The Press. — London, England, 1857-05-23 00:00:00

MR. DISRAELI'S SPEECH No. 212.—V0L. V. MR. DISRAELI'S SPEECH. THs two Conservative members for the county of Bucks dined on Wednesday, according to ancient custom, at a farmers' ordinary, with a body of their constituents, at the Anchor Hotel, Newport Pagnell. Mr. DISRAELI, in rising to reply to his health, was received with loud cheers. He said : Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen,— I should have been quite satisfied to leave the ac knowledgment of our sense of your kindness to us today to my colleague, Mr. Du Pre—between whom and myself, since we have both been in the service of the county, there has always existed entire sym pathy, and from whom, whenever the affairs of Buckinghamshire have been concerned, I have always received cordial co-operation and assistance— had I not been afraid that it would appear like affectation on my part were I to suppose that on this occasion yon would expect me to remain altogether silent. It is some time now since I had the honour of meeting you at Newport Pagnell and in this room, and the interval that has elapsed has been eventful even in this country, where events must necessarily succeed each other rapidly. Last night, or I may say this morning, for it was nearly two o'clock when the House of Commons was breaking up, a very great personage invited me to call upon him to confer with him on a subject of deep moment, and I told him that it was not in my power to wait upon him as I could have wished, because I had to meet my constituents, with whom I was to have the honour of dining at. a farmers' ordinary at Newport Pagnell; upon which that great personage ob• served—" Good God! what can you say to them ?" (Laughter.) Gentlemen, this is the solution of the inquiry of that eminent personage. I have kept my engagement to meet a body of my constituents, and lam now about to do that which, in the opinion of one of the most experienced judges of such matters, is regarded as, probably, the most difficult task that could fall to the lot of any man. Now, that great personage, although he has received all that the favour of the Sovereign and the confidence of the people could bestow upon him in his distinguished career, and although he has also been a county member, never had the honour of representing the county of Bucks. (" Hear, hear," and a laugh.) That I believe is the only honour he has never At NEWPORT PAGNELL, on WEDNESDAY, Mai• 20, 1837. rlO , - M No. MR. : THs two C Bucks dine 4 custom, at a constituents, Mr. DISF was received Mr. Chair I should 1 knowledgme today to my and myself, of the count patty, and Buckinghau always recel had I not affectation o occasion you silent. It is of meeting room, and eventful eve necessarily s or I may I o'clock whet up, a very gi him to confe and I told hi upon him as meet my cot honour of di Pagnell ; u served-44 G (Laughter.) inquiry of tl engagement I am now at one of the n is regarded could fall to personage, favour of thi people could career, and member, ne county of : That I bel PUBLIC AFFAIRS. (SUPPLEMENT TO " THE PRESS," SATURDAY, MAY 23, 1857.) LONDON, SATURDAY, MAY 23, 1857. achieved. If he had ever been a member for this county he would have known that it is not difficult at any time to address a body of men who from their habits, and the traditions they have inherited from their forefathers, have always taken an interest in political questions and in the Government of the country. (Hear, hear.) Therefore, although I address you at a moment when public excitement is not very rife, still, as is my custom—as is always the custom of your members—l wish to speak to you with candour and without reserve on subjects of national interest and importance; and I know that I shall receive from you that sympathy and attention which may be expected from a body of gentlemen who do not, on occasions like the present, look to the mere claptraps of tavern rhetoric, but require from their representative a frank and manly declaration of his opinions on the great topics which interest them. (Hear, hear.) When we last met in this room some five years ago you were suffering from that unrestricted com petition to which the industry in which you are all engaged was, by a great and unexpected commercial revolution, subjected ; and it was then a great ques tion whether you would be able successfully to pus through that ordeal. Much confidence, in which I shared, was felt at that time in the energy and skill of the British farmer; and, speaking now in the presence of a British—of a Buckinghamshire—farmer who has reduced the steam-plough to successful practice—(Hear, hear)—l do not think I was wrong in the expectations I then entertained from the high qualities of our cultivators of the soil. But it is not to revive the controversy between unrestricted com petition and protected industry that I have adverted to this subject. While that great and ever fierce controversy was going on, a vast revolution was taking place from natural causes, and, perhaps, by Providential interposition, which, in fact, battled all the predictions and all the calculations hazarded on both sides of the question. What effect the gold discoveries of California and Australia have bad on the fortunes of England and of the world is a sub• ject which engages and perplexes the minds of the moat eminent men in this country. Yet the question is one which we must not neglect to consider. I have no doubt myself that directly, by stimulating the consuming power of the world and producing new markets, and more powerfully, though indirectly, by causing and creating the great works now being prosecuted in every part of the globe, these dis• GRATIS. coveries led to those high prices which ,have for some years prevailed in all articles, and have tended to counteract the effect of the legislative changes which we feared. I don't mean to say that the rail. roads of England, for example, are owing to the dis• covery of the precious metals in California and Aus tralia ; but the railways of France, Spain, Austria, and particularly of India, are solely due to that cause. It may be said, if we attribute such beneficial conse quences to the unexpected increase of the capital of the world, that it is difficult to reconcile such results with the high rate of interest on capital which now prevails. Of course, on such a subject all opinions must be given with due humility, but it is my own belief that these apparent inconsistencies may be reconciled. I have no doubt, and never bad any doubt, that the tendency and ultimate result of the gold discoveries will be to diminish the rate of inte rest on money. At the same time we cannot conceal from ourselves that the enterprise of the human race has outrun the increase of capital which has taken place; and, although by that enterprise a great stimulus has been imparted to the consuming power of the country, occasioning the present beneficial influence on prices, still a high rate of interest for capital has simultaneously occurred. I have no doubt, however, that as events proceed we shall find a natural result ensue, and that while you expe rience this advantage from the prices of all the articles which you produce and consume, you will also combine with them that much reduced rate of interest on capital which I think is the inevitable consequence of those gold discoveries, which are probably destined to produce a greater effect on the history of this country and of the world than any. thing that has happened since the discovery of America. (Hear, hear.) I have referred to these points because they have a very material connection with the position in which you were placed when I last had the honour of addressing you. Nor can I conceal it from myself—although, no doubt, there may be some great strain on the country in the in terval—although, no doubt, there is required in private enterprise great prudence, and in the public eApendittue great economy—that the position of the nation in consequence of the recent discoveries of the precious metals has become one of a sound and healthy description. I cannot doubt that the ulti mate effect of all this must be to increase the prosperity of this country ; nor do I believe that either in ancient or modern history there ever was ` l .lFk 4k 0