The general meeting of members was held on the 13th of December, and was the largest which had ever assembled in the chamber. The president made a good speech on the injury to commerce inflicted by the existing laws, but without any indication of his opinion as to the necessity of their total repeal, and from the great stress which he laid upon the repeated and excessive fluctuations of price under the then sliding scale, it might be presumed that he would gladly accept such modifications of that scale as would permit corn "to flow in regularly as wanted." Mr. Samuel Fletcher, after some sensible remarks on the absurdity of supposing that we ought to make ourselves independent of other nations, hi matters of exchange, and the expression of his belief that "a reduction of the duties on corn" would not be injurious to the interests of the landowner, moved that a petition for the repeal of the Corn Laws be presented to the House of Commons. The motion, seconded by Mr. John Macvicar, was then put and carried.
The President then read the petition which, embodying a series of declarations of the evils occasioned by the existing laws, met with the approval generally of the members, but the prayer with which it ended was considered as a most lame and impotent conclusion "Your petitioners address your honourable house on this subject in no spirit of partisanship. They do not desire the exclusive advantage of a class, but the equal good of all they wish to see the trade in corn conducted, as far as possible, on the in a sober, regular course, and principles of other trades; not by perpetual jerks and impulses, arising out of extraordinary emergencies to see it flow in a regular, equable current, supplying the wants of the country without overwhelming it. Your petitioners hope, that your honourable house will take the measures in accordance with these sentiments, and with the opinions they have ventured to offer to your notice." Mr. William Nield, in moving the adop-
