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Leader (1850-1860), 2nd April 1853, Edition 1 of 1, Page 316, Untitled Article

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      selves the name of independent electors , but their number was small—smaller than the number of rig hteous men who could have averted the doom of a city of old . ( Cheers and laughter . ) The fact of a tenant farmer voting in opposition to his landlord was viewed as an act of Spartan virtue , as a bold but very imprudent act , as an act of self-immolation upon the altar of principle . Feudalism still claimed the Chandos voters as its own , and would not willingly relinquish its grasp of its vassal ( hear , hear , hear ); but there was that not far distant which would strengthen and protect the weak-hearted against territorial intimidation —the democracy of intellect would prove a match for the aristocracy of wealth . ( Cheers . ) The pollutions of the last general election were being exposed in all their

      offensive putrescence . He contended that a remedy must be devised for the rotten state of the electoral body—that a strong infusion of the popular element must be introduced into the House of Commons—that the elector must be protected in the exercise of his right—that the polling booth should become as sacred as the jury box , and that the corruptor of a constituency ough $ to be branded as a felon . Mr . Robertson had gallantly called upon the electors to choose Sir George Grey for North Northumberland at the next election , but so long as the same weapons remained in the hands of territorial power , which caused the last defeat , they must not be too confident of victory . ( ' Hear , hear . ' ) He called upon those members of the Legislature present to legislate for the love , and not through a fear , of the people . Lord Derby would have waged war with

      democracy , though his followers courted its uplifted hands at the hustings . The democracy of England was a Conservative democracy—loyal to the throne , and warmly attached to the fundamental principles of the constitution . The present was a magnificent spectacle of its creation , and here in this temple of liberty , democracy offered up its homage to the patriot statesman—the popular representative •—the man of its choice—longing for the day when , by the potency of its voice , Sir G . Grey will again be returned to Parliament for North Northumberland . ( Loud cheers . )" Several local toasts were given , and thus closed the latest , possibly the last , Free-trade banquet . What did the ducal Smithsons , of Alnwick Castle , think of these rebellious yeomen and peasants shouting hostility beneath the feudal fortress of the Percys ?

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      GODERICH FOR HUDDERSFIELD . It appears that there will be two liberal candidate ^ for Huddersficld—one , Mr . Starkey , a local manufacturer ; the other , Lord Goderich , in whose favour Mr . Willans has retired . On Wednesday Mr . Willans introduced Lord Goderich to a meeting of electors at the Philosophical Hall ; and the future candidate delivered a very frank and able speech . Having vindicated himself from the charge of bribery at Hull , he continued—If I had been willing to profess principles which are regarded as more in consonance with the position which I hold , and which Mr . Willans has told you is my misfortune and my fault —( laughter and cheers)—if I had the misfortune not only to be " a live lord , " but to act as many live lords have acted—and which I believo they will yet repent of—if I had so acted , I might have obtained a seat in Parliament with no trouble , no expense , and no

      inconvenience . ( Loud applause . ) But I only sought a seat there to advocato those principles which in my heart I believe to be true ; and therefore I at once appealed to largo constituencies as an independent candidate . ( Hear , hear . ) These principles are those of enlightened and steady progress ; of reform , rapid but not hasty—never ceasing , but not violent—of reform , which is the great and onl y safeguard against revolution—of that reform which is , in fact , the truest conservatism , and which has never , so far as I have yet learned , been the ruin of empires , while the opposite policy has been so constantly . ( Loud applause . ) I will not detain you upon that great question which now wo may look upon as nettled for over—the question of free trade . ( Hear , hear , and applause . ) I voted for the motion of my friend tho Hon . Charles Villiers in the Houso of Commons ; at least I did not vote

