A meeting of the members of the Anti-Corn-law League, took
place at Newall Buildings, in Manchester, on Thursday ; Mr. George Wilson in the chair ; in order to hear speeches from Mr. Cobden and others. Mr. Cobden spoke at considerable length.
He took up the defence of Sir Robert Peel against the farmers. He admitted that there had been a fall in the price of cattle. The Government contracts for beef this year were 20 per cent lower than last year ; and at the Chester cheese fair, cheese was also 20 per cent lower than last year. At this fair the farmer said—" We have had Peel in the market ;" but Mr. Cobden contended that the fall in cheese could not be attributable to the Tariff, for no alteration had been made in the duty on cheese. He contended that the fall in cattle and cheese was not owing to foreign competition, but to the decline in the means of consumers. In Dundee in Leeds, in Kendal, in Carlisle in Birmingham, and in Manchester, the falling off in the consumption of butcher'smeat had been one-third, compared with what it was three years ago. In Cheshire the price of cheese, of butter, and of milk, have fallen, because the largest manufacturing town (Stockport) has been ruined, and is now paying 7,0001. a week less wages than it did three years ago. He gave a most gloomy account of the prospect for the winter in the manufacturing districts. He stated that the League were about to agitate this winter on a far more extensive scale than ever. Within the last three weeks, 380,000 tracts, about a quarter of a ton in weight, had been ordered from the printers. They were spending 100/. a week in agitating the question ; and the Council of the League were determined to raise 50,000/. in the country for the purpose of furthering their operations.
Mr. Bazley and Mr. Bright confirmed Mr. Cobden's account of the unemployed and destitute state of the people in the manufacturing districts; and Mr. Bright said, "He bad seen a letter himself, a private letter from the county of' Devon, in which it was stated that it was in contemplation there among the farmers to reduce the wages of labourers to 8d. a day." Thanks to Mr. Cobden for his address were moved by Mr. Duncan Iii`Laren of Edinburgh, and carried unanimously.
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