for the total and immediate
repeal of the Corn and Provision-laws.—( Loud cheers.) The
Executive Committee had not thought it expedient to come
to any formal resolution to that effect, but they earnestly re-
commended that each Delegate should wait upon any Members
of Parliament to whom he could gain access, to impress upon
them the importance of supporting the motion, and to info. In
them of the state of the various districts with which they were con-
nected. It had been agreed yesterday that any gentleman capable of
giving statistical information to the Conference should do so at
as ear y a period as possible. A Committee had been appointed
for the purpose of receiving and arranging such information.
That Committee would meet at two o'clock, and would be
happy to receive any information with which gentlemen might
be inclined to furnish them. The Secretary would now state
some other matters to the Conference before proceediog to the
business of the day.
Mr. S. SMITIL (the Secretary) called the attention of the
Conference to the recommendation of the Executive Com-
mittee yesterday, that those gentlemen intending to address
the Conference should previously inscribe their names, and
that they should each be called on by the Chairmao in the
order in which their names were inscribed. He had
now to state that a clerk was in waiting in an ad-
joining room to take down the names of those gen-
tlemen who were desirous of addressing the Conference.
He would also state that some inconvenience had been felt
with regard to the arrangements to be made between the va-
rious London Anti-Corn-law Associations, who were desirous
of receiving the deputies to the Conference from the various
country associations andthe deputies from the country. In or-
der to prevent this it was desirable that the names of the various
London Associations, desirous of receiving the country deputies,
should be inscribed, and. also•the places in which their meet-
ings are held, and that such deputies as might feel inclined to
address the various London Associations should also inscribe
their names, and he begged to state that a clerk was in attend-
ance for that purpose.
The CHAIRMAN announced that Mr. Dixon, of Carlisle,
vvished•to explain a portion of the proceedings of yesterday.
Mr. DIXON explained, that in stating yesterday.. the
number of signatures to the petition from the city whicir he
represented. he had not stated that the petition had been signed
by 5,009 individuals, constituting a majority of the inhabitants
of that ancient and loyal city, but by a preponderating majority
of the male adult population of Carlisle. He would also state
that he was not the only Deputy from Carlisle, for so strong
was the feeling against those laws in Carlisle, that five or six
other gentlemen had been appointed Deputies to the Confer-
rence.—(Cheers. )
Mr. HAY WARD said nothing could exceed in point of national
importance—nay, even in a moral point of view, as a subject
affecting the interests of the whole human race—nothing
could exceed in importance the carrying out the princi-
p'e of free and unrestricted commerce.—Loud cheering. )
He felt how important was the motion which had been in-
trusted to him to propose. It was, that it was most desirable
that in the House of Commons some Member should come
forward immediately and move for the total and immediate re-
peal of the Cern and Provision-laws.—(Loud cheers.) It was
most difficult to discover the exact character of those laws.
—( Hear, hear.) By one set of men they were described
as a tax imposed fur the purpose of revenue, and
by another as no such thing, but simply as a protection for the
agricultural interest, meaning thereby the landlords. --( Cheers. )
It remin 'ed him of the old fable of the bat, who was a bird or
an animal as it suited his purpose.—( Hear, hear, and a
laugh.) Was it a tax for revenue or was it simply an
impost imposing a penalty upon all the inhabitants of the coun-
try, by raising the price of corn to the starving people of this
country above its price in the general market of the world?
Was it a tax imposed for the purposes of revenue? No?—
(Cheers.) Such a tax would be abhorrent even in the
eyes of every arbitrary and aristocratical Tory in the coun-
try.—(Loud cheers.) Every one would rise against a tax
which pressed so hardly on the necessities of the people.