      first / or that motion and afterwards against it , as some who call themselves free-traders felt themselves justified in doing ; because I thought tho policy of 181 ( 5 , the policy of the repeal of the corn laws , was " wise , just , and bonetit : ii » l " - « - ( lou < l applause)—because T believed that this crownin * act of the life of ( lie late Kir . Robert Peel would remove ir : » m the mind of posterity the recollection of any portion of his public career which might he thought of a less wise character , and would hand down bin name — in spite of the repeated insults of the- Protectionist party—an one of tho best and most illustrious statesmen of modern times . ( Hear , hear , and applause . ) Ono of the causes which led me most to rejoice ( it the final settlement of tho free-trade

      poliey wiih , that it would open tho way to the consideration ' of another quenl ion in whirl ) I feel personally the deepest interest—Mint which I believo concerns tho interest of our country 1 mean tho question of Parliamentary Reform . ( Hear , mid loud applause . ) It is the intention of the present ( Joverninent ami a pledge to that effect ban been given by ( hem in tho oour . se of the next session of Parliament to ' introduce n measure for Parliamentary ¦ Reform . To that measure , if it ho coiinonu . nl with the principles which I hold upon tho subject , 1 shall ho most unxiotiH and desirous to give mv Hiipporfc . ( Hoar , hoar

      and apphuiHO . ) My principles upon that matter go what it in the fashion to consider and describe- as " very far - ( cheers ) - and it in hardly possible ( hat wo shall get in tho present Parliament a measure uu largo and comprehensive as 1 could desire to boo . ( Applause . ) The only princip le upon which I would rest the representation in , that we should extend it to the utmost jiotwibiu point : nnd I nhtttt be willing to advance in that direction by all tho incaiiM which tho circumstances of the country will allow . ( Applause . ) I have no irympath y with the principle of finality . ( Hoar , ueor . ) I am not afraid of my

      countrymen . ( Applause . ) I cannot believe that this dense meeting is composed of men any one of whom is unfit for the suffrage . ( Hear , hear , hear . ) Therefore you will find my opinions upon that point accord with the opinions I have ever understood the men of Huddersfield to hold . You will , I believe , find my opinions satisfactory upon that point . ( Hear , hear , and applause . ) But if you extend the suffrage ever so far , you would not produce a good Houso of Commons , if you did not alter tne present distribution of the electoral districts . ( Applause . ) The present distribution is fundamentally vicious . It is founded upon no principle , except that of attempting to silence the voice of the people , and therefore I shall advocate a vast and most comprehensive alteration in this respect . ( Applause . ) I am now in a town , a large and important town , filled with men , intelligent , industrious , frugal , and

      sober—with men having every claim to a share in the councils of their country , and yet I find that you are of less importance in the House of Commons than each of fifty small boroughs of no worth or importance at all in the country . ( Hear , hear , and applause . ) Gentlemen , having got rid of these two points , I come to another , which I consider most needful to enable the people of this country properly to exercise the suffrage . My experience up and down the country—in the contest in which I have gone through in a borough , and in eontests which I have witnessed in counties—has long since led me to a decided opinion that we should find a most important , a wise , and a safe remedy for the many and great evils of intimidation , corruption , and violence , in

      resorting to the mode adopted in some countries , of taking the votes by ballot . ( Great cheering . ) It so happens , gentlemen , that with regard to my opinions on the ballot I can tell you a little story . I wrote an address to my late constituents of Hull . I sent that address down to somo of my friends , and put my advocacy of the ballot forward among the prominent portions of that address ( Hear , hear . ) There were amongst my friends there some timid gentlemen of the old Whig school , who thought the ballot a very horrid thing , and objected to its retention in the address . I believe they struck it out ; at least , I believe the address was printed without it . But at the very first meeting I addressed I took the opportunity of supplying the omission—if it were one—and said frankly to them take ballot

      ¦— " Gentlemen , you must me as a man , or you must not take me at all . " ( Cheers . ) Gentlemen , I am going to tread upon somewhat delicate ground . I am going to speak of matters that are more or less bound up with men ' s most sacred and most solemn feelings ; and when I have to address people on questions connected directly or indirectly with religious subjects , I have always been most desirous to do so in that spirit of calmness , of dignity , and of fairness , which I think alone becomes those discussions . It is my belief that no institution , and least of all an institution founded on and connected with the Christian religion is likely to prosper if supported by any means inconsistent with the most perfect justice and the most entire truth . ( Loud applause . )

