The Express.
London, England, 1868-11-14 00:00:00

MIL GLADSTONE IN LANCASHIRE.

BOOTLE, ralm4Yl

The Right lion. W. E. Gladstone and Mr. H. R.
Greafell, the liberal candidates for the representaffien of
the South-Western Division of Lannshire, address d •
crowded meeting of the electors to-night in the Alhambra
MasienhalL Mr. Exam presided; and having briefly
opesed the proceedings,
Mr. lizewooe moved a vote of thanks to Mr. Glad-
stone for his past minima • bleb was .weeded by the
Rev. Mr. Bourn, and unanimeesly agreed to. •
Mr. GLADIEW" after referring to the ainumstances of
the election, mid--Now, gentlemen, I must bersiglzabperi;
foaming a task which is more offensive and
tome even than it can be to Vows and that is b • mkt'
nice to personal and private matters. toe sea
not ignorant that during the cries of the present
election the weapon of personal imputistion. sad
1 em bound to go further, and to ray personel
calumny, Las been used with • freedom that, as
far as as,nlaki:dowi‘lditsailtzpacietbtery
thiviethoaobiectt essmoipthheatl I
cat
smaranyin.
dein suppose for one moment that at is on that account
that I am induced to occupy ono moment of your time.
To me there thieve can suggest, after an experience of 36
years, no sentiment whatever, excepting that—first of all
of sorrow and pity for the penman who can coudeseeud to
the use of tech weapons.; and secondly, allow me Mazy, of
satisfaction upon perceiving that it is by raison of the
defect of other weapons fist they ere ootnpellal
to stoop so low. (Cheers.) For weeks past note single day,
not • single morning have I risen to open my letters, with-
out Muting the most earnest and energetic appeals from
dalel
epentptitioonns. oflthheaveoe übesuntryretsuenoedeountoteranacousaabsoiatsotensio.efpoths.is
sibility of meeting them in the usual way ; and this is my
apology to you—if any of you have addressed letters to
me Mut bine remained without sufficient notice.
If any of you happen to have read the newspapers toolay,
or yesterday. you will have seen a little paragraph reconl-
lug that when • friend of mine sent me from some part
of the country three of the. calumnies all mentioned in
one letter, I was immediately struck with the great
economy that I should be able to achieve by killing not
merely two but three bids with one staue—(laughter)—
and instead of leaving the letter unanswered 1 simply
therewrote threeacras imapnudtatialonovn,g Seheeragr etawlseh"hoortain.land
sent it beck to my friend (cheers) and
my friend, with great judgment, has caused this
epsilon on my pert to be published. (Laughter and
timers.) Gentlemen, one of the most innocent of the
untrue imputations that have been published against me
all over this country is this, that I was constituted, by the
will of Mr. Blundell, of Ince, executor for the administra-
tion of his estate, and the applnstion of 200,0001. to
Roman catholic purposes. (Laughter.) Well, now,
1 believe that the placards, the handbills, and the
&respells by which this untruth—l won't call it
calumny, beaus/ I see nothing that is dishonourable
in the imputation, but it serves to excite prejudice—the
placards and the handbills and the japan by which this
imputation has been circulated, I believe have not ap-
peared in this neighbourhood ; at any rate I have not
received any of them from this neighbourhood. I suppose
it was thought that here, near the scene of action, all who
knew that haepene deo be about 60 or 70 years younger
than Mr. Chas. 'Blundell, of Ince, would be aware that it
was not very likely he would chooses ins for his
executor. (Loud laughter.) Gentlemen, there is not
a word of truth in it. (Cheers.) But what I want you
to observe is the—the condition of the minds of our adver-
saries. (Cheers.) Now the love of truth is a great secu-
rity to us as we walk through a wicked world. A man
ought to be able and denote to sacrifice everything
ter truth. (Hear, hear.) How much, gentlemen' do you
think that any one o 1 us ought to sacrifice for the
truth t Well, 1001. perhaps 1' No. I bid you down 601.
No. 201. Y No. 10/. t No. 61. ? No. Is. Y No. A shilling!
There, now, what do you think of • party who
won't sacrifice a shilling for the truth I Well,
gentlemen, you mobably are all aware that an ex--
cetera are constituted by will, and that all
wills are deposited in registries, and that by
paying the tee of a Ailing it win be open to any
one of those gentlemen to ascertain whether I wee
the executor or not--(" hear, bear," and great cheers)—
tied yet, strange to ray, the very men who grudged a
shilling for the rake of ascertaining the truth
.have spent
hundreds of pounds in printing and circulating placards
all over the country to disturb the minds of her Majesty's
lieges, by assuring them that this Mr. Gladstone was no
better than, some say • papist, cad some my an atheist, in
disguise, and that he had been executor to the
will of Mr. Charles Blundell, of Ince. Now,
gentlemen, I have one more statement of the
same, indeed of a still more private and persons'
character, that I am compelled to make. I must do it in
justice to you. I have borne in great patience, for
several years past, imputations false and worthless with
regard to • church—St. Thomas, Seaforth—close to this
place. It is odious to me to enter on the discussion of
such matters. If • man who is accused of having pro-
faned the sanctuary of the Most High, and of having ad-
miuistend a miserable and niggardly pittance to an
excellent and venerated clergyman, attempts to
she w what be Las really done, while thus en-
deavouring to relieve himself from slander, be assumes a
character which is of all others upon earth the most
cdious that of a Pharisee and boaster. I have
allowed a great deal of slander to circulate uneontradieted
