The Express.
London, England, 1860-02-23 00:00:00

MANCHPATIR.

A special meeting 4;t' the city council was held
yesterday, to consider the propriety of petitioning the House
of Commons in support of the Budget and the commercial
treaty.
A petition in favour of three measures was proposed by
Mr. Alderman Nat c INs. He hailed them all 11111 earnest of
future exemption from International strifes, and expected
great advantage to all classes of our people, y the
labouring class, from the secession of 30 to 40 minima of
pee_ pie as new Customers for our productions. (Cheers.)
Mr. Alderman CLARK B seconded the motion. He remarked
that If this council, which on almost every occasion had peti-
tioned in favour of free trade measure', whether proposed by
the government or without Its ooaseat, were now to pass
over without notice the propositions of Mr. Gladstone, it
might well be said that Manchester, having already sot
what she wanted, had now changed her mind or become hi-
&herein to the beet interests of the country. The former
opponents of free trade amongst ourselves were guilty of
remarkable Meonalateney in their objections to this treaty.
They expected the French to make in a day the same pro-
gress in a new policy which it required agitation from 1826
to 1846 to bring about In our own case. (Hear, hear.) The
people of bleaches/sr had reason to be gratefal that the
treaty had beea brought about by a man of wham they were
so proud, and he hoped portrait of Mr. Cobden would
speedily adorn the walls of their town-hall. (Cheers.) It
was impossible to speak too highly of the wane adopted by
the French Emperor in a tannin which was not rivalled by
an act of any other monarch is Europe. (Chant.)
Mr. Alderman GOADOHY supported the modem, reoning
very much the enormous military estimate', for which, how-
ever, the present Chancellor was not respoesibie. He (Mr.
Goadsby) objected entirely to • the expression " lora ot re •
venue' applied to the Chancellors remissions, because It
was , all "gain ' to the consumers. (Cheers.)
Mr. Adahead, Mr. Rumney, and other gentlemen stoke is
favour of the budget as a wthile, while some of them objected
to detail'.

R. A. BARLOW and Mr. LAMS, as conservative,, de-
clared their approval of it In its main features, the latter gen-
tleman remarking that if those in higher quarters supplied
that the I! nnervatives of Manchester would join in a factious
opposition to the preaent ministry, they were very mach mis-
taken. (Cheers.) It was time to consider measures
more than men. (Chrert.) He had been no free-
trader himself, but he could not shut his eyes to
the benclicient eflervii of Sir Robert Pears policy,
so contrary to what had been predicted of it; and any
man who coon do so must be tither an idiot or a h ite.
(Cheers.) Ho gays the French Emperor all end t for his
present eisnifeetations of amity and enlightenment, but re-
membering the antecedents of the man—how he had broken
faith with others though not with as—and his enormous
armaments, we ought, while shaking him by the hand, to
keep him at arm's length. (Hear, hear.)
Some other speakers attributed the Emperor's improved
policy in some degree to the patriotic display of the volunteer
corps during the autumn.
lhe petition was unanimously adopted, together with a
resolution of thanks to Mr. Cobden.
A simlleration was adopted at a meeting of the town
council of s