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. Tbe Boo . J . S . WORTLEY then came forward , aad fu received with cheers by the Bine party . He said tbe Whig GoTernment had new been in offiee for eleTen Tears , and during tbe whole time they hare never Tentared to make « ry proposal 00 the subject on which the ? now choose to agitate tbe country . It ia only at the jut moment , when they find themselves asking in the estimation of the country , to the lowest step la the jcale- ( A shont of " "Will yon do it then ? " ) It is only when they find their own Hoase of Commons xejects them , and tell * them they are bound in principle to resign their situations ; it is only then they throw out this question as a bait for popularity , and in order to keep their Bitaationa What kind of question is this on which they think agitation justifiable to raise
the passions of the people—for I can call the attempt nothing else , though it has failed ? What is the question ? A question on which the first and most intelligent authorities differ almost as often as they write or speak on it Let us look to the authorities on this rery subject—the Corn Laws . At the present moment , we hare a nobleman whose son now appears before yon as a candidate , whose private chancier we must respect—my Lord Fitzwilliam , who baa taken a prominent and leading part in the attack to . these laws . ( Cheers . ) What does he tell us ? That it these laws were repealed , you would not have cars cheaper than at present ; that the farmer need sot be afraid , because the price of corn would remain the same as at present A pamphlet hu been
• written by Mr . M'Cuuoch , another of these great authorities , and what does he say ? He says the same thing . ( Shouts of " What do you say ? " ) He attempts to proTe that there would be no reduction in the price of corn . Then we hare Mr . Villiere , an advocate for the repeal of the Corn Laws , and certainly no partisan ot oars—what does he say ? He says that the sole object is to reduce wages . { Disapprobation . ) He says that wages must be reduced in order to enable our manufacturers to compete with our rirals . Another authority , no less esteemed , Colonel Torrens , who has given his life to the consideration of these subjects , says on the contrary , you would get nothing from it , because it would raise wages , and raise rents .
1 b this , then , a question on which any GoYerament is justified in attempting to impose on the great mass of the people ? ( Heat . ) I contend that the attempt is nothing else than an electioneering clap-trap . And for this reason . When we look back to the history of the GoTernment , we find that for eleTen years they proposed nothing on this subject , but sot only that , for we find the first Minister of the country , the principal organ o f the G-rvemment , has more than once declared in the most positiTe terms against the change . In March , 1 S 3 S , he used these words : — " When you find , " ( said be } " my noble friend Earl Fitzwilliam proposing to leave the whole agricultural interest without protection , I declare before God , I think it the wildest and the maddest scheme that ever
entered into the imagination of man to concern , and it is my opinion that it is not wise to depend on foreign countries for a supply of food . " This , gentlemen , is the assertion of Lord Melbourne not more than two years since , bat he comes s little nearer than that , for it was only last year that he said , when it was urged you will be able to get an increase of trade , in consequence of the repeal of the Coin Laws , what did he say to it ? He said , " you will neTer get into the markets of * ho continent Trhether yon repeal the CVtb Laws or not" These ate the sentiments expressed by Lord Melbourne , and I ay when a government , haying treated this question in this style , for eleTen years , and now when it is known to be at the last gasp of its existence , throwing overboard the principles it had
expresed before , on the ere of its dissolution putting forward these measures . In reference to the retiremeat of Sir Geo . Strickland , the Hon Speaker asked , why has he been withdrawn ? Was it because he wanted to retire from Parliament ? No such thing . He does not want to retire from Parliament At this moment be , your old and Radical representative , Sir George Strickland , is engaged in a popular contest for Preston , in Lancashire . Why did he not fight in the battle here instead of at Preston ? ( Cries of " question , question . " ) It is because my Noble Friend here , to whom I hare the greatest possible respect , is to bring tbe great influence of his noble house into the contest He is to serre the purpose of a budget in Yorkshire , He , Gentlemen , is our Yorkshire
budget , and he is brought here to produce the same Sect as the Goremment sought to produce by their tndget He is to carry it by the influence of his noble souse , It is in order that the deficiency of influence of Sir © eorge Strickland may be supplied , and in order to obtain enough assistance for the electors to win the election . Gentleman , allow me then to state my Tiews of the Com Laws . My firm belief is , and I proclaim it without hesitation , that a material reduction or repeal of those duties would haTe the effect of distressing and ruining the agricultural community of these countries ( Disapprobation . ) It is not , thea , for the interests ef the country at large . I an speaking to the manufacturers . I deny that eTen the manufacturers would gain by such a consequence , and I will tell yon how I
prore it I do not think it a the interest of any man to thriTe , if he abould thrive by ruining his neighbour . But , Gentlemen , I deny that he would eTen thriTe ( Cries « f " Its tbe aristocracy that thriTes . ") We must recollect that large portions of laud in this countrythe brother of Lord John Russell said no less than two millions «{ acres—are not susceptible of profitable cultiTation , except under a protection . If those lands were thrown out of cultivation , what must necessarily folio * 2 Why , tbe cultrr&iors must be ruined , their labourer * would be thrown out of employment , and what is to become of this mass of labourers ? I do not speak this on my own authority . I will take an authority pertainly not apfftfT" *^ 1 *—t ^' Pi' ^ f ^ Member for Bii"" Tig **™ , Mr . Hunts , Did he cot tell you , and turely
te has no bias to the aristocratic landowners , that the repeal of the Corn Laws was a mere delusion , and that tie infallible effect must be to reduce the rate of wages ? ( Great disapprobation . ) And I Trill tell you another authoHty , and that is , a member of the Chartist body , who has iately printed a letter to his associates . Those gentlemen standing near me , I donbt not know both the name and the individual . Mr . Hick has lately published a letter , and in that letter you will find the most explicit assertions of the same kind , and that the repeal of the Cora Laws would not be for the benefit of the working classes . Tie fact is not eTen concealed by the advocates of repeal What do you hear from the Manchester Chamber of Commerce * What does Mr . Villiers tell us ? That the
object of the rep « l of the Corn Laws is to cheapen manufactured goods . I will ask any man here of common sense how the repeal of the Com Laws is to cheapen manufactured goods , except by reducing wages ? The consequence is ineTitable . It would take place in this tray , liiere is » snperabandaDce of labour , as you ill Well know , in tile manufacturing districts of tbis country . You know that there are more labourers than there is employment for . So long as there are superfinoJU labourers , wages wiil fall accordingly . If you can proTe to me—if you can shew to me , that there is a suScient supply of labour here at present , and that persons cannot obtain operatiTes and artisans enough for their manufactories , I will be silent and drop the argument But I am perfectly aware if the supply and dtmand are in such proportion as to render tte
supply iEFnfficient for tbe demand , you will get better wages together with your cheap loaf . So long as one labourer is superabundant , the reduction in the price of labour muit take place , according to the rate of sustenance . Let us not forget another effect that must aggravate this consequence . It is infallibly true , that H large portions of land are thrown out of cultivation , the population of those districts must Bctk employment hew . If they do not go back to the "Union workhouses , they must , as they haTe done before , come here to find employment I am not eTen bere talking without awhoriiy . I am able to tell yon where the thiBg actually occurred a short time since . There was a great superabundance of Isixrar , or supposed to be so , in the South of England . Certain masters , Messrs- Ashwonh ,
