The Press. — London, England, 1858-09-18 00:00:00

Tll E PRESS, SEPTEMBER 18, 1858. 894 The CHAIRMAN next proposed " The Health of the Bishop and Clergy of the Diocese," and in doing so expressed the great pleasure he felt in witnessing the interest which the ciergy now took in those agri nitural gathericgs, being as he was quite aware of he great benefits which the labouring classes de 7ived from the constant intercuurse they had with the clergy. The Rev. Mr. MOULD, vicar of Tamworth, re sponded, and expressed his gratification at being present at the meeting, knowing as he did the great advantages which such associations conferred on the labouring classes by teaching and training them as skilled labourers. Mr. NEWDEGATE, on rising to propose the next toast, was received with loud cheers from all parts of the room. The hon. gentleman said : Sir, permit me, in the first place, standing here at Tam worth, to convey to you the deep satisfaction with which I view this assemblage —on a site where for some time the shadows of past differences have been lengthened far beyond the measure of their appropriate day ; and let me congratulate you, ladies, that you are here, as yon ever are, the harbingers of peace. (Cheers.) I would that I could speak to the whole town of Tamworth to tell them how glad I am to see that those of their neighbours who are engaged in cultivating the soil have again come here to hold out to the sons of commerce the hand of friendship. No time could be more appropriate for this meeting than the present. It has pleased Providence to grant to the agriculturists of this country. notwithstanding the present somewhat inconvenient drought, a yield in the cereal crops which bids fair to remunerate them for the skill and enterprize they have displayed in the cultivation of their farms. But there is an old adage, and that is that farmers are never happy unless they have got something to grumble at. The real answer to that is, that they can silent to grumble where commerce finds it more prudent to hold her tongue. ( Laughter.) But, even if commerce were not so prospe rous as it was, still I think it well that they should come here and tender the hand rot friendship with their best wishes that the co-operation of agriculture may tend to support commerce, and that unity of interest, which is the strength of every nation, may again prevail, and be exemplified in the union between Tamworth and its neighbours. The particular toast which I have to propose to you on the present occasion is " The House of Lords." (Cheers.) In other countries you may find representative assemblies elected more or less according to the will of the people. In other nations you will find Sovereigns with power more or less absolute or more or less controlled, bat in England alone you wilt find a balance of power, which is established by the existence of three co—ordinate estates, that of the Sovereign, the House of Lords, and the House of Commons. The House of Lords has often stood true to its functions as the appointed arbiter between the way wardness or misrepresentation of the will of the people and the discretion of the Sovereign. Often has that house interposed its independence, which is its most glorious characteristic, to stay the arbitrary invasions of the Crown or check the wanton impulses of the people. (Cheers.) Depend upon it that the debt which England owes to its House of Lords is far greater than those who think lightly can estimate. I believe that the House of Lords is independent because it is hereditary, and it is that, there fire, which gives it its true value. The ladies must ever feel deeply interested in everything that is hereditary. You, ladies, know the power of first impressions upon the dawning mind. Those ladies who have by their own free choice become peeresses, the wives and mothers of peers, have throughout many generations had a direct responsi bility cast upon them, for they hate had the first moulding of the minds of our future hereditary legislators ; and the annals of this country prove that the peeresses of the kingdom are entitled to no small share in that long vista of honours which the history of the House of Lords presents from the days of Runnymede to the present time. I beg to propose " The Health of the House of Lords," lamenting that we should have been deprived of the pre sence of the distinguished members who have been pre vented attending by illness ; but I ask you to drink this toast, because the House of Lords is a great Christian institution in England, and the embodiment of the independence of the country against arbitrary power. Long do I hope it wil continue to he so, and long do I hope that England will continue to be the sanctuary of freedom and the glory of the world. (Cheers.) 'the hon. gentleman having resumed his seat amidst loud applause, Mr. WEBSTER proposed " The House of Com. mons," which was receiverl with cheers. Having given the lower branch of the Legislature, which formed the subject of his toast, great credit fJr the manner in which they had conducted the business of the country, adverting to the use which France might possibly maks of her fortifications, Mr. Web ster said:— They might be meant for peace, but they looked much more likely for war. They would remember that war could not be carried on without the sinews, and he thought the visit of the House of Commons to Cherbourg would be very likely to he a means of obtaining those sinews. ( Hear, hear.) When the estimates came before them next session, he thought there would be very little cavil• ling st granting the necessary votes for our coast def e nces. (" Hear, hear," from Mr. Spooner, and cheers.) If the national defences were properly attended to, he thought the visit of the House of Commons to Cherbourg would not be without its use. (Hear, hear.) Let ns keep up our defences, and it was a matter of indifference whether L . harbours meant peace or war, because he was convinced that the best way to maintain peace was to be in a state of constant preparation for war. Mr. Fou.:Y, M.P. for South Staffordshire, in