The Express.
London, England, 1864-01-30 00:00:00

This evening Mr. Bright was prceeut at a
*ark at the Royal Hotel. The large room in which the
poundings took place wee crowded. The chair WAS OCCU•
pied by Mr. limunar, the Mayor. After various ad-
dressee bad been delivered by local celebrities,.
Mr. W. MORGAI proposed " Success to the patriotic
labours of the numbing for this borough," whelk was re-
Mind with great cheering. Whew this had subsided,
Mr. /WONT proceeded to say that he had been oiled ear-
csatically by a gentleman to speak on " the bright side of
England," end this he proceeded for a short while to do—
ioatancing Roman catholic emancipation ; the Reform Bill ;
corporation reform ; the emancipation of the slaves ; the
new poor-law ; the abolition of the cora laws ; the com-
mercial treaty with Frame ; the repeal of the paper duties ;
and the extension of education, as all encouraging sign of
social or political progress. Referring to reforms still MOW
sary, he said :—" Thera can be no just government of Ireland
until you abolish the Irish pretestant church. (Loud and
continued cheers.) There have been no feelings in the history
of the world that have so dined men's love and so stirred
their hate as the feelings connected with their religious be-
lief ; and I say if there was ever an act at once unjust and idiotic)
oa the parted the English governance, it was to coatime.
Ironed a church assuming their owe national religious pro-
fession, but which was a church that never could call within
its fold probably more than about nee-tenth of the whole
people, and which from that day to thin has never ben Ale
'to convert—l wee going to eity—• angle Nal athdio to pre-
Urination—but has made catholicism not only etsitat 4
the people, but a patriotism—(loud cheers)—foe every ca-
tholic has not only bid the orifiniii reason
for adhering to his aleurch, which every. Man
has who learned the doctrines aid the Jeanine of his
church from his mother, but he his this further roma, that
the church which is smelt to be imposed upon him ie
imposed by another nation, and, to biro, an alien govern-
ment, and, therefore, every reverence fat God, and ' every
feeling of respect for free man, make biros resolved that he
wilt never come within the pale of sack a church as that.
(" Hear, hew,' and Mors.) I have but 01I• more quoin=
to inch upon, for it wend be wrong to pass it by at this
moment, and that is the question of foreign affairs and the
doctrine of non-intervention. Now the -people of England
will, nay, must, before long, make mp their mind on the great
question whether they will receive the doctrine
of son-intervention in its integrity, entirety, and con
pletems, or whether they will needp it when
convenient, sod repoillte it wbea their passions, are a
little stirred. Two sealant mindere of the present govern-
ment are men—one of them certainly ie • man who was in
office so lung ago as WOW years before I was born. He comae
down, then, (roma generation that has almost passed away.
Lord Palmerstoe„ the prime 'Meister, is that man, and Lord
Russell, although not amid, still goes back into that earlier
time. They are both laterally —I am not Minding it to
them as a wing. became possibly it wee what they could
Dot help—but they natnrelly kayo. ben saturated with the
thanes end doctrines which prevailed upon the
question of intervention in torero, affairs at the
beginning of this century. They may fumy, now
in their old ergo{ that which was taught them and
which wee monodist their math *as eight. Now, Meng
the time of the Italia war, the warlwhich was lately carried
on between the Emperor of the Freon and the lindleror
of Austria, which remind in great neaps is Italy. I went
one day daring that min of parliament to speed an hoar
with Lord Aberdeen: he had been prime minister sad
secretary for foreign affairs for many years—he Was a man
of sound judgment, of great modseatkin; and of many good
qualities, which 1 belies his political opponents did,
not thin it advantageous to give him credit for.
