Northern Times. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-04-21 00:00:00

he die,s he leaves a monument behind him. (Loud applause.) We are now on the eve of a great contest, and I ask you net to loss the inheritance of the county that he has so nehl -Y won for us. ram sure that there could be no more bitter thought for him than to see the county pass into the ha nds of the landed interest. We that are the com nereial people, I say i f we have a r i g ht t o Y seat we have to that, for I will venture to say that nineteen -twentieths of the county belongs to the commercial eunity, and th en we have the i nterest o f t h e peo pl e t o th. to who are e m pl oye d a t our manu f a ctories. Ido take n al l , that whatever steps you take, you will , sheoe such steps as will return proper men to - se ats, and I w ill on ly assure Mr. Brown and You that we respect him in the other end of the county as much as you do here ; and I can only say that I will be glad 4 - , s ee Mr. Brown presiding at some future meeting such as ; r e si ' Wh en gentlemen of a similar class to himself will p forward, such as Mr. Heywood, to supply his place. not s ay more n ow , but conclude by telling you that I 118i4ler i t a compliment to myself and an honour to the town to which I belong, to be privileged to second the vote of thanks to Mr. Brown. (Applause.) T he Chairman put the resolution; which was carried amid prolongede ha . cheering. After silence had been restored, the t irre an moved that Mr. Brown should take the chair. • sailssr. "--Gentlemen, then came forward, amid loud cheers, and th-e"--krentlemen, when I consented to take the chair on I Presen t e , occasion, I little expected such a meeting as this, 4 s e i sur . e Yell • ' and much less expected a complimentary k on to me, which you have so kindly passed ; and I me, s ay that no representative has ever been more l ndly }, courteously treated by a constituency than you s -een by you. During the fourteen years which /i 3 o a:v , e done me the honour to return me to the 118 0 - ,P Commons, I never had a letter of complaint. I s t w - impossible to suppose that there would not be th e in t e ta d a iffe rencesof opinion with respect to the questions th e 3 ' arise in the House of Commons, but even when Se w e diffe rences did arise, the people were pleased to say Were have confidence in Mr. Brown." (Hear, hear.) They , ere a gree r`easedlto say that, although Mr. Brown does not and with us in all points, he is in the House of Commons, vilsi I : 8 al l opportunity of getting a sight behind the scenes, we have not, and I have no doubt he does what he so us td ers right. You have very little opportunity out n o t f f e srs °f judging of the difficulty a Member of Parliament t r quently has in choosing between measures appertaining sei the eonn trY• (Hear, hear.) I have always acted con entiously and I believe the constituents always gave me t et h e : fo r so ' acting. As I stated to you, I was not aware eo a vot e of thanks was to b e propose d t o me b ut t h, ls occasion wh en I conse nted to take the chair, fai f i can only assure y ou , that I feel deeply grate the er . t, it, and I no w w ill resu me my duty by taking s ee eu air, and p rocee d t o introduce to you our es P th eete d friends, who are candidates for the representation th southern division of your county. The chairman a few wor d s , i n t ro d uce d th e candidates, briefly 4 th a ;'ng at th e i r antec ed ents, an d pay i ng a hi g h t r ib u t e to C r c haracte rs , th e i r t a l en t s , th e i r i n d e p en d ence , an d their long services. 2 4 „ r • Cheeth am t h en came f orwar d , an d was rece i ve d w ith e i b t ila s i astic cheering. He said : Mr. Chairman and electors he s outhern ulthern division of the county of Lancaster, before th aci e „ lett more immediately to the object which has convened Present assembly, I think I should be wanting in public s sn 'ir sn ell as in private duty, if I did not allude for a passing 11, 7ent to a subject which is to me of a painful nature, -44e1 Y, the close of my long connection with your retiring 131 4 41 h er, Mr. Brown. Gentlemen, there are, lam sorry to E lis",. Sen ie of the representatives of counties, who, in the °f Commons, have little personal intercourse, but feel' influence of eeni to have come very much under the . ings adverse to each other. Under such a state of things whe n nn the but think th a t th ere are ti m es and opportunities socha i nterests of their constituencies must sufferfrom kr alivi siell of feeling. (Hear, hear.) But between %sett -I°N " and myself, on the contrary, daring the years in which I have been connected with most co ere has never been anything but the frieud s h io ai understanding; and the warmest personal Thertiptio result of this has been---(uproar and inter pi Tthe result of this has been—(interruption in the be an --gte d with cries of order, and put him out). If there read Y Pers°ll al opposition to myself present there, I am [ll ° Mee t him here. (Cheers.) finalbeire serne struggling was seen in the pit, out of which orch e j fan individual emerged, who scrambled into the the et s4a ' a nd, amid immense laughter, climbed on to t the t re e' Re was motioned to a seat there, but came r o rs tt ~`" of the platform, and appeared to be about to inte Ch eetham mr.ch neetham] . ram, eetham continued: I was saying, gentlemen - (inter is . 47 cheers, andcaused by the intruder p resent g h p _ se _ hisses, kr.l ") forv„,, , e° rge Melly : G ent l emen , thi s p erson w ho has come hi i S not a 14 out) County elector. (Cheers, and cries of put [Th e • sta te, Individual here came to the front of the Was, r e an d attempt e d t o ga in a he aring. He and e e : iv ed with hisses and laughter. The chairman rose to pay s l eav oured to i n d uce hi m t o g i ve wa y, but he seemed not to waives' sli g h test attention to the admonition, and cont i nue d ' g his arm s roun d hi s h ea d , an d ges ti cu l a t e extra the 'a ge his at the same time trying to drown with his voice tentip - s a s nie nr which prevailed. Suddenly, however, a th e ""'an from th e b ac k o f t h e stage came f orwar d, se i ze d ha r ound round the w a i s t, lifted him off his feet, and bore stage-waY somewhat a ft er th e f as hi o n of a hero on that same l'he i s ' reset ting an end angere d damsel in a melo-drama. ev er - Th etter and cheering which followed this prompt and Mr, Proceeding, a pp eare d t o r esto r e g o o d humour.] le tei Cheetlaara : I understand that the gentleman who pla c e k ads appearance upon this platform, in the first I l leter net a county voter, and in the next place is com tay 'ea °li t of orde r , i n no t wa iti ng un til I h a d completed ch. (Cheers.) d Voice In the third place he is drunk. (Cheers.) (G se . ° 4 th er Voi ce : And i n t h e f our th p l ace h e i s a tailor. wr--. lau ghter and cheering.) Pr r i i Ch eetham : G e ntlemen, we are assembled here on the kr ese4 ti ec es-sion to hear the statement which my friend, 4 ate eYW° °d, and myself have to make to you as c di na4s jar Your supp or t in the southern division ofthe N ee l of L ancaster. I have to ask your indulgence, as my th rall i 2 rath er weak, and may, per h aps, no t b e heard is i n gllon it t this vas t assem bl age. If thi s s hould be so, W hich e 7 sec luence of the arrangement of my committee, of it teal ' have s omewhat to complain i n one respec t . I think for wt mew sin gu l ar that a arrangement s h ou ld b e made In a in lf an d my friend to commence our duties this morn the " Part of the county, Todmorden, so remote, that the en illicli ng in which we assem bl e d was s t an di ng h a lf in cast er -1114 Y of Yorkshi re , an d h a lf i n th e coun ty o f Lan betsse 'W e had the n t o a tt en d ano th er p l ace , i mme di a t e ly both 11 °Ur leaving that place and our arrival here, and in be ati. ere somewh a t f a ti gue d ; an d I may no t, th ere f ore , 'which e i t° express myself with that ease and facility with f urth es might possibly otherwise do. I believe, upon and a c onside rat i on, that there was a method, an object, knew consideration, in that ac t o f th e comm itt ee . Th e y ver y we ll ina et , that 7 the district immediately bordering upon the b e d," of the counties of York and of Lancaster, there is a well Of freehold ers of strong heads and vigorous i ntellects, t hough ciPlined in all the principles of reform ; and they and i f a candid ate passed throug h t h e i r exam i na ti on , ins t .