The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-01-10 00:00:00

ANTI-CORN LAW MEETING.

A Public Meeting was held in the Sessions House yesterday,
in pursuance of a requisition addressed to the Mayor, " to
take into consideration the propriety of petitioning the
Legislature for an alteration of the laws affecting the im-
portation of foreign corn." The place was crowded. Among
those present we observed Mr. Thornely, M.P., Colonel
Wilriams, and the principal leaders of the whig party in

Liverpool.
At twelve o'clock the MAYOR took his seat, and the pro-
ceedings commenced by the Deputy TOWN-CLERK reading
the requisition, and the names of the parties by whom it had
been signed. There appeared to be from 170 to 200.
The MAYOR said, that in compliance with the requisition
just read, he had deemed it no less a privilege than a duty to
summon the present meeting. It would scarcely be neces-
sary to remind them, that the subject to be discussed was
one of the most important that could be brought under con-
sideration, involving as it did, numerous and mighty inter-
ests, and that it required to be approached with• the utmost
calmness and deliberation. (Hear.) He claimed for each
person who might be desirous of addressing the meeting,
whatever might be his views, so long as he confined himself
to the question, a fair and a patient hearing. (Hear.) If
their deliberations were conducted in that spirit, they would
go forth to the world with that weight and importance which
should attach to everything emanating from this great and
intelligent community. Whatever might be his (the mayor's)
individual opinions, and they had been too frequently and
too fearlessly expressed to be misunderstood, his present
duty was the exercise of the strictest impartiality (hear) ; and
in that he had no doubt, if need be, he should receive from
the meeting that support to which he was entitled from the
office which he had this day undertaken. (Hear.) He
called upon the mover of the first resolution.
Mr. THOMAS THORNELY, M.P., said the committee
which had taken the trouble of framing the resolutions and
which had done him the honour to place one of them in his
hands, had, with great propriety, framed the first with a view
to elicit the experience of the meeting as to the operation of
the corn-laws during the past year. It would be recollected
that a meeting was held in this court-room exactly a year
ago, and that petitions were presented to parliament for a
repeal of the corn laws. Now it was their duty to address
the legislature in confirmation of the opinions they then ex-
pressed—or at least to shew that they still desired an alteration
of the present system, unless the events which had occurred
last year had changed their opinions. (Hear.) The first
circumstance that occurred to him as proper for him to al-
lude, was the operation of the existing corn-laws upon the
Bank of England and the currency of the country. It was
well known that the Bank of England had been nearly ex-
hausted of gold—that it had been compelled to raise the rate
of interest, and that that advance had spread over every
banking institution in the United Kingdom. Indeed, the
danger had been imminent that the Bank of England would
have stopped payment, the gold in hand being reduced to a
very small amount, one quite out of proportion to its paper
issue, according to what the authorities upon the subject
considered it right the bank, if obliged to pay in specie,
should hold with regard to its circulation in paper. (Hear,
hear.) The danger was by no means over yet as regarded
the currency, for a deficiency in another harvest, or the
apprehension of it in the spring, might compel the Bank to
stop paying in gold—(hear, hear ;)—and he had heard out of
doors that when the directors were complained of for having
" put on the screw"—that was for throwing out a great deal
of paper offered to them for discount, and raising the rate of
interest, they replied " You call upon us to issue a large
amount of paper, when your corn laws are abstracting the
gold from our vaults, in order to meet payments for corn,
which by the present system cannot be paid for upon an
emergency in any other medium !" (Hear, hear.) He
(Mr. Thornely) must say that the whole commercial com-
munity were deeply interested in an alteration of the present
system ; and looking around at the meeting, seeing merchants
engaged in a very wide extent of business, men of all sides
and shades of politics ; seeing, as he rejoiced to see, many
labouring men in this community, probably many of them
out of employment, because the corn-laws prevented them
getting it, which they would if they were repealed or modi-
fied—he did say, that, independently of the banking interest,
the commercial and manufacturing classes, as well as the
labouring members of the community, were deeply interested
in representing to parliament the need of an alteration in the
system. (Hear.) It had been frequently said, that if you
altered the corn-laws, and lowered the price of corn, you
reduced the rate of wages. (Hear.) What had been the
experience of the past year? Had wages in the manfacturing
districts advanced? Provisions had certainly advanced in
price greatly, but so far from the price of labour having ad-
vanced, it had actually fallen! (Hear.) Last week he was
in Wolverhampton, and a manufacturer in that district told
him that the price of labour at that moment was lower than
it had ever been known before ; and within the last few
weeks the men engaged in the iron-works of Staffordshire,
had had notice of a reduction in their wages ! (Hear, hear.)
Why was this ? Not, certainly, from want of feeling upon
the part of the iron masters; but on the contrary,because they
had been obliged to lower the price of their commodities, and
however distressing it might be, to reduce the wages of their
labourers. He would say a word with regard to the labouring
classes, and he hoped no meeting of this sort would ever be
held without the expression of a feeling for their interest and
welfare. (Hear.) If freedom of trade was to advance the
trade and commerce of the country—and the principle was
very simple, that whatever a foreigner chose to bring into
this market, and which we chose to purchase from him, we
ought to be allowed to purchase—there ought to be no legis-
lative enactment to oppose it. (Hear, hear.) Whatever we
chose to export to foreign countries, if foreigners chose to
buy it, we ought to be allowed to export, and they to pur-
chase. The more you increased your intercourse with fo-
reign countries, the greater employment you gave to the
labouring classes, and the higher the rate of wages. He
must say that, independent of what was called " Chartism,"
there was great discontent upon the past of the labouring
classes the manufacturing districts. (Hear.) And be
called upon the meeting, by the resolutions they would adopt,
to show the labouring classes, all over the kingdom, that
they considered the interests of the rich and the poor, the
capitalist and the labourer, to be one and the same. (Hear.)
It was impossible for a commercial community to flourish
without wages advancing, and without the condition of .the
labouring classes improving : it was impossible for capitalists
to employ their capital to advantage without benefitting the
labouring classes. Let them, then, throw overboard all divi-
