the high sense entertained not only of his general conduct
as Chief Magistrate, but more especially of the singular zeal, ability, and per- severance which he has shown in the great cause of Reform, the ad- vocates for the observance of customary rule, and the private friends of Sir Peter Laurie, have taken the alarm ; and that rare exhibition, anon- test for an office which almost invariably descends on each Alderman in succession as a matter ofscourse, will very probably be the consequence. On Thursday, a numerous and respectablemeeting was held at the Lon- don Tavern,—Mr. Herring in the Chair ; when several resolutions were unanimously passed, declaratory of the intentions of the meeting to support Sir Peter in his right, as it is called, and to oppose by all means in their power, the second election which the friends of Reform are bent upon. Mr. Herring, in addressing the meeting, dwelt at some length on the claims of Sir John Key to the honour which is sought to be thrust upon him, and particularly on his conduct on the occasion of the .King's intended visit. Alderman Brown alluded to the second election of Al- derman Wood ; which he contended was for reasons not political, but municipal. Mr. Easthope was anxious to ascertain Sir Peter's princi- ples respecting Reform, having been told that he had declared that on some future occasion he would unfurl the banner of Anti-Reform. Mr. Hart observed, that the success of the Reform Bill was but remotely connected with the election of a Lord Mayor; Sir Peter had declared that he would deal justice impartially, and that was all that was required in a magistrate. Alderman Copeland and Mr. Legge spoke on the same side.
Sir Peter Laurie said, he did not anticipate a contest, but if any con- test took place, he would poll to the last Liveryman. Sir Peter avowed himself a staunch Reformer : he had voted for Sir Samuel Romilly and also for Mr. Lambe, and he had paid 1801. for a freehold in Westmorland in order to vote for Lord Brougham. He read extracts from his speeches, to prove his reforming principles. He assured the meeting, that under his mayoralty the Blansionhouse would be the temple of justice as well' as of hospitality.
If a contest take place, we cannot help thinking it will be, on Sir Peter Laurie's part, an unprovoked one. • There is no slight east on him when an extraordinary honour is paid to Sir John Key; he will be Mayor in his turn still, only he will be Mayor next year instead of this. As to his claim to the attention of Reformers from his support of Romilly and Lambe for Westminster, the Liverymen will not forget that Romilly was set up by the Whigs to oppose Sir Francis Burdett, and that Lambe was supported by the same party against Mr. Hobhouse ; Sir Francis and Mr. Holthouse being at the time the only two Parlia- mentary candidates in England who had exhibited a zealous and straight- forward attachment to Reform.
Cosmos/ COUNCIL .—A meeting of the Common Council was held'on Monday. Mr. Stevens brought up the report of the Cominiitee ap- pointed to draw up the petition on the Reform Bill. The report re- , commended, that as soon as the Bill had passed the Commons, the Lord Mayor should call a court, and a deputation should at once proceed to re- quest some noble Lord to present the petition. Among other matters brought before the Council, was the profanation of the Sunday, conse- quent on keeping Farringdon Market open on that day. Mr. Pellatt moved that the gates of the market should be shut from Saturday night to Monday morning. Mr. Charles Pearson spoke at considerable length, and with great judgment and force, in favour of Mr. Pellatt's motion.
He dismissed the subject entirely as a theological question, and looked upon it in a political light alone; and be contended that it was for the interest and happiness of the community, that one portion of time out of seven should be consecrated to lei- sure and enjoyment—to the cultivation of those faculties which elevated man above the brute creation. What bad been the use of Sunday schools, which had inspired the poor with a thirst for knowledge, unlesa they had leisure to satisfy it ? That leisure had hitherto been secured by a reverence (superstition, if the oppo- nents of this measure choose so to call it) for the Sabbath ; but if the present mo- tion were negatived, he feared then it would go far towards disturbing that feeling; and honourable members might depend upon it, that it was the natural tendency of the powerful to encroach upon the comforts and enjoyments of the weak ; and the consequence of men throwing off the religious obligations to otserve the Sabbath, with which their minds were now impressed, would be, that the labotiring classes of society would have to labour the whole seven days as they now did the six, and that too without receiving more remuneration for their labour. This was illustrated by the conduct of the Whites to the Slave population of our West LAIR colonies, where the hand of tyranny had circumscribed the hours of leisure alai rest of the poor Negro : there, after a week of toil, he was obliged to resort to a Sunday mar- ket for his support ; a practice which the AholitioniSts had ever adverted to as a strong evidence of the oppressed and degraded state of that unhappy race, and which even Fortunatus Dwarris, the opposer of the Abolitionists, had candidly acknow- ledged ought to be remedied ;—believing that, calculating the value of the slave as a mere machine for labour, it would be advantageous to give him en entire day in seven for a day of leisure and rest, and yet, in a country where all were Abolitionists, it was a question for discussion whether the slave practice should contince in the me- tropolis of time empire? It was said that the industrious classes of society in Lon- don did not now get their money till so late an hour on Saturday, tl at they were obliged to resort to the Sunday market. He granted this to be the case in many in- stances, but the late payment of the wages on the-Saturday was the pernicious baneful consequence rather than the cause of the Sunday market. At Manchester, Liverpool, Nottingham, and other great towns, wherethe markets were corporate property, they were shut on the Sunday; and the consequence was, that wages were universally paid on Friday, or at a period Of Satardarsufficientiy early to enable the humblest artisan, according to his means, to.compete in time Saturday's market with ' his more exalted neighbour. At Manchester, he had applied to the butchers to ' knowavhat had beetithe practical effect of closing the markets on the Sunday; to which they readily answered that they did not dell an ounce of meat less; and they wished not, on any account, that the markets should be reopened. One of them, turbo was, the spokesman of the rest, said, with an emphasis he should never forget, !"innurk-God, Sir, we hare now a day in the week which we tan call Our own." Mr. Pearson desired to see every man in the enjoyment of tl,e lame advantage. A por- tion of leisure was one of the rights of an intellectual moral agent ; and without cant or hypocrisy, he must candily avow that he knew no mode by which the ipoor could be effectually protected in its enjoyment, but by upholding the integrity of the Sabbath as a political as well as a religious institution.