in one of the manufacturing towns in Lancashire , who thought that they could get labour cheaper by sending to these agricultural counties , did send for tbem , and these labourers were actually brought into Lancashire . What was the result ? It had an effect on the rate ef wages , and if the opposition on the part of the oj > er&trres of the country had not been eo determined , as it turned out to be , these persons -would have occupied the placet of the manufacturing labourers , and wages would have been reduced . Once more . If 1 do not support this assertion by argument , 1 am content that you should think it a mere dap-trap . I have one word more on this subject Leok to examples elsewhere , and why , I want to know , are yoa to snppose this faToured country is to be * xempt from the fate of
those where labour is superabundant , and food cheap and where the universal consequence is a reduction in the rate of wagts , and the standard of living of tbe labourer . I speak again on authority—an authority Trfcich Will not be suspected—that 0 / Mr . Gregg , or Minehfcster . In his evidence before as inquiry in the House of Commons , he stated that from inquiries he bid made aa to the rate of wages of different countries "where corn was cheap , the wages were 6 ^ d a-day . ( Cries of "America . ") We know that those labourers liTe on different scale or standard of sustenance ; they f erd not cm wheaten bread , but on black rye bread , and inferior vegetables . Every body who has been in those countries knowB thn . fr that i $ the common food of the labourer . vAnother cry of *• America , ") I will touch upon that in * Boment la a eomparatiTely prosperous country—France , where yoa woald imagine , that though they have Corn Laws they would be better off- In a report Panted to GoTerament a short time pact , it was
deliberately stated , that scarcely a third of tbe population « that country eat wbeaten bread . I will ^ ell yoa how uuia America . In America , we mu *» recoU * et , in the irst instance , that there are i ™™™** tract * ef fine unstinted , nnoccupfed » iL Th « Americas * hsTe * ormous traeU « f soil , sot only « no « npied , tmt ex- 1 "ttady fertele , and tberefore , of conrse , the repply of *® ii u abundant WheneTer any man can show me n this country , large extensive tracts of the same kind , futile and unoccupied , ttea I will say you may repeal ] toe Cora Uwi , and you will get an abundant supply ; T ** - . 1 will tell yon BometiiiBg more on this subject of ; w&Brifis . la gpite of t ^ e abundant supply , in spite of « great resources they possess , perhaps you are not ; Z ^? 16 that at this Tery moment the people of the kf ^ ^ * ea ka ? e a duty on the import of foreign corn ^ pti thaa that now proposed by the GoTernment of ~ j * country , it was only a few months sicce ihe Pre-* ° « K of the United States— the chief magistrate of
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that treat republic , told his fellow-countrymen , in a writun aidress , prepared with gnat eare , that he tbouglt it the duty of every country to Me that it did not . dtpenl on foreign countries for the supply of
food . E . R DENISON , Esq ., then prewetedfeinuelf , and was received with uproarious cheering from his supporters , an 4 with some hissing from the Liberal party . He said that during the eleTen yean which tbe Whigs ' haTe been in office , the Noble Lord ( Morpeth ) has boen a Member of the Queen ' s GoTemmant for a considerable time . He appeals to you in his own defence and that . of his fellow statesmen , and be asks you to sead him again to Parliament one of the Ta-unting champions of the cause which he advocates . ( " We wont haTe him , " followed by crits of " We will . " ) Permit ine just to call your attention to a common sense question . Try the GoTernment by what they haTe promised and by what they haTe done , and if , on a
calm and dispassionate review of this proposition you find them worthy of your support , then , in God ' s name , return my opponents to Parliament , and send us about our businesa ( Shout * of " We will . "] But I will not belieTe that Yorkshlremen will be so gulled . I know perfectly well that the great majority of you are in the habit of looking into your ledgers , of casting up your accounts , and of taking stock at the end of the year , in o : der to see whether your afiairs are in a satisfactory state or not ; and I also know perfectly well that you are in the habit of callimg your managers and chief clerks to account , if you find they haTe been mismanag ing your basin- ss . ( Hear , hear . ) What did those who compose the GoTernment commence their public career by promising you ? First of all , they said that peace
was to reign throughout the world under their beneficent rule , ( Laughter . ) Well , haTe they kept their word ? ( Xo . ) Why , they themselTes fomented a rebellion in Canada . ( Cheers . ) They have been Tery nearly at war with every European power , and they are now prosecuting a war in China , which nobody in the world knows how it will end . ( Hear , bear . ) Tbe standing ' army is larger than they found it Tbe naTal establishment is more exjensiTe than it was , and all these expenses haTe been created by their own absurd acts and deeds . ( Cheers . ) And still , notwithstanding this , the electors of the West Biding are appealed to by a GoTernment which , a few years ago , was so popular that it could command almost any majority in the House of Commons , which could every
night raise the laugh against its opponents , and turn them into ridicule , ( Hear , hear . ) Bat how has the tide changed ! ( Hear , bear . ) We haTe seen these majorities gradually dwindle down to nothing , and at last they are in- a minority en the m » at Tital question that can ever be discussed iu the House of Commons—I mean the question of confidence . ( Loud cheers . ) Yet , notwithstanding this , instead of retiring like gentlemen —( cheers )—when they found they could not longer carry on the goTernment , they say— " No , we will appeal to the electors of Great Britain , and we 'will appeal to their passions and not to their cemmon sense , * ( Cheers and cries of " No , no . " ) They throw out the bait of cheap corn , cheap sugar , and cheap timber , and they are attemping to gull the people by
what I will call their humbug of free trada ( Cheers and hissing . ) Why , Gentlemen , they arrogate to themselTes all the credit of free trade , Why , will they tell me of one article in which we haT « free trade . Is a fixed * n * y of eight ahilliags per quarter on com free trade . < " No , no . ") xk > they tell me that it is free trade when they propose a reduction on sugar of 27 s . or 29 s . a cwt ? C' No , no . ") Is tbat free trade ? 1 " No , no . " ) - They p ' ropose to alter the duties on timber . Is that free trade ? (" No . no , " ) Then away with their humbug , for it is nothing else . ( Cheers- ) Who was the eriginal author of an alteration and modification of the protectiTe duties ? Why , the man whom they so often quote , Mr . Hnski&son . ( Hear , hear . ) He was a Tory . He led the Tan with respect to the
modification of the restrictive system . He was supported by Sir Robert Peel , followed by Lord Stanley—( Hisses )—and sacked by Mr . Goulburn . ( Hear , hear . ) The Whigs promised you retrenchment and economy . Have , they fulfilled the promise ? ( Cries of " No , no , " and " Yes , ye * . ") Their predecessors left them in office with a surplus of two millions , besides having paid off a portion of tbe national debt ( Hear , hear . ) In what situation are they now ? Why , notwithstanding that they have been bolstered up by the editors of the Leeds Mercury , those celebrated financial doctors—{ cheers and . laughter )—we find that at the end of ten or eleTen yean , during which the sinews ef every man whom 1 now see before me have been exerted to the
utmost , they find themselves in a woful deficiency , which is almost an annual one , for it has existed for three or four years , besides not having paid off a single fraction of -the public debt , but , on the contrary , rather added to it ( Cheers j I say , try them by what they have done , aad if you think that the mode in which they have conducted tbe affairs of the country is snch as you would wish to haTe your own affairs conducted , then atnd our opponents back to Parliament ( Shouts of " NfcTer . " ) But what else did the Whigs promise ? They promised to govern without patronage . ( Laughter . ) Why , of all , the men that eTer existed , they have exercised the most patronage . They have created offices out of count , and they have endeaTOured to thrust every one of their dependents into them .
