The Express.
London, England, 1867-04-23 00:00:00

THE COBDEN STATUE AT MANCHESTER.

The ceremony of inaugurating the statue of the
late Mr. Cobden, erected in Bt. Ann's-square, Manchester,
took place yesterday (Easter Monday). The proceedings
commenced with a grand procession of trades, temperance,
friendly, political, and other societies, with bands of
music, Ninners, &c., which started at two o'clock from the
stone flags between the Peel and Wellington statues in
front of the Royal Infirmary. The first division of the
procession comprised the trade societies, which included
the pattern makers, French polishers, tailors, saddlers'
society, amalgamated engineers, glass cutters, operative car-
penters and joiners, bakers, bruehmakers, bleachers,
boilermakers, brickmaken, braufounden, and book-
binders. The second division, consisting of friendly and
co-operative societies, included the Druids (75 branches),
with deputations from other societies at Rochdale, Colne,
Bolton,Rradford, Banoldswick, and many other towns.
The political societies included the Reform Union and the
Reform League, with deputations from nearly all the large
towns surrounding Manchester. The procession closed with
the temperance societies, which mustered in considerable
strength. The route taken by the procession was London.
road, Grosvenor-street, Oxford-road, Portland-street, Pic-
cadilly, and Market-street, to St. Ann's-square, a distance
of about two miles. While the procession was on ite route
some of the leading Mends and co-labourers with the late
Mr. Cobden in the free-trade movement assembled in the
Mayor's Parlour at the Town-hall, and amongst them were
Mr. Basley, M.P., Sir Elkanah Armitage, Mr. Henry Ash-
worth, Mr. Geo. Wilson (formerly chairman of the
League), Mr. Charles Cobden, Mr. John Stagg, Mr. Wm.
Shia, Mr. Hugh Meson, Mr. Whitworth, M.P., Mr. Jacob
Bright, Mr. Malcolm Ross (President of the Chamber of
Commerce), Mr. S. Watts, Mr. Francis Taylor, Mr. H.
Rawson, Dr. J. Watts, Alderman Crewdaon, and Alder-
man Romney. At 3 o'clock these gentlemen proceeded
from the Town-hall to a platform erected on the western
side of the square, in advance of the statue. By this time
the greater portion of the people who had walked in pro.
cession had assembled in St. Ann's-square, which was
densely filled with people. All the windows and the tops
of many of the buildings were also crowded, a great number
of ladies being amongst the occupants of the windows.
The Mayor presided at the ceremony, and the proceedings
commenced with a report of the Memorial Committee,
which was read by Dr. Watts. The purport of the report
was that the Cobden Memorial Committee was constituted
at a public meeting summoned by the mayor (M. Bennett),
in April 1865, when it was agreed to erect a statue, and
opinions were expressed to the effect that any surplus
fund that might be obtained should be devoted to educa-
tional purposes. The total subscription amounted to
4,4601. L.h. 3d. The committee selected Mr. Marshall
Wood as the sculptor, who prepared the statue at a cost
of 2,5001., and 1,250/. had been given out of the surplus
fund to endow a chair of political economy in the Owen's
College, Manchester, leaving 7681. to expend in prizes for
teachers and pupil teacher.. The report having been read,
Mr. Geo. Wilion addressed the aseemblage, briefly to
upon the principal events of the demised states-
man's life, and the statue was then unveiled amidst
great cheering. The figure is an exceedingly fine,
clear, massive bronze casting of a very superior
quality of metal, and represents Mr. Cobden in the
attitude of addressing the House of Commons. The
sculptor had mainly given his attention to ideal works,
and this, we believe, fs his first attempt at portrait *cult-
ture. In selecting the pose be was desirous of placing his
subject in an argumentative rather than a declamatory
position, and all who have yet seen the figure agree that he
has been happily successful in his object. The likeness is
also pronounced to be exceedingly good. The figure is ten
feet high. and stands upon a lofty equate pedestal, in each
face of which are large slabs of polished granite. The face
of the figure looks towards the front of the Royal Ex-
change. After Mr. Wilson had addressed the assemblage
Mr. Barley and several other gentlemen said a few words,
and this terminated the proceedings. The weather was
fine, and the number of people attracted into the town
by the inaugural ceremony was very great.

SEVERE GALE AT LIVERPOOL—A very severe
gale. accompanied by heavy showers of rain, swept over
Liverpool from 10 o'clock on Saturday night until an early
hour on Sunday morning. Mr. Hartnup, of the Liver-
pool observatory, states that the horizontal motion was 62,
and at 4.30 a.m. on Sunday, the pressure was 361 b. to the
square foot. During the greater part of the storm the wind
blew from the west to west by north, and fortunately
it was so, otherwise the shipping outside the port would
have no doubt suffered severe damage. Inland, however,
the storm was felt with much severity, and several splendid
obis in Shisl-park were blown down.