The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1884-10-11 00:00:00

MR. CHAMBERLAIN IN THE
POTTERIES.

On Tuesday evening Mr. Chamberlain addressed a
great meeting at Hanley, held in connection with the
assembling of the National Liberal Federation in the
Potteries. The building in which the evening meet-
ing was held is one capable of accommodating about
4000 people, and it was quite crowded. Amongst the
mottoes displayed in the hall were "We will have
the vote," "We welcome Chamberlain, "Moderate in
our strength." On nearly every pillar was the
quotation, " 'Tis Liberty alone that gives the
flower of fleeting life its pleasure and perfume,
and we are weeds without it." In the interval
between the opening of the doors and the
commencement of the speaking the audience,
led by a choir, indulged in the singing of popular
airs with words suited to the purposes of the meeting.
The chair was taken by Mr. Peake, President of the
Stoke Liberal Council, and among others on the
platform were Mr. Kitson (president of the Federa-
tion), Mr. A. Illingworth, M.P., Mr. Craig, M.P.,
Mr. Henry Broadhurst, M.P., Mr. Rowley Hill, M.P.,
Mr. H. Lee, M.P., Mr. E. H. Carbutt, M.P., Mr. A.
Brogden, M.P., Mr. Jesse Collings, M.P., and Mr.
Schnadhorst. Upon Mr. Chamberlain entering the
hall he was received with loud cheers.

The Chairman having opened the proceedings, Mr.
Kitson moved a resolution welcoming Mr. Chamber-
lain, and through him assuring Mr. Gladstone and
her Majesty's Government of their unabated emu-
dence and support.
Mr. C. Stuart (president of the Hull Liberal Coun-
cil) seconded the resolution, which was carried with
enthusiasm.

When the resolution of welcome to Mr. Chamber-
lain and of confidence in the Ministry was carried, it
was some time before the right hon. gentleman was
allowed to proceed, the audience insisting upon
following up the chorus, "Lo, the conquering hero
comes," with "He's a jolly good fellow." Mr. Cham-
berlain referred to the great wave in favour of the
extension of the franchise which was passing over the
country, and said the opponents of it were simply
struggling against popular rights. Re did not
believe that the Tories would be able to divert public
opinion by Saturday meetings and cake and ale.
Fireworks and juggling had saved the Tory party
before now, and though great landowners were better
migaged in opening their parks to the public than in
enclosing commons, the attempt to get working men
to sell their birthright for a mess of pottage would
prove a dismal failure. With regard to the Fran-
chise Bill, the tardy conversion of Tories to it
proved that they were not sincere. In conclu-
ion, Mr. Chamberlain said: Lord Salisbury in, I
think, his last speech, maintained his contention
that the two bills should be considered, and
should be passed simultaneously; unless we pro-
duce a redistribution which is satisfactory to him he
says he will refuse to allow the extension bill to pro-
ceed, and he will endeavour to force a dissolution
upon us. Now, gentlemen, to yield one inch—(great
cheering)to such an arrogant proposal would not be a
compromise; it would be a surrender. (Hear, hear.)
I think you know Mr. Gladstone well enough—(aye,
aye, and cheers)—to believe that he is not the man
to put his hand to the plough and then to turn back.
He, at all events, is not likely to betray the trust
which has been reposed in him. Then, is any settle-
ment at all—any amicable settlement at all possible?
Ido not say it is not. It depends upon whether the
question which one divides us from our opponents is one
of principle or one of procedure. With Lord Salisbury
it appears to me it is a question of principle, and as
long as he maintains his present position the transac-
tion with him is impossible. But there may be
men in the Tory ranks who have followed him
with some reluctance, and who would not follow
him at all if they could feel sure that the scheme
of redistribution whieh we shall produce would be
a fair scheme, and that it would not be an ingenious
device for manipulating the constituencies in the into
-
rests of any political party. They might desire to
know that it would be a scheme which would proceed
upon the ancient Maus and upon the old precedents,
and which would at any rate approximate a state of
things under which a more equal value than at pro-
sent should be given to every vote; and I can
only say to such a desire as that it seems to me
every attention should be paid. I think the Govern-
ment may give every assurance and every informa-
tion which is fairly required to satisfy such. demands,
provided that it does not jeopardiee our main pur-
pose or do anything to imperil the .success of the
Franchise Bill. (Cheers.) The prime condition must
be that the Franchise Bill must pass. We cannot play
with the rights of 2,000,000 of people. (Cheers.) We
cannot tamper with the hopes which have been ex-
cited. It is Mid that the Lords will not give way. I say,
neither will the people submit. (Cheers.) We are in
favour of government by the people, and we repudiate
the presumptuous claim to usurp the prerogative of
the Crown to degrade the House of Commons, and
to humiliate all who bear the name or claim the
rights of free men. (Cheers.) We grudge the Lords
nothing that rightly belongs to them, nothing that
they can enjoy without injury to others, their rank
and titles, their stars and garters—(laughter)—any
influence which their personal qualities can gain for
them, any power that they may secure by long pre-
scription and station, but their claim to dictate the
laws which we shall make or the way in which to
govern ourselves, to spoil and delay and even to re-
ject measures which have been -demanded by the
popular voice, which has been passed after the dis-
cussion by a majority of the people's House and which
have received the sanction and confirmation of popular
assemblies such as those, that is a claim which is con-