Mr . BK 1 GGS , a Chartist , next introduced to the meeting Mr . George Julian Harney , not as an esquirenot as one of tbe aristocracy—but as a man whose conduct had always met the approbation bl bis fellowmen . Mr . HEAPS for some time cansed an interruption , by his desire to put some questions to the previous speaker , and Mr . Harney made one or two unsuccessful attempts to proceed . Between Mr . Heaps and Mr . Gardner , and the Cbartist chairman also , some warm expression ! were exchanged—Mr . Gardner applying to Mr . Heaps the term blackguard . The confusion continued for some minutes , and Mr . Hatton Staasfeld made the matter ¦ worse bv his interference .
Mr . HARNEY at length proceeded . He said he appeared before them as a working man , younger than any others of either party . He was unblessed with that liberal education , -which they had bad the good fortune to receive ,- and he hoped they would bear with him for any imperfections of manner his address might possess—he asked no favour for the matter . The gentlemen who had preceded him , had addressed them as the freeholders and electors of the West Riding , whilst they appeared to have forgotten that there was such a body as the non-electors in existence . i . Cheers . ) He appeared before them at the request of thousands ef non-electors . He ¦ would rather haTe seen an oider man , one of more experience , in his situation ; but be had consented to be brought forward at the reqest of his friends , and for
them he would go through the work -which they had put into his hands . He was attached to neither of tbe parties which bad already addressed them , though perhaps te could tell something to both of them , while he ¦ would flatter neither . ( Chters . ) The Noble Lord iM-rpeth ) bad said tbat there -was an era approaching ing in the politics of this country , and he ( Mr . Harney ) Cv . uid assure him that there was an era close at hand ¦ whtu the working classes would be represented— "when th ^ y wou ld be no longer cocumt without the Suffrage being conferred upon them . He had taken notes of what the Noble Lord had said , and he owed it to the meeting that he shculd make sjme comments on his speech . Toe Noble Lord occupied a large portion of fcifcir time in praising himseif and the other members of
the Government for their patriotism and philanthropy , words which be thought sounded very s rangtly -when used by a Whig . - [ A shower of rain here began to descend , which rendered Uie task of following of Mr . H . impossible . j A gentleman on the platform handed to Mr . H . an nmbrelia , and he proceeded with his address , castigating the Whigs , laying bare their sophistries , and exposing tbem to the public gaze in all their hideous Heforuiity . He gaid they had come out as adTocates of free trade ooly at the eleventh hour , whoa they could find no other subterfuge likely to keep them in office , adTucaiing to-day whit they repudiated yesterday , anu conceding to expediency wi ; at they had almost in the same breath denied on principle . If they were sincere in their desire to rtpeal or al ^ er the sugar duties now ,
why did they bring their official iLflaence to bear , in order to defeat Mr . Ewart on the same question la ? t year ? ( Cheering . ) He then alluded to the increase of population which had taken place , not only in Great Britain , but in Germany , and contended that the Germans having established manufactures , ¦ would not break them up now to take our surplus products ; if , therefore , tb « Government were sincere in their desire to establish free trade , they should have come out ¦ with it a _ little -sooner—iebfers ;—should have shown a lutle more ZraX and greater alacrity in the cause of that people whom they now professed so much willingness to serve , and whose interests were with tbem , now it served their purpose , above every other consideration He should like to know where "were the Whigs in 1819 ,
when the people wera sabred at Manchester for meeting to petition Parliament for a reform in the representation or the people . . Cries of " That was the Tories ; and great chetring . ) Yes , be knew the Tories "were iu power ; he was not so ignorant of the history of Mb country as not to know that—he was almost old enough to remember it ; but he knew also that it was the Hon . Mr . Lamb , the present Lord Melbourne , the bead of her Majesty ' s Government , who moved the thanks » f the House of Commons to the Cheshire Yeomanry on that occasion . ( Hear , bear . ) He regretted as moth as any man the loss of our foreign trade , and compared tbe exports and imports in 1689 , when there were no barracks , no bastiles , no rural police , and no inclosure acts to reb the poor of their right to the soil , with those of the present period . The speaker was assailed with txclamations that he was a Tory tool ; and to this he replied that if he was , he was afraid the Tories
would find him a Tery poor tool ; and not worth their purchase ; at any rate he coald assure them that be wsj sharp enough to eut beta ways , and was very glad to know that be was not a Whig tool . ( Ls . ugb . ter and cbeera ) He continued ; he was rpeaking of the trade of the country . England now traded with fifty 01 sixty foreign states—her merchants were traders to all parts of the world , while the working classes were worse off thaa at any former period . And -what -was the cause , of this ? It was because th&y . had now a national debt of eight hundred millions , they bad now a most enormous civil list , they had now a long parade of useless pensions and sinecures , they had the rural police , the po ; r law bastiles , and other Whig blessings unknown in fenner periods of our history , which impoverished Use millions , and becefitted ouiy the few who traded in human spoiL ( Hear , hear , and great cheering . ) Those men would sell the "working classes
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themselTes—they would not can if at this moment they were sacrificed to their unholy gain . ( Cheers . ) The speaker then went on to contend that » repeal of the Corn Laws would not benefit the working classes ; he showed that before there was any Corn Law imposed there waa more wages paid in the manufacturing districts , but that , notwithstanding tbe increase of trade which had taken place , there bad not been a conesponding increase of manual toil , its place having been supplied fcy an increased quantity of improTed machinery . Some person bad said that be was a Tory tool : be cared sot for that try ; for be could assure them , which eTer party spoke the truth , whether Whig or Tory , should haTe bis support . ( Cheers . ) He agreed with all that had fallen from Mr . Wortley on the
subject of the Com Laws—( cheers )—he fully agreed that a repeal of the Corn Laws only meant a reduction of wages ; neTerthelesa tbe repealers were determined they should haTe a big loaf whether they would or not ; the big loaf was to be crammed down their throat whether they would or not , as it had been at Manchester , with the truncheons of the Whig police . ( Cheers , and some interruption . ) He bad the authority of a paper printed at Leeds for this—a paper which on some occasions professed to be a Whig and something more , on others , a Radical and something more , and when a purpose was to be serred , was a Republican and something morethat paper asserted that the repealers were preparing stares to use against the Chartists in Huddersfleld on that day . AH he could say was , let them try it on .
