Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-07-23 00:00:00

THE PARLIAMENTARY OATHS BILL.

DEPUTATION TO LORD PALMERSTON.

On Tuesday morning a numerous deputation from the
members of the House of Commons, favourable to the
principle of the Parliamentary Oaths Bill, waited upon
Lord Palmerston, at his private residence, for the purpose
of ascertaining what were the views entertained by Her
Majesty's Government in respect to the legislative course
proposed to be taken by the friends of civil and rel gious
liberty
in consequence of the rejection of the Jewish Dis-
abilities Bill by the House of Lords.
Between 30 and 40 of the chief members at the late
meeting of Thursday last were present.
Mr. Horsman acted as speaker, and said,—My Lord,
we wait on your Lordship to communicate to you the
resolutions that were passed at a meeting cf members of
the Liberal party in Palace-yard on Thursday last. It
was a very numerous meeting called by requisition—
was composed by members of Parliament only - and
the attendance was of such a character as to con-
stitute a full and fair representation of the great
body of your Lordship's supporters in the House of
Commons. The objecz. of it was to consider of the
course which it would be wise and fitting that the
Liberal party should pursue in consequence of the
rejection of the Oaths Bill by the House of Lords.
Certain resolutions were passed, which it is my duty now
to read to your Lordship, but before doing so I may state
that the meeting was strongly of opinion that the recent
decision of the House of Lords should not be tamely ac-
quiesced in, but that another effort should be made during
the present session to repair its consequences ; and the
meeting having to consider the alternative proposals of
Dillwyn to endeavour to seat Baron Rothschild by a
resolution of the House, and the Bill which Lord John
Russell had given notice of his intention to introduce,
came to the determination that Mr. Dillwyn's resolution
should be postponed, and Lord John's Bill supported. But
I ought to aid that the feeling in favour of at once
attempting to seat Baron Rothschild by resolution was
most favourably received by a large portion of the meeting,
and it was, I be'ieve, only given up from its proposers be-
lieving that. while complete unanimity would thus in the
first instance be secured in support of Lord John's Bill, the
rejection of that Bill, if it took place, would again tend to
unanimity in favour of an attempt to seat Baron Rothschild
by resolution. We therefore come to ask your Lordship
either to support Lord John's Bill, with a determination, in
case cf its rejection, to lead your party in the endeavour
to seat Baron Rothschild by resolution, or that, if Lord
John's Bill cannot be properly supported this session, the
Goverrrnent will at once declare themselves in favour
of seating by resolution. We know that in such a matter
we can, as a party, do nothing without the government,
as the government can do nothing without their party.
We are fully sensible of the value of our leaders, of our
dependence on them, and of the consideration and alle-
giance always due to them. But at the same time I ought
not to conceal from your Lordship (what, indeed, one of
the resolutions will convey) that there is a deep conviction
among your friends that the Oaths Bill, when lately before
the House of Lords, did not derive from the union of the
members of the Cabinet among themselves that moral
strength and eusport which is of infinitely more value than
all their votes; and the embarrassment which we are now
all experiencing in the false relation in which we are
standing to your Lordship—your followers taking counsel
among themselves and communicating their intended
course to the Cabinet, instead of the Cabinet guiding the
course of their supporters—is the pecalty we are on either
side paying for what we respectfully conceive was on the
part of the government a mistake. My Lord, we feel
that your Lordship has at present the strongest party
following that any Minister has had since the Reform Bill
—strong, not in numbers only; but in the spirit and the
desire for union that pervade all sections of the party ; and
there is a general wish to postpone questions of difference
with the government if they wilt but lead us vigorously and
wisely on those on which we are all agreed. Fore rost
among these stands the question of civil disabilities im-
posed as a con sequence of religious belief. Your attempt
by the Oaths Bill to relieve our fellow-subjects of the
Jewish persuasion from that injustice has been again
defeated. It is not usually deemed wise in any Govern-
ment to su'emit tamely to such defeats, and we do not
think it becoming in so strong a Government as yours to
do so. Every such defeat must necessarily cause weak-
ness to a party, and weakness must tend to disorganization.
We are well assured that there is no question on which
the Gove.nrcent and their followers can be more of one
mind and united b 7 one interest than on that now before
us. But were it unfortunately otherwise, the great body
of your supporzers do feel that in this principle there is so
much involved, and in regard to it our party position is so
critical, that we could not sacrifice the character of a party
that is enduring to an over deference to the Government,
wh'se existence—necessarily brief as compared to that of
its party—must be rendered yet more precarious by its not
appreciating the spirit, and so casting away the hearts of its
supporters.
At the conclusion of his remarks, Mr. Horsman read to
his Lordship a copy of the resolutions which had been
passed at the meeting of Thursday last, which are as
follows :