To endeavour to raise the finances by such means, he was sure
would excite universal abhorrence throughout the whole com-
munity. In order to impose such a tax, it would be necessary
not only to levy a duty on the importation of corn from other
countries, but to levy it also on every grain of corn grown
in this country ; then it would be a regular tax for the sake of
-upplying the revenue and the exigencies of the State. But he
thought that every one would at once feel an abhorrence to
such a sys+e nof taxation. There was, therefore, no such tax,
but the duty was merely laid on the importation of
corn from foreign countries, simply, as Lord Stanley had the
candour to confess, to raise the rent of the landowners. This
was the precise view they must take of it ; and unless they
simplified it in this manner, all discussion of the subject would
be confusad, and not understood by any body. Having
resolved it into this principle, he should proceed to
treat it as unjust and unrighteous, for what justice
could there be in a portion of the community—the
landlords—wishing to levy a tax on the rest, they being
rich and the rest poor ? Surely it required no great oratorical
power, no mighty powers, of eloquence, to• show the in-
justice of such an abominable scheme.—(ffe.ar,) If
this tax were raised in this manner for the
purpose of supplying the wants of the State and the necessity
of the public, and were a just mode of remunerating any part
of the community who were serviceable to the State, surely
there ought to be some systematic mode of calculating what
amount such a tax would produce. Some mode ought also to
be proposed of showing how much each individual who had done
service to the State ought to receive, from the highest officer to
the lowest subaltern. For instance when the Minister of State
brings forward his Budget, he makes his particular estimates
for the army or navy, and states what amount
he expects from a certain tax, what portion
of the revenue the army and navy will require,
and apportions the amount which every officer, of all grades in
both services, is to receive, from the highest grade to the low-
est ; all have their specific amounts allotted to them. Now, if
the Corn-tax is meant for the support of the aristocracy, let
the same principle be observed; let the people know what
is the amount to be received in the whole, what amount
is to be appropriated to each landowner, from the greatest to
the smallest, in the agricultural interest, even down to the
labourer. They would then know what each received in pro.
portion to the station he might occupy in society. The thing
would then be done in a business-like mariner ; they should
know what was received by. Lord This or Lord That, or Mr.
So-and-So, from the landlord down to the plough-boy ; they
would know what was contributed to each individual, and what
the people had to pay. But at present they never knew the
precise amount they had to pay the landowners; in this way
the people deceived themselves, and the landowners themselves
were under a great deception.--(Hear, hear.) When they
looked at the operation of this law, they at once per-
ceived that the effects it produced were of the most
malignant character—effects that denounced at once the
wickedness of the enactment, that brought on the destitution
and misery he saw around him. How did the tax operate?
The effects of the duty, or he would call it the penalty, on
the importation of corn fromabroad, was to raise the value of
corn marketed in exact proportion as the penalty adds to the
first cost of the article brought from abroad. The consequence
is, that it raises the price of bread in this country in a time of
scarcity (for it has no effect at other times) to
an enormous extent. Thus, if a family consume every
day a quantity of bread, at the price it ought to be when wheat
was cheap, to the amount of Bd. a day, when a duty or pas
natty on the importation of corn', is laid on, such as that at
present existing, it raises the price to something like Is. ; that
was ad. a-day difference to each labouring family, and 4d.
a-day on each family would amount in the aggregate
to upwards of thirty millions per annum— ( Hear, hear)—and
the whole of that amount was, by the operation of the Corn-
laws, withdrawn from the manufacturing market, The con-
sequence of the decrease in the demand in the home market
was an increase of exports, much of it on speculation, and
consignment to foreign agents; and he had remarked in his own
commercial experience that when bread was cheap in England
the consignments to agents abroad decreased ; but when bread
became dear, it diminished the home demand, and gave rise to
those gluts in the foreign market which led to mercantile bank-
ruptcies, the stoppage of mills, and the misery of. the VOrking
classes. The evil had been ascribed to over-production, but
this wy S fallacy. There was not au over-productieas )'""

~.._Ut.<,~ ~. .

,an under-consumption.—( Hear, hear.) The distress was not
partial, but general. It was not confined to Manchester or
Paisley, but was spread over every town and village in the
kingdom, and was shared by the agricultural labourer himself,
who was miserably affected by the Corn• laws, for this class
lof men were now receiving not more on an average than
from seven shillings to eight shillings a week. —( Hear, hear. )
: He defied the agriculturists to show him that the wages had
advanced under these circumstances. It was not to he expecte,:
that they would, because the farmer had always a snrplus quan:
'ity of labourers at his command. In all agricultural districts
there would necessarily be a great number of la
hourers who were seeking employment from the far-
mers. The cause of this was plain enough. Ever)
farmer, whatever might be the extent of his farm, em-
ployed a given number of labourers, and that number had been
employed upon the farm from time immemorial. He asked a
"armer in Essex the other day what number of labourers were
required for the management and tillage of a farm of one hun-
lred acres. He replied that five men would be sufficient.
