The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1887-10-08 00:00:00

MR. GLA.DSTONE ON THE LIBERAL
UNIONISTS.

A deputation from Kidderminster waited on Tues-
day on Mr. Gladstone and presented him with a
carpet made from the wool of sheep fed on the
Queen's farm at Windsor. In the course of his speech
returning tl-anks, the ex-Premier referred at some
length to the Liberal Unionist party, and traced the
history of "caves" from the days of Mr. Fox. That
truly admirable man Mr. Burke and other great men
(remarked the right bon. gentleman) dissented from
Mr. Fox in regard to the Revolutionary war. They
were acting conscientiously and to the best of their
ability, hut which of us is there that doubts for a
moment that they were egregiously wrong, and
that Mr. Fox, whom they abandoned, was admirably
right. It was a greater question, perhaps, even than
the Revolutionary war, but we had a cave in 1861.
I have good reason to recollect it, because I was then
serving under that almirable man, Lord Russell, who
was leading the Hou.e of Commons. That cave
turned us out because we proposed a moderate Reform
Bill, which I am almost inclined to call scandalously
moderate. We were governed by a love of peace,
and wished to make it extremely moderate, with the
hope of appeasing our opponents. We utterly failed,
and you know what followed. (Hear, bear.) It is
a curious fact that there were a great number of men
—very excellent men in their way—who were inhabi-
tants of that cave, and I do not know whether you
have observed it, but I can assure you that every
surviving nobleman and gentleman who belonged
to the population of that cave in 1836, with OUt

single exception, belongs to the population of
the present cave. They have not mended their
manners. (Laughter.) They have gone back to
their old ways. (Hear, hear.) We had hoped that
they would learn better, but unfortunately the mis-
leading spirit has not gone out of them, and they are
swelling the cause of that body of gentlemen who are
extremely annoyed, many of them, if they are called
dissentient Liberals, who call themselves Liberal
Unionists, and require us to call them Liberal Union-
bits, in spite of what is a difficulty to some of us—
namely, that we are quite certain that in regard to the
Iri-h question they are not Unionists at all in the
tendency of their acts, because their policy, is to de-
stroy the Union. (Cheers.) With respect to their
being Liberals, we do not doubt their intention, but
we have very great difficulty in finding any definition
of the word Liberal that has enough inn iarubber in it to
stretch over than. (Loud laughter.) Well, gentlemen,
I have detained 3 on quite as long as I should have done
conformably with my ownview or with yourconvenienee,
but I venture to convey to you an expression of my
hcpe that you will lose no opportunity of giving effect
to the sentiments which have been laid before me
to-day. Gentlemen, this is a Coercion Government.
(Hear, hear.) Our contention all through last session
was that their object was not to repress crime but to
repress combination, to interfere with freedom of
speech, end likewise to repress freedom of public
meeting. (Hear, hear.) Ido not know what to say
about intimidation. I have seen in the newspapers
accounts of impertinent interference by police forces
with meetings intended to be held. I have never
used the word "impertinent" till this hour. I have
never opened my mouth in respect to the police
force in any place except to praise it. It is aßso-
ciated with all our ideas of public liberty and order.
(Hear, hear.) Therefore I will still cling to the hope
that we are misinformed, that there is a mistake
about it, that it cannot be true, for instance, that the
other day in one of the districts of London, at twelve
,'clock at night, two policemen called upon a gentle-
man named Lyons to demand of him whether he was
going to attend a public meeting, to demand of him
who were to be the speakers and what was the object
of it. (" Shame.") 1 will not believe them until they
are made known to me by evidence absolutely demon-
strative. There was an old proverb among us when
boys that, when one had said to you anything imper-
tinent you said, "There's the door, and your name
is Walker." (Laughter) In my opinion, these
words would be very applicable to any person
who acts in that way. I certainly would
invite the policeman to the meeting, and
I should be very sorry for the policeman,
t‘ecoluse I think he would be an unwilling agent in
executing an odious command. A policeman has a
perfect right to go to the meeting, and I would invite
him there. If they attend a Liberal meeting they
will get nothing but good there—(laughter and cheers)
—but undoubtedly this is a most extraordinary and
unexpected result of the proceedings of the last session.
We bad warned the people of England that the cause
of Ireland was their cause, but in giving that warn-
ing we did not expect the prediction to be so soon
verified. If I take this opportunity of saying a few
words about the police, I think it is very desirable
that those who have given these extraordinary in-
structions to the police—if they have been given--
should have an opportunity of either denying them,
if PI is a calumny—and I still hope it is—or to take
care not to repeat the unfortunate act which they
have committed—an act which is so gross an out-
rage, so odious in the sight of the people, so con-
tradictory to the whole spirit of liberty, and so
violently at variance with all the traditions of
England. (Cheers.) But if I looked upon it from a
merely party point of view I should say let them go
on, for the more of this they do the better and the
more rapidly they will bring about that which is the
great object, aim, hope, and desire of my life—the
satisfactory settlement of the Irish question. (Loud
cheers.)

