The Press. — London, England, 1854-10-14 00:00:00

916 NORTH ESSEX CONSERVATIVE CLUB. THE annual meeting of the Hinckford Agricultural and Conservative Club was held at Castle Heading barn yesterday week. The agricultural feature in the proceeding comprised, as usual, a ploughing match, and competitions in other farming operations, followed by a prize distribution for meritorious con duct among the rural population. In the evening the members dined together at the Bell Inn, under the presidency of Mr. C. Du Cane. Mr. Peacocke, M.P., Mr. J. Bromley Moore, M.P., and Major Be resford, M.P., were present, as also several gentle men of influence connected with the county. Among the speeches after dinner was ono by the Rev. J. Cox, in a response to the toast of " Success to the Hinckford Conservative Club." The rev. speaker commenced by defending the character, spirit, and intelligence of English farmers from the inuendos of Mr. Mechi, whose annual gathering upon Tiptree-heath he described as a comedy of errors. He thence passed on to the political aspects of the times, and dwelt upon the inseparable connection between the prosperity of the country and the main tenance of the Protestant Establishment: — This country at the present moment had a Ministry, but not a Government—(Hear, hear)—and the Whigs and Peelites of which that Ministry was composed were so determined to keep their places that they wanted a mea sure which would put everything like Conservative opposi tion under ground for ever. ( Hear, hear.) Look at the jesuitical nature of their reform measure. It pretended to give more county members, but at the same time took especial care to swamp the present county constituencies by an overwhelming addition of voters from towns. (Hear, hear.) The effect was obvious. The great supporters of the Church were the aristocracy, the yeomanry, and the agricultural labourer ; but the latter was to have no vote, whereas the enfroachisement of 51. householders in towns would include the great bulk of the democratic party, so that the supporters of the Church and Constitution must inevitably be swamped. (Hear, hear.) But amid so much that was depressing there was one gleam of light. He bad acknowledged at their last meeting that the Con servative party had received a heavy blow on the question of the corn laws, and could only be reconstructed upon the Arm basis of the Protestant institutions of the country. (Hear.) He was more than ever convinced of the sound ness of that remark. The country was beginning to realise the condition in which it was placed, with a Minis try dependent upon the support of the Pope's nominees for a continuance of place and pay, and at length their talented leader in the House of Commons (Mr. Disraeli) had unfurled the Protestant banner. (Loud cheers.) Upon the support he received would depend the future welfare and happiness of the country ; for, unless the present Ministry were displaced, the glorious privileges obtained by the Reformation would be entirely wasted. (Hear, hear.) Our forefathers were ready to bleed and suffer to secure the inestimable blessing of religious freedom ; our native land had still many blessings well worth defend ing; and he trusted we should, like them, take our stand upon the Protestant institutions of the country—the only solid foundation upon which the Conservative party could be reconstructed—and, firmly based upon which, he believed nothing would be able to remove them. (Loud cheers.) • Major EERESFORD, M.P., and Mr. PEACOCEE also addressed the assembled guests at this meeting. The latter enforced the principle that Conservatism was identical with progress, both theoretically and - - practically : I wish to see the Conservative party in this country identifying itself with great national questions, aiding in those reforms which are desired for the country at large, and taking up those questions of sound progress which in volve no danger either to the Crown or to the aristocracy. (Hear, hear.) I should be glad to see the Government of India reformed—the stamps upon newspapers re moved—and the law of partnership amended. (Hear,hear.) When I assert that the true Conservative policy is a policy of progress, I may well refer to those reforms which were advocated, and, what is more, carried, by the Administra• tion of Lord Derby. They introduced themselves with no magnificent programme, yet they succeeded, in a com paratively short tenure of office, in carrying two great and beneficial measures,—one the reform of the Court of Chancery, which had been considered hopeless of remedy by previous Administrations ; and the other a bill for em bodying the militia, to which we are now indebted for the protection of our shores—measures to which any Admi nistration might appeal as monuments of no small amount of legislative capacity. (Much applause.) Contrast those great measures with the unsuccessful efforts of the present Cabinet; their magnificent promises, and their mean per formances. (Hear, hear.) lint while contrasting the Coalition Cabinet with the Administration of Lord Derby, I cannot refrain from touching upon that which, at the present time, is undoubtedly the proudest boast of Lord Derby's Government—l mean the French alliance. (Hear, hear.) On the memorable 2nd of December, 11452, when Louis Napoleon was proclaimed Emperor of the French, Lord Malmesbury at once recognised that the French people had a right to select their own form of govern ment, and frankly and cordially acknowledged Napoleon 111. as Emperor of the French. (Hear, hear.) At that time the Coalition party, by every means in their power — by their partisans, and they were numerous—by their press, and it was powerful—by their scribes, and they were unscrupulous—heaped invective and scurrility upon the head of Lord Maltnesbury. lint they did not stop with depreciating the Administration; they vented the same scurrility upon the head of Napoleon himself. • :)•.) But when a few months had passed away, 42 . it forth her assumed mission of universal