The Sun.
London, England, 1842-08-17 00:00:00

ALARMING STATE OF
THE COUNTRY.

LATEST PARTICULARS.
MANCHESTER.
TUESDAY EVENING, SEVEN O'CLOCK.—At noon the
deepest anxiety prevailed at the Town-hall. The
mounted patrol, who had just arrived, brought intel-
ligence from all their -districts, that large bodies of
strangers were entering the town in every direction,
particularly along the Ashton road, who were armed
with bludgeons. They had, however, conducted
themselves peaceably, and the .special constables had
retained their posts. Groups of persons from the
country are wandering in all directions throughout
the town. A larger concentration of special con-
stables has taken place at the Town-hall. Alarm-
bells have been placed in most' of the wards to call the
special constables of those districts to their posts at
the alarm of danger. Although this is the chief
market-day, there is not the slightest semblance of
bminess, the merchants here being at their several
posts, and the manufacturers kept at home in their
own localities from the dread of danger. Yesterday
the military strength of the town was 2,210 men,
besides two howitzers and four six-pounders. Of the
former there are—of Royal Horse Artillery,lo men ;
Foot Artillery, 40 ; third battalion of Grenadiers,
about .500 ; 58th Regiment of Infantry, 600 ; 60th
Rifle Corps, 600 ; and Ist Royal Dragoons and
Lancers, 300. This has, however, been diminished
by the draught for service at Warrington, and several
other demands have been made. A large detachment
of Rifles is stationed in temporary barracks in the
warehouses at the termini of the Manchester and Bir-
mingham Railway, partly to be in readiness in case of
an attack on the rails of that railway, which has been
'threatened.
At the meeting of Delegates at Carpenters' Hall,
held yesterday afternoon, the Chairman informed
them that meetings were to be held both by the Dis-
senting ministers and the shopkeepers to aid in the
exertions in which they were then engaged. He be-
lieved that the intention of the meeting was to pre-
vent their fellow-workmen from proceeding to em-
ployment until they had come to some conclusion,
and, if so, it was necessary that they should proceed
to provide for those who were now standing out.
Mr. Duffy, one of the speakers, in very intemperate
language, proposed that they should proceed to stop
the supplies. He said that they had taken the hint_
from the'ediThW Leaguers, but they saw that there
were .persons who would be Corn-law Leaguers one
day and special constables the next. Other speakers,
however, said it would be unwise in the extreme to
commence a declaratory war against the authorities.
The resolutions adopted, however, were -to the-follow-
ing effect :-
1. That this meeting pledges itself to discontinue
all illegal proceedings, and further, that they will en-
deavour to preserve the public peace.
2. That they could not exist with the present rate
of wages, and that they are determined not to go to
work until they obtained the wages of 1839.
3. That each master do pay-the same for the same
fabric of cloth, throughout the whole of the manufac-
turing districts.
4. That it is the opinion of the meeting that their
political rights are imperatively necessary for the
preservation of their rights when they gain them.
They therefore pledge themselves to act with their
other friends and -Wades generally in gaining the
People's Charter as the oily means of having the
said rights.
ONE O'CLOCK.—Although the Manchester dinner
hour, the streets are crowded with strangers. A man
has just been brought to the Police-office, armed with
a pike, on the Stockport road, and eleven of the rioters
from Bolton have been brought into. the town..
An express came down from the police station at
Stockport-road, requesting aid, and 200 police and
special constables were immediately ready to proceed,
backed by a strong force of military, but this was
however countermanded by another express. There
are no strangers in the streets but what are armed'
with sticks and other weapons. The disaffected dis-
tricts are crowded with persons. In conversation
with several from Hyde, Ashton, and other places,
they express that the sole object of their visit to the
town is to know to what resolutions the delegates will
come. Many express their willingness to return to
work, but that they dare not, and that as they were
compelled to leave work so they will also,be com-
pelled to join in anything else which theirleaders
may prompt or suggest. They complain of being in
a starving condition, the prudent having drawn their
money out of the savings' banks, and others having
been compelled to part with articles of furniture they
never can replace in order for present support. Such,
is the character of the tyranny which has deprived
thousands of their livelihood.