sions into classes ; let them look only to the good of the people,
and see what they could do to advance the interests of all.
The corn trade under the present system, was a complete
lottery. (Hear.) Years ago parliament put state lotteries
down lby legislative enactment, but they had nevertheless
established a lottery in the corn trade. (Hear.) No man
knew whether at a given time the duty would be one sum
or another. The trade, therefore, was a speculative trade,
instead of one of fair-and easy management. (Hear.) It
would be right to read, though it had appeared elsewhere,
a quotation from a speech of Sir Robert Peel's, in the House
of Commons, -in support of a corn bill brought in by Mr.
Canning twelve years ago, when experiencing a great opposi-
tion lest the corn of other countries should come into our
own. It was on the Bth of March, 1827, that the bill was
brought, in by Mr. Canning, and which, if passed, would
have placed us in a better position than we were now. Sir
Robert Peel then said [the hon. gent. read the quotation at
length] it was not for the landed interest to distrust a mea-
sure of reform in the corn laws upon the ground of foreign
supplies lowering the prices of this country. He felt we had
now arrived at a crisis in the trading, commercial, and ma-
nufacturing system of this country ; and if, said the hon.
gent., you persevere in the present system, distress and ruin
will follow, but on the other hand, if you alter the corn laws,
you will diffuse joy and satisfaction throughout the land, and
give prosperity to the people at large. (Cheers.) Mr. Thornely
concluded by moving the first resolution, for which, and the
others, see advertisement.
Mr. WILLIAM EARLE, in seconding the_resolution, said,
that practical experience of the effects of any peculiar law was
the best guide to a correct opinion, whether that law was in-
jurious to their interests or otherwise. Now all of them
there who were engaged in trade must know how injuriously
the corn laws had interfered with their commercial operations.
The injury inflicted by them upon the labouring classes came
home to many of them in a much more serious form, than to
those who were fortunate enough to be in better circum-
stances. Experience told the labouring man at this very hour
that he was, by these laws, obliged to purchase corn at a high
price, or resort to the sad alternative of purchasing inferior
and unwholesome wheat, thereby deranging the health of his
family, and depriving them of the means of gaining their
livelihood—for if sickness once attacked the poor man,
poverty, with all its awful consequences, inevitably followed.
He had, therefore, great pleasure in seconding the resolution.
The MAYOR was about to put the resolution, when
Mr. LLOYD, addressing the Mayor from the gallery, inti-
mated his intention to move an amendment. He had un-
fortunately been deprived of the advantage of listening to
the speeches delivered upon the resolution, and therefore, in
some measure, he was precluded from answering the specific
arguments urged in those speeches. But the question, in its
general bearings, admitted of discussion ; and he was prepared
to shew that this Anti-Corn-law agitation was, to use a plain
but not very complimentary term, a grand piece of humbug
from beginning to end. (Laughter, hisses, and cheers.)
The M Avon reminded the speaker that he might readily
find other terms than that he had just used to express his
sentiments, which would be more consonant to his own feel-
ings and those of the meeting.
Mr. LLOYD had never yet met with a Liverpool audience
that felt the slightest repugnance to hear the truth patiently
and candidly investigated ; and he was convinced the present
meeting, though perhaps differing from him, would give him
that hearing which a candid inquiry after truth demanded.
Perhaps he might have used a milder term than the one
he had employed. He would call it, then, a delusion—
a term which described the whole scheme. (Cries of " No,
mo.") In aid of this delusion the Anti-Corn-law League
had engaged itinerant lecturers, who were going about the
country spreading discontent, and disseminating false infor-
mation amongst the labouring classes. (Cries of " No, no,"
and " yes, yes.") They had likewise summoned to their
aid the charms of poetry and of music, by way of still more
strongly influencing the public mind in favour of this grand
delusion. (Question.) He was speaking' to the question.
It was said by the anti-corn-law agitators that cheap bread
would be beneficial to the labouring classes, but what was
cheap bread? (Hear.) It was purely a relative term. Bread
might be as dear at 2s a bushel as it was at this moment at
Os. or 10s ,• and there could not be the slightest doubt that
the grand object of those who had set the machinery of the
anti-corn-law league to work was to reduce the wages of la-
bour. (No, no, and yes, yes.) Otherwise the alleged ground
o! complaint was as baseless as the fabric of a vision ; and
why ? [A Voice.—Prove it.] The very complaint of the
manufacturers was this—" We cannot compete with foreign
manufacturers ; they undersell us even in our own established
markets ;" and why ? Because they can get—[A Voice.—
" Their corn cheap." (Laughter.) Yes, because as had
been observed by the gentleman that interrupted him, they
could get their corn cheaper, and impose a lower rate of
wages upon their workmen. (Hear, hear.) That fact had
been undeniably established by the unchallenged statement
of the great political quack doctor, Dr Bowring himself. If
the corn-laws were repealed, and foreign wheat substituted for
the growth of the British soil; at one half or one third of the
present prices, the inevitable result of such a change in the
price of corn would be the lowering of wages. If wages should
not be lower, the manufacturers would still be in the same
hobble—they would still be incapable of competing with their
foreign rivals, for, as he had before observed, it was the very
ground of their complaints that they could not get cheap la-
bour. That was their real object, and not cheap bread ; and,
after a reduction of wages, bread would be absolutely dearer
to the labouring classes than it was now. (Hear.) It was
asserted that the corn laws had operated injuriously upon the
manufacturing interests of the country ; but he would put
that matter to a very simple issue, by referring to no docu-
ments but those which had the sanction of the government
imprimatur upon them. (Hear.) The documents he should
quote were returned by the present government in answer to
certain motions in the House of Commons, and if there was
any fraud in them government was responsible. The govern-
ment inspectors of factories published returns of the numbr
of mills in the United Kingdom, and the hands employed rn
be
them, during the year 1835. These returns were very
mightminutevery
in their character, and he believed their accuracy
depended upon. Similar returns were also
hnirpeadstfosresiisliothne.
year 1838, and laid before parliament in t
These returns had been recently printed—they composed two
tion of the manufacturing interests in 1 J and 1838. These
volumes, and afforded us the means of contrastings3r the condi-
were the results:—
The cotton factories in 1835 were .
1838
The number of hands employed in cotton facto-
ries in 1835 was
1838
Making an increase of 39,000 hands.

