The Sun.
London, England, 1842-02-12 00:00:00

THE GREAT
ANTI-CORN-LAvv

CONFERENCE•

(THIS DAY.)

Halt
-past
-dAatyt,hpatutrismuaenwt
etonoatideejodurthnmenenJl
ing Members of Parliament on the platform :---Mr..wiTe7,
M.P., Mr. Scholefield, M.P., Dr. Bowring, Al• 13-111. S: lea
nistouu, M.P., Sir George Strickland, - - _ •
M. P.
;it that" tbee°A
P. A. TAYLOR, Esq., on taking the Chair, said;
whom the gods meant to destroy, they first deprive. giu
oki
their senses," that was the old observation of veil
Latin poet, and it seemed to him to be ye
11.
applicable at the present time. Notwithstanding
.:11 des
indications that had been expressed, notwithstandinfZi -bad
dissatisfaction which the measures of Sir Robert 77,0 iw.
M.P.M.P., Mr. cu
.;;:.,,
created throughout the country, there were gentleme!_ bwof
fatuated, from their position, as to be entirely If.'er„osiile
judging of what was passing in the minds and hearts et.
~rn-cv of
of this great couutry ; that, dissatisfied with the stnltic 144
Sir Robert Peel's measures, Mr. Christopher ha,tl._ Robert
come forward to increase the duty, proposed by 0.1.'„i, 0-
Peel, ss. a quarter; and Colonel Sibthorp had aetuti, late
posed that the duty should be laid on corn on its eneVeaia•
the country, and not on its being sold, aft.eeAo4 las
ing out of bond.—( Loud cries of " Shame.'? . master
thought, was evidence of the throes of the monopo ists. „tor
the Delegates would leave London to-day, but althotlinabo
work in that room would be closed that morning their /04
would commence elsewhere—( Cheers)—when they *7-itiat
at their homes. He trusted the Delegates had imbibed/0
room a large amount of boldness and confidenee—(Cl2., ,
for he believed they would be both needed—(Cbee' tilllo
that they would transplant it among their eonstituelloo
neighbours when they arrived at their own localities. ,etjald
cheering.) He believed boldness would be wanting, fneitalts7:
not persuade himself that Sir R. Peel would have dare'"4oll#
duce such a measure into the country without beingelefoi of)
impose it and carry it out by force and coercion. litteett"
doubt that Sir Robert Peel thought he would stifle pirtifiel
nion. and probably would denounce Anti-Corn-lass Id*
as seditious.—( Cries of " Let him.") Sir Robert we. 4110
doubt contemplate one of two things ; either that' 'tos
shown the Tories all he could do, and that he expeetV,liites
driven out of power, or that he would resort to means. fu..AV
the people into silence.—( Cheers.) He (the Chairine'revel.
understood what had taken place in that room, if Oe_Litigl
could crush down the feelings of indignation so often' ellpialt
in every part of the country.—(Cheers.) Even if opPze it
did come, they must look to the martyrs of old; and P,ietali
like them. Persecution, they might depend upon 1/' -0 40
Soon be its own antagonist. 'they must look further the
present time of their disappointment; and if they did int,
might be assured that Imre prosperous and hopeful days llat
come. He thought it could be said with truth that alp
of the Cern-laws did contain within itself the germ °f
admirable reforms.—( Hear, and cheering.) In the e_iieflo
of the Corn-laws was the germ of reform on the franFSite
(Chews.) He had always felt it would be one of the viral
wise things they (the Anti-Corn-lawAssociation ) could be.jlia
of, to met ge the:Association of the Corn-laws into the
of the franchise.—(Cheers.) He was satisfied that, !',71
In could be more pleasing to their opponents than to balit
them from the consideration of the Corn-laws and pleeeottlitlg
upon generalities. Nothing would please them better--t :oat
would more effectually damage the cause of progress and,e:atio
But there was no reason why they should not go on pa",,Vli,
why the one agitation should not bCencouraged as siell.lll4
other, and he thought it would be seen that much infle't,eat,
been given to the cause of the franchise reform by this mele;lo4
--(Loud cheers.) He thought there was another reform t" oy,
—rather a mental reform than one which would lead tfaisei
thing more substantial. One of the great evils of met". iof
moral obligations in this country had been a servile 1[1: 0
00,
reverence for aristocracy.—(Loud cheers.) A man n! pail
rises a little in trade above his fellow merchants, than ne 00
over the place whence he sprung, and approaches with veresjitaje,
the purlieus of aristocracy ; the poor until lately had ifilst
respected the rank, and tinsel, and power of great raelA,,./t/
not this received a great shock? He believed it had.--(`':dik
It was seen that the considerations of the aristocracy 0
ways been based on sordid and selfish views; this Co.oe
had tended to shake that prestige, and much good PP,- jilt
expected from that.—( Hear, hear.) The Church 147:$
likely to be reformed till the feeling of veneration for that,
tution was considerably increased. It had been pretty ea' er
seen in the agitation of this question, that the high and
able priesthood, the right reverend Fathers in God TO
whole of the hierarchy, down to the humble curate, Its"
their stand against the suffrage—(Hear)—and when SP' -;,i, die
Peel brought forward his motion for Church Extension.
House, he would be met by the national cry of " D!'et.;l4l
church over the affections of the people before Y'',4 L,44!
Church Extension." Agitation had its good if it had t'4
the good of bringing man to man, and letting heart ennt", E X „
with heart—of the re-action of' one's own thoughts sr,* -wite
power and force on the heart of another. The work til! th
engaged in to-day was for the good of future generations i.i.,.