with regard to the church at Seaforth, but when we coin t
to an election time this slander no longer remains • mere
yersonal offs nee, in which light I regarded it as of very
small account, because if, when • man has come to my
time of life, and has lived iu the face of the public, as I
have de ne for nearly forty years, his countrymen know
nothing at out him hut are compelled to ask him what he is,
where lie came from what he has been about, and what he
means to be about.—"(a lasigh)—his character is not worth
vindicating ; but if, lee Mime n. I am, with my frieud Mr.
Grenfell, the favoured object of your choice, it becomes a
duty that I should reline myself hom charges of this
kind, to show Qat you do not connect yourselves with an
unworthy—at least in that sense an unworthy individual.
In many reel ects I may be unworthy enough—(cries of
" No") to show that, and to prevent the weak brethrea
who all along I am thinking about —(a laugh)
—because the weak brethren are, as you well
know also, the doubtful voter—("bear, hear," and
n newed laughter)—from being misled by the art and
place of the enemy, and by the males which he thickly
rows in his path, so that mischief might result to the pub-
lic institutions. Gentlemen, I have been delighted to
acknowledge on several occasions the manner in which
cur leafing opponents have conducted this contest, so far
as language mid personal imputations are coocerned. Mr.
Term r and Mr. Cross, -I own, do not stand at all
hifh in my esteem as I
politicians—(hear
hear)—but
with respect to this contest, and as far as have been
able to 'tallow their speeches. leech perhaps I have not
done with the accuracy which I should endeavour to
practise, they have helmeed themselves like gentlemen,
and have fought their battle like men. That is what I
here we shall try to do in return, bat las sorry t, say
there are two or three perrona in this division (not lay-
men but clergymen), who have fought their battle with
what I won't stop to characterise. I will merely
deal with their sasertiene and in doing so I
meet mk your indulgence for I have no
choice. (Cheers.) New for the story ? In telling it
tome of the imam s have told one part, and some an-
other ; but I won't detain you with minute specifiesi-
ten. The three persons who have told it are a certain
Dr. Duffield, a certain Reverend Mr. Bridgernan, near
Warrington ; and a certain Reverend Job Lee, who, by
the lye, got, I lutist say, an exeeedingly good dressing
from Lord Derby, about a month ago, in the newspapers,
for another church that be had touched, in which,
I think, Lord Derby was coucerned. From this
church of Seatorth —within a co 'pie of miles
from this elan it is said I derive an income of 3001. a
year ; flat 1 administer to the incumbent of the church a
payment of 60/. for pet forming the duties ; and lastly,
the Rev. Mr. Bridgeman states that when I some time am
lut on japer my rich nee in this case, I forbade it to be
puble nduct which lie presumes to designate by the
el Mat of mean and cowardly. These are words reported
iu the public newspapers. I am just going to make to you a
very simple deft nee, from which I shall endeavour to
exclude every epithet, although I confess that I think
epithets, like other things, have got their use, and I think
that if I ehoeeto use them upon such an occasion,
is per-
hapel should be entirely jusefied. (Hear, hear.) Now
this the ewe. In the Hot place it is stated that the
provision made for performing the dame of the church is
bal. a year. I have taken pains to ascertain the facts
with great minuteness, and they are as follows: From
monies roosted, 731. a year ; from legal charge on pew
rents, 6W. a year; by voluntary arrangement, 11101. a year;
by voluntary payment for curate, SOL a year; making
together lull. • year, with • purse and appurtenances
rated at 106/. a year. Now, gentlemen, God-torbid that
I should say that I think 3001. or 4001. a year Ls the mea-
eof the value of the services of a man who is engall
in the spiritual or pastoral charge, and who does his
duty according to the very best of his ability, as I believe
my rev. friend Mr. Damson does. (Hear, hear.) God
knows I wish they ws re much better paid than they are,
but that is the state of things so far as regards the 601.
a year which has been stated as the payrneut made by me.
Now I come, gentlemen, to_ my part of theme, and this in-
come of 4001. a year whkb I am mid to derive, while
I give 601. • year to the clergyman, that stands as follows.
Vizi'. I was in °Moe I had very little time to look after
my own private attain, and when I went out of office I
paid attention to the account of Seatorth church, with
regard to which Ism the receiver of the pew rents, and
responsible for the conduct of the services, and I found I
had been charged with incense-tax on the pew recta at
3181. a year. Looking to the account I appealed against
this charge; my appeal was &drained by theeommiasioners,
the charge was entirely cancelled, and I obtained • back
payment for three years of the income-tax which I had
peel in indifference to my own affairs. Now we will crane
to the present eats of the amount. I received a note of It
to-day : 1647, expenditure, 430/. lis. 3d.; income, 3781.95. 4d.;
tit!** of expenditure 601. Hs. Ild. (laughter.) 1114Senpen.
lure, 3691.136.6 d. I id, ; inoome, Mfd. 14e3d.—(Leughter)--
aud, peutlemen the year not having yet come to the
ant December. dou't know what the result will be upon
that del, but I don't think that the WO very
promising. (flieurs.l Well, gentlemen,PTZtaare two of
the dial gee ; and the thiel charge for which I lave been
dentine, al at my time of life as mean and cowardly—im-
putations which, I confers, would go to the very heart