1262
. 1815

.. 220,000
.. 259,000

The woollen factories in 1835 were
1838

1313
1378

The hands employed in woollen factories in 1835

were .
In 1838,

71,000
86,000

Shewing an increase of 15,000 hands
The number of flax mills in 1835 was
1838 392
The number of hands employed in flax mills in
1835 was 33,000
1838 - 43,000

Shewing an increase of 10,000 hands
Of silk factories there were in 1835
1838
Of hands employed in silk factories there were
in 1835 30,000
1838 34,000
Sheeting an increase of 4,000 hands.
The total increase in the number of hands, in all, was 68,000.
(Hear.) Was that any proof of injury done to our manufac-
tures by the operation cf the corn laws or any other laws ?
(Hear.) It would be very easy for him to go on declaiming,
but he should answer his purpose better by referring to sta-
tistical details; for it was upon them that the anti-corn law
agitators grounded all their opposition to the cora laws. It
had been stated that the export trade of the country had been
materially diminished and interfered with by the operation
of the corn laws ; but let him reduce that to the simple test
of an appeal to the custom-house returns, and if the fact
was that the corn laws did interfere injuriously with our
export trade, he would willingly acknowledge their inexpe-
diency. That, however, was not the case. In the iron
trade, for instance, the exports (in round numbers) in 1829
were 89,000 tons ; 1832, 120,000 ; 1835, 167,000 ; 1838,
217,000;—spewing an amazing increase in the exports of
iron. (Hear.) But, not to enter into particulars, he would
take the total amounts of our principal exports. In 1824
they were to the value of 20,000,000 ; 1830, 20,600,000 ;
1831, 23,000,000; 1832, 26,000,000; 1833, 27,000,000; 1834,
28,000,000 ; 1835, 26,000,000 ; 1836, 32,000,000 ; 1838,
36,000,000; 1839, 43,000,000 ;—shewing, from the year 1824
to the year 1839, an increase from 20,000,000 to the enormous
amount of 43,000,000, under the operation of the corn laws
during the whole of that period. (Hear.) Was this a proof
of the injurious effects of the corn-laws upon our export
trade? He denied the assertion in tote, and these returns
established his position. He could further, if time per-
mitted, prove that the cotton exports of the country had
received no injury whatever. (Hear.) He was further pre-
pared to maintain, that the anti-corn-law agitation was a
fallacy, when it stated that " commerce had made agricul-
ture, and that agriculture must not be permitted to unmake
commerce." Why, the absurdity of the assertion, that
commerce bad made agriculture was so glaring that it was
beneath notice. (Uproar.) It was urged likewise, that the
corn-laws had injured the manufacturers per se, taken apart
from their operatives. Now, he maintained, that the manu-
facturing interest had, of all others, for the last twenty years,
under the operation of the corn-laws, been the most pros-
perous. The manufacturers boasted only the other day that
the cotton lords of Manchester could buy up the whole
peerage ! Where was it that these millionaires had accuinu-
lated all this wealth ? Had they not acquired it out of the
very trade which they alleged to be so depressed under the
operation of the corn laws as to be scarcely worth following ?
(Hear.) It was an undeniable fact, that immense fortunes
had been realised in the manufacturing districts in the last 20
years ; but, he allowed, there was distress among the labouring
classes : he allowed they were pining from want in Leeds,
Manchester, Sheffield, and elsewhere ; and groaning under
a misery and oppression which had scarcely any parallel in
the whole history of the country. He would put a question
to the person who had called out " question" to him. It
was this—Had the manufacturers done justice to those from
the sweat of whose brows, and from the wasting of whose
sinews they had gained their wealth ? (Hear.) Oh, if there
was one thing more than another that would bring a curse
upon the country it was—[A Voice.—The corn-laws)—this
grinding oppression of the poor. (Cheers.) True there was
distress among the manufacturing classes ; and it was true
there was to be a splendid and gorgeous banquet among the
manufacturers of Manchester, for the purpose of still further
reducing in the scale of misery and oppression those unfortu-
nate beings from whom their ill-gotten wealth had been wrung.
(Cheers.) He would bring before the meeting a single fact,
which would illustrate the manner in which the manufactu-
rers treated their operatives. (Uproar, and cries of " ques-
tion.")