( Cheers , and continued confusion , during which , Mr . Harney said he would take his time , and assured them , the more interruption he experienced , tbe longer he should be . ) Lord Morpeth had been asked a question about the Poor Laws , but he had not given an answer ; in fact , the Noble Lord contrived to be as brief as possible on the subject He said that Ministers were desirous to give such alterations as would enable them to dispense with the Poor Laws altogether ; he had no doubt they wished to do this ; he bad no doubt that the present Poor Law was intended as a preparatory step to abolishing Poor Laws altogether . The speaker then entered into a reriew of the measures proposed by GoTernment , to show that they were not calculated to answer the ends for which
they were proposed—that they would not at all benefit the working clarses . The alteration in the timber duties would make a redaction of about six shillings iu tbe cost of tbe erection of a cottage , even if a poor a-an could afford to build one , and what a Baving the interest of six shillings a year would be to him ! ( Hear , bear . ) With regard to sugar , it was stated that the saving would probably be to the extent of one penny a pound . But he should like to know bow much even of that sum would go into the pockets of the poor , after it had passed through two or three wholesale dealers' hands . ( Hear , bear . ) The repeal of the Corn Laws was got up te delude the people with tbe fallacious cry of cheap bread , while Mr . M'CuUoch , tbe Whig authority , proved that under no circumstances
could we have wheat lower than 58 s . per quarter—a boon which he did not think they would feel it necessary te spend their energies in obtaining . But whether these things were productive of benefit to tbe working class or not , they must be adopted in order to raise the revenue ; not to increase the comforts of the poor , not because be bad any interest in the matter , bat because the revenue was sinking , and they must consequently have It speedily replenished , which resolved itself to just this , that more labour must be wrung from the toiling millions . ( Hear , hear . ) He hoped they would inquire into these things before they gave their support to the Whigs . The speaker then went on to inquire how the deficiency in tbe revenue had been caused , and contrasted tbe difference between
the income and expenditure by tbe Whig and Tory Administration , the latter of whom left upwards of two millions in the Exchequer , which the former had wasted besides increasing the the national debt by several millions more . This be contended they had done by engaging in unnecessary and dishonourable wars , by excessive expenditure on Poor Law commissions and bastiles , and the rural police . Two millions bad been spent in Spain , one million iu Canada , a large sum had been spent in Egypt , another in Syria , and more still in China , in a war of which no one could see the end , but which must terminate in disgrace and ruin . ( Cheers . ) In 1 S 32 , they were told the Reform Bill was to work ¦ wonders ; the Whigs promised that it should be a stepping stone to other measures until universal justice
prevailed throughout the land . Every promise bad been broken , and tbe fruits of reforju had been tbe accursed new Poor Law and the Rural Police . But when tbe people took their afiairs into their own hands , as the Whigs had advised tbem to do , they had turned round upon them and spent thousands of pounds in prosecuting Chartist leaders . This had helped them to make their deficiency ; but they bad done something else . They had sent their constabulary police to Birmingham , Manchester , and all the manufacturing districts to put down tbe legal assemblages of the people ; they had sent well paid spies and hired traitors amongst the people to entrap them into acts of violence , and then to betray them to their oppressors , emulating the worst features of Toryism , and exceeding
in atrocity the acts of Sidmouth and Casuereagb . He tuuld go on farther still , but it was enough ; there was a deficiency in the revenue , and the Noble Lord bad told them that it must be supplied either in the manner which tbe Whigs had now proposed , or by laying on more taxes . But be could tall tbe Noble Lord of another mode of supplying the deficiency . His mode would not add to the burthens of the people . ( Hear . ) Ltt the Noble Lord reduoe bis own salary to £ 1 , 000 a year . ( Great cheering , and an ' unutterable" look from Lord Morpeth , who did not seem at all to relish the allusion to his own salary . ) Then let all bis colleagues reduce theirs to the same standard . ( Great cheering . ) Tbe hand-loom weaver * had bad their wages reduced 20 , 30 , and 40 per cent .
over and over again ; and if the Ministers would reduce their ' s in proportion , they might have both reduced wages and reduced taxation , and no deficiency would exist in the revenue , ( Great cheering . ) They might reduce also pensions and sinecures ; knock off 4 * 0 or 500 generals ; and when they had carried retrenchment as far as they could , and carried out Reform to its full extent , they might fully carry out the principles of the New Poor Law , and throw the aristocracy , as they had thrown the peope , on their own resources . ( Hear , and cheers . ; Mr . Harney went on at great length , castigating tbe Whigs most unmercifully , for the snail-like pace at which they advanced their measures , and exposing further their shallow subterfuge of cheap bread . He then
commented on the speeches which bad been delivered by the Hon . John S . Wortley and Mr . Beckett Denison , and complained that neither of these gentlemen , whilst stating the evils under which the country laboured , had propounded a . remedy . He freely gave bis opinion of the Tories , and said the worst measure they had been guilty of was in supporting the Whigs in all their worst measures . He had no faith or confidence in either party—be stood aloof from them both . He advised the people to depend on themselves , and to stand by their own order , as the only way in which they could be delivered from the tyranny under which they had so long groaned . ( Hear , hear , and cheers . ) Tbe Whigs had violated their past promises , and he would not trust them again . The Tories made
no promises at all ; but judging from their past conduct , if they were to come into power to-morrow they would only act as they bad done previously , and ho ¦ would therefore serve both pat-ties alike , and throw them both overboard . His remedy for all was Universal Suffrage , to place all upon a footing cf political equality , and to give every man a voice in making the laws which he had to obey . There could tLe . i be no cause of complaint . On these principles be came forward to offer himself as a candidate for tLe > r suffrages ; he solicited their confidence , promising that he would exercise the trust for tbe "well being ef the whole country . He thanked them far the comparative attention with which be had been beard , and retired amidst loud and long-continued cheering .
