The Sun.
London, England, 1842-11-24 00:00:00

! ESTING OF MERCHANTS

AND
MANUFACTURERS.

£4,000 RAISED TO START THE GREAT
£50,000 FUND.

MANCHESTER, TUESDAY EVENING.
This morning a great public meeting of the mer-
cheats, spinners, manufacturers, machine-makers, and
other capitalists, and employers of workmen in Lan-
cashire and Cheshire, was held at the Town-hall, in
this place, to consider the steps to be adopted in con-
sequence of the ruinous effects produced on trade by
the operation of the Corn-laws, and our restrictive
commercial policy. The meeting was convened by a
circular emanating from the Council of the Anti-Corn-
law League, and was most respectably attended. An
idea of the spirit and determination which pervaded
the meeting, as well as of the respectability of the
bosons present, may be drawn from the concluding
a:Ilion of our report, by which it will be seen that
s
snore than 3,7001. was subscribed on the spur of the
ru-Knent, towards the Great League Fund.
Ansoneat those present, we noticed—Richard •Cob-
den, Esq., M.P.; Joseph Brothcrton, Esq., M.P. ;
Jas. Kershaw, Esq., (Mayor of Manchester) ;
Robert Hyde reg, Esq., (late M.P., for Manchester) ;
,Tolos Bright, Esq., of Rochdale ; Henry Ashworth,
Esq., of Turton, near Bolton ; Benjamin Pearson,
Esq. ; Thorhas Bayley, jun., Esq. ; George Wilson,
Esq. ; Sir Thomas Potter ; C. J. S. Walker, Esq. ;
Elkanah Armitage, Esq.; Samuel Lees, Esq.; Thos.
Harbottle, Esq. ; Thomas Ashton, Esq., of Hyde ;
John Herford, Esq. ; John Brooks, Esq.; William
Evans'
I Esq. ; William Lcckett, Esq., (Boroughreeve of
Selfors) ; Robert Munn, Esq., Bacup ; Edmund
Grundy, Esq., Bury; G. Holgate, Esq., Darnley;
E. Benson, Esq., Staleybridge ; Alderman Hollins,
Stockport; Alfred Orrell, Esq., (Mayor of Stockport);
Wm. Harvey, Esq., Salford; Edmund Ashworth, Esq.
of Bolton; George Foster, Esq., of Sanden ; Abel
Buckley, Esq., of Ashton ; Thomas Thomason, Esq., of
Bolton ; F. Boult, Esq., Liverpool; J. Chadwick, Esq.,
Eccles ; and a great many other leading men in this
district—in all about 500. It was one of the most
wealthy and influential meetings ever held here.
Rcseerer HYDE GEED, Esq., presided.
The Cuasnmaer, in opening the proceedings, said
he should have been happy if the worthy Mayor had
taken the Chair, but there seemed to be some little
objection to that; and if his services could be of any
use in repealing these obnoxious laws—the Corn-
laws—he should always come forward with the great-
est pleasure.—(Applause.) The origin of the meeting
was this : the Council of the National Anti- Corn-
law League had addressed a circular to the merchants,
spinners, manufacturers, machine-makers, capitalists,
and other employers of workmen in Lancashire and
Cheshire, which had already appeared in the papers.
(Mr. Greg then read some part of the circular.)
The manufacturers and merchants to whom it had
been addressed were so thoroughly convinced of the
truth of its statements, and so impressed with the
impending ruin therein alluded to, in the destruction
of the value of their fixed capital, that they
had thought it right to address to other
merchants, manufacturers, and spinners, a strong
recommendation, signed by between 50 and 60 of the
principal firms in Manchester and the neighbourhood
to attend the present meeting. •It was now about
twelve months since meetings of almost all the trades
in the kingdom, in their respective districts, took
place—and, amongst others, a great meeting of the
cc tton trade in this district—to consider the state of
the trade, its prospects for the future, and the causes
which had produced the very lamentable state of
things witnessed during that year. Now, after a
lapse of twelve months, he would ask, had their pros-
pects in any way mended, was their condition in any
respect better than then ? On the contrary, had they
not all witnessed a year of unparalleled disasters and
losses in their respective trades ?—(Hear, hear.)
There had lately appeared a Report from the Factory
Inspectors, who had inspected this district, and
the neighbouring district of Yorkshire. He was
unable to detail the exact particulars of that Re-
port, but the substance was, that 10 per cent.
of all the cotton mills in this part of Lancashire and
Yeekshire were standing—(Hear, hear)—that 12 per
cent. of all the woollen mills in this part of Lan-
cashire and Yorkshire were standing—(Hear, hear)
—and that. of the 90 per cent. in one case, and of the
88 per cent. in the other of the mills that were in
operation, 25 per cent., or one-fourth, were going on
short time.—(lle-ar, hear.)- All knew what a dis-
astrous . state of trade that implied —the absolute
stoppage_ of 10 per cent. of all the mills, and one-
fourth of the remainder working short time. To ma-
n u •',teturers the fact spoke for itself, and he need not
say more than that such was the fact.—(Hear, hear.)
Linking at their own town, they had seen the dis-
as!rou6 fall of the Bank of Manchester, respecting
'which he vi-ould make no other remark than this, that
f.apital of about 800,0001. had been lost in the course
or about two rears, principally in one year, almost
entirely owing to the disastrous state of trade, and
through trusting manufacturers and mill-owners who
lied not he able to redeem the engagements into which
they Wad entered.—(Hear, hear.) Then look at the
state of the Athol:mum, that, useful institution, which
wa,-, likely to be sold up to pay the debts upon it. The
Zoological Gardens, also, that innocent source of
amusement for the - population of this town, were al-
ready broken up ; and it was proposed to convert them
into a cemetery. The Assembly Rooms were also
closed for the season, owing to the state of spirits and
funds amongst the better part of the population. At
Bolton, the public news-room was closed for want of
snMcient fonds to keep it open. At Oldham, our im-
mediate neighbours, 300 rate-payers had been sum.
ro ened at the last petty sessions for non-payment of
rates. At Stockport, there were more than 2,000
hon:;es; and the population was actually less than it
had been too or three years ago by 5,000 persons,
who had either died, or emigrated, or been
home to their parishes.—(llear, hear, hear.)
Even since that report was made, there had been
g-.-eat failures, and throwing out 500 to 1,000 more of
the poor population ; and a large number of those who
hail been emplyed there were now subsisting on
clarity, on the funds raised by the Queen's letter, col-
-I?eed principally in the churches of thi United King-
does. At Paisley there had been 13,000 additional
ehlimants on the public charity in the last month ;
:11r.1- a public meeting of the county of Renfrew had
held to call upon Government for additional sub-1
pt rous. At Liverpool, GOO shipwrights were with-
out e:nptovment, and they were beginning to drive
oot by violence those who did not belong to. the town,
or had not been brought up to the trade. He was not
eey, Upon the whole, that the distress had extended
,tier interests, and this called forth a little svmpa-
:, which to this time they had very scantily be-
(Applause.) The recent riots in this town
:trni neighbourhood were the result of deep and wide-
spread discontent, arising out of destitution. The state
of the revenue, also, marked the deep and lamentable
state of distress now existing. Within the last
eiel,t, months there had been a falling off, he under-
st,;:,d, in the Custom-house returns, of no less than
-0- cent. in the value of every one of our exports.