Suppose these men had five sons, what, he asked, would
aecome of them ? ..Why," was the reply, " th^y must look
out for employment elsewhere."—( Hear, hear.) These per-
sons had all those local attachments which were common t,.
human nature, and, doubtless, would prefer to remain in the
neighbourhood where they were born; if they went to an-
other, it would be from dire necessity. It was not to be sup-
posed that the farmer, more than any other class of men
would raise the wages of his labourer unless he were com-
pelled to do so; that, whilst he could obtain labour at a
cheaper rate, he would say to his labourers, " Because of your
indigence and distress, I will advance your wages one or two
shillings a week." It was not to he credited; and even if it
were likely to be the case, the labouring man ought net to
depend upon such commiseration.--(Hear, hear.) He should
receive his wages because his services were indispensable, and
because he was able to say, " You shall have my
services at such a 'price ; and if you are not wil• -;
ling to pay that sum, I will -go elsewhere for ern-
ployment."—( Hear, hear.) That was the position in which
every labouring man' should be placed. But the Corn-laws
utterly prevented him from occupying that position. By the
excess of labour in the agricu!tural districts, he was driven to
the commercial districts to seek employment ; and if the Corn
laws operated in such a manner as first to diminish the means
of support, and secondly, the demand for labour, how could the
agricultural labourer*, find employment in the manufacturing
districts, except by competing with the labourers, who were
there already, and reducing their wages ?--( Hear, hear.) So
that, in fact, the operation of the Corn-laws was to reduc,
wages to the most miserable pittance imaginable. The land-
lords held out the delusion that if bread were dear, wages must
necessarily he high ; but if that reasoning were correct, it was
evident that if, in a manufacturing country bread was
dear, wages must be proportionately enhanced.—( Hear,
hear.) And, for the same reason, when bread was
cheap, wages must be reduced. Where, then, was the
humanity of those legislators who adopted such a law as the
Corn-law? The sole object of the law was to secure sordid
gain to one class. There was a distinction between the different
kinds of grain. It was a holy, sanctified gain, when the buyer
and seller were both benefited ; but it was unholy and un-
sanctified gain when one man extracted from the pocket
of another by violence, what would be supposed to en-
rich himself. Those who held the reins of power made this
law to benefit one particular class ; he denied that they hao
any such right. The legitimate power of the Legislature wa,
a power to impose taxes for the pecuniary exigencies of th,
State; they had no right to impose a tax upon one portion o!
the c immunity for the benefit of another.—(Hear, hear, and
cheese.) They had no right to vote away the property of the
people, except for the use of the State.--( Hear, hear.) It
was to prevent such abuse, that by the Constitution of this
country neither the Crown nor the aristocracy were permitted
to impose taxes.—( Hear, hear.) They were called upon, then,
as a body, to denounce the Corn and Provision-laws which so
deeply afflicted the country, and to make every effort in their
power to secure the abolition of those wicked and pernicious
laws. If not repealed, the result would, in the end, be as fear •
ful to the aristocracy and the landed proprietors themselves, as
it had been to the poor man, from whose house it had swept
every vestige of comfort.—( Hear, hear.) It was evident that
such must be the case. It was manufactures and commerce
which had given such immense value to the large
estates of the country. If, therefore, through the operation of
these laws, the working people were driven to other countries,
the
-landlords would suffer equally with the other classes of so-
ciety.—(Hear.) The labourer and the capitalist would seek
in America those advantages which were denied to them in
England; and the result would be that the landlords would be
eaten up by the paupers who remained, and were inca-
pable of gaining a sustenance.--(Hear, hear.) Let them all
lend their energies to prevent such a disaster. Let them
endeavour to gain access to the minds of the Members of Pars
liament, by publications, by speeches, and by every available
means of producing convietion.—(Cheers.) As patriots they
could have no more glorious object than that of coming for-
ward to repudiate and assist in abolishing a system of mono.