That the fact that on the late division in the House of Lords
all the members of the Cabinet did not support the Oaths Bill
is calculated to cause deep pain And disappointment to the
Liberal party : and that Lord Palmerston be respectfully and
earnestly solicited to lend the whole weight and influence of his
Government in support of Lord John Russell's proposed bill,
and, in the event of its r, keti on, that the Government will
aid the attempt to seat Baron Rothschild by a resolution of the
House of Commons.
That the fact that in the late division in the House of
Lords all the members of the Cabinet did not support the
0 ohs Bill is calculated to cause deep pain and d'sappointrnent
to the Liberal party.
That the time has arrived when the long-vexed question of
the removal of Jewish disabilit:es should be finally settled,
and, considering the repeated maniestations of opinion in the
House of Commons and in the country in favour of this act of
polity and justice, all the energies of the Liberal party should
now be united towards its accomplishment.
Lord Palmerston, after pausing for a short time to see
whether any other member wished to address him after
Mr. Horsman, said that there could be no doubt as to
the importance of the question at issue, and that the
Government were as desirous of the settlement of it as
any gentleman present, and had proved themselves to
be so by introducing a measure to carry out those
views in the form most likely, in their opinion, to be
passed. That as to Lord John Russell's notice, it was
imposs ble for a Government to promise support to a
bill which they had not seen, and of the provisions
of which they were ignorant ; but they would give all
their support to Lord John in the introduction of the
Bill of which he had given notice for this evening.
As to the future stages of the bill he must remind the meet-
ing that we were now in the middle of July, and that par-
liament was expected to rise in the middle of August, and
that the agreeable morning they passed in the House of
Commons last Saturday was a tolerably conclusive proof
of the difficulty they would have in carrying the Bill this
session; that in reference to Lord Harrowby, and his
abstaining from voting on the division in the House of
Lords, it was right to state that Lord Harrowby bad en-
tered the Government with an understanding that he
should not be able to support any bill for the admission
of Jews into Parliament ; that Lord Palmerston was
anxious to obtain his assistance and co-operation, and had
not felt it to be possible to secure perfect and complete
unanimity on all points in his Government ; that an
instance of the difficulty of securing that unanimity was
to be fund in the Ballot, on which he as well as Lord
John Russell held strong opinions one way, and so many of
their friends and supporters held opinions as strong on the
other side ; but there was an express understanding that
though Lord Harrowby could not vote in favour of the
admission of the Jews he would not vote against a
Government measure ; that, in reference to seating
Baron Rothschild by resolution, he could hold
out no hope of acquiescence on the part of
the Government in any such attempt, as it
would ba in opposition to a judgment of court of
law, and involve the House of Commons in most
unseemly contests with the courts of justice ; that as a
matter of tactics he doubted whether the bill of Lord J.
Russell, if it passed through the House of Commons, would
-not lose much cf its effect by being carried lap by a
smaller majority than the Government Bill; that many
circumstances combined to render the majority against the
Government in the House of Lords on the last occasion
larger then it would otherwise have been, but he did not
despair of the feeling in the Upper House on the sebject
undergoing a change. Lord Palmerston acknowledged
the importance of some further points which were slice-
gested to him by Mr. Walter and by Mr: Locke, and
' promised that they should b© considered.
The deputation then thanked his iitsrdship and with-
drew

In the afternoon the tueeting n Liberal members of the
Hausa
and r
liberty,eligiol.l7l()n adjourned frnm Thursday last,
took place at th 4 iiing's Arms Tavern, Palace-yard,
for the IntrP°B€l of hearing the r,inrt of the deputation
which had ths.`. day waited upon Lord Palmerston, who
ref.isod tv allow tha repressntatives of the press to be
present

"F.>. •
attendanea wag nr,t near so numerous as on the
'previous occasion, not more than fifty members (includ-
ing Baron Rothschild) being present.
litr. H ~.)man, the former chairman, was again called
upon to r)re.side, and in opening the proceedings, the right
hon. gentleman remarked that they had met there that
day t ) hear the report of the deputation that had waited