The Express.
London, England, 1868-11-16 00:00:00

MR. GLADSTONE IN LANCASHIRE.

LIVERPOOL, akTUILDAT.
This afternoon the Right Hon. W. K Glad-
stone addressed the county electors at Gersten. in a lam
room attached to Mr. W. C. Miller's shipbuilding yard.
About 1,200 persons were present, including many ladies
wearing rosettes of the liberal colours.
Mr. ( rurwer, who was most enthusiastically re-
ceived, raid, after some preluninary remarks:—There is
another subject that does not affect me but affects
the party, and only the party, and to which
I shall refer. It is the subect which is familiarly known
in elections by the abort ansi simple term of the "screw."
(Hear, hear.) If you want toknow how to use the screw, go
to Blackburn. Ci% to that plaos the working assn of which,
flee or six years ago, earned for it immortal honour by
their petioles under suffering—(henr)—bat which I am
sorry to say has, through the conduct of a portion of the
population, possibly some of them working men, bat most
of them very different from working men, lost great put
of that honour. Blood has been shed, the peace has been
disturbed. And why? Here is the case. The printed
circular that I hold in my band, signed by William Har-
rison, James Thompson, William Henry Hornby, jun.,
It. H. Hutchison, and William Codingtca states that
"at an influential meeting of the conservative party
held to make vents for securing the return of
William Henry Horn and Josiah Heiden "—and that
is rather an ominous coincidence that the name of Wil-
liam Henry Hendry. jun., is appended to the signatures
of the, circular—it was resolved that all millownera and
their managers and overlookers, and all master tradesmen
and others possessing influence, "should be strongly
to exert that influence so as to sewn in the municipal as
well as the parliamentary elections the swivel of the can-
didates who adhere to the constitution in church and
state." ((.lies of " Shame'") Now then, gentlemen, the
use of the influence, the legitimate use of influence of
station by pure persusaion and without penal conse-
quences. is a very natural Use ; but when those that are
in high station and those that are premised of prop=
combine together and issue circulars in which they
upon all their men to place themselves in a band for the
purpose of using that influence, then, gentlemen, we re-
quire no scholar and pedant to translate this into plain
English—(cheers)—welmowperfectlywellwhat it means—
it means coercion ; and we have seen the consequences of
that coercion in the municipal election at Blackburn
(hear. hear)—and now the mayor of that town is
obliged to provide for its peace during the parliamen-
tary election by calling in the military =a, (Cheers.)
For my part, gentlemen, I have always and with
it hoped, that we might continue, through the good sense
of the community, and through the respect of the different
classes, if it can be done with freedom. to exercise the
practice of open voting. (Cheers.) I don't wish to resort to
secret voting, I hope we may still be able to exercise the
franchise in peace openly; but this I say in the presence of
you all—if we are to have this combination of
masters and mill owners, and managers, on the
conservative side, for the purpose of exercising a sys-
tematic and organised influence to preveut freedom of
election—that if these measures are taken, and are to be
followed ap by such proceedings as those at Blackburn,
whs. re or waives of 1 eral sentiments, and even their wives
and daughters, have been turned out of employment, and
deprived of the means of livelihood on account of their
liberal opinions—then I say, at whatever hazard and rod
we shall be compelled to secure freedom of election.
(Great cheeers.) And if the day comes when the question
reaches the point—l trust it may not come—when it
reaches the point that it can only be by secrecy of voting,
it will not be you who will have brought that about, but
it will Lave been brought about by our so-called conser-
vative opponents, who. wanting the principles that should
lead the in to re-pest the freedom of their neighbour just
as much as they value their own, will have done in this
Case the very thing they have done in a hundred of other
cases, namely, by violence and folly precipitated the very
result which it had been their object, their heart's desire
to obviate and defeat. (Cheers.) After referring to a
mini &risco instituud by Mr. Adderley, Mr. Gladstone
proceeded:—Gentlemen, that which warrants me in say-
ing, and counsels me to my. that conservatism is in a de-
plorable condition, is this—that it has been living upon
shuffling and upon shifts—(hear, bear)—that it bad prin.
e!ples, gentlemen, but it has either forgotten what they
are, or it finds it is compelled to disavow them or to take
refuge in vain generahtias which mean anything or
nothing ; and, lard of all, that in the presence of its
leaders, it is continually engaged in lending • band, when
it finds it fur its purpose, to changes, however sudden or