poly—eionopoly which, in its own nature, and stripped of all
delusion, was the pewer of one man to plunder and ruin his
fellow man.—( Hear.) As England had already declared
of slavery, so let her now declare of monopoly—
that it should exist no longer.—(Cheers.) As we were
amongst the most prominent nations of the earth, we should
show that we had our eyes open to the delusion of obtaining
money by sinister means, of becoming rich by nefarious legisla-
tion. Then would that day arrive, whom all who 'believed in
prophecy expected to arrive, when the promise would
he consummated that all nations should be linked to
gether by bonds of mutual interest and mutual ad-
vantage, so that war should no longer exist. He viewed
the present as an occasion of the utmost importance.
and not important to themselves alone, but to the inte-e,t of
the whale family of man.—( Cheers.) He should therefore
most cordially and zealously propose the following resolution :
—" That this meeting is of opinion that a resolution ought
to be submitted to the House of Commons, to the effect
that the Corn and Provision•laws should be totally
and immediately abolished ; and that the meeting re-
joices that Mr. Villiers has given notice of his intention
to take the sense of the House upon the subject, and they re-
quest him to persevere in the course lie has taken, and to
divide the House, upon all occasions, on the question of the
total and immediate abolition of these laws."
The following Gentlemen were then appointed to wait upon
Mr. Villiers, on the subject:—The Chairman, the Mover and
Seconder of the resolution, the Rev. Mr. Burdon, of Stroud,
and the Rev. Mr. Bailey, of Sheffield.
The Rev. Mr. CAIR.NES, of Paisley, in rising to second the '
resolution said, that the resolution passed at yesterday's Con-
ference gave a decided opinion upon the Provision and Corn-
laws. Those laws had been denounced as unjust in principle,
and cruel in operation ; as opposite to Divine benevolence,
and to the bounty of Providence ; as injurious to morality
and religion : as fertile sources of disease and distress ; and as
causes of discontent throughout the community. —( Hear,hear. )
The Conference also resolved to persevere in the course they
had taken, and not to retire from the contest-till those infamous
statutes were abolished.—(Cheers.) Almighty God had given
fertility to the soil of the earth, year by year he had crowned
the world with plenty, he had rained fertility from heaven
that their hearts might be filled with gladness and with food,
and these things show that his design was the intercourse of
his creatures—(Cheers)—and not that monopolists, with
daring effrontery, and recklessness, and selfish conduct, should
step in with a veto upon his bountiful intent, and fill their
coffers by despoiling the homes and habitations of their fellow
men, of everything deserving the name of comfort.—(Cheers. )
It was right that the meeting, representing as it did a large
portion of the inhabitants of the country, should be known to
the Members of the House of Commons.—( Hear.) Those
Members, at least the greater part of them, very little re-
garded the opinions of any others than their own. It was a
perfect mockery to call the present a House repre-
senting the feelings of the people.--( Hear, and cheers. )
they ostensibly represented the opinions of the people, but the
moment they entered the House they were their own masters.
and held their own opinions.—(Cheers.) Was that- state of
things to continue ?—(No, no.) It ought not—the people
ought to be more respected than they were, and they soon
would be if they were true to themselves.-- (Cheers. ) Let the
people speak honestly and decidedly on every subject bearing
on their interests, and then what Ministry would dare to trifle
with them ?—( Cheers.) Let the working men, and those im-
mediately above them—and let the ministers-of religion, stand
forward with them in their proper character, as friends of the
people, to advocate every measure tending to their good, and
soon,verysoon,the circumstances of the ceuntrywould be changed.
