The Express.
London, England, 1861-01-03 00:00:00

Thu CASS or 111111 BOT MORTAIU.—A prelimi-
nary meeting of Jews and Christians wee recently held at
the Mansion-house, to receive a depetatioe of the Universal
Israelite Alliance from Paris. be eresequenoe of the abeeoce
on official business of the Lord Mayor, Sir Culling Eirdley
took the chair. The subject haring been introduced by the
chairman, the meeting was addressed by MM. S. Carralho
(ligenieor des Ponta et Clem:seem), S. Caber (Preferment de
Eeule Normale), N. Leven (Avocat ala Coax Imperial
de Paris), constituting the deputation from Preece ; b
M. Imam (member of the Board of Deputies of British
Jews) arid Hart (member of the Board of Delegates of
Armada Jews), end by Signor Fermodes, on the part of
tJews of Italy. It was stated that the Board
Deputies cd the British Jews had met on
the peerioes Xi to maim the French clop--
U MW, bet thmd, to the absence from illness of the
Eitg"Sir Mem d ontefiore, the decision on the sub-
.l
Mortara had been deferred for • few days. After a
cenvereatios, characterised by harmony of feeling, it
was manimously resolved —" I. That we, Christian and
Jews el England, Prance, Italy, and America, having heard
the rises entertained by the Universal Israelite Alliance
mecieraieg new Worts to be made for the restoration of the
child Adger MONISM to his parents, take this the earliest
aity of meting urea record our united conviction
awe
canes is me which, at the right tune, and in the
nes af the right means, it is our duty to resume. 2. That
mime as the Heard of Deputies of the British Jews shall
have CMG lea eseciatioe neon their line of duty the Pre-
sident el the Dad at Deputies sad the chairman of the
pies
Ham
be lerteelett to obtain the cement of the
teed Mayer for a firdermeeting, to be held in the Ma e-
sierheme. 3. That owe beat Urals be offered to the Lord
Maser tee Its kindness I. *Bowleg the use of the Messina,
home he the peoleat needs i."

STROUD, WIDYEIDAT.
The Right Hon. I. Borman, the niewber for
this borough, met a huge body of the electors and non-
elector, this afternoon, in the Subecriptiosa Rooms, for the
of giving an areourit of his stewardship, tie -
tending Lu nTirg himself against the yarrows charges of •te
which Gave been br•oegbt spinet ham lFca m.a
in come-eon with the
coarse pursued by bits during the last magnum.
Captain H.eihrwer.c presided, and briefly opened the pro-
ceedings by requesting that a fair bearing should be given
to the hon. member, as well es to say other gentleman
who might desire to address the meeting.
Mr. Hommas onnumeemed bie speech by observing
that since he last hail the honour of meeeing hie con-
, stitnenta political events of Inman:a importance had
occupied the public mind, and events of still greater impeet-
ante might occur before the lapse of soother year. At
home we had many %/resettled qnestiota to deal wide—finale
cial dmlHcultics, itiereesal talatim, a disorganised latha-
. meat, a ministry entire') divided against itself, and, as a
consequence, every greatqUenbion of principle it policy was
degraded into a compromise. (Haar, hear.) Abroad we
had every cause for thankfulness that we had just exiled
the calemittaus Chinese war. But there was another war,
nearer home, for which the note of preparation had
already been sounded, and when that war should break out,
the interests of England in the Adriatic would take her
into the thickest of the fray. Never did he remember a
parliamentary recess in which it bad been more the duty
of represesdatives to meet and take council with their con-
stituents, not only as to the past, but with regard to the
future, in order that we might re-affirm the principles on
which our administration should be conducted at home, and
what was not less important, declare unmistakably the
policy which in the face of Europe every elector should
support to discharge England's high responsibilities
abroad. (Hear, hear.) In reviewing the business of
the last session, it was his intention to notice the
events in the order in which they had occurred. When
he last bad the pleasure of meeting the electors
the all-absorbing question was that of parliamentary reform.