The-MAYoR rose, and reminded Mr. Lloyd that it was not
absolutely necessary for him to use this sort of language ; but,
at the same time, he (the Mayor) felt bound to state that
Mr. Lloyd was speaking to the question when he was inter-
rupted.
Mr. LLOYD would bring his observations to a close. If it
were the object of the anti-corn law agitators to procure a
supply of corn from foreign countries, and thereby throw out
of cultivation many hundreds of thousands of acres in this
country, then he should say, they would be depriving our
manufacturers of their very best customers. They would
be committing an act of suicide as regarded their own inte-
rests. The corn produced in this country alone, had been
.estimated in the Anti-Corn Law Circular at 60 millions of
quarters. He believed that was much below the real
amount. At 50s. the quarter, this would produce upwards
of £150,000,000. Where did this money go to? The Anti-
Corn Law Circular said that a very small proportion only
went into the pockets of the landlords. He thanked the
Anti-Corn Law Circular for that statement ; for he be-
lieved that the proportion was very small, perhaps not
above one-eighth of the whole. Now, throw the land
out of cultivation, and what would become of the im-
mense amount of money now in circulation amongst the
agricultural interests. That money was not hoarded up or
put by. It was almost as soon as acquired diffused among
the great mass of the population, and clearly went to the
support of our own manufactures. It was a great complaint
on the part of the manufacturers that they could not find
markets for their manufactured produce. That might be,
at the present moment, a complaint based on something like
the fact, because, within the last three or four years, there
had been a great deal of over-production. (Great uproar.)
If they wanted markets for their produce, he would refer
them to markets which presented interminable capabilities
of extension, and which would, if properly cultivated, con-
sume three or four times the whole amount of manufactures
exported from England at this moment. Look at the East
Indies. That country alone might consume more than dou-
ble the whole manufactured exports of this country. Look
at South Australia, where a mighty empire was growing up,
which, at no distant period promised to afford a trade which
would rival that of the United States of America. Look at
Canada, which alone would give a boundless impulse to our
manufactures. Look at the West Indies and British Guiana,
where there was a soil teeming with spontaneous pro-
ductions of all sorts, and only wanting labourers to
cultivate it. The exports to those:colonies were far greater in
proportion than the exports to the whole continental powers.
The exports to New South Wales were nine or ten times as
treat, in proportion to the number of inhabitants, as to France
or any other continental power. (Great uproar.) Then,
if they wanted to render the operation of the corn laws bene-
ficial, and to find employment for the whole of the popula-
tion, let them raise this rallying cry—" Ships, colonies, and
commerce." What had made Liverpool what she is, but
ships, colonie, and commerce? (Cheers.) He would con-
clude by moving the following amendment :—" That in the
opinion of this meeting it is the paramount duty of the go-
vernment of this country to encourage the prosperity, and to
promote the extension, of the colonial dependencies of Great
Britain, as the best means for increasing the trade, commerce,
and manufactures of Great Britain and Ireland, and providing
abundant and profitable mployment for the great mass of
our operatives and mechanics." (Cheers and hisses.)
Mr. JOHN FORMBY, in seconding the amendment, said,
that a great number of merely theoretical remarks were made
at meetings of that sort, and very few practical ones. He
should like some gentleman to explain to him what propor-
tion of the price of a bushel of corn consisted of rent. Very
few of them there knew how far that was the case, or could cal-
culate it. But unless they could,they were not competent judges
of the case in all its bearings. He was not fond of quoting from
Scripture at such meetings as that, bat he could no help re-
minding them that the head could not say to the feet " I have
no need of you." In like manner the commercial interest
could not say to the landed interest " we have no need of
you " unless they viewed the landed interest as an incubus
upon the body politic; for the real fact would come to that. If
the corn laws were abolished, the end of the thing would be
that the landlords would all be ruined. As he had had no
answer to the question which he proposed he would answer it
for them. In some districts the rent was a third and in
other districts it was a fourth of the price of a bushel of corn.
Then what must a farmer deduct for losses and what for
savings ? That was the next point. Would they (tile anti-
