The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-09-28 00:00:00

he truth; nut ici-ent\ I -
thaaked God he hopecfbe oidd. r.ese whigs, wity
had sent these men there that o and who, he had very little
doubt, if they had not paid these honourable men, would have
paid somebody else, if they had not come—these very whigs
on this subject of spirituous liquors, had shown them the
greatest possible evidence of their own base falsehood, for
while they maintained a tax on the poor man's small beer,
which would not make him drunk, and which kept him from
having it at all, they had reduced the tax on gin, which would
make any man drunk in very small quantities. (Hear, hear,
hear, and cheers.) And what reason had they given for it ?
This: that it was more profitable to the government to have
a email tax on gin than a large one, and so they had, accord-
ing to this gentleman's own reasons—according to the reason-
ing of their own noble and no doubt disinterested missionary,
(a laugh,) according to this reasoning, the government which
he had the distinguished honour of representing there that
day,—that very government had sacrificed their moral cha-
racters, for the sake of what ? A little paltry gain in pounds,
shillings and pence.
Mr. ACLAND (interrupting).—l am not. at all connected
with the government; it is not fair to represent that. (A
laugh.)
M. COBBETT continued.—He would not detain them.
(Loud cries of "Go on.") They had been told that day, by
Mr. O'Uonnor, that Dr. Syntax Bowring had been in Man•
chester, and had been attempting to get up au agitation for
the repeal of the corn laws. Now in the same manner in
which Mr. O'Connor was in favour of the repeal of the corn
laws, he believed in the same principle. (Hear, hear.) He
was in favour of their repeal also; for whenever they did so
refomrn the government as to render such a measure just as
to render it practicable, he was for it and more if they could
do it; if they could repeal 'ens he would say " go at it my
boys." (Cheers.) But he was against it for this reason,
that it was a whig humbug, always got up to distract the
minds of the manufacturing population when they were mov-
ing for their just rights. It had been got up for every occa-
sion, and it was a very well calculated agitation to plodues
disunion instead of union amongst them, because it was na-
tural that the population of Lancashire and Yom kshire should
differ from the agricultural population on this subject who
did not differ on universal suffrage and annual parliaments,
and therefore they talked with them on this subject instead
of on that on which they were all united. Now he called on
them to have nothing to do with theie deceivers. The peo-
ple of the manufacturing districts and many of the agricul-
tural districts were now fairly in the field, and he did trust
that they would not suffer themselves to be hoodwinked, and
be led blindfold from that field by the philosophy of cox-
combs and the politics of knaves.. (Cheers.) There was
only one more subject which he should mention to them; it
was this, that the people of South Lancashire—he could
speak for them as the secretary of the Manchester political
union that called the great meeting the day before—the peo-
ple of South Lancashire had resolved that they would not
assist in getting any of those questions, however much they
have been devoted to them, when it had been the fashion.
There were a great portion of the people of Manchester who
were in favour of the repeal of the corn laws, and a great
majority of the people had come to the decision not to suffer
them to be discussed. That was the universal determination
of the town of Manchester; it was the same at Oldham.
From there he had gone to Bolton, and he would tell them
chat had been done there by these whig gentlemen. He bad
been sent there as a delegate, and a large meeting had been
held at the theatre, and he found it turned out that the prin-
cipal resolutions were to be moved by a-trigs of the first water.
A whig magistrate was to move one resolution, a whig mill-
owner was to second another, and a young whig gentleman
was to move another, and so on. He was delighted to find
that the middling classes had joined them. He began to
think them wise fellows, for he knew that that was the only
means Ly which they could save themselves with all their
wealth and intelligence. But how had it turned out ? The
whigs had at present lie believed tories in office in the town
of Bolton ; the municipal elections were coming on, and they
received a hint, that if they did not give up their corn law
nonsense, they should not put whigs into the corporation.
Therefore they were at the theatre, for let them mind, a real
traitor would almost go any length. (Hear.) They who
never could get beyond household suffrage and annual parlia-
ments and all manner of things about taxes. they not only
went, thus far, but they were for downright republicanism.
