ght Vrobintrs.
After several contradictory reports, it has been again announced that the Conservative Committee of Liverpool, at a meeting on Tues- day, adopted Sir Howard Douglas as their candidate for the vacancy in the representation occasioned by Mr. Cresswell's elevation to the Bench. A subsequent report is, that the choice is still undecided. Lord Milton, Mr. E. J. Stanley, "one of the Cheshire Wilbrahams," are mentioned in Tory reports as names from which the Liberals are likely to choose.
A meeting of merchants, manufacturers, and others, of Birmingham and the surrounding districts, was held in the Waterloo Rooms, on Thursday ; Mr. Scholefield, M.P., in the chair. Deputies attended from Wolverhampton, Coventry, Dudley, Kidderminster, West Brom- wich, Bilston, Walsall, Stonrbridge, Colebrookdale, Darlaston, and other towns. Accounts of the decline of trade, similar to those given elsewhere, were produced. As a specimen, we select an abridgment of Mr. Boultbee's statistics of the central town, Birmingham— In the fancy steel toy trade the rate of wages is reduced one-half since 1815. In the plated trade there is a reduction of one-third in the numbers employed, and wages arc reduced from thirty-five to forty per cent. In the brass-foundry trade wages reduced since 1812 from one-half to two-thirds. Articles in this trade, for which 158. were paid, are now made for 5s. In 1815 men could earn from 50s. to 60s. a week : present highest rate of wages from 20s. to 25s., while some men do not obtain more than 10s. A letter from a master-manufacturer in this trade stated, that an immense business was at the above periods carried on with Germany and Prussia, but that now, although prices at home are reduced one-half, they cannot compete with the foreign manufacturer. Hundreds of men were stated to be out of employment. In the lamp-manufacturing trade wages have been reduced two-thirds since 1815. In the silver-working trade wages have fallen considerably during the last five or six years. In 1835 the men were fully employed, and worked over-time ; but they are not now employed, on an average, more than three or four days a week. A similar tale was to be told of the plate-working, screw-manufactur- ing, ihinge-manufacturing, sawyers, and wood-turners trades. In the gun- making business the report is equally unfavourable. In 1834 considerable quantities of gun-barrels, locks, bayonets, &c., were sent to Liege and other parts of Belgium and Germany ; but they now manufactured for themselves and undersold the Birmingham manufacturer in the American markets. The workmen employed in filing common pocket-pistols must work very hard, from twelve to sixteen hours a day, to earn from 8s. to 12s. a week. In the jewel- lery business the trade has greatly declined during the last three or four years, and prices have been very much reduced.
Resolutions were passed, denouncing monopoly as the thing which deprives the people of the means of subsistence and invades their so- cial rights ; calling for repeal of the Corn and Provision laws ; with the follow ing-
" That this meeting rejoices that the National Anti-Corn-law League have convened a meeting of Deputies to assemble in London, on the 8th February ; and this meeting earnestly recommends to the Deputies, when assembled, to take prompt and efficient measures, irrespective of the course which may be pursued by the Government, for testing the opinions of the Members of the House of Commons on the total and immediate abolition of the Corn and Provision laws."
A large meeting was held in the Lancasterian school at Derby, on Monday, to petition for the total and immediate repeal of the Corn- laws. About three thousand persons were present ; and on the plat- form were the principal manufacturers of the town, and Mr. Edward Strutt, the Member. The petition was proposed by the Reverend Mr. Jones, and seconded by Mr. Morley, a large manufacturer. Mr. Henry Knott, a working-man, moved an amendment, pronouncing the Corn- laws to be "bad and iniquitous," but declaring that the people could not obtain their full measure of justice until the Charter become the law of the land. He did not support the Corn-laws-
If the gentlemen present would search the People's Charter, they would find that there was an especial clause against, and denouncing the Corn-laws : the Chartists did not support them. He complained that the manufac- turers did not strike at the root of the evil: they should level their blows against class-legislation, which had done all the injury, by passing all the bad laws with which England was cursed. If the Repeakrs would join in obtain- ing the Charter, they would at once gain their object.
Mr. John Moss, a working-man, seconded the amendment ; which was opposed by Mr. Johnson, a large manufacturer. A working. man here stepped forward to correct the Chartists in one great error— They said machinery had caused all the distress : now he denied it. He had for forty years worked a stocking-frame ; that species of frame had not been altered by machinery during that whole time—it had not been touched in the march of steam—it made only one stocking, as it did forty years ago—it employed one man to each frame, as it did forty years ago. How was it, then, that he himself did not earn one-third of what he did forty years ago—that the wages of all stockingers had fallen to starvation-prices ? It could not be from machinery : it was for want of a market. Let England have the world for a market, and the whole of its inhabitants for customers: the change would bring peace and joy to every town and hamlet—to every fire-side, and to every English heart.
This address had a considerable effect on the meeting. The Mayor
refused to put the amendment, as it was not consistent with the object for which the meeting was called . the Chartists might negative the petition if they liked. Mr. Knott asked whether, if he withdrew his amendment, the meeting would support the Charter next year should Parliament refuse the prayer of the petition next session ? The leaders of the meeting declined to give such a pledge. The petition was then carried without opposition.
A meeting was held in the Public Office, at Wolverhampton, on Tuesday last week, to consider the best means of alleviating the dis- tress in the district, by the distribution of bread and soup. A balance of a subscription last year remained to be disposed of, and it was pro- posed to raise a subscription now. To the latter proposal no objection was made ; but a resolution was carried, by a great majority, to present a memorial to the Privy Council, praying for permission to expend the proceeds of the subscription in the purchase of foreign flour free of duty. The few who voted against the amendment quitted the meeting in a body, and the original chairman shortly after vacated the chair, at the same time declaring the meeting to be dissolved. Another chair- man, however, was appointed ; and after some further discussion, a pe- tition praying for the total and immediate repeal of the Corn-laws was adopted.
An extraordinary meeting of the shipmasters, captains, and mates of vessels engaged in the merchant-service, was held in Liverpool on Tuesday, for the purpose of taking into consideration the propriety of memorializing the Government to appoint boards of examina- tion for captains and mates of vessels previously to their being in,- ducted into those responsible situations. Mr. William Potter was in the chair. The general tenour of the speeches is shown in the follow- ing passage of the memorial which was adopted-
" The memorialists begged to call the attention of the Board of Trade to the lamentable loss of lite and property annually occurring by shipwreck, and to the indisputable fact that many of such disasters at sea were attributable to the incompetency of those placed in charge of merchant-vessels; and the ob- ject of the memorialists was to submit to the Board of Trade the necessity of requiring that all masters and mates should have passed an examination, and be found duly qualified, before it is permitted that life and property be placed in their charge. The memorialists believed, that if boards existed in the chief ports of the United Kingdom, by whom such examinations might be made and diplomas granted, the evil referred to would be removed, the standing and cha- racter of the merchant-service raised, and a deplorable amount of loss pre- vented. The memorialists further suggested that such board should have power to investigate all cases of shipwreck, and to grant or withhold renewed certificates, according to the circumstances of the case. Similar regulations to those desired existed in France, Denmark, Holland, and other countries of Eu- rope; and the attention of the Honourable Board is also called to the fact, that in this country, in other professions, such examinations were deemed absolutely requisite, whilst in the merchant-service, an arduous and responsible one, they had hitherto been entirely neglected. The tnemorialists did not deem it necessary to advert to the constitution and working of such boards of examina- tion; but if desired, were ready to place such plans and information as they possessed at the disposal of the Board of Trade."
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