The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-09-26 00:00:00

MR. W. J. FOX, M,P,, AT OLDHAM

Taking advantage of the presence of their respected repre-
sentative, who visited Oldham this week for the purpose of
assisting at the auspicious inauguration of the new building
for the Oldham Lyceum, on Monday, a meeting was arranged
and fixed for Wednesday evening, at the Oldham Town Hall,
where the honourable member would have an opportunity of
addressing the constituency, and giving an account of his
stewardship during the late parliamentary session. In accord•
ance with this arrangement, the electors of Oldham assembled
in considerable numbers, and about eight o'clock, when Mr.
Fox made his appearance on the platform, the Town Hall was
densely crowded. The hon. gentleman was accompanied by
Dr. Leach, who presided. lie began by remarking that the
session had not been productive of any great results ; they had
been waiting on Providence and Palmerston. He had to ex-
plain two or three of the totes he had given during the session,
and first he referted to the vote he gave in support of Mr.
Munlz's motion for a revision of the income tax. (Hear.)
He thought as that was a war tax it ought to be revised, and
it should still more be revised because it pressed unequally.
It was, therefore, that he supported Mr. Munlz's motion. One
other vote he also thettght it worth while to notice, was in

support of Mr. Miall's (the member for Rochdale) motion for
an enquiry into the ecclesiastical revenues of Ireland, with a
view to their redistribution. (Hear, hear) He took that
motion to be one of the most rematkab'e that had been made
in the House of Commons for a considerable period—it was in
eff s and in spirit a motion for the separation of the establish( d
Church of Ireland from the state. (17ear, and cheers.) That

was the short and the long
ever such an experiment could be tried under propitious
circumstances, it might stirely be tried in the present 0-
Ireland was ripe
e bigot-

And there was no doubt

in the sliter country

of antagonisms, and of
intolerance—for the proclamation of universal religious
equality and of universal religions liberty—(hear)—and where,
If ever such an experiment was to be tried, should it he tried,
if not in the country, where the established relicrion [vas_ after
Si!, a pitiful minority; in a country where the established
clergyman received his hundreds of pounds per annum for
indoctrinating some dozen hearers, while the Catholic priest
received only his doten ',Minds for teaching his two or three
thousand bearers; a country whero the experience of three
centuries was a sad brand of failure on the established church
—(hear)— a country where every church belonging to the
established church was in fact a monument of victory and of
insult to the great mass of the population—(loud cheers) —a
country where there could he neither peace nor rest until this
Monstrous nuisance was abated and settled ?) He did not
shrink from it therefore ; for if it Was not tried in this country,
it would bo tried in the colonies. They were in the state
in which these church and state discussions had already com-
menced. Their new legislatures were turning their atiention
to it. In Australia, in New Zealand, and in almost all the
colonies, the proportion of members of the Church of Eng-
land was only one in seven ; but the proportion of state profits
which they possessed was nearly one-half. The colonies would
not endure that. They would accept our bishops, but they
would pay them according to their estimate of their merits and
deserts, and according to the usefulness of their exertions upon
the Community. (Loud cheers). A religion to which no
more than one man in seven belonged, could never become
established as the one religion of that country. If England
was baCkward in making the eiperinient, her colonies would
soon teach her. Our children would be wiser than their
parents; and we should learn from them the principles
of universal religions freedom and universal religious
equality. (Hear hear). The honourable gentleman next
referred to the County Police Bill as a measure which had
some local interest. The bill was an extension of the system
of centralisation throughout the country, and lie felt it his
duty to oppose it in every stage. Another topic he wished to
advert to, which had a local interest—he meant the shipping
dues which were levied at the port of Liverpool. They
were, in effect, taxes upon them—taxes upon Alaneheater
—taxes upon the whole adjacent country. Every portion of
commerce which came through the port of Liverpool paid dues
to the corporation of Liverpool, which could not be regarded as
other than a general tax upon commerce. In the last twenty-
five years these shipping dues had amounted to no less a sum
than ono million and three quarters of money. (Hear ) Of
that large sum no more than £B,OOO had been expended for
the good of shipping ; and what had become of the rest ?
(Hear.) Why, the rest had watered the streets of Liverpool ;
it had embellished public buildings ; it had erected a magnifi-
cent music hall. (Hear, hear.) There was a sound of discord,
and not harmony, at the mention of that music hall. (Cheers.)
And what was the claim for these ? Why, a grant by charter
of Charles I. ; Charles t. who lost his heart by trying to tax
the people wit'iout the consent of the representatives of the
people. (Hear.) And what was the amount of that grant at
the time it was made ? It gave the borough of Liverpool the,
rates levied by Sir Richard Molyneanx, which amounted at
the time to £l4 6s Bd, and now the corporation of Liverpool
taxed the whole community to the tune of .£70,000 to
80,000 per tnnuno. (.4 Shame, shame.") Why, we rebelled
when a king attempted to tax us without the consent of our
representatives; and it would not be suffered that these dues
should continue to be levied by is corporation: The people
had always been jealous of this, that taxation and representa•
tion went together, and they had no representative in the
corporation of Liverpool. (Rear, hear.) Therefore, he said,
they would not be taxed by Liverpool. The contest had been
begun, and they had been thrown back for a session. They
might be thrown back for another session ; but the contest
had been begun, and it certainly would cont,