con- quest, and amassed her legions upon the Prutb, how fondly then did we turn to this alliance with Louis Napo leon, as our best friend, against the common enemy ! Then he was extolled by his former detractors as a great man; and as long as he did precisely as they wished him to do they acknowledged him to be a good one. (Laughter.) A splendid victory has been achieved by the allied forces, and fresh laurels added to the arms of Great Britain ; but would they have been gained without the French alliance ? Instead of cordial support we should have found the con tinental nations concealed enemies or covert intriguers ; our own forces must have stayed at home, and Russia would have gone on to Constantinople. (Hear, hear.) Much as Lord Malmesbury has been subjected to abuse, it must be a proud moment of consolation to him when he sees that it was his policy which brought about the French alliance, and that it was the French alliance which has just consummated the victory of the Alma, and, if gratitude can co-exist with political malignity, he will be rewarded with the grateful thanks of a grateful nation. (Hear, hear.) THE PREMIER AT ABERDEEN. AN address to the Earl of Aberdeen was, on Monday afternoon, presented by the town council of Aberdeen on the occasion of the noble Premier's portrait, sub scribed for by the citizens, being inaugurated in the Town-hall. The address was couched in the usual complimentary terms, and its presentation was accompanied by the customary displays of civic pomp and ceremony. After hearing the document read by the Provost, Lord Aberdeen made a suitable reply, in the course of which he remarked : "Gentlemen,—When it pleased her Majesty to place me in the situation which I now have the honour to fill, I thought it was my duty briefly and generally, but ex plicitly, to declare the principles upon which the Govern ment, of which I was placed at the head, would be carried on. I have no reason to swerve from those principles or that declaration. On the contrary, it is that to which I desire to adhere. No doubt, the first great object would naturally be to maintain and to extend that financial and commercial system of my late lamented friend which at that time had been recently established. But that has now become a superfluous work. There is no necessity for any one to constitute himself a champion or a defender of the systems—commercial and financial—of Sir R. Peel, for that, at least in this country, appears to be universally adopted, and even by his enemies it is either avowedly or professedly approved, or, at least, silently ac quiesced in. I declared, too, that the main principle upon which the measures of the Government rest was founded on a principle of Conseil ative progress. Now, it has been attempted to cast doubt upon the meaning of this term, and it has been pretended that it is vague and not easily intelligible. Now, what I mean by it is this, that while the great institutions of the country, and the funda mental principles of the constitution, shall be religiously preserved, I would nevertheless fbarlessly carry the hand of reform into every department of the State. (Prolonged applause.) lam satisfied it is only by such principles that any Government can long exist in this country, or deserve the support of the people. We have endeavoured to act upon this principle, and, to a considerable extent, I may look back with satisfaction to measures which have been carried for the advantage of the public at large, and which appear to me to merit the approbation of the country. Nay, even in the last session of Parliament, although, from other circirnstances of a very peculiar nature, it was not possible to give a full development to the projects of her Majesty's Government, nevertheless various measures were carried —fiscal, commercial, and legal—all of which were fraught with great advantage to the general public, and in ordinary times would have been amply sufficient to have furnished the materials for public thanks, and sufficient occupation for the session of Parliament. It is true, also, that on that occasion I felt it my duty to declare that the policy of the Government was a policy of peace I believe it will be admitted that to that policy we endeavoured firmly to adhere. (('heers.) Nay, more, I am satisfied that the great and universal support we now meet with throughout the country in the war in which we are engaged is due to the belief that we sincerely did our utmost to avoid war. (Applause.) When war became inevitable, and at the moment when it became necessary to de4lare it, then, although I can truly say fur myself that 1 clung to the hope of peace with almost a desperate tenacity, yet when war became inevitable I declared that, so far as I was con cerned, it should be carried on with the utmost vigour and energy of which the country was capable. Perhaps the moment is not inopportune to ask whether that pledge has now been fulfilled ? (Loud and prolonged cheering.) If you will only consider what has been done in the course of six short months, I think you will admit that this country never made an exertion at all comparable with that which she has just made. An army has been collected, and trans ported from the shores of this country, such as never left them in preceding history—an army such as the Duke of Wellington never commanded, and appointed in all its parts in a manner which, humanly speaking, is calculated to ensure its success. (Cheers.) Conceive what the extent of preparation must have been when you are told that not less than seven hundred vessels are engaged in the same operation. The difficulties connected with it, and the time required indispensably for such an undertaking, must strike every man of common candour ; and yet we hear delay talked of, as if there had been delay. I will venture to say that such an effort was never, in the history of the world, made in so short a time as has now been made. (Cheers.) This army has gone forth, and has achieved its first great victory, in conjunction with our gallant