The resolution which he was to second alluded to Mr. Villiers,
and he must say he had laid the country under a deep debt of
obligation to him, which it could not well repay.—(Hear,
hear.) And while they rejoiced that he was again to bring
forward his motion for a total repeal of the Corn-law, they
should not be satisfied with that, but should persevere, and let
the House of Commons know what they thought, and what
support their representatives might theyexpeilwehmtlte seta
again to solicit their votes.—(Cheers.)
in very important position as the Delegate of Paisley.—
(Hear, hear.) He was not alone the representative of his
own congregation, but of six others, the ministers of which
would have been there, in their own persons, if the unfortunate
circumstances of that town had not kept them back.—( Cheers. )
He might be permitted to say that Paisley was once a pros-
perous and happy place, and was remarkable over the whole
country for the piety of its inhabitants, and for their enlightened
and liberal sentiments, and for their activity in every righteous
cause.—( Cheers.) But what a melancholy change had come
over that town ! Since Midsummer, two-thirds of the mer-
-chants and manufacturers had become insolvent ; shops had
been closed in every direction, and those still open were draw-
int, little more than the expense of gas-light. In tenfrewshire,
17,555 depended on a charitable supply for their support.
In the town of Paisley alone, according to the report which lie
held in his hand, there were 14,777 persons in a destitute con-
dition, to whom, during the last week, 497 had been added,
and who were supported by the private fund which was col-
lected for their support, as well as by the public fund. His
brother ministers exerted themselves in the most exemplary
manner in the circumstances in which they were placed. They
went from house to house collecting funds for the support of
this poor suffering people.--(Hear, hear.) He should also
make mention of the conduct of the Magistrates there, who
exerted themselves in the most praiseworthy manner, and among
these the Provost was particularly conspicuous for his humane
conduct—agentleman known to be of the most liberal sentiments,
and who earned for himself on this occasion greater fame than
he ever procured by his generous conduct before.—(Cheers.)
He and hit brother ministers felt deeply interested in the state
of the suffering people in the midst of whom they were placed.
He and his Reverend Brethren knew many connected with
their churches who would not come forward to incur the dekr,sa-
dation of asking or receiving relief in a public manner. Anxious
to save their feelings, he and his brother ministers astspealed by
circulars to the various religious denominatieos of the land ;
and he took this public opportunity of moat gratefully acknow-
ledging the assistance these kind Christians had given them.
(Cheers.) The Episcopaliank the Presbyterians, the Metho-
dists, in short all the various religious classes of the country,
had sent relief to Paisley, and were still sending it, and more
he feared would be still required to get the people through the
period of distress ; for in addition to the 14,771 persons wbo
were publicly supplied with relief, he was within the mark in
stating that they had 1,500 persons also who were supplied
in the private manner he had just stated. There were
2,000 persons and 400 or 600 young persons, who
were receiving a course of education to keep them from the
ways of evil and ruin. They had endeavoured during the
whole of this disastrous period to lay out the funds entrusted to
them in the most economical manner ; and he hoped that tl-
s
blessings of God would rain in abundance git those Cs- • ..e
churches and on those kind frie
wil who had thus I" aristian
1" .inerally hissup-
phleiedwasj
puostoirfiefedlloin wkw-townisr,th—ese{ Hoehn
...ar. ) He trusted
from 9, 444* which tiad _.ervations, as he came
other finder the Pre""' suffered more than any
--
he was aware ths-' ." sYstenl•—( Hear, hear.) But
whole land.
.., severe distress
_prevailed through the
in rn.- Why should this be ? Had not God blessed us
....ny respects? From our insular situation, our internal
resources, from our art, our science, our skill, our ingenuity,

from the facility of our production, and the indUstry of our
toipoenroaftitvhees,
wthoerride,mhiesshqut
ensottionhesejai happier land under the broad
resourcesepare° of
wheeraev heaven
immenselywh at werearefthe
eafsa cttos ?reeNxaNnarenlitiyi leeotothhueer
rnational
withvgeoddistricts
osotuurs
ri
our
nativefft
sce
or
ai
unnngt ( i ngerneiowues
arliraam:ndt.h—e
scaosanopnefdariatmoortadiikvlrionsdnoble minded
Hear, hear.) Let any per-
illie i
vweor
sual dl our
scseenee of
distress, commercialour
aonstd
operatives, even whet, they could obtain employment, toiling at
tasks far more severe and exhausting than those which used
to be extracted by the moat heartless slaveholder of the colonies
from thebenes and muscles which were his due property ; but the
operative was often deprived of the privilege of this murderous la-
bour; in the dwellings of the operative the spectator would behold
the most appalling destitution. Let one further think of the
thousands on thousands of parents suffering acutely, yet who
would endure this if they suffered alone ; but their hearts were
agonized, as from day to day they saw their helpless little ones
thanrising up in rags and starvation, uneducated, but in a
state of preparation to come forward rather a pest
a useful accession to society.—(Hear, hear.) As a mi-
nister of the Gospel, some might blame him for
tekine a part in the present proceedings.—(" No, no.")