That was a question on which candidates and cabinets were
alike to be tented. On parliamentary reform the ministry
of Lord Derby was defeated and expelled. On parliamen-
tary reform the House of Commons was dissolved. On puha-
mastery reform the new cabinet was constructed. Parlia-
mentary reform was their special mission—a comprehensive
reform bill, that was the slang phrase. A large and com-
prehensive reform bill that should throw into the shade the
lilliputian measure of Lord Derby was the one pledge and
purpose of its creation, and the condition and end of its ex-
istence. Two serious had now passed away, but where was
the reform bill ° In what corner of the constitution
were the promised thousands of new electors to be found
What service to the cause of reform had been rendered by
Lord John Russell's legislation ? The unscrupulous machi-
nations and successful mateeuvres by which the public inte-
rests had been sacrificed to personal and private ends we're
fresh in the recollection of all present. Perhaps some of them
might be still weeping over the grave of their buried hopes,
and their feeling' he desired to spare as much as possible.
(Cries of "Oh. oh," and laughter.) The second question of
importauce in the session was the commercial treaty with
France, and on that subject be had exercised I ,
the same independent judgment as he had done I
on the question of reform, and with the mane results,
for many of those who at the outset most strongly s
condemned his opinions had since seen reason to modify
their own—(laughter)--aml he (Mr. Homan) need not
make any apology for alluding to that treaty'already although he
believed that marry of his constituentstitconstituentshad forgot-
ten all about it. (No, no.) He was certain that a large
number of them remembered it with perfect indifference,
but as he was addressing a commercial community with
whom the treaty bad been a matter of some interest, he
would endeavour to point this moral, that in questions of I
trade as well as of reform it was very dangerous to rush too I
impulsively into action on first impressions. (Hear, bear.) I.
That treaty was recommended on two grounds—
first, as a commercial transaction in the interests
of free trade; and next, as a political trans-'
action in the interests of peace. Now, he had ,
objected to it on both these grounds. As a treaty j
of reciprocity he held it to be a departure from the
principles of free trade, and therefore an abandonment of
our national policy—(" no, no," and "hear. hear")--and
as a means of strengthening the alliance with Frazier, and
winning that great military power over to a policy of peace
instead of war, he held it to be • practical delusion. He did , '
not intend to fight the battle of the treaty with any arms
of his own, but would cite as witnesses the ministers of the
crows by whom the treaty had been negotiated. Mr. Mil-
see Gibing, in speaking to his ocauditueate, said that the
alTrat the commereial treaty were animated by the
allieen spirit of the last century ; but be forget that if
that spirit did exist, it was first caused and first evoked
by Lord Palmerston and Lord John Rumen. (Oh,
ob.) It was • matter of history that at the end of
the session of 1859, Mr. Bright made the moderate suggestion ;
that wefshould enter into some arrangement with France '
respecting the wine duties, but both the noble lords whom
he had named scouted the proposal. And on what grounds?
They said it was a treaty of reciprocity that was asked fur,
and it was inadmissible, because it was at variance with the
;lire- Iles of free trade, and they were indignant in their
to the House of Commons to vindicate the princi- •
es of tree trade against the Manchester apostacy. (" Oh,
oh," sod laughter.) But in January, 1860, • great change
bad come over the opinions of those two noble lords, and
they announced that they had concluded that very treaty
which they had previously objected to, and called upon
putiament to ratify it, end he was sorry to say that the
liberal party, who -cheered the government when they said
that reciprocity was inconsistent with free trade, cheered
them more lustily still when they declared that
free trade was founded on reciprocity. ("Hear, hear," and
laughter.) He found himself unable to follow the govern-
meat or their party in that coulee of apostatising. On the
first occasion theyoke the language of truth,- on the
second, that of expediency. (A Yews—, ' Ain't that your
own picture"—(Laughter.)] And what was that expe-
diency ? There was an impreesion in the House of Com-
mons that it was the noble lord's pledge with regard to the
Reform Bill that caused the conversion of members to the
treaty. It was supposed to have been found that the reform
ministry was about to be brought to an untimely end by its
own inability to grapple with reform ; for when in the ream
the cabinet amembled to frame their measure, such ardent re-
formers were they that it was said the 15 members of the
council held no less than 15 different opinons on reform ;
and that such unflinching and uncompromising reformers
were they that they did not agree on a single principle, and
they differed upon every detail until the fragmentary bill
became • confused mass of useless statistics. (Laughter.)