They talked about the expense of the crown ; and they
talked about two or three hundred thousand a year for the
crown as monstrous, but the thirty million of taxation they
could not perceive. They compared the expense of the
crown with the expense of the American government, they
talked generally against the monarchical government, and,
by inference, left entirely their auditors to come to the con-
clusion that they were in favour of a republican government
in this country. But let them mark this, although the meet-
ing was called for the purpose of supporting the political
union in Bolton, and inducing the people to go to Kersal
Moor, neither the union nor the meeting were alluded to;
not one word would the Whigs at that meeting say about the
meeting on Kersal Moor; that showed them how foolish it
would be to them to place the slightest confidence in them.
But above all, never let them place any confidence in them
when they went beyond the mark they wanted them. The
moment they asked a man to serve them and he said he
would do fifty times more, they had better say—" No, I had
rather not "—(Laughter and cheers.) Let them recollect
that the great meeting at Birmingham—on Kersal Moor,
and there that day—let them recollect that at those meetings
their labours must not cease. If they were to do no more
than meet, and talk, and demonstrate their power, their ene-
mies need not fear them. These meetings were called de-
monstrations, because they demonstrated the power they
possessed. That power they derived from union; and it',
after making a demonstration pf that kind, they retired for a
time into rest, they went back to their homes, and did no
more than make senseless demonstrations. He advised theta
to form a union; and if they already had one to support it.
If they could not pay a penny a week to pay a halfpenny ;
to attend every meeting, and never to give up agitation till
they gained what they were seeking. Let them always re-
collect between moist and physical force, Mr. Edmonds had
drawn so very fine a distinction that he could not discover
ita AVM iSiflYtV intaziltuShiglEWAToB.l.2t ear, and ireci:.;
Moral force meant this—and it was of nu use to talk about
sun and shadows—moral force meant this, " informing your
enemy that you have physical force ready when you want it."
He was not fur ptysical force. He would never call on a
man to use it; because tie thought that a man who so called
should be himself ready to lead them; and although he was a
very good attorney he was not fit to be a general, unless it
were attorney-general.--(Laughter.) Therefore, he did not
call upon any one to use physical force, because be was not
ready to lead them; bnt this he did say, when a man pre-
tended to act upon his enemies with moral force, and was not
ready to use physical force, he must be a man who was either
grossly deceived by somebody, or he had not a proper strength
of mind himself. He thanked them for the great patience
with which they had heard him, and, in conclusion, called on
them to hold frequent meetings of that sort, and join the
operatives of Lancashire and Yorkshire, and they would lead
them a dance that would tell them something.—(Cheers. )
Mt. JOHN COLLINS, of Birmingham, next addressed the
meeting.
Mr. Lowey, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, another touring
operative, who was full of the last place he had been at, that
he addressed the meeting as fellow countrymen of Hui:, next
spoke. He abused the press and all literary men as base
sycophants and hirelings, and concluded 'with seconding a
resolution moved by the previous speaker, which the pre-
vious speaker forgot to move.
The CHAIRMAN put the resolution, which was carried
unanimously. (No resolution being in fact before the meet-
ing, though, from the purport of the speech of one of them,
we guessed it to he the appointment of a sort of congress of
delegates to sit in London, and of course to be paid by their
poor dupes.)
Mr. M'NALTY moved a resolution, to the effect that Thos.
Smith and James Whittle be appointed delegates to a con-
vocation of the industrious classes in London, the number of
which was not to exceed 43. Their duties being to sit nightly
in the House of Commons, and repot what was going on.
Mr. PETER BUSBY, of Bradford, seconded the motion.
Mr. DIxoN, of Manchester, recommended Mr. Whittle
and Mr. Smith to the meeting.
The CHAIRMAN then put the resolution, appointing those
persons as delegates, which was unanimously carried.
Mr. SMITH and Mr. WHITTLE each acknowledged their
appointments.

.fl'he thanks of the meeting were then moved to the chair-
man; three cheers were proposed for O'Connor's paper, the
Northern Star. and the meeting broke up at a quarter to four
o'clock.