corn-law agitators) allow that labour would be reduced in
price ? They dared not ; because that would upset their case
at once. Some of them argued that it would be a good thing
for the poor—that the poor would have better wages and a
great deal more brzad for their money. Others said, and
with a great deal more truth, " we want the price of labour
to be reduced—we want corn to he lower in price, that we may
get our work done cheaper." (Hear, hear.) He would not
trouble them with any further observations, because, as he
said before, the case of the anti-corn agitators was merely
theoretical, and nine-tenths of all their speeches were mere
trash. (Uproar.) He begged to second the amendment.
Colonel WILLIAMS, being a practical man, wished to reply
to the last speaker. He was a practical man as a farmer,
and he also stood before the meeting in the character of a
landowner. The gentleman who spoke last said the land-
owners and farmers would all be ruined if the corn-laws were
abolished. He (Col. Williams) did not fear being ruined by
the change. He wanted to say a word to the mover of the
amendment, who had stated, that, by the abolition of these
laws a vast number of acres would be thrown out of cultiva-
tion. He would leave gentlemen conversant with commer-
cial matters to answer the fallacies of the mover of the amend-
ment on that subject ; but with regard to the acres being
thrown out of cultivation by the abolition of the corn-laws,
he looked upon that to be the greatest fallacy that ever dwelt
in the brain of a pseudo-politico-economist. (Laughter and
cheers.) Ile should like to know whether any field of his,
when he refused to sow wheat in it, would not grow some-
thing else. The greatest fallacy possible was that of com-
pelling a country to encourage the cultivation of wheat. If
we did not grow wheat, could we not grow cattle? (Hear,
hear.) He (Col. Williams) did not see, if that gentleman
was fond of a loaf, why he should not like to have a round
of beef to it. (Great laughter.) The Colonel concluded by
expressing his intention to support the original motion.
Mr. JOHN MURRAY, in a long address, supported the ori-
ginal motion.
Mr. DYKE, in the gallery, also supported the resolution.
The MAYOR then put the amendment and the original mo-
tion, and declared the latter to be carried by a large majority.
Mr. WILLIAM RATHBONE moved the second resolution.
After a few brief introductory remarks, he observed that the
repeal of the Corn-laws was a most important question. It
was not one of those things 'upon which, when at some
and
remedy dis-
tantday we had found out our mistake, we could repent d
no use
remedy the evil. (Hear.) The remedy would be of
unless we came to a sound state of things. Ilanufact ures
had been established in other countries; and whenwe found
out who had been the persons who had established them, it
would be too late to go hack. He hoped, however, we
should not be a selfish population, and when our neighbour's
house was on fire take no pains to put it out because it was
not our own. He hoped that meeting would feel for our
manufacturers. They were our neighbours, and their house
was now on fire. What would become of the manufacturing
ships,
our
co-
lonies,
interests of the country if the manufacturers were thrown
out of bread. There were
Wtwheremiwliojounlds ooufr manufacturers
within thirty miles of us.
commerce be, if our manufacturers
and our
were not supported . And let him ask the gentleman
who was so anxious for the landed interests, what had
raised the rents of land near large towns ? What was
the rent of land about this town and Manchester? It was
about £3 an acre; and it was the manufacturers which had
created that price. What had been the cause of the late
evils ? He was not one of those who had begun late in life
to sympathise with the poor. Their Tory friends—no, he
must not say Tory—but there was a class who had lately
become very sympathising with the poor. Did they trust
them ? Ile
asked the meeting
again, whether they would
g
trust them. Let the labouring classes look to those friends
who, from first to last, had been anxious to elevate the
poor—to put the poor in the situation to support them-
selves. (An ironical cry of " the poor laws.") The
poor-law was not the question just then : but he would say
there was considerable fallacy existing among the poor on
this subject. He would boldly say he thought the pre-
sent a very great improvement upon the old law, and he
highly respected those who had brought it forward. He
was not going to pamper the poor, or to address their follies
or their passions. Where he thought a law was a good one,
at the risk of his popularity he would say so. Mr. Rathbone
went on to contend that the present corn-laws were an inter-
ference with the benevolence of Providence ; that if they
werkahplished prosperity would be given to the labouring
clasWand the condition,of the agriculturists and the land-
./