THE BOROUGH CANDIDATES . J . G . MARSHALL , Esq ., introduced Mr . HUME , who was loudly cheered by his party , the Whigs making a sort of constrained effort to evince the cordiality of their joy . He began by saying that , having bee » called forward as a candidate , he now appeared to state his opinions , and to say that , if elected , he would devote his services to the cause . He complained that three of the speeches he had heard were evidently intended to call away tbe attention of the
meeting from the real questions to be discussed therenamely , the remedies for tbe prevalent distress . That remedy -was to lighten taxation . He made efforts to induce Government to raise the deficiency in the re-Tenue by placing the descent of landed property on the same footing as personal property ; and he went into an extended statement to show the hardships of tbe legacy duties ; and calied the Tories robbers and plunderers on the ground of what Billy Pitt had done . The industry of the country , he said , paid seventy-four per cent , of the whole taxation . He was in faTour of the
plan proposed by Government for making up the revenue . Lord JUCELYN , having been introduced by John Howard , Kiq ., replied to the speeches ot Morpeth and Hume , on the free trade question , in a- speech of about an average fory merit . He insisted that no case of reciprocity , justifying the application of their principles , had been made out by tbe free traders ; that the preference of foreign to colonial Eugar would be aa encouragement to slave labour , and consequently stultifying all the coble exertions of the British people against slavery . He denounced the New Poor Law , and supported the Church Establishment . Mr . BROOK said he had tbe honour to name to them a gentleman who , though a comparative stranger , bad made himself known to many who were then present by bis excellent speech on the preceding evening . He then introduced
Mr . JAMES WILLIAMS , who stood forward , aad was received in a manner which at once showed that , though a stranger to a large portion of tbe assembly , the principles which he was there to adTocate were reciprocated by the thousands of the bard hands , fustian jacktts , and unshorn chins , " by whom he was surronnded . The enthusiastic cheering baving subsided , he commenced his address by saying , that in appearing before them he had not tbe qualifications to offer to which the other gentlemen \ rho bad addressed tbem could . lay claim . He did not , like my Lords Morpeth and Milton , claim their suffrages on tbe ground
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that he was of ancient family ; he could not trace his ancestry oenturiesback ; nor could he , like J . S . Wortley , offer himself as the owner of a thousand acres , nor like Mr . Beckett Dennison aa one of tbe aristocracy of wealthj— nor could he , like Lord Jocelyn , offer himself to their notice as one who bad travelled over most part * of tbe habitable globe ; he had not the qualifications of a Captain Cook , which by-the-bye were not the necessary qualifications of a legislator ; be could not , like the Noble Lord , boast bis acquaintance with the form of a Chinese hat , or tbe shape of a Chinese lady's foot , yet he was willing to subject himself to a scrutiny as that which the Noble Lord had received from the lady ho had seen behind the lattice work in tbe city of Chuson . ( Laughter . ) He bad not foujht
side by side in China , with Captain Elliott , the man who was troubled with a palpitation at the heart ( Laughter . ) He could not boast of all these ; but although personally unknown he bad claims to offer which be trusted would be recognised as superior to any which his competitors bad pat forward , ( Hear , hear and cbeera . ) He stood there as the advocate of the unlimited freedom of trade , the abolition of all monopolies —( bear )—and most of all , the abolition of that monstrous monopoly , the source of all other monopolies , the monopoly of law making . ( Hear , and loud cheers . ) He called attention to the admissions made by his opponents generally , of tbe existence of great and crying evils , though they bad forgotten to point put tbe remedy . He would select the mottoes of Lord
Morpeth , on which he would found tbe few observations he should make . His Lordship said that " true selflove and social was the same . " In this he entirely agreed ; what was good for a part is , or ought to be , good for all slasses . His Lordship bad next observed , that such was tbe selfishness of human nature , that each individual was disposed when practicable to promote his own interests without reference to others , and to suppose that which filled his purse ought to be sanctioned by those principles . Now , on those propositions of the Noble Lord , be founded those views on which be rested his claims to their support . These principles were that each member of the state ought to be inTested with that political power which was needful to protect binv against tbe selfishness of
others . ( Hear , and cheers . ) This , if conceded , being an act of justice to all , was consistent with tbe truest honour and highest happiness to all . ' ( Cheers . ) He then alluded to statements made by Mr . Hearne , Catholic priest of Manchester , aud also by Mr . Hume , as to tbe existence of distress throughout tbe country ; and passed from tbat to the state and prospects of trade , advocating , as he went on , the views held by the Chartists , and contended that until their principles were the law of the land , it was useless to attempt either different measures or fresh taxes to benefit tbe revenue . The alteration in the com , sugar , and timber duties could not possibly aud materially benefit the country , even it attainable , which , without representative changes , they were not ; and whether or not ,
they were utterly insufficient to rescue the country from the perilous position in which it waa placed . ( Cheers . ) He ridicaled the Whigs for having brought forward these measures on the spur of the moment , measures on which , twelve months ago , they held quite contrary opinions , but then perhaps their judgments were not sufficiently matured to enable them to judge . Misery and starvation were staring them in the face at every turn , and yet they did not attempt to reduce the immense expenditure of the country , which Lord Morpeth bad said must be maintained in its integrity , and yet he acknowledged it was impossible to increase the income by auy additional taxes . ( Hear , hear . ) There was another course which appeared to have escaped tbe attention of the Noble Lord , which
was tbe only practical and rational course by which they could extricate themselves from their present difficulties . Let them discharge the supernumerary officers in the army and navy—( hear , hear ) ;^ -let them reduce the salaries of those really necessary—( hear , hear )—to an amount corresponding to the Talue of their services , setting the example by reducing their own salaries first—( hear , and cheers ) ;—let sinecures and pensions be abolished , and a tax' on property substituted for all other taxes . ( Cheers . ) That was the way to get out of their financial difficulties ( Great cheering . ) He had heard national education alluded to , and was told , when a poor man asked for the suffrage , that he was not sufficiently intelligent He put it to them whether they could understand tbe addresses
which had been delivered by the college-bred gentlemen who had preceded him ,- if they could , then he would Bay they could , understand perfectly how to manage their own , and would know how to manage the franchise if it were conferred upon them . ( Cheers . ) How inconsistently tbe legislature dealt with , the people ; they allowed them tbe right of sending for a physician or a surgeon when ill , when life , the most valuable of all possessions , was in peril , but did not require as a qualification for tbat right , that they should be profoundly versed in tbe science of medicine or surgery . ( Him , hear . ) They were not required to nave a profound acquaintance with theology to entitle them to choose their own religious instructors ; and yet he woold ask the gentlemen , it they did not regard religion and religious instruction as the most important of all concerns . ( Hear , hear , and loud cheering . ) Why , then , deny tbe people the right to choose their own law makers ? ( Hear , bear . ) The wont of this right was a
great evil : and b » would do all be could to secure to all who live under the institutions of tbe country a voice in the making of the laws by which they were to be governed . Mr . Hume was for expediency ; for giving them an instalment , and for step by step reform , while he would resist all greater reforms . It was the policy of the aristocracy to resist the introduction of the wedge as long as they coul'i ; how absurd then to suppose thai they would permit the people to obtain instalmenta , which it waa avowed were intended to be used to extort more extensive changes , destructive to the existence of the aristocracy ; but the people were determined to raise the banner of equal rights , that justice might be done to all . He was , therefore , for tbe Charter , tbe most comprehensive and the most practical measure ever propounded , and for this be hoped they would assist him , and to support this he hoped they would return him . The speaker was repeatedly cheered during bis address , end retired amidst much applause .