But then something must be done to continue ito the
coustry the blowup of a reform ministry, even with-
out the blessing of reform. It was stated that the wiles of
secret diplomacy were set to work, and it wasdiscovered
that although the most ardent reformers were sincere and
determined on reform, they were reach more ardent wor-
shippers of peace, and of commerce as a blessed instrument
of peace, and it was advised that if • bad reform bill could
be supplemented by a good French treaty the government
might stillrign end the liberal oopartnery kept out of the
(Janette. ( hter.) The treaty was rapidly negotiated,
and they
cord say,
" We struck in time, the bargain was agreed,
We still have shafts against • time of need.
The rats that always trust to one poor hole,
They never can be rata of any soul." (Laughter.)
As he had been no party to the reform pledge neither
had he any motive to escape from it by supporting the
treaty. He cheered the minister as loudly as any man
when the minister solemnly declared that black was black.
But be declined to cheer when the minister said equally
solemnly that black was white. ("Oh, oh," and groans.)
[A Wks—This is • wholesale abuse of the Maud party.]
He wee merely stating facts. (Hear, hear.) Facts
ware truths, sad truths ought to work conviction. If
the facts were not palatable he was not responsible
for then.. (laughter.) He stated at the time that the
treaty, so far as related to bringing about a policy of peac,
would prove a delusion. Was be wrong there ? (" Yes.")
Why, the ink was hardly dry on the treaty before Lord
John Russell declared the alliance to be at an end. But he
was seeking for other alliances on the continent as against
France, and in the very last week of the session Lord Pal-
merston spoke of the Emperor of the French in language
more personally offensive than was ever before in a time of
peace employed by a Prime Minister towards the ally of his
Bovereigu. (Hear, hear.) These were two facts. He
would mention smother in connexion with the treaty. At
the beginning of the session the treaty was announced in the
Queens Speeches a matter of immense importance, and espe-
clay intended to strengthen our relations with
France. That arguer was repeated in the middle
of the session, in the reply to the address ; but at the close
of the session, when the Queen prorogued pediment, the
treaty was never mentioned at all. And why was that! It
had been found • concession barren of results Every in-
' significant measure that had been passed was premed into
! the service in order to swell out the speech ; but instead
of taking credit for the treaty, the ministers were afraid,
they were ashamed to mention it. ("Oh, oh," and " Hear,
hear.") His opinion respecting that treaty remained un-
cheesed, or, if it had changed at all, he was only. the more
steam& convinced of the justice of his first opinions. He
had watched the prop ens of Mr. Cobden's negotiations—had
perused the proceedings of the various chambers of coin-
, mere, and had studied the new tariff, and the
very qualified and guarded approval by which the
° chambers of commerce endeavoured to conceal their
disappointment folly convinced him that the ministers
. of England were not justified in sacrificing a very large
amount of revenue and imposing on our own peooe a very
, large additional taxation in order to bribe the French na.
tem to benefit themselves by becoming free traders—)" oh,
oh," and hisses)— especially when their Emperor was a free
trader already, and, as everyone knew, had ample means for
; the conversion of his people. (laughter.) These were his
objections to the treaty. The Emperor must in two or
there years have granted • more free commercial inter- '
oyes, sad we had paid him twenty millioas of money to