Irby erttuttrn.

The working men of Manchester, Wigan, Rochdale, Oldham, Ash. ton, Stockport, Macclesfield, Prestwich, Middleton, and other places in Lancashire and Cheshire, assembled on Monday, at Kersal Moor, which is about four miles from Manchester, to make a " great demonstration" in favour of " the People's Charter." At a preliminary meeting held on the 3d in ;tent, it was resolved that the " owners of manufactories, col- lieries, and other establishments in the neighbourhood, be respectfully requested to close their works " on that day ; but it is said that subse- quently a note, couched in rather peremptory language, was sent to the masters with the view of obtaining a general holyday. By whatever arguments persuaded, masters of all parties closed their factories and shops. Reports were circulated of the intention of masters to dis- charge the men who attended the meeting, and that the Boroughreeve of Manchester had taken measures to procure the attendance of ten thousand soldiers on Kersal Moor, with a double supply of ball. cartridges. The marshals of the procession from Manchester issued a notice contradicting these reports ; and they do not seem to have bad much influence, for the turnout was general. The different trades from Manchester, and the people from the neighbouring places, marched to the field with music, flags, and banners, with various in- scriptions. Among the latter, were" Peace, Law, Order," "Labour the source of all Wealth," "Repeal of the New Poor-law," "The People's Charter," "Liberty and Equality," "He that will not work, neither shall he eat," "If we are too ignorant to make taxes, we are too ignorant to pay them ; if we are too ignorant to make laws, we are too ignorant to obey them," "England expects every man, this day, to do his duty." On one of the flags was a large bundle of sticks, inscribed "Emblem of Unity." Some of the flags were tricolor. One presented a picture of the massacre on Peterloo ; the Middleton people brought a flag which was carried by them on that day; on another was a full- length portrait of" Henry Hunt, Esquire, the man who never deserted the People." Kersal Moor is the ground on which the Manchester races are held. We take the following description of the scene from the Morn- ing Advertiser; which published on Tuesday morning, in nine columns, a report of the proceedings at Manchester on the previous day—. "The hustings were erected near the Stand.house, and in such a position that they were surrounded by an amphitheatre of at least fifteen acres, every person upon any portion of the ground being enabled to see all that passed. All along the line of road from Manchester, the footpaths were thronged to excess; and in the area before the old Collegiate Church, which overlooked the line of pro- cession, there were many thousands of females assembled. By twelve o'clock, one-half th.: ground was occup'ed ; and the immense multitude even at that time presented a truly awful appearance. Before one o'clock, however, the ground was completely occupied ; and the meeting then was certainly the largest that has ever taken place in the British empire—not less than 300,000 persons could Lace then been present. As the various speakers arrived upon the hustings, they were loudly cheered."

Mr. Fielden, M.P., took the chair about one o'clock. He ad- dressed the meeting at length. The other principal speakers were Mr. Hodgetts, the Reverend Mr. Stephens, Mr. Feargus O'Connor, Mr. Fitton delegate from Royton, Messrs. Douglas and Collins from Birmingham, Mr. Holloday from Oldham, Mr. Laurie from Newcastle, Mr. Clifton from Halifax, Mr. Taylor from Rochdale, and Mr. Duffy from London. The general characteristic of the speeches was the absence of violent and threatening language. Ste- phens was almost the only person who used it ; though several others declared their determination to persevere until they had obtained their demands, in terms sufficiently intelligible. It would be weari- some to go through the routine proceedings of the meeting—the adop- tion of the National Petition, and the moving and seconding of the resolutions but a few passages from the speeches maybe picked out to illustrate the character of the meeting. Mr. Fielden- " If the people had had a proper control over the revenue of the country, the National Debt would not now have been what it is. What did the Representa- tives of the people do at the close of the war ? Why, in the year 1815, they enacted the Corn.bill, to snake bread dear, and took away the Property-tax, because it was paid by the rich. These two evil measures were passed in one year. I ask, would the poor people—the ignorant working men—would they Lave acted in such a mischievous manner? No. I am sure that, if the work- ing men had been in the House of Commons, they would not have supported a war for the protection of property, and during peace throw over the working portion of the community. Yet so it is with your Representatives : they took off the tax on property, and said they would get the expenses of the war from the Excise, from the Customs, and other modes of taxation which had been introduced, and since continued, to pay the National Debt and carry on the government of the country. Nothing could be more iniquitous. The war was carried on for the inetection of property ; the National Debt was incurred in the support of establishments for the protection of property; and yet the Representatives of the People, to pay off the debt so incurred, enact an ini- quitous Corn.bill, which gives to the poor man a less loaf in England than in any other country in the world. There are people, however, who would now ask you to agitate fur the repeal of the Corn.laws, instead of troubling yourselves by demanding Universal Suffrage. The object of such parties can only be to draw your attention faun that which you ought now to consider. Let the House of Commons enact a Property-tax and repeal the Corn-laws at the same time. Let them take off the Malt-tax, the Soap-tax, and other equally gtievotta imposts. Unless the House of Commons will immediately do all these things, let those who wish to divert your attention from:the objects of this meeting be disregarded. Go (as the Americans have it): go ahead for Universal Suffrage. The suffrage is the great cause of all your_ political ills, and without the suffrage I will not promise you any cure."

