bc Countrn.

The great meeting of the working classes of Birmingham, for the adoption of the National Petition, was held on Monday. The metn- bers of the Political Union met at the Town-ball; and Mr. Thomas Attwood took the chair about half-past ten. Delegates from London, Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester, and other places in Lancashire and Yorkshire, appeared on the platform. The new Council of the Union for the ensuing year was chosen. The report was read by Mr. Doug- las, the Treasurer ; it showed a balance of cash in the banker's hands of 185/. 9d. A donation of 20/. from Mr. Scholefield, M. P., and an annual subscription of l. from Mr. Swynfen Jervis, M. P. for Brid- port, were announced with cheers.

The procession was then formed, and moved in excellent order to Holloway Head. There were numerous banners and flags with in- scriptions. On one of the banners, which had been previously exhi- bited amidst much cheering, in the Town-hall, three loaves were painted—one very small marked " 6d , England ; " another a large one "tid., France ; " the third much larger still, " 6d., Russia." There was plenty of music ; and though the rain fell copiously till about twelve o'clock, the spirits of the multitude were not at all damped. At Holloway Head, the place of meeting, which is about a mile and a balf north-west of Birmingham, a long line of hustings had been erected fur the occasion. " The ground (says the Horning Chronicle report) is peculiarly adapted for the gathering together of immense masses of men ; for it consists of an almost complete amphitheatre, three-fourths of the circle at least being formed of a gentle ascent, and having at its base, along which the hustings were placed, an extended line of upwards of half a mile. Here we beheld a sight that could But fail to strike with awe every beholder. There were at least two buodred thousand human beings ranged one above another to the very

brow of the hill, where the flags and banners were planted and flouting in the air, bearing on them inscriptions expressive of the determination of those who were then rallying around them."

Mr. Attwood having been called with acclamation to the chair, commenced by calling upon the assembly to uncover their heads, and join him in a short prayer-

" God, we thank thee for the bleesinge thou host showered upon our country. In engaging hi this great work of obtaining the great Idessieg ef good govern. spent, we implore thy blessing upon us and our righteous is ;me."

A deep " Anion ! " attested the sympathy of the vast assembly. Mr. Attwood then proceeded to address the multitude, in la:s usual earnest and affectionate manner— " My friends, your strength is very great ; and your mildness, your intelli• genee, your purity, and the greatness of your conduct, doubles that strength. Six years have we rested—six years of patience, waiting, waiting, waiting ; ted at last we say we will wait no mare. I have never agitated or (no-mired the people without cause. I have nothing in view but the happiness of the masses; and I am determined to do every thing in my power to give you justice, liberty, and prosperity—ay, in full measure, pressed down and overflowing. The country will rally round Us. We have got here masses of men for twenty miles round Birmingham ; and we have got delegates from Glasgow and London, from Scotland, and from Ireland. They will rally round us, and follow us to a glorious victory. Y011 have given proof that you are competent to take the lead ; you have given proof that their IS no cowardice amongst you ; therefore the strength you possess is great, and you have a right to take the lead in the dondel of oppression, the downfal of both Whigs and Tories. I say we will lift up the industrious classes, and into their hands we will put the min egewent of their own House. We will get justice: when we get that, we shall get uni. venal suffrage. You shall have your Members come back to you every year ; and if they do not render a good account, you will cashier them and get rid of them. There is no occasion to argue or to reason. If you feel well off and contented, you will say to your lember, Well done, thou good and faithful servant !' but if you feel that you are unjustly goverued, you will say, Be- gone, thou false steward ; we will have no more to do with you.' Rely upon it, you will get universal sutTrage and annual Parliaments ; and there will be no danger to the masters if they come to your aid. The masters will find that they are only serving themselves when they are serving the iudustrious classes. The manufacturers of this great town, assisted and led bv the masters, will compel the House of Cuinmons to act for the common benefit of all. We have been told by a great man, now no more—one of the best and most glorious men that ever lived, the Frenchman Lafayette, that ' for a nation to be free, it is nafinient that she wills it.' Undoubtedly ! But how is the will to be made known? This great meeting will make yours well known. Show me twenty well meetings as this, and I will show you the governors of England. But this meeting by itself has no right to dictate to the country. We must have twenty such meetings. They have had a meeting at Glaegow like this. They had another at Newcastle. When eve have others at Manchester, at Sheffield, at Liverpool—when we see sound English hearts and hands rallying round the Jim and righteous cause—if we see that, I shall be glad to see the government that will long deny redress. We will put a little gentle compulsion upon them. (cheers.) We will do nothing violent, but merely whet the young WOUltn call gentle compulsion. (Laughter.) The French call it sweet violence. Wee will gradually but firmly screw them out of the seats they have usurped, and we will plant the people of England there. (Cheers.) Now, my friends, petition, petition, petition. I know many object to petitions. You cannot ex- pect to get much from the petition of two, three, or five hundred : they will not reesrd me with such a petition but when I have one hundred thousand shunt nie—when I produce two millions by next Christmas Day, banded to- ether,—ay, banded together in one solemn and holy league, acting with one beset, one mind, one head, and one hand,—you shall see that the voice of the WNW," will make itself heard and respected. We shall have no blood-11U Wed. Far from me be the guilty ambition of wishing to be a Robespierre— far from me be such a feeling. No blood shall be shed by us ; but if mies shed blood—if they attack the people—they must take the conft&,611' upon their owl' heads. (Great cheering.) I will take care, as long sees the confidence of my countrymen—and I will never forfeit it-1 lila care that that two millions of men shall act as one man—shall act and never break the law; but wo unto the man who breaks the last agsastZ (Immense cheering.)