MR. BRIGHT ON "FORCE A REMEDY."
A Liberal Unionist in Derbyshire having called Mr.
Bright's attention to the fact that the Gladstooians
stated that he could not support the Irish policy of
the Government, especially the suppression of the
National League, inasmuch as he had declared "that
force is no remedy." Mr. Bright replied as follows:
"Dear Sir,—l am not surprised at what you tell me.
The Disunioniste, whether under Mr. Gladstone in
England, or under Mr. Parnell in Ireland, are not
careful as to the truthfulness of their statements. They
quote my expressions of sympathy with the Irish people
in past years as justifying the demand for a Parlia-
ment in Dublin. They quote a passage from one of
my speeches, 'Force is no remedy,' which is quite
true now as it was true when I used those words.
Force is no remedy for a just discontent, but it is a
remedy, and often the only remedy, for the disorder
and the violence against which our laws are provided.
I supported the Acts of Mr. Gladstone% Government
in 1881 and in 1882 to put down the Land League
and the disorder in Ireland. I now support the
Government in their endeavour to suppress the rebel
movement of the National League, which is the Lund
'League under another name. My sympathy for Ire-
land was not born ot faction, and in a struggle for
office, and pay, and power—it was as strong as it is
now 30 years ego, before Mr. Gladstone, Sir William
Harcourt, or Mr. Morley and their noisy followers had
a word o say in favour of the Irish tenantry, or of
the sufferings of any portion of the Irish people. That
sympathy is not lessened in my mind, but is strength-
ened by recent events. We have delivered the Irish
tenant from all that was unjust and oppressive in
laws affecting his tenure of land. What wore is
needful, or most needful, is to set him free from the
wicked conspiracy which is leading him to dishonesty
and to crime. He is taught by the leaders of this
conspiracy that his true interest is to plunder his
Landlord and to cherish a bitter hatred of Englani ;
and industry and honesty and regard for law are not
only neglected, but despised and condemned. It
is this conspiracy which the bulk of the Liberal
party is now asked to ally itself with. Its leaders, for-
getting Whatever is honourable in its past history,
ask their followers to march in a path which can
lead only to party disgrace and national duaster.
I would save the Liberal party, with which I have
been much longer associated, and for which I have
worked more than any of its present acting leaders,
from the humiliation to which it is invited. And I
would, with my sympathy for Ireland, save its popu-
lation from the future conduct of the men who are
answerable for much of its present sufferings, and for
all the disorder by which it is now afflicted and die-
graced. There are 2,000,000 of loyal people in Ire-
land. Let us be firm in our resolve, if it be possible,
as 1. believe it is porsible, to save them from expulsion
from the guardianship of the Crown of the United
Kingdom, and from the shelter and the justice of to
Imperial Parliament. This is the answer I give to
the false and malignant aspersions by which I am
assailed, and to which you have called my attention
—I am, very truly yours, JOHN BRIGHT."