Mr . ALDAM , who was introduced by William Smith , Esq ., amused the meeting for some time with an eaumeratiou of his claims to their electoral support ; the chief of which were , that his father had been a tradesman 30 years ; that he , Mr . A ., had travelled ; that he had been at York and Darlington ; that he had been at College , and that he was three years older than Lord Jocelyn . WILLIAM BECKETT , Esq ., was received with Ifraat cfceering and some fespressions of dissent . When the applause had subsided , he said , Gentlemen , I deligbt in the expressions of your approbation . ( Cheers , ) I respect those marks of your dissent —( a laugh )—because , Gentlemen , it proves to me that in the discharge of your important duties as electors of thiB
Borough , you are aware of the responsibility of those duties —( bear , bear )—it shows to me you know what depends upon yourselves—( cheers )—and that you are determined , without fear of favour , to exercise those duties in an independent manner . ( Loud cheers . ) Gentlemen , it is my misfortune to have come last in this long list of speakers we have had , so tbat I really am at a loss to say any thing new that would either captivate your senses or instruct your minds . ( Hear ) You have beard much already ; the previous speakers have travelled to almost every part of the globe . ( A laugh and cheers . ) But there is one thing which I think bas rather been overlooked by them . We are met here to consult for Leeds people—( bear , hear)—and to consult for Lseds interests—( bear );—that I
thiak has been in some degree forgotten . ( Cheers . ) Gentlemen , I can only nppear here before you in the humble character ot a , Leeds tradesman like yourselves . ( Hear . ) I have no extensive knowledge to boast—I have no claims on your attention from parliamentary experience—I have only to offer you tbe remarks of tbat common sense which I have used hitherto in private life , and to promise the application of it to public subjects . ( Applause . ) But it will be with me a consideration of importance , tbat in the exercise of that judgment I shall follow an independent course . ( Cheers . ) I will look neither to one side nor another—( cheers )—but pursue that line of conduct which I consider to be right and proper . ( Loud cheers ) My duty , then , in standing here before you , is to shew tbat it
is my intention to consult the interests of the whole body ef the people . ( Loud cheering . ) I maintain tbat neither tbe interests of tbe landlord , nor those of the fundholder , n » r the moneyholder can ever be successful —they can never be kept in prosperity unless we also consider the contentment and good condition of the working classes . ( Cheers ) Now , I think it is my duty to say , in coming before you now , that no man is more deeply sensible of Ihe distress that prevails—( hear )—and no man more deeply laments it or feels it more than I do . ( Cheers ) But whatever may be said about the Corn Laws , or tbe repeal of the Corn Laws , nothing shall prevent me from tolling yoa what my opinions are with , respect to our present deplorable condition . ( Cheers ) I do not attribute our present
distress to the operation of tbe Corn Law . ( Hear , and disapprobation . ) Tbe cause of the present distress is not a new one ; it has prevailed here , I am sorry to say , for years , and I appeal to every gentleman on these hustings whether we have not been gradually getting worse and worse . ( Cheera ) Don't imagine tbat I am casting blame upon individuals or Governments in speaking thus . ( Hear . ) It is my duty to state that I have long seen that we are getting into a worse condition . New to account for the cause of that distress . In the first place , let me lell you that our trade has been , from a Tariety of circumstances , unduly excited . ( Cheers . ) We have made more goods than we can selL Tae power of production has orertaken the power of
consumption . ( Cheers . ) And , Gentlemen , until we recover the just balance between the two , you and we mrnst suffer . ( Cheers . ) Now ,. Gentlemen , if that be the cause , 111 tell yon why it is . There has been an undue application of capital , which bas given an undue impulse to trade-, the monetary system has been employed too far . Gentlemen , there has been too much capital—( cheers )—the bankers haTe been too free ; we have opened the money-drawers too much—there has been too much machinery built . ( Cheera . ) Gentlemen , the beam of the steam-engine bas made too many strokes—( cheers)—the fly-wheel has made too many revolutions , and it is only this shock which we are now undergoing , under which we now suffer , that can bring us to anything like a healthy
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state . ( Hear and cheera . ) Whatever the consequences of these opinions may be , they are my honest opinions —and I am ready and determined to state them and support them everywhere . ( Cheers . ) Now , I do tell you that the trade of this country has been unduly excited . How has it been met by any of the markets which have been spoken of > Woald any gentleman on the hustings say that the lamentable state of tbe American market was not the cause of the present distress ? ( No , no , " the Corn Laws . " ) I appeal to the gentlemen who differ with me in opinion , to consider the present condition of the American markets ; and I desire tbem to consider what those markets have been , and what they are at present ( Cheers ) Tbat is one source of the present depressed condition of oar trade , and
deeply do I lament that it is so . I appeal to gentlemen who are acquainted with the circumstances , whether , if the trade , which has for a few years back gone en with that country , bad continued , we should have been in the condition in which » e are at present ( Applause ) The borne trade , too , has not been so good as usual , in consequence of oar not having bad good harvests for two or three years . When I deplore the consequences of these bad harvests , I behold with pleasure tbe gleam of prosperity which is now beginning to spread over the cloudy horizon of our commercial afiairs—( cheers ) —and I look at the consequences of a good harvest as of more benefit to the people of this country than any change of Administration . —( Loud applause . ) We are told that the repeal or alteration of the Corn
Law will be a panacea for all our present evils , and that will bring us trade . ( Cheers . ) Now , Gentlemen , I dispute that , and I'll give you my reasons . ( Cheers . ) In reference to an alteration of the Corn Law , it ia contended tbat we shall introduce foreign com , and if foreign corn is eaten in this country in place of home grain . ( A voice , " Eat them both . " ) But we have enough . ( Tremendous cheering . ) A gentleman on my left reminds me that we bare both—we haTe bad both , and I wish to continue both . But , Gentlemen , stick first to English agriculture , and then go to foreign agriculture . I say to you , stick fast to English agriculture . ( Cheering . ) I am 3 orry to say that words were used this day by a gentleman on these hustings which are not creditable to the gentleman who made use of them .
( Cheers . ) He called the landlords of this country monopolists . ^ Laughter . ) It is strange to me that it should be left to a commercial man like myself to defend the character of tbe agriculturists of this country . ( Hear . ) But I will not shrink from that duty . ( Cheera . ) Why do I ask you to stick to English agriculture ? I'll prove that it is your interest I'll prove that it is to the interest of the working man to do it . New , I am not going to make assertions without giving you proof . Upon what terms are we treated by those misnamed monopolists the landowners of this country ? What do the landowners get from agriculture in this country ? I tell yoa that upon an average the wheat land of this country does not pay more than 24 s . an acre to the landlords who possess it . ( Oh !) No man who lays out his money
in land can get more than three per cent for his money . ( Applause . ) Tbe consequence is this , that we have tbe use of the whole capital of the agriculturists of this kingdom—the landlords , the owners of the soil—we have it at the low rate of return of three per cent . Now , I ask you if there is a manufacturer among us that bas ever received so low a rate of interest on bis capital as three per cent ? ( Hear , bear . ) Bat again , look at the condition of the tenant . The tenant , it is calculated , has about five pounds an acre for capital laid out , in what I call the moveable machinery of agriculture ; after his toil and labour , and the expences of seed and other things , he gets—what do you think ? He gets not more than five per cent Then comes the labourer ; and he gets no more than twelve shillings
a week . Do you grudge him that ? Bo you say that that is too much ? No , you are Englishmen , and yoa do not grudge that small remuneration . ( Cheers and crieB of " lower the rents . " ) How can the rent be made lower ? I want to disabuse your minds ; and it was the duty of those who addressed you upon the subject of the Corn Laws to have told you how the matter stood in all its bearings . ( Hear , bear , bear . ) Many able arguments have been used—many books have been written—many discourses have been delivered on this subject ; but I do say this , that from the beginning to tbe end , it has been a one-sided argument —( hear , hear , and cheers )—and you have not been told the expences which attend the agriculture of this country , in comparison with tbat which is expended by foreigners .