„ " Li ned their approbation, he might then very well be 41eed • assemblage of th e to to the somewhat more polished I 11 4: 11 of Liverpool. (Loud cheers.) Well, gentlemen, p ort a to tell you, with much satisfaction upon my own th e a nd that of my friend Mr. Heywood, that we met with . su an i ss _ I n th e molls approbation of the assemblages we addressed d eileers,swo places we have mentioned. (Hear, hear, an are tw o I‘Tow, gentlemen, I hold that, in this contest, there kft e , t 2 great principles involved. One is national, and ' - ua your position as citizens of this great empire ; the other is local, and affecting your position more immediately as electors of the Southern Division of this county. I shall allude, first, to the great national. principle--the question of reform. In these days of progress and advancement we have arrived at last at a most happy period, approximating, I believe, to the political millennium, when all men have become reformers (laughter), when no class, however they may have been once advanced, and however they may retain to themselves the distinguished appellation of reformers, can boast of its sole possession, but are deprived of that dis tinction by the appearance on the stage of a new class of reformers under no less a banner than that of Conservative Reform. (Cheers.) Gentlemen, it is one thing to announce a principle, and another thing to carry out a principle, and, therefore, in order to test the soundness of the principles of this new class of reformers I invite your attention for a short time to the details of the late Ministerial Reform Bill, the rejection of which by the House of Commons has led to the present dissolution of Parliament. It is true that, in the addresses of our opponents, and certainly in the very singular, and, no doubt, able production of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, no single word is said about the direct cause of the dissolution. (Hear, hear.) The introduction of the Reform Bill, the long debate which ensued, and the rejection of it, which caused the House of Commons to be dissolved—these are not alluded to as the causes of the dissolution, but, on the contrary, we are told of the existence of certain factious parties in the House of Commons. A Voice : Your party is one of them. (Cries of " order, order.") Mr. Cheethain : These parties, we are told, rendered the Ministry unable to perform their duties. Well, now gen tlemen, less of faction, than since the present Ministry came into office, I have not seen in the House. (Hear, hear.) Those gentlemen entered office avowedly —admitted by them selves and well known by the country—in a minority, and a large minority in the House. From night to night, and from bill to bill, they retained their places solely by the patience and suffrance on the part of men who sat opposite to them. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) I know that many Liberals condemned that state of things, and said it was unconstitutional and prejudicial to the best interests of the country ; that the independent members of the House of Commons should not tolerate such a state of things ; but we said that, when the Ministry of Lord Pahnerston resigned, those men were called into office by the Queen, and they then told us that they were prepared, knowing they were in a minority, to bring in such measures as would obtain the support of their opponents, and convert that minority into a majority. (Hear, hear.) We said we were pre pared to listen to their measures ; that if they were good, we would support them, and if bad, reject them. We fol lowed that course for nearly twelve months. Ido not think you will find in the political history of the country a similar spectacle of forbearance by a powerful opposition. At length it was brought to a point, by the Ministry introducing a measnre which the opposition con sidered to be totally unfit, to be unsound in its principle, and damaging in its details to the best interests of the country. When we reject such a bill as that, are we to be told that that was the act of a faction ? (Cheers.) I say that, if that were factious conduct, then I for one decline the honour of being your representative—if for the sake of upholding the Ministry. I care not when that Ministry brings forward a measure which I conscienteously believe to be prejudicial to the Interests I represent. If lam not to discharge my duty, oppose that bill, and, if necessary, unseat that Ministry so acting, I say I am not any longer fit to represent you. (Hear, hear, and loud cheers.) I think, however, the best justification of the course we pursued upon that occasion will be to show you what was the measure which was pro duced by that new class of Reformers who are ranged under the Conservative banners. (Hear, hear.) What was their measure of Reform ? In the first place, gentlemen, they proposed in that bill to deal with a certain class of those before whom I have now the honour to appear, in a manner which I think would scarcely meet your approbation, and which appears to me altogether devoid of any object of public good, and only promotive of party aims. They introduced into the bill, as one of its main principles, the total disfranchisement of all the county voters resident in the boroughs. By that measure you in the town of Liver pool would have been deprived of county votes, to the extent of some 1,200, and in Manchester not less than 1,500 would thus have been disfranchised. A Voice : Very proper too. (Cries of order and laughter.) 51r. Cheetham : I think the county voters in boroughs are a class, perhaps, more independent than any other portion of the county constituency. (Hear, hear.) They are not mere occupants of dwellings, but possessors of property in which they have invested, and by which they have constitutionally obtained the right of voting. They are one of the most ancient class of electors which our constitution recognises ; and to tell me that that is Reform, which begins by disfranchisment, and the disfranchisement of such a class appears an act of absurdity upon the face of it. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) Then, gentlemen, there is another principle of the bill which appeared fatal to its consideration. That was the stern refusal of the bill to reduce the qualification in boroughs, and thus perpetuating the exclusion of the best behaved and most intelligent of our artisans, who ought to possess the franchise. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) Upon these grounds, gentlemen, these being the two main princi ples of the bill, the Opposition declined to enter upon its consideration in committee, and supported Lord John Rus sell in his resolution, which, being carried, decided the fate of the bill and of the Ministry. But there were in its details other matters which were equally objectionable. It said: "While we are disfranchising the voters for counties in boroughs, we at the same time reduce the £5O qualifica tion in counties to £lO rental qualification, and we are, therefore, extending the franchise." Now, there are two remarks to be made upon that point. In the first place, they have no claim to the honour of the reduction. The House of Commons, upon two previous occasions, passed a reduction of the county franchise from to £lO, and they knew that in any new reform bill they must adopt that decision, or it would be forced upon them. (Cheers.) But in the adoption of the very decision, what did they do ? Instead of. assuming that the qualification in counties should consist partly in a dwelling, and the rest in land, they took care to have the whole in land, and thus the owner of a large estate might divide it into £lO holdings, and create as many faggot votes as he thought fit. (Cheers.) Well, then, gentlemen, with regard to the boroughs, they said—" Oh, yes, but we permit the county voter who now has a freehold in a borough to retain it, and to vote for it in the borough, and we also permit him, not as the law now is, compelling an elector of a borough to reside within seven miles of the boundaries, but to reside in any part of the kingdom, as the county voter now does," and the consequence of that would be, that a man of property in London might obtain a vote in various small boroughs of the country, and in order to facilitate such a measure of obtaining votes in the boroughs, the projectors of this measure invented a system of voting papers, by means of which members of a club in London might, at their re spective desks, sign their names to their voting papers, send them down to the borough, and overwhelm the resident electors. (Cheers.) Well, then, gentlemen, they said they would also revise the boundaries of the boroughs throughout the kingdom. They said they would send down commissioners when the bill had been passed, to examine and see to what extent, and in what direction, the boundaries of the boroughs might be altered. When I I came to look over the bill, I found in the schedule of the act a list of the new boroughs which it was proposed to create, and there happened to be one of the new boroughs in a county with the locality of which I had someacquaintance. I th ere f ore th oug ht that by examining that district, I should be enabled to test what the object of the extension of the boundaries was, and in what man ner the old boroughs would be dealt with if the bill were passed, by seeing how the new boroughs were dealt with in the Tll NORTHERN TatES, THURSDAY, APRIL 21 1859 schedule. The commissioner came down during the pre paration of the bill to the district of which I speak. He found there a borough containing a population at the present moment of 26,000 people, and probaby there may be some 800 or 1,000 voters. He saw very clearly that that borough would not send a member to swell the Con servative ranks, and looking at the neighbourhood adjoining, he found a populous district, containing 12,000 persons, and among these 12,000 a very considerable number of liberal electors, in the northern division of the county of Cheshire. So what does this respectable gentleman do but add those 12,000 to the borough, making a new borough of 38,000 population, but giving no additional member for that increased constituency. (Hear, hear.) The practical result of that would have been that no additional strength would be imparted to the Liberal interest, but that a very great additional strength would have been given to the Conservative interest of North Cheshire by the with drawal of so many liberal voters. (Hear, hear.) lam not guilty of any unfairness towards the authors of the bill when I say I have a perfect right to judge, from what they proposed to do with the new boroughs, how they would have dealt with the old boroughs if they had passed their bill. (Hear, hear.) There is another scheme by which they pretended to add very extensively to the franchise. They said, " you tell us now that the industrious workman cannot be added to the number of voters, because we do not reduce the borough qualification below £10." In parenthesis I may allude to an astoundin g fact, stated by my venerabl e friend, now a candidate for the West Riding of Yorkshire, who told them that he had in his employment—which engages 3,000 persons—not l ess than 1,500 adult workmen, and not one of these workmen had a vote ; the fact being that in the town were he resides, the rent of a house is never beyond £6 or £7 per annum, and consequently, although the workmen are well paid, in good circumstances, and many of them highly intelligent, not one of them has a vote. Now, this bill proposed to perpetuate such a state of things—that bill which, lam told by our opponents, I ought to have sup ported instead of rejecting. But its authors said, "We intend to introduce the working man in another way. We open the avenue of the franchise to him through the savings' bank, and if he only puts £6O in the savings' bank he shall have a vote." I suppose the object of that is this, that the having of £6O in the savings bank testifies that the man was an industrious workman, whatever amount of intelligence he may have. I admit that it is very creditable to any workman to lay up such a sum, but look at the other side of the picture, lie may be a saving young man who neVer marries, who takes not upon him in that respect the duties of a house holder, but who by economy, and his solitary mode of 1 life, gets the possession of £6O, and with it the franchise. Then on the other hand, take the industrious artizan who has married, who has the claims of a large family upon him, who by economy •in educating them in the best manner he can, and clothing as respectably as he can, his large and numerous family, who by bringing up his family as workmen, to carry on these great industrial manufactories, which are the pride as well as the envy of the world, perpares them to become useful inhabitants, and the best defenders of their own country. Under the pressure of his burdens, he was unable to lay bye £6O in the savings' bank, and be cause he lives in a house not rated higher than £7 by the Ministerial Reform Bill, he is for ever to be excluded from the franchise. Well, gentlemen, I ask you is that bill to be called a reform bill ? That, at least, is not the reform that I would wish to see. There are some points in the matter that I would like to touch upon. There is a very important matter in the bill —one, indeed, more important than any other portion. I admit the propriety of extending the franchise ; I am desirous not only to see the franchise extended in counties, but to see a still larger franchise in boroughs, and the instalment of a much more numerous class of citizens, and the support and minds of our great constitution. But there is one thing that I think far more important for your interest, and that is, increased political power in the House of Commons. I should say that, even at the present moment if you had no extension of franchise, but if you obtained a bill which would give you a fair representation in the House of Commons to property, to population, and to taxation, the increased representatives you would send from this great community would enable you to carry every measure which would be favourable to your interest. But, gentlemen, how does the ministerial reform bill deal with this important topic ? In the first place, we have not one