nue until the

commerce of this great district of country was entirely
emancipated from the self erected taxation of the borough of
Liverpool. In saying that little or nothing had been done
during last session, he had to make an exception with respect
to ono or two points which had been ascertained. It had been
clearly ascertained that the tories, Derbyites, conservatives—
call them what they would—could never govern this country.
In addition to that, it had been made clear 'hat some broad
hints had been given to Lord Palmerston as to the manner in
which he must set to the governing of the country, (Hear.)
When he spoke of conservatism, Derbyism, or toryisrn, he had
a right to ask what it was—where he might find the nattern,
the model? Was it the enlightened liberality of Lord
Stanley? If that was conservatism, then, he asked, in the
name of heaven, what was liberalism ? Was it in the intense
bigotry of Mr. Spooner? the vaccillation of Mr. Walpole? in
the defunct protectionism of the Marquis of Granby ? Was it
on either side of the struggle for leadership between Sir John
Pakington and Mr. Henley ? was it in the arousing
sarcasms, the captiousness, or the hitter criticisms and
astonishing gyrations of Mr. Disraeli ? (Laughter, and
" Hear.") Why, late in the session, on one of the last days
of the session, Mr. Disraeli, trying to hold together the patty
which was crumbling away, endeavoured to give it some
watchword by which it might rally—trying to hold the waver-
ing vitality of his followers, by professing to give what
he called the creed of Derbyistn, And what did it
amount to ? It consisted mainly of two articles, namely,
a negation of all reforms in this country, and a
sympathy with all the despotisms on the continent.
(Hear.) That creed was the condemnation of the party.
He had said that Lord Palmerston had received some intelli-
gent and significant hints. He referred to several divisions in
the course of the session, in which Lord Palmerston received
repeated warnings. His list of warnings to Lord Palmerston
ho then referred to. The first warning division was on the
ballot, which was lost by 113 against 153, a minority of 40
only, of which there were so many absentees that that li
minority could have been made into a majority. That was
an apparent indication that the people of this country will
bseo maed reforms;ded, a
large
rtghee they
extensionrequir e
ofm more
ng,
right of voting. The next question was one in which Lord
nfroetedboem coi
on tveontti tahoodu,t
Palmerston and the government were beaten ; that was the
question of the civil Service. An endeavour was made to
remove the civil service from parliamentary patronage, and
throw it open to competition. The' government was beaten
by 110 to 89, and although the public offices are not open to
all desirous of competing for them, yet nosy, to a certain extent,
they are removed from parliamentary patronage, and the
persons nominated to them are subject to and have liberty of
examination. This was a warning that the people of this
country desired administrative reform, and that the business
of the nation is to be conducted by men who understand
business not only in the higher offices, but in all departments
of the State. There was thus an end put to that system of
patronage by which those who gave away places obtained
votes, and by which the government obtained the votes
of those through whom the places are bestowed. The next
division to which he referred was that on the ques-
tion of the removal of the National Gallery to Kensington,
upon which the government was beaten by 155 to 147•
The appellate jurisdiction of the House of Peers was the next
warning. The House of Peers had endeavoured to limit the
royal prerogative by denying the right of creating life peers,
lest the Queen should send in more wisdom and more patriotism
than it would be convenient for them to receive in their house.
(Laughter, and cheers.) He would say with Shakspere, in the
" Merry Wives of Windsor," " What shall an honest man do
in my closet ? There shall no honest man come into my
closet." (Renewed laughter and cheers ) While rejecting
this prerogative, the House of Peers attempted to set up a
claim to be the ultimate judicial court of appeal of the country.
A bill was prepared and passed the Home of Lords ; it then
came down to the House of Commons, was carried through
the second reading, referred to a committee of the house and
shelved, and now the Houses of Lords and Commons have
these hopeful things to fight out next session, viz., to give the
country a high court of appeal, and to decide whether the Queen
can create peers who shall be peers by right of their personal
tmheeririt,rea;nantinoottsh,e ftthers of legislators for a hundrel genera-
tions. Ile then passed to the recent resignations of the Bishops
of London and Durham. He said two bishops had sent in
asthe twoN obwis,liopossfaeildt
the
eelllnasetlivrtetsl
tllhtilneggll for al to
the duties of their
office.
a
mars who could not perform the duties of his office was to
resign; the natural course of things would he that they should
give up their office ; but Ne,” said these bishops, "we will
not giro up our offices unless you give one of us £6,000 a year
and a palace, and the other £4,000 a year." That had been
carried amid cries of shame which had reverberated through
the country, and had done more to damage the cause of the
establishment than any thing else could have done. Referring
to the peace he said, technically speaking, its objects have been
accomplished. Turkey was now safe, and had only to work
out her own regeneration. Russia had recently manifested a
pacific disposition, more especially by the exhoneration of the
country from conscription. He did not complain of Lord