( What will you do to relieve us ?) Let me tell you what is the matter first ( Hear . ) If I am your doctor I must understand your disease . ( Loud cheering . ) In addition to these three classes , namely , the landlord , the tenant , and tb « labourer , and they are the only three connected with agriculture—there is this horrid Corn Law , which robs the people of their rights , and preTents them from enjoying comforts . ( Loud cries of hear , hear . ) Now what has been the actual effect of the Cora Law ? I have endeavoured to read two books , which may be considered as acknowledged authorities on this—the one was the work of Mr . M'CuUoch , and tbe other that of Mr . James Wilson \ for wbicb I am indebted to a friend on the hustings ! . Now from tbem I learn , that for forty years before the year 1815 , when
there was no Corn Law in operation , the average price of wheat was 55 s . ( Hear , hear , and cheers ) Again , the same authority informs me , that f- » r tbe last seven years the average price of Wheat has been 54 s . lid ., being exactly one penny less , since tbe protective duty was pat on , than what itwas previously . ( Cheers . ) Now , I am only endeavouring to explain to you my opinions—I have considered it my duty , as standing here a candidate for your suffrages , to state to you the grounds for tbe opinions which I hold . ( Loud cries of " Hear . ") Witt regard to the Corn Law , 1 am decidedly favourable to protection , —but , Gentlemen , I am not an advocate for protection for the sake of the landlords—not for the sake of tbe farmer—not for the sake of the agricultural labourer—but for the
sake of the commercial community . ( Loud cheers . ) The agriculturists of this country demand oar serious attention in eTery point ( Hear , bear . ) The authorities te which 1 have already referred tell me this : —the climate of England is the most propitious—the soil of England is tbe most productive , and the English soil ia highly approved for the growth of Wheat , for there is no climate or country of the same area that can produce the same amount of grain , of tbe same value , and of the same price as England . ( Loud cheers , and hisses . ) I want you all to live in comfort , and net to desert that which I think tends materially to increase your comfort ( Hear , hear . ) So far for the agriculture of the country . I maintain that under the circumstances in which it comes to as—under which it is
offered to the commercial community of this countrywe should be blind to our own interests if we introduced Foreign Corn beyond the supply which Was requisite aboutd be bad to make up any deficiency which might arise . ( Cheers . ) We are told tbat if we hare free trade we shall immediately have large quantities of corn . ( Hear and cheers . ) Now , I ask you , where is this corn to coiuefrom ? ( Several voices from North America . " Yes , we are to get it from America , from Poland , from Prussia , and from tbe Black Sea . Now I would sny this to you , don't desert the wheaten loaves of England —if you do , you'll make a mistake . ( Cheera and disapprobation . ) But mark this , and I again recur to tbe same respectable authority which I have already quoted . The foreign corn of doubtful quality , and
which yeu cannot meet with in any quantity of tbe same quality as native grown—thia corn , if imported , cannot reach these shores except Kt very nearly the same price at which you eat your own English wheat ( Cheers , and a cry of •* Why oppose the alteration of the Corn Laws , then ?") Why , fer your protection ; do you want to eat bad bread ? ( Cheers . ) Look where you spend your money , if we havetofgive the same price for foreign corn which we pay for that of England . If you want to increase tbe sale of your manufactured goods , dont forget tbe home trade—don't be led away by tbe idea of enriching your pocketsdon't lose the substance for the sake of tbe shadow . ( Hear , and cheers . ) Then tbe next proposition is for an alteration of the Timber and Sugar Duties . ( Hear . )
Thia subject I don't understand so well as I ought to do ; but I do think that we are bound , as the mother country , to look to our colonies . The colonies acknowledge the laws of England , —acknowledge the decisions of tbe Parliament of England , to which you are bound to send proper representatives . ( Hear , and " we will . ") If tbe colonies acknowledge our laws , let tbem enjoy tbe blessings of our Constitution—don't deprive them of the most precious jewel of an Englishman , bis independence , and hatred of slavery . ( Cheers . ) Don't let us destroy markets which we have now in ourcolonies , and which are increasing at so tremendous and rapid a rate . ( Hear , hear ) Look to tbe West Indies , aud to the East Indies , and we shall be able to procure sugar not made by slave labour , to theexelusion of those who
produce sugar by the laboar of slaves . Such is the abundance of the sugar there that we have DO occasion whatever to go for that article beyond the precincts of our own colonies . ( Hear , bear ) Now , with regard to the removal of the Timber Duties , tbe same principle will apply . Stick to your own colonies—eti . k to your own British ships—stick to your own people—and if you then cannot get timber at a reasonable rate , reduce the duty . iHear . ) I will not address you any farther upon these topics . I am not going to excite your passions on the Poor Law , bat I do lament that any law should have been passed which presses heaTily upon the aged , the decrepid , and tbe unfortunate ; and I should be sorry to see any cl&ae of persons who could not provide themselves with work in that condition , and that they should not receive assistance to pat them into employment ( Hear . ) I have taken the trouble to look at the first poor law which was passed , namely , the 43 rd of Queen EHubeth : that law has been
always recognised in every statute that bas been passed upon the subject since that time . ( A voice in the crowd— " What about the Charter ? " ) Why , the Poor Law is your Charter . ( Lomd applause . ) I could amuse your fancy , but I want to speak to year good sen « e What says the preamble of this law of England t ( Hear . ) Overseers are there told to be earefal to provide for the aged , for tbe infirm , and for those person * under misfortune , and to provide implements of husbandry , and materials for work , to set these people to work who cannot provide it for themselTes . ( Cheers . ) Now , this is the foundation of the English Poor Law . Subsequently to this , different enactments have been passed for the regulation of the poor ; and whether it is from tbe negligence of the Parliament , or from the improper conduct of the Poor Law Commissioners , that the rights of the Poor have been encroached upon , 2 am ready to stand up , my friends , in the protection of your right * . ( Cheers . ) I glory in that law . I glory
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in the generosity of my countrymen that carried thai law into effect It shows what they thought of the people ; it shows that they thought the property of th « rich man might be applied t * the support of tbe poor man . I hold ray estate on that condition , and , gentlemen , I will never swerve from that condition . ( Loud cheers . ) We most now pass en to another subject , and that is to the condact—( Cry of " Pious Use . ) I am not a trustee of the pions use fund , but 1 am connected with those who are , and I am proud of that connexion . ( Applause . ) I now come to a subject on wbicb we shall differ in opinion , and that is as to what claim her Majesty ' s Ministers have to continue ia office . ( Hear , hear , and biases . ) An indictment bas been made by the House of Commons against the
Ministers , tbe public servants of thia country , that they are unfit to govern the coon try— 'that they are unworthy of the confidence of the country . That question has been submitted to the Queen , and through that prerogative of the Que « n which I hope will be always supported , by Englishmen—( hear , health at question has been referred to you , the constituencies of this country . ( Hear . ) You know what the acts of this Administration have been . Examine into what they hare done , aad if you think that they have served you , stick to them . (•* We will , " and cheers . ) But if you think they are unworthy of your confidence , throw them from you , and employ other people . ( Cheers . ) Let me ooJy say this to youjudge for yourselves . The ministers are accused of to do
not doing their duty , of not bem ^ able their duty to their country . I will say this , if they are unable to do their duty , they must be dismissed ; ( No , no . ) If they cannot render the services required of tbem by the crown , they cannot be paid as servants of the crown . ( . Great confusion . ) All that I shall say to you in conclusion is this , recollect that we are ail Englishmen : Stick fast to the interests of England—stick fast to English agriculturestick fast to English commerce—stick fast to English 8 hip 3—stick fast to English coloniesstick fast to the English Constitution , and we shall still , with'a long pull , aud a strong pull , and a pull altogether , get out of the horrible misery in which we are at present involved . ( Loud cheeriug for some time . )