Mr. Pearson's powerful appeal was answered by the hackneyed allege.
tions, that to shut up • the market would destroy the trade of the butchers,—as if shutting the market would shut the mouths of the pub- lic ; that the meat would spoil if kept,—as if it were not obvious, that if -the market were shut, there would he no meat to spoil ; • and other reasons ,equally novel and profound. These arguments of custom for custom, as is always the case in the first attempts at- reform, were suc- cessful ; the motion- being rejected by 57 to 31. Mr. Pellatt must return to the attack ; the majority will socn vanish.
BANK OF ENGILAND.—An• ordinary half-yearly meeting of the pro■ prietors of the Bank of England took place en Thursday. On the • declaration by the Governor of a dividend of 4 per cent.- for the 10th of October, Mi. Young proceeded to argue, as be had repeatedly done on former occasions of the same kind, that previous to agreeing to the divi. dend, it was essential. that the proprietors should receive distinct infor. motion touching the amount of profits out of which it was to be voted. He finished by asking. What was the amount of notes issued, and not re- deerned by payment, and alio what was the amonnt of deposits held by the Bank in their capacity of private bankers. The Governor answered, that the notes in circulation amounted to 17,600,000/. TO the second question, he said- he could .return no answer.- " Ministers had made a public declaration of their intention to bring speedily under the con- sideration of Parliament all the concerns of the Bank of England,* and of banking generally. When that intention was carried into effect, the accounts of the Bank would undoubtedly form a-great feature in the discussion. Any attempt of the proprietary to prejudge a question, of which the decision must hereafter belong to Parliament, appeared to him a measure of very questionable policy and prudence. In making this statement, he begged it to be understood, that he did not offer any ()pillion of his own, either as to the expediency or to the inexpediency of making a-full disclosure of the accounts of the Bank of England. The disclosure was, however, of great moment, as it related to the flue. tuation of bullion. The honourable proprietor said that he did not want a disclosure of the Bank accounts fur any such object : he did not dis- pute this—at the same time he must remark, that if these accounts were given as the honourable proprietor wished, they must inevitably lead. to a disclosure upon that important subject." After some more discussion on the question,—in which the Governor adhered to his previously ex. pressed determination, not to answer,—Mr. Young asked what amount of profit had been received from the Branch Banks. The Governor
declined stating the amount, but said that a profit had been received from them.
Mr. -Winter alluded to a statement in the Times to which he desired that an answer -should be given. In that statement, it was. attempted tole made out, that the Bank, which in '1810 eras worth 11,686,000/., Was now 300,0001., -worse than nothing,Trorri the improvidence with Which its affairs had been managed. Absurd as this statement apPeared, it had obtained credence, in consequence of the obstinate determi- nation of the Directors to withhold all information from the proprietors respecting their own affairs. Mr. Winter proposed an adjournment, with a View to enable the Directors to give the Court such information as was necessary to refute satisfactorily the statement in question. Mr. Young seconded this amendment: Mr. Warren opposed the amendnient; and the' Governor observed,, that the statement in question was on the face of it so absurd, that it would be a waste of words to attempt its re. futation.
Mr. --Blackburn, after' some remarks on the varying amount of the dividend declared at different periods, asked the Governor whether the profits of the last year were greater or less than the dividend -proposeft ? —whether Mr. Manning were still a Director ; and if not, whether means to supply the vacancy had been adopted ? The Governor said,
• the profits of last half-year had exceeded the dividend proposed ; Mr. Manning had retired, but it was not necessary that immediate steps should be taken to supply the vacancy. Mr. Winter again argued for the production of the accounts : the amendment was, however, rejected by a large majority. The original resolution was then agreed to, and the Court broke up.
THE PENTONVILLE Roans.—The scandalous state of these roads has attracted repeated notice aml censure. It appears that the cause of the neglect is the legal difficulty in which, the Commissioners are placed ; they have offered to repair the roads, it' the Vestry will indemnify them; but this the Vestry are not very willing to do. A resolution was pasSed at a meeting held on Thursday, authorizing the Commissioners to pro- ceed ; but it was doubted if they would, from the narrowness of the majorityonly three. On the 10th of October, the right of repairing devolves on the Magistrates in sessions. The obstinacy of the parish will be amply punished, if it do not give way before that day.
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