Now his answer was, that whatever odium or reproach might
wadi to him and his brethren around him and throughout the
e )untry on this account, they were ready to bear it al in such
A came.—(Cheers.) They could bear all this and mere.—
(Cheers.) For they would be sustained by the conviction of
their owe mind, and the testimony of their c insciences that
they were doing their duty. —( Loud cheers.) They felt
that they were coaling tnrward in the cause of the
eoor—but he wou!tl not call the operatives poor, for they were
men of property—their labour was their property—(Cheers)--
and it cught to be supported as well as any- oilier species of
oroperty.—( Cheers.) Therefore the ministers could bear all
that might be said against them, feeling that they had the
eool wishes of the poor, and the prayers of the pious in the
land, and knowing also that they had the sympathy of that
God, who as his diseensations declared, " For the oppression
if the poor, and for the sighin" of the needy, now will I
arise, saith the Lord."—(flear,hear. ) But this was not a
political question. He took his ground on the principle that
this was a great moral question, involving the morality and the
religion of the people of this land to an inconceivable extent.
When they regarded this vast and wealthy metropolis, or
the provinces, as to their use of those means of religion with-
rut, which piety could not flouri h--would they not find that
igreat multitudes of men and women were, through the necese
sities resulting from those infamous Corn-laws, prevented from
appearing in the gate of the Daughter of Sion, and par-
ticipating in the public ordinances of religion on the first day
of the week ? And was it not too easy. to apprehend that these
people were more likely to neglect their private devotions, and
to be let on in the course of vice and ruin ?—(Hear, hear.)
Must it not, too, be admitted that such continued sufferings
end privations tended to undermine in the thoughts of the
operative population all feelings of devotion, and revering faith
in the Providence of God? Therefore religion joined social
justice in urging him (Mr. C.) and his brethren to come for-
ward on this occasion to assist in removing the destitution that
involve, so many awful causes. Did not religion call upon them
to respond to the wailings of the needy and the cries of distress
that were now rising from the hamlets, towns, and ,cities,
'
f
and ringing alone the hills and dales of the country?-( Hear,
hear.) He should be ashamed of himself as a professing
Christian, and blush as a Minister of the Gospel, indeed ha
should be, almost worthy of eternal reproach, if he were re-
strained by any considerations from coming forward in such a
cause as this.—(Cheers.) He read in th Bible that he who
withheld corn from the people shall have a curse on him. But
this curse could not be expounded so as to refer only to the
metropolis. No, it must be extended to every one who, when
corn was withheld from the people, took no opportunity of
saying or doing anything to relieve them—( Loud cheering)_
skulked away into the b ick ground, instead of coming out as he
ought to do in the sight of God ! He cat ed not what station
a man occupied whose conduct was such as this ; whether he
found hire in the Chureh either as a Minister or a member-
whatever his station in society, he violated the law of God, and
disgraced himself, and while the curse of the people lighted
on him the frown of Almighty G ad would rest upon his head.