      I believe to that institution , of all others , artificial props of unjust appliances are most utterly destructive , and there fore I should be the last man to support anything which seemed to me to be of that nature . ( Loud cheers . ) Gentlemen , I will briefly state the principle by which my Parliamentary conduct in this respect has hitherto been guided , and by which I have also been guided m those discussions upon those topics in which I have been otherwise publicly engaged , and by which I will bo guided in the future , whether in or out of Parliament . 1 shall object to any further endowment by the State of any relilause When look at the

      gious bodies whatever . ( App . ) I religious condition of this country , and seo the manner in which it is divided in opinion , I believe . that such a course would bo unwise , unjust , and destructive . ( Cheers . ) I am also opposed , not . merely to any further State endowment , but to all grants out of the public revenue for religious and ecclesiastical purposes . ( Cheers . ) And as n proof that I am so , I voted for tho motion in tlio House oi' Commons brought forward by my friend—as 1 am sure ho wou » allow mo to call him—Mr . Scholefielrf , tho member for Birmingham , for the abolition of all such grants . ( Applause . ) I believe that the taxes which are now levied on the people of all religious opinions under the

      name andtitlo of church-rates , and other similar taxes , are not for tho support , but rather for tho destruction—not for tho advantage , but rather l ' or the serious disadvantage , of tho Church to which I belong —( loud cheers ); and I believe whether for her advantage or for her disadvantage , they are unjust and unwise . ( Cheers . ) I shall , therefore , alwayH vole for and support their total and entire ; abolition ( Much cheering . ) Gentlemen , I now propose , an a further exemplification of my principles , to read to your inind onocircuiriH » aneo which took place tho other night in the House of Commons , in which , after having brought in a very wise bill on the subject of the Clergy Reserves in Caniuln Lord John . Russell , for whom I wish to profess

      ( Treat respect , and whose personal and parliamentary eonduet lias ever been hucIi as to entitle him to tlio honour and r « npoi : l of his country- ( applause ) —but lor wliom 1 am not prepared to profess an intention oi Mindly following- ( loud cheer . ) because 1 will not , ami I ( hire not , tie myself to any minister or party . ( Cheers . ) I shall go to the House ' of Commons the advocate of tho cause ol ( lie people , and by that motive alone I will be governed ( Loud cheers . ) J way , gentlemen , that Lord John RuhhoII , as tho leader ' of tho House of Commons , proposed to make an alteration in the bill which ho had himself brought in , by which he would have saddled that colony with the payment of a certain annual mini of money , not actually a larger amount , hut that matters nothing to th « principle involved in it ( eheeiH ) a Hum of 10 . 000 / , a year lor supporting the Church Kstablishmont in Canada , ( iontlemen , had 1 been in tho I louse of Commons upon that oecaaion 1 should have divided with those

      gentlemon who oppoued that alteration- ( Applause . ) i uhoulri have done ho on the principlo which J . Jiavo stated to you already . I uhould have done bo too on tho

      still further principle , on which perhaps I may take the liberty now of telling you my opinion , that the colonies ought to be left as far as possible to govern , defend , and manage themselves . ( Applause . ) Gentlemen , one portion of the duty of tho House of Commons , and one which perhaps is in some respects peculiarly its own , is to ^ vote away the taxes and to decide the amount of the public expenditure ; and when I look at the condition of this country —when I see we have saddled it , for purposes it is not now for me to criticise—that we have saddled it with an amount of debt which is equal to 800 , 000 , 000 ? . —I confess I do feel , although I have no desire to be niggardly , nor any desire to act in a too parsimonious spirit—yet I do feel that it is the bounden duty of the House of Commons most closely