lords themselves would be improved. But if they committed
an error now, by refusing to abolish them, it would a fatal
error—one that could not be retrieved when they came to see
their folly. (Cheers.) He begged to move the resolution.
Mr. WILLIAM BROWN seconded it. He contended that
the landed interest would be benefitted by a change in the
law, because prior to the enactment of the present vicious
system, the population of the country had generally increased,
and with that increase the value of the estates of the land-
owners had increased also. Since the enactment of those
laws their estates had not increased in value ; and if the ma-
nufacturing portion of the country had been prosperous, it
was not in consequence of the corn-laws, but in spite of
them. (Hear.) Last winter he paid a visit to the United
States, and saw their manufacturing establishments. All
the twenty-six states had manufactures more or less. In
Massachusetts alone .the annual value of the manufactures
was upwards of 86,000,000 dollars, a great proportion of
which we should have had the fabrication of, if our ruinous
corn-laws had permitted us to receive their food. He went
on to state that in South America and other parts of the
world, they were already underselling us ; that they had even
sent their manufactures to Liverpool, and some of them
might now be found in the public shops. The landed inte-
rest need not be much afraid of free trade. The ship-owners
were exceedingly hostile to it, but the result had been to de-
crease the tonnage of their great rivals—the United States.
He had great pleasure in seconding the motion.
Mr. HARDY opposed the resolution. He contended that
the present commercial difficulties were attributable not to
the operation of the corn-laws, or to the screw put on by the
bank, but to over speculation • and that it was manifestly
unjust to repeal the duties on the importation of corn, unless
the protection was removed from all other commodities. He
was in favour of a fixed moderate duty. Mr. Hardy, whose
sentiments did not appear agreeable to the prevailing party,
met with considerable interruption.
Mr. RATHBONE having explained a remark which had
been commented on by the last speaker,
The MAYOR put the resolution, and it was carried.
Mr. AIKIN, in moving the next resolution, entered into a
very long and elaborate argument, with the view of upsetting
the " fallacies" advanced by Mr. Hardy, AS to the justice of
a fixed duty, and to shew the sound policy of an immediate
and entire abolition of the present system.
Mr. BOOTH regretted that his fellow-townsmen should
again have to petition for repeal; but he hoped they would
this time be successful, as nothing tended to enlarge the in-
tercourse of nations more than free trade. He seconded the
resolution.

Mr. WATSON, in support of the resolution, stated that he
could buy a certain description of cloth cheaper at Philadel-
phia than at Manchester, owing to the existence of the Corn-
laws.
The MAYOR then put the resolution, and it was adopted.
Mr. BOLTON moved the next resolution, and argued that
the present system of fluctuating duties had the effect of
throwing into the country an inferior quality of wheat, to the
injury of the poor; but he admitted that the abolition of the
corn-laws would reduce the wages of the labouring classes.
Mr. HIGGINS seconded the motion.
Mr. RICHARD SHELL commented upon the admission of
Mr. Bolton that the effect of repeal would he to reduce wages.
In Ireland wages could not be reduced lower than they were,
and in England, he contended, that the contrary result would
follow.