trary to reason,which is opposed to justice,and which we
shall resist to the death. (Loud cheers.) The Govern-
ment have dono their part,—(cheers).--the Prime
Minister above all—(renewed cheers)—and he has
stated the issue with moderation, and yet with firm-
ness to the nation. We appeal to the whole nation,
not to the limited electorate to which Lord Salisbury
would have us address ourselves, although even from
those, at the proper time, I doubt not, we shall have
a worthy reply. (Cheers.) We appeal to every
citizen of this imperial realm who is subject to its
obligations, who shares its fortunes, who inherits its
historical fame or contributes to its present greatness.
All are interested in the common weal, all are entitled to
a voice in its administration; and if they demand it,
if they are resolute and steadfast, there is no magic
in rank or title, there is no power in any class or in
any party potent enough to keep them from their
own. (Loud cheers, amidst which the right hon.
gentleman resumed his seat.)

An overflow meeting was held in the Tontine-
street Circus while the principal meeting was pro-
ceeding. About 4000 persons were present. Among
the speakers were Mr. Joseph Arch, Mr. Broadhurst,
ALP., and the President of the Board of Trade. Mr.
Chamberlain, who was enthusiastically received, said
the House of Lords had thrown out the bill because
they were afraid that in a certain very improbable
event the 2,000,000 of men in whom they professed
to have the deepest confidence would have a chance of
voting upon the question of redistribution, and they
believed that these men were so misguided as to vote
for some detestable fraud which the Opposition were
inclined to attribute to her Majesty's Government,
and by which those proposed to be enfranchised
would be the chief sufferers. He regarded this as a
miserable trick to cover the real reason which the
Tories had not the courage to avow; they would not
give the franchise with the one hand unless they
could take it away with the other. The House of
Lords was sometimes described as an independent
House of Legislature, hut it was not independent.
It has become, as far as its majority was concerned,
a mere branch of the Tory caucus, a mere instru-
ment of the Tory organisation, and it did what the
wire-pullers of the Tory party suggested. (Cheers.)
It was not because the Liberals suffered as a party
that they opposed the action of the House of
Lords, but because the country suffered. He attri-
buted the discontent in Ireland entirely to the action
of the House of Lords in refusing to do justice until it was
too late, and in refusing to grant equal rights until con-
cession had lost all its grace. (Cheers.) He was not there
to deny that under our constitution the House of
Lords had great rights, though he would say that it
must exercise its rights with moderation and discre-
tion, and if it did not the people would claim to
examine the authority upon which it was founded,
and would assent and maintain the inalienable right
of a free people to govern themselves, and to know
no other master than their own intelligible resolve.
(Cheers.) The right hon. gentleman then left the
bull, and was escorted by a torchlight procession to
e residence of Mr. Woodall, APP.