If justice were denied to two millions of Englishmen, therahen

of

the land would have five millions next-

" They will get no good by delaying. They might have got off by ass, nourable sacrifice in the first instance ; but they will not mind themselves tei if they do not take care, they will make bad worse by mending. But, eg;;—',1 say, we must act together. We want to take possession of our own ; WIlba we have a Parliament of our own, what must he our first object ?%: must first abolish the Cormlaws. We must bring down food to a level rei labour. (Cheers.) And by abolishing the money-laws, we will bring del, labour to a level with food. We will thus profit all classes of the commun Then we will deal with the Poor-law. It shall not he allowed to stand essli. month. (Cheers.) A plough-share shall be passed over the Bastiles by act4 Parliament. (Loud cheers.) This is our great object. The Factory typ>. must also be considered. We will make them do justice to all in one mile: and if they do not do so, we will send them about their business and get set4 men. My friends, we must drive the House of Commons. We will se say a word about the House of Lords : we will not say a word about the Houv of Lords or about the Crown. We will stand by the Crown; fly, and le ult House of Lords in its proper place. But we will not stiffer the House of lags to encroach upon our House. The House of Commons shall be a Hama Commons—a real House of Commons. I will read to you an extract heath works of a good man and a patriot, who died many years ago—John eme Tooke. He said he believed the people of England, if justice were dime them, would not be discontented with the government of King, Lordete Commons. I do not object to King and Lords, taking care that they dote exceed their bounds. I do not object to give the King and the Lords their fer and respective shares in a properly conducted government. But 1 would (Nei to their having their own privileges and the privileges of the Communitat Such a situation of King and Lords it is impossible but that every mania th country should abhor as I do. We will put that to rights—we will put th Crown and the Lords in possession of their own fair rights; but we will Me care that they shall no longer have ours. How are we to secure that? sr,

s

must take care that our own House stands righteous and clear beforethetrecwoub: try. If we go beyond our own House, we will get into difficulties. We will suspected of having revolutionary designs. We must therefore stand bye b, own House. They may say that we trouble them. No doubt, we will them ; keeping, however, within bounds, until we get justice ; and when ei de, then we will trouble them no more, I will not detain you much longs, You can expect to attain nothing except by harmony and union."

