Lord Mayor, to consider the present distressed state of the
country and its causes. 'The Lord Mayor presided. Mr. Legg proposed certain resolutions, which bore that in the opinion of the meeting, the distress was referable to taxation and to free trade. Mr. Young seconded the resolutions. Mr.
Wadding enlarged upon the distress, and upon the contradictory causes that had been assigned for it. The Ministers, he believed, would not have made even the paltry reductions which they proposed to make, if they could have avoided them. Mr. Alderman Waithman addressed the meeting at some length ; and was told by Mr. Nicholson to keep his ready-made speeches for another place. Mr. Hunt was loudly called for by the meeting; and on presenting himself, proposed, as au Amendment on the resolutions, that the real cause of the present distress was overwhelming taxation ; and
that there was no hope of cure but in radically reforming the House of Commons. The Amendment was carried unanimously ; and Aldermen Thompson and Wood pledged themselves to support the petition in Parlia- ment. An Amendment proposed by Mr. Nicholson, which ascribed the dis- tress to free trade, was negatived.
At a Court of Common Council on Thursday, a petition from Mr. Buck- ingham prayed that the Court would take the lead in opposing the renewal of the East India Company's monopoly of the China trade. Mr. Alder-
man Copeland and Mr. Alderman Waithman condemned the free-trade system ; and thought the Common Council had enough to do with their
own affairs. Some of the friends of free-trade replied, and left Mr. Waithman some hard hits for his changed opinions. On the question whether the petition should be sent to the Special Committee, or be ordered to lie on the table, it was carried by 62 votes to 44, that it "do lie on the table." Thus Mr. Pearson's motion was negatived. A petition for Parliamentary Reform was signed by upwards of fifty members of the Common Council.
A public meeting was held yesterday at the Crown and Anchor Tavern, for the purpose of forming a Company to revive and reconstruct Hungerford Market. Mr. W. Courtenay presided ' • and several other gentlemen of high respectability took an active part. TIm expense of purchasing the property for the site of the market, and of erecting the necessary buildings, was stated
to amount by estimate to 219,4i00/. A resolution was passed to open books of i.uhscriptions for shares ; of which it was agreed to form 2,100 at 100/. each.
There was a meeting yesterday of the inhabitant householders of Cripple- gate Ward, in the City Pantheon, Grub Street, to petition Parliament for a reduction of taxes, and for Parliamentary Reform.
A meeting of Middlesex Magistrates took place on Thursday, at which Mr. Stirling delivered up various deeds and papers, in pursuance of the order to that effect ; but as it appeared that he still withheld some, he was informed that the attachment would be put in force against him within a week if they were net surrendered.
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