single disfranchisement of a borough. Do you know what is the history of this county ? Some years ago the trade was all with Man chester, and the Southern was the important part of the county. The northern counties had not yet become the busy seats of enterprise, who, by their productions, have carried their fame to the remotest parts of the earth. These districts were, in the days to which .I refer, but waste lands, marsh, and bogs, with a population thin and scattered. Our political constituency had not arisen in those days, members were sent in to represent the existing population at that time. This state of things continued up to the passing of the Reform Bill, in 1832. Previous to 1832, we, who came from Manchester to visit your town of Liverpool,' had constantly placed before our eyes the monstrous anomaly, that the great town of Manchester, having 300,000 of a population, had not one representative in the House of Commons, whilst the insignificant village of Newton-on-the-Willows, having perhaps 200 inhabitants, sent in two members to the House of Commons. Gentlemen, the Reform Bill of 1832 has put an end in some degree to such formidable anomalies as this, but by a rapid extension of Man chester, and of the wealth of the north of England during the twenty-seven years that has elapsed, the state of things at present is a parallel case to that which I have described. This is in fact what the Ministerial Reform Bill intended to perpetuate. There is a borough in the south of Eng land owned by a noble duke, and which has a popula tion of 2,300 people ; why, gentlemen, I have con stituents who employ a number greater than the population. That population had within it but 190 electors. These 190 persons have the distinguished honour of being represented in the Commons House of Parliament by one vote ; and when my constituents of Salford, gathered together, to the extent of 4,300, desire to express their opinion upon any measure affecting their interests, they can send but one representative to advocate the interests of those 4,300 elec tors, and his vote may be negatived, and his position nulli fied by the vote of ; the representative of the 190 electors. (Hear, hear.) Then, I say, that to present to a deliberate assembly like the House of Com mons, or to present to the country a measure containing and carrying out such an absurdity, and such a political injustice as I have described is tantamount to an insult to every man of understanding. (Cheers.) The ingenious Chancellor of the Exchequer is obliged to bring all his ability and ingenuity to excuse it. He says, I know you, gentlemen, who represent the great manufacturing districts of the north, are always tellir , us property b taxation and numbers ought to have a fair and adequate representation, but there is something more besides mere electoral numbers to be represented. Let me tell you that there is such a thing as interest to be represented, and so I contend, should be, if the existence of this borough of Arundel, because my noble lord, who represents it, is the only Catholic member who is returned by a borough in England, and he is representing the in terests of 400,000 of his fellow Catholics throughout the country. (Oh, oh.) Well, gentlemen, I thought this was a very strange argument. 1 did think I had the honour of representing a considerable number of Catholic electors in this county. (Groans and cheers, and cries of "no Popery," and " three cheers for Spooner.") I did think, gen tlemen, that I had the honour of representing a consider able number of Catholic constituents. I have at times had exceedingly great pleasure in seeking to extend to those of my Catholic constituents equal political and. religious pri vileges which I would seek for myself. (Cheers and groans.) But, gentlemen, this ingenious gentleman, the Chan cellor of the Exchequer, had not refreshed his memory with respect to this distinguished borough of Arun del. It happened that the proprietor of it changed his faith from that of a Catholic to that of a Protestant. At that time, his only son, the Earl of Arundel, was representin g it, and he was a decided and conscientious Catholic. But his noble father thought it inconsistent that he should, amongst other electors, be misrepresented, and he gave notice to his son to quit the borough, and his son was obliged to resign, and seek the representation of an Irish borough of the same faith, and a Protestant representative took the place of the Earl of Arundel. What then became of the representation of the 900,000 Catholics in England ? If arguments of this kind were the only ones to come from such talented gentlemen as Mr. Disraeli, I say then the case is hopeless. I will now turn to a question more interesting to your own county. [A Voice : Give the dog a bone.] It is a question affecting you in Liverpool, and my friends in Manchester. Justly and properly estimating your position, whether in your own county or in the empire at large, when you come to decide questions of national importance, or to deeide upon a matter which may affect your own locality, and the public interests, you accordingly call upon your representatives in Parliament to carry that measure, and how many members do you send to Parliament to carry that measure ? You send, for the representation of the county and the boroughs within it, 26 members. Well, now, you possess a population, at the present, of something like 2,300,000 people in this county. You are assessed with income tax upon the valua tion of some ten and a-half millions per annum. You have, of borough electors, on the present electoral basis, some thing like 27,000 or 28,000 electors. I could take you down to the southern districts of England, and I could point out to you nine agricultural counties in which there is no such thing as a manilla - during town, or a magnificent seaport ; but there may be well-tilled land. Ido not deny that, and if there be such a thing, it is only by reason of the abolishment of the corn laws. (Hear, hear.) In these agricultural counties, the population is not equal to your own, but several hundred thousand less ; the taxation, much less than your own to the imperial excheqe er, and you naturally ask how many representatives these counties send to Parliament. If 26 comes from this county, how many should represent those other counties ? And this Reform bill, thought it right that things should continue in the existing state, which was, that this county should send in only 26 members, and those counties 98 members. (Oh, oh.) So long . as this state of things is continued, our populations in the north, our great seats of industry and of commerce, must be in perpetual war and discord. I say it is totally impossible, without long agitation and political excitement, such as took place on the question of the Corn Laws, that they could carry mea sures advantageous to your interest. In any coming reform bill, you must see that there is a more equal distribution of political power in the House of Commons. I admit that there will be great difficulty in obtaining that point, because we have, unfortunately, the fact that the members for those boroughs proposed to be dis franchised, voting against it. A valued friend of his, a gentleman who purchased the borough which he now re presents, had a large estate in the immediate neighbourhood, and this distinguished member is returned by 320 electors, and he has political power in the Honse of Commons, and this borough has two representatives, equal to the town of Liverpool ; and, as he said before, was suc h a thin g t o be carried on because this little borough did so ? Your work is not and cannot be done. This gentleman purchases this borough, and, in his very arduous task, he is obliged to have a colleague. I have said, this bill did not disfranchise a single borough ; it touched with a very gentle hand such boroughs as this, and one additional member was allowed to such boroughs. This friend of mine is a stout radical, a liberal of the purest water, and, to my astonishment, when I was coming out of the lobby, after voting against the bill, I met my friend coming out of the opposite lobby, after voting for the bill. I said, "Why, my friend, what have you been doing ? You can only loose your colleague, and that will be no great loss. "Oh ! " he said, " I want this bill carried, or I shall fall into the hands of Lord John Russell or Mr. Bright, and they will abolish me altogether. (Laughter and ap plause.) I mention this, gentlemen, to show you what are the difficulties connected with a better distribution of politi cal power in the House of Commons. [A Voice : ".None of your gammon."] Mr. Cheetham : Any ministry who under took the introduction of a better bill will have these diffi culties in his face, and must endeavour to shape his measures so as not to provoke hostility, that might prove fatal to his measure. There was one gentleman who undertook the defence of these little boroughs—a gentleman who to name was to name a man of the greatest talent and ability—that was Mr. E wart Gladstone. ( Ipplause.) This distin guished gentleman undertook the defence of these petty boroughs. He said, "Now we should not altogether cast them off. I have been looking into the matter, and what do I find ? Why, I find-L-" and he brought out a number of papers, and read therefrom the names of those distinguished men—Messrs. Pitt, Fox, Burke, and two or three others, who, during the course of 100 years, had been returned at an early age for these boroughs. And, therefore, these boroughs were the means of sending young men into parliament that would not otherwise pass a larger constituency, and they were thus trained to political life. It struck me that this was no very great forte of argument, if this was the only good these boroughs had done for a hundred years, as to produce these men. It was the men who made the boroughs, and a clever man would find a constituency in any part of the country. I hold that it is no argument to perpetuate such a state of things, which shows such an anomaly as that to which I have referred. It shuts the doors of the House of Commons to a fair representation of the large boroughs. There is one door which is never shut against those populations to which I refer. There is one ingenious gentleman, who never over looks your powers of paying the tax, when he has a budget to make (laughter), and when he sits down to make it, he never forgets to calculate what the result will be from the introduction of a new tax, upon the counties of Lancashire and Yorkshire. When the interests of the country are to be supported, therefore, we have a right to call for equal justice, and have a claim for just representation in the House of Commons, and a fair share in the administration of the country. (Applause.) I pass over from this topic of reform, and come to another subject which, at the present moment, is exciting a consider able degree of attention. I allude to the question of the ballot. (Applause.) Now, gentlemen, the ballot — A Voice : What about Maynooth. Mr. Cheetham : The ballot is strongly opposed by a por tion of our countrymen. We have great and distinguished statesmen who condemn it altogether as unsuited to the publicity of our political life, and to our habits as English men. lam prepared to make a great admission upon that point. The ballot in itself is an evil, but I say it is an evil to which I would resort, to put down a still greater evil. I find that in the records of our ancient law books which refer to our constitution. It is there provided, that every elector in the kingdom shall give his vote freely and openly, and according to his pleasure for his candidate. Is this our experience in this candid and political country ? I ask you whether there are not those under employers, and those who have customers, of whom they stand in fear ? whether there are not such things as tenant farmers, who stand in jeopardy of their landlords ? (Hear, hear.) I remember Mr. Gisburne telling me on one occasion, when standing for the county of Lancashire, there came up to the polling booth a long list of tenant farmers belonging to Lord Stanford. At the head of these gentlemen was his agent, and when they arrived at the poll, the polling clerk asked the first farmer for whom he voted. His reply was, I vote for Lord Stanford. He was told there was no such candidate, and when the names of the four candidates were read over to him, the tenant farmer looked up imploringly at the steward who was going to repeat the names. Mr. Gisbone interfered, and the farmer at last declared that he voted for those whom Lord Stanford voted for. (Laughter.) Mr. Gisborne then proposed that they should hand in a list of those tenants, and enrol them without any more trouble. That is not such representation as I would value. If I have any honour attached to me as a member of Parliament, especially so as a representative of this county, I tell you at once that I would be no such representative that was given upon such force. (Applause.) "Well now, gentlemen, we will pass on, if you please, to another topic. It, perhaps, concerns you at the present moment more deeply than many of you are aware. I allude to the exciting state of things on the continent of Europe. Those two mighty empires, with half a million of men in arms, and every moment we may hear the startling intelligence that war has commenced. I will tell you what I think of this state of things. It appears to me that, much as I sympathise with trodden down Italians from the tyranny and despotism of Austria, I cannot see it is our duty or our interest to join in any war between Austria and Sardinia. (Applause.) I think it more important to dwell upon this point, because within the last forty-eight hours the Prime Minister of this country has come down to the House of Lords, and he has told us he has little hopes of the continuance of peace, and we must look forward for the period when we must be prepared to take a part in this conflict. (Cries of "no, no," and " yes, yes.") Now. gentlemen, I have had some practical acquaintance, and some personal inspection, of the dealings of the Austrian Government with Italy. A country more capable of pro ducing all that man can desire to assist him in all his wants, does not exist in Europe, than the fair fields of Italy. I believe the Italians themselves are a noble race of men, but by long despotism they may be for a time incapable of rightly enjoying full liberty. But they had had the experience of the little State of Piedmont, which had possessed for a period of nine years, a considerable amount of freedom, and had taken a very important part in the councils of Europe. I have seen that Austrian misgovern ment, that Austrian tyranny and despotism crush down the liberties of the Italian, from Naples to Lombardy, and I say that the evils of that country lie at the root of Austrian domination, and if any ministry in this country dare come down to the House of Commons and ask it to help in build ing up that despotism, I tell you at once that I will be no party to that. (Applause.) Now, gentlemen, I have another point— A Voice : That is Maynooth, I hope— and that is the second great principle which is involved in this contest. In the