Mr. Hodgetts- " The working men of Manchester, of Oldham, of Stockport, of Staley

Bride, of Ashton, and of Rochdale, had assembled there—had come forth in the largest masses that had ever before met together in England, to demand Viii. versa! Suffrage. The last petition they ever met to sign—the last time they ever met together in numbers in South Lancashire—was on the blood.stained field of Peterloo; wheu they were butchered and sabred by the military, and driven from the field. (Great sensatier, in the multitude for some time. ) They had met that day to adopt the Birmingham petition; and the word- .1' that petition he would observe began thus—, We demand." (Loud cheers.) It was said that they had not knowledge enough to vote-

" What ! had they not as much knowledge as the present ten-pound electors of Lagland ? Had they not as much knowledge to the old Boroughmoogers ?

Had they not as much knowledge as the Parliament which, when Quin... selling in the shop-windows for 27s. each, passed a resolution of —0—„„, Wert, Commons that the one.pound note and a guinea were either of theSmileq,Iiir, value to a shilling ?" (Laughter.) They were charged with a design to destroy propert,, What, he would ask, was property ? Was there an atom of p pe h,„1,; they did not themselves create '? Were they, then, going to deet.trOY workof their own hands? Would they toil from morning till night ht in

cloth, and then tear it to pieces ? Would they labour in erecting ho "

then throw them to the ground? Would they plough, and sow.- anduprWl crops, and afterwards trample them under foot ? They were told that

objection existed existed to their obtaining the privileges they sought—the Constit

°tilea

would be in danger of being destroyed. What! de g rn

l not the working tuesi -

England toil for the support of that constitution ? Had they not from ' b

defer, of immemorial buckled on their armour and shed their blood in of t constitution ? Was it at all likely5 then, that for what the people had toiPit, and fought, and bled, they should now seek the destruction ? No. The et. mica of the working people were only afraid lest the consitutioa should be wrested from the hands of the Oligarchy, and restored once more to the n'ghtfal owners, the People."

Mr. Stephens (alluding to the Poor.law)—

44 Ile stood before them as a man who had well considered the matter; ass he hesitated not to say, that they, the working people, had it in their power not only to prevent the operation of that odious law, but also to carom their other rights. There were many thousands of persons then beaforieeshoifm,maund. every third man of them, he might say, had fire-arms of their own: why, then, had they left their fire-arms at home ? He barely alluded to this for the purpose of informing them, that the Boroughreeve and Coastb cheater bad declared to the stewards of this national movement in Manchester, that they placed entire confidence in the proper conduct of the workiag classes of that town and those of its vicinity,. The Boroughreeve and Coin. stables of Manchester had declared that when the men of Manchester rune together, they needed no troops—every man was strong within himself—every man was armed—every man was a host of himself. lie had the pleasure of telling themthat no Policemen at all were on the ground, but such as had been deemed' necessary to prevent the picking of pockets—to prevent those who had something to spare from suffering from those who might wish to appro- priate it to their own use. • " • The question before them that day, with respect to the People's Charter, was a mere knife.and.fork question... could be resolved into a mere bread.and-cheese question. If he was asked what was meant by 4 universal suffrage' he would say, that the working msa should have a good coat to his back, a good hat to his head, and a good roof to his house. The labouring man should have such a rate of wages as would enable him to procure all the necessary enjoyments—all the blessings of life which a reasonable man could wish for. Universal suffrage should Inc passel before those things could come to pass."

Mr. Feargus O'Connor-

" Ile had come two hundred and eighty miles to attend this meeting; and as he had constituted the great meeting at Birmingham, a tribunal—a jury to try the Whigs—he would do the same with the assembly now before him : let then all present, who believed that during the last seven years the Whigs had been guilty of treason, hold up their hands. (An unanimous show of hands was exhibited.) He came to this meeting also as the representative of the Demo- cratic Association of the city of London ; he waa the representative, too, of the South of England, which was determined to give its aid to the North, whers they were to a man unanimous."