But how were these holy objects to be attained ?—

" You have heard of it sacred week. (Loud cheers.) You all know what* strike means. I would not recommend that the masters and men should to against each other ; but the time is coming when we shall all have a mit against the House of Commons. (Cheers.) Suppose the forty-nine delegate iii Lundon should pronounce that there shall be a sacred week, when no hem or shuttle sh ill move, and no anvil shall sound throughout England—smell week, during which every man should forego labour. God forbid that le should be driven to this. If there should be occasion for it, the furty.nine dole gates had but to stamp on the earth, and two millions of men would answer th call ; and if that did not do, five millions would answer it. But there vete he no occasion for a sacred week. We trill get all we want without the nests airy of haviog recourse to that ; but if not, let the enemies of the peep's take the consequences. Ile hail only one thing more to sty: he hail heard the 31:Iiisters of the late King charg,eil in the House of Coniinons with having given instruction to the Pi or-law Commissionets to make that law the 11 ems of briliging the labourers of England to live upon a coarser deseriptin of food. ( Groaning.) Ifis blood shuddered to hear of such a charge; tar he would not have believed it if he hail not heard it, and if lie had not seen tis :Ministers preserve silence. (At the suggestion of a person in the crowd, tire yroons were given .(hr the Ministers.) Four or live years ago, these men coo- plumed of over-production. Now we have famine in the land, and a low pr'e for labour ; the workman at half his wages, and pays the full price for biol. Yes, there was half wages, half work, and double the price of food. We dote want to hurt the agricultural labourer—we wish to have him fully occupied. The ports shall be thrown open, in order that millions of hungry inouths be filled with agricultural produce. We will open millions of in 'diets for les cultural produce. The people, perfectly happy and contented, will rejoice; ish each man, under the visitation of Divine Piovidence, will live in amity with his brother, no man maleing, him afraid. We have tried the present Govern- ment six years, and we find they have done nothing. We now, thertfers appeal to you ; we call upon you to support us firmly, warmly. Stand rani your country. Look at Glasgow. We have men of high intellect sad cii. racter from thence, to see and judge of the feelings that animate the peopks Birmingham. We 'Inlet bind the people of England, Scotland, and lielind, in one solemn arid holy league, until we complete the happiness and prosperg of the country." The other speakers were Mr. P. H. Muntz, Mr. R. K. Douglas Mr. Scholefield, Mr. Feargus O'Connor, Mr. Stinson), Mr. George Edmond:, arid Mr. Collins. Mr. Scholefield thus described the pts sent House of COMMOIIS- He had found in Parliament so many who had an interest in doing wroaga the people, that he could hope for no good from them. To seek a mane Parliament who looked only to the public interest, Was like hunting.feri . needle in a bundle of hay. If you spoke to them of the general good, it the did not absolutely laugh in your face they would at least affect ignorance, ash ask, what particular interest it was you wished to serve ? And if your reply ine .4 why, the general good," they would declare that they did not underact what sou could mean. (Groans.) But if you spoke to them of particular interests, they were all alive like a bag of tleas. (Laughter.)- had lef; them about a fortnight ago, heartily sick of what he hail to do; for n fact thet was so little to do that concerned the people, who alone were his friends, the he might as well have been at Birmingham three parts of his time. lhe io jeers of discussion in Parliament were such merely party questions, merlon of the personal jealousies of the opposite factions, that men of common ing would be ashamed of them. They were all in pursuit of private Interests Only look at their last ineusure—the lamentable question of the Irish Church 'fifty had given to the clergy of that Church a million of money, as coolly led

quietly as you would throw an old hat away ; and for what?-13ecause there

was scarcely a man in either House that had not a relation connected with the Church. They pretended a regard for religion; but it was a falsehood—se

abomination : it was nut religion that they cared for. a * a They wield,

perhaps, say that he was going a long way in the spirit of condemnation, when he should have uttered what he was now about to say ; but he would most de• liberutely declare to them, that he did not think they could tied, out of the whele 6;aS. Members that constituted the House of Commons, 50 men who had any community of feeling with the people at all. He boldly staked his character for truth, that there were not t.0 men in Parliament who cared a curse for the

people at all. Mr. Feargus O'Connor delivered a magniloquent address, concluding

thus— He was rejoiced to see such a glorious meeting as that ; it would be a signal 40 the rest of the country ; and instead of looking to twenty such meetings be- -fore the neat Parliament, be looked for fifty. "On with your green standard rearing,

Go flesh every sword to the hilt; On OUT side is virtue and Erin,

On yours is the parson and guilt."

U they were refused redress, he would refer them to the 4th chapter of Lamen- tations, where it is stated that it is better to be slain by the sword than to perish by famine. Let there be a strong pull, a long pull, and a pull altogether, until 4bey had pulled down the citadel of corruption, and entered the temple of the constitution. He would only say in conclusion, that when he returned to his constituents, and told them what bad happened there that day, it would re- double their energies, and make them persevere in the glorious cause, until they had accomplished their just rights ; and as for himself, stretched on the rack, he would smile terror out of countenance, and die as lie had lived—a true lover of his country.

The "National Petition" was adopted by acclamation ; and the im- mense multitude separated without the least disorder.

Last week, there was a large meeting at Northampton in support of the "People's Charter." Numerous bodies from Kettering, Buckley,

and other places in Northamptonshire, attended the meeting.