The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1865-07-11 00:00:00

SLR. MITCHELL'S ADDEMS

Att immense crowd assembled opposite the Bull
Hotel. on Wednesday evening, and precisely at seven
&clock the senior member, T. A. Mitchell, Esq., ALP.,
appeared before them, and was received with loud
applause. He addressed them as follows :
GrsrLzaazv,-t return you my most eincere thanks for
the very cordial reception with which you have just met
me. The time has now come for me to ask again for a
renewal of the confidence you have bestowed on me in
returning me as your member for five successive Parlia-
ments. I hope that during that long period I have
done noting to forfeit your confidence. ( A pplause.)—
At any rate I am satisfied in my own mind that, from
the first hour I became your representative to the last, I
had but one thought, not my own interest, or the pro.
motion of the interests of any onebeingoonnected with me,
but the general good of the country, in which you are
individually interested. I Khali not trouble you with
every detail of the six years' Parliementary proceedings,
but I may remind you that when I was here in 1859. I
was blamed by some of my friends for being disposed to
allow the Reform Bill introduced by the Conservative
Ministry to be considered in Parliament. I thought
then, that looking at the interest of the country and the
probability of getting a ,Referea ill, it was the best
course to let that Bill go into a oemieittee of the House
of Commons, there to squeeze (intik& tile-then Govern•
merit as much as could be got in the shape of Reform.
(Hear, hear.) That opinion has not changed since, but
I shall speak of Reform hereafter. You then, not-
withstanding that slight feeling returned me again, and
by the time that Parliament met I had to consider another
position of affairs. In the interval a war had broken
out on the continent of the greatest importance •
war between Austria on one side, and France and Italy
on the other. The oporesser against the oporeesed and
the defender of the oppressed. I regret that in that
interval between the elections and the meeting of Par-
liament, the Government of Lord Derby had committed
' itself to a considerable extent to the unpopular side of
the question, viz., that of the Austrians—the oppressors.
I do not say that Lori Derby, of whose patriotism I
have no doubt, would have allowed the country to have
been dragged into warns the side of Austrie, but Ido
nay, that on the a-semhling of Parliament we had to
consider whether it was right to keep into power a
Government that might have committed us to war in
defence of oppression, against powers of all others, such
as France and Itrly, the latter of which was seeking to
deliver itself. Upon that ground, distinctly, I gave my
vote to expel Lord Derby from power, and nothing has
since occurred to make me regret it. On the contrary
I think I shall be able to detail to you many benefits
you have derived from the change of Government.
First, and very shortly, let me take the foreign policy
of Lord Palmerston's Administration ; primary as
regards Italy. We were all anxious to see another
free power on the Contioent of Europe, having
had quite enough of military despotism there. I
believe this country had great influence in effecting that
fortunate result. You have had, I believe, more than
one among you who joined General Garibaldi. (Hear,
hear and laughter.) Had it not been for the moral
support, and, I believe, the physical support our
Government would have given to him, he would not
have succeeded in releasing Southern Italy from the
despotism of King Bombs. By our policy in regard
to American affairs we happily steered clear of committ-
ing ourselves in that dreadful war. lam not, perhaps,
called on to give you my opinions on that war, yet I
hive no hesitation in telling you that, from the first
hour of it to the last, I have been in favour of the now
successful United States, and why? because I detest
and abhor, from the bottom of my soul, that slavery
which was the entire cause of the war. (Applause.)
With regard to the remainder of our foreign policy,
I cannot say that I was overpleased with the result
of our conduct in the Danish war of last year. I
think we ehould not have gone to war, but I consider
that we ought not to have volunteered so much advice
as we did. (Hear, hear, and much applause.) Enter-
taining that feeling, I think the less we meddle with
the affairs of the Continent of Europe the better,
because I consider that when we do interfere we ought
to be prepared to back our opinion with something else
—with the mord. (Applause.) Now take our home
policy. During the last six years, the taxation of the
country has been reduced £12,000,000, and that sum
has been fairly distributed—partially amongst people
possessing property, or struggling to possess it, and
partially amongst the working classes.. The reduction
of the Income-tax from 7d. to 4d., and the partial
abrogation of those duties which were pressing upon
nearly every householder in the county—the duties on
butter, cheese, egg., lee., have been entirely removed ;
the tax on sugar has been materially reduced, the duty
on tea from 2a. Id. to 6a. ; all enormous boons to the
working-classes of the country, of whom as large a pro-
portion of this constitutency is composed. People of
property, and tradespeople have been considerably bene-
fitted by the reduction of the Income-tax. The taking
off of #112,000.000 sterling of taxes, and the reducing
of the national debt by £10,000,000, I consider to be very
considerable results. The hon. member then spoke of
the establishment of poet-office ravings' bank, Govern-
ment assurances and annuities, the manner in whish the
distress in Lancashire was borne by the operatives, and
the relief afforded them, and the Union Chargeability Bill,
which, he remarked, would relieve the towns at the
expense of certain landed proprietors who were starving
labouring people out of their homes. All there measures
bad been passed by the Government of Lord Palmerston.
He believed that the noble Premier was perfectly pre-
pared to go as far in liberal measures as he conceived
the country would permit him. Mr. Bright, in an ad-
dress at Birmingham, had stigmatized Lord Palmerston
as an anti•reformer and a Tory. That, said Mr.
Mitchell. I entirely disolaim. I think he is perfectly
prepared to move ; but it is you, gentlemen, who must
first express your will for an extension of the franchise,
before any Prime Minister will brim; forward the subject.
in the future I have great confidence in Lord
Palmerston. It is true that he cannot last many years,
mini what may occur then I cannot, of course, say. If
I am returned, then, it will be perfectly independent of
party. I have one duty to perform, to promote the
general good, and that, I believe, will be best done by
constant yrorrese. Constant progress in trade, has
placed the coutrry in a more prosperous state than was
ever known before, and in which I believe this town
has largely participated; and constant progress in
legislation will, I believe, produce similarly happy
results. With respect to reform, the hon. member
expressed sentiments similar to those uttered by
his oolleague, and contended that there was no
occasion to fear revolutionary measures as the
result of a large extension of the franchise,
He thouet reform ought to be dealt with by
the Government, and that it would be better to
accept a small measure which could be carried, than
being contented with mere votes in favour of • large
measure that could not be carried. (Applause.) He
expressed himself in favour of an increase of Govern-
merit aid to education, especially to the 6,000 agri-
cultural parishes now receiving no assistance. He
would continue to vote for the abolition of Churoh-
ratea, which he believed would be advantageous to the
ratablishment. He was a supporter of all measures in
furtherance of civil and religious liberty. In conclusion
he thanked his constituents for the confidence they
had hitherto reposed in him, and said, if reelected it
would be his endeavour to continue to merit their
support.
Much cheering followed the hon. gentleman's address.