allies, the strict union and concert with whom has been fully es tablished from the very first moment, and holds out the most encouraging prospect to ail Europe. (Cheers.) We know not the details of this event, but they appear to me to be most important, and, I trust, decisive ; for, although TIIE PRESS. SATURDAY, by the natural impatience of the public, in which I myself partook, we were led to believe the reports from dif ferent quarters of the consequences—the immediate con sequences—of this victory which was now found not to have been confirmed, still let us hope that what had been reported without foundation may in a short time become reality. (Loud cheers.) At the very moment in which lam now addressing you there is no reason not to hope that that event which, in the course of last week, was erroneously reported has now become a fact. (Cheers.) I have said that the war would be continued with the utmost vigour and energy of which the country was capable, but in this do not aoandon a pacific policy. I believe that to carry on the war in this manner affords the best prospect of arriving at an early and a satisfactory peace. I believe that peace, although sought by different means, is sought as effectually, under present circumstances, by this course, as it would be by written negotiations ordiplomatic discussiom. (Cheers.) Let me observe, that in carr ; ing on the war with this vigour and this energy we have nevertheless done something to deprive war of its horrors, to humanise and to mitigate those atrocities with which war is inevitably accompanied. At the risk and at the sacrifice of some belligerent rights we have admitted the commerce of neutrals, and we have, by our example, put an end to pri vateering, a most dreadful relic of a barbarous age, and which the world will now probably never see revived (Applause.) I say, then, that we have endeavoured to mitigate the horrors of war, even while carrying it on with the utmost vigour; and, in so carrying it on, 1 repeat that I for one shall never lose sight of the only legitimate object of all war--that of arriving at a stable, just, and honourable peace. ( Loud cheers.) I will say that war when it ceases to be a necessity becomes a crime. (Applause.) 1 should consider any one who had pro longed the war for a single day when it was in his power to make a just, safe, and honourable peace would be greatly guilty in the eyes of God and man. (Cheers.) I will detain you no longer, but repeat my respectful thanks for the great kindness with which you have received me, and which 1 have experienced at your hands. (Load cheers.)" At the conclusion of the noble lord's address the Provost proposed three chews for the Queen, which were followed by the like compliment to the noble Premier; three cheers were also given for the army and navy, and three more for the Provost. EARL GRANVILLE ON THE WAR. AT the dinner succeeding the review of the Stafford shire Yeomanry, on Friday week, Earl Granville, in replying to the toast, "Her Majesty's Ministers 4 said It is not for me, nor any one else, to boast of success until it has been achieved. If we should not be successM in our attempt. I believe that Government would ill under- stand the principal characteristic of Englishmen should they be easily discouraged by any temporary defeat. If, on the other hand, we should be successful, 1 believe the Government will act only in accordance with the public feeling of the country, by showing that we must not rest on our oars, but that we must redouble our efforts to gain the victory—(cheers)—and J cannot help feeling that, though it would be highly criminal in any Government to be carried away by the excitement of military glory, of which, God knows, we have had enough in this country, and to refuse to make a peace when that peace could be made perfectly consistent with the honour, dignity, and in terests of this country, and with the interests of Europe and the cause of justice and humanity, yet, on the other hand, I do feel that if the horrors of war are unnecessarily prolonged by the enemy—if those terrible sacrifices of treasure which, even according to the resources of this country, are considerable, are rendered necessary—and if precious lives, both of our own soldiers, and, 1 will add, the soldiers of the enemy, are sacrificed, it must be felt that the rigout of the terms imposed should be in propor tion to the sacrifice occasioned. (Loud and prolonged cheering.) THE CHOLERA. The Registrar-General says in his last report:— " The deaths in London from all causes, which in the first week of September rose to 3,413, and in the three weeks following were 2,836, 2,504, and 2,216, fell last week (the first week of October) to 1,532. In the first week of October, 1849, the total number of deaths registered was 1,290. " The improvement in the public health is visible generally in the metropolis, but appears to be more slow in the eastern and southern districts than in other parts. The total deaths from cholera were 754 in the last week of September ; they declined to 411 in the week that ended last Saturday. The deaths from diarrhoea in the same times were 165 and 98. The returns of cholera for the last two weeks give 113 and 59 in the western districts, 50 and 26 in the northern, 62 and 31 in the central, 146 and 95 in the eastern, and 383 and 200 in the southern districts." An outbreak of the epidemic is reported from Edinburgh, where fourteen cases occurred within four days. Five of them have proved fatal. The cholera has also made its appearance at Worcester, where several deaths have taken place. THE EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE ASSOCIATION held on Monday evening their eighth annual conference at the Freemasons' hall, Great Queen -street. Mr. John Corderoy occupied the chair. The association was described to be in a prosperous condition. Addresses were delivered by the Revs. J. Glanville, J. H. Rule, J. Whitty, W. Brobk, and Mr. Racine. Brand, secre tary of the French branch of the Alliance. 1• td•