were labouring for their sons. Their time for exertion 7' •
come soon, and they would have their field of labour eeWe i
.10
those who were now engaged in this praiseworthy eausti''
must fulfil their duty in their succeeding age, that en
which all men were sent into the world—to leave it be..
when they entered it.—( Cheers.) The Chairman the:pit
160
the following communications, which were met with 10%4
continued cheering from the enthusiastic and very, 5. ,
.. ~bOO- ~
audience :-
04
A,kagao 6,
TO THE CHAIRMAN OF THE ANTI-HORN LA* dHI.m.-- ' is,
Sir,—The writer is a plain farmer, who had ocessie!', 'ti
London last Saturday, and who was subsequently req`!.ll P"
many of his friends and neighbours, favourable to a reer
cl
Corn.laws, to attend the meetings of the deputies at tbe 441,
Anchor. •He has done so, and from what he has theieii A,
more fully than ever convinced of the n:iegsinsittiyr::::::t' Jlat:e
That they are ruinous to the interests of commerce anu,low"
tures we have innumerable and melancholy proofs, and la
urnziaporneooornff.o.tt:hhheabeterwiwirere,filsitetttrec.ittliamd tvnheaderacalwiyassdrusaoitnlioynt
whtinehehciiertnr:7asolrntga
importation
nmnof number of
he belongs, he
a few facts. the
By yourself, Sir, and to a great majority of the denudes, Co'
law of 1815 must be well remembered. It was to ,of
foreign corn when the average price of our wheat for tbe
tit
six weeks of the quarter was at or above eighty 0W114104,
under that price to exclude it altogether ; thus, .ee
a legislative measurecould effect it, to keep the price of nr
tolit
about 80s. per quarter. Under the ful 1 impression that such
be the case, hundreds of farms were taken, and agreement' deets/
into, for longer or shorter periods, but you may judge of thesoilt
and disappointment experienced when much of the'crop a I 40.'1
sold at little over half the price that was generally exp ectediki,
nature o f the law just come into operation, and in the price ~. It
kinds of farm produce a proportionate depression took Pisceeq. eief;
next crop of 1816 was a very defective one, and the enyt.afer,
was an advance of price, so that the average price of wheat w:ieff
was 948., and consequently the. ports opened for the edit e 5 ilis,
foreign corn, and remained open until February 181ni 'Leh.",
price of wheat came below 80s. Now, Sir, as OPen 146
was generally thought, had reduced our prices to belovi :voile
naturally expected that by shutting out foreign produce i
ed tot
effect would have been produced ; however, we were donnireienr:
perience another and worse disappointment; prices kePt hair,/
receding till December 1822, when the average price a w.-Ang:
sBs. per quarter.Th is was emphatically called 'the year ofstrie" le
distress," and to great numbers it vas a year of distress-,
provincial newspaper not fewer than ,150 sales of f101°144r2
were advertised in one week, and hundreds and thousands
mers fell to rise no more. Meetings were now held all tbeir,
over, and notwithstanding former disappointments, th%,,03- ' P
tence of Parliament was still confided in and solicited, ti1"704
tone rather subdued. In 1815, wheat could not on any .e,fr
be raised for less than 80s., but now 655. was to be the 10e :00101
thousands of petitions were poured in to the House of C:rili
praying for its assistance to secure that object. In that
as7lo/0
in 1823, a slight alteration was made in the law, but ',
i came into operation it is unnecessary to notice it. The nos Olt
movement was the enactment of the Sliding Scale Lese, oir.,
whatever might be its effects, was at least expected tdoll7,
prices. But another disappointment I Under this tan",,, t 1
scale wheat has been sold at 84s. and at 325. So much f°` Or
laws and steady prices. It certainly has been co
‘
ing and slippery enough, for as the price °`ipr.
slides up, the price of labour slides down. A. • 4
the price of flour and of piece-work in gradtbi7 frOle
1531 tour was 2s. 101,4 d. per stone, and a certain piece ea..Ps
14s. Ad. ; in 1834 Is. Bid. was the price of flour; and 161;10- Id
the same work; but in 1840 flour was Ss. 6d. per stonei 0.0-3 r
same work reduced to As. Now, Sir, this is in some inesi,o4l
case in the agricultural districts; but then the farmers ch,:opOt
least of two evils. They must either give wages that Will_reet
man and his family, or they must be supported at a nine".olp
expense by the parish. This subject as regards agricultas:
he much enlarged upon, and you will be glad to know that °fidife,
conviction of the frightful evils of the system is now talc!, ~r 1 )'
sion of the minds of many farmers, • • ,
(Signed) , CA LVT3 APO 4
_(Loud cheers,) The Chairman said he had also re II;
letter from Nottingham, which, with the perrnissi°°97l.
meeting he would read.—(Cheers.) He thou reaithe,l4l
...
ing communication :—. -- 0/1
i
TO THE CHAIRMAN OF TRH ANTI-CORN. LAW DlstenaTs.o,..4l/
At a crowded meeting of the members of the Nottinglk7i.i A,—
Corn.faw Association, held on Thursday evening, Febi..4„,-00
the following Resolutions were unanimously adopted witos?ii
.
'nation :
That this meeting views, with unmixed feelings 012:, e,O:
and disgust, the measures proposed by Sir Robert 1-'7%;;;;00
adjustment of the Corn.laws.
That in bringing forward such a measure calculated tlistd,
the remaining commerce of the country; and the '1116701k, •
poor, to the selfish interests of an unfeeling and svari.4 #1515#
this meeting consider it adding insult to misery, ntoagrA viik,s4
and a flagrant trifling with the opinions and acknoWli47 ',''';)lo.
the millions.