acknowledging the toast on behalf of the House of Commons, thus touched on the topic introduced by its proposer : With respect to the late visit of the House of Commons to Cherbcurg, he thought many of the observations recently made by members of Parliament extremely injudicious and mischievous. Whether Cherbourg were a menace or not it was now an accomplished fact, and must be treated by us in a businesslike manner. He expected that John Bull would be called upon to dip his hands deeply into his pockets. Some provision must be made for the defence of the country, and he had sufficient confidence in the House of Commons as the representative of a brave and free people to believe that they would vote any sum that was required either to keep np a Channel fleet or to put our coast defences into such a position that they might at any time be able to resist a foreign enemy. The principle of liberty was too deeply rooted in the hearts and minds of English people to be easily extirpated, and he was quite certain that if any such attempt were made as that which had been hinted at, the whole people of England would rise as one man to defend the national honour. (Cheers.) Mr. HARDY proposed the health of Mr. Spooner, observing that they all admired pluck, and few would admit that Mr. Spooner had not got plenty of it. He had represented Warwickshire now for many years, and had always maintained the character of a thoroughly honest man. Mr. SPJONER, in returning thanks, said that he hoped he should keep his character for honesty to the end of his days. He had always looked upon the agricultural interest as one of the mose important in the country, and it was therefore with the deepest interest that he had watched the enormous strides the science of agriculture had made of late years, for he said, without any fear whatever, that upon the improvement and success of agriculture depended in a great measure the success, the prosperity, and the happiness of the empire of Great Britain itself. Mr. NEWDEGATE then addressed the company in an effective speech, in proposing the health of " Tha Labouring C asses." In the coarse of his remarks the hon. gentleman said:— He was sure that the welfare of the labouring classes was an object yhich the whole meeting had at heart, and that the toasdowhich he was about to give needed little recommendation at his hands. As a country gentleman he was proud of having had from his youth real, true, and intimate friends amongst those classes. (Cheers.) He had learned—as must all who were brought into contact with them—to honour their good sense and their contentment. and to feel that amongst them there were many intellects which needed but cultivation to advance to the highest position. All could not hope to be in such positions, but the true secret of England's greatness and contentment was that the road upwards hod never been barred against the lanourer. (Cheers.) He valued learning and educa tion as much as any man, but he was sure that his friend the vicar of Tamworth would agree with him that the light without wnich all learning is but folly had not been. first granted to the learned, and that it still shone brightly among many whose want of literary attainments we might regret but must not despise. He proposed the health of the labourers as of those who had proved themselves the best guardians of the interests of all whose success depended on their strength, contentment, and goodwill. Mr. Newdegate having resumed his seat amidst loud cheers, several other toasts of a local and personal character were afterwards proposed, and the pro ceeding-., which were of a highly satisfactory character, were brought to a close. MAJOR BERESFORD, M.P., AND MR. DU CANE, M.P., IN ESSEX. A CONSERVATIVE fog ival was held on Friday at Walton-on-the•Naze, at which the R;ght lion. W. Beresford and Mr. Du Cane, the members for the northern division of the county of Essex, were present. In the afternoon a dinner took place in Kent's Hotel, which was presided over by Mr. J. Barker, of Bamsey,who was supported by the two hon. members, and by a large number of the gentry and farmers of the district. In responding to the toast " The Members for the Northern Division of the County of Essex," which was drunk amid loud cheers, Major BERESFORD acknowledged with gratitude the kind reception of his name and his deep satisfaction that his conduct as a representative had met with the approbation of such a constituency. He then proceeded to say:— Regarding this meeting more as a social and friendly meeting than a political union, I do not propose to trouble you with a long political oration. It will, however, ever be fresh in my memory that my first introduction to the county of Essex was through the Tendring hundred, by a portion of which I was returned to represent the borough of Har wich. That first gave me an opportunity of making your personal acquaintance and of showing that T was a friend of the country interest. It is now eighteen years since I first appeared on the hustings at Harwich, and upon that occasion I gave utterance to sentiments which at this hour, as your representative, I do not feel ashamed of. I re• member distinctly that the chief burden of what I then said 'a as that I was firmly attached to the Protestant institutions of the country, and that I would do all in my power to promote the prosperity of the agticultural interes:. Eighteen years have since elapsed, and I still entertain the same opinions. Adverting to the prodtetive harvest in the distrie the tight lion. gentleman said : There is no event in the coarse of the whole twelv months which more gratifies the heart o f a true 1...604 man—more adds to his comfort, more increases his means, and does more general benefit to the community—than fin; gathering in of a large and abundant harvest in good order. The prices, though lower than they were , b ut I trust as . low as they will be, are not likely to be very mach affccted by foreign importations, for we know already that the harvests on many parts of the Continent are very inferior, and that the accounts