Mr . WH 1 TEHEAD , tea-dealer , &c , came forward to question tbe Conservative candidates , but was tild that he must wait till a / i the candidates bad been heard . Mr . JOSHUA HQBSON , in a few remarks , then introduced Mr . JAMES LEECH , of Manchester , the other Chartist candidate . Mr . Leech spoke at considerable length , avowing himself in favour of a more equal distribution of labour , so as to prevent one-half of tbe country from living in intxhaustless . wealth , while tbe other wore starving in their competition with improved machinery . Mr . Hume bad asserted that increased labour was attended by increased wages , whilst it was a fact tUat for the last fifty years , although trade bad gone on increasing to an almost indefinite extent , wages had been
rapidly decreasing . ( Hear , bear , and great cheering . ) Mr . Baines , in his history of Lancashire , stated tbat in the early period of the cotton trade there were in Lancashire 50 , 000 spindles employing 50 , 000 spinners , whilst at the present time be ( Mr . L . jcould go to one mill in Manchester in which fourteen spinners were now doing as much work as used to employ the whole 50 , 000 , and even these were not getting remuneration for their labour . ( Hear , bear . ) The reason was to be found in the fact that wl * ile protection had been extended in every other direction , the interests of the poor had never yet been protected at all , an anomaly which proved tbe little interest taken in the qualification of persons who had to legislate for the people—( hear , hear)—¦ when parties bad come ther *
that day to fallout about their ages , and to squabble about which of them was the oldest . He thought both parties were old enough in iniquity . ( Laughter and cheers . ) It was the boast of the British constitution tbat it consisted' of three branches , King , Lords , and Commons ; but now the Commons were superseded , and the constitution was composed of King , Lords , and Aristocracy . Ail the speakers bad agreed on one point , that great distress was existing throughout the country ; that the middle classes were fast sinking to a level with themselves ; but they agreed not as to tbe remedy . Some of those who had preceded him said we wanted foreign markets ; Mr . Aldam told them - one tale ; Mr . Hume another . He ( Mr . L . ) contended that tbe parties who had ruined
England were the middle classes ; and now that they had began to feel tbe screw pinch tbem as it had lung done the working classes , they came forward and expressed an anxiety to take off a little of what themselves felt , but said not a word about offering to the poorashareof what they themselves enjoyoU . ( Hear , bear . ) Both Whig and Tory had laid claim to having reduced tax vtion , forgetting that while taxation bad been reduced by fragments , wages bad been reduced by wholesale , and tbe . poor ground down to the lowest point at which it waa possible te arrive . ( Hear , bear . ) He ridiculed the idea tbat tno reduction In the timber duties proposed would be of any benefit to ihe working community . The difference it would make in tbe cost of tbe ereciion of a cottage , even suppose that he could
build one , would be about six shillings ; and what a tremendeus Burn was the interest of this to save to the working man . Increased trade would not arise from it , while wages would be continually getting leaa . ( Hear , bear . ) Their warehouses , it was said , were crammed with goods , for which they had no markets , and well they might' be-so long , as there was such an entire absence of borne demand . Gentlemen talked of export markets , let them encourage and extend their own , and then if they bad any goods to spare , they mi ght find the best markets they could for tbem abroad ; but it was sheer nonsense to stud our manufactures abroad , while tbe people were going naked foi want of them at home . ( Hear , bear , and cheers . ) He then went into the question of wages on the
Continent , in America , and in England , and contended that the high scale in America was not owing to the land being so Tery prolific , but to the fact that they were not robbed by being . taxed to the amount of twenty-nine millions a year for the interest of a national debt , and from sixteen to twenty millions to carry on the goTernment . The poor were often taunted by being told tbat they paid no taxes ; be had no objection that gentlemen should pay taxes , but he should like to know who first put the money into their pockets to pay tbem with . Look at the enormous amount paid for the new police ; at tbs ^ nine millions paid to support a state church , whose priests preach passive obedience and non-resistance . ( Marks of disapprobation on the hustings . ) Gentlemen , he said , did not seem to like his allusion to their doctrines , but they were not the less true on that account . ( Hear , hear . ) After some other observations , tbe speaker proceeded to . remark in reply to tho argument for free trade .
which would increase the markets for our manufacturers , that trade had extended rapidly enough , but wages had not imprsved in the same proportion ; on tbe contrary , increased demand had led to reduction . Tbey were now , it was admitted , arrived at tbe very verge of a , -crisis , the present was a parliamentary crisis ; and if something was not done for tbe people speedily , there might arrive a bloody , revolution . — He would say , then , to the upper classes , confer power on the working classes , to enable them to assist you in carrying out those measures which can alone give strength and security to the throne and the country . Let the people have their Charter tbat they may have a voice in tbe affairs of the nation , and in making those laws which thty were called upon to obey . By thia would ttie intelligence of the working classes be brought out , and by it alone would be secured tbe happiness of all . The speaker concluded amidst load cheers , after thanking them for the manner in which be bad been heard .
Mr . WH 1 TEHEAD again stood forward to propound bis questions to Mr . Beckett . When be first announced his intention to put questions , Mr . Bechttt asked to have them banded to him , bat Mr . Wbitebead said they were not written ; and yet , when he came forward this time , though be bad not in the interval left tbe hustings , be produced two- or three sheets ot paper , from which he was about to : read them . Mr . JOSHUA HOBSQN , however , suggested that no question should be put to one tbat was not asked of another ; and that the questions should be put to tbe candidates in the . order of precedence . Mr . Wbitebead assented , but on turning round to read his questions to Mr . Hume , he found that he and Mr . Aldam bad left tbe hustings without bearing the speech of Mr . Leech . After waiting a short time to see if they returned , as tbey did not make their appearance Mr . Beckett and Lord Jocelyn made their bow and retired amidst the cordial greetings of their friends , Messrs . Leech and Williams , and their friends followed their example .
Thus ended the largest out-door meeting ever held in Leeds , a meeting also which mast be attended With tha most important results . The troths spoken by the people ' s candidates made , a deep impression , and though they have been as usual burked in the "Extraordinary Liar , " we have reason to know that their lufta-. ence has been felt , and that deep execration has been poured out oa all aides , on tbe editor of tbe base and tricky publication .
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LONDON . —Citt of London . —At the usual weekly meeting at No .. 55 , Old Bailey , 15 s . were voted for the executive . The Metropolitan General Election Committee had a meeting oa the same evening , June the 22 d , in the above place . Mr . Wat kins produced a very able address to the electors and non-electors , especially of this city , condemnatory of the policy or the dastardly Whigs , especially "Finality Jack , " who has tha effrontery to attempt to disgrace this city by big extraordinary Thug and China joggling principles . Sub-Committees were appointed to assist in tha elections of Mr . Thompson and Mr . W . V . Sanfcey . The Committee sit every night but Sunday . Let the Metropolitan Chartists see that they be not crippled for funds .
Thjb Bww » sBr / Br Election Cohkitikk held their usual w « ekly meeting at the Magnet Coffee House , Davy-lane , pn Monday evening last , when Messrs . Baldwin and Hepper were appointed to cooperate with the committee of Mr . W . V . Saukey , the Chartist candidate for Marylebone ; collecting books were issued for subscriptions to defray tne- expences of the Chartist candidates . A number of persons enrolled their names on the committee . The committee adjourned to Monday evening next , when all Chartists in thia district are particularly requested to attend .
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THE NORTHERN STAR . }
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), June 26, 1841, page 5, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct555/page/5/
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