Mr. Fitton— "Other speakers had congratulated them upon the appearance they presented to-day in regard to numbers; and they doubtless afforded an admirable demons- tration of their devotion to the important principles which they had assembled to further ; and it was, therefore, matter of congratulation. They would, how. ever, allow him to say, that there was much matter for regret in the necessity for the meeting at all. Had the Whigs carried into effect the professions they had made before the Reform Bill became a subject of agitation, and whea It was before the country and the Parliament, the necessity of this meeting would not have occurred ; and therefore that so many individuals as were now present should have been taken from their homes, their friends, their families, and their occupations, would not have been necessary, but for the miserable failure on the part of the Whigs to carryout the principles they professed. These Whigs had been now tried for these six years; and the result of all this was, that the very principle on which they had last come into office had been abandoned by them, and thus had destroyed even the hope against hope that the Administration would do that which the country wished and desired, what it expected, and that which it was understood they would do when they obtained office. He said this much more in sorrow than in anger. He had given every aid to the passing of the Reform Bill to the extent of his means and to the best of his power, and it was not without sincere egret that he had given up his confidence in the present Administration. But he sod they could not shut their eyes to the facts ; and it was plain from these forts that the Government had not the power—or if they had the power, they had not the will to give that relief to the country which alone could preveut the issue of those consequences which they would all deplore if they took place." Mr. Douglas remarked, that the Radicals had now greater unity of purpose than formerly- " They were all ready to lay aside the worship of the idols to which they had been long attached. His excellent friend Thomas Attwood, for instance—who had been admirably conjoined with his copatriot Fielden—had a hobby which he rode with very considerable ferocity—the currrency; and it was one which was ridden by all the men of Birmingham: but Mr. Attwood had descended from it, or the people had made him descend from it, and he must now ride another one. Even our excellent chairman must also come down from his hobby—the Poor-law ; and be had indeed done so. Nay, a greater victory had beea achieved; the People themselves had come down from their bobby—the Cora. law; they had come down from this, and were now determined to devote them- selves to one great object—the object of the present meeting. He knew well the attempts made to draw the People away from their object. by Whigaati. Corn-law agitation; and he had practical knowledge of it when, he was last in Scotland ; for there, in the town of Hamilton, it had been urged up o him and

those who were with him, in order to promote the great objects of the People, that they must, in addressing the meeting which they attended, s ieak against the Corn-law if they wished to gain the ear of the people. Bi tie the present

assemblage attend to the resolution which had been recently pass sl at a meet. ing in Glasgow: that resolution was, that no steps should be taker, avian SOY laws in detail, until the people obtained that suffrage which would give them the power to amend the laws. In their unity of design, then—in their simpli city of purpose—relying upon these, they had greater hopes of success thao ever they load before."

Mr. Collins-

" The strongest argument as to the bad policy of the present Goverment was the fact that it kept the country in such a state of agitation, as compelled tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands to assemble as they had to mass their indignation, and their feelings that the present Government ahould be

,, from office. A fair trial had been given them : the people of fir. ,„

-;,:sedin had assembled in their favour, and to promote the Reimer Bill— given them a fair trial, and the result had been greater suffering than la d ever before witnessed amongst the people. Thousands of people in iate-ingharn were to. be. found existing upon a very small pittance indeed. He ,,, others with infants at their breasts who had been for furty-eight 11,01clos—wnitilniout food. Ile had visited fifty families in a day in Birmingham who od neither bed nor bedding, and whose heads in many instances wanted the means of procuring food for their families and themselves. This it was which ad induced the people of Birmingham again to come forward in favour of an esh tension d the suffrage, in order to enable the people themselves to redress the wrongs which they were suffering." Mr. Whittle— "Fir had heard one name mentioned that day, a name which had become 2,ar ded among his countrymen: he alluded to Daniel O'Connell: but al. thiiugh be was surprised at the conduct of Mr. O'Connell, he was happy to say that he MIS taking the best possible course to serve them; tiur be was removing a lament from their path. He had made himself known in his sentiments; sad he was doing all that he could to sacrifice the labouring class, as he had neeficed the fortrshilling freeholders. lie had besides furnished one more pew lesson: he had shown them that if they meant to do themselves a ser- vice, they must rely on themselves." The weather, which had been very bleak and uncomfortable all the toning, become so bad towards evening, that a considerable portion of the multitude marched off the ground before the proceedings were quite completed, the rain falling in torrents. There was not, how- ever, the slightest disorder or accident. The people moved off as quietly " as if they had been going home from church."