from America are not so cheering , the Americana could wish. Therefore, I trust that those who receive good ricks will have high and good prices for them ; that you will be enabled to meet your landl'rds with pockets full of money, and that whet, you retort,' your homes you will still find them tolerably MU. Thera is one other remark which I feel called upon to make before I conclude. We hove met here to-day as a party r Englishmen, and the first toast we drank was the health 1 our gracious Sovereign, a toast which, I need scarcely add, was drunk with enthusiasm. Your worthy chairman told you that such was always the case, but that is a mistake though it is the only mistake he has committed to-day, fu we have heard iu one part of her Majesty's dominions tha health of tile Queen put in the background, and the health of the Pope substituted. lam certain that such condor must excite the indignation of every true Protestant in ti land, and I trust these gentlemen—if gentleruem the) are—will never, after the general indignation which their conduct has aroused throughout the country, dare to repeat it. That a foreign cardinal should come to this country t be toasted and feasted, and should permit the health oil sovereign to he drunk at the tail of the Pope of Rome, an insult to English Protestantism and loyalty; and it i only by every country meeting showing how enthusiastically it will ever drink the health of the Queen, that such people can be taught and told what is their duty. Mr. Du CANE, M.P., having returned thanks the honour which had been done him, and alluded to some matters of purely local interest, proceeded to say : l cart linty must e z honestly y confess th t a h t a, as i t a should y b o e ung askniedeme to gig a little account of myself, and therefore I did come here to talk politics, and, what's more, I mean to talk politie I cannot help congratulating you in having refrained froL holding this meeting, as was origivally intended, last year, for we are now met together under somewhat briglite auspices. Hail we met last year, we should have fount Ministry in power boasting an overwhelming majorii but seeming to me to keep that majority in a kind of me. merle trance by a policy of liberal theory but very °bane nye practice. We meet you now with a Ministry r power which boasts no overwhelming majority, but shin,. calls for a fair trial of its measures ; and 'hough there may be some among those measures from which 1 indiv' dually dissent, I think the tiovernment may fairly clan to have based them on principles of soucd and temperate Conservative progress. If we had met you last year. - should have met you in the full horrors and first di reality of the Indian crisis, but we meet you now when last smouldering remains of rebellion are rapidly yield' to the invincible valour of the British soldier, atd wit measure in full operation which, having been discus. and improved in its details with a total absence of all party feeling, now affords us some guarantee for the stability the future government of India. Adverting to the causes which led to the overthi of the Palmerston Cabinet, the boo. pntletnan said We all remember how the omnipotent statesman roared like a lion against the Chief Commissioner of Emperor of China suddenly lost his voice, and became a sucking-dove before the Chief Commissioner of Emperor of the French. That a statesman who, one prev'ously, had branded the Conservative party as pe who were willing to make the humiliation a nd degrade' of the country a steppingstone to power, and who calk upon the country to rally round him as one man, should have been condemned by the accusing voice of his overwhelming majority—because, though backed by majority, he failed to vindicate the national honour IL dignity, ought to leach politicians a wholesome lesson, The retribution was severe, hut I think it was eine I bution ; and if there he one vote in the course of the session of which I feel proud, it is that which I gave company with my right hon. colleague and that si band of ninety-nine which composed the minority rat first reading of the Conspiracy to Mur der Bill. Ue greeted at the time by the not very complimentary tel philo-assassins ; but 1 nei ertheless thought, and di! sequent downfall of Lord Paltneraton verified the opin that that small minority expressed the real feeling of people of England. In passing on to the goings doings of Lord Palinerston's successors, I trust the last year I deprecated the conduct o f the People S if land in placing a blind and implicit confidence in I Palmerston as the only pilot who could weather the sto ne, r so you will find in me now nn independent suprrte Lord Derby. The days of blind and implicit 'Begin Ministries are past and gone. Looking, however, ti conduct of Lord Derby and the present Governesee.t their accession to power, though there may be cit stances which I regret, I think they have done mutt entitle them to the growing confidence and esteem of country. I cannot, as my votes will show, give to all they have done themselves or permitted others for i for them. I regret that they s hould have sgiven n assent to the passing of the Property Qualificano 0 believing that the errors which t hat bill proposed t ' to reel es:. Par the refs Lot SO 1 SiOI etre ger ens, the 'der. WI it as w p eted the fro rior, bet ig a s in 3 hose cot 44 . for Iv “rds 14 to cal here vy.. alike ly d th of thi add, tht told Ist take, du I, for ma the I y :Met Oi doet 1 the Xi they ch their la peat .ry t 3 tot it his is le, is it s . it is its wally P° ople tit be t for aded to stied SO de WI er, giee in here I roles. th from pi year, 0( gliter se and a ra ority, ' roes- ri itruc- ry in t imply there claim it aerate ar, We dread in the elding with a !uised [ party Illy of throw lid:- 1 who of the tree as of the e year party alit jolt called should is own ly that ur and lesson. t rem: lie lost ;are in . small on the t e were term of b e sob: of tre 411 , 1 .oat, as ,f Eng' ri Lord stems. titer to the nt sin" eigno - such tel of the y assent y o do O t ni o ti cur silie It'. 11