—( Loud cheers.) Allowing, however, that this question was
'o be regarded as a political question, he was still prepared
as a minister of the Gospel to protest against the statement
that they had nothing to do with such matters. The cry of
" clerical influence" was very easily raised, just on account of
the side on which the minister might stand forth. Let high
stand forth to advocate the cause of the starving many
in opposition to the monopolising few, who had ever en-
trenched themselves behind class legislation, and he was the
worst of men. Let. him take the other side, and not one word is
said against him ; let him say one word for the poor, and the
magazines of scurrility are poured out upon him.—( Loud
cheers.) He (Mr. Cairne) held that polities were identified
with the very existence of man in society ; there was no living
man who had not certain duties to discharge, and no man was
at liberty to retire from the activity of life.—(Cheers.) The
Christian was (ailed on to do good to all men
(Cheers) -as he had opportunity ; he was indeed bound to
take care that he did not by any mischance give occasion for his
good to be evil spoken of, bat he was imperatively' called
on to follow the same mind which was in his Divine Mas-
ter, and to imitate him in this, that he went about conti-
nually doing gool.—( Hear, hear.) If the poor were to be
relieved, human misery to be lessened, and human happiness
to be advanced, the Christian was called on to avail himself of
every means within his reach to bring about such blessings. He
knew nothingof an abstract religion that could not be brought into
action in dailylife; he knew nothing of aChristianity so delicate
that the man who professed it might not mingle with his fellow..
man in his rational enjoyments, and stand side by side with bite
when the good of society might be enlarged; he knew renthinge
of a religion which required its ministers to give up the influ-
ence which their station afforded them to stay the course of
the evil which surrounded them. Nothing to do with politica !
When they could ch inge their n itures as human beings,
when they could destroy the relations which God Almighty
had formed between man and man ; when they could so alter
their lot, that no man should depend upon his fellow-man for
comfort, assistance, and support, when each should stand "iso-
hated and alone—all independent of each other,- without any
common sympathies to bind them; then might the cry be rais.
ed, but riot till then, Nothing to do with politics I What !
were they to look on silently and indifferently, when, through i
wicked class legislation and a long course of monopoly and in
justice, they see their country brought to the very verge of
rebellion and ruin ; when they see their neighbours—with
ahem, it may be, they have been wont to kneel at the family
altar—kept. down year after year, their comforts abridged, and
every feature in their lot indicative of misery, should they
not rather stand prominently forth, denounce that system
of monopoly, and declare what are the judgments which God
has denounced on thosewho grind the faces of the poor?--( Hear.)
3lot.opolising• pa, ty spirit might inflict its evils on the cum-
munity for a little while longer, but there was no Government
which would dare to trifle much longer with the suffering
people of this country.—( Hear, hear.) Whatever the owners
of the soil might think, Britain owed its chief glory to trade and
commerce; the working classes constituted its very sinews
and its greatest strength. —( Bear, hear.) It would be
well if statesmen would consider this matter aright,
look at the signs of the times, and mark what was
going on in society. The working classes deserved commen-
dation for the patient manner in which they had demeaned
themselves during their difficulties. The working classes in
the district to which he belonged could not be too highly
praised ; but let statesmen not depend too much on their en-
durance. Their patience unduly tried, their hopes everlast-
ingly blasted, their misery slighted and increased, ana
every remaining comfort just about to be wrested
from them, might lead to circumstances which those
who did not mingle with the working classes might not be
aware of and must deplore.—( Loud cheers.) The cup of suf-
fering was almost full—it would not hold much more, itindeed
it were not even now running over—and it was high time that
these abominable Corn-laws should be immediately and for
ever repealed.—(Tremendous cheers.) He had much pleasure
in supporting the resolution which had already been proposed.
—(Mr. Cairne sat down amidst the most deafening applausei)
Mr. TAUNTON, of Coventry, rose with peculiar pleasure to
support the resolution which had just been proposed and
seconded. He did so because he thought it was high time
that they brought those parties who were in the House of
Commons to the test, that they might know who were the
friends of England, and who were the friends of the aristocracy,
He trusted that Mr. Villiers would at once proceed to divide ttliS
House on the subject of the Corn-laws. They had been contending
for a long time, advancing arguments, gathering facts, and
making statements to convince the Legislature of justice
and necessity of repealing those obnoxious laws; yet it would
be quite consistent with the character of the Legislature if they
should appoint a Committee to inquire into that, with which
every body else was acquainted ; but whenever the nation re-
quired the abrogation of certain laws, or others to be enacted.
Honourable Gentlemen of the House of Commons moved
that a• Committee be appointed to inquire into the
circumstances, as if it were not their dnty to be
acquainted with tile whol P of the facts. —.(Hear.)