The resolution was then carried.
Mr. BLACKBURN next addressed the meeting at very great
length, contending upon general principles that the corn-
laws were decidedly unjust, and that in practice they were
iniquitous. He concluded amidst considerable applause by
moving the next resolution.
Mr. MULLENEUX seconded the motion, and also entered
into an argument to show that Mr. Bolton had advanced a
false proposition when 'he contended that the rate of wages
would be lowered by a repeal of the corn-laws.
Mr. BOLTON explained.
Mr. HARDY, after a shrewd speech moved, as an amend-
ment, " that this meeting recommends the substitution for
the present fluctuating corn-law duties, a certain and fixed
protecting duty." (Cheers.)
Mr. BALDM AN seconded the amendment.
After a few remarks from Mr. AIRIN, the questjan was
put, and the original motion was declared to ha been
adopted.

Mr. HOLLAND moved the next resolution in along speech ;
it was seconded by Mr. MELLOR, and carried unanimously.
Mr. WILLIAM WALLA CE CURRIE next addressed the
meeting. He undertook to establish two points ; first, that
a repeal of the corn-laws would not reduce wages ; and next,
that a free trade in corn would not place this country in the
position of being dependent upon foreign nations for a sup-
ply in time of war. Having done this, he moved the adoption
of a petition, founded on the resolutions to both houses of
parliament.

Mr. LAWRENCE HErwoßru said, that in the absence of
Mr. Sands, who had undertaken the task, be had great plea-
sure in seconding the motion.
The petition was unanimously carried.
On the motion of Mr. RAWSON, seconded by Mr. LOCKE,
it was resolved, that the Lord Lieutenant and Lord Sefton
should present the petition to the Upper House, and the
members for the borough to the Commons.
Mr. RICHARD SHIEL proposed the establishment of an
Anti-Corn-Law Association in Liverpool.
Mt. JORDAN seconded the motion ; adding that if the land-
lords did not concede the demand now made for the abolition
of the corn laws, madhouses ought to be built for them in
every county in ngland.
Mr. RossoN (in the absence of Mr. James Brancker)
moved the thanks of the meeting to the Mayor for his con-
duct in the chair.

The motion having been seconded and carried, the MAYOR
returned thanks, and at a quarter to five the meeting se-
parated.

TIIE " NOBLE AMATEURS."—On Tuesday afternoon the
inhabitants of Liverpool were amused by the exhibition of
one of those vagaries, which, though rather undignified in
the scions of aristocracy, create for a time, by exciting won-
der and curiosity, a pleasant sensation among the admirers
of quelque chose distingue: It is already known to the pub-
lic that several noble adventurers are pursuing their avoca-
tions, as knights of the whip, the buskin, and the road, to
decide a wager; and on Tuesday afternoon we observed two
of the latter, attired as Highlanders, coming down Bold-
street, one doing the executive on a set of bagpipes, and the
other doing the begging department. The splendour of their
dresses, particularly that of the piper, had attracted a large
concourse of followers, some of whom bestowed their cop-
pers, others silver, and even gold, upon the distinguished
visitors. The piper, who is Lord Glenlyon, lately one of the
heroes at the tournament held at Eglintoun castle, was
dressed in full Highland costume, his arms and Other ac-
coutrements ornamented with silver, topazes, &c. The
other, who is Col. Fortescue, son of the lord-lieutenant of
Ireland, although not in complete Highland costume, and
having a less splendid appearance than his comrade, was
very handsomely dressed. From 80ld-street they passed.
down Church-street, Whitechapel, and through the princi-
pal parts of the town, with as enthusiastic a retinue as ever
followed their forefathers to the battle-field. Many ladies
showed great eagerness in depositing their coin in the velvet
cap of the youthful beggar. Every one was eager to get a
view of the artistes, and the sound of the pibroch caused as
much emulation in the Jianeurs of Liverpool to be foremost
in the ranks, as,lt did at Flodden, where
" No thought was there of dastard fight,
Linked in the serried phalanx tight,
Groom fought like noble, squire like knight,
As fearlessly as well."
After sundry peratnbulations, our her.oes concluded the
masquerade for that evening by proceeding to the Adelphi
hotel, where they put up, and where they were received by
their friends with three hearty cheers. Chivalry and min-
strelsy seem to be the order of the day with Lord Glenlyon.
Perhaps if he were asked for precedents in the latter case,
he would tell us that King Alfred played the troubadour in
the Danish camp, Richard Coeur-de-Lion bandied stanzas
with the minstrel Blondel, and that in the days of chivalry
knight and noble were frequently obliged to assume the garb
and manner of pilgrims and minstrels. Having gone so far,
we want to know what is to come next? Perhaps, iilvoking
Poesy to their aid, noble bards will spread themselves over
the land, and another Ossian may sing—" the song of bards
arise. The voice of sprightly mirth is heard. The trembling
harps of joy are strung. They sing the battle of heroes, or
the heaving breasts of love ;" and. as formerly in Provence,
that land of troubadours, we shall have a corm d'antour to
adjudge the prizes ; or, going farther, England may produce
another " Nihelungenleid," and chivalry and minstrelsy out-
vie their former selves. Notts rerrons.
ABERCROMBY WARD.—A. highly respectable and very
numerous meeting of the conservative electors for Aber-
cromby Ward was held on Tuesday evening last, at the
Phoenix Inn, Mount-pleasant, to tix upon a gentleman as a
candidate for the ward at the next municipal election.—
Esg„AmongstjamtehsosAe
spprinesall, present
Eswtei
„noticed Robertson :Gladstone,
Esq., .(solicitor Dr. Malins, John Atkinson,
), Richard Griffiths, Esq., Edward Start,
Esq., Parker, Esq., William Woods, Esq., &c. It
was unanimously resolved that a requisition be presented to
James Proctor, Esq., requesting his services for the ward,
and several appropriate speeches were delivered in favour of
that gentleman. A requisition was immediately prepared,
and received nearly sixty signatures before the meeting sepa-
rated. This is as it ought to be, and we trust the example
will not be lost upon the other wards in the town.