extensive, and that it descends to arts which are iii the
strictest sense the arts of the demagogue. Liberal principles
and popular progress are one thing, but demagnmsm is the
base caricature and the mere corruption of liberal principles
and of popular propose. Demagoguism abounds in the
procemings of the government that now has power ; and
I will show you how it abounds. There is nothing by
which a government can more effectually compromise the
highest public interests than by ceasing to maintain
ministerial responsibility, and there is no greater breach
of duty that a minister can commit than to forget the alle-
giance that he owes to the crown, in reference to maintain-
ing what is in effect one of the most essential principles of
the constitution, namely, that the crown shall be shielded
from personal responsibility, so that the Queen may not
have to answer for the measures of a bad adminis-
tration. Gentlemen, the first conservative innovation that
I wish to place upon record and protest against is this—the
practice of tendering to the Queen not one advice, but
two, and leaving it to the Queen to choose between than,
and then coming down to parliament and informing par-
liament that the government had submitted these two
alternatives to her Majesty, and that her Majesty hasbeen
Pleased to choose one of them. (Hear, hear.) Now,
gentlemen, the man who does that proves himself by doing
it to be totally unfit to direct for an hour the affairs of
thin country ; because, instead of making himself respon-
sible for what is done, and standing, as it is his duty, to
stand, like • wall of adamant between the people and the
sovereign, he places the sovereign in the front, le shelters
himself behind her august personalty, and if the result is
favourable he is to take the benefit; if the result is odious,
be is always able to say, " Yes, it is true, but we tendered
also the other advice, which, if it had been accepted, would
have been prosperous." (Loud cheers, and "Three cheers for
the future Prime Minister.' ') Thin, gentlemen, is exactly what
happened last summer. The House of Commons, in de-
fiance of the government, passed resolutions in favour of
the disestablishment of the Irish church. The minister
went down to Osborne, and when he came back he stated
that he had tendered to his sovereign the advice that par-
liament should he di/solved, but that if the sovereign did
not think lit to accept that advice, then he was ready to
elicit,- his resignation, so that in point of fact these two
alternatives, according to his account—l have nothing to
do vr:th tilt accuracy of the account— (cheers) - but, ac-
cording to the account of the Prime Minister, he had
ti ndered to the Queen two alternatives—one that her
government should go, and the other that her governmout
should remain, and that the Queen was to prefer one of
Mime alternatives, for which they, of course, as well un-
derstood from her, must stand as responsible in
the eyes of the Queen. (Applause.) Gentlemen,
with conservatism of that kind, I have trio sympathy
whatever. I would tell Mr. Adderley that this govern-
ment and this minister is not the conservative but the
demagogue in the worst sense that the word is capable
of bearing, when he ceases to stand between the
sovereign and the people, and attempts to cast upon the
august head of the Queen the responsibility which he and
he alone ought to bear. On the subject of foreign' y
Mr. Gladstone said :—I protest against the iffce coj
working the foreign policy for the purposes 0 party at
home. (Cheers.) Last week the lord Mayor_ gave
his annual dinner at Guildhall. The Prime Minis-
ter, rising in his place, announced in that hall his
opinion that although the state of things on the conti.
neut was menacing, probably if hie noble friend, the
Foreign Secretary, were allowed to take the of of
mediator between Prussia and Francs, the effect would be
that peace would be preserved. Now, gentlemen, I don't
pronounop any °pillion upon that measure. I do pronounce
this opinion. I think well enough of Lord Stanley
(cheenq—bnt I em perfectly convinced that if any propo-
sition is made to him, or any opening is offered, he
will consider • minute before adopting it, like a
man of mime and judgment—(hsee; hear)—sand
he won't for • moment allow y consideration
' connected with party to sway his mind tun one directionor
the other. (Clears.) This I say, gentleme and I shall
hie ready tosar it in another (place as much as in this, if
you send me there— (theses) —that the Primellinieter has
no right to make at the Guildhall that the
Franrurelirlace—thatrimentarYthat isnotshall
emitcrand that is is notPrua"the timeaaid
—least of all is it the time--that is not the plane where
wisessmisnie sad ogiciews declarations should be mado
nut even under ordinary circumstances, but within a
week of a contested election hi which the universal voice
of the country inanounces that that minister is
likely to find himself left in g minority. (Omen.)

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