      to watch that expenditure , and reduce it to the utmost possible amount ; but still further , when I see that the proportion of that expenditure which is spent for civil purposes and for the general benefit of the community , is so trivially small when compared with what is spent for military and naval establishments , I am desirous of advocating the utmost reduction in those establishments which can be made with safety to our country , and . with security to our independence . ( Loud cheers . ) And now , gentlemen , before I sit down , I will briefly advert to a topic on which I confess I feel a very deep interest . To that class of measures which come occasionally before the houses of Parliament , and which are conceived for the purpose of benefiting the great masses of the people , and

      especially the working classes , I have always taken ^ an . interest in all matters concerning their welfare and improvement ; I have always evinced the greatest interest—( cheers)—and I shall always be desirous to promote to the utmost , in the soundest manner , and in the manner most consistent with the consolidating and binding together all classes of men , that may be consistent with the perfect maintenance of religious freedom , and the freedom of our countrymen—those measures for their education and improvement which it may be within the power of Parliament to carry out . ( Hear , and loud cheers . ) Gentlemen , I have learnt , and it is true , that it is not very greatly in the power of legislation to benefit large masses of men . ( Hear , hear . ) I believe it is much more in the power of legislation to injure them . ( Applause . ) I believe that most of the present condition of this country , and much of the past worst condition of this country in former times , has been the result far more of over-legislation than even

      oimis-legislation ; but still I am far from putting myself up in narrow limits . I am far from saying it is not in the power of Parliament , and I am still farther from saying it is not the bounden duty of the legislature , to do all they can for promoting the elevation , the well-being , happiness , and independence of all classes of the people , and to raise by every means in their power all those classes that are now most depressed in the socia l scale , until the day shall come when all shall be united together in one great and true bond , and when , if you will allow me to use the word , we shall be one great and united democracy—( hear ) a . i * & eWl have merged all class distinctions in a large feeling of union as Englishmen and aa brutner men , bo that we may be able to go on in an uninterrupted stream of progress , founded upon those sacred principles of truth and justice which are inculcated by our common religion . ( Loud and protracted cheers . )

      Such are t he main portions of this capital speech . A resolution approving of the new candidate was carried with only four dissentients , amid the greatest applause .

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      LETTERS FROM PARIS . [ From our own Correspondent .- ] Letter L . XVI . Paris , Thursday , March 31 , 1858 . Tite Ef / yptus , bringing letters from Constantinople , arrived at La Cistat on Monday morning , three days overdue . A telegraphic despatch was immediately forwarded to Paris , giving the most important news : but tlio French Government kept the news to itself , nnd allowed nothing to transpire . It is only to-day ( Thursday ) that private letters have been distributed . I have had access to three important communications

      from thrco different merchants . Two of these contain a revelation which explains all tlio contradictory statements that have been current hitherto . Moth affirm that Prince MeiiHchikoff will present the scries of propositions ho is charged to deliver , and which compose his ultimatum , not at once , but one hy one . Tho first " proposition" is thut about the " Holy PlaccH . " Turkey has completely acceded to the demands on tins poiut . The Russian Emperor contents himself with demanding tlio continuation of the exclusive privilege which hud nlrauly been conceded to him : but as Turkey , betrayed hy intimidation on one Hide , nnd desertion on tho other , into si double-faced und vacillating policy , had recently accorded the tuuno exclusive privilege to

      France , Russia insists on the hitler Power being definitively excluded . Consequently , the whole weight of the first proposition falls upon our ( Jovernniont . You will remark with me how skilfully selected was this first demand : it converts u European question into a uiero personal affair between Russia and Kranco : whereupon all the other Governments may well say , an tho English ( Joverninc . nt han . said , thut " they are not at all interested in tho question . " In another point of view , this direct , attack upon Franco in to compel lionapwrto to declare hinmelf , his policy , and lfiH purposes . It i « ^ a very adroit Coup to reduce him to a false position . ^ For if iio wuvero or recedes , it is a Horry precedent : if , on tho other liana , ho accents tlio challenge , Russia may

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      316 THE LEADER . [ Saturda y ,

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), April 2, 1853, page 316, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1980/page/4/