THE FARMER'S AND GENERAL FIRE AND LIFE INSTI-
TUTION.—We are happy to be enabled to state, that the
establishment of this institution has been so well received in
all parts of the kingdom, that it is the intention to allot the
shares in a week from this time. The insurance against
storms, the application of one-tenth of the profits to agricul-
tural purposes, and the new scale of insurances upon Farming
stock, have met with the universal approbation of the agri-
cultural class.
THE DISPENSARIES.--We are sorry to learn that the ad-
mirable institutions, which annually affiard relief to 50,000 of
the suffering poor, are deeply in debt to their treasurers. The
present deficiency in the income, when compared with their
expenditure, is X 1,500. We trust that effectual means will
be adopted of bringing the wants of the institutions before the
public.
New, STEAM PASSENGER PACKET ON THE MERSEY TO
RUNCORN.—We understand that the Mersey and lrwell Na-
vigation Company are preparing one of their imwerful and
elegantly-built steamers for the purpose of conveying pas-
sengers between this port and Runcorn, and that she will be
ready for the station very early in the. spring. The packet's
name will be the Tower.'' Sfieis the swiftest and decidedly
the most beautiful and commodious vessel on the river, and
her cabins are to be finished and f .rnished in a superior
and comfortable manlier; and in order to ensure the public
confidence and support the Company will entrust her only
to the care of steady and emperienced servants. We are
glad that the company have entered upon this undertaking,
for it will be a great public convenience, especially in connec-
tion with their long-established line of packets to Warring-
ton, Manchester, &c.
DEATH OF CHARLES TONNE, ESQ.—On the 6th instant,
at his house, Norton-street, Charles Towne, Esq., in li's 80th
year. Mr. Topne's talents as an animal painter were of a
high order, and were duly appreciated, not only by his towns-
men, but by connoisseurs in all parts of the kingdom ; his
ability in pourtrayiug the horse—his favourite subject—has
rarely been equalled, certainly not surpassed, and the foun-
dation of his excellence was laid in a deep knowledge of the
anotomical structure of the animal. In early life he asso-
ciated intimately with the celebrated George Morland, mas-
tering his principles of composition, and imbibing much of
his feeling for colour, which lie retained in his practice for
many years ; latterly his style became more peculiarly his
own, and he laboured to form what might with propriety be.
termed an " ecletric style." Mr. T. was one of the founders
of the Liverpool Academy, but for several years had declined
sending any of his productions to the annual exhibitions. Of
the works he has left behind hint many collectors will doubt-
less be eager to possess themselves; but he has left even a
still more. valuable legacy to his brethren in the art, especially
to the younger ones—the example of a patiently laborious
and temperate life. Ile knew that an honest fame w s not to
be had on other terms, and he willingly paid the price.
FATAL ACCIDENT.—AII inquest was held yesterday, before
P. F. Curry, Esq., coroner, touching the death of one John
Davenport. It appeared from the evidence that the deceased
Was employed by Mr. Bibby in brickmaking, and, on Friday
last, was undermining a large quantity of clay, whilst his
fellow-workman was occupied above in driving wedges, in
order to loosen the earth ; and the latter, whilst doing so,
Observed it giving way, but, before he could give warning to
the deceased, he was covered, and when extricated he proved
to be severely bruised, and was conveyed to the Northern
Hospital, where he lingered until Monday. The coroner
humanely inquired whether some equally effectual, though
less dangerous, mode of procuring the clay might not be
resorted to ; but the witnesses replied that it could not be
obtained in sufficiently large quantities in any other way,
gni the Jury returned a N•entie of " Accidental death."