That finding petitioning has ceased to become ereet..',oll wit
the prayers of a famishing people are treated with con 1"1,,
Pe
contempt, this meeting hesitates not in declaring that :de/ ...im
,
are determined no longer to be trifled with. That.,tiiferoatiee
Sir It. Peel's measure as disgraceful to himself as 3 in;', ce,
suiting to the Majesty of Heaven—and calculated ; l'icoo,
anarchy and contusion in the land of our birth. T"tpeir
therefore, to themselves, and trembling for the fate °.eoare,
oath,
moss country, this meeting denounces the proposed tS;opt.
reprobation and scorn, and warns the House of Comm
less the Corn and Provision.laws are forthwith totao%fosu; eo•
diately abolished—the security of property, and the $°,44611'
leges of a heartless aristocracy, will be greatly and de'
at two
dangered.

ace •
That a public meeting be held in the Market-PTA reP-olt
o'clock on Monday afternoon, to express the inclign'tfleeeir'ae oft
tion of the people of Nottingham, on the cold and 010"
offered to their sufferings by Sir Robert Peel's proP°s`.- efe.
the Corn-laws. of
That these resolutions be transmitted to the Che;riven
gates now assembled in the metropolis. s. 011
Nottingham, Committee.room, Feb. 11, 1842. see'i e
Mr. O'CoNsFm. here entered the room, an d nign"
former occasions, received with loud and repeat°
arlford
tir
tions of applause.
the • COP."
The following letter from the Secretary 0., AO'
United Club, addressed to the Secretary of tile
184'
law League was then read by the Chairman. 10, ~ o'olo
Bradf Feb.
ord, Yorkshire, of the f.
Slit,— At a numerous meeting of the Member' tdissenftscooli
Club last night, it was resolved without the slighte:diiseina
Ist. That this meeting receives with the great° 04
the proposition of Government on the Corn law, 4 $ total
the
20. That this Club will accept no measure short
immediate repeal of the Corn-laws.
1-1 topped twig
It was proposed that since the Government 6a it eia6,oge"
plies of the people, and refused relief to their distreta! ihts pi
to stop the supplies of Government.—(The readingoot tisil the
was followed by a burst of applause, every one ot fr°,3lol
loudly cheering)—and that a requisition should be 0- vote
Electors calling on Messrs. Bustield and Hardy tvd ihst
the supplies. This was demurred to on the gOnn„, pr014°',.,,
ment had not yet committed itself to the Governtrieh;ps worluila of
and was yet to be tried by Mr. Villiers. It PeLorse should
the consideration of the Deputies whether such *
the Corp'
vdopted as the ultimatum. wife on
The 'fleeting adjourned till the vote of the I
law motion should be given.