to o

23 not merely that there was too much' Cotton
produced hut too much of every thing; all trades
weee in same state, and all from the same cause—
the :eeneral depression of the country, caused by one
caininon 'mischief. Probably the quality exported
v. Dahl be fully equal to that of former occasions, but
there was a diminution of 10 per cent. on the value.
—(Cheers.) IVe increased our exports in vain ;if
we doubled the amount, we received only the same
valta, fur them. We had gone on for the last six, ten,
fifteen, or twenty years, but particularly for the last
s',.x years, with a constant and rapid increase of ex-
po-As ; but -a slow increase, or no increase at all, and.
in tills .case, an actual diminution in the value of
tho,:e exports. And he had no hesitation in saying,
flirt if. our exports were doubled, or increased to the '
el.aeunt
.of fifty or a hundred millions, the laws
of the ceuntry remaining as they were now,
tle;se 50 or 100 millions would still be represented by
tlia same value as now. This consideration ought
nce.'er to. be lost sight of.—(Applause.) Then look at.
the calamitoua effect of the French tariff; but as it
ero.ae out of our political, and not our commercial
pokey, he would make no further allusion to it, than
ta observe that our meddling with the Syrian business
was the cause of it, and that it was a very severe blow
t., our trading interests. The German tariff, which
by its heavy imposts upon cotton, and especially upon
woollen warps, had almost destroyed the only branch
our woollen exports to that country that remained,
be traced to our commercial policy. With re-
to America the case was very strong: their re-
tarif4 so prejudicial to their own interests, and
esuealally hostile to ours, was entirely traceable to our.
scale.--(Great applause.) Had even the Bs.
fixed datv of the late Government been passed, it
woulil. not only have saved us from the late
tarid* in America, by securing the interests of the
wo.,tern and southera States, and causing them to
oetvote the measure in the House of Representatives;
hat it v.-oald have saved infinite trouble here and in-
C;`'te mischief in America. At that period, when the
°f .America to this country were enormous, and
tie-y lex', an overwhelming. amount of agricultural
produce to pay those debts with,oll 111% had we taken what
they were wil;ing to give, the I
debt's, we should have saved themy
w e paid those
from a host of pee
cimiary difficulties, and from repudiating those debts
which they were anxious, had they had the ability, to
pay ; arid the trade which we
should have had, in
consequence, in this country, might have kept off that
manufacturing depression, which had sent so many
into the Gazette, and been the original cause of the
melancholy and disgraceful riots in this part of the
thuatry.—(Applause.) He distinctly charged all
SCOW' evils on that part of the Corn-laws—the sliding
coale.--(Great applause.) He had no hesita-