The Express.
London, England, 1853-02-05 00:00:00

scale. You all remember the Tahiti na qu mei
took place with the French, and when the ter lilue of this
country were excited to such a degree th it I believe it
would have been popular to have taken up teats in defence
of Tahiti. What.; gentlemen, would have been the pieta-
niary loss if that had been done ? Why, millions of money
could not have replaced what might have Mee destroyed
in a single night. Is it worse, then, to leave our govern-
ment arsensls in a defenceless state ? And what would be
the loss to us if by chance some 5,000 Frenchmen landed
on the coast of Sussex? Why, the very htuali sum of
money needed to prevent this would be cheap expendi-
ture of the national funds. We have at pr.sent some
30,000 men, while in France they have 200.000, and meant
of transit are not difficult to procure. I don't Say this
will be done. I hope and believe it will nit ; bee it would
be unwise in us as a nation not to ho prepared to meet it
should such a thing happen. (Hear, hear.) I am, there-
fore, as I have said, %gaited all measures which look like
aggression, but in favour of all measures which will give us
adequate means to repel insult or injury. (Hear, heat)
I believe then that the putting of our shores in an adequate
state of defence is one of great necessity. lam not in this
pointing to any street increase in our expellees, fur I say I
would do nothing which Melts like aggression, or which can
give just offence to any nation in the world ; I limit myself
entirely to those things which arc necessary for the defence
of our own shores and our own country. We have, as I have
said, improved the natterial condition of the people, and it now
behoves us to look to their intellectual welfare; and lo,king
to this as we ought, there is, I believe, but little Inuit to be
placed to the prosperity to which this country may eventu-
ally attain. (fleet., hear.) By the legislation of east years,
the restrictiens which fettered our industry have been re-
moved, those provisions in our comditu•ion, whidt excluded
some of the best iron political power, have been amended,
and those trannuels which religious bigotry imposed upon
some of us have been taken away ; we are, therefore, in
a much more favourable position for securing praetieet
improvement than wo have been, and if wo can only edu-
cate the people and bring their intellectual superiority
up to that which is enjoyed by them in their material
welfare, I see no reason why the Eng! •nd of our
childrea may not be as superior to our Etigheid as ours
is to the England of our fathers. The principles which
we in this room profess are those of steady, permanent,
perpetual, cell-advised, and well-considered petress.
(Hear, hear, and applause.) Your principles have now be-
come popular front having been depreciated in periods of
old, and I hope, by the blessing of God, that this country
may be raised to a still higher state of superiorey than it
has yet enjoyed. Such is my earne4 wish and prayer, and
when this happiness and prosperity shall be realised, I trust
that this town, with which I have been so long and so in-
timately connected, may °Main and presei ve its full sham
of it for ever and ever. (The right hon. barouct resumed
his scat amidst loud and prolonged cheering.)
Mr. CROSSLEY having also addressed the assembly, seve-
ral other toasts were proposed, and the proceediegs which
went off very satisfactorily, did not terminate uutil twelve
o'clock at night.