He had come as a deputation from the town of Coventry. from,
the Anti-Monopoly Society of that city, to inform that meeto.
ing that they would accept of nothing less than-, a total and
entire repeal.—(Cheers.) They were resisters!, !pan no
surrender, as it would be giving the power .:.of: keeping
agitation. Any attempt to adopt the sliding, tittle would only
break up for the present the
the country in a most unwpihseala:t.e:f npaninwere4,,,T.l.,:,r.4ocuj.nemit:
together; and at another. period the whole question worth[
have to be commenced again.--(Rear, hear.) The Society
to which he belonged, and which he • was there to repre-
sent, was opposed to all monopoly ; to the monopoly of food,
and commence in its fullest extent, and to that unjust and, wicked monopoly of class legislation, that system which had
brought the country to its present state, in which a total a..,
regard was shown for universal interests for the selfishrif,ss of
a class.—(Cheers.) He was happy that the middle classes
had become sympathisers with the labouring classes, and were
determined to stand by them.—(Hear, hear.) Th► town of
Coventry had been most infamously dealt with by...t.te system of
class legislation as it respected its commerce. He alluded to
the manner in which the ribbon tra"--, of that city had
had to compete with the French, and.t)''e manner in which the
Legislature had sanctioned in every possible way goods coming
iu from foreign ports.—(Cheere.) he was an advocate for entire
freedom of commerce, spa'itEnglish intelligence and manufac-
tures could nut comv,:ie with other nations, he wouldbe greatly
deceived when lie considered the intelligence and known in.
dustry of tlte people.—(Cheers.) He loved humanity, he
loved his country too, but ho loved humanity bettel—
(Cheers)—and if it was for the god of the Inman
race that England should fall, let it fall. Brat he did
not believe that such a sacrifice was necessary ; he be-
lieved that the industry and intelligence of the people of Eng-
land would soon obtain for her entire justice. —( chem.) One
that the ale
of the reasons that had been stated as a cause which clogged the
country in competing with foreigners was, that the err
were so heavily taxed. He was not going to say
of this country were not taxed, but as far as a per centage was
concerned he did not think they were so heavily taxed as other
countries.—( Hear, hear.) If there was any argument
more than another why they should be exempt from
taxation he thought that the strongest.—(Hear, ) The WageS
in Coventry in 1825 fell 25 per cent., from 1825 to 1829 they
fell 10 per cent. ; from 1829 to 1834 they fell 15 per cent.;
and from 1834 to 1841 they fell thirty per cent. mores—
(Hear.) It was remarkable, too, that when corn was
cheap wages retained their standing.--( Cheers.) He had been
rather curious yesterday morning in looking over the averages,
for they served both ways, and he found that, taking the
actual consumption of the corn in England at sixteen
millions of quarters of wheat alone, he fond that in . the
years 1834, 1835, 1836, and 1837, for those four years they
had paid 151,900,0001., while in 1838, 1839 1840, and 1841,
they had paid upwards of 230,000,00 UL, rattlrfing nearly2oo."}'
more paid for food in the last than iss'the former years. Now
when so much capital was tak.,,n out of the manufscirri3
districts, the result mast
In Coventry, boo, ar-,;.the; singular.
....ulna... hibsiB37, them "e. IwB3l
I'.o that wages would fall.—( ; for,
with respeet to -
crime, he fours as 1837 230, in ,in the prise-
of as in _ ,
;
we• Coventry 267„,,, Pe75%. But the most singular
, . ..ms
••• ,in 18W, 276; and in •104 u
d 'is, /spoke well for the city,
part of the matter was, P.,ot equal to the number
that the increase of aim. , debt--4 Cheers.) In 1686
imprisoned (Or .
debtors in the gaol of Coventry ;
033 23, in 1839 2S, in 1840 go,
in 1837 there were, S
That.
such wet the state of the prisons at -
and in 1841 lilf
present moment he could vouch, because he had.
Coventry at the
othferepewrseornes thirteen
4,
in
examined the returns himself. The arguments that hid been
used that trepeal of the Corn-law would have the effect ofts sending our machinery into foreis--
e countries, and thereby
enable them to compete with this, was futile in the ex-
treme, inasmuch as the machinery of this country hail
e
h