The, procession to lay the foundation stone of
Hunt's monument is not to take place. The :Magis-
trates sent to the Rev. Mr. Scholfield, in whose burial-
ground the monument was to be erected, stating that,
under no circumstances, -would they allow it. The
latter then solicited permission to hold a meeting, at
under ie autnority of tn 6 tiommlttee have been cir-
culated throughout the town. A large meeting was
held at the Ilall of Science' this morning, at which
nearly 300 "delegates, -.the majority of whom were
from the country, were present. Several trades'
meetings were being held to-day, and a delegate from
Leigh addressed the people from the Sherwood Inn,
Tib-street,desiring them, whenever the military were
in sight, in order to give them no opportunity to fire
on them, to disperse quietly.
The 'military are, to parade the streets all night on
account of the immense influx of strangers in the
town, who now amount to some thousands.
All the Manchester Newspapers, with the excep •
tion of the. Wednesday's Guardian, are published
upon the Saturday alone ; but so great is the interest
excited in the town to know the state of .affairs, both
in Manchester and the surrounding districts, that
several of them are publishing editions two or three
times a clay. &Me of these contain accurate infor-
mation, whilst others, in the:Chartist interest, contain
more excitement than new s. One of these, in a sin-
gular manlier, calls the reports, with regard to these
disturbances, exaggerated, and says that " No good
can arise tram Royal Proclamations, or 501. reward
offered for the blood of a fellow-workman," whilst it
teems with intelligence from the various districts in
the neighbourhood of a most appalling kind. •
The news received from Yorkshire is very distress-
ing. I have just seen a gentleman who has, come
through Bradford and Halifax, where tumultuous as-
semblages have taken place to-day. The mills are
stopped in the whole line from Leeds to Manchester.
The Yorkshire Yeomanry Hussars are out, as well as
all the military. So great is the requirement for sol-
diers that there are not twenty in York.
Placards, of which- the following is a copy, were
distributed round the town this morning : '
" TO THE TRADES OF MANCHESTER AND THE SUR-
ROUNDING DISTRICTS.
" Fellow-citizens, —lmpressed with a profound
sense of your great expectancy, and the importance
which you attach to our proceedings, as the true and
bona fide representatives of the people of these dis-
tricts, we hasten to lay before you the result of our
sittings. 'We find, by reference to the reports of the
Delegates assembled from various parts of Lancashire
and Yorkshire, that it is the embodied opinion of the
working classes, from a comparison of the past with
the present, as a criterion to judge of, the future, that
no sufficient guarantee is afforded to the producers of
wealth, but from the adoption and establishment of'
the people's political rights as a safeguard for the
lives, liberties, and interests of the nation generally.
And we are further of opinion that any interference
with the legal and recognised constitutional rights of
the people, whether by placard or otherwise, is detri-
mental to the preservation of the public peace, and
to the protection of property.
" We, the people's delegates, announce to our con-
stituents that we again assemble this day, at ten
o'clock, supported by the indestructible bulwark of
public opinion, and prepared to watch over and guard
the people's interest, as a personification of the public
will. The meeting proposes appointing delegates to
wait upon and confer with shopkeepers, Dissenting
clergymen, and the middle classes generally, for the
purpose of ascertaining how far they are prepared to
assist and support the people in the struggle for the
attainment of their political rights, as the only means
to the removal of the wide-spread destitution and
awful distress which prevail throughout these islands.
We, your representatives, call most emphatically upon
the people to discontinue the production or creation of
wealth until the result of our deliberations is made
known to the people whom we represent. We have
only one course of conduct to recommend, which we
know you will 'most readily adopt, namely, to watch
over the safety Of life and property. For ourselves,
we have no other property than our labour, hut in the
midst of you we live and have our being; our
parents, our wives, and children, are the hostages we
present to you as our securities, that we will do no-
thing ourselves, nor recommend anything to others,
inconsistent with their safety or your interest.
" ALEX. HUTCHINSON, Chairman.
".CHARLES STUART, Secretary.
" Manchester, Aug.,l6th, 1842."
(ANOTHER ACCOUNT.)
.AIANCHESTER, TUESDAY MORNING, 11 O'CLOCK.—
.A.*"COnaiderable number- of The rioters were brought
before sole-of the ,Magistrates at the New Bailey,
Milford, yesterday, but consequence-.of the neces-
sary absence of the witnesses, who were engaged on
, active duty... elievyhere, they were remanded for a
It was generally understood that although
their numbers have aecuinuland to a,very inconve-
nient extent in that prison, 'no examinationi Can be
taken until this state of excitement is over.
In consequence of the great apprehensions of to-.
day, and the fear that, despite all the proclamations of
, yesterday, the misguided mob would persist in hold-