greater power to effect the reform than the whigs possessed, did not lessen the determination of the free traders to put forth all their energy, for it was seen that a desperate struggle was still to be endured. The announced meeting in the Manchester Town Hall was held on the 23rd Decentber, and was attended by almost every merchant and manufacturer of eminence in the town and neighbourhood. Robert Hyde Greg, Esq. was called to the chair, and in a short and pithy speech, characteristic of the man, called upon the meeting to cash the cheque which the League had drawn upon them. He alluded to the sacrifice of time, health, and comfort which the leaders of the movement had made; the unwearying perseverance, consummate skill, and brilliant talents they had displayed; and said they called for the deepest gratitude and the most earnest support. What, he asked, was money compared to these? If they showed in that crisis the same determination which they had shown on so many former occasions, there could be no doubt that, the next time they met, it would be to celebrate their triumph. The Chairman then introduced to the meeting Mr. George Wilson, who rendered an account, on behalf of the treasurer, of the receipts and expenditure; by which it appeared that the total amount raised by the last subscription was £123,508, of which £59,333 was expended in 1844 and 251,141 in 1845, leaving a balance in hand of £12,033. The meeting received the statement with a burst of cheers; and Mr. W. R. Callender immediately rose and moved their approval, observing that, from his own knowledge of the manner in which the accounts were kept, there was no private establishment more exact and punctual.The motion was seconded by Mr. Lawrence Heyworth, of Liverpool, and carried unanimously. The second resolution, pledging the meeting not to relax in their exertions until the Corn Laws were entirely abolished, was moved by Mr. Alderman Nield, seconded by Mr. Robert Ashton, of Hyde, and carried unanimously.
