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338 that the government entertained grave doubts as to whether the remedy for starvation was a liberal supply of cheap food. If they were suffering from nakedness, he wondered whether the government would doubt if a supply of cheap clothing was the proper remedy. They had a third duty to perform. If the government still turned a deaf ear to their representations, and refused to relieve the wants of the poor, they must return to their constituents, and tell them that they had made representations to the government as to their starving condition—that they had pointed out the means of relief—that the government had turned a deaf ear to their remonstrances—that they had nothing to hope—that they had finished their work—had performed their duty—had stated the distress and the remedy—the legislature had refused the remedy; and it would be their duty then to say to the people, "God help you, for he only can."

Mr. John Bright then addressed the meeting. The alarming state of the country, he said, justified the assembling of deputies twice in one session, and he proceeded to give a statement of the distress, every particular of which would be proved before that meeting, and the proof reported to the public:

"The distress was universal. If they went to Scotland they found Forfar, Glasgow, Paisley, in desolation. If they came further south, they would hear from a delegate from Newcastle that almost the whole of the working population were out of employment, and were living on the charity given out by the town council. He had a letter from Shields, in which it was stated that the trade was almost annihilated. In Lancashire many towns were actually subsisting on charity. Bolton and Stockport were in a state of desolation. In Leeds it was still worse; there were 30 or 40,000 persons existing upon charity alone. If they went to Sheffield, he believed they would find that men were not possessed of one-quarter the comfort they had three years ago—men as able to work as any living, and yet they were driven to the lowest state of distress. It was the same in Derbyshire. He had seen a letter that morning in the Morning Chronicle, giving an account of the state of a place called Hinckley, in Leicestershire, and he would recommend all