person of my honoured colleague, Mr. Brown, the electors of this division thought fit to establish the principle, that the great commercial and manufacturin g dis trict of South Lancashire, should have commercial and manufacturing men to represent it. The principle was first adopted in his person, and it has been continued since up to the present moment. The landed and territorial interests have, on this occasion, called in question this principle. They have said you are wrong altogether, and they ask us to go back to the old state of thine, which is worthy only of an agricultural district, and in their conclave put forward whomsover they think fit to appoint. I say were this an agricultural county, their arguments might be right and sound. But when I travel through the breadth of South Lan cashire, and see in every hamlet the large manufac turing and industrious establishments, when I see the magnificent town of Manchester and its vast emporium of manufactories, and when I come down to the still more magnificent port of Liverpool, and see its miles of docks and quays stretching along the Mersey ; when I know that there is no place in the world where Liverpool and Man chester are not known ; when I look at the industry of their artizans and the enterprise of their merchants, I say, if there be any county in England that should:have a representation who!sympathised by experience, and was practically acquainted with these interests, it was this county. This principle ought toie carried out, "air you are the men of South Lancashire that ought to insist upon it being carried out. I ask it, gentlemen, on no selfish. grounds ; if you have a commercial man, more adequate and better fitted to represent you than I am, I will give way to him. On the other hand, from the experience you have had of me while your representative, I hope I have not unfaithfully or inadequately performed those duties. (Hear, hear.) If you are pleased to place me again in the proud position of representing the most distinguished county, whether for its intelligence or its wealth, I think that while you are carry ing out the sound principle in representation, you will be returnin„o. a gentleman whom you will find as faithful to your interests, and conscientious in the discharge of his duties for the future, as he hopes he has hitherto been. (Great applause.) Mr. Pemberton Heywood was greeted with applause. He commenced by saying, —Gentlemen, you are aware I am no orator, and I shall not detain you long ; but on this occasion I am happy to inform you that I have made a very successful tour through many of the leading towns of the county, and from the enthusiasm with which I have been met leaves little doubt as to what will be the result. [A voice—You won't go up.] Mr. Heywood :It is quite clear, and it is desirable that we shouldhave a good Reform bill, and not a sham one. (Hear, hear.) It is alsu quite clear that we must employ those to carry it out who havelong served the cause of reform. I shall merely refer to the fact that I am for the £6 franchise for the county, and £lO franchise for the borough. In these days, when we hear so much of the competative examination, why should there not be a competative examination for voting ? Why should not men, who can stand an examination in arithmetic and in a knowledge of the his tory of their country, why should they not have a vote ? The merchants' clerks, who live in lodgings, they have no votes ; but if there were such a system of competative examination they would have votes. Then, I say, lam favourable to the ballot. lam aware that a number of men prefer to vote openly and in the light of day, but, I say, a great number will not do so. Where I reside, there are 19,000 voters, yet, at the late election, there were only between 7,000 and 8,000 to come to the poll. The shop keepers of London will tell you that they don't care much about voting, for they were sure to offend some parties, and for this cause I am an advocate for the ballot. lam also for the abolition of the church-rate. I shall say no more on that subject, for no one will accuse me of not being sincere. I shall not detain you much longer, for I have made three speeches to -day, and I am afraid I shall have to do the same to-morrow. To a person of my experience this is a great deal. (Laughter.) I hope you will do me the honour to elect me, and I will, I promise, serve you faithfully. But if, on the other hand, you should reject me, I will take it very easy, and I will retire to my farm, and like old, father Thames be content to glide pleasantly between the two banks. (Applause, and laughter.) If elected to fill the position which our chairman has held so long, and so honourably, I would have great pleasure in following out to a great extent the increase of the valuable institutions which he has given you. I cannot conclude without paying my respects to Mr. Brown and to express my regret that he has been obliged to retire and place me in this position. (Laughter.) But I will say that my reasons for coming forward was because it was said that the com mercial and manufacturing community would lose their interest, and that they would be superseded by two land owners, and if such a thing took place, it would be said you don't want commercial members to repre sent you, that you don't care about them, and that you are satisfied with landowners. It was said to me that I was moderate and not unpopular, and that I might be of use in fighting the battle, and I have now entered into it, and will take a fair stand and fight it to the last. (Cheers.) I have no more to say, except to urge that the voters among you use their best exertions, for I believe it will be all required. He did not think it right to leave the whole matter to committees and chairmen, but each voter should do what he could I will say no more, lam loosing my voice, so I must sit down. (Applause.) Mr. Gladstone came forward, and was about to address the meeting, when Mr. Owen rose in one of the upper boxes, and asked if opportunity would be given to put a question to the candi dates ? Mr. Gladstone said he would sit down till the question would be put and answered. Mr. Cheetham : I understand that there is some indi vidual in this assembly who wishes to put one or more questions to the candidates. (Great interruption.) Mr. Owen rose and was assailed with all manner of noises, such as " bravo," " put him out," &c. He proceeded to say, that he stood there, as a freeholder, by their own invita tion. He had been asked if he would be present there, and whether he would have his name on the committee to support them. He would say that he was one that gave a liberal vote, who had never voted, but with the liberal party. He had heard a gentleman mention the Corn League, and he was a member of that league, and an humble subscriber to it as long as it lasted. (Cries of " Question.") Well, the question he had to put was, if the candi dates would support the bill for the rating of national property ? and he felt bound to nut the question He did not like to take up their time, but he would like to know from the candidates what sound, just grounds, they had on which they could claim their support ? lie would say the rate was so small that they wanted, for the benefit of the poor, that it would not be 1-16th part in 20s ; and yet they were told that that would drive the trade away from the port of Liverpool ; but that was mere bosh. He would say, let those who got the lion's share of the profits pay their share of the rate. . He did not consider it would be right to go the poor men's hovels, and make them pay their one, two, or