Ho spoke about the Mr that wee thee Waimea& between
the French and the Apstsiaas, and he said that when he
was yonog there wonl4 not han'been i'stetesman is Eng-
land of any pug who *cof have Meitned fork en&
moment to go into that waren the sided diment" molest
France, with the view a:stunting the increase of French
influence in Italy ; bat) said be /limpid. sad lailloanha it
was probably true, that s,"
tain:on had grown wiser since
that time. We did sot go into the war in Italy. Our
government did not take sides with Austria nor yet with
France. The people generally, I think, were rather in
favour of France, because they thought France was in (sync
of freedom in Italy; bat supposing this country bad goes
into that war, it is difficult to conceive that things would
have been better than they are now. Possibly they would
have been worse. Thousands of our countrymen might have
found unman the continue Great sea fights might have
takes place. The French treaty would mot have existed, and
the growing harmony between the two couatries would have
been miserably interrupted. (Hear, Mae) I will not go
back to the Russian war. You know the put I took on
that question. (Cheers.) I believe it is owing to the
part 1 took ou that cousion that I have the
honour of now being your representative. (Loud
cheers.) How you wen dragged or beguiled, or
excited, into that war by the statements of two aged minis-
tors who could have kept you out of it. 1 will Dot impute
to them other than perfectly honourable motives, but
saturated, as I say saturated mind with the doctrines
of a bygone time, a time I hope never to return, they
fancied that it was the duty of this small island to take are
of a rottes government, and of • country devastated by the
redeems sad corruption of that government at the extre.
mity of Europe, and the result was, that among the various
contending nations, at lead 400,000 men's lives were semi;
fiord, and probably as many millions of treasure, and, in-
stead of settling Europe on a permanent basis—for
they always tell you that they fight for the purpose
of obtaining a permanent peace, you find that Europe has
double the number of armed men, sod has doubled the mili-
tary expenditure. (Hear, bear.) I now come to another
gaieties. the dispute between Denmark and Germany. I
am one of then who are not disposed to sympathise with
those who wear crown when they are in troubles and diffi-
culties. We know that the difficulty which has overtaken
the King of Denmark is nob of his own creation. There
Ma been a difficulty for many years with regard to the
Benin, It has not been settled ; perhaps now it may be
settled, but I doubt extremely whether auy thing that Eat-
land could do by sending 15,000 men into Sleewig, and by
sending fleets into the North Sea, into the Baltic, and ioto
the Adriatic, would tend to the permanent settlement of the
queation.Questions of that oature are oulyperannentlysettled
when they are brought to a conclusion by them who are
deeply interested in them. We are not deeply interested.
I don't see that we are interested because the Prince of
Wales bee married the daoshter of the lung of Denmark.
I think nothing would be more unfortunate, and that
nothing could be more intolerable than that while the mem-
bers of the royal family of England are not allowei to
marry from English citizenship, Mt, marrying abroad, they
should therefore embroil Englishmen with quarrels of
foreign countries. I can imagine nothing likely to make an
Englishman doubt whether mid alliances can have any
pleasant interest in them, than that any such coarse should
be taken. We see statements in the pipers that the Guards
have received certain orders, and that the fleet U to come
to some place or other. These, I fancy, are mostly
mere feelers it may be, or blasters intended to
operate epee Austria gad Prussia, I cannot understand the
object of Austria and Prun► anima it be that they are
afraid of a revolution in Germany and are, therefore,
apparently taking the lead ia great operations which may
save them from that unpleasant change which they think
may be impending; but if 1 were speaking to the mem-
' bus of her Majesty's government 1 should remind them
of this,
that is 1853.1854 them were members of that
governmeat who talked about pesos. Mr. Gladstone in his
speech in Manchester, sod Lord Aberdeen, were heartily
wishing for peace ; so doubtless were the Queen and the
Priam ; and yet they went into war. Governments take step
which they fancy do not mean war, but they are gradually
brought nearer to the verge, and then on pretence that they
have gone en far that they cannot retract—cannot honer-
' ably retract--they plunge over into the shy.. On that
occasion they were members of the cabinet who had not the
slightest idea of going into war. There is a curious custom
is the English cabinet on which the public are not well in-
formed, but which I will explain. When a goverment is
formed, you see a list of 13 members, called the othiset.
They are manned to cabled meetings reader the name of
her Majesty's servants. But Miele is an inner cabion and it
is measly cooped .of the Prime Minister and the