three shillings. His question was : Would they support that bill ? Mr. Cheetham rose and said : Gentlemen, the elector who has just sat down has only exercised a proper electoral right to put a question to those who ask his support, but I am sorry to say that he has committed an error in arguing the question, and if this were a fitting time and occasion, I would be proud to go into the argument with him, but it is not. A Voice : It is. Mr. Cheetham : What the gentleman has referred to is, that there has been a bill before the house for the purpose of rating Government property. Now, I should consider the question how far Government property A - Voice : What about Liverpool docks ? Mr. Cheetham : If you ask me if I would support a bill for the rating of Liverpool docks, I tell you that in time past I opposed such a bill, and should oppose such a bill in future. (Hear, hear, and hisses.) I know that in saying this, and taking such a course, I may appear to oppose your local interest here, but I am not the mere representative of the electors of Liverpool, but of the southern division of the county. lam bound to look to the interest of the many and not to the few. (Hear, hear.) And I would ask any gentleman here what would Liverpool be without her docks. (Applause.) Mr. Heywood said : Gentlemen, in reply to the question that has been put by one of the electors, I beg to say that I should be guided in this way. If there was a bill brought in for the rating of national property, I don't see why the docks—if they take in all the docks—l do not see any great distinction now between the Liverpool docks and the national docks. A Voice : You won't go up. Mr. Gladstone was loudly called for. He said—Gentle men, whilst I express myself as most grateful to you for this summons, I hope you will pardon me for suggesting that the usual course of proceeding on such occasions as the present, it would be better not to call upon any one such as myself to address you, but allow the business to proceed in the ordinary manner. A Voice : "Nix," there's Charley Turner. Mr. Gladstone : You have heard the addresses of the candidates, and a resolution is now to be proposed to you, expressive of the confidence which you ought to place in these candidates, and it will be for you to say what confi dence you place in them when you hear these gentlemen. Mr. Holland will now address you. Mr. Charles .Holland then came forward, and said he would not detain them long. He was about to move that the meeting give a vote of confidence in the two gentlemen now before them. (Cries of " blow your nose.") When he considered the importance of the constituency, the popula tion of upwards of a million and a half, who were now to be represented, he thought that .it was an insult to oppose Messrs..Cheetham and Heywood. Mr. Holland was so often interrupted that his speech was soon brought to a close, and he concluded by moving, " That it is the opinion of this meeting that Messrs. Cheetham and Heywood are fit and proper persons to represent the Southern Division of Lancashire in the Commons House of Parliament." Mr. James Ryley proceeded to second the motion. He was frequently interrupted by cries of " Shnt up," " Who combed your hair," &c., &c. He would not, however, be put down. He said he would not keep them long. H e would give them his reasons for thinking that the two gentlemen now before them were the proper persons to represent them. He would call their attention to the dissolution. It was said that the defeat of government on the Reform Bill was owing to faction. [A voice : " Don't tell lies.") He denied that it was faction. The immense progress of South Lancashire during the past few years was alluded to, and the speaker contended that this great progress s had been owing—not to a set of gentlemen every act of w hose life was in opposition to reform. The Conservatives thought that we were too prosperous —they wanted to put the drag on the wheel to prevent us going too fast. They were opposed to all reforms; yet, forsooth,they came out now as reformers. But reformers of what kind ? Look at the bill—is that reform ? That bill was brought in to keep the Derby Administration in place and power. We are, however, prepared to carry all the reforms necessary, hon estly and honourably. Fi_ e . concluded by calling upon the electors of South Lancashire to support the two business men now before them, and putting ,the resolution to the meeting It 11 Ili carried triumphantly. Mr. Robertson Gladstone then came forward, and watt received with loud cheers, and with considerable interrup tions. Owing to the noise which prevailed, he was very im perfectly heard in the beginning of his remarks. He was understood to say that the interruptions proceeded from the members of a party who professed a very wide extent of christianity, and boasted of religious qualifications far superior to those of any of their fellow men. (Cheers.) Although a very humble authority, he would venture to suggest, that one of the first of Christian duties was to act towards our neighbour as we would have our neighbour act to us. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) Addressing as he conceived he did, an asemblage o f Englishmen, he expected that they would, at least, he ar a ll t h at was to, be said, give it their attention, weigh it closely in the balance what was good in it retain, and what was bad reject. (Hear, hear.) He appealed to their friends on the right, for the sake of order and decency and of common respect for their human nature, that however indifferently they might esti mate the individual addressing them, and he claimed no superior merit, and, in all human probability, was not as good as any one of those he was addressing, they should, at least, in the spirit of fair play and of righteousness, give him that hearing which, as a member of the community, he had a right to demand at their hands. (Cheers.) H e h a d no personal interest in advocating the cause of the people. (Cheers.) He left his home, his trade, and his occupation to advocate principles, because he believed they tended to the good of the many, and not merely of the few ; and if they thought he was their enemy, if they thought he sought for things which selfishly concerned himself, - and excluded them from the pale of the same advantages, then they ought to bid him at once to cease from his occupation. (Cheers.) He feared that—although he had been very kindly invited to address them, he had perhaps little matter which they would consider worth giving an ear to. He did not need to retrace the steps which had been taken, especially by Mr. Cheetham, with reference to the reform bill which had been prepared by her Majesty's late govern ment, •of which Lord Derby was the head. To a very ordinary intellect that measure spoke for itself ; and if, after conscientiously reflecting upon it, they were of opinion that it contained any provisions which were satisfactory to them, and which were calculated to work for the public good, keeping in view the interests of themselves and of those who were to succeed them, it was unnecessary for him to say another word. But if, on the contrary, they believed that it was a gross fraud upon the people—(cheers) —that it was an attempt to monopolise votes for those over whom the government had a control, at the expense of those over whom they had no control, and so to obtain a pre ponderance, then he called upon them to unit e with him in taking such steps as would thwart the inten tions of the Government, and at the same time point to the whole world the conduct of those who would deprive them of the privileges to which they had an undoubted right. (Cheers.) In doing so, they should at the same time proclaim to the world that they would not submit to any measure becoming the law of the land which did not contain in itself a full and ample security that the people of the country should have a substantial representation, such as would entitle them to speak with freedom the sentiments they entertained, and would give them those salutary laws which they demanded for themselves, and required to see carried out for the good of the country. (Cheers.) Permit him for a moment to dwell upon the question of the ballot. Individually and without any hesitation he at once declared himself a sincere advocate for the ballot. He knew they had a very strong party to contend against. It consists of the more wealthy classes of society, who enjoyed certain annuities in their own clubs, and similar institutions if they deserved such a title. The ballot was adopted there, and why was it adopted ? It was for the purposes of hypocrisy. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) A member of a club observed that there was a party applying for entrance into the club of which he was a member. " Oh," he says, " this man i s a vu l gar fellow, he springs from the ranks"—any one of you (pointing to the audience. Cheers). "He was one of the unwashed; be was not fit to show up ; he was no society for him," and he had not the honesty or the courage to tell him so, and, therefore, bbhind his back, without letting him know that I am his bitter foe, he would assume a mask of friendship and continue on the best of terms with him, but when his back was turned he would vote against him. That was the use of the ballot made by those who desired to withhold it from the great masses of the people. That was the picture on one side. Now let them look on the other. The great masses of the manufacturing and trading classes of Great Britain, did not want the ballot for the purposes of hypo crisy, but they wanted it to defend their social rights, to stand between them, and to be a guard to them, precisely in the same manner as a police officer stood between the innocent and the parties who were desirious to assault the innocent. The opponents against whom they had to contend, were, in plain words, the members of the aristocracy. He did not profess to separate the community, and say which part was the aristocracy, and which was not, but if any class of the society, aye, if any man professed to tell him that he was better than his fellow man, he would say to him, show him the credentials. (Great cheering.) He turned again for a moment to the Reform Bill, although it might be considered, and he believed it was considered in the world, that he was a very advanced Politician or what was called a Radical. He remembered from his early school associations, that the term Radical meant something which had direct reference to the root of an evil. He asked any gentleman present, connected with the medical profession particularly, whether lie was able to deal with a disease he had not absolutely to go to the root of it ? One of the accusations held out by those who sup ported the Reform Bill was that those who opposed it bad a tendency to universal suffrage ; and if he should ever live to see a real reform bill introduced, which was very doubtful, they, judging by the rate . at which reform advanced in this country, each measure taking about a quarter of a century on an average, nothing would delight him more than to stand forward in a public meeting, and propose universal suffrage. (Great cheering.) By universal suffrage, he meant the right of a man voting, at twenty years of age, whose character was untainted by crime, and who in all other respects, by education and other circumstances, was, fitted to give a vote. In this world everything was pro gressive. In 1832 the Reform Bill, which they then obtained, was an advance on their former position, confor mably with their progression. They had advanced since that time in everything which was honourable, and therefore the period had arrived when they were entitled to enlarged privileges, corresponding to their increased education and advancement. Let them go on with their systems of education, let instruction cover the whole surface of the earth, let every man be raised in the scale of society, let him be taught so that he may be able to instruct himself, and to provide for the instruction of those for whom he was responsible. Let these systems be carried on, and no one would rejoice more heartily than himself, when the period should arrive which would at once prove the necessity of giving every man that constitutional right to which he had alluded—the right to vote. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) He denied the right of any man to withhold from his fellnn e - - e oil . Ts ar ; the same privilege which he himself j • Referrinngiadtoe by Mr. s Heywood, ome o f their eir Mr. opponents,G l a dstOn i e t le t t t i h ed a ( t the gentle manas- sertion Heywoodne e of hadhe anti-corn o selectedrn law league. was I P Pe t declared frward that a s a M a r o . by the people of Liverpool because of the excellence of his character, and his high position. He remarked that these opposing candidates set forth in their addresses that they belonged to the Established Church. With every respect for that church, he thought the irregularities and the various defects of that institution required a severe testing, and a close and searching reform. (Chears.) Tie desired to see the huge revenues possessed by its highest authorities given to those who held the plough. (Cheers.) He wished to see increased among its ministers the cultivation of brotherly love towards every sect, be that sect what it might. (Cheers.) After some further remarks urging the claims of Mr. Heywood and Mr. Cheetham upon the meeting, on account of their principles and character. Mr. Gladstone resumed his seat amid loud applause. Mr. Cheetham proposed a vote of thanks ttobteliceocmhpaliirmmeaill, which was carried by enthusiastic acclam a ti on. the Mmeetr. Brown ing then dispe haring bri rsed.efly acknowledged SOCIAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATION. We are compelled by pressure on our space, to hold over the report of the meetin g o f t h e Liverpool Local Committee of this Association. I n our nett issue we shall publish a full report. _ AN HONOURA BLE HONOURA BLE EXAMhe following notice has been posted b y an extensive employer in Bristol holding Conservative opinions :—" It is my particular wish, in refer ence to the forthcoming election, that every voter in my employ should use and give his vote with the same freedom I claim myself, and have no regard to the way in which I shall vote myself, one way or the other." AMERICAN THEATRICALS.—PiccoIomini and Ullman have had a quarrel, resulting in the breaking of the c ontract between them. The little prima donna is at New Orieans , conductor and will continue her concert tour with most of the members of the opera company. Mr. Muzio, beingmusical. is acting as interests during Piccolommi's engag ement , and the agent sent over by Mr. Lumley tot?o out for his Orleans Delta, business agent. Of Mr. Ullman t - e k n e ew says :—" The last which has a pique against the manager,as stowed away in an empty we heard of him was that he levee,bewlabelled ' this side up, with sugar hogshead on care,' preparatory to t shipment for New York as freight." an operatic manager more energetic It is all very funny to make jokes . about Mr. Ullman, but it will be difficult to find and able than he has been.